Ok, so was it as bad as you thought?

Remove this Banner Ad

Status
Not open for further replies.
pablo668 said:
No where near as bad as it could have been.

Had it been a club from outside Victoria, and not one of the AFL's cash cows, it would have been the end of that club.

It does well to have friends in high places.
Click to expand...
Anti-Victorian sentiment aside, it beggars belief for the AFL to deliberately fold one of the interstate clubs just a couple of years after the effort of expanding the competition to 18 teams. There was never a chance of the AFL letting any of the clubs fold, ever.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Lavender Bushranger said:
Just to stop you there.....

Isn't that THE biggest damage possible though?

They were on the up, with some big names in their prime and looking to be a genuine threat within 2-3 years.

But then they got caught. And the next 4 years were a write off. Here we are, 4 years later and they're at rock bottom.

How long does it take to go from rock bottom to being a genuine contender? 5 years?

And if that doesn't eventuate with this group when they get 5-10 of the drug cheats back, then they'll be rebuilding again in 4 years.


I think that's as big an impact as you could ever hope you cop.

What could have been worse than a decade of non-competition on-field?
Click to expand...
We missed a window to be top 4
But, in the face of a super efficient Hawthorn, i don't think a flag was in there with our forward line.

And we would have missed Merrett, Parish, Laverde & Langford.
I take Merrett over Crameri every day of the week.
And Parish for an entire career over a finals spot.

We certainly missed the chance to win some games in 2015 and this year. But I'm not sure it was building to anything.
 
Much like Zhou Enlai misquoted thoughts on the French Revolution - Too early to say.

I would have thought there still a few hurdles to clear. At the moment they are clearing them with ease and, one would think on the basis of history, they will continue to do so. if anyone with solid info cracks the sads over something it could still all go **** up.
 
less than zero said:
but just to answer your question "could it be any worse?" of course
- we could be Carlton
Click to expand...
FMD....

You currently have 12 players suspended for doping.
You have no guarantee these players will all come back or play at the same level they did before.
You have players that will be suing the club.
You now have the reputation as drug cheats, not just locally but you're also an international laughing stock.
You have no guarantee that Dank will be tight lipped, nor any of the players, that might tip more buckets of shit.
You have a CEO who took injections himself, he is still there.
You have a president who wants to welcome Hird back with open arms.

I'd much rather my club's position, thanks.
 
Jobe Watson said:
I think this saga has just brought the club and its supporters closer together, and we'll be a stronger club because of it. We're on the down slope of a hill that has taken 4 years to climb and there's nothing but smooth roads ahead. Don the Sash.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, every time the Bombers think they are out of the wooods - and you and your unqiue brand of posting are an excellent barometer, someting comes alomng and whacks you.
 
Thrawn said:
FMD....

You currently have 12 players suspended for doping.
You have no guarantee these players will all come back or play at the same level they did before.
You have players that will be suing the club.
You now have the reputation as drug cheats, not just locally but you're also an international laughing stock.
You have no guarantee that Dank will be tight lipped, nor any of the players, that might tip more buckets of shit.
You have a CEO who took injections himself, he is still there.
You have a president who wants to welcome Hird back with open arms.

I'd much rather my club's position, thanks.
Click to expand...

Thrawn said:
Hahahahahaha. Keep dreamin'.
Click to expand...
Jesus you just keep coming back. Without fail.

Go and enjoy the footy Bolton's got you playing. Blues have got a long way to go but they're on the up.

Your obsession with Essendon isn't healthy.
 
When this started they had a very strong squad that was going places and who, with the addition of some quality free agents - something they were denied by the saga - could have been flag contenders.

They suffered the greatest penalties in the game's history - being kicked out finals. And the draft picks they missed will hurt.

Crucially though, they went from being one of the most stable and succesful off field organisations to one that was utterly destroyed and had to be rebuilt from the ground up.

The estrangement of Evans has hurt and will hurt more - he basically got the Tulla facility built.

It also can't be said to be over until all the lawsuits are resoloved, There's still a big financial cost coming.

And there's the opportunity cost - the years and dollars and focus spent fighting this could have been spent elsewhere improving the whole operation. They could have used that money and time gaining a legitimate edge on the comp.

They have lost players too - Carlisle and Ryder very important to them. Got compensation but still.

It was always obvious that the top ups wouldn't be as shithouse as many hoped. If they were forced to play 18 years olds, sure, but guys like Kelly, Crowley and Stokes are were excellent footbalers barely out of the game. That said, will be interesting to see how thngs progress as we head into darkest winter.

It remains to be seen how many of the suspended players return. Interesting its only the blokes like Howlett and Colyer who wouldn't have had a huge number of suitors re-signing. I'll be very surprised if they keep both Hurley and Hooker for example. Jobe far from guaranteed to come back. Amd a year out of the system can have a real effect. It isn't like a player does a knee and is out for a year, they are still at the club, involved in planing etc, staying part of the group.

Very different deal for these guys.

I think this will bubble along for a while yet. There's the obvious stuff like the lawsuits, which may well get quite ugly. Prismall didn't sound like he was in the mood to do the right thing by the club for example.

Then there's the wild card of WADA/ASADA - they may yet have more stuff up their sleeve that a new development - be it tests for stuff developed, someone opening their trap, who knows, that could see it kick off again. Dank remains a liability on the loose.

I agree the worst is probably over, but the reality is that come 2017, Essendon are to all intensive purposes at year one of a full bore rebuild, on and off field. Some of the work has been done off field and their historic strength financially (and having a shameless AFL backing them in) certainly helps.

But while Parish looks the goods, there's no guarantee the other picks they'll get will work out. And a huge amount depends on how many and which of the suspended players come back. It is still a long road back for the Bombers, suggestions of being ready to hit the ground running in 2017 are a bit premature in my book.

(Also, the lolz, sweet years of such lolz)
 
MaddAdam said:
When this started they had a very strong squad that was going places and who, with the addition of some quality free agents - something they were denied by the saga - could have been flag contenders.

They suffered the greatest penalties in the game's history - being kicked out finals. And the draft picks they missed will hurt.

Crucially though, they went from being one of the most stable and succesful off field organisations to one that was utterly destroyed and had to be rebuilt from the ground up.

The estrangement of Evans has hurt and will hurt more - he basically got the Tulla facility built.

It also can't be said to be over until all the lawsuits are resoloved, There's still a big financial cost coming.

And there's the opportunity cost - the years and dollars and focus spent fighting this could have been spent elsewhere improving the whole operation. They could have used that money and time gaining a legitimate edge on the comp.

They have lost players too - Carlisle and Ryder very important to them. Got compensation but still.

It was always obvious that the top ups wouldn't be as shithouse as many hoped. If they were forced to play 18 years olds, sure, but guys like Kelly, Crowley and Stokes are were excellent footbalers barely out of the game. That said, will be interesting to see how thngs progress as we head into darkest winter.

It remains to be seen how many of the suspended players return. Interesting its only the blokes like Howlett and Colyer who wouldn't have had a huge number of suitors re-signing. I'll be very surprised if they keep both Hurley and Hooker for example. Jobe far from guaranteed to come back. Amd a year out of the system can have a real effect. It isn't like a player does a knee and is out for a year, they are still at the club, involved in planing etc, staying part of the group.

Very different deal for these guys.

I think this will bubble along for a while yet. There's the obvious stuff like the lawsuits, which may well get quite ugly. Prismall didn't sound like he was in the mood to do the right thing by the club for example.

Then there's the wild card of WADA/ASADA - they may yet have more stuff up their sleeve that a new development - be it tests for stuff developed, someone opening their trap, who knows, that could see it kick off again. Dank remains a liability on the loose.

I agree the worst is probably over, but the reality is that come 2017, Essendon are to all intensive purposes at year one of a full bore rebuild, on and off field. Some of the work has been done off field and their historic strength financially (and having a shameless AFL backing them in) certainly helps.

But while Parish looks the goods, there's no guarantee the other picks they'll get will work out. And a huge amount depends on how many and which of the suspended players come back. It is still a long road back for the Bombers, suggestions of being ready to hit the ground running in 2017 are a bit premature in my book.

(Also, the lolz, sweet years of such lolz)
Click to expand...
You're slipping mate if that's the best you've got.

You know we've done alright here. ;)
 
MaddAdam said:
I agree the worst is probably over, but the reality is that come 2017, Essendon are to all intensive purposes at year one of a full bore rebuild, on and off field. Some of the work has been done off field and their historic strength financially (and having a shameless AFL backing them in) certainly helps.
Click to expand...

not in reference to you and your post MA, but weasel words love their place from affal mouthpieces... #rebuild #system #structures one part pinch of salt and a franchise coach using his go-to word(s).

I never liked the groupthink from the affal clubs recruiters that spruiked dynasties at the expansioon northern clubs because of the draft picks they were gifted by affal house.

I dont think new clubs sans any football culture, in a city sans football culture, have a sufficient scaffolding to create a flag winning team. It is like attempting to make a basketball club win an affal premiership. was never gonna happen. No suprise they were all on blow at GC. And you would choose the worst possible captain to impose the cultural demands on players. May be the best player in the league, but the worst player to lead by example.

If I was Liam Pickering with the number 1 16yo player in 2010, I would have demanded he sit out like Shannon Grant and Rocca and Buckley*

*yes yes yes, I know they did one year up north.

But I dont think GC and GWS can develop a player in a basketball expansion club. now you may say, they have developed them just fine? well, ceteris paribus, like-to-like, all things being equal, how are they developed at say, Adelaide, or West Coast, or Hawthorn? thats my counter factual

The player managers either, they have been remiss and negligent, or... more likely, the AFL PA, and affal house would have had them(the managers, ricky nixon and pickering) over a barrel and reamed them like ned beatty and his anal fissures from the mountain men in deliverance.

compare them to the All-Australians Collingwood Produced around the middle of last decade, Harry O, Maxwell, Jimmy Clement, and I think Tarkyn Lockyer was named in the squad but not the 22.

how can a team develop players who were rookies or for all reports, delists, and make them AA?
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Beerfish said:
You're slipping mate if that's the best you've got.

You know we've done alright here. ;)
Click to expand...

Could have been worse sure, also didn't need to be as bad. And I don't think it is over yet,
 
MaddAdam said:
Could have been worse sure, also didn't need to be as bad. And I don't think it is over yet,
Click to expand...
Could have been **** yes, didn't need to be as bad sure but hindsight's 20/20 and I think it's pretty much over. There's some loose ends but footy yeah? :footy::thumbsu:

Those kangas are looking pretty strong mate.:footy::thumbsu:
 
Could have been worse but the game needed it not to be.

It's set the club back a few years in terms of their own aspirations, although I never thought their dream of Hird and Bomber coaching them to a premiership would ever eventuate.

In terms of being successful or winning a premiership, they're at the back of the pack with the other bottom clubs. Like with those teams, whether it's Essendon, Brisbane, Carlton - footy for the next few years is all about building hope for the future. In two or three years Essendon will be aiming to win 10 games in a season, similar to where the Saints and Melbourne are now.

So it's pretty much going to be the same Bombers of the last 15 years. Lots of hype and excitement around the future that recent history suggests won't amount to much. As a football club they are living in the past and have done so for almost two decades now.

The reality is they aren't a good football club anymore, and in Victoria you can't be a successful club unless you are extremely well run from top to bottom, which Essendon simply isn't.

So when it comes to the Bombers I'm expecting more of the same - false hope and mediocrity.

As for all the positive media they are getting now - the code needs it. What they did tarnished the whole sport. It will always be there to haunt them in various ways.

The damage they've done to their own reputation and legacy as a club is irreparable. It's a permanent stain.
 
Beerfish said:
Could have been **** yes, didn't need to be as bad sure but hindsight's 20/20 and I think it's pretty much over. There's some loose ends but footy yeah? :footy::thumbsu:

Those kangas are looking pretty strong mate.:footy::thumbsu:
Click to expand...

Yeah, certainlybthe high drama and fun games but is over I reckon. Though with ts whole thievery time it dies down and Essendon seem to be on the up, something comes along. Dank is still a dangerous wildcard.

But yes footy! We're travelling pretty nicely. And I'm glad I was vindicated in my view that you wouldn't be an absolute rabble and would win a few.

Jeez, if you roll Collingwod and you're every chance, the resultant fallout would be hysterical.

I'll be barracking for you guys!
 
Lol @ the Die-Hards and the continual denial:

tumblr_nvipy5Zs5c1qarx7po1_500.gif


The Black Knight has even Donned the Colours.
 
Thrawn said:
FMD....

You currently have 12 players suspended for doping.
You have no guarantee these players will all come back or play at the same level they did before.
You have players that will be suing the club.
You now have the reputation as drug cheats, not just locally but you're also an international laughing stock.
You have no guarantee that Dank will be tight lipped, nor any of the players, that might tip more buckets of shit.
You have a CEO who took injections himself, he is still there.
You have a president who wants to welcome Hird back with open arms.

I'd much rather my club's position, thanks.
Click to expand...
Yep, you're right, so what's your club's excuse for being a rabble over the past 10 years? oooh that's right you cheated.
Anyway as much as you would like to you can't deny the joy many EFC supporters are feeling right now.
Enjoy the footy, smell the roses Thrawn.
 
Lavender Bushranger said:
The saga is over I reckon.

Certainly, the narrative being run in the media today is that it's all positive stuff for Essendon here on in and it seems that that little dwarf Collier re-signing is the AFL equivalent of that dude dancing down the tram tracks when the World War finished.

It's over.

The suspensions are being served. Done.

Any legal action by players will be fought between the insurance company and the players, and of the 12 remaining 'drug cheats', Essendon appear very confident to retain all of them.

They've run out on the park and not only have they not been wallopped by 100 points each week - they've already won a game! Their fans are seeing a light both on and off-field.


The talk back on SEN this arvo was both nauseating and a bit baffling.

Fans were ringing up and speaking about the club with extreme optimism and excitement, whilst the hosts of the show were repeatedly spewing out nonsense about Essendon's future and how well they've done as if the last 4 years of utter failure and incompetence hadn't even occurred.


The reason it was baffling is that there was a sense of surprise that an AFL club could come out the end of a tumultuous period and begin to rebuild! I mean, like that's never happened before.

It was also baffling because in between all the gushing, gobbing and back slapping, they appeared to not notice that over the past 4 years, the following has occurred:

CEO gone.
Football department gone.
Two presidents gone.
Coach gone.
Carlisle gone.
Ryder gone.
Melksham gone.
Crameri gone.
Monfries gone.
Recruited Gwilt, Cooney, Giles and Chapman.

Limp wristed AFL 'penalties' aside, Essendon went from being a team on the rise and looking to realise that potential when sitting 12-0, to being completely uncompetitive in a Premiership sense for 4 years and back into rebuild mode!

There was a sense in the narrative that 'gee they've come out of all this well haven't they?'


Well the question is, have they?

What could have possibly been worse??

Was the impact of this saga on Essendon as bad as you thought it would be?

Bear in mind, that they had the support of the AFL to ensure the fallout would be minimal - yet the above all still occurred!

So now that the saga is over, back in 2012 when this story broke, what did you expect the damage to be?

I can't imagine or see how it could have been any worse.
Click to expand...
I was sort of anticipating more from the bikie gang underworld stuff. Dank underperformed IMO
 
blackcat said:
yeah, they have a father-son somewhere in the lowlands, you could almost scout him from Brussels no?
Click to expand...
Proper Gander said:
I was sort of anticipating more from the bikie gang underworld stuff. Dank underperformed IMO
Click to expand...
You know the old saying, it's not over till the fat Dankenstein sings. Maybe there is more to come.
 
shepp said:
Could have been worse but the game needed it not to be.

It's set the club back a few years in terms of their own aspirations, although I never thought their dream of Hird and Bomber coaching them to a premiership would ever eventuate.

In terms of being successful or winning a premiership, they're at the back of the pack with the other bottom clubs. Like with those teams, whether it's Essendon, Brisbane, Carlton - footy for the next few years is all about building hope for the future. In two or three years Essendon will be aiming to win 10 games in a season, similar to where the Saints and Melbourne are now.

So it's pretty much going to be the same Bombers of the last 15 years. Lots of hype and excitement around the future that recent history suggests won't amount to much. As a football club they are living in the past and have done so for almost two decades now.

The reality is they aren't a good football club anymore, and in Victoria you can't be a successful club unless you are extremely well run from top to bottom, which Essendon simply isn't.

So when it comes to the Bombers I'm expecting more of the same - false hope and mediocrity.

As for all the positive media they are getting now - the code needs it. What they did tarnished the whole sport. It will always be there to haunt them in various ways.

The damage they've done to their own reputation and legacy as a club is irreparable. It's a permanent stain.
Click to expand...
This reads like a Bomber hating post - and you may well be a Bomber hater - but it's actually hard to argue against most of your points with respect to the running of the club.

However, one thing I will say is that big football clubs are very good at tapping into an "us verses them" message - see the Collingwood army. An alternate argument is that the Bombers have actually played this very well and got their members to (a) stay and (b) feel like victims.


Maybe the club (putting aside their monumental f'ups) is very smart.

If, however, there are Dyson Heppell types who (a) leave (b) sue and (c) start publicly denouncing the club it might test the victim status of the club as the players may be seen as victims of the club
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Remove this Banner Ad

Similar threads

The_Wookie
Play Nice Happy 10th Anniversary (of the Essendon/ASADA Saga)
2
Replies
30
Views
3K
blackcat
blackcat

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top