View Full Version : News It's not my fault: Peter Jackson
Ludwig van Bertstare
12 Jul 2010, 23:30
FORMER Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson has accused his critics of trying to rewrite history by blaming him for single-handedly extending Matthew Knights' coaching contract.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/its-not-my-fault-peter-jackson/story-e6frf9jf-1225890938713
Interesting to say the least. He has defended pretty harshly the decision to extend Knights contract but then goes on to claim we're not going too bad.
rhysman
12 Jul 2010, 23:48
We are not going as bad as everyone thinks! He just lost all credibility with that statement.
My knowledge of how football clubs run and the rule of governance suggest that most of the article is factual.
Jackson's opinion about our current performance is debateable !
sen entertainment bloke
13 Jul 2010, 07:12
The club loses confidence after woeful interstate performances.
I.E Anzac day and to a lesser extent last week.
If Knights becomes a winner on the road, club confidence will build.
If he maintains his on road record, don't think he has any right to expect his contract honoured beyond next year.
Next year, during the pre season, if they set their sights on winning in Perth, Adelaide, Sydney and Brisbane, make it an agenda, we'll climb up the ladder.
Ben the Gooner
13 Jul 2010, 08:04
Jacko unleashes!
Good on him.
Longy413
13 Jul 2010, 08:20
My knowledge of how football clubs run and the rule of governance suggest that most of the article is factual.
Jackson's opinion about our current performance is debateable !
We're never going to know what goes on behind closed doors and I suspect most people understand that in the end, the board sign off on the coaches papers.
But we need to remember that Jackson was the first CEO of the club to hold a position on the board, something that he initiated in his time of power.
That whilst he may not of voted, he was responsible for reporting to the board and therefore his opinion would have not only been heard, but the most important and valued at the table.
Jackson did a lot of good for the business of EFC, but for mine, he had far too much involvement in footy. He is seen to have lobbied for Knights over Hardwick (which might still be the right decision) in the first place and he is seen to have lobbied for the extension.
Eleven 38
13 Jul 2010, 09:15
tell me if i'm wrong, but was it a factor in selecting the coach that Hardwick said full rebuilt and knights said we didn't need to rebuild so much.
if this is the case i don't understand why they had a 5year plan for knights. i'm sure that in the interview knights plan wouldn't have involved bottom 3 in his 3rd year as coach and would have involved finals.
wouldnt it have been a better idea to go backwards in the first 2years? as it stands we are nearly 3years in (to knights contract) and are only now starting to go backwards, which most likely means its going to be tough to start moving up even next year.
HyperAgressiveDonk
13 Jul 2010, 09:37
tell me if i'm wrong, but was it a factor in selecting the coach that Hardwick said full rebuilt and knights said we didn't need to rebuild so much.
if this is the case i don't understand why they had a 5year plan for knights. i'm sure that in the interview knights plan wouldn't have involved bottom 3 in his 3rd year as coach and would have involved finals.
wouldnt it have been a better idea to go backwards in the first 2years? as it stands we are nearly 3years in (to knights contract) and are only now starting to go backwards, which most likely means its going to be tough to start moving up even next year.
I think Knights genuinely overestimated the list and future development in some of these guys. When he came to the club, he probably thought Ryder and Stanton would grow into A graders. He would have expected Neagle and Gumbleton to have come along better, would have expected Lovett to still be there and be playing A grade football etc etc. Unfortunately for Matthew these things haven't happened and he is stuck with a list that is, in my opinion, in need of some tinkering.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but right now, Matthew can either lie to himself and the Essendon people about where this list is at and in turn the EFC continues to struggle and go backwards. Or start trying to build and develop a team that will be capable of playing finals by 2012-2013 and will be in line for sustained success.
Absolutely crucial time for Essendon and Matthew decisions over the next couple of years are going to determine the outcome of the next 5 to 10 years for this footy club
yodellinhank
13 Jul 2010, 09:41
Jacko unleashes!
Good on him.
Sounded more like he was trying to wash his hands than he was unleashing to me. The man is responsible for many of our current woes.
The Donners
13 Jul 2010, 09:52
I think Matthew Knights went to Terry Wallace's school of pulling the wool over everyone's eyes!
I can be an emotional supporter from time to time, I f***ing love this club... but boy we're f***ed if Knights stays until the end of 2012.
Ben the Gooner
13 Jul 2010, 09:58
Sounded more like he was trying to wash his hands than he was unleashing to me. The man is responsible for many of our current woes.
A lot less than he's blamed for though.
stugots
13 Jul 2010, 10:17
oh ok, thanks for that Jackson, those most enlightening comments make it all so much better now...
carloss
13 Jul 2010, 11:01
You gotta love the accountability displayed by the Essendon hierarchy.:thumbsu:
WeAreEssendon
13 Jul 2010, 11:11
Quick, lets all hide behind the board. :thumbsd: Fat Ray, your too big you might as well and go blab your mouth to the media.
What a joke we are at the moment.
eastaugh36
13 Jul 2010, 20:26
What an idiot Jackson is.
Speaking of people responsible for Knights selection, wonder where Mr Alec Epis is hiding now??
We're never going to know what goes on behind closed doors and I suspect most people understand that in the end, the board sign off on the coaches papers.
But we need to remember that Jackson was the first CEO of the club to hold a position on the board, something that he initiated in his time of power.
That whilst he may not of voted, he was responsible for reporting to the board and therefore his opinion would have not only been heard, but the most important and valued at the table.
Jackson did a lot of good for the business of EFC, but for mine, he had far too much involvement in footy. He is seen to have lobbied for Knights over Hardwick (which might still be the right decision) in the first place and he is seen to have lobbied for the extension.
I suppose i was referring to the point that jackson after a thorough investigation, would make a recommendation to the board about whether Knights contract should be extended - Ultimately the board says yes or NO.
Management has performed poorly in the media today - As i suggested earlier it would have been more prudent to bunker down.
A lot less than he's blamed for though.
I don't think its possible to be more wrong. Jackson was responsible for controlling the finacials of the club therefore HE was responsible for ****ing up the cap & causing the exodus of premiership players. He was also then responsible for overseeing this club falling behind nearly every other club in its spending on football department matters. What a coincidence that we spent less on development & our players didn't develop as well (Bendigo the cost cutting exercise was his) & isn't it amazing how the club that spent less on things like sports medicine & elite training facilities also just happened to have so much bad luck with player injuries. I guess its ok though that we drafted poorly because it cost us less to have Dodorro than getting a qualified recruiter. Things that make you go hmmmmm.
I don't care what anyone says, I hold Jackson as the person most responsible for our current predicament. He ran the club like its only concern was to turn a profit each year. We had huge membership, attendence, sponsorship & revenue from merchandise YET we still spent far less on the things that matter & only turned minimal profits in the process. Jackson was a fraud. His parting shot of extending Knights' contract prematurely just highlights his efforts to cover his arse. He was the most powerful figure at the club (CEO & Director) so for him to even hint that his imput in this farce was minimal is pathetic.
Ben the Gooner
14 Jul 2010, 11:24
I agree that he had too much involvement in the football department, and that has been to our detriment, although when Knights started getting major improvements in this area (Richardson, Prescott, Cormack etc.) Jackson was still around.
His efforts in securing and improving our financial and off-field stability have been under-sold though. I know the football is far more important, but you can't exist without stability.
I agree that he had too much involvement in the football department, and that has been to our detriment, although when Knights started getting major improvements in this area (Richardson, Prescott, Cormack etc.) Jackson was still around.
Too little too late for mine. He ran the football department into the ground. Look at the ambarrasment Bendigo had to become before action was taken. How could we possibly expect our kids to develop in that environment? Just because some extra was spent in his last year or so doesn't make up for the state he let it become under his reign. Our recruiting, development & player management (injuries etc) were all areas that fell away sharply & Jackson was the man responsible to ensure these areas were well resourced. By any measure he failed.
His efforts in securing and improving our financial and off-field stability have been under-sold though. I know the football is far more important, but you can't exist without stability
It all sounded great making a few hundred thousand dollars of profit every year. He seemed to be doing a great job. When you consider that we had more revenue than many other clubs (high membership, sponsorship etc) but were spending less than our competitors it kinda puts the profits into perspective. Any bum could turn a profit with product Essendon became & any bum did turn a profit while taking it out of the areas where it was needed. We should have been enjoying the fruits of strong support by having the best facilities & services but instead we were rivalling North for falling behind.
The Donners
14 Jul 2010, 13:52
Too little too late for mine. He ran the football department into the ground. Look at the ambarrasment Bendigo had to become before action was taken. How could we possibly expect our kids to develop in that environment? Just because some extra was spent in his last year or so doesn't make up for the state he let it become under his reign. Our recruiting, development & player management (injuries etc) were all areas that fell away sharply & Jackson was the man responsible to ensure these areas were well resourced. By any measure he failed.
It all sounded great making a few hundred thousand dollars of profit every year. He seemed to be doing a great job. When you consider that we had more revenue than many other clubs (high membership, sponsorship etc) but were spending less than our competitors it kinda puts the profits into perspective. Any bum could turn a profit with product Essendon became & any bum did turn a profit while taking it out of the areas where it was needed. We should have been enjoying the fruits of strong support by having the best facilities & services but instead we were rivalling North for falling behind.
Of which we are now most certainly behind.
I think what you're referring to is "tunnel vision".
Longy413
14 Jul 2010, 21:31
But spent a million on a mural that will all be lost when we relocate anyway.
But spent a million on a mural that will all be lost when we relocate anyway.
Aha! Tell me more about this mural? I've always wondered where all the money actually went. I thought we must have been filtering it into the Liberal party or Jackson offshore accounts.
DVD Player
15 Jul 2010, 12:31
You know it's bad when it becomes someone's fault...
stander
15 Jul 2010, 20:48
Any bum could turn a profit with product Essendon became & any bum did turn a profit while taking it out of the areas where it was needed. We should have been enjoying the fruits of strong support by having the best facilities & services but instead we were rivalling North for falling behind.
I can assure you, not any bum can run a ship like Essendon, least of all a bum like you.
stander
15 Jul 2010, 20:54
But spent a million on a mural that will all be lost when we relocate anyway.
Get off your hobby horse, and who says we can't locate the mural to new premises. This brand of retrospective bucketing for an honourable, and highly capable administrator reeks of absolute insolence. And stinks.
yodellinhank
15 Jul 2010, 21:08
Get off your hobby horse, and who says we can't locate the mural to new premises. This brand of retrospective bucketing for an honourable, and highly capable administrator reeks of absolute insolence. And stinks.
Longy has a point. It wasn't just money spent on a single mural. There have been a heap of Windy Hill developments this decade that now prove to have just been a band aid measure.
How much will we benefit in the future from the $1.5m we spent on the Windy Hill "Green Precinct"?
stander
15 Jul 2010, 21:23
Longy has a point. It wasn't just money spent on a single mural. There have been a heap of Windy Hill developments this decade that now prove to have just been a band aid measure.
How much will we benefit in the future from the $1.5m we spent on the Windy Hill "Green Precinct"?
There have been a few good ones too, it depends on your focus. The "Green Precinct" was conceived in the middle of a serious drought and the knowledge gained from its deployment I would imagine to be invaluable, wherever EFC lies. Try corporate social responsibilty.
Longy413
15 Jul 2010, 23:11
Longy has a point. It wasn't just money spent on a single mural. There have been a heap of Windy Hill developments this decade that now prove to have just been a band aid measure.
How much will we benefit in the future from the $1.5m we spent on the Windy Hill "Green Precinct"?
Can you not quote him, I've got him ignored.
It's money that could have been spent on taking us from being bottom four in football department spending and when you consider that we had probably the highest paid senior coach in the AFL, we probably spent the least on the football department outside the senior coach, to spending closer towards the top.
That money goes a long way when adding resources to your recruiting department, to your sports science and injury prevention strategy.
A mural wasn't going to win us a flag, but who knows what extra recruiting or fitness resources might have meant for the 2001-2002 seasons.
Great businessman, fantastic. Did a lot of great stuff for the club, we're very asset rich, have great cash flow and money in the bank and we have Jackson to thank for a lot of that, Jackson and a fantastic board. McMahon was a very, very astute businessman and Ray, as long as he wasn't speaking in public, was is no dud either.
But Jackson oversaw a salary cap rort.
He signed blokes on contracts after making an incorrect presumption on a salary cap rule change that led us to having to lose Premiership players.
He ignored the football department and as a result, we're behind the 8-ball, well behind it.
He ****ed up the Mercuri contract, in an era when clubs were moving away from long term deals, he made a big error in judgment.
He refused to wait to speak to Mark Thompson.
For all the good he did, he bent us over and ****ed us.
No doubt he was passionate about the Essendon FC, but it's hard to think he was anything but ignorant to the requirements of a successful football team.
Can you not quote him, I've got him ignored.
It's money that could have been spent on taking us from being bottom four in football department spending and when you consider that we had probably the highest paid senior coach in the AFL, we probably spent the least on the football department outside the senior coach, to spending closer towards the top.
That money goes a long way when adding resources to your recruiting department, to your sports science and injury prevention strategy.
A mural wasn't going to win us a flag, but who knows what extra recruiting or fitness resources might have meant for the 2001-2002 seasons.
Great businessman, fantastic. Did a lot of great stuff for the club, we're very asset rich, have great cash flow and money in the bank and we have Jackson to thank for a lot of that, Jackson and a fantastic board. McMahon was a very, very astute businessman and Ray, as long as he wasn't speaking in public, was is no dud either.
But Jackson oversaw a salary cap rort.
He signed blokes on contracts after making an incorrect presumption on a salary cap rule change that led us to having to lose Premiership players.
He ignored the football department and as a result, we're behind the 8-ball, well behind it.
He ****ed up the Mercuri contract, in an era when clubs were moving away from long term deals, he made a big error in judgment.
He refused to wait to speak to Mark Thompson.
For all the good he did, he bent us over and ****ed us.
No doubt he was passionate about the Essendon FC, but it's hard to think he was anything but ignorant to the requirements of a successful football team.
Longy
Must say that the debacle about James Hird not being eligible for the Veteran's list was probably Jackson's worst error.
Not trying to exonerate Jackson but - Why didnt other players revise their contracts to allow the list to remain intact ?
Longy413
15 Jul 2010, 23:23
I believe they already had.
I reckon we lost a lot when we lost Matthew Drain.
He ran a good ship and demanded what he wanted and what the footy department needed.
His replacement had no football experience and I can only imagine was some sort of yes man. Little wonder our football department went backwards from that point.
That means that if other players on the list revised their contracts - It was a big stuff up.
I think that the guy you are referring to is Dominic Cato.
Apparently a Peter Jackson appointment to keep Sheedy under control.
Longy413
15 Jul 2010, 23:30
Yep - A yes man.
yodellinhank
16 Jul 2010, 15:48
That means that if other players on the list revised their contracts - It was a big stuff up.
I think that the guy you are referring to is Dominic Cato.
Apparently a Peter Jackson appointment to keep Sheedy under control.
Was it Cato who Jackson chose when Sheedy wanted Balme?
Longy413
16 Jul 2010, 15:52
Was it Cato who Jackson chose when Sheedy wanted Balme?
Yep.
Ludwig van Bertstare
16 Jul 2010, 16:10
So we would have had Balme and (potentially) Bomber if it wasn't for PJ?
DapperDon
16 Jul 2010, 16:11
This thread is starting to make me cry.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8a/Arresteddevelopmentsnoopy.gif
stander
16 Jul 2010, 18:35
Can you not quote him, I've got him ignored.
But Jackson oversaw a salary cap rort.
He signed blokes on contracts after making an incorrect presumption on a salary cap rule change that led us to having to lose Premiership players.
He ignored the football department and as a result, we're behind the 8-ball, well behind it.
He ****ed up the Mercuri contract, in an era when clubs were moving away from long term deals, he made a big error in judgment.
He refused to wait to speak to Mark Thompson.
For all the good he did, he bent us over and ****ed us.
No doubt he was passionate about the Essendon FC, but it's hard to think he was anything but ignorant to the requirements of a successful football team.
If you choose to be insular, that's your prerogative I guess. Weak as you know what in my book.
PJ's assumptions on salary cap rises and the veterans criteria came unstuck beacause of AFL backflips, the guy had unity in his heart and you can't take that away.
Mercuri was a perfect 5 year deal player, one of the best going around and I don't know anyone who canned it at the time.
Bending EFC over is once again demonstrative of your insolence to a highly regarded administrator, so highly regarded the AFL have him on their books to sort out many issues, including some down at the Western Oval.
Yep.
What a stuff up - Balme would have been a great get.
stander
16 Jul 2010, 19:39
What a stuff up - Balme would have been a great get.
Very good get- sacked by Collingwood in 2006.
Longy413
16 Jul 2010, 19:45
What a stuff up - Balme would have been a great get.
Brian Cook is on record as saying he is the best football administrator in the AFL.
Mark Thompson gives him a huge amount of credit for what they've been able to achieve.
yodellinhank
16 Jul 2010, 19:58
Very good get- sacked by Collingwood in 2006.
Cats: 2
Pies: 0
Cool, Balme and Collected: Football Boss is One of a Kind
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/cool-balme-and-collected-football-boss-is-one-of-a-kind-20100520-vou0.html?rand=1274368285013
So Balme remained at Geelong, the club he joined after receiving - oh so subtly - his marching orders from Collingwood at the end of 2006. One subject of an external review at the Magpies, Balme's relationship with club president Eddie McGuire had deteriorated, Geoff Walsh had replaced him as head of football and, in Balme's final season - as he has been known to joke - he spent a significant amount of time sitting among the Collingwood cheer squad, analysing the team from behind the goals.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/cool-balme-and-collected-football-boss-is-one-of-a-kind-20100520-vou0.html?rand=1274368285013
Wasn't a yes man and Mick is a control freak. Nobody ever resigns from Collingwood, Eddie Sacks them before they get the chance!
stander
16 Jul 2010, 19:58
Brian Cook is on record as saying he is the best football administrator in the AFL.
Mark Thompson gives him a huge amount of credit for what they've been able to achieve.
Yes, sometimes you take a punt and it pays off.
stander
16 Jul 2010, 20:01
Cats: 2
Pies: 0
Cool, Balme and Collected: Football Boss is One of a Kind
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/cool-balme-and-collected-football-boss-is-one-of-a-kind-20100520-vou0.html?rand=1274368285013
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/cool-balme-and-collected-football-boss-is-one-of-a-kind-20100520-vou0.html?rand=1274368285013
Wasn't a yes man and Mick is a control freak. Nobody ever resigns from Collingwood, Eddie Sacks them before they get the chance!
Well, the Pies aren't travelling too badly without him, with an inferior list of course.
Longy413
16 Jul 2010, 20:13
Wasn't a yes man and Mick is a control freak. Nobody ever resigns from Collingwood, Eddie Sacks them before they get the chance!
Explains why PJ wouldn't have wanted him.
stander
16 Jul 2010, 20:25
Explains why PJ wouldn't have wanted him.
Anything out of Victoria Park needs to be treated with caution, can't blame PJ for that, especially something recycled.