27.06.2022 If you believe strongly about change for our great club, please share. SEN got wind of this on Saturday and gave us a shoutout Crunchtime.

No one is asking for particular heads to roll, the external review will determine the outcome. However this club will not allow this to occur but sit back and watch us hit low after low.

03.06.2022

***Some have expressed concerns how they do not agree with every point. That is great! This isn't about agreeing or disagreeing with everypoint. It is about going through the club with a fine tooth comb independently and reviewing every aspect. Some aspects of the club maybe a tick but it seems as though the vast majority is a failure.***

Our once great club has become the laughing stock of not only the competition but of the nation. After 18 years in the football wilderness, I urge for an urgent external review to be conducted on the Essendon Football Club. This review should include absolutely everyone from the CEO down to the groundskeeper. Until they do so I urge all members and supporters to stop attending games, stop buying merchandise and more importantly do not re-sign for 2023.

Over the past three weeks we have heard President Paul Brasher lie to his members. Firstly, he claimed there was no review and then only recently to come out and tell us there will be a marshmallow review. Furthermore, he went on to say the current CEO Xavier Campbell’s two-year contract extension announcement was simply an oversight.

TOPICS TO REVIEW

Football matters: The equation is simple we are 2-9 at the half way mark and no finals win since 2004. We do not even look likely to get out of the bottom six let alone win a premiership in 2-3 years. Our defence is non-existent with most teams carving us up through the middle, double teaming Peter Wright and simply knowing our only strategy is to bomb it wide to the boundary.

The coach - Ben Rutten: The truth of the matter is, this is his third year. His first year was when John Worsfold was head coach but Ben was still pulling the strings. This was another one of the CEO’s bright ideas to give Ben a full year and escape the scrutiny to go with it. It is very different being an assistant to being the main man and clearly Ben is not the main man. The message he is selling to his fans and members is one of weakness and hopelessness. The gameplan seems to be too complicated and overcoached, with no ability to get the best out of his playing list. After having a whole pre-season to master this so called gameplan they came out in round one and were torn to shreds by an aging Geelong side.

Line coaches: Every single line seems lost, wether it be defence, midfield or forwards with no connection between the three. We have hired high priced Carracella, Giansiracusa along side Tapping. These three blokes alongside Rutten are simply not up to it.

The President – Paul Brasher: Paul has been at the club for 12 years now, 10 as a director and 2 as president. He has been at the club for far too long as is a part of the current problem. The does not hold anyone at the club to account for past and current failures and was very much present during the supplement saga. He bobs up once in a while talking down to the members and speaking a whole heap of lies of what we ought to expect, which never amounts to anything.

The CEO - Xavier Campbell: Xavier has turned this once great club into a soulless organisation where the performance of the men’s seniors AFL team is an afterthought to his corporate sponsorships. His secret extension without informing the fans/members is not acceptable as it seems very sinister.

Under his watch he has appointed John Worsfold, re-appointed Worsfold, appointed Mark Neeld, Neil Craig, Josh Mahoney, Sean Murphy all of which were let go from their similar positions at their former clubs. He also masterminded the Ben Rutten succession plan when no one else was going for Ben Rutten without any due process other than his gut instinct.

Not only has he failed with appointments but he’s lack of defence for this once great club. Let’s not forget when he and the AFL moved our home games last year to cater for the Sydney clubs. This weak spineless culture has filtered right down to our Captain Dyson Heppell and player group.

The Board – Simon Madden, Sean Wellman, Kevin Sheedy: We thank them for their contribution to the club in the past. However, this is far beyond taking the piss now. All three men especially Kevin are far past what the modern game looks like and there is no reason for him to be there any longer as a director another than to sure up votes for the current board.

The captain – Dyson Hepell: Dyson was a true champion when he first started however the saga, age and injuries have made him a very ordinary footballer who would be dropped if not captain. I urge Dyson to do the right thing and step aside at years end and hand over the leadership to a player who is willing to do the hard yards week in week out.

The list/recruitment - Adrian Dodoro: Adrian has been in the same list management/recruiting role for 18 years in which time we have had no success. Currently our list is the most dysfunctional list in the AFL, we all pray for that big bodied midfielder that never eventuates. When it comes to the midfield, we have recruited same, same players 180cm, 74KG small, one-way running types. Further to do, Adrian has formed a reputation of being very difficult to deal with during trade period. Recent failed trades include: Dylan Shiel, Devon Smith and Adam Saad.

Player development: Some may argue we have acquired good talent via the draft. Which out of our recent draftees have been a success other than Archie Perkins? Reid, Jones, Cox have all been failures due to their inability to remain on the park. How much of these are freak accidents or simply mismanagement.

Fitness – Sean Murphy: The state of which the playing group returned at Round 1 was deplorable, a veteran packed Geelong ran rings around us. The amount of mismanagement of our players list from soft tissue injuries to players being returned too soon is not acceptable.

The facilities – The Hangar: from all reports the facilities are great for staff and players alike. There is simply no effort put in to engage fans whilst creating a welcoming environment at this venue. It is a concrete corporate jungle.

Home games Marvel: if we want to be fair dinkum about winning a flag we need to move back to the MCG. Our players have delivered a certain softness and expectation to play under a roof. As soon as there are any weather elements to factor into a game they melt like snowflakes.

The playing group: In the end every player is responsible for their own actions. The standards set by the CEO, coach and captain are simply not good enough. We having been praising effort as that is all we have at times. The playing group are simply happy to come in day in day out and go through the motions. They are happy to have a blue tick on their Instagram and get free drinks at clubs. If all our games were played at Chapel St at midnight on a Saturday night, we would have 22 best on’s.