Something seriously wrong with the club (Part 3, August 2022)

[Hesonlygotaleftfoot]

But remember it’s essendumb

Our list is fine we are ona linear trajectory

Results don’t matter it’s the feels

[Go_Team_2.0]

@centipede2

I am going to vomit from posting a Sam Mitchell quote from last year, but here goes:

Take from the quote whatever you will.

In relation to cutting the list, especially of senior players:

“A lot of people may say, ‘well you are losing some of your older players and experience’. Well, my response to that would be: Your age doesn’t define your ability to lead,” Mitchell wrote at the time.

Who on our list does this apply to though? Aside from Heppell? I can’t think of any older players on the list we’ve kept around for leadership.

[BIlly_Ray_Valentine]

Hawks - win three flags then rebuild over a 3-4 year period, now charging right past us at a rapid rate. But most importantly from what I see, they play for each other and are truly enjoying doing so. I don’t see that from our guys - I haven’t seen it routinely since under Hird. Sure they celebrate goals and wins together, but they’ve never ‘flown the flag’ and stuck up for teammates like other sides, and they never seem to be truly enjoying their footy either. Collectively don’t seem to revere the jumper like most other clubs.

[Go_Team_2.0]

Mitchell also had the benefit of working as an assistant at Hawthorn with the list for how many years before becoming coach? Scott didn’t have that luxury. Mitchell could cut the deadwood because he knew who they were.

[bringbackzantuck]

The next 3 weeks will tell a story.

What I hope for:

Make minimal changes against Freo. Get absolutely belted and another week of embarrassment.

Make some changes. Be the first team to allow GC a win on the road. New low reached, which is staggering for a club that seems to reach a new low every year.

Play Sydney on a Friday night and make it the line in the sand. Go out there and just take a stand against a team that laughs at us. Go out there and get Papley, physically scare him. Make him feel like he’s going to flattened every time he goes near the ball. Who gives a ■■■■ about the score it’s bigger than that. This club needs to physically take a stand. If we end up with no players for the next week who really cares. Get Blakey, get a war zone going. Skirmishes everywhere. Let the rest of the AFL know that from now on we are not to be bullied.

What will actually happen:

3 demoralising losses playing the same way with the same personnel and expecting a different result.

[BIlly_Ray_Valentine]

…and the real concern is the lack of identifiable talent in the VFL team. Perhaps Roberts aside, the best players each week in the VFL seem to be those fringe AFL players anyhow - Hobbs, Tsatas, Settlefield, Bryan, A. Davey etc. The ‘ressies’/seconds/VFL has always been a barometer for the development of a list and our lack of competitiveness in the past few years in the VFL is a real worry of mine.

[Rhino-D]

@BIlly_Ray_Valentine

Collectively don’t seem to revere the jumper like most other clubs.

because we generally lean towards recruiting gentle, well-mannered introverts for just about every role.

ridley, mcgrath, kelly, mckay, merrett, caldwell, shiel, langford, wright, gresham, cox, jones, martin etc etc

it’s not that there’s no place for those types, there absolutely is, but clearly our balance is way way off somewhere right next to non-existent.

[BIlly_Ray_Valentine]

Good point - we tend to trade in the ‘extroverts’ - I think of Goddard, Stringer, Devon Smith. Devon Smith was great for this club for a few years (B&F winner of course too!) until injuries caught up with him. He bought mongrel, lip, grunt and a genuine love of the jumper. He lifted those around him too. A tackle machine too! We haven’t had anyone like him since!

[Quark]

No, it’ll be the announcement of a long-term Stringer deal.

Something headlined, “Signed, sealed, delivered: The Package puts pen to paper to remain a Bomber for life!”

[j_w]

Please, I just ate.

[hirdylloydy]

hawks are a minnow expansion club, feel the same about them as i do about gold coast and gws.

[JBOMBER]

@Go_Team_2.0

Mitchell also had the benefit of working as an assistant at Hawthorn with the list for how many years before becoming coach? Scott didn’t have that luxury. Mitchell could cut the deadwood because he knew who they were.

If Scott didnt have an good idea of who the deadwood were before he took the job he had no business even applying.

[Quark]

Something the man himself needs to lay off judging by his conditioning.

[bricky]

Martin’s year-long backline trial speaks volumes about the club’s ego.

Let’s waste an entire year of a players career trying to make him something he is not

[barnz]

@Stallion

Can we swap our entire club for Hawthorn

[Finding_Nino]

You dont belive that

[Walterwhite]

@bricky

volumes

And destroy Redman in the process, although he is pretty good at self-sabotage

[BAAKKEERRRR]

@Rhino-D

@dmaplestone

I think we need to stay committed to this plan and hope that the club navigates its way through the difficulties.

The ‘plan’ (and I use that term incredibly loosely here) is just to maintain the new status quo.

It’s the same boring, unimaginative, ultra conservative and entirely risk-averse approach that will see us remain exactly where we are because it’s essentially the same thing we’ve always done.

Stack the board with clowns like Muir and Welsh and use sheedy to get the 3000 people that vote onside to entrench the power base.

Just in case, also unilaterally appoint more shills directly onto the board to ensure that the incumbent political faction will retain power regardless of any election process in the short to medium term.

Nobody will notice that none of this group have achieved any success for the club or made any decisions leading to significant positive outcomes for the club because hey hurr durr ex player welsh and club legend sheedy huzzah…etc

Essendon members are quite easily fooled and even more easily distracted after all.

Hire a polite introverted yes man in Vozzo who will do as he’s told and won’t rock the boat. Another easily controlled puppet for the board who’s just happy to be there.

Let the outgoing cancerous footy department head essentially shoehorn in his mate(also a failure of an appointment) because that’s a recipe for success…

Hire yet another coach arbitrarily and without a thorough and considered process because…reasons.

Recruit poorly, keep Dodoro, add a some
Unproven hacks like Rosa and RFK to give the appearance that it’s not a 1 man show, , underinvest in key areas such as the VFL, pretend we’re investing in development by having ex-club folk like Stanton and Hurley on the books.

Commit to a game style that flies in the face of 2 decades worth of league wide evidence that suggests the approach doesn’t stack up.

Continue to underinvest in high performance and medical and get the same results as always.

Change nothing on field - poor coaching, horrible selection, non existent development of young players, chase short term sugar hits, continue to prove we aren’t good enough to beat the legitimately good teams.

Sign up members with some ■■■■■■ marketing that sells the illusion that we are somehow improving and progressing ie; Caldwell had 30 possies - how good!! How awesome is Sam Durham!!!

We just won’t mention that Ridley and Parish are now part timers through injury. Wright is a one hit wonder. Our f/s selections are all meh. Redman has turned into a complete c grader. McGrath is up there with the worst pick 1s in history. Tsatas can’t kick. Hobbs can’t kick. Reid can barely walk. Bryan was the future 5 minutes ago now he’s about to be moved on. Bar caddy there is next to no exciting young talent coming through.and even if there is we won’t recognise it and will likely move them on like Massimo.

That’s what you’re comfortable advocating for?

That’s the approach that you think we need to give more time and support to?

Maybe you can buy a few extra memberships to support the club while everyone else gives them a massive, well deserved if incredibly overdue GAGAF.

POST
OF
THE
YEAR.

HANDS
DOWN…

[Finding_Nino]

I would put one of the players on Footy Classified tomorrow and get them to applogize on national tv to the fans and members

Then i want the panel to grill the fark out of him

[Doggatron]

And then watch them go out and get flogged again on the weekend…