Essendon, where are they now?

[QuietB]

With their injury list it's no wonder they are looking average. The thumpings are indicative of a team down on confidence, poorly coached, suffering from a lack of leadership and most importantly a team missing key players.

Woosha is on this last legs and the team is just limping to the finish line. The injuries are catching up to them now.

As others have pointed out they desperately need a strong inside midfielder to compliment Zerrett and Shiels. They also desperately need Daniher back.

I agree with this - injuries are crippling them.

But not getting the inside mid they need has been a massive oversight and someone has to be responsible for that. Everyone who knows anything about football knows it, yet Essendon did not address it.

Notwithstanding both of the above points, they are still a little vanilla. They simply do not have the quality of a Richmond, West Coast or even Collingwood even when they are all fit.

 

[LB#16]

I agree with this - injuries are crippling them.

But not getting the inside mid they need has been a massive oversight and someone has to be responsible for that. Everyone who knows anything about football knows it, yet Essendon did not address it.

Notwithstanding both of the above points, they are still a little vanilla. They simply do not have the quality of a Richmond, West Coast or even Collingwood even when they are all fit.

This is why Adrian Dodoro needs to come under fire. He has failed to draft proper midfielders and gotten away with it by nailing the trade period in the last two seasons.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

I agree with this - injuries are crippling them.

But not getting the inside mid they need has been a massive oversight and someone has to be responsible for that. Everyone who knows anything about football knows it, yet Essendon did not address it.

Notwithstanding both of the above points, they are still a little vanilla. They simply do not have the quality of a Richmond, West Coast or even Collingwood even when they are all fit.

IMO none of - Stringer, Fanta, AMTW, Daniher, Shiel, Zerrett, Saad, Hurley, Hooker or McKenna are vanilla. They are all good to very good players with levels of X-Factor to their game.

The only quality players in their side that they rely on that are vanilla are Heppell and Smith, but the latter is a tackling machine so he brings that to the table. Before anyone jumps down my throat I'm not suggesting that they are poor, or even average players. I'd include McGrath in this list until he's played on the wing or in the middle more, I think he's got more to offer there.

I think they have enough potential match winners to be a quality team if they can sort out a few things.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

They rate their list on how they perform when they are all playing at their best (see this thread and the EFC posters) not how they perform on average. You can see the vast disparity on the Trades board and see what they rate their players as in terms of value, it's wildly irrational.

So it becomes a search for the magic beans which will make all the players play their best every game, is that Knights? No. Is that Hird? YES! Oh wait that was PED's. Is that Bomber? YES but nah we want Hird back. Is that Hird? YES but not anymore. Is it Worsfold? No and on it goes.

Like the Pies first six years under Buckley, each year they "win" the trade period by bringing in AFL standard players who should make the best 22 better but the results don't show that. But coaches at Essendon who are not James Hird don't get the luxury of being backed in.

Horseshit.

Hird made the finals in 2011 and 2013. He sat out 2014 and was sacked in 2015.

Bomber made the finals in 2014 then left.

Worsfold came in and 2016 was obviously an exception. He made the finals in 2017. In 2018 he got a contract extension. We missed the finals after a shocking start to the season. The shocking start repeated this year and now we’re on the fringe of finals. Of course he’s under pressure, the team’s results have completely stagnated for two years now.

There’s nothing in the facts to back up what you’re saying about coaches being “backed in” or otherwise based on their background.

It’s just the same tired old “narrative” that you’re regurgitating from media hacks and BF trolls.

Like everything, the reality is based on performance.

 

[Milanista28]

The relationship between coach and player is so important in the modern game, I genuinely believe the Collingwood players love Bucks, the Richmond players love Dimma, the Hawks players love Clarko, the Lions players love Fages...

I don't think our players love Woosh, he's all process and system and lacks the human connection these other coaches have.

I don't see the interaction from Worsfold as I do the other coaches with their players.

 

[Take my logue]

Haven’t won a final since 2004. It’s often quoted but is a staggering statistic to think about. What has caused this 15 years of mediocrity? Surely it’s an administrative problem can’t blame this on the coach. Surely poorly led from the top

 

[Dazb86]

Injuries or not there's no team in the league we should be belting by 100+.

They gave up.

 

[WestCoast05]

Essendon are in 7th place with a huge injury list - sure they just absolutely reamed.
But if ineptitude on Wooshas part is really to blame how are they in the 8 (for now) to begin with?

Surely injuries is an acceptable reason right now, it's not like they are cellar dwellars and we are looking for excuses.
They have done alright considering injuries this year imo.
Bottom half of the 8 is progress this season, not sure what people expected?

 

[EasternTiger]

They are on pace for their best EF loss EVER!

 

[Red Black and Blue]

Essendon are in 7th place with a huge injury list - sure they just absolutely reamed.
But if ineptitude on Wooshas part is really to blame how are they in the 8 (for now) to begin with?

Surely injuries is an acceptable reason right now, it's not like they are cellar dwellars and we are looking for excuses.
They have done alright considering injuries this year imo.
Bottom half of the 8 is progress this season, not sure what people expected?

The expectation argument doesn't hold up. If you're constantly not improving why are you in the job? It's one thing to stagnate moving senior players on, but to stagnate with very little natural turnover is indictable.

 

[WestCoast05]

The expectation argument doesn't hold up. If you're constantly not improving why are you in the job? It's one thing to stagnate moving senior players on, but to stagnate with very little natural turnover is indictable.

But you came 11th last season, so how is this season not an improvement?
If you had less injuries it would seem likely that you would be making a push for top 4.

 

[La Dispute]

isn't he cotchin/selwood/marc murphy sized? sam walsh sized? not that those guys aren't genuine inside mids but i think of cripps, sydney's kennedy, jarrod berry even the inbetween elliott yeo more 'beasts'

IIRC he’s 186/187cm and was pretty strongly built as a junior. Not quite Fyfe/JPK/Berry but he’s still big, and hard to tackle.

 

[La Dispute]

Taranto the bigger miss I think. They have guys who can hurt teams on the outside, a big bodied mid like Taranto would have been perfect to complement.

Yes McGrath was seen as ready made for a side getting all its players back. But they just ignored two bigger bodies mids.

Would have been nice, but I dont think Taranto was ever considered for the first choice. Essendon liked McGrath and Setterfield, and that draft was generally down to personal preference for general ratings, hence McCluggage ended taken third that year.

 

[QuietB]

IIRC he’s 186/187cm and was pretty strongly built as a junior. Not quite Fyfe/JPK/Berry but he’s still big, and hard to tackle.

Sounds like your classic man-child

 

[Shanghaistu]

Looks grim for him, I love Woosha and think he's a good coach, but unless something drastically changes, the board will be incompetent to not remove him at the end of the year. He was the right coaching appointment at the time, he helped steady the ship during a time of chaos and also helped bring in some serious talent, but the club is performing massively on field and they are not trending in the right direction, he's had more than enough time to rectify things.

There was also that weird issue with Mark Neeld last year, I had his firing was just a scapegoating thing to cover up bigger coaching/management issues. Are there rumours of such issues at Essendon? Discord in the organisation? Poor personnel management?

I want to know the real reason Guy McKenna left - we’ve gone backwards in 2018 and 2019 which coincides with him leaving...

 

[Downhill Skier]

But you came 11th last season, so how is this season not an improvement?
If you had less injuries it would seem likely that you would be making a push for top 4.

Essendon won 12 games last year with a percentage of 105 .1 so I think it's a bit of a stretch to say they have improved unless they win both the final 2 matches regardless of where they finish.

If they win a final then that is a huge monkey of the Bombers back though

 

[Shanghaistu]

Good list?
I question that

Essendon is about an 8th -12th side

8th is a good result for us - as evidenced by the last 15 years. We’d rather win trade week and sign up members and do E sports.

 

[rumply]

Injuries or not there's no team in the league we should be belting by 100+.

They gave up.

normally would agree but we've played something like 35 players the last 5 games. The club is reaching deep into the list while still fielding players no where near 100%. Something like this was almost inevitable.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Essendon won 12 games last year with a percentage of 105 .1 so I think it's a bit of a stretch to say they have improved unless they win both the final 2 matches regardless of where they finish.

If they win a final then that is a huge monkey of the Bombers back though

If we can stay in and win a final with all the injuries that would be some bloody achievement.

 

[Shanghaistu]

Probably not worth much right now but a Orazio/Wines swap with pick swaps involved.

Get it done Dodo!!!

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Get it done Dodo!!!

Dodoro is going to have to get creative be good if he can some how upgrade both 2nd rounders to the pointy end of the draft.

 

[Milanista28]

Injuries or not there's no team in the league we should be belting by 100+.

They gave up.

No doubt, They went in with the mindset that this was "too hard" and they played like it.

 

[Milanista28]

I read somewhere that we have only won 1 more quarter than Carlton this season. Our position in the 8 isn't a fair representation of our season IMO.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

I read somewhere that we have only won 1 more quarter than Carlton this season. Our position in the 8 isn't a fair representation of our season IMO.

Agree

Our best performances for the year were Brisbane rnd 3 and Kangas on Good Friday apart from that we have been poor pretty much all season.

A massive wake up call and broom through the joint needs to happen

 

[The Warlord]

It doesn't matter where they are now, the important thing is that come February 2020 all the professional media good judge experts like WATSON, LLOYD, GODDARD etc will be assuring us that they're definitely a top four side.