Coaching Staff Mark "Bomber" Thompson - Will present the Jock McHale Medal for 2023 - 4/9

[owen87]

FORMER Essendon coach and premiership great Mark Thompson has been arrested and charged with seven drug offences.

Thompson is appearing at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court this afternoon.

A Victoria Police statement confirmed that a 54-year-old Port Melbourne man had been arrested and charged with a number of offences, including two counts of trafficking ecstasy, trafficking methyl amphetamine, possessing ecstasy, possessing LSD and possessing a prescription drug without prescription.

The charges relate to a search warrant that was executed at a Port Melbourne address on January 5.

Thompson last coached in 2014, when he steered Essendon to the finals as senior coach James Hird sat out the season for his role in the Bombers' supplements saga.

Thompson had been poached by the Bombers at the end of 2010 to be a senior assistant to Hird, having coached 150 games and two premierships with Geelong.

He played in three premierships with the Bombers in an illustrious career at the club, including being skipper of their 1993 triumph.

But his time in the game ended in acrimony, as Thompson was penalised by the League for his role in Essendon's doping saga.

More to come

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Seriously?


#BaCKOuRbOyZ

I think it's highly likely that Thompson is guilty of drug use and association with traffickers (and wouldn't be surprised to find that he himself is trafficking), but it irks me that people are ready to throw books without knowing all the details.

What if he is an addict with mental issues that wasn't trafficking but is associated with those that do? Enough so there is apparent evidence that he may be involved. It's worth an arrest so the evidence can be tested in trial, but us saying throw the book at this point is the epitome of our short attention span, lowest common denominator lynch mob mentality society.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

dunno what to say

knew he had issues following the saga but this is just really sad

 

[DERO]

 

[Jobe Watson]

And people actually wanted this guy to stay on as head coach...

 

[Summer Nights]

Good to see as an Essendon supporter that you've learnt to wait and see the evidence of something before deciding guilt on a charge...

Sorry, you’re right. I should’ve said “if found guilty”. My bad.

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Sorry, you’re right. I should’ve said “if found guilty”. My bad.

Not really having a go at you as this does look bad and issues with Bomber have been known for sometime, but I guess you can understand why assuming guilt might be a sore spot for me (and all Essendon supporters).

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Sad we don't want another Cousins get him all the help he needs.

 

[Doss]

And people actually wanted this guy to stay on as head coach...

Well given the job he did in pretty awful circumstances in 2014 (and definitely without reopening the whole Hird/Bomber debate, which I'm absolutely not doing), it wasn't that ridiculous at the time.

In the end, he could clearly coach and could clearly coach bloody well. That's the single reason people advocated it.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and had the extent of his problems been so well known then, it wouldn't have been something most would have entertained. But clearly it wasn't that well known back then.

 

[BrewSmackerVeiny]

 

[windyhill]

I cant believe this. He has made soo much money out of Armstrong creek and Westfield alone. Why does he need to do this and ruin other people's lives.

Because he's a greedy campaigner.

 

[thundercloud]

I concer with the response as above as i hope other club football people would be. It is good that he does not have any real involvement with football now.

 

[DapperDon]

sad to hear this about such a Geelong champion. premiership Geelong coach.

Geelonger Thompson is going to do some time I feel

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Geelonger Thompson is going to do some time I feel

Reckon he'll do a year or 2.

 

[BrunoV]

I had a good chuckle at the thread title.

I imagine Bomber Thompson at the heat of a drug trafficking syndicate as like an Australian version of Snatch.

 

[Runk]

So very sad for a hell of a lot of reasons.

One of my favourite Essendon memories is my Dad introducing me to & chatting with Bomber back in 85 at Windy Hill back when I was only 9.

Terrible to see him fall so far.

 

[Jobe Watson]

Well given the job he did in pretty awful circumstances in 2014 (and definitely without reopening the whole Hird/Bomber debate, which I'm absolutely not doing), it wasn't that ridiculous at the time.

In the end, he could clearly coach and could clearly coach bloody well. That's the single reason people advocated it.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and had the extent of his problems been so well known then, it wouldn't have been something most would have entertained. But clearly it wasn't that well known back then.

He certainly did an admirable job as a coach at the time, but there were always those rumours lingering regarding his off-field problems.

Maybe if we kept him as coach he wouldn't be in the place he is now. But I think ultimately we made the right call going the direction we did. Sad either way.

 

[windyhill]

Been a keen Thompson observer for years. I went to Mark Harvey's testimonial many years ago and Thompsons behaviour that night put me off going to any EFC functions for life. Harvey ( who is arrogant as they come) was doing the right thing at the end of the night, going around and thanking people for attending. He came up to me and a mate and had a quick chat, where Thompson just interrupted, walked between myself and my mate with the words " what are you doing Banger wasting your time with these campaigners" ?
I had to physically restrain my mate from going this bloke, our premiership captain. Cheers "bomber"
To watch him since hit the heights as a coach was fantastic but to watch him mentally disintegrate over the years has been like watching a car crash. It started at geelong, not sure if the success went to his head, but year by year he bacame , to put it nicely, erratic. Did I want him back as coach ? No bloody way, he's a nutter.
None of what's happened lately has surprised me, a car crash waiting to happen this bloke.

 

[akiva]

Thompson had been poached by the Bombers at the end of 2010 to be a senior assistant to Hird, having coached 150 games and two premierships with Geelong.

He coached 260 games at Geelong.

Hopefully that's not the only thing they got wrong..

 

[Turnover]

Been a keen Thompson observer for years. I went to Mark Harvey's testimonial many years ago and Thompsons behaviour that night put me off going to any EFC functions for life. Harvey ( who is arrogant as they come) was doing the right thing at the end of the night, going around and thanking people for attending. He came up to me and a mate and had a quick chat, where Thompson just interrupted, walked between myself and my mate with the words " what are you doing Banger wasting your time with these campaigners" ?
I had to physically restrain my mate from going this bloke, our premiership captain. Cheers "bomber"
To watch him since hit the heights as a coach was fantastic but to watch him mentally disintegrate over the years has been like watching a car crash. It started at geelong, not sure if the success went to his head, but year by year he bacame , to put it nicely, erratic. Did I want him back as coach ? No bloody way, he's a nutter.
None of what's happened lately has surprised me, a car crash waiting to happen this bloke.

Harvey as arrogant as they come. I call bullshit.

 

[windyhill]

Harvey as arrogant as they come. I call bullshit.

Have you met him ? I have. Champion of our club, no worries, too brave for his own good ? Absolutely. I've met him socially and I was honoured to be in his presence, or that was the feeling I was getting that I was supposed to have.

 

[Runk]

Harvey as arrogant as they come. I call bullshit.

That may be, but perceptions are born out of behaviours.

 

[ghostdog]

I'm heartbroken.

 

[RearNaked]

Sounds like a quiet weekend

 

[Doss]

Been a keen Thompson observer for years. I went to Mark Harvey's testimonial many years ago and Thompsons behaviour that night put me off going to any EFC functions for life. Harvey ( who is arrogant as they come) was doing the right thing at the end of the night, going around and thanking people for attending. He came up to me and a mate and had a quick chat, where Thompson just interrupted, walked between myself and my mate with the words " what are you doing Banger wasting your time with these campaigners" ?
I had to physically restrain my mate from going this bloke, our premiership captain. Cheers "bomber"
To watch him since hit the heights as a coach was fantastic but to watch him mentally disintegrate over the years has been like watching a car crash. It started at geelong, not sure if the success went to his head, but year by year he bacame , to put it nicely, erratic. Did I want him back as coach ? No bloody way, he's a nutter.
None of what's happened lately has surprised me, a car crash waiting to happen this bloke.

It's interesting though, because Lloyd in his book told the story of him trying to ignore and avoid an annoying fan in his early years (may have even been his first year, when Bomber was still skipper), and Bomber pulling him right up in his tracks at Windy Hill after training one day and telling him to never treat our fans like that again. Lloyd said it was a lesson that had to be learnt.

So as bad as your experience sounds, it does sound like the sort of thing that happens when people are tanked.