Roast Essendon FC the last 15 years.

[ant555]

This is not one for the blinkered supporter but we have really fumbled the ball a lot in the last 15 years.
Starting pre flag with our salary cap issues and penalty.And players having to be traded away After the flag. With the side we had we should have played in at least 4 Grand Finals in that era.

Then we had our post flag Jackson era when it was deemed money in the bank was more important than
football department spending and we got left at the post with our recruiting. When others had 6 plus full time employees in that area we had 1 and the coach plus some part timers. How we let or head of recruiting , Dodoro, fill match day roles on top of recruiting i will never understand. Letting the coach have his finger in the pie was a blunder as well. The downward spiral had begun.

Sheedy was signed on for one contract too long. I am a big Sheedy fan but he and the club needed a change in 2004 not 2006. The they bungled his exit big time making it look like a circus.

Next we appoint Matthew Knights which at the time i was not against as i had seen him work close up with Bendigo and his ideas where good. His development of players was good as well. Problem was we where still in money saving mode so the only experienced bloke we got back to the club was Gary O. The rest where rookie coaches. I said at the time that with the list we had then Knights would only last 3 or 4 years as we where not set up to get results and to go with a 90% rookie coaching department was simply crazy.
I do not dispute Knights had to go when he did but i do think it would have been a different story if he has a couple of senior heads around to guide him along. He fell apart when he felt he had to manage all aspects of the footy department.
On top of giving him little support we give him a new contract early and then look stupid when things fall apart.

So then we finally spend up and bring in the "dream team" who decide to sail a little close to the wind and we have the situation we have today which once again has been poorly handled from the start although we are not to blame for ASADA and their fumbling and bungling along the way.

Really not a great effort by those in control of the club we love.

 

[Jade]

Pretty much stating the obvious mate.

 

[Kakkle]

Write a letter to the club.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

Don't forget nearly every club surpassed us in training facilities in the 00's.

In my opinion we lost the plot when we let go of heart and soul players like Damien Hardwick.

We also got dudded with the change in priority pick just as we hit rock bottom.

Sheeds was right at the time. The best way for transition was to have someone in waiting there for him to handover to. Not this swift brutal bullshit that put everyone offside.

Mistakes were made and we can't change what has happened. The thing that I'm certain in is the club is on the right direction with the right man at the helm in Hirdy and he'll steer us into flag contention and back to No. 1.

 

[Yoda_]

The poor list management was the tip of the ice berg for mine. Bringing in guys like Murphy, Camporeale, Salmon, Alvery, Zantuck to push for another flag/depth in those early/mid noughties was the hardest thing for mine.

 

[Doss]

The demise to our current state can be traced back to about 1999, ultimately.

One thing has led to another, and bad decisions along the way have punctuated the damage. We've made some good calls too- I think our recruiting in the past seven or so years has, by and large, been pretty good.

Jackson and his penny pinching has a lot to answer for, I think.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

The poor list management was the tip of the ice berg for mine. Bringing in guys like Murphy, Camporeale, Salmon, Alvery, Zantuck to push for another flag/depth in those early/mid noughties was the hardest thing for mine.

Thats an easy cop out and bullshit excuse coz none of those guys cost any form of draft picks.

i reckon you're better off looking at the fall of Mercuri, Rama's illness, Rioli's knee and weight, JJ's injuries. We just couldn't inject any decent young players into the side. Reynolds, Bannister, Bullen, Bolton.

 

[Doss]

Thats an easy cop out and bullshit excuse coz none of those guys cost any form of draft picks.

i reckon you're better off looking at the fall of Mercuri, Rama's illness, Rioli's knee and weight, JJ's injuries. We just couldn't inject any decent young players into the side. Reynolds, Bannister, Bullen, Bolton.

Daniel ****ing McAlister...

 

[ant555]

The demise to our current can be traced back to about 1999, ultimately.

One thing has led to another, and bad decisions along the way have punctuated the damage. We've made some good calls too- I think our recruiting in the past seven or so years has, by and large, been pretty good.

Jackson and his penny pinching has a lot to answer for, I think.

There is no doubt that since 2007 when they payed more to bring Merve Keane and some more recruiting staff on board and put Dodoro in the list manager position
that the recruiting has been very good. The money has been spent and we have results from it. We would be in the top 5 IMO in this period.

 

[silk]

I think the biggest issue at the time was a very arrogant attitude around the club, that just because we are a "big and successful" club, people will automatically want to come there, and that success will just come our way in time.

 

[efcboy]

All valid points.

Jackson penny saving stifled development not only in recruiting but player development, the Bendigo alignment didn't work but saved the club money according to Jackson. Ultimately it didn't as it halted progression for success.

Whether it was Hardwick or Knights would have made no difference. It was a tainted chalice to take - the coach had the dirty work to move on club legends and rebuild with an average starting point for all of the reasons pointed out above.

Hird actually received some benefit with Knights clearing some dead wood and legends past their prime without any repercussion for himself.

However the club has improved (drug saga aside) significantly in terms of football department and development (own VFL team etc).

If we can move on from the saga soon there's no point dwelling on the past - time to focus on the now and the future.

 

[Doss]

efcboy has summed it up perfectly.

 

[dave10]

This is not one for the blinkered supporter but we have really fumbled the ball a lot in the last 15 years.
Starting pre flag with our salary cap issues and penalty.And players having to be traded away After the flag. With the side we had we should have played in at least 4 Grand Finals in that era.

Then we had our post flag Jackson era when it was deemed money in the bank was more important than
football department spending and we got left at the post with our recruiting. When others had 6 plus full time employees in that area we had 1 and the coach plus some part timers. How we let or head of recruiting , Dodoro, fill match day roles on top of recruiting i will never understand. Letting the coach have his finger in the pie was a blunder as well. The downward spiral had begun.

Sheedy was signed on for one contract too long. I am a big Sheedy fan but he and the club needed a change in 2004 not 2006. The they bungled his exit big time making it look like a circus.

Next we appoint Matthew Knights which at the time i was not against as i had seen him work close up with Bendigo and his ideas where good. His development of players was good as well. Problem was we where still in money saving mode so the only experienced bloke we got back to the club was Gary O. The rest where rookie coaches. I said at the time that with the list we had then Knights would only last 3 or 4 years as we where not set up to get results and to go with a 90% rookie coaching department was simply crazy.
I do not dispute Knights had to go when he did but i do think it would have been a different story if he has a couple of senior heads around to guide him along. He fell apart when he felt he had to manage all aspects of the footy department.
On top of giving him little support we give him a new contract early and then look stupid when things fall apart.

So then we finally spend up and bring in the "dream team" who decide to sail a little close to the wind and we have the situation we have today which once again has been poorly handled from the start although we are not to blame for ASADA and their fumbling and bungling along the way.

Really not a great effort by those in control of the club we love.

I agree with much of this.
Off field 2 critical mistakes set the course if where we are today. Point 3 an example of cultural issues within the club.
1. Moving away from the MCG. A big error without a doubt. Essendon was on course to being the biggest and most powerful club in the land. Peter Jackson amongst others ended this by sending us to Ethihad and stunting our growth. Collingwood, Hawthorn and now Richmond are taking advantage of our mistakes and the club is being lapped in many areas: Membership and crowds growth trailing the big MCG clubs as we fall further off the pace.
2. Peter Jackson conceding we had no choice but to re build after 2000/1 to win another premiership. We traded club greats etc. Peter misread the play and Essendon fell down the ladder and list some if it's soul. Many clubs since have proved Peter's theory incorrect and been able to avoid 'bottoming out'.
3. Somewhere between 2000 and now the clubs vision and culture went from being the mist innovative and pioneering club which set it's vision of success beyond the best in the AFL to a vision of satisfaction with exceeding it's own records. Eg: Membership. How can Essendon target 60,000 members in 2014 when other 'smaller' clubs aim higher???? The club celebrates a record membership of 60,000. Forget the fact that the better run clubs are still passing Essendon and setting targets if 100,000 and beyond. Our vision appears mediocre. Not acceptable. No wonder we're not looking like a premiership is around the corner.

Thus is the biggest failing and we can't be successful until the club sets itself targets at being the best in it's field.

 

[doug85]

Hasn't our move to Etihad been a goldmine for the club?

 

[Doss]

Hasn't our move to Etihad been a goldmine for the club?

A goldmine but ultimately very limiting.

 

[Jade]

The poor list management was the tip of the ice berg for mine. Bringing in guys like Murphy, Camporeale, Salmon, Alvery, Zantuck to push for another flag/depth in those early/mid noughties was the hardest thing for mine.

Allen......

 

[BrunoV]

Was looking at our recruiting the other day when someone mentioned the importance of nailing 3 or 4 players in drafts over a two or three year period which forms the foundation of the really good sides.

The wisdom of hindsight it may be but from the perspective of the football department as a whole Sheedy was cooked much earlier than 2004. Just goes to show how important it is to have strong football department management to keep the coach honest and to ensure that the football department continues to evolve.

Look at what lasted from the 1999 to 2003 drafting:

David Hille 1999 (last on list in 2013)
Welsh 2001 (last on list in 2012)
Winderlich 2002
Watson 2002
Stanton 2003
Dyson 2003 (last on list in 2012)
NLM 2003 (last on list in 2013).

This is essentially the middle aged core that we had post Sheedy. Who ever inherited control from Sheedy was never going to last because the club was in denial about the state of the list and the state of the football department.

The scary thing is that as at 2014 we've basically had the same problem with an almost total vacuum between 2004 and 2006 with only Dempsey and Hocking still on the list (Houli, Monfries and Ryder being the only other players that are proven AFL players but are all on other lists).

Contrast 1999 to 2003 with 2007 to 2011 in draft order and following the expansion of the footy department:

Myers
Pears
Hooker
Bellchambers
Hurley
Zaharakis
Melksham
Colyer
Carlisle
Howlett
(Crameri)
Heppell
Hibberd
(Browne)
(Steinberg)
(Kavanagh)
(J Merrett)
(O'Brien)
(Dalgleish)
Baguley

On the players out of brackets alone (those with us and proven) the difference is already remarkable and it will become more pronounced with time.

The fallout of the 2004 to 2006 drafting and reduction of choices between 2013 and 2014 is why I am so against the top up that happened this year. We can't keep skipping generations and expect to be able to build long term sustainability. Let's face it, for this club, all of the bullshit bravado about our history aside, making and winning finals needs to be the aim. Topping up to run at flags when we haven't won a final in over 10 years is really putting the cart before the horse.

 

[Nebular]

Your current CEO took on the job at the hardest possible time, has made numerous personal sacrifices to do so, and is a top bloke and hard worker.

Focus on the positives and the future or you'll go mad....I know from experience.

 

[Doss]

Was looking at our recruiting the other day when someone mentioned the importance of nailing 3 or 4 players in drafts over a two or three year period which forms the foundation of the really good sides.

The wisdom of hindsight it may be but from the perspective of the football department as a whole Sheedy was cooked much earlier than 2004. Just goes to show how important it is to have strong football department management to keep the coach honest and to ensure that the football department continues to evolve.

Look at what lasted from the 1999 to 2003 drafting:

David Hille 1999 (last on list in 2013)
Winderlich 2002
Watson 2002
Stanton 2003
Dyson 2003 (last on list in 2012)
NLM 2003 (last on list in 2013).

This is essentially the middle aged core that we had post Sheedy. Who ever inherited control from Sheedy was never going to last because the club was in denial about the state of the list and the state of the football department.

The scary thing is that as at 2014 we've basically had the same problem with an almost total vacuum between 2004 and 2006 with only Dempsey and Hocking still on the list (Houli, Monfries and Ryder being the only other players that are proven AFL players but are all on other lists).

Contrast 1999 to 2003 with 2007 to 2011 in draft order and following the expansion of the footy department:

Myers
Pears
Hooker
Bellchambers
Hurley
Zaharakis
Melksham
Colyer
Carlisle
Howlett
(Crameri)
Heppell
Hibberd
(Browne)
(Steinberg)
(Kavanagh)
(J Merrett)
(O'Brien)
(Dalgleish)
Baguley

On the players out of brackets alone (those with us and proven) the difference is already remarkable and it will become more pronounced with time.

The 2004 to 2006 and reduction of choices between 2013 and 2014 is why I am so against the top up that happened this year. We can't keep skipping generations and expect to be able to build long term sustainability. Let's face it, for this club, all of the bullshit bravado about our history aside, making and winning finals needs to be the aim. Topping up to run at flags when we haven't won a final in over 10 years is really putting the cart before the horse.

Also, Welsh from the 2001 draft.

 

[Kong]

The poor list management was the tip of the ice berg for mine. Bringing in guys like Murphy, Camporeale, Salmon, Alvery, Zantuck to push for another flag/depth in those early/mid noughties was the hardest thing for mine.

I'm not trying to be a smart arse and I know that this will come across as patronising, but I just want to let you know.

"Tip of the iceberg" means a little part of a bigger problem. i.e. you can always see the top part (tip) of the iceberg above water, but there's actually a whole lot more underneath that you cannot see.

So for example, you could say "Getting Murphy Camporeale from Carlton was the tip of the iceberg. It was a small, easy to identify thing. The bigger issue was our recruiting and list management as a whole."

Again I know this is probably a stupid and unnecessary thing to say, just thought I'd let you know, in case you were interested.

 

[dave10]

A goldmine but ultimately very limiting.

The MCG has been a goldmine for the Hawks and Pies. The MCG would have been more lucrative for Essendon than Ethihad if Essendon wanted it to be.

 

[BrunoV]

Hasn't our move to Etihad been a goldmine for the club?

Or we would have grown into what Collingwood is now.

You end up in basically the same position financially but Collingwood's potential for growth is virtually un-stifled.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

Dont think Knights was a good match day coach but gee he had a tough gig following on from Sheeds. If ever a guy needed a mentor this was it.

 

[yodellinhank]

Won't be a popular view, buy the idea that the players themselves were selfish during the salary cap fallout has to be considered.

Matthew Lloyd finishes one chapter in his book lamenting the loss of teammates and begins the next celebrating "the most lucrative contract in my time at essendon"

 

[windyhill]

The start was the salary cap "ohh, we thought it was going up by this amount" Terrible just to assume , and it unravelled from there. **** me, it makes for terrible reading.