You pin stuff to them.
they do something with cheese
If Paul Little could stop applying for other roles for a minute ............He should get out on the front foot TOMORROW & say a big Up Yours to the Media baying for blood.
He should declare NOW that WE the Essendon Football Club will determine when our Senior Coach is changed … not by the agenda of some whining wet-pants from ‘The Media’.
We have a Review process in place (just like every other Club) & the Coach is contracted for 2016.
Until that changes everyone can just stick their collective views up their media stinkholes.C’mon Paul Little … get out there, defend The Coach & the Club.
You don’t know how boards work do you?
you nail them to things?
nah man, you name them plank.
They’ve got cute bits that wiggle when they walk and bits that err… you did say ‘broads’ didn’t you?
James Hird deserves to coach Essendon next year, Shane Crawford says
4 hours ago August 15, 2015 8:00PM
Essendon coach James Hird walks off Etihad Stadium. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia
JAMES Hird deserves to coach Essendon next year.
There, I’ve said it.
And while you might not agree with me, that was the contract the current Essendon board and its chairman Paul Little gifted Hird on the same night that he accepted that one-year (paid, as it turned out) AFL suspension from coaching.
A hell of a lot of water has passed under the sports supplements bridge since that night in August 2013, but the one inescapable fact is that the Bombers thought back then he was the best coach for the job, and they need to see that out.
If they don’t, they should fall on their own swords and resign.
Essendon is on the brink of one of its worst seasons in recent memory and the 112-point loss to Adelaide only compounded it.
The backdrop to the 2015 season has seen an internal review into the football department’s operations; an extensive injury list to some of the club’s most important players including captain Jobe Watson; a playing group sapped of confidence and weighed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport case in November, and an increasing doubt about whether Hird will survive in the role beyond the end of this year.
James Hird can’t believe the scoreline. Picture: Getty
James Hird can’t believe the scoreline. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images
There were even rumours earlier in the week Hird was gone, which he was forced to deny when asked.
Is it any wonder the coach hasn’t been able to keep his players’ minds on the job?
I want to make it clear I do not condone any sort of injections program at any football club. In fact, I am totally opposed to it, but the fact remains that Hird has served his time for being the coach of a club in which Stephen Dank was allowed to implement a program that almost sunk one of the game’s oldest clubs.
Hird has paid a heavy price, as have his players.
James won’t be reading this article, and he won’t hear the endless discussions on radio and television about whether he is safe or about to be sacked.
He lives pretty much in a bubble these days, caught between his time at the footy club and with his family.
We caught a glimpse of just what life has been like for the players this week when Brendon Goddard — who was not a part of the 2012 supplements program — explained just what a sapping experience this whole affair has been on the group.
Surely no other playing group in the history of the game has had to deal with as much as the Dons players.
Playing good football in that sort of environment would be impossible.
So suggesting that Hird can’t coach because of what has happened this year is far too simplistic.
When you look at Hird’s first three seasons in the role, (2011-13), there was enough to suggest that he could coach, and that the Bombers were on an upward curve.
He had won 54 per cent of his games as coach before this season.
Each year the team progressed in terms of win-loss results to the point where it won 14 games in 2013, the year in which the club was thrown out of the finals.
Football is a win-loss business, but not even the greatest coach in history would have been able to prevent the inevitable slide this year that occurred as soon as WADA announced it was going to appeal against the decision on the Essendon 34.
The past few months have been tough to watch, and there have been some miserable performances and few highlights. But, seriously, would you have expected any different? We have been waiting for them to crack for three years and it’s clear now that they have.
No coach could get this playing group up for the contest now — they are mentally shot. They simply have lost the appetite for the game because of what has happened off the field.
For me, James Hird’s coaching career shouldn’t just come down to this season, when the chips were against him and the club.
That’s why, pending the results of the WADA appeal, he should be allowed to see out the final year of his contract.
Besides, there’s a potential $1 million-plus payout if Hird is to be sacked.
But cutting him adrift now, after Little and the board had backed him for so long, just makes no sense.
SEVEN THINGS JAMES HIRD MUST DO IF HE STAYS ON
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Chase intellectual property from Hawthorn by trying to poach a senior assistant coach in Brett Ratten.
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Make sure everyone in the football department has a clear, defined role, and if there are some who are not on the same page, they should not be there.
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Anyone who doesn’t want to be at Essendon next year should be allowed to go. If that includes the out-of-contract Jake Carlisle, then let him go, and seek greater access to decent draft picks.
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Chase an experienced AFL ruckman in the trade period so that the club has a better back-up for Tom Bellchambers next year. Players to consider could include Matthew Leuenberger, Stefan Martin, or maybe even Will Minson (for a year or two).
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Use your draft picks wisely. After being denied access to elite picks in recent seasons, it is time to strike. The last top-10 national draft pick the Bombers had was Dyson Heppell (pick No. 8 in 2010), and it needs to strike the mark again with a quick midfielder.
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Allow Jobe Watson to try to enjoy his footy again. If that means him giving up the captaincy to Heppell, then so be it.
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The coach needs to just concentrate on the footy as much as he can, and forget trying to pick fights with outside organisations.
Originally published as Crawford: Hird deserves to coach Bombers
They sing to kings in the olden days.
I would sign Hird up on a 3 year deal right now, this sends a message to the media that we (board) run the club not them
Good on Shane Crawford for not being a slave to the machine.
Like.
They sing to kings in the olden days.
they keep my chin warm
I'm curious about this - where did you hear it? In all my time on Blitz I've never heard that story before. I thought the general thinking was that Knights was short-changed in the football department (as was Sheedy before him) and it wasn't until Hird got there that they started undoing all the damage Jackson did to the off-field setup. I'm not saying this is right, but its what has always been stated (that I have seen).BUT if you decide to make a big move at the end of this season because - as this topic says "the team is crap, this is not good enough, enough is enough, let's make some changes to this cack coaching panel we have", it is ludicrous to make the big sweeping change of sacking everyone (or near enough to everyone) BUT keep the unproven (on the whole), nonperforming senior coach. That we would look at it and go "yeah you're right guys, it's a real ■■■■■■ box, let's surround our boy HIRDY with some better assistants, that'll fix the problem amirite guys?" is absolutely ludicrous. It would be like deciding to cut the list ultra deep and do a huge rebuild of the list around Steinberg and Melksham...........For mine, the club has absolutely dicked Jim Hird, just as much as the players. With Knights (again, a popular trope) they basically gave him an open cheque book going into '09 to chase any assistant he wanted - which he knocked back, presumably fearing one of them would usurp him. I get that that was Knights' 3rd year and this would technically be Hirds' 5th, but I don't think it would be the craziest move. Every chance if Hird gets chopped the new bloke would bring in new assistants anyway.
My understanding is Knights was offered a senior assistant type in year 2 or 3 and declined the offer.
I’ve already written off 2016, seeing the WADA verdict won’t be handed down till some time in 2016 - When you take into account the mental fragility of the group, it will be no surprise if the players have a less than inspiring pre-season which of course will impact on their form in 2016 - In other words we will be behind the eight ball.
2017 will be when we see clear air.
From a pure football coaching perspective there is nothing to indicate that Hird is one of the best 18 AFL coaches in Australia.The game style is terrible, the team simply cannot score because of the shocking way it comes in, we continue to get a bunch of goals kicked on us in a row and not only that we would have to be the worst team in the league for allowing scores in the last 1 or 2 minutes of a quarter.
These are all issues that coaches have a direct influence on.
Hirdy and the club need to be pragmatic and come to some sort of an arrangement, preferably soon so a new coach can make the necessary list management decisions.
The club would not be that unattractive for a prospective coach either. Massive supporter base with good sponsors, playing list has good top end talent and any new coach would not have a great weight of expectation on them in their first season or two.
Yeah, but say half the playing list get suspended at the end of the year how is your attractive prospective job going now?
a) Its not going to happen.
b) New coach starts from ground zero with no expectations. Can under promise and over deliver for his first 3 seasons.
You won’t attract the best candidates until WADA is over - You seem to ignore the obvious.
If you think this is the lowest it can go you are dead set wrong. Lets say someone gets delisted and doesn’t agree with that call. Says bull**** and then sues because the only reason they lost form was because of our supplements program that derailed. What would that entail? More court action, AFL dragged through more stuff, more leaks, more news written about us and the fact it could potentially be done by 34 individuals against a lot of different parties. Then the managers could sue cause they lost income as well and it could be a snow ball from there…
Is CAS the ultimate last step? If found guilty can we appeal that verdict? If found innocent can there be another appeal based on new evidence and new tests?
Hird could go rouge. He’s already a fan of court action. Imagine him not on a leash… What else does he have to lose? 17 teams already hate him and it’s probably up to 17.1 given a few comments here and on twitter. Bastion is also something that could be very interesting in the future as well.
Our performance on field may be at it’s lowest but off field can get a whole lot worse.
We are low but at least there is some form of unity. It may not take much to break the camels back and then you might actually see what a club in crisis might actually be.
What we need right now is something in between. We don’t need to burn the place down but the sun certainly isn’t shiny.
Please for 3 more weeks lets just be Essendon. We’ll have a long long long off season to put these other issues to bed without the 24/7 football coverage.
Great forward thinking. You do know there is another football season in about 7 months time.So if Hird goes, who do we get? Do we go for another untried coach? Or do we chase Worsfols (not keen on him) or go for Roos or try and coax out someone currently coaching?Looking pretty bleak.
Kevin Sheedy. Strictly for the remainder of this season.
Ok, historical precedent time. November 1942, the Germans had taken 90% of Stallingrad, and the Russian army was on its knees. Less than 2 1/2 years later, the Russians were marching through Berlin on a victory lap.
Yep, things are pretty grim right now, but history shows repeatedly that great triumphs can be snatched from the jaws of defeat.
Didn’t we get beaten by the Hawks by 160 points in August 1992, yet we were premiers a year later?
Look it’s easy enough to get upset/disillusioned right now, but as Maya Angelou once quoted- “Tomorrow is another day, and it WILL be better”
We’ve just got to believe that that’s the case.
Pretty sure Evans senior resigned as President for us to take up a position with the AFL where he stayed. If you are inferring his son pandered to the AFL he could in fact just have been honouring the other legacy??
I have been in love with the Essendon football club since my father first took me to windy hill in the middle 50's. I have been to nine bomber grand finals and left six of them deliriously happy. I have adored the 'boys' who have played for the mighty dons for almost six decades and have hardly missed a game in all that time., until this year. I am no longer in love with the bombers. I have missed three of the past four home games. It saddens me to see what has happened to the club I have always been proud to say I am a member of. I wish the James Hird time as coach had never happened. My club is on its knees but I have had enough. Yes, changes have to be made. I want to fall in love again.Oh how I wish the whole David Evans era had never happened. Just glad his old man didn’t live to see his legacy destroyed in one fell swoop by his own flesh and blood…
Good on Shane Crawford for not being a slave to the machine.Like.
“I want to make it clear I do not condone any sort of injections program at any football club. In fact, I am totally opposed to it”
Just tweeted this to Crawf. Lets see what the response is.
apart from his high horse about injections who woulda thought crawford could get across a sensible argument such as that. well played.
If Paul Little could stop applying for other roles for a minute ............He should get out on the front foot TOMORROW & say a big Up Yours to the Media baying for blood.
He should declare NOW that WE the Essendon Football Club will determine when our Senior Coach is changed … not by the agenda of some whining wet-pants from ‘The Media’.
We have a Review process in place (just like every other Club) & the Coach is contracted for 2016.
Until that changes everyone can just stick their collective views up their media stinkholes.C’mon Paul Little … get out there, defend The Coach & the Club.
Paul Little has a tremendous amount of money.
But there are two things he doesn’t seem to have, balls.
What would you guys prefer?
- A club legend in Hird given Another 2-3 years to build this club and take essendon to a grand final in possibly 4 years for example.
- Replace a club legend for an outsider coach who builds the list in another 2 years and possibly takes the team to a grand final in 3 years ?
Lets be real, the team hird has now are not going to cut it . So either way its going to take some time. Drastic changes have to be made. Id rather hird get the chance to build a team and coaching panel he wants .