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

[Lore]

Spoiler: Timeline of events

• 15/8: President, Paul Brasher resigns, replaced by Dave Barham who foreshadows external review
  • Votes for Brasher: Peter Allen, Simon Madden, Sean Wellman
    Sean Wellman

    Age

    51

    Ht

    193cm

    Wt

    90kg

    Pos.

    Def

    Career

    Season

    Last 5

    D

    14.1

    4star

    K

    9.7

    4star

    HB

    4.5

    3star

    M

    4.5

    4star

    T

    1.0

    3star

    No current season stats available

    D

    8.0

    2star

    K

    4.4

    2star

    HB

    3.6

    3star

    M

    2.6

    3star

    T

    0.8

    3star

  • Votes for Barham: Andrew Muir, Dorothy Hisgrove, Melissa Green, Kate O’Sullivan, Kevin Sheedy
• 21/8: Senior Coach, Ben Rutten
  Ben Rutten

  Age

  42

  Ht

  190cm

  Wt

  98kg

  Pos.

  Def

  Career

  Season

  Last 5

  D

  13.4

  3star

  K

  6.3

  2star

  HB

  7.0

  4star

  M

  5.3

  5star

  T

  1.3

  3star

  No current season stats available

  D

  10.6

  3star

  K

  6.2

  3star

  HB

  4.4

  4star

  M

  3.6

  4star

  T

  1.0

  3star

  sacked
• 24/8: CEO, Xavier Campbell resigns
• 24/8: Directors to resign
  • Paul Brasher, immediately
  • Simon Madden, immediately
  • Sean Wellman, after new football director is appointed
  • Peter Allen, after AGM & finance portfolio handover in December
• 26/8: Details of coaching selection committee appointment
  • Sub-committee of 6: Josh Mahoney
    Josh Mahoney

    Age

    48

    Ht

    180cm

    Wt

    83kg

    Pos.

    Fwd

    Career

    Season

    Last 5

    D

    11.3

    3star

    K

    6.8

    3star

    HB

    4.5

    3star

    M

    3.5

    4star

    T

    1.6

    4star

    G

    0.9

    4star

    No current season stats available

    D

    9.2

    3star

    K

    5.4

    2star

    HB

    3.8

    3star

    M

    2.2

    3star

    T

    1.6

    4star

    G

    0.4

    3star

    (Chair, GM-Footy), Robert Walls, Jordan Lewis
    Jordan Lewis

    Age

    39

    Ht

    186cm

    Wt

    86kg

    Pos.

    D/M

    Career

    Season

    Last 5

    D

    23.5

    5star

    K

    12.1

    4star

    HB

    11.5

    5star

    M

    5.5

    5star

    T

    2.7

    4star

    MG

    310.5

    4star

    No current season stats available

    D

    15.0

    4star

    K

    6.8

    3star

    HB

    8.2

    5star

    M

    4.8

    5star

    T

    2.8

    5star

    , Simone McKinnis OAM, Andrew Thorburn and Dorothy Hisgrove (board member).
• 26/8: Details of external review process
  • Ernst & Young to coordinate with support from Andrew Thorburn, working closely with Nick Ryan (Acting CEO) & Dorothy Hisgrove (board member)
  • Focusing on four areas: (1) Board effectiveness & composition, (2) a review of leadership, operations and culture including the footy department, (3) the senior coach appointment and (4) the new CEO appointment.
• 26/9: Andrew Welsh appointed to the board of directors, replacing Simon Madden
• 29/9: Brad Scott appointed as Senior Coach
• 30/9: Kevin Sheedy claims decision to appoint Brad Scott was 6-1 against him
• 3/10: Andrew Thorburn appointed as CEO - alternative link
• 3/10: “External review to be handed to the board next week”: Andrew Thorburn, Crichton Medal Address
• 4/10: Andrew Thorburn resigns as CEO
• 11/10: External review preliminary findings
• 24/10: External review preliminary findings II
• 2/11: Dan McPherson appointed as General Manager of Performance & Cam Roberts as Head of Development
• 11/11: Dean Rioli appointed to the board of directors, replacing Paul Brasher
• 14/11: Tim Roberts & David Wills appointed to the board of directors, replacing Sean Wellman and Paul Allen respectively
• 28/11: Dorothy Hisgrove announced as first female vice-president (at the Essendon Women's Best and Fairest night)
• 1/12: Craig Vozzo appointed as CEO
• 13/12: Board director election results: Andrew Welsh and Andrew Muir elected
• 15/5: The club's First Nations Advisory Council established, to be led by Dean Rioli (chair, Indigenous board member), and including: Leanne Brooke (EFC EGM – Community & The Long Walk. Essendon FC), Dorothy Hisgrove (EFC VP and National Manager Partner KPMG), Kane Ellis (CEO of Illawarra Aboriginal Medical Service), John Evans (Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Engagement at Swinburne) and Che Cockatoo-Collins (EM, Indigenous Affairs NBN, EFC Past Player)
• 16/5: Board of Directors declare support for the First Nations Voice to Parliament, after consultation with the new First Nations Advisory Council
• 28/8: EGM - Football, Josh Mahoney has accepted a role as GM Football Operations at the AFL
• 10/10: GM - Performance Daniel McPherson, and Head of AFLW/AFL Operations Manager Aysha Ward have been elevated to the club executive as joint leaders of the club's football department, as GM-AFL and GM-AFLW respectively

 

[Albertross]

Caro is tipping Essendon still no inside no just bigger club bigger upside.





Everyone else really sitting on the fence

Those sitting on a picket fence are starting to get really impatient.

 

[Call Me Cake]

If North were on such a lead then it makes no sense for it to not already be done by now. Quite a bit of water to still go under the bridge I reckon.

 

[F_therest]

Ross Lyon

"Wellman, Sheedy and Madden were the ones driving the internal review, yet its come out Mahoney conducted it on his own. Those three should be removed from the board".

So the head of footy Mahoney conducted the review?

That's not a review in any way, shape or form. That's just called doing your normal job...in that position you should always be looking at your team under you and looking at areas for improvement.

If he's the issue obviously it's pointless...Brasher is a fool. Reeks of just trying to appease the members and everyone backing each other to keep their jobs.

 

[bonedry]

Regardless of what happens, this needs to be said. As much as I do not like you at all, you are all so poorly served by your club leaders.

Lets not pretend like Essendon is the only club with these issues. Fortunately for other clubs, winning games of football covers over many cracks.

 

[Albertross]

Kevin Sheedy's dream is to have Hird back as senior coach with Solomon and McVeigh as assistants, while he hobbles around The Hangar in his jocks and muttering things about marshmellows.

Thanks for that mental image at bedtime.

 

[tandino]

Can we get someone on here on the board?

 

[bomberlegend2007]

He cleared it up, I didn’t complain, I just wanted to know if it was a typo because she deserves all the respect right now.

Most of your board can’t even spell Essendon correctly.

 

[Lore]

So the head of footy Mahoney conducted the review?

That's not a review in any way, shape or form. That's just called doing your normal job...in that position you should always be looking at your team under you and looking at areas for improvement.

If he's the issue obviously it's pointless...Brasher is a fool. Reeks of just trying to appease the members and everyone backing each other to keep their jobs.

Yep. I think this was discussed on page 2.

In a similar vein, the president at the time announced that a whole swathe of jobs were safe and that it was incremental rather than transformational.

Also not a review.

It’s so far from a review that none of us here have been particularly thrilled by it since it was announced.

 

[DapperDon]

Lets not pretend like Essendon is the only club with these issues. Fortunately for other clubs, winning games of football covers over many cracks.

I think our issues are obviously worse than 17 other clubs. We can't stop denying this.

 

[Albertross]

So the head of footy Mahoney conducted the review?

That's not a review in any way, shape or form. That's just called doing your normal job...in that position you should always be looking at your team under you and looking at areas for improvement.

If he's the issue obviously it's pointless...Brasher is a fool. Reeks of just trying to appease the members and everyone backing each other to keep their jobs.

It's not just the team below Mahoney that needed a review though. It is those above him, along with the shadowy figures hiding in the corner holding the cash.

Should have been external review right from the get go!

 

[citizen-erased]

list of tenable positions at Essendon shrinks.

Rutten
Brasher
Campbell
Dodoro
Sheedy

 

[Bunk Moreland]

More talk about Mahoney falling out with Dodoro.

Reflects well on Mahoney if nothing else.

 

[Mootsy]

Alright everyone just take a chill pill already

 

[Doss]

Probably. No one here cares enough to misspell it on purpose

We pointed and laughed at them tho

 

[Bunk Moreland]

So the head of footy Mahoney conducted the review?

That's not a review in any way, shape or form. That's just called doing your normal job...in that position you should always be looking at your team under you and looking at areas for improvement.

If he's the issue obviously it's pointless...Brasher is a fool. Reeks of just trying to appease the members and everyone backing each other to keep their jobs.

I’ve been saying all along and I don’t believe it to be far from the truth.

There was no “review”.

It was the ****en buzzword everybody was sprouting early in the year and Brasher caved to the pressure and just announced one.

FFS we could have a ten minute chat and call it a review. It’s just another rubbish buzzword that has no meaning.

It’s clear there was never anything of substance.

 

[bonedry]

I think our issues are obviously worse than 17 other clubs. We can't stop denying this.

Maybe...we're not in great shape but neither is Norf. The fact we've torn everything down in the past few days to conduct a full review is more honest than what North are doing. They just think their issue is the coach.

 

[citizen-erased]

Regardless of what happens, this needs to be said. As much as I do not like you at all, you are all so poorly served by your club leaders.

All a supporter wants is their footy club is to be a community group, which offers something fun and welcoming. The Hird stuff I honestly can't even laugh at, its just sad for everyone, including him, getting dragged into s**t he probably isn't pushing.

You all need to collectively punish these people and drive them out. Good luck.

so true
i dont care about finals wins and stats, etc

Just give me something every weekend i enjoy looking forward to.
It's been an extremely long time i've looked forward to an essendon game.

 

[citizen-erased]

Can we get someone on here on the board?

who's the richest here?

 

[Doss]

Maybe...we're not in great shape but neither is Norf. The fact we've torn everything down in the past few days to conduct a full review is more honest than what North are doing. They just think their issue is the coach.

Torn everything down?

Sheedy is still there.
Dodoro is still there.
Campbell is still there.

Etc etc.

Let’s not kid ourselves that beyond Ben Rutten’s morale, we’ve torn anything down yet.

 

[84859300]

Maybe...we're not in great shape but neither is Norf. The fact we've torn everything down in the past few days to conduct a full review is more honest than what North are doing. They just think their issue is the coach.

It's interesting that North moved on Noble, because the players didn't appreciate the hard hitting honesty on their performance and ability to follow game plans; and yet, they're looking at Clarko to step in.

The message won't change - just that it would come from a 4 time premiership coach.

 

[yodellinhank]

Torn everything down?

Sheedy is still there.
Dodoro is still there.
Campbell is still there.

Etc etc.

Let’s not kid ourselves that beyond Ben Rutten’s morale, we’ve torn anything down yet.

Don't care if it's historic, don't really care at all.

 

[84859300]

Don't care if it's historic, don't really care at all.

Not all torn down then?

 

[Call Me Cake]

I think our issues are obviously worse than 17 other clubs. We can't stop denying this.

All we did was change presidents. And the ex-president chose to stay in a different capacity. That's literally all that's happened. The rest is the media.

As for the coach, we have every right to sack a coach - if that's what our decision is. With Rutten, we waited to give him until virtually the end of season before making any decisions.

That's a far cry with what North have done to Noble. Coached an absolute basket case, after taking over for Shaw who was pushed to a nervous breakdown by them, and was given the flick 1 year and 5 months into it. Then you've got them arm wrestling with an 18 year old and constantly having to fend off/be riled by relocation topics every couple years.

They can do and be in the running for what they like, but our situation has been severely overblown by the media. Yes we've called for an external review, but that's what you'd want from a club trying to do what's best for it. I remember watching an interview where Clarko referred to healthy tension and the need for it to be great. You gotta want to be up front and not be afraid to ruffle feathers. Clarko or not Clarko, the club will move on swiftly from the media hyperbole.

North are one iceberg away from literally capitulating, they just don't have the media speculation that goes with it because nobody gives a flying f about them.

 

[TheGrizz]

I'm not a huge Slobbo fan, but that's a pretty unnecessary cheap shot by Wilson to call him a Hird mouthpiece, and to say Robbo suggesting Clarkson should go to Norf to mean he wants Hird at the Bombers.

She really has it in for us, Hird specifically. She is almost unlistenable.

 

[bomberlegend2007]

I'm not a huge Slobbo fan, but that's a pretty unnecessary cheap shot by Wilson to call him a Hird mouthpiece, and to say Robbo suggesting Clarkson should go to Norf to mean he wants Hird at the Bombers.

She really has it in for us, Hird specifically. She is almost unlistenable.

I disagree, I think she is spot on. And I strongly dislike Caro.