Horsburgh - The Judgement on Sheeds

[Madden]

The only interesting piece of information to come out of Footy Classified came from Hutchinson's 'interview' with Horsburgh.

He refused to say one way or the other what was going to happen to Sheeds, but when asked by Hutchinson "do you have a personal opinion as to whether Sheeds should stay or go", his response was "yes, I have a very strong personal opinion, but I haven't discussed it with anyone else or with the board".

So, for better or worse, it sounds like Horsburgh's mind is already made up. And perhaps, given that it would take a brave board to go against the wishes of its newly elected Chairman, that means that whatever Horsburgh has decided is what will ultimately happen.

I wonder what his opinion is? Surely he wouldn't have said "I have a very strong opinion" on air if that opinion was anti Sheedy? Does anyone know if he has had a history with pro or anti Sheedy opinions?

[robbie67]

Horsburgh wants Sheedy to stay.

[ZRS]

The only interesting piece of information to come out of Footy Classified came from Hutchinson's 'interview' with Horsburgh.

He refused to say one way or the other which what was going to happen to Sheeds, but when asked by Hutchinson "do you have a personal opinion as to whether Sheeds should stay or go", his response was "yes, I have a very strong personal opinion, but I haven't discussed it with anyone else or with the board".

So, for better or worse, it sounds like Horsburgh's mind is already made up. And perhaps, given that it would take a brave board to go against the wishes of it's newly elected Chairman, that means that whatever Horsburgh has decided is what will ultimately happen.

I wonder what his opinion is? Surely he wouldn't have said "I have a very strong opinion" on air if that opinion was anti Sheedy? Does anyone know if he has had a history with pro or anti Sheedy opinions?

i noticed that too, and the fact he said that there is a stong possability that sheeds could lead ess to another flag, and he would hate to see sheeds coach against us leads me to think that he is a sheeds supporter.

i came away from that thinking sheeds is pretty safe, then caro immidiatly says as fact "he will be gone year end" I don't think she heard the same interview I did, or does being that ugly make you deaf and stupid?

[robrulz5]

Caro should never have taken that part time Uni job head butting trams when she was a kid.

It may have improved her apperance.


Last night was the first time I watched that show and it was rubbish. Not just because none of the panelists like Essendon but they just talk crap.

[jimmyc1985]

Loved how he said it's 'just another business decision', and went on to say that if he 'shuffled' things around at Smorgon Steel no one would notice. The peons at Smorgon must've been feeling good about themselves this morning.

I thought the whole point of him replacing McKissock was because no one else had the guts or commonsense to strip the decision regarding Sheedy of emotion and make a factually based, rational decision? That being the case, I'm surprised to find out from other posters that we've brought in an ardent Sheedy supporter.

[Madden]

Horsburgh wants Sheedy to stay.

I suspected that was the case.

If we accept that as true, what would be the odds of the rest of the board (lead by Epis, i presume) rolling him and taking out Sheedy? Would the board have the guts to go against the chairman or would the fact that Horsburgh is a Sheedy supporter convince other board members to do the same?

[topdon]

Sheeds might very well have the last laugh.

Never EVER underestimate the man in the final year of a contract.

We are one game out of the Top 4. Big month coming up for Sheedy and ultimately out final 8 chances this year.

[Rossoneri]

Sheeds might very well have the last laugh.

Never EVER underestimate the man in the final year of a contract.

We are one game out of the Top 4. Big month coming up for Sheedy and ultimately out final 8 chances this year.

While something tells me that you may be right, I think Sheeds has run out of tricks. We have plan A, but dont seem to have plan B.

[jimmyc1985]

We are one game out of the Top 4. Big month coming up for Sheedy and ultimately out final 8 chances this year.

If Essendon can get 3 or 4 wins out of our next 4 matches, Sheedy can coach Essendon until the day he dies - and that's coming from someone who wants to see a change. If we manage to get two wins, he's done pretty well.

1-3 is par for the course over the next month.

[Windy_Hill]

Sheeds deserves a 5th Premiership at Essendon - of that I have no doubt. And, I am sure the whole football community would love to see his very good coaching record become a legendary record.

2 things in his favour.

1 - Essendon I am sure would love to have one of its coaches as the all time games coached record holder. I think Sheeds can reach this target in about 3 years?

2 - If there is any inkling that this club can win a flag in 3 years, Sheedy should get the chance to take them to that level.

I am personally in favour of us chasing the best young coach to fill his shoes. I would think that offering Michael Voss an assistant coaching position at Windy Hill next year under 2 experienced senior coaches (Ayres and Sheedy) would be a potentially great investment in our future.

[Rossoneri]

I am personally in favour of us chasing the best young coach to fill his shoes. I would think that offering Michael Voss an assistant coaching position at Windy Hill next year under 2 experienced senior coaches (Ayres and Sheedy) would be a potentially great investment in our future.

I like this part the best. Voss would be a good addition, but like Matthews said on Before the Game, its not all about coaching. There are 15 people in your support staff that you have to organise and prepare as well.

[BenDoolan]

Horsburgh wants Sheedy to stay.

I suspected that was the case.

If we accept that as true, what would be the odds of the rest of the board (lead by Epis, i presume) rolling him and taking out Sheedy? Would the board have the guts to go against the chairman or would the fact that Horsburgh is a Sheedy supporter convince other board members to do the same?

My memory is fading a bit, but I think Sheeds was nearly ousted in 1998 and was only saved by the last casting vote of Graeme McMahon.

Don't know what will happen at the end of this year. Assuming Sheedy wants to continue, I reckon they might give him a one year contract rather than two or three. A year by year assessment may be his only saving grace. Whatever happens, it has to be done with the best interests of the EFC.

[dom_105]

I personally do not think Sheeds is going anywhere.

Think back 10 years. We were one point from a Grand Final in '96, but sunk like a bullet to the extent that Sheeds was on the chopping block in '98. No need to go through what happened in '99 and '00.

Remember this was back when the cyclical nature of the draft system wasn't fully realised. The club still had players from the old system. Of course, it's totally different today, where teams unavoidably go through high points and low points.

We have already bottomed out. The draft picks picked up in the last draft will ensure the club will rebound and be a contender in the short-term future. In fact, it seems to be happening quicker than expected.

There is nothing that another coach can provide that Sheeds can't. He has the runs on the board, he has been there before. He is the one best suited to lead the club to better times.

[bombers_rock]

Sheeds should stay in my opinion.

The rebuilding, although slower than any of us would have liked, is occurring and some of the kids we have are bordering on superstar status. Sure, a change of coach could be the thing that takes them to that status, but it could very easily do the exact opposite.

History shows it's a bad idea. Look at other clubs full of stars. I don't think instability in the coaching department is doing them any favours. For example, St Kilda - they're not doing much better (if at all) than us.

Keep Sheeds, lets see what he can do with our exciting bunch of kids. The older players are getting older, AFL footy is starting to slip away from them, eventually the time will come where they go and the kids will be leading the way. Why have an untried coach when we have the best in the business to lead them to greatness? His record speaks for itself.

1981 - Became Essendon Coach
1984 - Premiers
1985 - Premiers
1990 - Runner-up
1993 - Premiers
1996 - 1 point from GF (pretty much the earliest footy moment I remember apart from the 1995 Grand Final)
1999 - 1 point from GF
2000 - Premiers
2001 - Runner-up

It would be unfair to not give him the chance considering fairer weather is looking closer.

[Windy_Hill]

His record speaks for itself.

1981 - Became Essendon Coach
1984 - Premiers
1985 - Premiers
1990 - Runner-up
1993 - Premiers
1996 - 1 point from GF (pretty much the earliest footy moment I remember apart from the 1995 Grand Final)
1999 - 1 point from GF
2000 - Premiers
2001 - Runner-up

His record did speak for itself, but if I am to be picky, this is his worst drought som perhaps his best years are behind him? (By the way, you forgot to mention 1989 Preliminary final)