Article From Sir Jim

[DC2]

A QUESTION OF DESIRE

James Hird


WHAT does the Essendon football team stand for?

As long as I have been an Essendon supporter, on the ground it has been all about hard, tough, attacking football - win the contest, go straight down the middle and play with a degree of daring and flair.

From Tim Watson to Leon Baker, Michael Long, Gavin Wanganeen and Mark Mercuri, the Bombers have always had skilful, dynamic players capable of turning a game.

Throw in Darren "Daisy" Williams, Sean Denham, Joe Misiti and now Jobe Watson, they have always had guys willing to put their bodies on the line to win the contested ball.

Essendon teams since the early 1980s have always had great self-belief and played with a passion that won us games when either our talent or game plan was not as good as the opposition's.



Last Sunday against the Magpies this was not the case.

The effort from the boys in red and black was feeble and lacked the passion and spirit that has been a hallmark of this great club.

After retiring it took me two years to become a fan again and enjoy watching the boys play. Last year's game against the Hawks took me back to my days as a kid watching Essendon play.

I loved the experience. On Sunday I hated it. By the end of the game I was a disillusioned Essendon supporter ready to ring up talkback radio and ask BT how long he thought it would be before the Bombers made the finals.

As a footballer you have your off days and we have all been a part of a thrashing, but if days such as Anzac Day, 2010, do not make you feel sick as a player and inspire you to make amends, then nothing will.

On the weekend, coach Matthew Knights' game plan again came under criticism.

The arch enemy - former Hawk Dermott Brereton - called Essendon "delusional" and labelled the Bombers a very poor defensive team.

I believe Collingwood is a five-goal better team than the Bombers and, game plan or not, should have won on the weekend.

The most disappointing thing from a spectator's point of view was the Essendon effort around the contest, the work rate off the ball and the players' skill level.

All game plans must include hard-at-it footy with a fierce desire to win the contest.

I'm sure Essendon's game plan does, as well, but the players did not execute this part of the game in Perth two weeks ago and again against the Magpies.

Why not? That is the question all Essendon people want answered.

In these circumstances you cannot single out the coach or individual players.

As a group when pre-season starts every player, assistant coach and the head coach signs a commitment to each other to do everything in their power to be as good as he can.

From outside the arena, and a long way from Windy Hill, this promise to each other looks to have been broken.

The poor first quarter last Sunday was not because Essendon is not good enough, and it was not because the game plan was flawed.

It was because the desire for a contest and to never submit to the opposition was severely lacking.

I realise this is a simplistic point of view and I also acknowledge that, if the commitment had been there, Collingwood would probably still have won.

But I also know that in your greatest defeats you can win a lot of friends by the attitude you show and the way you go about your game.

On Anzac Day this current Essendon group won no friends.

Knights' game plan is mostly about attack. It is daring and he has stated he wants his players to play with a freedom that allows them to reach great heights.

I will not question his game plan because it is his prerogative to coach as he sees fit. He and his assistant coaches have put hours and hours into developing what they believe will make the team a premiership chance in two years.

This weekend the Essendon players must take a stand, implement the game plan the way it was meant to be and take the game to the Hawks.

Essendon hates Hawthorn and vice-versa.

Give me a Collingwood or Carlton game for a big crowd and sense of occasion, but promise me one more chance to run out on to the MCG and it would be against the Hawks.

For years I watched as Brereton and company tormented my team.

When I played, matches against Hawthorn were time for revenge. I used to love tormenting them, rubbing their noses into the turf and calling them soft, pretty boys ... even if it was a little hypocritical.

As captain I would spend all week geeing up Dean Wallis, Dean Solomon, Mark Johnson and company to cause as much pain as possible to Hawthorn.

From 1993-2004 I never played in a losing game against the Hawks; it was the ultimate revenge for a 12-year-old on Dipper and Dermott.

As opposed to the infamous 2004 line-in-the-sand game, this Saturday night the boot is on the other foot.

Hawthorn is a recent premier and although they are lacking personnel due to injury, the Hawks have a reputation as a tough, skilful outfit, whereas the Bombers are seen as a young side not yet up to it.

I do not expect to see Essendon come out swinging and try to beat the Hawks into submission - that would be a mistake.

But what I do expect is to see a competitive outfit that approaches every contest as if it is its last.

If the 22 who front up to play for Essendon on the weekend start reading and believing rubbish about game plans and how they cannot win with what Matthew Knights has devised, they are kidding themselves.

In the end no matter where you are played or what the game plan asks you to do, you are still expected to put your body on the line, compete and run as hard as you can to create play or stop it.

The question I asked at the outset was: "What does the Essendon football team stand for?"

I hope that on Saturday night it stands for a lot more than it has in the past couple of weeks.

[tonysoprano]

If the 22 who front up to play for Essendon on the weekend start reading and believing rubbish about game plans and how they cannot win with what Matthew Knights has devised, they are kidding themselves.

Can't agree with you on that one Sir Jim. It is a fact - we cannot win with the shit Knights has devised.

[rockhole]

There's a bloke I would gladly follow out of the trenches.

He really hit it on the head. It is all about attitude, the will to win, desperation....call it what you like. We are lacking it in spades.

If we cannot reach into ourselves and get up for a game against the hated canaries, we are truly fked.

[Mrs Mercuri]

If only we had Wallis, Solly and MJ to turn to this weekend to ruffle a few Hawk feathers....


Jimmy Boy certainly nows what he is talking about.

[robrulz5]

Good article pretty much from a supporters perspective. We all just want to see them show some heart.

[BenDoolan]

Agree with every word James. Attitude, application, dedication, concentration, pride, passion, courage, belief...

I've been saying it for weeks.

FEEBLE as you say.

[ealesy]

f*** it's pathetic that it has come to this but it's time we got someone like a Sean Denham, Dean Solomon, f*** me even an Aaron Henneman or Mark Bolton, blokes who while not be the most gifted, or were even downright spuds, you never once questioned their commitment, dedication, determination, application, passion or pride once to give this pathetic bunch a talk about what it should mean to them to pull on the Essendon Football Jumper each week. It seems the majority ofthe team require reminding.

[Gimps]

Maybe they should get a male porn star in the rooms before the game.. might teach them how to use their balls (or locate them).

[Gyoza]

=D>
I hope this has been read by every single player on the list (and the coaches).
You couldn't cop a bigger kick up the arse than that coming from the great man himself.

My attention following on from this article immediately turns towards Mark McVeigh, who always made a point of wanting to earn the respect of James Hird.
I know he's probably not 100% fitness wise following his stay in hospital....but if you're named to play, no excuses...time to stand up in a very big way.

Another feeble performance after something like that from the greatest Essendon champion for many many years and I`ll be a lot more worried than I already am.

[BenDoolan]

=D>
My attention following on from this article immediately turns towards Mark McVeigh, who always made a point of wanting to earn the respect of James Hird.
I know he's probably not 100% fitness wise following his stay in hospital....but if you're named to play, no excuses...time to stand up in a very big way.

Precisely!

And how many times did James Hird take the field whilst not 100%? He still busted his guts regardless. Who could forget the time where he returned after having his skull re-arranged (by Mark McVeigh), and he dived in head first at the first contest. That is courage, dedication, passion, pride, guts personified.

.

[Windy_Hill]

=D>

My attention following on from this article immediately turns towards Mark McVeigh, who always made a point of wanting to earn the respect of James Hird.
I know he's probably not 100% fitness wise following his stay in hospital....but if you're named to play, no excuses...time to stand up in a very big way.

Just as Hird did a mere 8 weeks after having his head caved in at Subiaco. Came out in hii return game against Adelaide with his Jason Dunstall Helmet and played a blinder!!

And to think it was McVeighs knee that did the damage to Hirdy's head

[Windy_Hill]

=D>
My attention following on from this article immediately turns towards Mark McVeigh, who always made a point of wanting to earn the respect of James Hird.
I know he's probably not 100% fitness wise following his stay in hospital....but if you're named to play, no excuses...time to stand up in a very big way.

Precisely!

And how many times did James Hird take the field whilst not 100%? He still busted his guts regardless. Who could forget the time where he returned after having his skull re-arranged (by Mark McVeigh), and he dived in head first at the first contest. That is courage, dedication, passion, pride, guts personified.

.

Sorry Benny, I inadvertently stole your thunder on this point

[little_ripper]

I hope that Welsh, McVeigh and even Winderlich have been reminded that they stay in the team because they are playing for their careers.

I'd say Colyer and Melksham have been rested, they have performed as you'de expect from young debutants.

[Doctor Fish]

Great stuff Hirdy. I couldn't give a fat rats clacker if we lost every game for the rest of the year as long as we tackle, shepherd (a lost art at the EFC) and try to hit targets on the boob...

[swoodley]

The poor first quarter last Sunday was not because Essendon is not good enough, and it was not because the game plan was flawed.

It was because the desire for a contest and to never submit to the opposition was severely lacking.

So Hirdy, who we all respect, does not blame the coach or the game plan....he blames a lack of desire...and that also is not the fault of the coach or game plan.

The lack of desire was/is the players issue to deal with.

[swoodley]

If the 22 who front up to play for Essendon on the weekend start reading and believing rubbish about game plans and how they cannot win with what Matthew Knights has devised, they are kidding themselves.

Can't agree with you on that one Sir Jim. It is a fact - we cannot win with the shit Knights has devised.

And yet we were able to win ten games last year with the same game plan

[Sismis]

Agree Swoods, the great man is spot on.

WTF happened to taking guys on? We seem to be petrified of what was a strong part of our game. We did lose our best exponent of it, but still we need to have the courage to take more risks. I'd much rather see a guy done for holding the ball than after taking on a tackler than being caught after recieving a handball from a player in front of them!

[Megan]

Bought the HS yesty just to read this article.

Sigh. I would give the left nut of every bloke on BT to have Hirdy run out on the ground for us this weekend. Or Mercs.

I feel sorry for Fletch, all out there on his own.

[swoodley]

You leave our left nuts alone Megan...

[Megan]

Righty then, Swoods?