It pains me to say this, but from my perspective this has been our worst year since 2006. After starting the year with a great chance to make top four and even challenge for the premiership, my beloved Bombers have stumbled.
They then tumbled, and basically nosedived its aircraft into the ground. To go from 11-4 to 11-9 rankles with me as it does every other Essendon person.
So where did it all go wrong? Losing key players across the year hasn’t helped but that’s no excuse. Clubs have dealt with those issues all year. Look at Carlton.
They had a VFL team running out there for a good three week period yet still kept winning. Why can’t our club do the same? Does our team rely on all our best players to be out there to function?
Has the loss of key personnel like Zaharakis, Hurley and Ryder thrown our structures out?
Losing to Melbourne didn’t help. At that stage of the year we were sitting second and looking good for another two wins before the bye.
Our team that night mentally switched off to me, and now they have struggled to get back that momentum again.
A week later against Sydney we looked lethargic and disinterested early on. When we had our chances we blew them. But the last quarter masked a problem that has become a feature of the second half of our year: confidence in the game plan.
In that last quarter when the chips were down, we took risks. Sometimes they work other times they don’t.
If you have all 22 blokes out there doing their bit for the team and you believe in yourselves, nothing will stop you.
The team has to stop thinking of the players that are missing and start worrying about how they can contribute to the team. Collingwood have become the masters of having a consistent effort over the past several years now.
Essendon fluctuates too much. Our players build themselves up for a huge game and win one week, and then lose to a basket case the next.
What we need is to try and give players specific roles and get them to stick to them. If not, they can walk out of our great club.
We don’t need people who pull on the Essendon jumper and don’t try their hardest each week.
We don’t need players who stage for free kicks either. The amount of times I’ve seen Monfries, Jetta and Davey stage this year has been disgraceful.
None of them deserve to stay on our list for next year just for that. Play in the right spirit boys, or you will be replaced and we will give someone else a go.
It’s time the Essendon Football Club stood for something again. Get rid of the players who won’t carry us forward next year, and find a few from other clubs who have some ticker.
Because right now we lack heart and fight in our list. We all love our club but now is the time for action. No mucking around.
Decision making time is upon us. Injuries or not, I’m hurting.
Fix up a few things and we can be a powerhouse. Do nothing and we might never see the Bombers fly up up.
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