Let’s not forget our record against the Dogs.
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The funny thing with Essendon is we as a club never accept a rebuild, it’s been clear as day at a few times over the last 20 years that we needed to bottom out but never do.
I honestly believe the fans would stick with the club through it instead they probably lose more fans and members doing this perennially stuck in 8th to 10th every year nonsense
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I actually don’t understand how people can be positive about anything related to this club.
There are 2 areas that have let us down dismally over the past 20 years, Recruiting and fitness and performance and yet the club has refused to go out and throw a bucket load of money at the best recruiters and fitness staff in the business.
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True, we don’t.
I do remember being annoyed in the twilight of Hirds career that he was the only one that would be that guy to stand up when needed during a match, and we’d be in the ■■■■ when he leaves.
We need more than one that can turn games consistently, at the moment we have none. Been that way for nearly 20 years.
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‘too nice’ is code for ‘soft’ and we are!!
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That’s sad reading.
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Because we have a 
culture. I’ve banged this drum plenty but I do sense a measured level of change. Our defining characteristic, the type of culture we have, is a culture of non-accountability. When we all say someone should have said to Dys, “Thanks for the effort mate but times up”, who do we mean? And why didn’t it happen? Because, that person, the person that manages that person and the person that manages that person all looked at the situation and essentially went “it’ll sort itself out”. No one had anyone say “Why aren’t you dealing with that?” And that cancer was at the club before the saga, any valid criticism that could be levelled at the club about the saga is off the back of not holding people accountable. You can’t be Merrett as captain and not very obviously pull people up. Goddard had the right idea, but any support he had evaporated because the underlying culture was “I can just think that’s Goddard and I don’t have to be like him”. It’s the same for Zach, everyone talks about setting standards, which means 2/10ths of FA if no one is dragged for not operating at the standard.
But I’m hopeful, that Brad knows this and is aware of what a monumental task it is to take an organisation, not just team from “That’s not my job” as the defining slogan, to something more like “Act in a manner that demands respect and admiration on and off field”. If that happens we sure as ■■■■■ won’t have Parker teasing Sheil.
End rant.
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Lloyd was the last one to do it when he tried to send Sewell to the morgue
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Jake Carlisle vs bulldogs in 2014 was a 100% fk you lot, I’ll do it myself performance.
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Would be interested to know how many teams we actually have a winning record against over the past 15-20 years
We barely have a winning record against the Blues and they have been ■■■■ for 25 years.
I think these records against opposition teams say so much about us. Teams dominate us and we let them. They bend us over and have their way with us.
The fact Hardwick spoke about us with such contempt post Dreamtime (pack of spuds or whatever) this year is a great example. I feel Sheedy would have had those comments plastered all over the change-rooms and referred to it in meetings.
I don’t know how much it would even register with some of our players.
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It impacted individuals and the collective in ways we don’t understand and can’t conceptualise. The Club is still finding its way and trying to break the behaviours and culture that was developed in those years. Helps comments one of do, so many windows into the time at Essendon.
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Some good points there. As I said, there’s hundreds, probably thousands of decisions, behaviours and actions over a decade or more that create and entrench the Essendon culture. Xavier, frustrated with terrible performance in front of that full house at Marvel, gave it to the players et all. Then he retracted it. Truth is, he shouldn’t have used Twitter to write that stuff, rather having tough internal convos behind closed doors. But it did provide yet another symbolic moment in the Clubs cultural demise, and in public, mitigate responsibility of the players that day.
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A brilliant moment of an experienced player making a statement. It was glorious.
The team went on a win streak after the tweet was deleted.
I think our CEOs should be apologising for more tweets.
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You couldn’t blame the players during those 2012-6 years, they weren’t in a position to compete at the highest levels. In hindsight they handled themselves and battled on honourably. The issue lay with the predicament the club put them, itself in and all the behaviours, shortcuts etc that came from those years at the time were often necessary and required. However, they would be also damaging once the club emerged and impact the club wholistically.
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Great rant! I am hopeful B.Scott is harder on our players and is more willing to make a change if they are not delivering. Weid being played week in week out, ■■■■■■ me right off last year. His faith in him was not rewarded where I felt Hepp did. His early form was concerning but definitely improved as the year went on. With Hepp, surely someone has had the “your not guaranteed to get a game”. If that’s the case based on what version we get, I think he is good insurance, especially considering our list is physically fragile and we are bound to cop injuries.
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