Analysis Essendon Football Club - An Observation Analysis (NB: Long Post)

[DapperJong]

We would be in a much much worse position coming out of the saga without BJ.

 

[Shane Heard]

We would be in a much much worse position coming out of the saga without BJ.

thats rubbish

how much worse could it have been

BG devotees are like Stanton ones.

They both apparently walk on water and can never do no wrong

 

[eth-dog]

thats rubbish

how much worse could it have been

BG devotees are like Stanton ones.

They both apparently walk on water and can never do no wrong

It's funny, I was about to make that comparison too.

You have it in your head that he was a poor leader and was unpopular amongst the playing group despite all the evidence to the contrary, now you outlandishly state that their fans think they're flawless. The reality is you're throwing another tantrum because people disagree with you.

 

[DapperJong]

thats rubbish

how much worse could it have been

BG devotees are like Stanton ones.

They both apparently walk on water and can never do no wrong

What are you basing your opinion on? The pretzel incident?

BJ had the players believing in themselves when we weren’t meant to be getting close to any team in any game. And he believed it to. Comments like a movie being made one day, that stuff is sheeds like. I reckon we would have had a lot more players leave the club if he wasn’t around. We would be ****ed.

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

BJ went on one year too long. No defensive ability in his second last year, had come to a crawl and couldn't defend anyone. Similar to Stantons last 3 years and currently Zaka's last few years.

There is zero courage from anyone in any position in the club to make a bold decision.

Can't win flag with Hooker and Hurley together. Must make way for younger generation.

Zaka - past it. Slowed to a crawl and is just not committed to the contest enough. You can't be an outside player with no pace or ability to compete and mark. See Stanton from yesteryear.

Just have a look at this list of over 27's at out our club:

TBC
Zaka
Phillips
McKernan
Townsend

There is not one club in the league that these guys would start in and there is barely a club in the league that would have them on the list. We have all of them.

 

[owen87]

BJ went on one year too long. No defensive ability in his second last year, had come to a crawl and couldn't defend anyone. Similar to Stantons last 3 years and currently Zaka's last few years.

There is zero courage from anyone in any position in the club to make a bold decision.

Can't win flag with Hooker and Hurley together. Must make way for younger generation.

Zaka - past it. Slowed to a crawl and is just not committed to the contest enough. You can't be an outside player with no pace or ability to compete and mark. See Stanton from yesteryear.

Just have a look at this list of over 27's at out our club:

TBC
Zaka
Phillips
McKernan
Townsend

There is not one club in the league that these guys would start in and there is barely a club in the league that would have them on the list. We have all of them.

All clubs have average older guys as depth, the problem isn’t that they’re on the list, it’s that they’re playing.

Some through necessity like McKernan, Townsend and the ruckman.

Zaharakis really just shouldn’t be playing regularly though, we’ve got players fit and capable in the role he’s playing.

Remember that Townsend has won a premiership as a depth role player. If we had our full list available, he wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) be playing.

 

[sameolds33]

Essendon also hasn't had a genuine on-field leader since James Hird was aplyer, we haven't found one since Hird

Culture and attitude!! .. needs to change urgently. These results are very sad for a once great club.

Jobe Watson was a fantastic on-field - and off-field - leader in my opinion.

 

[Mootsy]

essendon 2005-2020 in well summarised video format..

 

[Shane Heard]

What are you basing your opinion on? The pretzel incident?

BJ had the players believing in themselves when we weren’t meant to be getting close to any team in any game. And he believed it to. Comments like a movie being made one day, that stuff is sheeds like. I reckon we would have had a lot more players leave the club if he wasn’t around. We would be f’ed.

righto...settle petal

you adored Goddard, I didn’t.

let’s move on..

 

[Shane Heard]

The Zac Clarke thing was the last straw for me.
Just mind boggling to think we’d give a washed up WAFL player like him another go at league footy.

The Shiel signing still grinds my gears too. He’s just not value for money ..big money ..for me.

Anyways...we have proven last year we can play really good footy and match it with the best.

But like every good side, everyone has to be in form and going hard.

At the moment, the only blokes impressive every week are Saad and McGrath.

Everyone else is pretty inconsistent and drops off intensity
at various stages in a match.


This year though is a bust.
Playing and living in Brisbane obviously isn’t helping things.

Next year.

 

[bombreys]

Overrating our list internally has been the biggest issue for mine.

Until we accept it’s not good enough and do a proper ‘clean out’, we’re not going to take the next step (win a final).

You just don’t win finals with some of the guys we’ve got running around at the moment.

The club’s also going to be a far better place once Worsfold’s gone, his coaching style just couldn’t fit worse in the modern game - I don’t think Rutten keeps playing guys like Zakka and Bellchambers, which will be a huge step in the right direction.

As others have stated, Stanton, Myers, Baguley, etc., should have played anywhere near as long as they did. Playing them over kids did absolutely nothing to help the club, in fact it set us a fair way back.

 

[DapperJong]

righto...settle petal

you adored Goddard, I didn’t.

let’s move on..

I think you’re the one who needs to calm down.

 

[owen87]

The Zac Clarke thing was the last straw for me.
Just mind boggling to think we’d give a washed up WAFL player like him another go at league footy.

He was one of the top performing mature, state league ruckmen.

Ex-Docker boosts AFL claims with WAFL flag

Subiaco completes undefeated season with ruckman starring again

www.afl.com.au

Zac CLARKE | WAFL

Zac CLARKE | WAFL

www.wafl.com.au

Check out his WAFL stats in 2018, where over his last 10 games (including a winning WAFL Grand Final) he averaged 16 disposals, 4.4 marks, 3.9 tackles, 45 hitouts and 1.7 goals per game.

Grundy in 2019 averaged 21.3 disposals / 4.4 marks / 4.3 tackles / 42.6 hitouts / 0.3 goals for comparison.

Obviously Grundy is doing it at AFL level, but Clarke was hardly a 'washed up WAFL player' when we were desperate for a mature AFL ready ruck depth player.

EFC has got a lot of things wrong, but your criticism smacks of being a hindsight hero.

 

[owen87]

Overrating our list internally has been the biggest issue for mine.

Until we accept it’s not good enough and do a proper ‘clean out’, we’re not going to take the next step (win a final).

You just don’t win finals with some of the guys we’ve got running around at the moment.

The club’s also going to be a far better place once Worsfold’s gone, his coaching style just couldn’t fit worse in the modern game - I don’t think Rutten keeps playing guys like Zakka and Bellchambers, which will be a huge step in the right direction.

As others have stated, Stanton, Myers, Baguley, etc., should have played anywhere near as long as they did. Playing them over kids did absolutely nothing to help the club, in fact it set us a fair way back.

I'm not sure how much Worsfold actually has to do with team selection this year, which is somewhat concerning.

Our list is one where the individual parts look OK in isolation, but don't fit well together.

• Merrett
• Shiel
• McGrath
• Parish
• Smith

Are all quite good AFL players, but they're also all very samey.

Swap Parish for an Oliver, Hopper or Dunkley from the same draft. McGrath for Taranto.

• Merrett
• Shiel
• Taranto
• Dunkley
• Smith

Suddenly there's balance in the middle there.

Doesn't help that our forward-line has been decimated by injuries either of course.

Exacerbating the issue is that we refuse to play guys like Clarke or Hibberd on-ball to protect these smaller guys, they don't need to be stars but if they can make space and limit teams like the Dogs from walking it out of the middle, then it adds a better balance to our side.

 

[ant555]

I can tell you... many players didn't like him & were totally sick of his antics by the time he went. It doesn't matter if some liked him, you DON'T need that sort of sh*t in a footy club, it's too divisive.

Everybody needs to be pulling in the same direction if you want to win a premiership - from the President to the boot studder. When you have a guy that carries on like a pork chop, it splits the group.

There is, and has been a culture problem at the club for years, probably starting with the last year or so of Sheedy, and not helped by Matthew Knights. Everyone could see what Knights was doing to Lloyd. Trying to develop a guy like Jay Neagle - who was lazy & took everything for granted - at the expense of an all time great, was ridiculous, and again - divisive. People who had been at the club for years were very unhappy with what was happening. They didn't want to go to the club some days, it got that bad. These same people felt that it was "Essendon" again when Hird & Bomber came back. Unfortunately, that took a wrong turn.

The main thing that I think the club has lost in the past 20 years is ruthlessness. I know I will get bagged (again), but when your captain was walking around looking like Sideshow Bob & players were copying each other & dying their hair blonde, it really makes you wonder what the hell was going on in the place.

Lloyd was shot by time Knights took over. Wanted to just play out of the square and that is not the way the game was going. Players careers come to an end. Knights was not guilty of ending Lloyd prematurely.

 

[NAB777]

Lloyd was shot by time Knights took over. Wanted to just play out of the square and that is not the way the game was going. Players careers come to an end. Knights was not guilty of ending Lloyd prematurely.

Not true. Lloyd physically had 3 years (at least) in him. Mentally he was shot, and that was because of Knights.

 

[ant555]

Not true. Lloyd physically had 3 years (at least) in him. Mentally he was shot, and that was because of Knights.

He could barely get up and down the ground and he missed a lot of training. I got to a lot of the training back then as I was doing rehab on a work injury at the Windy Hill gym and pool. He was called cooked.

 

[NAB777]

It's funny, I was about to make that comparison too.

You have it in your head that he was a poor leader and was unpopular amongst the playing group despite all the evidence to the contrary, now you outlandishly state that their fans think they're flawless. The reality is you're throwing another tantrum because people disagree with you.

Despite what you are saying, there were players that were pissed off by Goddard's antics.

The fact that anyone went along with him & lauded him (according to you) speaks to the weak, soft culture that has been bubbling along for 15 years. In the words of someone at the club...we needed a Glen Archer type to grab him by the throat & tell him that his s**t stops now.

 

[NAB777]

He could barely get up and down the ground and he missed a lot of training. I got to a lot of the training back then as I was doing rehab on a work injury at the Windy Hill gym and pool. He was called cooked.

Not according to some of the medicos. We can agree to disagree.

 

[eth-dog]

Despite what you are saying, there were players that were pissed off by Goddard's antics.

The fact that anyone went along with him & lauded him (according to you) speaks to the weak, soft culture that has been bubbling along for 15 years. In the words of someone at the club...we needed a Glen Archer type to grab him by the throat & tell him that his sh*t stops now.

Yeah, he and Chappy didn't get along.

Other than that, there's zero evidence. Honestly I think you and Shane have always hated him and are trying to twist facts so it suits your line of thinking.

 

[ant555]

Not according to some of the medicos. We can agree to disagree.

Well why could he not play to the level he had ? You do not skip a lot of training if you have 3 years left.

 

[ant555]

Yeah, he and Chappy didn't get along.

Other than that, there's zero evidence. Honestly I think you and Shane have always hated him and are trying to twist facts so it suits your line of thinking.

There was some minor grief . A few where not happy about BJ breaking team rules and not having to pay for it other than a slap on the wrist.

 

[Shane Heard]

He was one of the top performing mature, state league ruckmen.

Ex-Docker boosts AFL claims with WAFL flag

Subiaco completes undefeated season with ruckman starring again

www.afl.com.au

Zac CLARKE | WAFL

Zac CLARKE | WAFL

www.wafl.com.au

Check out his WAFL stats in 2018, where over his last 10 games (including a winning WAFL Grand Final) he averaged 16 disposals, 4.4 marks, 3.9 tackles, 45 hitouts and 1.7 goals per game.

Grundy in 2019 averaged 21.3 disposals / 4.4 marks / 4.3 tackles / 42.6 hitouts / 0.3 goals for comparison.

Obviously Grundy is doing it at AFL level, but Clarke was hardly a 'washed up WAFL player' when we were desperate for a mature AFL ready ruck depth player.

EFC has got a lot of things wrong, but your criticism smacks of being a hindsight hero.

its the WAFL mate...which is a massive step down from AFL pace

 

[Shane Heard]

I think you’re the one who needs to calm down.

Im fine thanks.

just having my democratic say on an irrelevant footy thread

As always in this joint, the diehard posters such as you don’t take too kindly to anyone bagging an EFC player in any shape or form.

it’s pathetic

 

[Squeaky]

I was only saying to mates the other day we are soft from the inside out, and a big reason is because of the saga. We have to play nice as a club for a while due to what happened, gotta tick all the boxes, play by the rules, do nothing that optically is bad...

Problem is you need to be close to the line to win, need to be cutting an edge or breaking new ground. It is what it is, we will sit in a void, in a state of flux til the saga generation is long gone and we can get somebody like a sheedy to come in and shake the club to its core like he did way back when. It's the only way from here.

Prepare for a decade of donuts

That is true unfortunately but it's a hard sell Howard. How do EFC manage that tightrope? - just avoid it; lie about it.
What a time to be an EFC supporter!