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Club Mgmt. Board of Directors as led by President Dave Barham - Statement from Barham addressing Merrett etc - 12/9

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Lore said:
I have similar qualms about the earlier part of your post, in that he’s been here for ages. But perhaps that also means he’s the only guy that remembers Essendon before we went soft.

The proof will be in the pudding, but the issues that he identified are a good start. He’s not waving it through, patting the club on the back or committing to the status quo.


Regarding the latter part of the post, I think having offers still on the table in front of Joe and Saad demonstrates where we are at list wise. It can still go either way. They’re the ones you lose for picks in a rebuild scenario. If they leave we may still end up in that scenario.

Considering the time of year and the unprecedented level of uncertainty I think that’s reasonable enough for now, but I would expect to have everything laid on the table at the AGM in November, when he officially takes over and the recruits are unveiled and whatever.

Curious what an AGM looks like in covid times though.
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The AGM will be very interesting. If he escapes criticism for the past 8 years he's a better politician than Tanner.

Personally I'm not hoping for a scorched earth policy for any sections of the club - footy department or players - i don't see any value in that and have defended keeping senior players and even Dodoro as long as changes/adjustments are made.

But where we are today is sure as shit someone's fault And if we aren't going to look directly at senior decision makers (who have been at the pointy end for years), and make them accountable then who do we look to?

That same article i have referred too alluded to board members sometimes having trouble focussing on club issues over their own interests as supporters (how's an injured player going etc). I'd extend that and suggest it's not a big step from there to see these same people being too passionate about the club to recognise that they are in fact the problem not the solution. I'm not saying that's the case here but it's possible.

Another regime doing their own thing without looking to the market and demanding best practice and best standards is just more of the same - by the same. I hope I'm wrong and he changes the way we operate for the better but the formline isn't strong IMO.
 
At face value it was a good speech.

On reflection, I feel like they've basically trawled through BF, Blitz, ex-players comments and other supporter forums to tick off the 'hot topics':

- different rules for the 'established' players versus the young ones
- passivity in our public persona/messaging
- Dodo's long history and having not built a list to win a final
- Woosha's coaching and public demeanour
- Rutten's coaching and public demeanour
- our gamestyle
- Xavier's involvement in the Footy Dept
- Joey and Saad likely wanting out (trying to pacify the fans)

All of the above littered throughout threads on our BF forums.

Now he's 'addressed them' we feel warm and fuzzy and validated.

It's a great marketing piece and will very likely get some marginal members back on board for 2021.
 
CBombers17 said:
The AGM will be very interesting. If he escapes criticism for the past 8 years he's a better politician than Tanner.

Personally I'm not hoping for a scorched earth policy for any sections of the club - footy department or players - i don't see any value in that and have defended keeping senior players and even Dodoro as long as changes/adjustments are made.

But where we are today is sure as sh*t someone's fault And if we aren't going to look directly at senior decision makers (who have been at the pointy end for years), and make them accountable then who do we look to?

That same article i have referred too alluded to board members sometimes having trouble focussing on club issues over their own interests as supporters (how's an injured player going etc). I'd extend that and suggest it's not a big step from there to see these same people being too passionate about the club to recognise that they are in fact the problem not the solution. I'm not saying that's the case here but it's possible.

Another regime doing their own thing without looking to the market and demanding best practice and best standards is just more of the same - by the same. I hope I'm wrong and he changes the way we operate for the better but the formline isn't strong IMO.
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Listening to it again and I think he does apportion blame in a roundabout way:
  • He starts by thanking Tanner and Worsfold, then talks about failing to advocate strongly for the club and being soft on the saga players.
  • He says Richardson and Rutten will be empowered to run the football program, and then says Wellman and Campbell will have limited involvement.
  • He talks very specifically about going hard with recruiting, noting that the coaches and Dodoro will be working closely together 'this time around'
To me it's a pretty solid indication of having investigated the issues, acknowledged them, and having begun addressing them. He phrased it really nicely, praised the shit out of them, and didn't throw anyone directly under the bus, but that's as good as you're likely to get without lighting up a powder keg, especially when we already have rumours of noses out of joint in some of those areas (indicating that something is happening).

So while he hasn't come out and said "I ****ed up", imo "we ****ed up and here's where and this is what we're doing about it" is a close second.

I'll forgive him for being Director of Finance for 8 years while all that shit happened if the next 8(?) as President bring us a decent run at a flag.
 

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Mentioned 92 hawks loss and 93 flag.

Part of our issues is not adapting to the professional era, the "hated blues" have had the same issues. Forget the bloody 90s, we need to look at why the hawks have won 4 flags in 13years, why the cats have won 3 and are still at the top end of the table, the bulldogs broke a 60year drought. The tigers broke a 35+ year drought and have won 2 maybe 3 soon. The eagles have been to the top and bottom a few times since weve been mid table.

Time to forget who we were and look at why other clubs are doing better than us.
 
JayJ20 said:
I thought that was the best piece of communication to come out of the club in a long time. It's actually acknowledging problems that has plagued the club for over a decade.

He did momentarily lose me when he mentioned injuries and listed the teams we played in the timeframe we did. Let's be real. Won only 1 out of the last 10 games which is poor regardless of the circumstances.

Actions are obviously more important than words, but the right words can kickstart the action. Intrigued to see what happens over the couple of weeks.
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He said we finished the year playing St Kilda, Richmond, West Coast, Port Adelaide, Geelong and Hawthorn over 27 days (6 games in a month, no bye for three), and with 12 players missing. But then said we'd let ourselves down in other games and it wasn't acceptable.

The difference between a reason and an excuse is that a reason gives an explanation, while an excuse tries to deflect blame.

So I think he does excuse losing five of the six games he named. But what about the rest of the games we lost?

The other games that we lost were against Brisbane, Western Bulldogs, Melbourne, GWS, and Carlton, plus the draw with Gold Coast. If we'd won the last four we'd be sitting on 10 wins and somewhere between 6th and 8th depending on percentage. It's not a guarantee of a finals win, or getting past prelims, but it would be closer to what the list is theoretically capable of.
 
Lore said:
Listening to it again and I think he does apportion blame in a roundabout way:
  • He starts by thanking Tanner and Worsfold, then talks about failing to advocate strongly for the club and being soft on the saga players.
  • He says Richardson and Rutten will be empowered to run the football program, and then says Wellman and Campbell will have limited involvement.
  • He talks very specifically about going hard with recruiting, noting that the coaches and Dodoro will be working closely together 'this time around'
To me it's a pretty solid indication of having investigated the issues, acknowledged them, and having begun addressing them. He phrased it really nicely, praised the sh*t out of them, and didn't throw anyone directly under the bus, but that's as good as you're likely to get without lighting up a powder keg, especially when we already have rumours of noses out of joint in some of those areas (indicating that something is happening).

So while he hasn't come out and said "I f’ed up", imo "we f’ed up and here's where and this is what we're doing about it" is a close second.

I'll forgive him for being Director of Finance for 8 years while all that sh*t happened if the next 8(?) as President bring us a decent run at a flag.
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Was he really only the financial guy? He was credited with a lot from the joint interview i read and also discussed being shocked at the saga after signing off on various governance prior to it.

Whilst it's arguable there's only so much he can say at this point i don't think he's gone anywhere near far enough. There is nothing he's acknowledged that we haven't already observed on here for years - including the disconnect between Dodoro and the coaches, coterie interference with decision making, the bullshit messaging, over involvment from the CEO in football decisions, soft selection of players etc. It was basically just coming clean and promoting new professional reporting lines - so to conduct standard decent business practice. It is shameful to be confessing less than professional practices after what the club has put the players and supporters through. Personally i don't think it's good enough from someone who's watched it all for years - but each to their own.

That may be incredibly impressive for some but it's not the sort of leadership we have waited years for IMO. I don't want someone to make sure the same kids have had a good talking to and be assured they will all behave from now on.

Real change looks like fearless exposure to inspection by the best football minds available And scrutiny into every bullshit practice we have engaged in - from process free coaching appointments to the lack of strategy and analytics in our recruiting, drafting and list management and so on. A frank and fearless review of all areas football. A genuine search for answers and recommendations from the best panel we can find, comparing us to the best clubs in the competition.

His passion is all well and good and a minimum requirement to sit on a football board Personally I don't care about his passion or his recollections about 1983 or 1992. I'd rather know how he's suppressed all that for the last 3 years while we pissed away opportunities for better cohesion between the coaching and recruiting department and allowed all the other nonsense to go on - again. I'd like to know how he's suppressed anger at telling fans we are close while we allowed more poor practices to ruin any actual chance we had at success.

Most of us would tip the pretzels over but we aren't deep executive thinkers i guess. Actually many of us would apologize for not demanding more of those around us, step down and get out of the way for someone who would.

Given he has been there for years and can't actually be separated from the failure we are today, a substantial review should have been the minimum offered in his announcement and anything less ultimately won't wash for long IMO - i reckon the gloss will wear off this real fast.
 
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Lore said:
He said we finished the year playing St Kilda, Richmond, West Coast, Port Adelaide, Geelong and Hawthorn over 27 days (6 games in a month, no bye for three), and with 12 players missing. But then said we'd let ourselves down in other games and it wasn't acceptable.

The difference between a reason and an excuse is that a reason gives an explanation, while an excuse tries to deflect blame.

So I think he does excuse losing five of the six games he named. But what about the rest of the games we lost?

The other games that we lost were against Brisbane, Western Bulldogs, Melbourne, GWS, and Carlton, plus the draw with Gold Coast. If we'd won the last four we'd be sitting on 10 wins and somewhere between 6th and 8th depending on percentage. It's not a guarantee of a finals win, or getting past prelims, but it would be closer to what the list is theoretically capable of.
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Yeah I guess so, but excusing 5 games in a 17 round season is still a large amount. We need to internally set the standard to compete against any team like Brisbane, Port and St Kilda recently demonstrated.

I just think the video could have done without it. My personal opinion. The rest of the video was on point. When he mentioned that, I thought "oh here we go again". But he went back on track after that and I guess "won" me over again.

The point of the video is presumably to keep the disgruntled supporters on board. We've heard the injuries, travel, weather, opponents and short turnaround reasoning/excuse for a long time. I would rather be told about what steps the club will take to address our poor conditioning and how we fix what is an insane amount of injuries every year. We'll have short turnarounds next year with longer quarters if the rumours are correct. We'll have injuries again. We'll play strong clubs after short breaks. What's the solution? I'm hoping we discover it.

That's just nitpicking though. I think overall, he addressed everything I wanted to hear in an opening speech.
We'll see how it unfolds.
 
CBombers17 said:
Was he really only the financial guy? He was credited with a lot from the joint interview i read and also discussed being shocked at the saga after signing off on various governance prior to it.

Whilst it's arguable there's only so much he can say at this point i don't think he's gone anywhere near far enough. There is nothing he's acknowledged that we haven't already observed on here for years - including the disconnect between Dodoro and the coaches, coterie interference with decision making, the bullshit messaging, over involvment from the CEO in football decisions, soft selection of players etc. It was basically just coming clean and promoting new professional reporting lines - so to conduct standard decent business practice. It is shameful to be confessing less than professional practices after what the club has put the players and supporters through. Personally i don't think it's good enough from someone who's watched it all for years - but each to their own.

That may be incredibly impressive for some but it's not the sort of leadership we have waited years for IMO. I don't want someone to make sure the same kids have had a good talking to and be assured they will all behave from now on.

Real change looks like fearless exposure to inspection by the best football minds available And scrutiny into every bullshit practice we have engaged in - from process free coaching appointments to the lack of strategy and analytics in our recruiting, drafting and list management and so on. A frank and fearless review of all areas football. A genuine search for answers and recommendations from the best panel we can find, comparing us to the best clubs in the competition.

His passion is all well and good and a minimum requirement to sit on a football board Personally I don't care about his passion or his recollections about 1983 or 1992. I'd rather know how he's suppressed all that for the last 3 years while we pissed away opportunities for better cohesion between the coaching and recruiting department and allowed all the other nonsense to go on - again. I'd like to know how he's suppressed anger at telling fans we are close while we allowed more poor practices to ruin any actual chance we had at success.

Most of us would tip the pretzels over but we aren't deep executive thinkers i guess. Actually many of us would apologize for not demanding more of those around us, step down and get out of the way for someone who would.

Given he has been there for years and can't actually be separated from the failure we are today, a substantial review should have been the minimum offered in his announcement and anything less ultimately won't wash for long IMO - i reckon the gloss will wear off this real fast.
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Jesus.

Nothing short of a scorched earth hard reset is ever going to satisfy you. The same posts over and over, and over.
 
owen87 said:
Jesus.

Nothing short of a scorched earth hard reset is ever going to satisfy you. The same posts over and over, and over.
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Why don't you ignore my posts then? It's not like i - ever - engage you directly?

That or actually engage what i am saying properly and maybe add something relevant? If you had bothered to read anything ive posted I've said the opposite to scorched earth for either the list or the football department.

That or you could just tell everyone how great it's all going to be because the club said so again. Explain how in your experience the same people in being in charge are going to somehow provide a totally different result - all because of some irresistible passion and belief - or whatever insight you have if any.
 
CBombers17 said:
Why don't you ignore my posts then? It's not like i - ever - engage you directly?

That or actually engage what i am saying properly and maybe add something relevant? If you had bothered to read anything ive posted I've said the opposite to scorched earth for either the list or the football department.

That or you could just tell everyone how great it's all going to be because the club said so again. Explain how in your experience the same people in being in charge are going to somehow provide a totally different result - all because of some irresistible passion and belief - or whatever insight you have if any.
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There’s no point engaging, people have tried in thread after thread while you post the exact same things.

There’s been other topics you’ve said relevant things on, and as a rule I don’t block anyone, but when it comes to particular topics you post the exact same things every time.
 
owen87 said:
There’s no point engaging, people have tried in thread after thread while you post the exact same things.

There’s been other topics you’ve said relevant things on, and as a rule I don’t block anyone, but when it comes to particular topics you post the exact same things every time.
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Maybe it's just your comprehension. I've clearly stated i don't agree with a cleanout and yet you accuse me of insisting on it. I'm not interested in sackings. I want improvements. If the key decision makers are proven to be no good i will argue they should go. Because we deserve a better go than that. Many people don't have the background to access how these things work. That's why the members often just vote in a past player or a "Keep Hirdy' punter etc.

I have some experience in these areas so it's not like I'm commenting on the board without some knowledge of boards. The person next in line for the presidents role is highly influential. Far more influential than being 'just the finance guy',. It is also common practice to leave boards if you disagree with their practices or the job they are doing. Another option available to him that he hasn't exercised if he's been so infuriated over the years.

This guy has his DNA in all our dealings for years and its reasonable to call him on it now while he distances himself from the past and points the finger at those he has overseen for nearly a decade. The worst decade in 150 years of the clubs history. It's hardly ridiculous to suggest we could do better in terms of leaders. Jesus.
 
Keep it civilised guys, come on. This isn't the trade board.
 

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CBombers17 said:
Maybe it's just your comprehension. I've clearly stated i don't agree with a cleanout and yet you accuse me of insisting on it. I'm not interested in sackings. I want improvements. If the key decision makers are proven to be no good i will argue they should go. Because we deserve a better go than that. Many people don't have the background to access how these things work. That's why the members often just vote in a past player or a "Keep Hirdy' punter etc.

I have some experience in these areas so it's not like I'm commenting on the board without some knowledge of boards. The person next in line for the presidents role is highly influential. Far more influential than being 'just the finance guy',. It is also common practice to leave boards if you disagree with their practices or the job they are doing. Another option available to him that he hasn't exercised if he's been so infuriated over the years.

This guy has his DNA in all our dealings for years and its reasonable to call him on it now while he distances himself from the past and points the finger at those he has overseen for nearly a decade. The worst decade in 150 years of the clubs history. It's hardly ridiculous to suggest we could do better in terms of leaders. Jesus.
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I'd like to know more about how the board works, if you can please elaborate. I've not had the privilege of being in close proximity to executive management.

Are they part-timers? What do they actually do..? They seem to have a director for this and a director for that, and it seems to be a sort of oversight role that they then report on, and obviously it's the bottom line for decision making. But you look at the report and they don't all turn up to all the meetings, some barely turn up to any of them. They all have other gigs. Is it possible that the CEO has been running the place in the absence of the board being active and present?

And in dropping his other commitments to focus on the club... what exactly will he be doing all day that Tanner wasn't?
 
Lore said:
I'd like to know more about how the board works, if you can please elaborate. I've not had the privilege of being in close proximity to executive management.

Are they part-timers? What do they actually do..? They seem to have a director for this and a director for that, and it seems to be a sort of oversight role that they then report on, and obviously it's the bottom line for decision making. But you look at the report and they don't all turn up to all the meetings, some barely turn up to any of them. They all have other gigs. Is it possible that the CEO has been running the place in the absence of the board being active and present?

And in dropping his other commitments to focus on the club... what exactly will he be doing all day that Tanner wasn't?
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I do sit on a board and have some other exposure to a sizeable football and social club's board decisions but i am not an expert on boards. The best advice i had about sitting on boards was from a friend who sat on an international mining equipment board at the time - he said get on as many boards as you can and get experience but leave them as soon as you see something you don't like. Walk out.

There's a fair bit in directors responsibilities but primarily they are charged with fulfilling the governance responsibilities of the organisation (this includes setting the goals and strategies of the organisation and monitoring their performance) and ensuring sound financial decision making.and legal compliance.

In terms of internal voting and influence, boards have formal and informal hierarchies. At Essendon the members vote for some board members and the others are 'invited' onto the board (with those there can be compliance/allegiances), Overall board numbers and responsibilities vary a lot from board to board and here depend on the Essendon constitution. In this instance directors can't miss 3 consecutive meetings and the directors are also to choose the Senior coach (perhaps a challenging one for the board if this process was ever reviewed and seen to be poor).

Individual board members may have very specific duties (like Wellman in terms of overseeing the football department and providing a report to the rest of the board - Brasher same with finances previously) - as well as/or just provide a contribution in governance and input into various priorities/strategies and generally contribute broad business knowledge and knowledge from their profession (Lawyer/accountant/social media/HR etc...).

Whilst the CEO can sit on the board as an executive director - i don't think Campbell does at Essendon. There can be issues if the CEO has too much influence over the board or is a cowboy or spin artist. Sometimes this problem can evolve because the board relies too heavily on the CEO for core business matters (the board lacks a strategic level understanding of the business and its objectives). Sometimes a board will appoint a poor choice as CEO - for the same reasons and the same result (Little appointed Campbell as a relatively young CEO at 33 or 34 - an internal promotion from CFO via marketing from memory).

Ultimately the CEO should be reporting to and be accountable to the board. In a healthy scenario a good CEO will often ask a strong and knowledgeable board questions and draw upon it's experience for the benefit of the operation.

On the other hand If the board is weak this a problem because the board is responsible for challenging the CEO on any questionable decisions made by the organisation and poor performance. Effectively they need to be experienced enough to know what to look for (e.g a big increase in spend on a project or poor performance of a particular department etc) and what to ask the CEO whilst avoiding any manipulation and demanding transparency. The opposite can also occur where the board can use the CEO to influence and interfere in day to day operational decisions or management of the organisation. Actions that can muddy the water significantly in terms of the relationship.

A recent example of a board removing a CEO was RIO Tinto in WA. Where the CEO ended up taking the fall for the decision to allow the destruction or Juukan Gorge (not sure who will pay the price from the government side !) ...On the other hand board spills can be triggered at Essendon but i can't recall the exact mechanism.

I believe at Essendon the board are all non-executive directors (so not paid employees) and sit on the board in a part-time voluntary capacity (Madden may have held an executive director position as a coach at some stage but again i'm not sure) As I've mentioned they are all supporters of the club (Tanner went from number 1 ticket holder to president).

Whilst these non-executive directors don't get paid there is significant prestige and professional opportunity in being a board member of a club like Essendon. As you mention many will hold a variety of executive director and non-executive director positions in other organisations. My father in-law holds several international board positions and i know first hand these are extremely lucrative (one gets him to their box at the GF every year - fortunately he's actually an AFL fan). These roles can lead to those, and are quite highly regarded and valued accordingly.

Edit: in terms of what Brasher will be doing at the club all day that Tanner wasn't - i have no idea. Interfering? Board should be big picture and at arms length to the day to day operations. If they want to audit positions then get someone in to do it (or review the football department etc) then look at the results - they aren't an extra 10 managers. At a smaller operation the president may be hands on (like your local tennis club president dropping off the banking for the treasurer) but not a business the size of Essendon.There are lines drawn in these roles for a reason. What is known to happen is that in retirement these types of roles can be 'valued' even more highly by the director and self-preservation all important. Things can also get out of whack with longer tenures as well (this isn't just me saying stuff this can be looked up). But either way, maybe he can play on the old eSports gear with Sheeds? Or looking at inside mids coming up at the next draft with Dodoro -I'm only half joking :)
 
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images.jpeg

If these two aren't at the Hangar ASAP, I'm going full Milton on the place.

Seriously though, is there a way to see how he voted on key decisions throughout his time on the board? It's all well and good saying he was there, but perhaps he found himself being out-voted more often than not?
 
Stopher said:
View attachment 970862

If these two aren't at the Hangar ASAP, I'm going full Milton on the place.

Seriously though, is there a way to see how he voted on key decisions throughout his time on the board? It's all well and good saying he was there, but perhaps he found himself being out-voted more often than not?
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So Adrian, what is it, that ya DO here?
 
CBombers17 said:
Was he really only the financial guy? He was credited with a lot from the joint interview i read and also discussed being shocked at the saga after signing off on various governance prior to it.

Whilst it's arguable there's only so much he can say at this point i don't think he's gone anywhere near far enough. There is nothing he's acknowledged that we haven't already observed on here for years - including the disconnect between Dodoro and the coaches, coterie interference with decision making, the bullshit messaging, over involvment from the CEO in football decisions, soft selection of players etc. It was basically just coming clean and promoting new professional reporting lines - so to conduct standard decent business practice. It is shameful to be confessing less than professional practices after what the club has put the players and supporters through. Personally i don't think it's good enough from someone who's watched it all for years - but each to their own.

That may be incredibly impressive for some but it's not the sort of leadership we have waited years for IMO. I don't want someone to make sure the same kids have had a good talking to and be assured they will all behave from now on.

Real change looks like fearless exposure to inspection by the best football minds available And scrutiny into every bullshit practice we have engaged in - from process free coaching appointments to the lack of strategy and analytics in our recruiting, drafting and list management and so on. A frank and fearless review of all areas football. A genuine search for answers and recommendations from the best panel we can find, comparing us to the best clubs in the competition.

His passion is all well and good and a minimum requirement to sit on a football board Personally I don't care about his passion or his recollections about 1983 or 1992. I'd rather know how he's suppressed all that for the last 3 years while we pissed away opportunities for better cohesion between the coaching and recruiting department and allowed all the other nonsense to go on - again. I'd like to know how he's suppressed anger at telling fans we are close while we allowed more poor practices to ruin any actual chance we had at success.

Most of us would tip the pretzels over but we aren't deep executive thinkers i guess. Actually many of us would apologize for not demanding more of those around us, step down and get out of the way for someone who would.

Given he has been there for years and can't actually be separated from the failure we are today, a substantial review should have been the minimum offered in his announcement and anything less ultimately won't wash for long IMO - i reckon the gloss will wear off this real fast.
Click to expand...

For what it is worth he is highly regarded by everyone I know inside and outside the club. It is reasonable to question it as a hand over as he has been on the board longer than everyone but I also think his comments are an indication that we are not just going to be the "soft" club anymore. Not sure what that will equate to on the field but I suspect this is the actual rule a line under the saga period and move on moment.
Two things pricked my ears.
1. mentioning that we may have become soft which has never been in the narrative.
2. mentioning that Adrian will be working more closely with the coaches "this time around"
No one has even gone close to mentioning this before. You say he should have gone further , well he has already gone further than anyone else in the last 20 years. Not sure you can go a lot further until you start to get into a new season and see what is going on.
I think you may be proven wrong. There are questions about what will happen on the field but listening to a wide range of people I think this bloke will be good.
 

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CBombers17 said:
I do sit on a board and have some other exposure to a sizeable football and social club's board decisions but i am not an expert on boards. The best advice i had about sitting on boards was from a friend who sat on an international mining equipment board at the time - he said get on as many boards as you can and get experience but leave them as soon as you see something you don't like. Walk out.

There's a fair bit in directors responsibilities but primarily they are charged with fulfilling the governance responsibilities of the organisation (this includes setting the goals and strategies of the organisation and monitoring their performance) and ensuring sound financial decision making.and legal compliance.

In terms of internal voting and influence, boards have formal and informal hierarchies. At Essendon the members vote for some board members and the others are 'invited' onto the board (with those there can be compliance/allegiances), Overall board numbers and responsibilities vary a lot from board to board and here depend on the Essendon constitution. In this instance directors can't miss 3 consecutive meetings and the directors are also to choose the Senior coach (perhaps a challenging one for the board if this process was ever reviewed and seen to be poor).

Individual board members may have very specific duties (like Wellman in terms of overseeing the football department and providing a report to the rest of the board - Brasher same with finances previously) - as well as/or just provide a contribution in governance and input into various priorities/strategies and generally contribute broad business knowledge and knowledge from their profession (Lawyer/accountant/social media/HR etc...).

Whilst the CEO can sit on the board as an executive director - i don't think Campbell does at Essendon. There can be issues if the CEO has too much influence over the board or is a cowboy or spin artist. Sometimes this problem can evolve because the board relies too heavily on the CEO for core business matters (the board lacks a strategic level understanding of the business and its objectives). Sometimes a board will appoint a poor choice as CEO - for the same reasons and the same result (Little appointed Campbell as a relatively young CEO at 33 or 34 - an internal promotion from CFO via marketing from memory).

Ultimately the CEO should be reporting to and be accountable to the board. In a healthy scenario a good CEO will often ask a strong and knowledgeable board questions and draw upon it's experience for the benefit of the operation.

On the other hand If the board is weak this a problem because the board is responsible for challenging the CEO on any questionable decisions made by the organisation and poor performance. Effectively they need to be experienced enough to know what to look for (e.g a big increase in spend on a project or poor performance of a particular department etc) and what to ask the CEO whilst avoiding any manipulation and demanding transparency. The opposite can also occur where the board can use the CEO to influence and interfere in day to day operational decisions or management of the organisation. Actions that can muddy the water significantly in terms of the relationship.

A recent example of a board removing a CEO was RIO Tinto in WA. Where the CEO ended up taking the fall for the decision to allow the destruction or Juukan Gorge (not sure who will pay the price from the government side !) ...On the other hand board spills can be triggered at Essendon but i can't recall the exact mechanism.

I believe at Essendon the board are all non-executive directors (so not paid employees) and sit on the board in a part-time voluntary capacity (Madden may have held an executive director position as a coach at some stage but again i'm not sure) As I've mentioned they are all supporters of the club (Tanner went from number 1 ticket holder to president).

Whilst these non-executive directors don't get paid there is significant prestige and professional opportunity in being a board member of a club like Essendon. As you mention many will hold a variety of executive director and non-executive director positions in other organisations. My father in-law holds several international board positions and i know first hand these are extremely lucrative (one gets him to their box at the GF every year - fortunately he's actually an AFL fan). These roles can lead to those, and are quite highly regarded and valued accordingly.

Edit: in terms of what Brasher will be doing at the club all day that Tanner wasn't - i have no idea. Interfering? Board should be big picture and at arms length to the day to day operations. If they want to audit positions then get someone in to do it (or review the football department etc) then look at the results - they aren't an extra 10 managers. At a smaller operation the president may be hands on (like your local tennis club president dropping off the banking for the treasurer) but not a business the size of Essendon.There are lines drawn in these roles for a reason. What is known to happen is that in retirement these types of roles can be 'valued' even more highly by the director and self-preservation all important. Things can also get out of whack with longer tenures as well (this isn't just me saying stuff this can be looked up). But either way, maybe he can play on the old eSports gear with Sheeds? Or looking at inside mids coming up at the next draft with Dodoro -I'm only half joking :)
Click to expand...
So the advice was leaving the board as soon as you see something you don’t like rather than trying to fix it?

No wonder you don’t have much faith in anything improving if you think that’s good advice.

I mean from a self preservation perspective I guess it sort of is, but really not at all an attitude board members should have if you ask me.
 
As far as the board and the saga goes you have to remember most of what went on with Dank was hidden from the board with a lot of question going unanswered at board level until the money being given to the program was questioned and Dank was moved on as it was suspected he was moving some of it into his own business. There really was a level of unknown at board level which was reported at the time. The full details did not really come out until well after the actual event. Brasher lead the way in getting Dank out by questioning the amounts the footy department where giving him.
 
ant555 said:
o one has even gone close to mentioning this before. You say he should have gone further , well he has already gone further than anyone else in the last 20 years. Not sure you can go a lot further until you start to get into a new season and see what is going on.
Click to expand...

Basically this; this is the furthest any EFC person has gone towards criticising people inside the club and recognising a number of the issues the supporters have wanted recognised.

What more can he say short of actively calling Dodoro, Worsfold or the players lazy and shit? Which would be incredibly unprofessional and poor from the President.
 
owen87 said:
Jesus.

Nothing short of a scorched earth hard reset is ever going to satisfy you. The same posts over and over, and over.
Click to expand...

It is the truth and ppl seem to be scared of it. Thats ok. Another decade of mediocrity to come.
 
Mr Mojo Risin said:
So the advice was leaving the board as soon as you see something you don’t like rather than trying to fix it?

No wonder you don’t have much faith in anything improving if you think that’s good advice.

I mean from a self preservation perspective I guess it sort of is, but really not at all an attitude board members should have if you ask me.
Click to expand...

Brasher himself admitted in his video that previously as a board member he was not entirely committed to his obligations. His history and past performance on the board is proof of that with the many failings we have seen.

But suddenly he has now cleared all his other commitments and is wholly focused on this appointment. So we all just blindly believe the words he now says? HE has got his chance now but judge his leadership on actions and performance. Not words.

(I understand that being on a board is not necessarily a full time role, but is that an excuse? In my book no. My attitude is a result because I work for a company that has been farked up by decisions made at a board level. 1000's of ppl's lives turned upside down. These same ppl then wiggle out of all responsibilities, pockets full of cash)
 
owen87 said:
Basically this; this is the furthest any EFC person has gone towards criticising people inside the club and recognising a number of the issues the supporters have wanted recognised.

What more can he say short of actively calling Dodoro, Worsfold or the players lazy and sh*t? Which would be incredibly unprofessional and poor from the President.
Click to expand...

lol. Are you indicating this club is run incredibly professional?
 
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