I like how we are the new Richmond,new footscray, new Geelong or really…
Just like the same Melbourne and Stkilda.
We need a CEO and chairman who actually want to be a part of the club, or who are already part of the club. Be it a full paying member or life-long fans, ones who bleed for the club and show passion for the club. Currently, the 2 in those positions do not give a ■■■■ about the club. One is just a bored retiree and the other is just using it to get to AFLHQ and be the good little lapdog until he gets the gig.
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Sympathy be dammed they played players out of guilt.
You should actually talk to Lindsay; he bleeds for the Club like any real supporter. And talk to Xavier as well and feel his passion.
Your comments do them a grave disservice
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maybe if we heard from them occasionally we would appreciate them more.
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What are you Guys / Girls, children who need to be mothered.
Call him up, send him an email, write him a letter, call the Club and make an appointment.
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I don’t think that’s quite the point. We hear from Xav lots in the lead up to the season when they want us to spend spend spend… when the club needs some strong leadership he’s nowhere to be seen.
At least Lindsay is consistent 
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Did that with X calmly last season. I’m a member and got no response
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There are a lot of Don’s supporters, perhaps the majority, that are justifiably ■■■■■■ at their club. It’s nearly two decades of tripe… and 2014 to 2016 was worse than tripe. I’m sure the members that brought Malthouse to Carlton bled their team’s colours. I’m sure David Evans and Paul Little were/are passionate supporters too. But passion is not a substitute for good governance, recruitment and management of stakeholders. If members (the most important stakeholders) are p7ssed and onfield performance is rubbish, to the point of national media ridicule, then they have failed their duty.
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OK, maybe Lindsey can be full forward and Xav line up in ruck next game
Football department appointments are ratified by the board and exec…
Further, if the board and CE have the same attitude as you, that because they can’t put on the boots themselves, they bear no responsibility for onfield performance… well, that would go a long way to explaining to shjte of the last 18 years. The buck stops with the CE and Board. Bank ceos and chairmans were moved on recently because of adverse national publicity… why should the supposedly uber professional Essendon Corporate Sponsorships, Property Development and eSports Club be any different?
You’re assuming the issue is with the players… and maybe it is… maybe for the last 20 years… we have simply not had the cattle.
It’s not a theory I subscribe to but you could very well be right.
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Yep 20 years of bad recruiting…
hmmm then perhaps Dodoro should be going…
Well, maybe the Perfect Man and X could actually talk to the people who pay their salary and perks. Or even make some statements that people who pay for their salary and perks can see that they are feeling aggrieved about continually being stitched up by the maggots backed up by the AFL executive. To the tune of EIGHT premiership points from the last 3 games.
Your comments give them an undeserved credit.
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It’s all falling apart at the seams.
- Draper, Smith and that handy goalkicker that wears #13 all going down in the past week.
- Shiel can’t hit the side of a barn
- Zac Clarke looks like the worst recruit since Ty Zantuck.
- All tall forwards bar Joey all unavailable for another month.
- Martin Gleeson (who was he again?)
- Kyle Langford going the way of Elliot Kavanagh
- Aaron Francis looking again like a handy VFL half back.
I’m usually glass half full - hard to be that way any more. We always seem to lose the close ones. Richmond reserves will pants us at Dreamtime in a fortnight and then the Blues will get their second win for the year the week after, and we’ll go into the mid season bye the absolute laughing stock of the comp.
This club right now is incapable of a premiership - from the top down right through. I’m no longer as close to AFL circles as I was say 8-10 years ago, and can’t gauge sentiment as well these days, but I would be pretty confident in assuming that there has been a massive shift in sentiment this year on our club, and next year you’ll see the media, the bookies etc. all having us in the bottom 6.
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Seriously though, any coach that can finally show this ■■■■■■■ team how to deal with an opposition spare in defence will basically be our next premiership coach.
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Well Darli, the issue is winning games.
Players win games.
I look critically at everything a President and CEO can do to give players the best opportunity to play good footy. I am not sure Lindsey or Xav, or anyone else can provide more.
Explain to me what Lindsey and Xav can do then
They need to speak out and let their members know that the club has a backbone.
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To start they could push aside the corporate speak, get back to the basics.
Start talking to the stakeholders (the members)
This is front cover of the last financial report (that they would of ticked off)
What the heck does that mean?
There is no doubt the AFL competition has never been more even
across the 18 teams.
In the end, our disappointing start to the year made it difficult
to chase down the rest of the pack and despite a strong and
promising finish to the season we were not good enough to play
finals football.
However, there were several highlights on field that made our
organisation incredibly proud. Our inspiring captain, Dyson
Heppell, notched up his 150th AFL game milestone and continues
to lead from the front, both on and off the field.
Our new recruits including our reigning Crichton Medallist Devon
Smith, Adam Saad and Jake Stringer integrated well into the
football program, each contributing strongly on-field during the
year, week in and week out.
The talent of our emerging youngsters was on show via our
debutants in Matt Guelfi, Jordan Ridley, Dylan Clarke and Kobe
Mutch, while exciting defender Aaron Francis earned our Club’s
sole Rising Star nomination in Round 22.
We farewelled great people from our football club – and with
that we acknowledge the outstanding contributions of Brendon
Goddard, Jackson Merrett, Josh Green, Matt Dea, Matthew
Leuenberger and Travis Colyer (who will continue his playing
career at Fremantle).
Off the field, our pioneer Kevin Sheedy was elevated to Legend
status in the Australian Football League Hall of Fame in May,
joining the illustrious group of Legends across the competition,
just ten years after he was inducted into football royalty.
Further, Michael Long’s
incredible playing career and
work to empower indigenous
Australians was honoured
in bronze at the entrance to
The Hangar earlier this year
– the statue immortalising his
inspiring legacy.
But we are much more than just an AFL team.
This year, we proudly launched our inaugural VFLW team, and
I congratulate all involved in establishing the foundations of a
successful football program. We were delighted when history was
made in October, when 18-year-old key forward Danielle Ponter
became the first Essendon VFL Women’s player to be drafted
onto an AFL Women’s list.
We also entered a team in the newly established Australian
Wheelchair Football League. The side finished in fourth spot
overall, while we also proudly acquired an e-sports team, who
made the finals in their debut season.
As our members are no doubt proud of these organisational
achievements, in turn we are continually proud of them. This year,
we recorded our highest-ever number of members – significantly
surpassing last year’s record by over 10,000. Recording an
overall number of 79,318, we look forward to breaking through
the 80,000 member mark in 2019. The contribution, the loyalty
and the passion our members continue to show is unrivalled. You
are the lifeblood of our football club and we thank you for your
support.
In consecutive years, we had one million fans attend our games
and we proudly participated in our traditional blockbuster games
across ANZAC Day and Dreamtime at the ‘G as well as the more
recently established Powercor Country Festival game.
We are a financially strong football club. This year, we take great
pride in announcing a profit of $2,321,871. Importantly we have
further reduced our debt and done so quicker than initially
anticipated.
We continue to focus on investment across non-traditional
revenue streams, as well as strategic partnerships to strengthen
the future of our football club, highlighted through our partnership
with RMIT University.
At both a Federal and State Government level, discussions
continue regarding the Club’s proposed development and
subsequent expansion of our facility, The Hangar. Excitingly, the
projected expansion will include dormitory facilities which will be
the first of its kind in the AFL, servicing Paralympic athletes, as
well as our next generation academy participants with a focus on
indigenous players from the Northern Territory – strengthening
our overall commitment to establish pathways for girls and
boys from the remote communities of the Tiwi Islands and West
Arnhem Land.
Proudly, the new development of The Hangar will be the first
permanent, physical home for the historic Australian Indigenous
Sports Hall of Fame, as well as a business accelerator centre for
new commercial opportunities, and we will look to re-create
the Essendon Hall of Fame and Museum. We envisage the
development will be completed by 2021, which will align with the
Essendon Football Club’s 150th year anniversary celebrations. We
will continue to advise our members first of these updates as they
come to hand.
We remain proud of our extensive work in the community
throughout Australia, supporting major partners including
Challenge and The Long Walk, and across our multicultural
programs.
After seven years of a strong partnership, we acknowledge KIA
Australia for their support and warmly welcome Amart Furniture
who join Fujitsu as the two co-major partners of our proud football
club.
Our thanks also to our valued coteries, supporter groups and
volunteers. We arguably lay claim to having the biggest and
strongest supporter network across the AFL and the dedication
shown by all is unparalleled.
I take this opportunity to acknowledge the commitment of the
Essendon Board, and the tireless work of the Club’s Executive
team and administration staff under the leadership and guidance
of Chief Executive Officer, Xavier Campbell.
Internally, we know the hard work isn’t over. In fact, it’s just
beginning.
We have laid strong foundations yet acknowledge there will
continue to be challenges ahead. However, with challenges
come opportunities, and next season is an incredibly exciting
opportunity to continue our climb back up the AFL ladder.
We head into season 2019 with a great sense of optimism.
Go the Mighty Bombers.
Lindsay Tanner
“
WE ARE MUCH
MORE THAN
JUST AN AFL
TEAM.
”
The above is Tanners end of year report. A few paragraphs about on-field performance and the rest about off field programs.
Where is the vision on how to get back to a +500 winning club that aims for finals each year?
Where is the vision on player development?
Where is the vision on fitness and rehab?
None of that is communicated to the members, they over complicate this whole process
Yes you may say that is the domain of the coach, but I want to hear a clear plan on how we will develop and support the players
It is all lacking
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