Opinion Optimistic or pessimistic 2021

[half time raffle]

Absolutely optimistic! I am optimistic that 2021 will be a great development year and by the end of the season all Essendon fans will have cause to be excited about the future and know who our team are. I will particularly be interested in our percentage, it generally tells the story about whether a team is on the same page and pulling in the same direction. We just have too many players who will increase their output and have the potential to have career best years:
McGrath
Draper
Parish
Langford
Caldwell
Francis
Laverde
Wright
Jones
Bryan
Redman
Cahill
Ridley
When you combine that with a great draft haul, i see positives everywhere. The cornerstones are there. The start of the year will be difficult but i can see us coming home like a freight train after the bye. Footy is nearly back bring it on!!

 

[Jade]

Top 4 easily.

Anything less than a GF berth a failure.

 

[Old Campaigner]

I'm less pessimistic now than I was a week ago.

I think we'll still be shit for a lot of the year because it takes a while for a gameplan to become instinctive enough that it holds up under pressure and I think our depth in a lot of areas is lacking.

But we'll certainly make a few sides look silly in between making ourselves look silly but that is more than I had hoped for.

 

[thaibomber]

I reckon it might be rough up until the bye.... and in a reversal of previous years I think we will start to look a lot better after the bye.

 

[Tassieboy]

No optimism this season it appears. So we should be a lock for top 4.

 

[Shanghaistu]

It just occurred to me that some teams win premierships, and then, as the playing group gets older they go into a rebuild eg, Hawthorn.... still others make top 4 or prelims for a few years and then do the same - eg 2014- 2015 north... but not us - we reach the ‘dizzying heights’ of being smashed in elimination finals and then it’s already time to bottom-out and rebuild again we’ve basically been cycling ‘an octave’ below the best clubs for several decades - let’s hope the club can aspire to a better benchmark in future

 

[DallasCrane316]

Feeling more optimistic after the Geelong game.

First half of the season looks a bit rough. After the bye though, we only travel once to play GCS. And the other teams we play are expected to be around our Mark too (apart from Geelong and the Doggies).

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

Been pessimistic for years but strangely after the practice/preseason games I feel bullish that we can cause a few genuine upsets and ruffle a few feathers along the way.

 

[citizen-erased]

12th-14th
Comfortable North, Adelaide, Swans & Hawks will finish below us
Something about the Suns makes me think they're not that flash either

Im not convinced by Carlton either. Too many seem to think adding Williams & Saad to a side with a fwd line made of glass and a midfield reliant on Cripps will make them top 8 contenders.

We're in that mix with Freo, GWS, Carlton & possibly Collingwood.
But i don't think we can finish ahead of all of them and get out of the above range.
In fact, probably finish behind all of them.

good run of injuries and some poor luck amongst those teams might see us jump a little.

Things i want to see;
Merrett re-sign for 3 years.
Games into Perkins, Cox & Reid
Strong season from Wright
Parish, Caldwell, McGrath, Merrett & Shiel spend more time as a midfield than they don't. Build the continuity with that group.

 

[Yoda_]

9 rounds in and I must say, it has been one Hmong the most enjoyable seasons watching my beloved Bombers.

The kids are making it easy to watch, the new recruits are doing exactly what we brought them in to do and the older heads are performing to a level not seen from a vast majority for some time.

Rutten can hold his head high, a clear game plan and a direction most are well behind, a list manager who took ownership last year and made the best of a bad situation and the club as a whole appears to be vining on the back of these youthful Bombers.


Is certainly funny going back over where some petiole thought we’d be heading into 2021, i for one thought we’d be worse off than 3/6 and a % of 105. Three of those by less than a kick and it could look very differently for a team many casual observers tipped to be in the very bottom few.

The kids will tire, we will have some heavy losses but geez it’s nice to say I’m excited moving forward.

What are you guys looking forward to in the second half of 2021?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[citizen-erased]

9 rounds in and I must say, it has been one Hmong the most enjoyable seasons watching my beloved Bombers.

The kids are making it easy to watch, the new recruits are doing exactly what we brought them in to do and the older heads are performing to a level not seen from a vast majority for some time.

Rutten can hold his head high, a clear game plan and a direction most are well behind, a list manager who took ownership last year and made the best of a bad situation and the club as a whole appears to be vining on the back of these youthful Bombers.


Is certainly funny going back over where some petiole thought we’d be heading into 2021, i for one thought we’d be worse off than 3/6 and a % of 105. Three of those by less than a kick and it could look very differently for a team many casual observers tipped to be in the very bottom few.

The kids will tire, we will have some heavy losses but geez it’s nice to say I’m excited moving forward.

What are you guys looking forward to in the second half of 2021?


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So much i've enjoyed.

But it's the lack of dumb things that i've enjoyed most. Least frustrated i've been watching us in so long
Rds 1 & 2 weren't great, but we've been better to watch since.

hats off to Rutten and the gang. I hope this trajectory keeps up
Also, that Cox kid is special to watch too.

 

[carnthedons]

9 rounds in and I must say, it has been one Hmong the most enjoyable seasons watching my beloved Bombers.

The kids are making it easy to watch, the new recruits are doing exactly what we brought them in to do and the older heads are performing to a level not seen from a vast majority for some time.

Rutten can hold his head high, a clear game plan and a direction most are well behind, a list manager who took ownership last year and made the best of a bad situation and the club as a whole appears to be vining on the back of these youthful Bombers.


Is certainly funny going back over where some petiole thought we’d be heading into 2021, i for one thought we’d be worse off than 3/6 and a % of 105. Three of those by less than a kick and it could look very differently for a team many casual observers tipped to be in the very bottom few.

The kids will tire, we will have some heavy losses but geez it’s nice to say I’m excited moving forward.

What are you guys looking forward to in the second half of 2021?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

*4W6L but yes agree

I’m looking forward to more from the kids and continuing to give effort. I know we’ll get beaten by good teams, I just want a level of mental fortitude we’re unaccustomed to seeing. Let’s be hard to beat.

 

[ant555]

Both.
There are still issues / unknown answers about our scoring ability . We have to stop turning the footy over out of defense and there are still a lot of questions over our ability to mark the ball around the ground.
In saying that if the players buy into what Truck is trying to sell then IMO it will not be as bad as some may think. If we can improve the midfield defense and forward pressure then some of our weak areas can be overcome. Despite us having a below average year we did defend well for long periods in a lot of games last year but could not do it for more than 2 quarters.
We have a lot of work to do but if the players buy in and Truck sells them a game plan they feel they can work with then we are capable of bouncing back to the 6th to 10th area of the ladder. Eliminating the turnovers when moving the ball may well be the major key to us being half decent or a total train wreck.

A bit each way but hey.

 

[DERO]

play the kids and adjust expectations accordingly.

Should I apply for a job at the club?

 

[citizen-erased]

12th-14th
Comfortable North, Adelaide, Swans & Hawks will finish below us
Something about the Suns makes me think they're not that flash either

Im not convinced by Carlton either. Too many seem to think adding Williams & Saad to a side with a fwd line made of glass and a midfield reliant on Cripps will make them top 8 contenders.

We're in that mix with Freo, GWS, Carlton & possibly Collingwood.
But i don't think we can finish ahead of all of them and get out of the above range.
In fact, probably finish behind all of them.

good run of injuries and some poor luck amongst those teams might see us jump a little.

Things i want to see;
Merrett re-sign for 3 years.
Games into Perkins, Cox & Reid
Strong season from Wright
Parish, Caldwell, McGrath, Merrett & Shiel spend more time as a midfield than they don't. Build the continuity with that group.

well, i got a bit of that wrong, but a bit right too

 

[Bjchan13]

Optimistic, not for wins necessarily, but for a path out of no mans land.

The place was stale. Learnings and Worsfold in hindsight should've finished up after 2018. Waiting for Daniher for 3 years ruined us completely. Injuries have dogged us since 2017. I think having so much firepower on the list injured for 3 years is about as painful as it gets for supporters. Its a tease. At least when you are rebuilding you know where you're headed.

We know what the plan was and i have no problem with the attempt we made.

B Saad Hooker Ambrose
HB McKenna Hurley Ridley
C Merrett Heppell Langford
HF Fantasia Stewart Smith
FF AMT Daniher Stringer
R Draper Shiel McGrath
INT Francis Parish Laverde Redman

We just didn't get to see it, and if that 22 played together enough to gel they would've been a chance to beat anyone.

So as much as it was sad to see Joe and co leave we now have clear air. Truck has an open lane and the young list should be hungry. Draper, Mcgrath, Ridley, Parish, Wright, Caldwell, Francis, Langford, Laverde, Perkins, Redman, Cahill, Cox, Reid is an exciting group of 24 and unders. And how lucky are we to have McGrath as a clear up and coming leader.

AMT, Shiel, Smith, Stringer, Stewart, Merrett and Heppell shouldn't be packed up yet either. A lot rests on the attitude they bring. Hopefully the kids can spark them (like we saw at Port 2 years ago)

11 wins

Got the win tally . Didnt think it would result in a spot in the finals tbh.

 

[DERO]

A bit each way but hey.

I remember saying to one of the boys in the office that I did not know where our next win would come from, two games into the season… it is great when your expectations are exceeded!

 

[foj1]

Great season
a finals win would be the cherry on top

 

[bombadeer]

I remember saying to one of the boys in the office that I did not know where our next win would come from, two games into the season… it is great when your expectations are exceeded!

Assume you were referring to flags? Looks like it’s going to be in Perth. Who knew?

 

[brendan84]

Happy to admit I was wrong. Was expecting a bottom four finish. Plenty to be positive about regardless of what happens next week

 

[boncer34]

We'll be sh*t

Shit hot.

 

[Lore]

I'm really glad we get to look back over this thread

 

[windyhill]

So happy to be proven wrong ! But I was right about Hind !!

 

[Maxabillions]

Optimistic

 

[Corleone]

After today I'm feeling pessimistic about this season, but optimistic about the future. IMO if we can achieve the following this year it'll be a fantastic result.

Wins: 7
Losses over 48 points: 4 or less

15+ games out of Jones
15+ games out of Cox
15+ games out of Perkins
Caldwell and Draper to play every game if fit

Would love to see a few of Ham, Guelfi, Parish, Francis, Redman, BZT, Cahill take the next step in their development. If we could get a debut for Hird, Johnson, Brand, Bryan, Reid or Eyre would be great too.

I'm hoping to see by the end of the season a cohesive and consistent brand of football that focuses on contested possession, team oriented defence and an offence not based on bombing it to the shortest guy on the field.

I would also love McGrath to be made captain for next year as I believe he's ready along with Ridley to begin the transition to the next generation.

They've exceeded all of my expectations for the year from a wins perspective and a development perspective. Simply floating at the moment.

Feeling really optimistic about the future.