Even the article in the Hun about him leaving is all about him winning several trades.The media didn't paint him as a villain. Every trade he made was met with "wow, how awesome is this guy"
Even the massimo debacle they managed to make him out to be a victim of some unknown rule, rather than an idiot who is crap at his job
If the media made him out to he a villain, he would've been out of the job years ago, and essendon wouldn't be in as big of a mess as they currently are
* and persecution complex go hand in hand.