The Matthew Lloyd End? Give me a break!

Redb said we will bounce back. Snigger, not this year.

Its not everyday you kick 926 goals. Give the club a break. Joe Blogs throw one good pass in the Superbowl and his name is carved into every sporting arena around the state. This was a one off lets remember that. Stevie G you are obviously not a bombers fan therefore cannot appreciate what this man has given to our club over the duration of his 15 year stint. And for goodness sake dont bring Eddie McGuire into this. This is the man whose media cv looks about as appealing as Richmonds style of football. Im contemplating putting forward the idea to name one of my school cubicles the "McQuire End" to highlight the crap that he has given us over the years.

Spot on Arnold. Its our home ground who cares about some Collingwood hack from last century who never even played at the Docklands stadium. Typical Eddie McGuire whinging - pull your head in. The Lloyd End was the only highlight of a pretty poor day for the Bombers on the field, but we will bounce back.

I kind of like the ring of the "Prestagiacomo" end

Maybe Louganis should make a comeback, the Bombers could do with him. Free kick tally is down this year.

OK then, the way my logic works, CFC has open season to rename anything it likes at its MCG home games. Forget Ponsford, I think the Alan Toovey Stand has a nice ring to it. And for those who argue that Nuts never played at Etihad, your argument is just as flawed. Plugger played 1 game for 1 goal in a sad & sorry performance against the Pies in his ill advised comeback season. Plugger & Nuts were honoured at the time as the 2 greatest goalkickers ever. M. Louganis, sorry Lloyd's banner failing to drop was karma at play.

It's okay and very appropriate to honour Lloyd. Have a Lloyd memorial match every year by all means, or call the footy the Lloyd Memorial football. Name a stand after him, or an entrance if you want, although why you think he is worth celebrating more than other great Essendon players of the past, such as Reynolds, Clarke or Coleman, is beyond me. Good as he was Lloyd is not a Legend of the Game and never will be. Covering the Coventry end with a flag bearing Lloyd's name doesn't change that, it cheapens the traditions of the game, and unfairly does a disservice to Lloyd. Alternatively, the Stadium should make up its mind to honour Coventry some other way. They could, in future, rename the goal ends of the ground after the home team greats on the day. We'd have the McKenna end when Collingwood are at home there; the Hudson end when the Hawks are there; the Templeton end when the Doggies host a game. Alternatively, leave it as it is. Honour your heroes by all means. But show respect for the true Legends of the Game.

Stevie G, Why should anyone give you a break? I would have thought Essendon FC have every right to honour one of their champions. Why would you, a petty internet journalist come into anyones consideration? 7 games a year, from 22, it will be called the Lloyd end, is it such a big deal? Maybe its worth naming one end the Lloyd end, just so people can remember him, if in 20 years time he wont be, as stated above. I would have thought he deserves to be remembered, wouldn't you? In taking away Coventrys glory for 7 games a year, I wouldn't have thought that would degenerate him in the slightest.

Gordon "nuts " Coventry V Matty "diver "Lloyd.

Lloyd was a very good player in his days at Essendon; ask the young kids in twenty years and they wont know he is/was. On the other hand, Coventry is a legend and everyone knows his esteemed record in the great game.

Pete you know very well that the great game of AFL started well before Etihad/Telstra/Colonial/Docklands Stadium was built. We commemorate greatness because it's greatness. I don't want to disparage Lloyds contribution at Essendon. Over the years he was a part of a terrific team. In my view he stands on the same pedestal as Dunstall, Ablett, Brown, McKenna, Hudson, Richardson and Sav Rocca. But Lloyd is no Coventry, and to suggest otherwise is an insult to both. Essendon FC discredit themselves and their champion by presuming to suggest otherwise.

No one is going to remember Lloyd's name in a 100 years time. At least Coventry achieved a milestone that marks him down as a legend. Loyd will just be remebered for that hit on Birchall

Pete, Get your head out of your backside. The simple fact that we remember Coventry (who played until the late 1930's, which isn't the early 1900's, unless you've got a shaky grasp of the English language) , who is in a league Lloyd will never approach, 73 years after he retired tells you all you need to know. In another 15 years Matthew Lloyd will just be a vague footnote in the game's history and even Essendon fans will have a hard time remembering just who he is and what he did. How many times did Lloyd kick 100 goals during the regular season? That's right, he never did. You actually want someone to name one end after a full-forward who wasn't good enough to kick 100 goals without the aid of finals? Coventry managed to do it 4 times and, even with finals, he never played more than 21 games in a year. But, fair's fair. If you want to put an Essendon player's name on something I'm sure there's a dim-sim concession stand at Etihad that you could name after Paul Van der Haar.

So how many goals did Coventry kick at Etihad? Oh wait, thats right, he hasnt played since the early 1900s. Essendons home games, essendon home ground, Essendons rules. As long as you are producing articles like this Stevie G, then you will remain a Roar Rookie.

Matthew Lloyd was a very good Essendon player and a very good latter day champion. But Gordon Coventry is a true legend of the Game. At a time when far fewer games were played he kicked 1299 goals, a record which stood from 1937 until eclipsed by Tony Lockett in 1999. The achievements of those two greats deserve to be commemorated by naming the goal ends of the ground in their honour. The substitution of Lloyd's name for Coventry's at the Coventry End does disservice to the traditions of the game, it cheapens the achievement of Coventry and it makes Lloyd look, unfairly, like an impertinent usurper. If I was Lloyd I'd be very embarrassed. This decision sounds like the brain wave of some loud mouthed marketing schmuck to me. Anyone who truly appreciates the game and respects its traditions would never suggest such a stupid idea, let alone implement it.

I thought maybe this was an April Fools' day joke?