Club Mgmt. Board of Directors as led by President Dave Barham

[Lore]

Spoiler: Timeline of events

• 15/8: President, Paul Brasher resigns, replaced by Dave Barham who foreshadows external review
  • Votes for Brasher: Peter Allen, Simon Madden, Sean Wellman
    Sean Wellman

    Age

    49

    Ht

    193cm

    Wt

    90kg

    Pos.

    Def

    Career

    Season

    Last 5

    D

    14.1

    4star

    K

    9.7

    4star

    HB

    4.5

    3star

    M

    4.5

    4star

    T

    1.0

    3star

    No current season stats available

    D

    8.0

    2star

    K

    4.4

    2star

    HB

    3.6

    3star

    M

    2.6

    3star

    T

    0.8

    3star

  • Votes for Barham: Andrew Muir, Dorothy Hisgrove, Melissa Green, Kate O’Sullivan, Kevin Sheedy
• 21/8: Senior Coach, Ben Rutten
  Ben Rutten

  Age

  40

  Ht

  190cm

  Wt

  98kg

  Pos.

  Def

  Career

  Season

  Last 5

  D

  13.4

  3star

  K

  6.3

  2star

  HB

  7.0

  4star

  M

  5.3

  5star

  T

  1.3

  3star

  No current season stats available

  D

  10.6

  3star

  K

  6.2

  3star

  HB

  4.4

  4star

  M

  3.6

  4star

  T

  1.0

  3star

  sacked
• 24/8: CEO, Xavier Campbell resigns
• 24/8: Directors to resign
  • Paul Brasher, immediately
  • Simon Madden, immediately
  • Sean Wellman, after new football director is appointed
  • Peter Allen, after AGM & finance portfolio handover in December
• 26/8: Details of coaching selection committee appointment
  • Sub-committee of 6: Josh Mahoney
    Josh Mahoney

    Age

    46

    Ht

    180cm

    Wt

    83kg

    Pos.

    Fwd

    Career

    Season

    Last 5

    D

    11.3

    3star

    K

    6.8

    3star

    HB

    4.5

    3star

    M

    3.5

    4star

    T

    1.6

    4star

    G

    0.9

    4star

    No current season stats available

    D

    9.2

    3star

    K

    5.4

    2star

    HB

    3.8

    3star

    M

    2.2

    3star

    T

    1.6

    4star

    G

    0.4

    3star

    (Chair, GM-Footy), Robert Walls, Jordan Lewis
    Jordan Lewis

    Age

    37

    Ht

    186cm

    Wt

    86kg

    Pos.

    D/M

    Career

    Season

    Last 5

    D

    23.5

    5star

    K

    12.1

    4star

    HB

    11.5

    5star

    M

    5.5

    5star

    T

    2.7

    4star

    MG

    310.5

    4star

    No current season stats available

    D

    15.0

    4star

    K

    6.8

    3star

    HB

    8.2

    5star

    M

    4.8

    5star

    T

    2.8

    5star

    , Simone McKinnis OAM, Andrew Thorburn and Dorothy Hisgrove (board member).
• 26/8: Details of external review process
  • Ernst & Young to coordinate with support from Andrew Thorburn, working closely with Nick Ryan (Acting CEO) & Dorothy Hisgrove (board member)
  • Focusing on four areas: (1) Board effectiveness & composition, (2) a review of leadership, operations and culture including the footy department, (3) the senior coach appointment and (4) the new CEO appointment.
• 26/9: Andrew Welsh appointed to the board of directors, replacing Simon Madden
• 29/9: Brad Scott appointed as Senior Coach
• 30/9: Kevin Sheedy claims decision to appoint Brad Scott was 6-1 against him
• 3/10: Andrew Thorburn appointed as CEO - alternative link
• 3/10: “External review to be handed to the board next week”: Andrew Thorburn, Crichton Medal Address
• 4/10: Andrew Thorburn resigns as CEO
• 11/10: External review preliminary findings
• 24/10: External review preliminary findings II
• 2/11: Dan McPherson appointed as General Manager of Performance & Cam Roberts as Head of Development
• 11/11: Dean Rioli appointed to the board of directors, replacing Paul Brasher
• 14/11: Tim Roberts & David Wills appointed to the board of directors, replacing Sean Wellman and Paul Allen respectively
• 28/11: Dorothy Hisgrove announced as first female vice-president (at the Essendon Women's Best and Fairest night)
• 1/12: Craig Vozzo appointed as CEO
• 13/12: Board director election results: Andrew Welsh and Andrew Muir elected
• 15/5: The club's First Nations Advisory Council established, to be led by Dean Rioli (chair, Indigenous board member), and including: Leanne Brooke (EFC EGM – Community & The Long Walk. Essendon FC), Dorothy Hisgrove (EFC VP and National Manager Partner KPMG), Kane Ellis (CEO of Illawarra Aboriginal Medical Service), John Evans (Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Engagement at Swinburne) and Che Cockatoo-Collins (EM, Indigenous Affairs NBN, EFC Past Player)
• 16/5: Board of Directors declare support for the First Nations Voice to Parliament, after consultation with the new First Nations Advisory Council
• 28/8: EGM - Football, Josh Mahoney has accepted a role as GM Football Operations at the AFL
• 10/10: GM - Performance Daniel McPherson, and Head of AFLW/AFL Operations Manager Aysha Ward have been elevated to the club executive as joint leaders of the club's football department, as GM-AFL and GM-AFLW respectively

 

[jmoo wan]

An element of this has to be slight of hand as well, chuck the ferals a bone over *here* while you make constructive steps to push forward over *here*.

Masked magician but for appeasing nuffies.

I’m not saying this is a brilliant move but I’m trying to be pragmatic.

i think this is the most likely option.

Plus part of me thinks this could be a way for Brasher to have a his voice in the media that will be able to defend us and stick up for us in a way that he nor previous presidents could. Nor could it be our CEO who is worried about his next gig.

Sheedy literally has nothing to lose and couldn’t give a s**t about offending the AFL.

the rest about football knowledge and mentoring the coach is all just to sate Sheedy’s ego

 

[Proper Gander]

i’m more concerned about what i’m supposed to do with all the vote Jmoo 2020 paraphernalia i’ve produced.

Run with it anyway. Class like that shouldn’t go to waste

 

[foj1]

Brasher on SEN just now has backed Dodoro and stated that our list (rough quote) “can stand up against any other list in the league”. Results say no. Last 6000 days without a finals win says no. And we’ve just brought Sheedy back. It’s ******* Groundhog Day.

He has lost me. His tough talk lasted less than a week. Supporting dodoro publicly means there will be no change or he is a liar.
our membership dropped 20% this year.
how much in 2021? You seriously have to question what is really going to change.

 

[Eleven 38]

When they sacked Sheeds in 2007 I thought it was a good move at the time, as he may have had too much say around the club, and a reset was due.

Well that worked bloody well didnt it. Maybe it was the wrong move and its time to give him some say back.

 

[foj1]

Cant listen to the pod, not uploaded yet, or at least not on the link you provided. No matter thougj as i heard it live.
Dont know where you got your exact quote from but i reiterate, you heard what you want to hear.

He compared our young core talent to others in the league, not the whole list. He already said on field is number one priority.

I cant imagine coming out on national radio and scorching the earth by slamming everyone (previous board, Dodoro, Campbell, players) would be a good way to start his term. His private views and actions reportedly are far more abrasive and demanding of answers. If he has problems with how the club is run, he isnt going to air it all out on radio before he has a chance to fix it.

publicly supporting dodoro was very disheartening to me. I don’t expect him to bag him but he could have played a straight bat. Bringing speedy onto the board just strengthens dodoro significantly.

 

[DERO]

He has lost me. His tough talk lasted less than a week. Supporting dodoro publicly means there will be no change or he is a liar.
our membership dropped 20% this year.
how much in 2021? You seriously have to question what is really going to change.

covid 19. You'd think that most other clubs would have a drop...?

 

[CBombers17]

Has anyone heard the media asked him where we he thinks we are at as a club in terms of football yet?

Are we supposedly still in our window or not etc.

 

[Howard Moon]

AFL 2020: Kevin Sheedy defends Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro, vows to put red and black back into Bombers

amp.theage.com.au

Should have stopped at Sheedy defends dodoro...but I didn't

"New Essendon board member Kevin Sheedy has heavily backed controversial long-term list manager Adrian Dodoro and said it's time for the club to reassert its identity after unashamedly trying to be more like Richmond."

But Sheedy, who coached the Bombers to four premierships and will join the board next month, said Dodoro was the right person to lead the list rebuild and return the club to a position of respect.

"I think Adrian has been a very, very good recruiting officer," said Sheedy, who was frustrated at the inertia of the club he left in 2007.

"Do you recruit people for structure or talent? I don't know the answer to that. It is an interesting question.


"We have to prepare ourselves for the best Essendon draft ever and they [draftees] have not played a game this year [in Victoria], like none, because of COVID so it is going to be difficult"

Gulp

Next he will wear a make ess great again hat

 

[jmoo wan]

he should have posted a video of him
kicking Dodoro right in the nut sack with steel capped boots, yelling “that’s for selecting Myers over Rioli” repeatedly.

then we’d know he meant business.

 

[CBombers17]

There's nothing like progress!

 

[Howard Moon]

..."Do you recruit people for structure or talent? I don't know the answer to that. It is an interesting question.


Is it?

So you are telling me Kev, you were in charge of our recruiting for how many years and you don't know the answer to such questions?

Zantuck makes more sense now

 

[jmoo wan]

i thought Dodoro always said Sheedy told him to recruit the spine and build a team around that?

edit: just looked it up and yeah here we go:

“Sheeds' (former coach Kevin Sheedy) always taught me when I first started in recruiting was get your talls right, get your spine right because it's the hardest part of your recruiting," Dodoro said.”

interesting read this one with everyone’s favourite hindsight:

Bombers 'refreshing' not rebuilding, says Dodoro

Essendon not in a state of rebuild due to quality spine, says Adrian Dodoro

www.afl.com.au

this bit in particularly:

“The two years we lost our selections were going to be anchored towards midfielders.

"But unfortunately we lost those picks and we changed tact."”

 

[Lore]

..."Do you recruit people for structure or talent? I don't know the answer to that. It is an interesting question.


Is it?

So you are telling me Kev, you were in charge of our recruiting for how many years and you don't know the answer to such questions?

Zantuck makes more sense now

It's a false dichotomy, but the way it's phrased is eerily familiar.

"Did we go soft on the players because of the saga? I don't know."

 

[BrunoV]

AFL 2020: Kevin Sheedy defends Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro, vows to put red and black back into Bombers

amp.theage.com.au

Should have stopped at Sheedy defends dodoro...but I didn't

"New Essendon board member Kevin Sheedy has heavily backed controversial long-term list manager Adrian Dodoro and said it's time for the club to reassert its identity after unashamedly trying to be more like Richmond."

But Sheedy, who coached the Bombers to four premierships and will join the board next month, said Dodoro was the right person to lead the list rebuild and return the club to a position of respect.

"I think Adrian has been a very, very good recruiting officer," said Sheedy, who was frustrated at the inertia of the club he left in 2007.

"Do you recruit people for structure or talent? I don't know the answer to that. It is an interesting question.


"We have to prepare ourselves for the best Essendon draft ever and they [draftees] have not played a game this year [in Victoria], like none, because of COVID so it is going to be difficult"

Gulp

Next he will wear a make ess great again hat

And just like that. All faith gone.

 

[CBombers17]

From that age article/Sheedy interview.... sounds like more than a casual mentorship? Even if it is he's not downplaying it before actually talking to Rutten - probably more appropriate....

***

"Until I go there and go through the football department I cannot say too much – I have not been in the footy department since 2007.

"[It is hard to offer an opinion on Rutten] until I go and have a look and sit down with Sean Wellman and meet the coach and the coaches, whoever they appoint. I am going in cold.

"I don't know him [Rutten], I have met him twice but you don't know someone after meeting them twice.

 

[Vander18]

I called this a couple of weeks ago - Sheeds is deadset living out a fantasy.

His mentoring of Rutten will in fact be white anting and Rutten, having foolishly taken the false advice, will fail miserably plunging the club into even greater crisis.

Who can we turn to? Who can lead us out of the wilderness the Board wonders.....ever so slowly Sheeds raises his hand. “ I have an idea, now just hear me out....”

All of this is just leading up to that moment.

 

[Phone]

So Kevin Sheedy will be appointed to the board effective immediately, replacing Katie Lio and standing for re-election in December.

Does this stink to any one else? Replacing a member elected board member and doing it with someone the board knows can't be beaten in an election? Feels very classic Essendon insular move to me.

of course this is stupid

with that said, I'm not sure how much practical harm it'll do. It'll just be the embarrassment from him talking and talking (see: the article)

 

[Milanista28]

The whole club thinks working harder will fix everything, not sure that's our problem.

 

[foj1]

covid 19. You'd think that most other clubs would have a drop...?

I believe we were the biggest drop.
happy to be proven incorrect.
what excitement or real sense of change has the club created?
lots can change but bringing a 70+ year old legend onto the board who is your inept list managers biggest fan hardly fills you with confidence.
a lot can play out in the next month but we will likely lose Daniher and Fantasia.two genuinely exciting players. Hopefully keep saad and recruit and bring in hopefully some solid players.
a tale of footy for you my sons last 3 favourite players have been Carlisle Ryder and joe Daniher. He is 12 years old and the only players he enjoys watching now are tippa and saad. I enjoy watching Ridley Draper and mcgrath but we are not a fun side to watch. If you were in advertising right now our great club would be a tough sell.
I really felt like a big broom was going to go through the club. I reckon brasher is holding a feather duster.

 

[Phone]

the whole afl world works on "under-performed expectations? DIDN'T WORK HARD ENOUGH. over-performed expectations? IT WAS THE EFFORT"

you could literally write code predicting whether a team has worked hard or not based off betting odds and how their performances match up to those expectations

 

[DERO]

I believe we were the biggest drop.
happy to be proven incorrect.
what excitement or real sense of change has the club created?
lots can change but bringing a 70+ year old legend onto the board who is your inept list managers biggest fan hardly fills you with confidence.
a lot can play out in the next month but we will likely lose Daniher and Fantasia.two genuinely exciting players. Hopefully keep saad and recruit and bring in hopefully some solid players.
a tale of footy for you my sons last 3 favourite players have been Carlisle Ryder and joe Daniher. He is 12 years old and the only players he enjoys watching now are tippa and saad. I enjoy watching Ridley Draper and mcgrath but we are not a fun side to watch. If you were in advertising right now our great club would be a tough sell.
I really felt like a big broom was going to go through the club. I reckon brasher is holding a feather duster.

You are making a lot of assumptions based on a limited amount of footage/ information mate. Not having a go by the way but let’s see what happens I guess.

 

[yodellinhank]

I called this a couple of weeks ago - Sheeds is deadset living out a fantasy.

His mentoring of Rutten will in fact be white anting and Rutten, having foolishly taken the false advice, will fail miserably plunging the club into even greater crisis.

Who can we turn to? Who can lead us out of the wilderness the Board wonders.....ever so slowly Sheeds raises his hand. “ I have an idea, now just hear me out....”

All of this is just leading up to that moment.

If Rutten is still scared of press conferences maybe Sheeds could take them? That'll give him a little more of an in

 

[foj1]

You are making a lot of assumptions based on a limited amount of footage/ information mate. Not having a go by the way but let’s see what happens I guess.

I agree mate.
i have a son who is losing his passion for the bombers and I reckon he is a reflection of a lot of our supporters. We lost almost 20000 members and only Sydney and Melbourne lost a higher percentage of members.
we are now 6th on the membership ladder with carlton in front of us for the first time in a long time.
our Great club is not on its knees but can I’ll afford to maintain the status quo

 

[CBombers17]

This was from 3 weeks ago if anyone's interested....

Full list and breakdown of the 2020 Membership numbers:

1. West Coast Eagles: 100,776, up 10.3% from 2019's 90,445 total.

2. Richmond: 100,420, down 0.3% from 2019's 103,358 total.

3. Collingwood: 76,862, down 10.9% from 2019's 85,226 total

4. Hawthorn: 76,343, down 6.4% from 2019's 81,211 total.

5. Carlton: 67,035, up 4.1% from 2019's 64,269 total.

6. Essendon: 66,686, down 26.5% from 2019's 84,237 total

7. Geelong: 60,066, down 6.7% from 2019's 65,063 total.

8. Adelaide: 54,891, down 17.4% from 2019's 64,437 total.

9. Fremantle: 51,577, up 0.3% from 2019's 51,431 total.

10. St Kilda: 48,588, up 11.4% from 2019's 43,038 total.

11. Sydney: 48,322, down 28.1 % from 2019's 61,912 total.

12. Port Adelaide: 46,820, down 11% from 2019's 51,951 total.

13. Melbourne: 40,571, down 29.2% from 2019's tally: 52,421 total.

14. Western Bulldogs: 38,876, down 14.1% from 2019's 44,373 total.

15. North Melbourne: 38,667, down 9.7% from 2019's 42,419 total.

16. GWS Giants: 30,841, up 2.4% from 2019's 30,109 total.

17. Brisbane Lions: 29,277, up 4.2% from 2019's 28,023 total.

18. Gold Coast Suns: 16,236 up 15.9% from 2019's 13,649 total.

2020 total: 992,854, down 6.1% from 2019's 1,057,572.

 

[DERO]

This was from 3 weeks ago if anyone's interested....

Full list and breakdown of the 2020 Membership numbers:

1. West Coast Eagles: 100,776, up 10.3% from 2019's 90,445 total.

2. Richmond: 100,420, down 0.3% from 2019's 103,358 total.

3. Collingwood: 76,862, down 10.9% from 2019's 85,226 total

4. Hawthorn: 76,343, down

This was from 3 weeks ago if anyone's interested....

Full list and breakdown of the 2020 Membership numbers:

1. West Coast Eagles: 100,776, up 10.3% from 2019's 90,445 total.

2. Richmond: 100,420, down 0.3% from 2019's 103,358 total.

3. Collingwood: 76,862, down 10.9% from 2019's 85,226 total

4. Hawthorn: 76,343, down 6.4% from 2019's 81,211 total.

5. Carlton: 67,035, up 4.1% from 2019's 64,269 total.

6. Essendon: 66,686, down 26.5% from 2019's 84,237 total

7. Geelong: 60,066, down 6.7% from 2019's 65,063 total.

8. Adelaide: 54,891, down 17.4% from 2019's 64,437 total.

9. Fremantle: 51,577, up 0.3% from 2019's 51,431 total.

10. St Kilda: 48,588, up 11.4% from 2019's 43,038 total.

11. Sydney: 48,322, down 28.1 % from 2019's 61,912 total.

12. Port Adelaide: 46,820, down 11% from 2019's 51,951 total.

13. Melbourne: 40,571, down 29.2% from 2019's tally: 52,421 total.

14. Western Bulldogs: 38,876, down 14.1% from 2019's 44,373 total.

15. North Melbourne: 38,667, down 9.7% from 2019's 42,419 total.

16. GWS Giants: 30,841, up 2.4% from 2019's 30,109 total.

17. Brisbane Lions: 29,277, up 4.2% from 2019's 28,023 total.

18. Gold Coast Suns: 16,236 up 15.9% from 2019's 13,649 total.

2020 total: 992,854, down 6.1% from 2019's 1,057,572.

You sure that % figure for EFC is correct?