Time now for the Board - Lindsay Tanner and CEO Xavier Campbell to get really serious about the conundrums now facing our once great club and its future. If something isn’t done NOW, 2019 membership will drop, sponsors will question whether they should be supporting Essendon, the team will continue to be the easy beat as they are now.
What I would like to happen now is radical. When contracts are written they should have included severance clauses. The employer has the right to employ whoever they want, particularly if the present incumbents are failing. The current coaching team are failing miserably and therefore, for the good of Essendon be immediately replaced.
Worsfold came to the club in 2016 at a time when Essendon was in dire straights following the drug scandal. In 2016 and 2017 he brought the team back from the depths of despair to the point that all were saying 2018 could see Essendon in the top four. Unfortunately, Worsfold doesn’t seem to have the skill or knowledge to coach a struggling team. As coach of the Eagles he had a champion team full of champions, not unlike Essendon in 2000. Great teams are easy to coach, just ask Harwick now.
The assistant coaches appear to be clueless, lacking experience and knowledge of AFL football. Two exceptions being Harvey who structured a good Fremantle team taken over by Lyon and “Pop” Kelly, an exceptional player with great knowledge of how the modern game is played, having retired from playing in 2017.
My proposal is for Worsfold, Neeld, Corrigan and Skipworth be sacked and be replaced for the remainder of the season by Sheeds, and assisted by Harvey, Kelly and Rob Harding (Richmond 2017). That the club begin immediately to seek a new senior coach and two assistant coaches for the 2019 season. Employment to commence October 1, 2018.
These are drastic proposals, but something “smells” about how the AFL team is playing compared to the VFL team. Players in the VFL are playing good, confident football. They help one another, are teaming well and look as if they are enjoying their football in stark contrast to the AFL team.
My team for Saturday based on the good players in the VFL is:
B Saad Hurley Francis
HB McKenna Hooker Ambrose
C Mutch Langford Clarke
HF Zaharakis Stewart Laverde
F Fantasia McKernan Z.Merrett
R Bellchambers Heppell Smith
INT. Guelfi Long Parish Dea
OUT; Goddard McNiece Baguley Stringer, Tippa
. We need to take the opportunity to create this as our trademark for BomberBlitz.