Remove the Board of Directors

[ghostdog]

It's almost like the reason they have stacked the board with past players and icons is to try and avoid exactly this.

Propaganda value.

 

[ghostdog]

I'll vote for you if you guarantee me the GM of the VFL job

And there's your problem. Essendon boys giving the jobs to Essendon boys. You've learned from the club and have learned nothing at all. What an alarming paradox! It's Frankenstein's monster all over again!

 

[ghostdog]

i've been thinking for a while that the board should be replaced with bigfooty posters sitting in a circle smoking corncob pipes and thumping a table with their fists

All with presidential ambitions but never to actually run.

 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Why are people panicking so much..?

Not sure about others but I’m having great fun with this thread, more-so than watching our games in any case

 

[foj1]

Tim watson
barry young
michael long

 

[VelvetSledge]

I'd be keen to get Andrew Welsh

Andrew Welsh

Age

41

Ht

188cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.4

4star

K

9.7

4star

HB

6.7

4star

M

4.6

4star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.6

4star

No current season stats available

D

9.6

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

2.2

2star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.6

5star

on there. Doubt he has the time, though.

 

[Burzum]

Tim watson
barry young
michael long

Watson's in favour of the current regime doesn't see any problem with the football department structure.

 

[Mercurial89]

I'd be keen to get Andrew Welsh on there. Doubt he has the time, though.

That's a name that I hadn't heard thrown up before and one I like the sound of from a business perspective.

 

[VelvetSledge]

That's a name that I hadn't heard thrown up before and one I like the sound of from a business perspective.

Bloke basically owns suburbs now. I'd love for him to come on board but surely he's too busy

 

[Mercurial89]

Bloke basically owns suburbs now. I'd love for him to come on board but surely he's too busy

My only query and I say this with total respect meant.
Did he find himself in this position due to his own competence or more due to his connections.
Not dismissing the business acumen needed to continue to run things.

But I like the idea. I personally from a culture perspective want the highest profile Melb Storm person, because, well show me a better run sports team. I'd also want to tap into as many sport administrators responsible or involved in turning around sporting associations or businesses. More interested in where they have been rather than qualifications necessarily

 

[VelvetSledge]

My only query and I say this with total respect meant.
Did he find himself in this position due to his own competence or more due to his connections.
Not dismissing the business acumen needed to continue to run things.

But I like the idea. I personally from a culture perspective want the highest profile Melb Storm person, because, well show me a better run sports team. I'd also want to tap into as many sport administrators responsible or involved in turning around sporting associations or businesses. More interested in where they have been rather than qualifications necessarily

Funny how their current CEO is our former marketing director

 

[Lore]

Watson's in favour of the current regime doesn't see any problem with the football department structure.

The structure of the football department itself isn't really contentious, is it? Like it doesn't have two general managers of football running it as footy operations and footy performance with blurred lines of reporting from sub-ordinates who can easily go rogue, nor are there any wacky middle-men between the head coach and the line coaches gumming up lines of communication and frustrating the players.

Most of the personnel in the actual footy department aren't contentious either (other than Dodoro), they're all well-qualified and externally well-regarded afaik.

The thing that is more contentious is who they report to and how often, and whether the people they report to are the right people with high enough standards, ability to oversee the department and a willingness to ask questions and hold individuals to account, but without having undue influence on how things are done.

Employ the right people and then let them do their jobs.

 

[BrunoV]

Watson's in favour of the current regime doesn't see any problem with the football department structure.

The problem with Watson is he thinks we're De Goey away from being good.

 

[dabombers]

So I have a pretty wild theory as to why the current situation is unfolding the way it is and why keeping the current structure of board members intact is intrinsic to this.

One assumption to this requires a leap of faith in the penances Essendon as a club as a whole entity agreed to after the ‘Drugs Saga’.

The ‘Drugs Saga’ needed to happen.
It could have happened at any and probably most clubs as every club was searching for an edge in performance.
A high profile club was needed to take a hit to curtail the rise in performance enhancing enhancement's to prevent it from damaging players and being accepted as ‘Just what everyone else does’.
For this to play out all clubs needed to get the message that this experimentation that walking the fine line of banned and experimental enhancements would not be tolerated.
Rumour mill at the time, if my memory serves me right, has it that several clubs had, lets call them ‘injection regiments’. Publicly Essendon was the largest and most known entity.
Therefore it was decided by the AFL after Essendon self reported to be the ‘Poster Child’ for industry change.
(This is totally un-substantiated and is only of opinion)

(Ok I fully know that this borders on crazy conspiracy type thoughts and if you think that after my intro I wouldn’t try to change your mind, in-fact I would probably agree with you)

So magic 8 ball, what does the future hold????


The current board needed to stay in place to hold true to the plan and oversee its completion without deviation.
I propose the plan held several steps almost like a well written script for a movie planned out by master strategists within PR community. The Trial, The Fall, The Suffering, The Rebuild and moving to the final stages of The Redemption and The Revival.
What I predict is within the next 6 months there will be a shift in media coverage to James Hird returning to Essendon. “The second coming of the mesiah”. Kicking off the “Redemption” phase.

Unfortunately Ben Rutton will be the sacrificial lamb in this. As the media will continue to take its pound of flesh against him. But he will have served very well as an extended caretaker coach and rewarded for it.
I allude to this as I am of the opinion that this was the role Rutton agreed to in assuming the role of Coach, it was only going to ever be a part time gig. (Though I believe that Ruttons development skills and personal attributes are incredible especially his calmness under media pressure and scrutiny. ) (Again this is just conjured up in my own mind and even if evidence could be found it would be extremely hard to prove. It would be hidden behind NDA’s and contracts.)

This will come on the back of the AFL boss Gil retroactively returning the Brownlow to Jobe as a final scene in his role in this Drama.
Gil McLachlan End Scene.

How this plan holds, or stays true is dependant on the board at Essendon staying in place and sticking fat.

This may have happened sooner if Covid didn’t occur and the pause button was pushed until better days.

Most of this as stated is purely theoretical and conjecture.
All of this may be wishful thinking to resolve my personal feelings of a suffering yet passionate supporter of the mighty Bombers.
Also all these events probably shouldn’t be put together like a well written script as mentioned earlier. It is highly unlikely that any of this was planned for, real life is not a movie.

Though if there was or is a plan for Essendon to enter into a future Revival stage, which I believe we are so close to, and have been moving towards with drafting and trades. The current leadership at the club needs to stay to see it out.

Personal opinion finished.

 

[owen87]

So I have a pretty wild theory as to why the current situation is unfolding the way it is and why keeping the current structure of board members intact is intrinsic to this.

One assumption to this requires a leap of faith in the penances Essendon as a club as a whole entity agreed to after the ‘Drugs Saga’.

The ‘Drugs Saga’ needed to happen.
It could have happened at any and probably most clubs as every club was searching for an edge in performance.
A high profile club was needed to take a hit to curtail the rise in performance enhancing enhancement's to prevent it from damaging players and being accepted as ‘Just what everyone else does’.
For this to play out all clubs needed to get the message that this experimentation that walking the fine line of banned and experimental enhancements would not be tolerated.
Rumour mill at the time, if my memory serves me right, has it that several clubs had, lets call them ‘injection regiments’. Publicly Essendon was the largest and most known entity.
Therefore it was decided by the AFL after Essendon self reported to be the ‘Poster Child’ for industry change.
(This is totally un-substantiated and is only of opinion)

(Ok I fully know that this borders on crazy conspiracy type thoughts and if you think that after my intro I wouldn’t try to change your mind, in-fact I would probably agree with you)

So magic 8 ball, what does the future hold????


The current board needed to stay in place to hold true to the plan and oversee its completion without deviation.
I propose the plan held several steps almost like a well written script for a movie planned out by master strategists within PR community. The Trial, The Fall, The Suffering, The Rebuild and moving to the final stages of The Redemption and The Revival.
What I predict is within the next 6 months there will be a shift in media coverage to James Hird returning to Essendon. “The second coming of the mesiah”. Kicking off the “Redemption” phase.

Unfortunately Ben Rutton will be the sacrificial lamb in this. As the media will continue to take its pound of flesh against him. But he will have served very well as an extended caretaker coach and rewarded for it.
I allude to this as I am of the opinion that this was the role Rutton agreed to in assuming the role of Coach, it was only going to ever be a part time gig. (Though I believe that Ruttons development skills and personal attributes are incredible especially his calmness under media pressure and scrutiny. ) (Again this is just conjured up in my own mind and even if evidence could be found it would be extremely hard to prove. It would be hidden behind NDA’s and contracts.)

This will come on the back of the AFL boss Gil retroactively returning the Brownlow to Jobe as a final scene in his role in this Drama.
Gil McLachlan End Scene.

How this plan holds, or stays true is dependant on the board at Essendon staying in place and sticking fat.

This may have happened sooner if Covid didn’t occur and the pause button was pushed until better days.

Most of this as stated is purely theoretical and conjecture.
All of this may be wishful thinking to resolve my personal feelings of a suffering yet passionate supporter of the mighty Bombers.
Also all these events probably shouldn’t be put together like a well written script as mentioned earlier. It is highly unlikely that any of this was planned for, real life is not a movie.

Though if there was or is a plan for Essendon to enter into a future Revival stage, which I believe we are so close to, and have been moving towards with drafting and trades. The current leadership at the club needs to stay to see it out.

Personal opinion finished.

Essendon wasn’t the only club experimenting with this stuff, they were just the ones that got caught.

The AFL very obviously swept Melbourne under the rug, and had no interest in pursuing Geelong or Gold Coast’s connections with Dank or Robinson.

They also tried to damage control with EFC as much as possible, very nearly succeeded too.

I don’t think the conspiracy type stuff beyond the above is true.

 

[Burzum]

The structure of the football department itself isn't really contentious, is it? Like it doesn't have two general managers of football running it as footy operations and footy performance with blurred lines of reporting from sub-ordinates who can easily go rogue, nor are there any wacky middle-men between the head coach and the line coaches gumming up lines of communication and frustrating the players.

Most of the personnel in the actual footy department aren't contentious either (other than Dodoro), they're all well-qualified and externally well-regarded afaik.

The thing that is more contentious is who they report to and how often, and whether the people they report to are the right people with high enough standards, ability to oversee the department and a willingness to ask questions and hold individuals to account, but without having undue influence on how things are done.

Employ the right people and then let them do their jobs.

I'm not even arguing that there's anything wrong. I'm just saying that Watson doesn't want much changes if any so is there much point bringing him onto the board?

Everyone already knows where I think the club's problems are.

 

[Lore]

I'm not even arguing that there's anything wrong. I'm just saying that Watson doesn't want much changes if any so is there much point bringing him onto the board?

Everyone already knows where I think the club's problems are.

I don’t think any of the names that have been thrown up so far have had anything bad to say about the structure of the football department. Like that’s not really a point of difference between Watson and others

 

[dabombers]

Essendon wasn’t the only club experimenting with this stuff, they were just the ones that got caught.

The AFL very obviously swept Melbourne under the rug, and had no interest in pursuing Geelong or Gold Coast’s connections with Dank or Robinson.

They also tried to damage control with EFC as much as possible, very nearly succeeded too.

I don’t think the conspiracy type stuff beyond the above is true.

Essendon wasn’t the only club experimenting with this stuff, they were just the ones that got caught.

The AFL very obviously swept Melbourne under the rug, and had no interest in pursuing Geelong or Gold Coast’s connections with Dank or Robinson.

They also tried to damage control with EFC as much as possible, very nearly succeeded too.

I don’t think the conspiracy type stuff beyond the above is true.

Can you please explain your line
“I don’t think the conspiracy type stuff beyond the above is true.”

Im a bit confused by black or white thinking involving absolutes on concepts like truth(true).

Also not defending or attacking as what I wrote was intended to be far fetched. Though I did allude to the idea that other clubs may have been injecting. What where how, simply unknown.

 

[dabombers]

Also sorry for hijacking this thread with psuedo-conspiracy stuff.
Was just trying to inject an idea of heading towards the right direction.
Instead of “Off with their Heads” thinking.
One or two bad decisions or mistakes does not make for bad governance or leadership.
The fact that over the last 15 years Essendon’s few mistakes have been catastrophic in ratings, they should still be looked at as few and far between.
Essendon seems to be trying to reboot Halcyon days culture inviting as many ex-players to be included if they want.

Two of the bombers lowest ebbs occur either side of the Sheedy era.
A non bombers player, but as far as I know a passionate supporter of the club.
Question is do we need more Essendon players or more Essendon supporters involved in the club.
I would take passionate over participants any day of the week.

 

[owen87]

Can you please explain your line
“I don’t think the conspiracy type stuff beyond the above is true.”

The idea that Essendon is some kind of pre-planned long running scheme by the AFL.

Conspiracies rarely survive the real world. The AFL are mostly morons who consistently manage to do stupid things with even the most basic issues. The idea they could orchestrate and maintain a coverup of that scale, with that many people, for this long, is simply unrealistic.

 

[dabombers]

The idea that Essendon is some kind of pre-planned long running scheme by the AFL.

Conspiracies rarely survive the real world. The AFL are mostly morons who consistently manage to do stupid things with even the most basic issues. The idea they could orchestrate and maintain a coverup of that scale, with that many people, for this long, is simply unrealistic.

I have written and fully own what I have written even repeatedly admitting to the basis of these statements(and they are just thoughts, not having any evidence whatsoever) sounding like a conspiracy or conspiring thoughts.
None of what I wrote was supposed to be taken as factual. More food for thought, devils advocate type stuff.

Was any of this thought out and planned in advance?
I highly doubt it and agree with you.

Was the drug saga mishandled and reactionary. I would say yes.

The point from what I was trying to make and may have missed its target with you as a reader was to portray that the sentiments of distrust supporters have with the bombers management stem from these events and its after effects. Most of it media driven. It is the same hoop our brains are jumping through at the moment with the media bombardment about our on-field performances. It has been relentless almost on a daily basis for most of the 10 round weeks.
Now even the most critical thinking minds would succumb to that sort of torturous mind *ery.

So the after effect of such events is to resolve it by finding something to pass it on to. This is Blame Shifting.
This thread has, I imagine been created to discuss just this type of reaction. Who to shift the blame to.
So its moved from Coach, to Players, and now to Board of Directors. Do you see a pattern.

Yes as Essendon supporters we are having a tough time. Yeah the media is giving us an arse paddling.

But moving thoughts to lets just become cannibal’s and eat our own kind is not who or what we should become.
Acknowledging its a tough time. Stay true to the course. And hope and support all within the bombers community at large.
Because I imagine everyone is not feeling to great at the moment.

So I have to cut this short, I have to get back to my Freemason’s meeting to vote on who we think should be the next Prime Minister before the general public casts their inconsequential votes on Saturday.

 

[BrunoV]

So I have a pretty wild theory as to why the current situation is unfolding the way it is and why keeping the current structure of board members intact is intrinsic to this.

One assumption to this requires a leap of faith in the penances Essendon as a club as a whole entity agreed to after the ‘Drugs Saga’.

The ‘Drugs Saga’ needed to happen.
It could have happened at any and probably most clubs as every club was searching for an edge in performance.
A high profile club was needed to take a hit to curtail the rise in performance enhancing enhancement's to prevent it from damaging players and being accepted as ‘Just what everyone else does’.
For this to play out all clubs needed to get the message that this experimentation that walking the fine line of banned and experimental enhancements would not be tolerated.
Rumour mill at the time, if my memory serves me right, has it that several clubs had, lets call them ‘injection regiments’. Publicly Essendon was the largest and most known entity.
Therefore it was decided by the AFL after Essendon self reported to be the ‘Poster Child’ for industry change.
(This is totally un-substantiated and is only of opinion)

(Ok I fully know that this borders on crazy conspiracy type thoughts and if you think that after my intro I wouldn’t try to change your mind, in-fact I would probably agree with you)

So magic 8 ball, what does the future hold????


The current board needed to stay in place to hold true to the plan and oversee its completion without deviation.
I propose the plan held several steps almost like a well written script for a movie planned out by master strategists within PR community. The Trial, The Fall, The Suffering, The Rebuild and moving to the final stages of The Redemption and The Revival.
What I predict is within the next 6 months there will be a shift in media coverage to James Hird returning to Essendon. “The second coming of the mesiah”. Kicking off the “Redemption” phase.

Unfortunately Ben Rutton will be the sacrificial lamb in this. As the media will continue to take its pound of flesh against him. But he will have served very well as an extended caretaker coach and rewarded for it.
I allude to this as I am of the opinion that this was the role Rutton agreed to in assuming the role of Coach, it was only going to ever be a part time gig. (Though I believe that Ruttons development skills and personal attributes are incredible especially his calmness under media pressure and scrutiny. ) (Again this is just conjured up in my own mind and even if evidence could be found it would be extremely hard to prove. It would be hidden behind NDA’s and contracts.)

This will come on the back of the AFL boss Gil retroactively returning the Brownlow to Jobe as a final scene in his role in this Drama.
Gil McLachlan End Scene.

How this plan holds, or stays true is dependant on the board at Essendon staying in place and sticking fat.

This may have happened sooner if Covid didn’t occur and the pause button was pushed until better days.

Most of this as stated is purely theoretical and conjecture.
All of this may be wishful thinking to resolve my personal feelings of a suffering yet passionate supporter of the mighty Bombers.
Also all these events probably shouldn’t be put together like a well written script as mentioned earlier. It is highly unlikely that any of this was planned for, real life is not a movie.

Though if there was or is a plan for Essendon to enter into a future Revival stage, which I believe we are so close to, and have been moving towards with drafting and trades. The current leadership at the club needs to stay to see it out.

Personal opinion finished.

I dont think this is that out there, not so much because it is planned but because I think, in large part, we're still unable to come to terms with Hird not working out.

There was a clear plan. He was the leader and figure head who would bring Essendon into the 21st century. It was a whole club thing. We dont just loosen the purse strings for anyone.

When that failed we turned to West Coast's Hird, then thought we'd recreate Richmond but there has not really been a plan since Hird. Nothing of any conviction, just borrowing a few bits here and there, tactics passed off as strategy.

It almost feels like we've been waiting, subconsciously, for him to come back, and finish what he started and that we've left the chair free for him to do it.

Maybe that's why, despite the passage of 6 completed seasons we're still in no man's land never even having undertaken a recruiting process that is a risk of landing someone we could actually get behind.


Edit: I can't help but compare with Carlton again.

It was left to SOS to clean things up which he did very well, as is now being proven.

They got impatient with Bolton who did not have the clout to survive the depths of the rebuild. That was trying to become Hawthorn without any conviction. If there was conviction they would not have sacked him when they did.

Judd then said they didn't want a coach with training wheels. That comment has a new meaning to me now.

They let the tail wag the dog, floundered for a few more years before reverting to plan A.

 

[Call Me Cake]

Unfortunately Ben Rutten will be the sacrificial lamb in this. As the media will continue to take its pound of flesh against him. But he will have served...

I'm hungry.

I allude to this as I am of the opinion that this was the role Rutten agreed to in assuming the role of Coach, it was only going to ever be a part time gig.

There is something to be believed in orchestration. It's quite clear to us in hindsight that Matthew Knights, bless his little heart, was always going to be sacrificed for the return of Hird. It was not a matter of if, but when. Knights simply existed as a buffer zone between the end of the Sheedy era and the beginning of the Hird era. When circumstances are terrible - the hunger/acceptance of the next in line becomes a far quicker transition.

That aside, I do believe that if Rutten was ever asked to move aside or to step down, he wouldn't cause a fuss. He came to the club as a coach needing to be coached. He is an intelligent man and would've known the way in which he arrived that even with an extended honeymoon period by negating 2020 that he would still be under the pump as the true successor to the saga era. He came to the club by subtly pushing aside another, and Woosha was a good sport about it. Which is why I'd expect that experience would cause Rutten to react in a similar way.

Was it orchestrated in the same vein as the former? Probably not. But IMO the club most likely believed that Rutten, as a defensive coach, would have provide the defensive back-bone we've needed to eventually make us improve exponentially. But that isn't happening, and we are too big of a club to ever fathom being pathetic in our effort week in, week out for a whole year, let alone five. And in essence, he will be at the mercy of the next in line arriving amid the terrible - the basis of which creates a quicker opening of the exit door and the subsequent greater opening of arms.

 

[fairbump_playon]

how about the boards of canada?

Football has the right to children

 

[dabombers]

I dont think this is that out there, not so much because it is planned but because I think, in large part, we're still unable to come to terms with Hird not working out.

There was a clear plan. He was the leader and figure head who would bring Essendon into the 21st century. It was a whole club thing. We dont just loosen the purse strings for anyone.

When that failed we turned to West Coast's Hird, then thought we'd recreate Richmond but there has not really been a plan since Hird. Nothing of any conviction, just borrowing a few bits here and there, tactics passed off as strategy.

It almost feels like we've been waiting, subconsciously, for him to come back, and finish what he started and that we've left the chair free for him to do it.

Maybe that's why, despite the passage of 6 completed seasons we're still in no man's land never even having undertaken a recruiting process that is a risk of landing someone we could actually get behind.


Edit: I can't help but compare with Carlton again.

It was left to SOS to clean things up which he did very well, as is now being proven.

They got impatient with Bolton who did not have the clout to survive the depths of the rebuild. That was trying to become Hawthorn without any conviction. If there was conviction they would not have sacked him when they did.

Judd then said they didn't want a coach with training wheels. That comment has a new meaning to me now.

They let the tail wag the dog, floundered for a few more years before reverting to plan A.

I'm hungry.



There is something to be believed in orchestration. It's quite clear to us in hindsight that Matthew Knights, bless his little heart, was always going to be sacrificed for the return of Hird. It was not a matter of if, but when. Knights simply existed as a buffer zone between the end of the Sheedy era and the beginning of the Hird era. When circumstances are terrible - the hunger/acceptance of the next in line becomes a far quicker transition.

That aside, I do believe that if Rutten was ever asked to move aside or to step down, he wouldn't cause a fuss. He came to the club as a coach needing to be coached. He is an intelligent man and would've known the way in which he arrived that even with an extended honeymoon period by negating 2020 that he would still be under the pump as the true successor to the saga era. He came to the club by subtly pushing aside another, and Woosha was a good sport about it. Which is why I'd expect that experience would cause Rutten to react in a similar way.

Was it orchestrated in the same vein as the former? Probably not. But IMO the club most likely believed that Rutten, as a defensive coach, would have provide the defensive back-bone we've needed to eventually make us improve exponentially. But that isn't happening, and we are too big of a club to ever fathom being pathetic in our effort week in, week out for a whole year, let alone five. And in essence, he will be at the mercy of the next in line arriving amid the terrible - the basis of which creates a quicker opening of the exit door and the subsequent greater opening of arms.

I think both of you have got the essence of what I may have been rambling about.

By the way the vote at the Masons tonight was to oust the Christians and allow the Dark Lord to hold the seat of Prime Minister for the next 3-4 years.

One of the many character traits that are needed in a leader, or a good leader. Is that this person should have failed or fallen from grace first, to learn from the experience and rise up like a phoenix.
There are many historical examples of good vs bad leaders and what samples of experiences they have had.
Also objectively only a very small percentage of the top 5% of leaders contain within themselves a certain mix of emotional, intellectual and intuitive intelligence’s mixed together with a splattering of other traits that makes themselves and those around them successful. Call them blessed or cursed. Whatever it is, sometimes it is intangible, but when viewed from the outside, it is undeniable.

Every army needs its soldiers, sergeant’s, lieutenants, etc. but without a clear cut General that all can get behind and fight, the war is already lost.

I think the Bombers now understand this, or have for some time. And was just waiting for the right circumstances and timing to enact plan ‘Hird Return’.

And personally I cant wait!

We have thickened skin from all the name calling for the last 6 years. And unlike some of our main rivals we have learnt and grown from the ordeal.

But Essendon has surprised me in the past and I wouldn’t put it past them to do it again. Be it stick with Rutton, go get Mr big bucks Clarkson or something else from left field.

Like a good movie I can’t wait to see how the twist plays out to see how the next 3-6 months ends.