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

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    Def

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    14.1

    4star

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    9.7

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    4.5

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    4.5

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    1.0

    3star

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    D

    8.0

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    4.4

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    3.6

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    2.6

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    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

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  42

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  190cm

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  98kg

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  13.4

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  6.3

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  5.3

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  1.3

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  10.6

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  6.2

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  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

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    83kg

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    Fwd

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    11.3

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    6.8

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    4.5

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    3.5

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    1.6

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    0.9

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    9.2

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    5.4

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    3.8

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    2.2

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    1.6

    4star

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    0.4

    3star

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

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    39

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    186cm

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    86kg

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    23.5

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    12.1

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    11.5

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    5.5

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    2.7

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    310.5

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    15.0

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    6.8

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    8.2

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    4.8

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    2.8

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    , 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

 

[fairbump_playon]

Most clubs would have an ultra-high tier of membership, from memory that's a small coterie above the Essendonians called The Coleman Club that's not advertised anywhere.

I refuse to join a club that would have me as a member. And the ones that wouldn't.

 

[andleanback]

“Isn’t going to be pretty”: Essendon great's mail on external club review

“It is going to be quite damning.”

www.sen.com.au

 

[STANTS]

And just how much of it is for a status symbol, My seats at the G are a bay away from the presidents lunch seats (so much so security once came and said I wasn't supposed to be sitting there, showed my membership they moved on quickly, its a High Mark membership but just shows the markup for wel.

I looked at 1872 today and thought how is this really better than high mark which I currently am as well

 

[Beerfish]

“Isn’t going to be pretty”: Essendon great's mail on external club review

“It is going to be quite damning.”

www.sen.com.au

Lloyd warned that when the full review is made public, it wouldn’t be favourable on how the club has operated in recent years.

 

[citizen-erased]

“Isn’t going to be pretty”: Essendon great's mail on external club review

“It is going to be quite damning.”

www.sen.com.au

things Brasher said we'd do in 2020 and earlier this year, but clearly didn't.

But it's not a 2 year thing either.
We've not been great since the end of the last century. small hangover early, but it tapered off.
Review sounds like it was a much needed slap across the face. Let's hope it's heeded. And credit to Barham for committing to this process.

 

[DonsRule]

I looked at 1872 today and thought how is this really better than high mark which I currently am as well

Looks like it includes some food at all Ess home games(probable some saucage rolls/pies/something cheap) can buy guest passes (don't think you can do that with most reserve seat memberships; probably some value but not all that much. Also probably a less populated bar than the HM one but not a huge difference

 

[Corleone]

We should start our own coterie group - The BigNuffy's

 

[DERO]

Looks like it includes some food at all Ess home games(probable some saucage rolls/pies/something cheap) can buy guest passes (don't think you can do that with most reserve seat memberships; probably some value but not all that much. Also probably a less populated bar than the HM one but not a huge difference

What is the high mark a year?

 

[DonsRule]

What is the high mark a year?

$840. So not cheap by any means. There is access to a bar at the G and Marvel. More the level 2 seats.

 

[STANTS]

Back on topic funny the review found what every Essendon supporter who goes week in week out has been saying for a minimum of 5 years. Could have just walked into the Nixon Hotel pre game for the major findings so far released.

 

[Lore]

Not surprised. (The tweet, not the article).


edit: Which now seems to have been deleted. Sam Landsberger, Herald Sun. The two new appointments today were apparently already determined in the internal review from months ago

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Not surprised. (The tweet, not the article).

Tweet now unavailable, what did it say?

 

[Lore]

Tweet now unavailable, what did it say?

Sam Landsberger trying to spruik a herald sun article, with the article being something about Dodoro's job security.

The actual body of the tweet was a comment that the two new appointments (GM of Performance and Head of Development) being outcomes of the previous internal review from a couple of months ago.

 

[frodos gardener]

Sam Landsberger trying to spruik a herald sun article, with the article being something about Dodoro's job security.

The actual body of the tweet was a comment that the two new appointments (GM of Performance and Head of Development) being outcomes of the previous internal review from a couple of months ago.

Reckon it’s rubbish. Brasher was clear the changes would be incremental only. Hard to imagine he had two new supercharged footy dept roles in mind when he said that.

 

[Lore]

Reckon it’s rubbish. Brasher was clear the changes would be incremental only. Hard to imagine he had two new supercharged footy dept roles in mind when he said that.

Brasher was talking about investing in the development side of things, and was talking publicly about going over the soft-cap to do it/lobbying the AFL to increase the footy department soft-cap. I think the AFL ended up putting it up by about half a million dollars.


I'm kind of curious whether the soft cap includes all the other stuff an employee costs, like workcover, superannuation and whatever, or if it's just the take home salary. Coz half a million goes a fair bit further if it's just the take home pay...

 

[frodos gardener]

Brasher was talking about investing in the development side of things, and was talking publicly about going over the soft-cap to do it/lobbying the AFL to increase the footy department soft-cap. I think the AFL ended up putting it up by about half a million dollars.


I'm kind of curious whether the soft cap includes all the other stuff an employee costs, like workcover, superannuation and whatever, or if it's just the take home salary. Coz half a million goes a fair bit further if it's just the take home pay...

Perhaps. Is there any news on the soft cap going up? I don’t even know if that stuff gets publicised, but it’d be a missed opportunity for AFL House not to spruik it as a chance for clubs to invest more in player support services, indigenous officers etc.

 

[Lore]

Perhaps. Is there any news on the soft cap going up? I don’t even know if that stuff gets publicised, but it’d be a missed opportunity for AFL House not to spruik it as a chance for clubs to invest more in player support services, indigenous officers etc.

Updated Club Football Department Soft Cap Policy 2023/24

Australian Football League. All the latest AFL news, video, results and information

www.afl.com.au

AFL boosts soft cap, coaches hail 'step in the right direction'

All 18 clubs will have a total increase of $750,000 in their football department soft cap over the next two years

www.afl.com.au

About 11.15:

Essendon president Paul Brasher (31.5.22)

After it was announced Essendon will be conducting a review of their football department, president Paul Brasher joined Gerard to answer all the burning questions surrounding it.

player.whooshkaa.com

 

[frodos gardener]

Updated Club Football Department Soft Cap Policy 2023/24

Australian Football League. All the latest AFL news, video, results and information

www.afl.com.au

AFL boosts soft cap, coaches hail 'step in the right direction'

All 18 clubs will have a total increase of $750,000 in their football department soft cap over the next two years

www.afl.com.au

About 11.15:

Essendon president Paul Brasher (31.5.22)

After it was announced Essendon will be conducting a review of their football department, president Paul Brasher joined Gerard to answer all the burning questions surrounding it.

player.whooshkaa.com

Cheers. Seems like he had a bit of a slant on clubs’ player personal development roles being excluded from the soft cap (which I agree is a great thing to do).

Edit: aside from raising the overall soft cap.

 

[yaco55]

No this our mess, own it, don't blame the afl

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

You don't understand how these appointments work - Firstly, Ernst and Young the headhunters who are supposed to select suitable candidates who go through their vetting process before being presented to the club - Then the club interviews the candidates for suitability and EFC will probably contact one or two referees seeking additional information before making a final decision - Then any CEO appointment must be ratified by the AFL who have the power to reject the nomination ( nominations have previously been rejected ) Then the appointment is made - And in this case the AFL would be aware of Thorburn's background having worked with them through the NAB partnership with the AFL.

 

[Godzke]

You don't understand how these appointments work - Firstly, Ernst and Young the headhunters who are supposed to select suitable candidates who go through their vetting process before being presented to the club - Then the club interviews the candidates for suitability and EFC will probably contact one or two referees seeking additional information before making a final decision - Then any CEO appointment must be ratified by the AFL who have the power to reject the nomination ( nominations have previously been rejected ) Then the appointment is made - And in this case the AFL would be aware of Thorburn's background having worked with them through the NAB partnership with the AFL.

So if essendon forgets to wipe its own arse we cry to mummy? Again, your post changes nothing. I knew all that already.

We blabbed on about how great OUR process was (including to the AFL) and it ****ed up. Not the AFL's fault.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

 

[thebigboy]

Reckon it’s rubbish. Brasher was clear the changes would be incremental only. Hard to imagine he had two new supercharged footy dept roles in mind when he said that.

They might have been in the findings, but you know it would have been a watered down role given to a Mark Harvey style old boy.

 

[Vander18]

Who would our GM of Performance be? Why not just a manager of performance, why a GM? Someone who wouldn't take the job without the fancier title?

And who would we line up for a Head of Development role?

Room in the budget for Yze, Choco, or any of the others we were thinking about as senior coaches?

The GM Performance role doesn’t sound particularly well thought through tbh - listening to Mahoney talk about it I couldn’t discern what real responsibility the role had, what it actually owned. Stuff not falling through the cracks seemed to be the gist of it…..in my world GM’s are responsible for making sure that doesn’t happen in their own function. It’s called attention to detail.

 

[citizen-erased]

The GM Performance role doesn’t sound particularly well thought through tbh - listening to Mahoney talk about it I couldn’t discern what real responsibility the role had, what it actually owned. Stuff not falling through the cracks seemed to be the gist of it…..in my world GM’s are responsible for making sure that doesn’t happen in their own function. It’s called attention to detail.

Suspect it's a role that helps Mahoney out with keeping people accountable in their roles, but rather than doing so at checkpoints, they become accountable for it ongoing.
Imagine whoever it is works closely to tie together the various programs we have across development, coaching, strategy, fitness/conditioning, etc.

 

[Vander18]

Suspect it's a role that helps Mahoney out with keeping people accountable in their roles, but rather than doing so at checkpoints, they become accountable for it ongoing.
Imagine whoever it is works closely to tie together the various programs we have across development, coaching, strategy, fitness/conditioning, etc.

So he/she is accountable for keeping others accountable?

 

[citizen-erased]

So he/she is accountable for keeping others accountable?

my guess.
its a layer building exercise so Mahoney can focus his efforts, rather than micro-manage every little part of the club.
Expect we'll have a few appointments like this - performance, development, VFL, women's football program (AFLW/VFLW)