Club Mgmt. The Rebuild - where did it all go wrong?

[Yoda_]

Unsure where to put this but seems this is probably going to get a real work out over the next little while.

With so much commentary about where it all went wrong, a small time line of major events in recent years can begin the light of how we ended up in this cluster****

My very very limited research to which may not be 100% accurate but timeline still stands.

(2019 - Essendon finish 8th, 55 point loss to WCE)

(2020 - Essendon finish 13th)

May 2020
- Robert Forster-Knights

(2021 - Essendon finish 8th, 49 point loss to WB)

15 August, 2022

• Paul Brasher re signs as President
• Dave Barham appointed President

23 August, 2022
- Xavier Campbell resigns as CEO

September 29, 2022
- Brad Scott appointed by panel including Jordan Lewis, Robert Walls, Simone McKinnis, Josh Mahoney

October 1, 2022
- Andrew Thorburn elected CEO

October 2, 2022
- Andrew Thorburn resigns as CEO

10 August, 2022
- Josh Mahoney steps down

(2022 - Essendon finish 15th)

February, 2023
- Craig Vozzo appointed new CEO

19 September, 2023
- Matt Rosa appointed

(2023 - Essendon finish 11th)

15 August, 2024
- Kevin Sheedy steps down from board

16 August, 2024
- Adrian Dodoro steps away for persona leave

November 2024
- Confirmation Adrian Dodoro been removed from position

(2024 - Essendon finish 11th)

25 March, 2025
- Essendon come out without admitting a re build will be under taken

(Essendon after 2 games has one of our worst % in recent years

Few notes I observe.

Scott appointed and this is his third year with this group. Obviously year one (2023) was about getting an idea of where the list is at. Year two (2024) was about seeing what the group could do. year three (2025) is now and admittance it is no where near where it should be at.

The cross factor to Scott is the Rosa appointment. He was appointed at the end of 2023 so really only 2024 to see what the list could do. With some success at WCE, Rosa has obviously said to Scott and upper management that the list is no where near good enough.

This makes so much more sense why Scott was given an extra year.
2025 is about seeing what the youth could do, we added 7 x 18 year olds in the last off season.
2026 is about adding more youth, we hold 2 x firsts, 2 x seconds and have a small plethora of NGA kids available (El-Achkar, Leeds, Sweid, Olasenka etc).
2027 is the added year and the one that makes sense now. Will be year three of having this young group and could very well be on the right track or the club will be able to see if Scott is / is not the right man for the job moving forward.

The stability the club now has in some key positions is enjoyable. Vozzo seems like an incredibly good operator and one who doesn't want to be on the face of everything. Ditto Rosa. I haven't heard from Barham which is another positive imho


Hoping the stability off field in these key roles can lead to stability the field if we can get better development coaches and a constant improvement in the VFL program.

Thoughts?

 

[Red Black and Blue]

Taking about 1 mid and small forward between 2016 and 2021 is probably the answer.

 

[dank420_]

What rebuild?

 

[BomberManU]

Pretty depressing timeline.
I'm all aboard for a 'rebuild' and reasonably happy with Scott leading the rebuild - for now. I still think a year has been wasted, but here we are.
Very happy with the off-field.

 

[fairbump_playon]

Hang tight

A lot of wailing at round 2

What was it that made people think we would be better this year than last?

Honestly think we are probably on track. It will take a few years. We will be terrible sometimes

Off field is way better. Reckon we got a good crop last year. It’s hard after so long but people just need to chill.

 

[Yoda_]

Hang tight

A lot of wailing at round 2

What was it that made people think we would be better this year than last?

Honestly think we are probably on track. It will take a few years. We will be terrible sometimes

Off field is way better. Reckon we got a good crop last year. It’s hard after so long but people just need to chill.

I thought we’d go backwards, didn’t take rocket science to work it out


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Agronomus]

It went wrong at the end of 2007 when the club gave in to the media and the millenials who wanted the quick fixes, and got rid of Sheedy without an actual plan to take the club forward themselves.
We who were lucky enough to be nuffies during Sheeds' highest of highs and lowest of lows can handle the emotional roller-coaster. Millenials gotta shut up or nut up!

 

[thebigboy]

 

[brutus76]

Drafting kids that break down easily or can't kick apart from Massimo but oh well let him go

 

[IHurley]

We didn't take players who were hard runners.

We didn't take players who could kick.

We didn't take players with genuine leg speed.

We didn't take players with high footy IQ.

We didn't take players who were athletic enough.

We didn't take players who could take contested marks.

We didn't take players who could contest the hard ball.

We didn't take players who could win the footy on the spread.

We didn't take players with exemplary leadership skills.

We didn't take players who were aggressive enough.

We didn't work the players hard enough.

We copped too many stress injuries.

We didn't take coaches with any premiership success either as coaches or players.

The unpleasant fact is that there were no systematic errors - unpleasant because an imminent reversal is largely beyond our control.

 

[Yoda_]

View attachment 2261694

How is the Kane Cornes pile on about the damage the man on the left in this photo has done is bordering on lazy journalism

 

[thebigboy]

How is the Kane Cornes pile on about the damage the man on the left in this photo has done is bordering on lazy journalism

Little bit of jest with it.

Realistically, there is more to blame than those 2. If I was to seriously point the finger of where things went wrong with any rebuild, it would be the board over the past 20 years making horrendous, self-serving decisions that weren’t in the best interest of the club and allowing for poor culture and governance that poisoned the soul of the club.

 

[Yoda_]

Little bit of jest with it.

Realistically, there is more to blame than those 2. If I was to seriously point the finger of where things went wrong with any rebuild, it would be the board over the past 20 years making horrendous, self-serving decisions that weren’t in the best interest of the club and allowing for poor culture and governance that poisoned the soul of the club.

Rohan Connoly pointed out that although Adrian Dodoro made some ordinary decisions over his tenure, the fact that his bosses did not have the guts to call him out or make him accountable is even worse

A cluster of* really

 

[ant555]

Where did it go wrong. In lots of places but the biggest one for me was not having a genuine list building plan and shuffling through several coaches. It has left us in a spot where we have just drafted players in a adhoc sort of way and the revolving door of coaches has hurt. People ask how the Hawks have passed us. Apart from the fact the where coming from a base of success they had a long term list build plan and an aligned vision of where they where going. That vision was strong enough for them to off load Clarkson after he started trying to push back on that plan and freeze out Mitchell. They knew how they wanted to play and the recruited to fit that plan.
Melbourne did a similar thing was back when Taylor insisted that competitor was the number 1 box ticked.
We have spent too long not ticking of boxes like endurance running or leadership or competitor. Instead it has been "we think this bloke can be a bog body midfielder " or similar.
The 2020 draft has fried us.
The total lack of spend on player development has hurt.

 

[crackers65]

Little bit of jest with it.

Realistically, there is more to blame than those 2. If I was to seriously point the finger of where things went wrong with any rebuild, it would be the board over the past 20 years making horrendous, self-serving decisions that weren’t in the best interest of the club and allowing for poor culture and governance that poisoned the soul of the club.

Yep, the fish rots at the head. Weak leadership filters right through the whole organisation.

 

[silk]

Pretty depressing timeline.
I'm all aboard for a 'rebuild' and reasonably happy with Scott leading the rebuild - for now. I still think a year has been wasted, but here we are.
Very happy with the off-field.

I would agree, except that we got rid of Dodoro last year; took 2 years for that to happen.

 

[silk]

It went wrong at the end of 2007 when the club gave in to the media and the millenials who wanted the quick fixes, and got rid of Sheedy without an actual plan to take the club forward themselves.
We who were lucky enough to be nuffies during Sheeds' highest of highs and lowest of lows can handle the emotional roller-coaster. Millenials gotta shut up or nut up!

More the fact that we went bargain basement with Coach and Assistants, and everything else really.

 

[fanuch]

What rebuild?

I came here to say this

 

[BratPack]

Not sacking Dudoro 15 years ago

 

[Red Black and Blue]

biggest one for me was not having a genuine list building plan

The question for now is, can you have one of these with a tactically limited (inept) coach?

 

[fairbump_playon]

The question for now is, can you have one of these with a tactically limited (inept) coach?

Scott could undoubtedly be an awesome football manager. His game day skills are neither here nor there. He and Rosa will work well together

Last years draft could turn up a lot of good players for us

It’s already feeling different to Dodoro era

 

[Vindicater]

Scott could undoubtedly be an awesome football manager. His game day skills are neither here nor there. He and Rosa will work well together

Last years draft could turn up a lot of good players for us

It’s already feeling different to Dodoro era

It felt different because we drafted five players.

All of which were in a position of need.

 

[Squeaky]

Little bit of jest with it.

Realistically, there is more to blame than those 2. If I was to seriously point the finger of where things went wrong with any rebuild, it would be the board over the past 20 years making horrendous, self-serving decisions that weren’t in the best interest of the club and allowing for poor culture and governance that poisoned the soul of the club.

Correct

 

[Squeaky]

Having just heard Ro Co on the Lunchtime Podcast, he reckons we tried to snatch at success and cut some corners after 2017 finals appearance. Think the The SSS recruits plus Shiel the following year.
I tend to agree although the off field leadership was horrendous right from that 2007 period when we saw off Hird and Sheeds.
I think the current off field drivers are doing a good job and we need to give them time, patience etc. Saying that, I have stopped giving the EFC any $... a couple of seasons ago was enough for me.

 

[BomberManU]

What was it that made people think we would be better this year than last?

Got games into kids last year, another pre-season under Scott to reinforce game plan, relatively injury free over the off season, despite being young we still have a number of experienced players - don't think it's out of reality to expect improvement and who knows, by the end of the season there might be. (Not talking 'win a final' improvement)
IMO, the loss v Hawks was fine, first up. Last week wasn't fine, no matter where you are in your development.