James Hird owes Essendon an AFL premiership this year, or at least a grand final appearance. Anything less and the coach will have failed.
Hird has confirmed he will consider High Court action, saying the players and officials charged over the club’s supplements scandal have been afforded fewer rights than the average citizen.
Hird has said his two failed Federal Court challenges against the joint AFL-ASADA investigation into the Bombers’ 2011 supplements program have been costly. But he continues to defend his legal action, saying the aim has been to help create a fair system for the players.
The High Court is his last option.
Pursuing court action is Hird’s right, but even if he is 100 per cent in the right, has he the right to make the club and its fans secondary to what he perceives as an injustice?
Essendon has been in turmoil for two years while indulging Hird, guaranteeing him the coaching position, and allowing him an overseas studying sabbatical.
If Hird really believes there is a great principle at stake, and he is seeking justice for the club and its players, he could have pursued justice while stepping down as coach for the greater good.
As it stands, the Bombers are weeks away from the start of the season and should be concentrating on preparation without the continuing attendant dramas.
Hird couldn’t get Essendon to the finals in his previous stint as coach. If he gets them to the big one this year he will deserve to be ranked with the great coaches, like Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson.
Already a multiple premiership winner with Geelong, the departed Thompson has received insufficient credit for one of the great coaching achievements in any football code last year. To take Essendon to the finals amidst all the turmoil roared 200-decibel volumes for his force of character and man management.
It’s a daunting standard to match.
For Hird, on-field actions will speak louder than court words.
Gecko
Guest
Actually it's a pleasant change to see Don Freo writing about clubs other than Freo, Keep up the provocation Andy.
Kev
Guest
Oh dear me Don you have a lot to learn. To not bite in this context is to not get sucked into an argument when you deliberately misrepresent someones position. You seem to think to not bite is to not reply at all.
Phantom
Guest
Three actions need to happen to get Essendon FC back on track, sack Hird immediately and then players need to serve any suspension handed down, finally get Bomber Thompson back on a 5 year deal with good people...it is that simple
Don Freo
Guest
Whoops...you bit!
andyl12
Guest
Hey Don, what do you do for a living?
Don Freo
Guest
That's exactly what I'm wondering. Why ARE you so bitter? Ah well, perhaps my job is done now that your attack has shifted from Hirdy. See you in the footy season. I'll delete this thread now. Every time I get a Roar message, I'm hoping it's a cricket thread or a footy thread and too often it's amateur lawyer hour with struggling human beings wanting to hang, draw and quarter without due process. I'd best leave you to John Laws' radio programme now.
andyl12
Guest
Why would I be bitter? Hawthorn have just won back-to-back flags! You're just like the Essendon fans on this site- you want to silence anyone who dares to criticize Hird, and/or bring up irrelevant topics & theories.
Kev
Guest
Don Freo is using the classic ad hominem approach. This approach is used by those who who can't come up with some semblance of a counter argument that has logic, credibility or intelligence and they are trying to hide those flaws by distracting you through direct attacks or by employing the strawman approach in an attempt to deliberately misrepresent your position and beat down that position. Pretty simple to deal with these types. Don't bite when baited, reply with facts and they shut their big gobs pretty quickly, as demonstrated by Don Freo's lack of reply when he tried to claim that Bomber Thompson was apparently pulling the strings at Essendon during the supplements program.
Don Freo
Guest
Not on this topic. You'll only see me exposing your sadness. Cheer up! The footy season is coming. That's when, in happier threads, you'll see me celebrating the purple people. If you don't like James Hird, the one thing you shouldn't do is concede to him the power to upset you so much. Let it go and wait.
Don Freo
Guest
I'm not talking about Hawthorn. It's not Hawthorn that is bitter. It is Andyl12. Yours is the paucity of spirit.
Kev
Guest
Go on Don, keep playing the man rather than the argument. That will make you look less desperate and illogical.
andyl12
Guest
"Find a way of being happy in your poverty." Um, Hawthorn are not in poverty. And that is because they keep looking for (and finding) ways to build and don't use pre-1950 success to argue their point. I am not critical of anyone that isn't me, I simply speak my voice about things that others could do better. You would too if you had any good ideas to share. I could easily tell the Melbourne Demons how to get more supporters, but that's beyond the scope of this topic.
andyl12
Guest
Oh right, I thought you meant "Tird."
andyl12
Guest
And you'd find three whole years of Don Freo saying "Dockers for premiers this year, Dockers for the flag this year, blah blah blah...."
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
Most evidence used in most court cases is circumstantial. But the main show here isn't a court case, it's how Hird and co operated in a way that is dodgy enough to generate a horrible whiff of cheating. Given the the history of athletes using grey areas as a sanctuary, the onus, in WADA signatory sports, is for athletes to operate within a range of accountability and if they don't they are penalised.
Don Freo
Guest
You have to go back 3 years for an accurate sample. C'mon...you know how stats work.
Macca
Guest
For those keeping score we now have 72 post - 15 from Don Freo (20.8%) (all of which are up to his usual pointless standard) 9 from AndyI12 (12.5%) 1 from Bobb07 (1.4%) and 3 from Kev (4.2%) - so in short Andy, Bobbo & Kev haven't posted much much (in quantity terms, in content quality they are well in front) as the bloke complaining they dominate the thread.
Don Freo
Guest
You're just trying to get your percentage up, Kev, to compete with Andyl12 and Bobbo7.
Don Freo
Guest
"...another example of them living off their inheritance..." Andy! Andy! Andy! Geez, how bitter can one boy be? Find a way of being happy in your poverty. You are already emotionally poor if your posts are any indication. The fact that you are so critical of anyone that is not you but so unaware of how abusive you are...not just of Hird, but of anyone who doesn't embrace your offerings...is an indication of moral poverty too. Tell you what..I'll pray that you get an inheritance too. Perhaps that will ease your pain.
Don Freo
Guest
That's Hird.