Certified Legendary Thread Sympathy for *essendon - congratulations on '16 Wooden Spoon (RIP The Scales)

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Wild Bill

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Good to finally hear from *hird. This clears a lot up for me.

"Today is my first chance to publicly answer this question, unconstrained by the contractual obligations a coach must observe and free of pressure applied by the AFL. I can finally offer a more detailed explanation to 34 young men and their families. Players who absolutely do not deserve this fate.

To put it simply, when I was offered the job of Head Coach at Essendon in September 2010, I didn’t take the job. At least not in any real sense. Sure, I was around the club a bit. I headed press conferences after most/all games. And I took full credit for wins, when we had them. But it’s a leap to say I was in any way in charge of the playing group.

In 2012 I hired Dean Robinson, and in turn Stephen Dank. I don’t intend to go through every detail of every interaction I had with them, lest I inadvertently give away useful information that sheds light on what actually took place that year.

But what I can say is that it was the club’s Sliding Doors moment. I’m not sure if you’ve seen Sliding Doors? Basically it’s about how Gwyneth Paltrow misses a train, setting off two parallel realities, one where she catches her husband having an affair, the other where she doesn’t. In our case we set up a program to inject 34 players with human growth hormone. The similarities are undeniable.

So, in summary, who was really responsible for the injection program that led to 34 players getting suspended for a season? Quite simply, everyone else. The staff, the media, the AFL, and to some extent – let’s be totally honest here – you.

But was I in any way responsible, even in some small way? To believe that, you’d also have to believe that I had some kind of senior role, or at least some level of influence at the Essendon Football Club. And that is the stuff of conspiracy theories”.
 

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Mr Reliable

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The Australian front page has the Indonesia situation.

The Herald is still painting *hird in a martyr image.

Eff me.
Continuing with the religious theme, I think it's time *Robbo took down the shrine to *Hird and attempted to take an objective view as a chief football writer would do. If he continues to embarrass himself as the *Bombres go down in flames, he might find himself working for Ralphy.

Ralphy: Robbo, get me another wine cooler from the fridge please.
Robbo: Why don't you go fu.... yourself?
Ralphy: What was that?
Robbo: Go easy on those coolers boss, you've already had two today.
Ralphy: Pfft, I can handle it. And while you're at it, *James Hird rang for you, but I told him you were busy working on a big John Worsfold feature.
 

Hojuman

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Good to finally hear from *hird. This clears a lot up for me.

"Today is my first chance to publicly answer this question, unconstrained by the contractual obligations a coach must observe and free of pressure applied by the AFL. I can finally offer a more detailed explanation to 34 young men and their families. Players who absolutely do not deserve this fate.

To put it simply, when I was offered the job of Head Coach at Essendon in September 2010, I didn’t take the job. At least not in any real sense. Sure, I was around the club a bit. I headed press conferences after most/all games. And I took full credit for wins, when we had them. But it’s a leap to say I was in any way in charge of the playing group.

In 2012 I hired Dean Robinson, and in turn Stephen Dank. I don’t intend to go through every detail of every interaction I had with them, lest I inadvertently give away useful information that sheds light on what actually took place that year.

But what I can say is that it was the club’s Sliding Doors moment. I’m not sure if you’ve seen Sliding Doors? Basically it’s about how Gwyneth Paltrow misses a train, setting off two parallel realities, one where she catches her husband having an affair, the other where she doesn’t. In our case we set up a program to inject 34 players with human growth hormone. The similarities are undeniable.

So, in summary, who was really responsible for the injection program that led to 34 players getting suspended for a season? Quite simply, everyone else. The staff, the media, the AFL, and to some extent – let’s be totally honest here – you.

But was I in any way responsible, even in some small way? To believe that, you’d also have to believe that I had some kind of senior role, or at least some level of influence at the Essendon Football Club. And that is the stuff of conspiracy theories”.

Rumor file. Mulder & Scully sighted in Airport West shopping centre.
 
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James is obviously looking for a new career and gainful employment now. Imagine if he became a travel agent? You'd wander in and say "I'm not fussed about going anywhere specific in the world, just send me to where you reckon is a 'good place'." Where would he send you?
Mogadishu
 

Dirty_11

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Continuing with the religious theme, I think it's time *Robbo took down the shrine to *Hird and attempted to take an objective view as a chief football writer would do. If he continues to embarrass himself as the *Bombres go down in flames, he might find himself working for Ralphy.

Ralphy: Robbo, get me another wine cooler from the fridge please.
Robbo: Why don't you go fu.... yourself?
Ralphy: What was that?
Robbo: Go easy on those coolers boss, you've already had two today.
Ralphy: Pfft, I can handle it. And while you're at it, *James Hird rang for you, but I told him you were busy working on a big John Worsfold feature.
Imagine Ralphy in charge of the Hun. God help us.
 

Mr Reliable

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Good to finally hear from *hird. This clears a lot up for me.

"Today is my first chance to publicly answer this question, unconstrained by the contractual obligations a coach must observe and free of pressure applied by the AFL. I can finally offer a more detailed explanation to 34 young men and their families. Players who absolutely do not deserve this fate.

To put it simply, when I was offered the job of Head Coach at Essendon in September 2010, I didn’t take the job. At least not in any real sense. Sure, I was around the club a bit. I headed press conferences after most/all games. And I took full credit for wins, when we had them. But it’s a leap to say I was in any way in charge of the playing group.

In 2012 I hired Dean Robinson, and in turn Stephen Dank. I don’t intend to go through every detail of every interaction I had with them, lest I inadvertently give away useful information that sheds light on what actually took place that year.

But what I can say is that it was the club’s Sliding Doors moment. I’m not sure if you’ve seen Sliding Doors? Basically it’s about how Gwyneth Paltrow misses a train, setting off two parallel realities, one where she catches her husband having an affair, the other where she doesn’t. In our case we set up a program to inject 34 players with human growth hormone. The similarities are undeniable.

So, in summary, who was really responsible for the injection program that led to 34 players getting suspended for a season? Quite simply, everyone else. The staff, the media, the AFL, and to some extent – let’s be totally honest here – you.

But was I in any way responsible, even in some small way? To believe that, you’d also have to believe that I had some kind of senior role, or at least some level of influence at the Essendon Football Club. And that is the stuff of conspiracy theories”.

How could *he soar like a Bomber, when *he was surrounded by liars and drongos? Especially, it seems, that Hamilton bloke.

Oh, and the dog ate his homework and then he was abducted by Martians.
 

Dirty_11

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Hird has lost touch with reality

After three long years of fighting anyone and everyone who has come at Essendon during this supplements saga James Hird has become delusional, says Hutchison.

“If I was to be really honest, I feel for him now, it’s beyond the point of delusion,” he said.

“I think he’s completely delusional and there was nothing new in his letter, we were looking for some type of reason to empathise with the mistakes – there wasn’t any.

“There was a lot of finger pointing at others too.

“His interview with Tracey will be more of the same.

“I think he’s so weather-beaten and broken by it that he just can’t see the forest for the trees anymore and I feel for him in a way.

“He didn’t try and cheat, but the reality is that he did cheat, it’s been proven that they have cheated.

“The players have also got to take some responsibility, it might only be five per cent their fault, but it’s still their fault in some way.”


http://www.sen.com.au/news/01-16/hutchy-on-herald-sun-and-delusional-hird#Z5Vjsf6iX7imsoSX.99
 

ArjenTheGreat

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If he took the stuff to try to take any short cuts to recovery, sure. I wouldn't claim to have enough info to make that call, but if pushed to speculate, I'd probably say yes, but I'd admit that's based on bias because of what else i know about the guy.

Your stuff about the AFL isn't consistent, and that's what arced me up in the first place. On the one hand you say that regulatory bodies like WADA should butt out of the AFL's business, but that's supposed to be OK because you think that everyone should have to quit and reapply at 1/4 wages. Well, um, who should be directing that?
What are you on about?

He took the diaretic to cover up cocaine use...

As for the AFL, I'm very consistent. I say they are all paid more than they need to be paid however should remain in control of the direction of our sport.

You can remain in your job and be paid 1/4 of your current pay. It happens quite often at executive level when factoring bonuses etc.
 

B Tron

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Hird has lost touch with reality

After three long years of fighting anyone and everyone who has come at Essendon during this supplements saga James Hird has become delusional, says Hutchison.

“If I was to be really honest, I feel for him now, it’s beyond the point of delusion,” he said.

“I think he’s completely delusional and there was nothing new in his letter, we were looking for some type of reason to empathise with the mistakes – there wasn’t any.

“There was a lot of finger pointing at others too.

“His interview with Tracey will be more of the same.

“I think he’s so weather-beaten and broken by it that he just can’t see the forest for the trees anymore and I feel for him in a way.

“He didn’t try and cheat, but the reality is that he did cheat, it’s been proven that they have cheated.

“The players have also got to take some responsibility, it might only be five per cent their fault, but it’s still their fault in some way.”


http://www.sen.com.au/news/01-16/hutchy-on-herald-sun-and-delusional-hird#Z5Vjsf6iX7imsoSX.99
Theworm is turning in relation to the media position re Jimmah. Hopefully some more will talk up in relation to AFL hypocrisy and collusion with * to limit the impact of the CAS outcome.
 

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Horace

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Theworm is turning in relation to the media position re Jimmah. Hopefully some more will talk up in relation to AFL hypocrisy and collusion with * to limit the impact of the CAS outcome.
And I think it might also be turning in relation to what action the *players are thinking of taking. While *they are still considering appealing the CAS decision, I sense *they are warming to taking action against the *club. Good times ahead

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...and-continue-their-fight-20160115-gm6qrn.html

Also this is an interesting article from Darren Kane. Kane is a Sydney based lawyer who wrote some time ago, if my memory serves me correctly, that the players would be found not guilty. He is clearly unhappy with the CAS decision, but towards the finish he seems to be saying that the *players should now look for compensation from the *club and as a start the *club should tip $50m into a bucket to get things underway.

I'm not sure that the great *donialists out at *peptide park will have any sympathy for that course of action. I think *they might be more likely to put the *club into liquidation, walk away from *their creditors and seek a new Licence from the AFL. I would put nothing beyond that bunch of *ars****es* in this situation. (Very hard the use of * when you are writing about a********. :D)

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/esse...-decision-was-mystifying-20160115-gm6lyh.html
 

gokangas

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And I think it might also be turning in relation to what action the *players are thinking of taking. While *they are still considering appealing the CAS decision, I sense *they are warming to taking action against the *club. Good times ahead

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...and-continue-their-fight-20160115-gm6qrn.html

Also this is an interesting article from Darren Kane. Kane is a Sydney based lawyer who wrote some time ago, if my memory serves me correctly, that the players would be found not guilty. He is clearly unhappy with the CAS decision, but towards the finish he seems to be saying that the *players should now look for compensation from the *club and as a start the *club should tip $50m into a bucket to get things underway.

I'm not sure that the great *donialists out at *peptide park will have any sympathy for that course of action. I think *they might be more likely to put the *club into liquidation, walk away from *their creditors and seek a new Licence from the AFL. I would put nothing beyond that bunch of *ars****es* in this situation. (Very hard the use of * when you are writing about a********. :D)

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/esse...-decision-was-mystifying-20160115-gm6lyh.html
Typical solicitor - always a way to keep the money tree alive.
 

Arden

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While the AFL continues to rely on government funding for stadiums etc they have no choice but to continue under the ASADA/WADA banner.
And this is exactly why Paul Marsh's view about the AFL leaving WADA is a disgrace Rather than truly acting a representative of the players and considering that leaving WADA may reduce every current and future players earning capacity, he is more concerned with protecting the select few grubs that cheated.
 
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The irony of a club presently being rogered six ways from Sunday for ingesting illicit substances and claiming it was an accident and they were duped, looking at recruiting a player whose doctor gave him painkillers on the banned list and didn't bother to check if they were legal is particularly delicious.
 

Dirty_11

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The irony of a club presently being rogered six ways from Sunday for ingesting illicit substances and claiming it was an accident and they were duped, looking at recruiting a player whose doctor gave him painkillers on the banned list and didn't bother to check if they were legal is particularly delicious.
Saad isn't out of the picture either.
 

Wild Bill

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100% spot on!!




"The ramifications of the Essendon supplements regime would not have been nearly as severe if James Hird was not unconditionally celebrated as a cult football hero, says Rebecca Wilson.

She believes Hird’s standing in the game before 2012 had made him feel invincible and incapable of feeling any responsibility for future wrongdoings.

Furthermore, that cult hero status often prevented many from going harder at the former Essendon coach when he ought to have been held more accountable for his part in the saga.

“The cult of AFL celebrity in Melbourne is defined by Hird,” wrote Wilson in the Daily Telegraph.

“He is almost a religious icon, a man who has spent nearly 30 years of his life inside the bubble called Melbourne, gazing at himself in the reflection, being told, and genuinely believing, that he is perfect.”

Wilson suggests that Hird likely believes that he has genuinely done very little wrong because he has always been given the benefit of the doubt as a champion of the game.

“If you are James Hird, you never see yourself as a perpetrator. You are just James, the white haired boy in the bubble,” she added.

“You have no concept of the collateral damage you have caused in a three-year campaign that has brought your club, your players and your code to its knees.”

This week Hird has published articles in the Herald Sun with the intention of telling his side of the story for the first time without any hindrance from his Bombers or the AFL.

“Over these last two days, newspaper readers have been treated to a Hird diatribe of stunning delusion and blame laying,” claimed Wilson.

“Here in Sydney, or Brisbane, or Adelaide, the rant has raised more questions than answers. It has underlined just how conceited Hird is and how ridiculously unrepentant he remains.”


Read more at http://www.sen.com.au/news/01-16/bec-wilson-gets-personal-with-perfect-hird#RGS03i2iImTuqYIL.99
 

TennisPlayerAndy

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It's taken a while, but the tide is turning.

Only a select few delusional individuals are still in the Hird corner.

It's going to be delicious watching them come to the realisation that they have not only backed the wrong horse, but also ridden it in the wrong ******* direction.
 
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