News Thompson signs with Essendon

[David the Cat]

Sensible as usual maxy...

 

[Gogeelong]

Robson from Essendon said that they were approached by Thompson first around round 17.
He also said that he was allways an Essendon person.
(Makes you feel a little upset and salt in the wound)
The Geelong stance is that if you want to go GO.
The club is bigger than the individual.

The denial by Thompson and the skirting around the issue by Essendon are the most annoying thing.

I wonder what Costa thinks of all of this now. Lied to by our ex coach and a fellow club.

 

[Hybrid7]

I would have been a little more disappointed if he had of gone on to another senior coaching role, but he would be doing the cats a lot more damage by sticking around and coaching his last season if he wasnt in it 100%.

Let all the Dons supporters get all up in arms about next season because two club champions are back there coaching...... they will still be coaching a team of spuds!!
I think they overlook that the Cats Dynasty didnt happen overnight!!!

 

[Silverado]

Robson compares Geelong and Essendon to Coke and Pepsi

"If people are working for Coca-Cola and they get a phone call from Pepsi, do you think the Pepsi people would ask Coca-Cola if they could for permission to talk to them?" he said.

Fair analogy, Geelong will always be the Coke and Essendon will always be the Pepsi, 2nd best

 

[Super Gusto]

Cat supporters calling Thompson a hypocrite are very short sighted.

Thompson was doing all he could whilst coaching Geelong to put pressure on Ablett to stay.

Isn't that what you would have expected him to do?

 

[Silverado]

You flog, he was widley regarded as the man who drove Ablett out, now soff back your own board!

 

[maxy87]

Cat supporters calling Thompson a hypocrite are very short sighted.

Thompson was doing all he could whilst coaching Geelong to put pressure on Ablett to stay.

Isn't that what you would have expected him to do?

I think that poaching a coach that is clearly yesterdays man, along with a head coach with no experience in order to miraculously transform your club from washed up wannabes to a force is very short sighted..

Off you go

 

[The rabbi]

Bomber will always be remembered as the senior coach that was at the helm when we won two flags..

And I think we need to be reminded of this. The GFC was in the red when he arrived and the club had not won a flag in nearly 4 decades. I endured years of supporting a team that was called the ****y Cats, Handbaggers, often referred to as soft at the ball (not with out some truth). I do not hear those comments these days.

Geelong Football Club is now a club that commands respect both on and off the field. We can argue about how much of that success was due to Thompson, but surely no one can deny that he had a hand in the team's success.

So essentially what I'm saying is that if your heart's not in it then it's not fair on the club and the supporters to stick around and do a half arsed job.

Exactly. Chris Scott will be as keen as mustard.

I don't begrudge bomber to the extent that others do. If he is able to contribute something meaningful at Essendon then good luck to him.

Here, here.

Our club is well equipped to respond to such adversity, and Bomber had a hand in that..
Perhaps a coach with more tactical nous is needed as the game once again evolves, and I'm confident that Chris Scott will keep us competitive..

So am I confident in a competitive Geelong Cats team in 2011 and the future. And I think that he will be more likely to infuse some youth into the side than Bomber would should he have continued in 2011. I would not be surprised if some of the younger players on the list think that they may have a better show of senior selection with a new broom at the club. I will be interested to see who performs well in pre-season training and practice matches.

Seriously, this whole thing is not worth getting so worked up about. Coaches can get the flick for under performing just as easily as they can quit

Exactly. And it is my experience that the majority of times a club comes out and makes a statement like:

" Matthew Knights contract extends until the end of next season and he will see out the terms of his contract. The Essendon Football Club stands completely behind Matthew Knights."
​

You know that they are dead men walking.

 

[Super Gusto]

Fickle bunch you cats supporters. Can understand why Thompson, McCarthey and Ablett jumped ship.

No respect to the man who brought you such success.

Good luck with that sort of culture.

 

[Turbocat]

In the end , I doubt Thompson has handled it as well as he should have but I just don't see why the emotion about it. Like a wife or a girlfriend PO. Come on.
If it was up to me I would have told to just come out with a nice blurb , "thanks for the time here , time to move on , I will always love Geelong but its time for a change...." but it didn't happen that way. C'est La Vie

Look in the end it , its like the Stones said.
"You can't always get what you want , but if you try sometime , you might find that you what you need"

I honestly think that its in our best interest that we have a new coach anyway. That he went like that is secondary to me , we have a group of mature footballers that only had one senior coach who now will be reinvigorated by a fresh voice. Who knows they may even be a little revved by the way this is all played out. Blend in a young group of players that that look more than handy , tweak our game plan and frankly I more than happy for Thompson to go and hold "pretty" Jame's hand.

"We have what we need" and I look forward to the first Ess match.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

Fickle bunch you cats supporters. Can understand why Thompson, McCarthey and Ablett jumped ship.

No respect to the man who brought you such success.

Good luck with that sort of culture.

Excuse me.

Your coach is the one coming out in the media saying he's ok with people lying to people's faces, and you think we have culture problems?

People in glass houses....and your house is plenty full of glass right now.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

In the end , I doubt Thompson has handled as well as he should have but I just don't see why the emotion about it. Like a wife or a girlfriend PO. Come on.
If it was up to me I would have told to just come out with a nice blurb , "thanks for the time here ,time to move on , I will always love Geelong but its time for a change...." but it didn't happen that way. C'est La Vie

Look in the end it , its like the Stones said.
"You can't always get what you want , but if you try sometime , you might find that you what you need"

I honestly think that its in our best interest that we have a new coach anyway. That he went like that is secondary to me , we have a group of mature footballers that only had one senior coach who now will be reinvigorated by a fresh voice. Who knows they may even be a little revved by the way this is all played out. Blend in a young group of players that that look more than handy , tweak our game plan and frankly I more than happy for Thompson to go and hold "pretty" Jame's hand.

"We have what we need" and I look forward to the first Ess match.

Why? It's no different. Don't forget how hard these coaches work together, for how many hours a week, and between the coach and his board and his CEO and so on. You don't think they take those relationships seriously? Of course it's exactly the same? People get lied to, relationships don't recover...it's no less important if it's a marriage, a family or a footy club (which is a family in a lot of real senses anyway). That's why culture matters.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bothered that he left, and we're better off with a new coach which I've wanted for ages, but I think it's clear as day on the facts that Bomber has wrecked a lot of his personal relationships, and by extent, his reputation, and it's perfectly valid to call him out on it.

 

[Archangel]

Fickle bunch you cats supporters. Can understand why Thompson, McCarthey and Ablett jumped ship.

No respect to the man who brought you such success.

Good luck with that sort of culture.

You bent your former coach over a table, gave it to him from behind, then when the poor guy came up for air, you stabbed him in the back; nice culture there

Karma's a bitch and your shit club will get yours soon

 

[AM]

Excuse me.

Your coach is the one coming out in the media saying he's ok with people lying to people's faces, and you think we have culture problems?

People in glass houses....and your house is plenty full of glass right now.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Well put PO. Anyone who heard Robson last night on the radio ducking and diving when pressed on questions regarding dealing with Mark would appreciate why the Hawks were glad to see the end of him and what an ordinary creature he is. Should fit in well at Essendown.

 

[vinum coupe]

Fickle bunch you cats supporters. Can understand why Thompson, McCarthey and Ablett jumped ship.

No respect to the man who brought you such success.

Good luck with that sort of culture.

Look, I couldn't care less where Thompson ends up. He was over the cats so I move on.

But you guys are rooted.
You have played every card there is and you are completely exposed.

Robson - liar and arseh*le (see hawks board)
Hird - lies under pressure (have a nice year)
Thompson - No response needed
McCartney - ( if the truth comes out this was setup pre finals god help you. As the rumour is now that this all got out because bomber recruited mcCartney before the end of H&A and it was McCartney who spilt his guts)
Corcoran - Salary cap cheat
Evans- Undermined Knights, called Thompson, McCartney, Hird - (used car salesman) Heard him talk recently? Nup. He burns people.

You know it (but I am sure say brashly 'we're back")
The club knows it
And worst of all, the players know it.

This does not build solidarity, it divides it.


You are gone.

Back to the bottom, and no more soup for you.

 

[Maydok]

Fickle bunch you cats supporters. Can understand why Thompson, McCarthey and Ablett jumped ship.

No respect to the man who brought you such success.

Good luck with that sort of culture.

Good luck with yours genius...and I quote...you.

Don;t know who's gonna be the replacement.

Tough gig with our impatient supporters expecting instant success.

Hopefully we not going to be replacing coaches every three years ala Richmond.

 

[Turbocat]

Why? It's no different. Don't forget how hard these coaches work together, for how many hours a week, and between the coach and his board and his CEO and so on. You don't think they take those relationships seriously? Of course it's exactly the same? People get lied to, relationships don't recover...it's no less important if it's a marriage, a family or a footy club (which is a family in a lot of real senses anyway). That's why culture matters.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bothered that he left, and we're better off with a new coach which I've wanted for ages, but I think it's clear as day on the facts that Bomber has wrecked a lot of his personal relationships, and by extent, his reputation, and it's perfectly valid to call him out on it.

Pure , it depends I suppose on who's behalf you are posting. Are you posting as an average Cats supporter or are you saying you are taking into account Costa's and Cook's mindset. If so , yes you are right , they would feel more aggrieved by the way he handled it. Some of the players are probably upset aswell by the way its paned out , but probably not all of them. As Davenport's Twitter has shown , there is always a little bit pus beneath the skin waiting to squeezed out.

The way I have read it , the majority of the posts here seem to have taken it personally , and of course this is only fuel to the Ess fire, Im sure they are loving it. ********s coming on to our board and talking about culture.Fantastic. Again , Id much rather he handled it better , been more up front and grownup about it.
"Things have changed ...... , best interest of everyone that I move on....I will always love Geelong but its time for a fresh voice..." but for what ever reason he took the kindergarten approach , "it wasn't me , I didn't do it , no one saw me do it , I'm sick , its not my fault ...... If he wanted to go there why not just say it. Be a man Bomber , not Bubba. Bubba Thompson , now there's a name.

Well , we will see how much he enjoys being at Ess , maybe he has forgotten the feeling of being in charge of a losing side , trying to get the best out an inadequate bunch of no hopers. Well, welcome to 2011 Bubba.

Maybe Im in minority. As far as Im concerned McCartney is probably a bigger loss than Thompon yet we have hardly talked about because in the end , lets just move on.

 

[maxy87]

Look, I couldn't care less where Thompson ends up. He was over the cats so I move on.

But you guys are rooted.
You have played every card there is and you are completely exposed.

Robson - liar and arseh*le (see hawks board)
Hird - lies under pressure (have a nice year)
Thompson - No response needed
McCartney - ( if the truth comes out this was setup pre finals god help you. As the rumour is now that this all got out because bomber recruited mcCartney before the end of H&A and it was McCartney who spilt his guts)
Corcoran - Salary cap cheat
Evans- Undermined Knights, called Thompson, McCartney, Hird - (used car salesman) Heard him talk recently? Nup. He burns people.

You know it (but I am sure say brashly 'we're back")
The club knows it
And worst of all, the players know it.

This does not build solidarity, it divides it.


You are gone.

Back to the bottom, and no more soup for you.

Interesting points, and some i was not aware of. I promised myself i wouldnt get too involved with this thread but i cant resist.

Some of us rational supporters have voiced our opinions fairly, but its ordinary form to have a crack the collective body of cats supporters. Seriously, you dont have a leg to stand on so dont get all holier than thou on us..

Essendon are an ORDINARY outfit at best on and off the field and if anyone thinks that poaching bomber and installing Hird is going to miraculously transform that stagnant, underperfing basket case they are dreaming. The club lost the plot in 2001 and has shown no signs of improving since.. Theres not a chance that any of the players are All Australian standard and clubs talk about having a bottom 6, Essendon have a bottom 20 at least.

Leave our board alone and let people deal with this rubbish how they wish

 

[Silverado]

You are gone.

Back to the bottom, and no more soup for you.

splendid Sienfeld reference!

When it all goes south for the Dons and they have very little success in the next 3-5 yrs, what happens to the dream team of coaches? Club officials are going to be in a very difficult situation when they have to sack their wonder boys!

Hird will be out the door and will have hurt his reputation as a coach so badly he will leave football all together.

Thompson already has zero credability with anyone but Essendon due to his insipid handelling of this whole fiasco and wont get another gig anywhere else.

McCartney will never be anything other than an assistant due to his not being a Dons man from the get go, will get the brace and bits and will go to a top job somewhere else.

I personally think it will be the Ultimate demise of Essendon, all the eggs in one basket and praying like hell it works.

No magic fix for them if this doesn't come off so I say good luck to the douche bags, may they reap what they sew

 

[MachoRandySavage]

in all seriousness, I live 400 meters from Windy Hill. Train at the gym at the footy club. Eat at a cafe several times a week that their players and staff frequent. Heck I'm mates with a couple of their players and one of the assistant coaches.

But let me say. In all honesty. They (as a club on the whole) are a rabble. I have watched them train the last week. their skills are abysmal. I spent time on both an AFL list and a lot longer playing VFL and I can tell you, if I had executed skills the way some of their senior players did this week, I'd have been running 400' s until the sun was well and truly down for the night. Their player group (admittedly not as bad as it was when Knights was there) are divided. Massive clicks. There is little respect for certain people in positions of power within their club.

I haven't and won't bother posting all this on the main board because the Bomber supporters are pulling themselves at the thought that "they are back to being hated" Fact is that's cool if you're hated for being successful. (See Collingwood) I currently hate the Bombers for the same reason you hated the skinny unco arrogant ranger in primary school who had the most expensive footy boots at training, but couldn't get a kick and cried when the coach wouldn't play him. I actually enjoyed them a great deal when Sheeds was there given I live so close and all the rest of the aforementioned things. They are a shadow of the club they were even 4 years ago, and with the list they have and the muppets they have running the show (see Robson, Dodoro) they aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

OH. and when I see Bomber at Frudeli's or Cafe Denero, I'll be punching him in the front of the pants...

 

[AM]

Pure , it depends I suppose on who's behalf you are posting. Are you posting as an average Cats supporter or are you saying you are taking into account Costa's and Cook's mindset. If so , yes you are right , they would feel more aggrieved by the way he handled it. Some of the players are probably upset aswell by the way its paned out , but probably not all of them. As Davenport's Twitter has shown , there is always a little bit pus beneath the skin waiting to squeezed out.

The way I have read it , the majority of the posts here seem to have taken it personally , and of course this is only fuel to the Ess fire, Im sure they are loving it. ********s coming on to our board and talking about culture.Fantastic. Again , Id much rather he handled it better , been more up front and grownup about it.
"Things have changed ...... , best interest of everyone that I move on....I will always love Geelong but its time for a fresh voice..." but for what ever reason he took the kindergarten approach , "it wasn't me , I didn't do it , no one saw me do it , I'm sick , its not my fault ...... If he wanted to go there why not just say it. Be a man Bomber , not Bubba. Bubba Thompson , now there's a name.

Well , we will see how much he enjoys being at Ess , maybe he has forgotten the feeling of being in charge of a losing side , trying to get the best out an inadequate bunch of no hopers. Well, welcome to 2011 Bubba.

Maybe Im in minority. As far as Im concerned McCartney is probably a bigger loss than Thompon yet we have hardly talked about because in the end , lets just move on.

Not sure what to make of most of your post Turbo. However, re your last para, what irks those who have a sense of fair play is the duplicity in Mark’s departure and the subsequent and continuing attempts at dissembling on the part of Essendon. Deceit upon deceit. It really isn’t of any moment to me who the bigger loss is because that’s not the central issue. As I understand it McCartney was out of contract and wanted to pursue a game day role which wasn’t open to him with us. The opportunity to pursue that at Essendon came up after he had completed his contractual arrangements with us and he took the role at Essendon. No deceit there. Contrast that with Mark’s duplicitous departure (details of which there’s no need repeat here) and you’ll perhaps understand why the fair minded among us are miffed. As Cooky so aptly put it in the radio interview earlier this week - “We’re pretty strong on our values and we trust people and we expect them to be honest with us”. As I see it McCartney would pass that test, whereas Mark would get a huge “F”.


No question it will become background noise as the season approaches, but the noise (and associated whiff) will remain. Which is a great pity after what Mark has done for us.

 

[Turbocat]

Not sure what to make of most of your post Turbo. However, re your last para, what irks those who have a sense of fair play is the duplicity in Mark’s departure and the subsequent and continuing attempts at dissembling on the part of Essendon. Deceit upon deceit. It really isn’t of any moment to me who the bigger loss is because that’s not the central issue. As I understand it McCartney was out of contract and wanted to pursue a game day role which wasn’t open to him with us. The opportunity to pursue that at Essendon came up after he had completed his contractual arrangements with us and he took the role at Essendon. No deceit there. Contrast that with Mark’s duplicitous departure (details of which there’s no need repeat here) and you’ll perhaps understand why the fair minded among us are miffed. As Cooky so aptly put it in the radio interview earlier this week - “We’re pretty strong on our values and we trust people and we expect them to be honest with us”. As I see it McCartney would pass that test, whereas Mark would get a huge “F”.


No question it will become background noise as the season approaches, but the noise (and associated whiff) will remain. Which is a great pity after what Mark has done for us.

Ammo , sorry if I'm not clear or too abstract. Perhaps Im a little bit less obsessive on the deceit part than some.

 

[AM]

Ammo , sorry if I'm not clear or too abstract. Perhaps Im a little bit less obsessive on the deceit part than some.

Possibly. Or maybe, for some of us, our estimation of Mark was so high that our disappointment was more marked (no pun intended) when he failed the character test.

 

[Catteract]

Possibly. Or maybe, for some of us, our estimation of Mark was so high that our disappointment was more marked (no pun intended) when he failed the character test.

Count me in on respect for Mark. That is why it is so upsetting.

 

[Biggy_Boy]

Why don't the Geelong board mods dish out the same kind of Nazi control that they do on the Essendon board?

I guess we're not as touchy because our team isn't shit.