Any player who needs surgery should get it this week and at least have a shot at a good pre-season. Playing obviously injured players like Fantasia, Hooker and Heppell is suicide. The season’s shot so nothing to lose.
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I think the thread title is wrong. It should be “who can show they’re the most outraged”.
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Exactly why I wouldn’t mind him
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We need to turn it around next week.
Doesnt matter what you do coach, recruiting etc wise if thats the baseline effort.
It is a very deep cultural problem that stems back to the late Sheedy days (05-07). Forget the ASADA stuff… this is pure behind the scenes club culture, complacency and genuine carefactor.
Playing for a “big” club like Essendon means success should be handed out on a platter. There is some sort of insular atmosphere at the club where just playing for Essendon is enough. I do question the carefactor within the playing group after losses like last night… no matter what image the players put out to the public in interviews etc.
I’m not a huge fan of the coach but I think in these type of situations he has tried to come in and promote a cultural change (after a successful period at West Coast) but to no avail. Being a non-Essendon person also (unfortunately) makes this job harder for him as we (yes, WE) aren’t as accepting. Again it’s an Essendon ‘thing’ that belongs in the 1960s and not in modern footy.
That insular environment breeds a poor culture of performance. I read a previous post in this thread (or maybe elsewhere?) critical about player haircuts, Instagram posts, pets etc … players need a life outside of football but if I was getting paid $500k or more per year to represent a club in a professional sport, I would be avoiding this type of potential criticism. They need to choose their moments wisely.
With a talented list like we have (and I do genuinely believe it is better then results show) … performances like Round 1 (GWS) and the Bulldogs last night are just not acceptable at this level. It’s a list that isn’t going to go 20-2 through a season but it needs to be several levels above some of the crap dished up this year (even in victories). There needs to be a very thorough review of the 2018-19 “high performance team” in the coming weeks.
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Missed out going to the game last night (lucky for me hey?!) Instead had to go to birthday and told my mates not to tell me the scores as I wanted to go home and watch the replay. As the night went on, a few off em were checking their phones for the scores, I could see them snickering and laughing (all Carlton and Collingwood supporters). At the time it ■■■■■■ me right off cos I obviously told em not to say anything…but they all turned to me and said “trust me were doing you a favour” and sure enough there were the scores staring me in the face every 5 minutes 7-45, 9-63, 10-84, 13-116 - one ■■■■■■ goal till the third quarter. Of course they were all killing themselves laughing, winding me up and whatnot and loving watching the ugly head of Essington rearing its head once again. The ■■■■■■ thing was I wasn’t even mad, not frustrated, not despondent, nothing. All I could think was “It’s happening again, another year of getting your hopes thinking we’ve finally got a team that can go places and win a ■■■■■■■ final and it’s happening again”
Another year of accepting mediocrity, another year of watching teams go passed us and another year of “getting through” watching this team limp to the finishing line looking like broken human beings. I just don’t get it. How can a club with the stature and successful "historical culture " which it has had for over hundred years be nothing but a meek steaming pile of ■■■■ of insignificance for the last 20 years? Lots of People have come and gone from the club in that time and yet we still find ourselves in this same position of having no fight and no will to want to take ourselves to the next level. I just don’t have any faith anymore that the club can turn this around anytime soon. Is it possible that we just keep getting the wrong people into the club? Is the club just sitting on its laurels of having 16 premiership and living on that smug entitlement alone? Am I living in denial that when I look at our list I see a team full potential but they’re really just ■■■■? I just cant deal with this club anymore yet I’ll find an excuse to renew my membership for next year, find another false hope to get excited about and wait till August 2020 and have the same questions floating in my head yet again.
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“Accepting mediocrity”! Drink!
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I dont understand AFL anymore.
Look at North. A really atracking team with plenty of forward options. A tough midfield.
They smash Collingwood and Richmond
Then they kick 1 goal for an entire match againat a side who isnt going very well at the moment.
A lot is above the shoulders and that was the one area I had confidence in Worsfold. We have been a pretty consistent team in terms of effort generally under him even in the banned year.
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Then fark those players off…cause they ARE the problem
Sorry, but what we have had is a consistent lack of effort. All this year and for a lot of last year as well, including the games last year where we had definite winnable games that would have got us into the eight — we played half heartedly and lost them all. This year has been much, much worse.
How a 2020 EFC Team may look like.
Backs: Gleeson, Hooker ( playing hurt ), Redmond
Half Backs: Saad, Hurley, McKenna
Centre’s: McGrath, Merrett, Parish
Half Forwards: Stringer, Stewart, Tippa
Forwards: Smith, Daniher, Mosquito
Rucks: Draper, Heppell, Shiel
Interchange from (in order of Preference) Smack, Francis, Guelfi, Fantasia (lucky), the rest
Coach: Blake Caracella
Captain: Merrett ( not because Hepp is no good; just want to take the pressure off his shoulders )
Fitness/Medical: a broom swept through it ruthlessly .
NB 10 of the above not “playing” last night. About 4-5 have missed big chunks of season and/or playing hurt. That “performance” signed Woosha’s papers. I thank you John as you took us on when deep in the ■■■■■■■. But it just didn’t work mate.
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You must love taking Essendons big black and red ■■■■ up your ■■■
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After you.
I don’t know you tell me and i don’t mean that Dodoro said they were great kicks.
I don’t agree with you that developement is needed to make good kicks.
Apart from the odd example most players that were good kicks as juniors, stayed good kicks even at ■■■■ clubs and those that aren’t good kicks generally stay average.
Goddard always was, until his final years, Zaka always was and still is. Ridley always was and still is.
Dodoro gets away scott free.
We need competetive, tough, one touch footballers who can kick, preferably with smarts and at least some pace.
Everyone is always so quick to blame the coach for everything, coach after coach after coach yet the guy that brings in the talent gets away scott free for a decade +.
The whole club obviously has issues but Dodoro is at least the # 2 issue if not # 1.
And the reason our players are still skinny has nothing to do with stength and conditioning but the body type of player that is picked. Gleeson will never be a muscular player no matter how many weights he pushes for example.
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Haha. Not if so much of the club - board, exec and coteries - are on their side.
Ivan’s right, what the club needs is a strong leader who cops absolutely no bullshit and works through the list, finds and develops a 22, a coaching group and list that demands high levels from each other, and on field leaders to step up when it’s needed to take us a flag.
But the club, and many of the supporters, don’t want to hear that. When given the option, they’ve shown they’ll take the easy option every time.
Sack a few people, blame them for everything, recruit someone with a big reputation, and hope they all work seamlessly from the get-go.
If it takes more than 3 years, well, I’ll see you all back here.
Agree
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It’s kind of easy to find draft assessments of players you don’t think are good kicks.
I loved football once, I adored Essendon, my love was so deep for this club a woman would be jealous, never missed a game, watched replay after replay.
But now I can’t stand watching football unless Essendon are playing, and then we have players who are so soft they make me sick.
It’s this new age type softness which has swept through the club, players need to harden the **** up, the coach allows weak efforts by senior footballers, it’s rubbish.
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The attitude of the entire club stinks. The players turn up when they like. GC game is a perfect example, they thought they could just rock and up smash them. Next thing they are 30 points down.
The coach just throws out excuse after excuse
Xavier, you never hear a peep out of him, unless he is backtracking to the players
The club still thinks we are a “big club”. We aren’t! There is nothing on field to suggest we are a big club. Sure we have heaps of cash and a awesome training facility, but we still can’t get the players in any sort of proper condition to play football
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We haven’t won a final the whole time Buddy Franklin has been in the AFL…
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