totally agree. i'm waiting for Hodge2Franklin to come in and remind us that essendon will be in the bottom 4 for the next 5 years because our list is so bad.
while i have certainly been encouraged by what i have seen early, as i said recently on the essendon board, you just can't make judgements at this stage of the year. carlton proved that in 2005 and 2007.
the bulldogs and fremantle are two perfect examples of sides that were "just one step away" from real contenders and failed miserably in 2007, and they were far more advanced than essendon is right now.
i don't profess to live and breathe footy as much as some - and hence have less knowledge about the youngsters coming through - but i just don't see how anybody can reel off 8 to 10 names who haven't played 50 games between them and claim they will form the nucleus of your side for the next 5 - 10 years. most of these guys are simply untried at afl level and as someone already pointed out, a brilliant junior does not necessarily mean an instant afl success.
i guess i just don't quite hold the optimistic view that some essendon supporters do. i have been calling for sheedy's sacking for years and so far i have been really impressed with everything matty knights has done - from cutting the fat last year to changing the gameplan - but i want to wait a few months before i claim we are really ready to step up for finals.
