I sometimes daydream about the day when Essendon starts getting everything or even most things right.
Blitz will not know itself.
I remember that time. Essendon did almost everything well until the early 2000’s. It was such a proud, strong, dynamic and successful Club. The envy of the AFL. We can take those times for granted looking back. Under Sheeds, it was a glorious ride. The big show in town most weeks and the G was rocking full of heavy red and black hordes!
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And now a laughing stock of the comp
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or you know just post in already relevant existing threads. im happy with small wins
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I think many of us do.
I actually feel sorry for those who have only known Essendon post-2000.
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We are the embarrassment of the league
North Melbourne supporters have had more to cheer about in the last 10 years
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It’s funny when I think about it. When I was younger and living through those successful years ‘we’ used to just assume finals or better year in, year out. And I would hear my Richmond and Demons mates tell me they were jealous for our success and they didn’t know what success was. Now it’s turned 180 degrees!
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Try 2-3 decades.
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Why are we so bad?
Other clubs seem to get their act together after being crap for so many years but not us we seem stuck in the never ending cycle of shitness
I actually blame the supporters. We enable this ■■■■.
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Having Heppel as captain has probably set us back a few years. him smiling with Myers after we lost says it all really
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My view, a cascade of events post 2000.
2003/4, CEO Peter Jackson would declare Essendon had to rebuild, start again after its era of success, believing rationalisation and equity meant it was our turn to reset (poor judgement)
2007, Sheeds ‘sacked’ leaves a vacuum of direction.
2009, Evans / Robson appoint Hird coach, new leadership to do ‘whatever it takes’ to restore Essendon back to success. Around this time, Paul Little (appointed Robson) chose a dynamic high profile CEO on belief Essendon had become commercially and culturally meek and mild off field.
Then, we know yearning for success led to that event in 2012. The saga. Holistically, it saw Essendon become the pariah of Aust sport. A club became distracted for years, unstable, trust was gone, relationships severed, the club necessarily became complicit and introverted. To recover and survive, it became overly empathetic, complicit, accepting and lost its influence. This new culture was created over these years and the club to this day is still grappling with this culture in an effort to transform itself. A very challenging task!
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Boring, vanilla, unimaginative, meek football club.
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No we didn’t. It was born out of the saga. Essendon did what was required for years to survive and come out the other side retaining its players, staff, sponsors etc. That’s where this culture was born. In hindsight, in many ways, it was necessary and unavoidable the actions taken and behaviours accepted across the club. We’ve paid a huge price in the ensuing years grappling with recovery, regeneration and addressing these deep traits.
Exhibit A what I’m saying. That behaviour was born out of the saga. Everyone wrapping arms around each other to recover and rebuild. A legacy of that period that lingered for years. But looking back, we can see those behaviour, that culture would never deliver success.
It’s Sheedy, let’s be honest. There’s been a power vacuum ever since he left, and when he wasn’t there he was meddling in the background via his proxy Dodoro.
Nothing will change until Dodoro goes
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Should have made Goddard captain. Need people who hate losing in leadership positions.
Edit: that’s why I think Merrett is a good choice in this regards
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Our softness was on complete show for all to see during the Parker/Shiel incident and then watching Hep give the weakest response ever to it when interviewed was just the icing on the cake
We have had too many people in high positions at the club who have been too soft on both those inside the club and the opposition
hopefully Zac,Scott and Barnham can right the ship. But I’m not holding my breath on Scott
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It’s much broader than that. I can be almost 100% certain that a book to be written ‘one day’ into this whole era will confirm the two most significant ‘events’ that led Essendon into the doldrums was the departure of Sheedy (1) and the implications and the impact of the saga on the clubs culture.
Every other event that contributed to where we are today, outside these two drivers, were contributory but often arose as a consequence of Essendon’s plight from those two key events.
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That’s just one moment of so many moments that represented how Essendon’s culture had changed. Players not coming in to ‘sort out’ Parker in that incident, the Hep & Myers moment. They’re just symbolic of that soft, accepting, empathetic culture. Thats the point here.
And on that Parker / Shiel moment, I think I’m right in saying that same night, Merrett was felled in the middle of the SCG and players didn’t come into remonstrate on Zach’s behalf… And to illustrate my point, I distinctly remember the TV cameras captured Sheedy nodding his head in fury, knowing Sheedy teams wouldn’t allow one of its players be ironed out on the ground and get away with it! Thats culture……
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