Moved Thread Five years on: are Essendon in a good place?

[MaddAdam]

Five years ago today the Essendon Football Club self reported to the AFL and ASADA over concerns that its "supplements program" had in fact been a team-wide doping program.

After a long and brutal investigation, court challenges and media circus, the world's highest court for sporting matters held that 34 Essendon players had been doped with TB-4 and suspended them for one year.

Last year was Essendon's first since then with clear air. The Bombers made the finals and they have record membership. They have a large debt incurred during the doping investigation years, but are powering towards paying that off.

My question - was the whole thing the footy recession Essendon had to have? Have they come out stronger for the long term as a result? Better goveranance, lost their "messiah" complex? United their fans?

Or will the stain of being the only club in AFL history to suffer mass player suspensions for a team-wide doping program haunt them forever?

I think there are convincing arguments for both, and that the real answer is not as black and white as saying it is all over and they move ahead with confidence, nor can you say this will affect them forever.

Five years after the biggest story in footy history broke, to coin a phrase, are Essendon in a good place?

 

[JayJ20]

 

[MaddAdam]

Pic

Take it that's a yes?

 

[tigertigertiger]

in an average place, better than deserved

 

[JayJ20]

Take it that's a yes?

- Broke membership records
- Bounced straight back into finals from a wooden spoon season
- Re-signed all of our young guns
- Kept most of our key players
- Play an attractive gamestyle
- We became a destination club with Stringer, Saad and Smith
- Recorded a huge profit
- Second to only the premiers in attendances
- Play an attractive brand
- Increased revenue by about 11 Million
- Expanding what already is one of the best sporting facilities in Australia

The answer is not just yes. But an emphatic yess

 

[MaddAdam]

- Broke membership records
- Bounced straight back into finals from a wooden spoon season
- Re-signed all of our young guns
- Kept most of our key players
- Play an attractive gamestyle
- We became a destination club with Stringer, Saad and Smith
- Recorded a huge profit
- Second to only the premiers in attendances
- Play an attractive brand
- Increased revenue by about 11 Million
- Expanding what already is one of the best sporting facilities in Australia

The answer is not just yes. But an emphatic yess

Fair enough, as I said in the OP, there's strong arguments for yes. I reckon you'd need to win a final to really nail it, but the signs are good.

Do you reckon this would have happened without the doping suspensions and all the upheaval though?

Bomber Thompson is on record as saying the Essendon he walked into wasn't up to scratch as a professional footy club.

 

[MaddAdam]

in an average place, better than deserved

Where do you reckon they deserve to be?

 

[Kwality]

- Broke membership records
- Bounced straight back into finals from a wooden spoon season
- Re-signed all of our young guns
- Kept most of our key players
- Play an attractive gamestyle
- We became a destination club with Stringer, Saad and Smith
- Recorded a huge profit
- Second to only the premiers in attendances
- Play an attractive brand
- Increased revenue by about 11 Million
- Expanding what already is one of the best sporting facilities in Australia

The answer is not just yes. But an emphatic yess

You need to be a finals contender to be emphatic.

 

[tigertigertiger]

Where do you reckon they deserve to be?

bottom 4 at best

 

[And_ROOS]

You need to be a finals contender to be emphatic.

I expected they would do better last year then the effort they put up, but they are a better team now with who they have brought in and I would think expectation is finals + at least 1 finals win this year.

 

[juss]

- Broke membership records
- Bounced straight back into finals from a wooden spoon season
- Re-signed all of our young guns
- Kept most of our key players
- Play an attractive gamestyle
- We became a destination club with Stringer, Saad and Smith
- Recorded a huge profit
- Second to only the premiers in attendances
- Play an attractive brand
- Increased revenue by about 11 Million
- Expanding what already is one of the best sporting facilities in Australia

The answer is not just yes. But an emphatic yess

What a result. I reckon more clubs should implement systemic doping regimes.

 

[Old Stuckup]

You need to be a finals contender to be emphatic.

Aren’t we already a finals contender? If you meant premiership contender we’re a slim chance this year but our window is most likely 2-3 years away. We need to win at least 1 final though!

 

[Stopher]

A solid base from which to build for the future, starting with that monkey off the back in the form of winning a final.

And sorry, but I can't take Richmond supporters seriously on here. 6 months ago they were one of the few teams actually worse than Essendon in that regard. Fair play to them, they broke their finals duck and then some for a well-deserved premiership. However, please don't act like that suddenly means your club are football itself. Cheers.

 

[cub]

I will never understand how they got gifted a number 1 pick for basically cheating

 

[Kwality]

Aren’t we already a finals contender? If you meant premiership contender we’re a slim chance this year but our window is most likely 2-3 years away. We need to win at least 1 final though!

Cant win a final from outside the 8, get in & you are a contender, miss out ...

You may be happy missing out along with 10 others, good luck with your projects in September.

 

[MaddAdam]

You need to be a finals contender to be emphatic.

This. I reckon they had a pretty good squad when Hird took over. Bomber took them to the finals in 2014. They've got Andy McGrath who will be - is - a jet as a direct outcome of the whole disaster but they lost plenty of quality players as a result too.

Would they be in better place onfield now if it hadn't happened? Maybe won a final?

 

[JayJ20]

Fair enough, as I said in the OP, there's strong arguments for yes. I reckon you'd need to win a final to really nail it, but the signs are good.

Do you reckon this would have happened without the doping suspensions and all the upheaval though?

Bomber Thompson is on record as saying the Essendon he walked into wasn't up to scratch as a professional footy club.

I think the saga certainly woke us up as a club. We were still in the "we'll win because we're Essendon" mindset.

We've done things right since then.

You need to be a finals contender to be emphatic.

We are

What a result. I reckon more clubs should implement systemic doping regimes.

Go ahead

 

[Old Stuckup]

Cant win a final from outside the 8, get in & you are a contender, miss out ...

You may be happy missing out along with 10 others, good luck with your projects in September.

So you’re saying a team that made the eight this and is generally believed to be there or there abouts again is..... not a finals contender? I can buy us not being a premiership contender but if we’re not in the mix for finals this year something will have gone horribly wrong.

 

[Pali23]

I will never understand how they got gifted a number 1 pick for basically cheating

This. It was basically we will penalize you for cheating but to make it up to you for cheating have the best young kid in the draft.

 

[theyellowsash]

They spelled yes wrong

 

[maskmcgee]

I will never understand how they got gifted a number 1 pick for basically cheating

I'll never understand how Carlton got gifted 3 number 1 picks for actually cheating.

 

[Stopher]

Oh, and Andy McGrath is a big part of that 'good place'.

 

[JayJ20]

I will never understand how they got gifted a number 1 pick for basically cheating

Pretty easy concept.

We had our draft sanctions in 2013-2014. We finished our punishment. Since we already had our sanction, we won't get another sanction. We finished last in 2016, which is why we have the number 1 draft pick.

Same reason why Carlton weren't stripped off draft picks after their salary cap punishment made them s**t. Unlike Carlton, we weren't given any priority picks.

 

[Beer n Skittles]

Fair enough, as I said in the OP, there's strong arguments for yes. I reckon you'd need to win a final to really nail it, but the signs are good.

Do you reckon this would have happened without the doping suspensions and all the upheaval though?

Bomber Thompson is on record as saying the Essendon he walked into wasn't up to scratch as a professional footy club.

There's no chance they'd have won a final. Take out the last few years of Fletchers career, Watson remains below average, drop the rest down a gear or two from their 2012-14 form. They are in a far better place

 

[cub]

Pretty easy concept.

We had our draft sanctions in 2013-2014. We finished our punishment. Since we already had our sanction, we won't get another sanction. We finished last in 2016, which is why we have the number 1 draft pick.

Same reason why Carlton weren't stripped off draft picks after their salary cap punishment made them s**t. Unlike Carlton, we weren't given any priority picks.

And you finished last in 2016.....Because?