Is James Hird really Essendon’s saviour?
Roar Pro By Tom Dimanis, 25 Apr 2011 Tom Dimanis is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- 2011 AFL season, AFL, Essendon, Essendon Bombers, james hird
Related coverage
The Lord Saviour has returned! No, I’m not referring to the long-haired dude with the beard who died for our sins more than two thousand years ago.
I’m talking about the bloke who was once an Essendon captain, who won two premierships and a Brownlow medal wearing the red and black colours.
I’m talking about one James Hird.
According to the Essendon faithful, Hird has returned to provide salvation to the once great club, to bring back the holy grail.
I even overhead a Bombers fan blurt out that he’s a favourite for the Brownlow.
Apart from outlandish comments emanating from some Essendon fans, the man-love going around for Hird coming from all quarters is infectious. It’s the beginning of a football fairytale.
But has he really been tested? Is he the sole reason for the Essendon resurgence?
It would be interesting to know how much tactical nous he brings to the table. His coaching resume reads that previous to his current position he was coach of his son’s under nine’s team, hardly the experience required to be an AFL general.
What Hird does bring to the table are the intangible qualities that are so vital to a successful football club and are so difficult to manufacture – spirit, a strong culture and belief.
All of a sudden players lift for the champ, they dive in with added grunt just to extract that little bit extra respect from him.
But for all the spirit in the world, if the body isn’t motoring then the fickle nature of mankind means spirit can quickly fade.
And that’s where assistant coach Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson’s contribution must be afforded the same kudos that Hird is receiving.
He’s brought a wealth of experience to the club. What’s more is that he knows how to win flags. What’s even more he’s brought over a concept that previous head coach Matthew Knights just couldn’t grasp: defence.
The Essendon hierarchy must get their props for their re-construction of their football department. Did they swindle Bomber from the Cats? They sure did. They did what they had to do to make their club great again.
It’s high time some people got over it. The Geelong players have, their 4-0 record is evidence of this.
It’s early days but the Hird-Bomber partnership seems a match made in heaven. The first big test for Jesus, sorry James, is to defeat Collingwood on ANZAC Day. Can he break the loaf of bread and feed the masses?
If he performs a miracle and inspires his team to victory over the irrepressible Pies, then Bombers fans, get ready for some September action in 2011.
Recommend this story.
The Turkey 10
The Turkey 10 teams have now been selected, as Wild Turkey Bourbon's sport sponsorship kicks into the next exciting phase.
Choose which side you're going to support and get in the running to win $2,500!
Simply visit Wild Turkey Australia on Facebook for your chance to win.
Find out more.
The Crowd Says (11) | Page 1 of Comments
Have Your Say
- Explore:
- 2011 AFL season, AFL, Essendon, Essendon Bombers, james hird
April 25th 2011 @ 5:39am
amazonfan said | April 25th 2011 @ 5:39am | Report comment
James Hird could end up as a massive success, or he could end up as a disappointing failure. However, which way he goes will not be determined by this year alone. Michael Voss took Brisbane to the finals in his first season, and since then has disappointed.
While I can understand it, seeing as he is a club legend, I do think some of the talk about him being the messiah is a little premature. Being a brilliant player rarely equates to being a great coach, and it is even rarer for champion players to become great coaches of their former clubs. While Matthew Knights was criticised for not being an Essendon person, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Essendon’s greatest ever coach was a former Richmond player.
April 26th 2011 @ 4:08pm
Tom Dimanis said | April 26th 2011 @ 4:08pm | Report comment
The big difference between Hird and Voss is that Hird has surrounded himself with assistants who have a wealth of experience. Without Bomber Thompson he would’ve found the job a lot more tougher.
Plus his ego isn’t as big as Voss’s – Voss had the arrogance to think he could instantly manufacture a flag and it’s put Brisbane back a couple of years.
It’s funny how many Essendon fans forget or don’t realise Sheedy was once a Richmond player too!
April 25th 2011 @ 8:26am
Swampy said | April 25th 2011 @ 8:26am | Report comment
Every week I tell myself – ‘don’t get too excited, they’ve achieved nothing yet’. Plenty of teams have started well and faded into the abyss come July. Particularly young teams.
However, if our Prince Aragon can lead the charge to defeat the evil, seemingly invincible, black and white forces of Mordor today then he will surely have one hand on the crown and order will be restored to the land.
–
Comment left via The Roar’s iPhone app. Download The Roar’s iPhone App in the App Store here.
April 25th 2011 @ 11:36am
TomC said | April 25th 2011 @ 11:36am | Report comment
When Lord of the Rings nerds and football bogans collide, you get Swampy.
Nice post mate. Had a chuckle at that.
April 25th 2011 @ 9:36pm
Rob McLean said | April 25th 2011 @ 9:36pm | Report comment
Well…James was a wizard.
April 25th 2011 @ 11:44am
GrantS said | April 25th 2011 @ 11:44am | Report comment
Tom I’m not all that religious but I’m not sure that referring to Jesus as that” long-haired dude with the beard ” is the correct way to describe our alleged saviour.
However, I agree with your comments. Good article!
April 26th 2011 @ 4:09pm
Tom Dimanis said | April 26th 2011 @ 4:09pm | Report comment
Hehe hope no one took offense, cheers mate
April 25th 2011 @ 12:20pm
Matt F said | April 25th 2011 @ 12:20pm | Report comment
it’s still early days (brisbane made the finals and were 4-0 last year under voss last year before his poor list management meant the rot set in) but the signs are promising. it does though beg the question of just how bad was matthew knights?
April 25th 2011 @ 12:35pm
GrantS said | April 25th 2011 @ 12:35pm | Report comment
Matt I don’t think Knights was all that bad (although I never thought he should have been coach).
The Bombers played some pretty exciting football at times under him and took some big scalps.
The problem with his game plan was that there was no plan B (or C) and no defense. Once the opposing coaches figured out how Essendon were going to play (which took all of five minutes) the game plan was history.
The reason the Bombers beat high placed clubs and lost to lower ones was that the higher teams were not willing to change their game plans. (With the exception of Geelong whos game plan was similar but had a defense).
April 26th 2011 @ 4:15pm
Tom Dimanis said | April 26th 2011 @ 4:15pm | Report comment
Knights just could not get the respect of the players. It would’ve been hard for anyone to take over from a coach who had been there for 27 years.
April 25th 2011 @ 7:55pm
Redb said | April 25th 2011 @ 7:55pm | Report comment
yes. Why?
When you walk away from an Essendon game you feel proud, despite a loss.