Club Mgmt. Board of Directors as led by President Andrew Wealshy - Ted Richards joins the board

[ant555]

I'm not convinced of that at all.
We'll be relying on a young ruck who hasn't played even a third of a season as the number one ruck.
Nic Martin won't be available until half-way through the season and would likely take a few games just to get back to the pace of the game.
I'm not confident either Ridley or Reid will play a full season.
We still will have the youngest list, or one of the youngest lists, in the comp.
Most of us acknowledge that we have at least a few areas of need on the list, which we hopefully fill through the draft - those players likely aren't going to play from R1, except maybe a Duursma or a Sharp or a Dovaston.
We are a shambles; who are we trading in from another club? Jye Simpkin?

Welsh's comment (and your support) is predicated on acceptance that improvement is linear, but the variables that are possible make the certainty with which he has said this ill-placed. It was dumb.

We might finish a place or two higher but I'm not holding my breath.

He can hardly say we will be crap next year can he. In the history of the game find me a president of a club that has come out and layed out a negative line for the next season.

Opportunity - a time or set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.

We have an opportunity to climb back up the ladder. That is what he is saying. Opportunity.

There is actually no reason why we can not possibly make a rise up the ladder next season. You have listed a lot of reasonable reasons why we may not but the flip side is players like Caddy,Kako,Roberts,Nguyen,Clarke,Johnson,Visintini,May and Unwin can improve.

Yes there are real question marks on Reid and Ridley and Parish getting on the park. I have my doubts the new fitness team can make a difference but it is not out of the realms of possibility.

You do not actually have to have a great ruck to be an okay side.

He is the president of the club. He has to push the positive line. No new president starts of by saying to the members "sorry but we will be rather ordinary next year and our current plan may be a dog and we have no idea if we will be any good by 2027" He also has a responsibility to not shit on the playing group by downplaying expectations. The football department has to 100% believe they can make a rise back up the ladder. The young blokes do not want to hear the president lowering expectations.

Personally I think you are reading too much into what is basically a standard football speech from a new president who has to sell a positive plan.

I have doubts on the time line of their build being realistic and I am certainly thinking we are more likely to be bottom 5 and not pushing back up to where we where as an 11-12 win side. However it only takes a few little positive things like young players seizing the moment and the momentum can shift.

 

[bomberlegend2007]

What he should have said is we are shit and will never be good.

 

[Lore]

Clubs have bounced from 15th to finals before, but I think that sort of jump is at least 12 months away for us. Two off seasons should be enough to put us roughly 6th or 7th, with improvement from draftees and perhaps some other new faces primarily from leveraging our salary cap gap rather than draft picks. End of 27 should give us Bewick.

He also emphasised off field improvement, I think he meant commercially. The way he framed it was “taking risks to move up the ladder on field but more so off field”.

If he can get the club to a point of being financially sustainable without relying on donations from rich fans that would be a massive win.

In the mean time a lot of his messaging actually reads to me like a call for unity and continued stability. He keeps saying we are stable but the evidence doesn’t point to it. I think the obvious conclusion is he’s trying to head off a Little board challenge by co-opting Solly and accelerating the transition from Barham to himself, and perhaps prevent another one in future…?

 

[ant555]

Am I the only one that isn't buying the direction of the club or have I become too pessimistic?

From what I hear, Scott is done beyond next year if he even sees out the year. If the expectation is that we rise up the ladder quickly, then can Welsh explain how that will be achieved? If this is a genuine expectation, it is one of two things (or both).

1. Welsh has no clue what it takes to build a sustainably successful side with what would be the youngest list in the league next year
2. We're going to take shortcuts again to attempt rising up the ladder quickly

You may think I'm overreacting, but there was no need to mention a timeline. The supporters largely accepted the rebuild so who is pushing for quick success?

I'm guessing the very same people that will pressure the club to sack Scott when we predictably finish bottom 2 next year.

Think you have been Essingtoned.

Walsh has basically said "opportunity" to rise up the ladder quickly and as a President he rally can not be selling a much different message. I would have had more concerns if he was saying we expect to play finals next year.
I do not think we will rise up the ladder all that much next year but I do expect the internal expectation within the football department and players is we will. That is a non negotiable as a standard setter. So the president has to play positive play even if it does fly in the face of reality. Would not be a great message to the playing group for him to sell something that does not offer much hope.

There was no mention of the time line because they are staying on the same course and the time line has already been established.
The time line always included chasing a FA or trade. We have been talking to players. We where in the chase for Reid. We are having talks with Flanders. It was always in the plan along with taking some picks at the top end of the draft.

I have serious questions on their rebuild time line. A lot has to go seriously right to achieve what they want and I think it is a bit of a long shot but as long as they stay the course into next year which now looks likely then 3/4 of the plan will be in place so it is likely to play out even if they did move on the coach. It would still be likely that we would draft in the top 10 again in 2026. We will have turned over 30 plus players in 3 years. We will have drafted 20 or so players in a 4 year period.
It could all mean nothing if the plan fails again but it will have been put in place. The play that would really hurt the state of things is a change in direction this year as far as the draft and FA period and that does not really look like it will happen.

 

[Lore]

Do we think the decision to extend Scott was made without Solomon or Welsh’s votes at board level?

 

[ant555]

Do we think the decision to extend Scott was made without Solomon or Welsh’s votes at board level?

I am not sure but right now it seems the plan is being backed by both of them. Despite all that is going on the Vozzo / Rosa plan will make it even if Scott does not make it to the end of his extension.

 

[JayJ20]

Think you have been Essingtoned.

Walsh has basically said "opportunity" to rise up the ladder quickly and as a President he rally can not be selling a much different message. I would have had more concerns if he was saying we expect to play finals next year.
I do not think we will rise up the ladder all that much next year but I do expect the internal expectation within the football department and players is we will. That is a non negotiable as a standard setter. So the president has to play positive play even if it does fly in the face of reality. Would not be a great message to the playing group for him to sell something that does not offer much hope.

There was no mention of the time line because they are staying on the same course and the time line has already been established.
The time line always included chasing a FA or trade. We have been talking to players. We where in the chase for Reid. We are having talks with Flanders. It was always in the plan along with taking some picks at the top end of the draft.

I have serious questions on their rebuild time line. A lot has to go seriously right to achieve what they want and I think it is a bit of a long shot but as long as they stay the course into next year which now looks likely then 3/4 of the plan will be in place so it is likely to play out even if they did move on the coach. It would still be likely that we would draft in the top 10 again in 2026. We will have turned over 30 plus players in 3 years. We will have drafted 20 or so players in a 4 year period.
It could all mean nothing if the plan fails again but it will have been put in place. The play that would really hurt the state of things is a change in direction this year as far as the draft and FA period and that does not really look like it will happen.

Fair enough. I'll still be cautious about buying into his vision until I see tangible results. I suspect Scott won't be here for long so I have my reservations.

 

[bomberlegend2007]

The reason I have come around to Welsh is that he seems like a president who wants success for the club. Being a past player keeps the old guard at bay.

This has Gale at Richmond vibes over it.

 

[Duckworth]

What he should have said is we are shit and will never be good.

It's what we are all thinking.

 

[ant555]

Fair enough. I'll still be cautious about buying into his vision until I see tangible results. I suspect Scott won't be here for long so I have my reservations.

The Scott part dos not worry me as much. Even if he goes at the end of next season the changes in the football program as far as preparation and improved professionalism will be in place. They thing they do have to stick to is what Vozzo and Rosa are implementing and that is make sure we are taking top end picks and trying to get in players under 24 to build the list.
Personally I have not really seen Brad as anything more than the guy who puts the changes in place to get the football department on course. Game plan and everything else is what you build on once you have your program as professional as it can be.

 

[Lore]

The reason I have come around to Welsh is that he seems like a president who wants success for the club. Being a past player keeps the old guard at bay.

This has Gale at Richmond vibes over it.

Yep. I just watched the replay of his appearance on footy classified last night and my mind kept wondering back to the Michael Warner article about a club that needs healing.

 

[ant555]

It's what we are all thinking.

It is but it is his job to put the positive spin on it. We can hardly progress as a club if the playing group are seeing the clubs leader stand in front of the media and basically shit on them.

 

[Lore]

He also said Scott is an outstanding coach and that when he was appointed we didn’t realise just how bad of a state the footy department was in.

With the high performance staff changed and the injury problems fixed we should be much better next year.

It basically kept coming back to that:

• We must be unified, no more factions, email to past players telling them to get over themselves, but Welsh also wants to listen and hear their ideas.
• Stability is attractive, both in terms of attracting players, but also coaches and support staff to the club.
• Fixing the injury problem will go a long way to improving our on-field performance. Can hardly perform at a high level with 15 debutants some of whom met their new coach and teammates the day before the game.
• We want to bring in A-grade talent — multiple A graders.

 

[Lore]

I think it’s a shiny new message on an existing strategy but time will tell.

If we start trading out our best picks for marginally above average players we will know that the plan failed.

 

[Milanista28]

Let's not worry about what they say, let's watch what they do I guess.

We don't need shortcuts, hit the draft, offer good contracts to elite FA in the next 2/3 years, but keep taking our picks to the draft. We don't need to win a final in 2026 or 2027, we don't need to build a team to do that, that finals win will come with patience.

 

[Lore]

More Caldwells, Durhams, Martins will be fine. Maybe an Irishman or two. Have a dip at some free agents.

 

[wiltho]

This has Gale at Richmond vibes over it.

That's a good analogy.

Welsh is self made, successful, has history at the club, appears genuine, says the right things, appears to have broad support....but....is he a good President? We'll see...and I hope so.

 

[bombadeer]

The background political machinations have always been bigger than the club at Essendon.

On field success was only achieved during Sheedy’s tenure because he was a political animal.

On field performance is unfortunately just another lever for these games. Poor performance is just another opportunity to exploit - hence why we can never stick out a rebuild.

 

[yodellinhank]

So essentially, Barham is an actual self-less hero.

The accidental hero. It's like appointing some homophobe CEO only to end up with Craigsy Vozzo.

 

[joey_jo_jo]

The accidental hero. It's like appointing some homophobe CEO only to end up with Craigsy Vozzo.

lots of early missteps and foot-in-mouth moments but somehow managed to get us (partially) on right track.
I guess one thing we can give him credit for is not digging heels in and being stubborn, was open to a quick pivot if he realised he stuffed up.

 

[Vander18]

The only thing I can say for sure is that when you go 25 years without success ( a flag) and 20 years without getting close to it (winning a final)….then the issue is an organisational one and these always come back to organisational leadership.

So before you worry about the coach or playing list, you need the right Chairman and the right CEO. Are Vozzo and Welsh the right people? Who knows….maybe/maybe not.

Personally I want them to create an environment where there is visible care, urgency, intensity and passion on the field and in the coaches box. A club wide belief that winning matters……really matters in the sense that it completely defines success or failure. To me that’s their job as leaders, it starts with them.

One thing I note - I hate hearing leaders talk about stability for its own sake. Stability is irrelevant if you don’t have the right people in the right roles. Good organisations value this above stability and move people on until they get it right.

 

[Lore]

The only thing I can say for sure is that when you go 25 years without success ( a flag) and 20 years without getting close to it (winning a final)….then the issue is an organisational one and these always come back to organisational leadership.

So before you worry about the coach or playing list, you need the right Chairman and the right CEO. Are Vozzo and Welsh the right people? Who knows….maybe/maybe not.

Personally I want them to create an environment where there is visible care, urgency, intensity and passion on the field and in the coaches box. A club wide belief that winning matters……really matters in the sense that it completely defines success or failure. To me that’s their job as leaders, it starts with them.

One thing I note - I hate hearing leaders talk about stability for its own sake. Stability is irrelevant if you don’t have the right people in the right roles. Good organisations value this above stability and move people on until they get it right.

In this case I think it's more about projecting stability than actually being stable. There's a big push behind the scenes to stop the undermining and backgrounding and factional warfare that is past players, coteries, the 'big swinging dicks'. That's why he's on about stability and unity.

And not just that, but also because the right people don't apply for the right roles in an unstable organisation. You want to be a destination for coaches and support staff, not just the odd player.

The thing I found interesting on Footy Classified last night (which I watched this morning) was actually some of the bits Eddie had to say, along the lines of the same thing that pushes the right people away also causes you to hang onto the wrong people for too long. It felt like Eddie Hird and Welsh were on the same page with what questions they were asking and what message they wanted to get out, while Morris was marching to the beat of his own drum, looking for an angle.

 

[Yoda_]

In this case I think it's more about projecting stability than actually being stable. There's a big push behind the scenes to stop the undermining and backgrounding and factional warfare that is past players, coteries, the 'big swinging dicks'. That's why he's on about stability and unity.

And not just that, but also because the right people don't apply for the right roles in an unstable organisation. You want to be a destination for coaches and support staff, not just the odd player.

The thing I found interesting on Footy Classified last night (which I watched this morning) was actually some of the bits Eddie had to say, along the lines of the same thing that pushes the right people away also causes you to hang onto the wrong people for too long. It felt like Eddie Hird and Welsh were on the same page with what questions they were asking and what message they wanted to get out, while Morris was marching to the beat of his own drum, looking for an angle.

I know he off puts a lot of people but Eddie McGuire is one of the best things to happen to the AFL

 

[Bunk Moreland]

What he should have said is we are shit and will never be good.

All he needs to say is we haven’t had success for a very, very long time and we are determined to get it right this time, so we’re dedicated to building our list properly and not taking any shortcuts. We’re off to a great start with some gun kids and that will continue with our draft hand, while we have plenty of cap space for free agency opportunities too.

That’s it.

None of this crap about rising up the ladder or outcomes, that will only bite him on the arse when the factions want to get rid of him.

It amazes me how consistently wrong Essendon can go on simple communications and messaging.

 

[Lore]

All he needs to say is we haven’t had success for a very, very long time and we are determined to get it right this time, so we’re dedicated to building our list properly and not taking any shortcuts. We’re off to a great start with some gun kids and that will continue with our draft hand, while we have plenty of cap space for free agency opportunities too.

That’s it.

None of this crap about rising up the ladder or outcomes, that will only bite him on the arse when the factions want to get rid of him.

It amazes me how consistently wrong Essendon can go on simple communications and messaging.

Was more about 'rising up the ladder quickly off field', and he said he wouldn't be able to put a timeline on specific outcomes until things have settled and the new HP team is working.

Can imagine this is going to go the way of the 8-years comment where it doesn't matter what was actually said though.