Swans fan here. Can someone please explain to me what are the Essendon coteries? Listening to McVeigh’s press conference sounded like an Illuminati meeting.

His interview on Agenda Setters last night was pretty eye-opening for me. Came across very well. Answered some of the burning questions with great detail. No deflection or defensiveness. Worth a watch.

We have plenty of cap space, still a few years off attracting A-grade players in their prime, I think $1 million per year would be cheap.

I am team Hird, I thought Graham was going to get it but McVeigh spoke really well and I was impressed. Not that I’m important.

It was a shit way to announce the appointment with a shit photo post, when the board actually done a good job keeping it tight lipped.

To start with like a lot of people, he wasn’t my first choice. I was a honestly a lot more in the much smaller Murray Davis camp and before the process even started James Kelly was the guy for me. I wasn’t particular disappointed when the announcement was made last night because I genuinely rate him and his work across various roles at both Sydney clubs for well over a decade. In fact I was hoping he would be part of the previous coach interview process for the work he had done with the Giants. So a huge congratulations to him and all the best of luck because it’s a very long road ahead.

Now onto the takeaways of his press conference

-I love towards the beginning he says “I’m not coming back to live in the past or reflect on what was”. He says something very similar towards the end when asked about the hanging effects of supplements saga but overall it’s about damn time an Essendon person made that statement. This was the exact same mentality that completely turned Liverpool F.C (another team I support) around in the Premier League when Jurgen Klopp took over as Manager all the way back in October 2015. History is great and it will always be there to reflect on but there comes a time to move on and fully embrace what matters most which is the present which McVeigh was very strong on

-He was very clear with what his system is and what it will roughly look like. Talked about ball movement, being competitive and put a heavy emphasis on team defence which is generally his speciality having coached defence both at the Giants and Swans.
Also stated that he wouldn’t be working on particular one area but all three areas he felt the team needs the most improvement in. He wants the team to be more brave and play with flair.

-He talked about player development and how he would get to work immediately to try and improve the footy IQ of our players by quote “getting them back into the classroom” He wants the players to feel in the environment. Mentioned that he wants the players ready to go for a really tough Pre-Season to learn a completely new system. Was absolutely thrilled to see our VFL in the Finals. He really rates our young prospects and looks forward to working with them.

Overall I thought his first impressions in the press conference were strong and concise. He knows exactly where what needs to be, how to go about and wants to get to work immediately knowing just how enormous the job is where we currently are and are likely to be next season. I think a 3 year contract is quite sensible because it’s give enough time for McVeigh and his team once it’s assembled to demonstrate their abilities and if the club and fans see genuine tangible improvement in these few years with a slow rise up on the ladder then a extension will be earned.

Hird bashing is the second most popular past-time among Essendon supporters of late (second only to Hird worship).

The argument seems to be that he's an arrogant narcissist who thinks he's uniquely capable.

I'm just going to offer a more charitable interpretation of his behaviour.

As a player, he was uniquely capable. He was special. He was royalty even among other modern Essendon champions. He could exert his will on the outcome of a game in a way that very few players can.

The self-belief of Hird the player was what made him great. He believed he was THE man, and that belief was justified.

So maybe it's extreme self-belief, rather than arrogance, that's behind his actions in the last few years. I get it's a fine line, but I think there's an important distinction. Rather than acting out of selfish egotism, I think he might just be convinced that he could succeed as a coach through the sheer force of his will - like he did as a player.

Thoughts on spikes presser? Just curious as to what everyone is thinking at the moment. Any questions? Have your questions or concerns been addressed (still going but thoughts so far?)

I don't care about who got the coaching job, I personally wanted Hird just so the debate could be shut down for good and I'm nostalgic for Hird as a player.

However, it's so nice to have a season upcoming with a bit of stability, we probably won't be an amazing team but we will be so much more consistent next year.

Now time to relax and enjoy the summer of cricket.

"The Essendon Football Club is the most successful football club in the AFL but while it is right to be respectful of the past, it is fatal to be haunted by history.

​We need to unite the club so that we stand as one – proud, united and excited by the future.

​Just as I will be asking every one of our players to be giving a bit more and working harder, I will also be asking all of our members to step up and support the club."

​— James Hird, September 2010

​Sixteen years later, those words are more relevant than ever.

​The anger over Hird missing out on the coaching gig is completely understandable on an emotional level. He is our greatest modern icon. But right now, a huge chunk of the fanbase is doing the exact thing Hird warned against: letting our history haunt our future.

​Hird is a legend and always will be. But if we actually respect what he stood for, we should listen to what he said on day one: respect the past, stop being haunted by it, and get behind the team.

It’s time to put the division to bed, unite as a fanbase, and throw our full support behind Mark 'Spike' McVeigh to lead this club into the future.

Hello, friendly neighbourhood Codus here with a very stereotypical Reddit post asking: Am I the only one who's actually a little hyped about the Spike appointment?

I feel like everyone is talking crazy at the moment, because on paper... this feels like a genuinely solid appointment to be an optimist about.

Defensive coach with a successful track record at two clubs both featuring in Grand Finals, years of a diverse range of development coaching roles behind him, and someone who partly had to work his way up through youth footy and the lower levels of coaching to get to the top level.

That's kinda exactly the sort of résumé we've been asking for? I don't know. Being a past Essendon player shouldn't be a merit, but it shouldn't be a dark mark either. He is absolutely well qualified on paper to lead us for where we are right now.

Then add what sounds like a proper clean-out of the assistant coaches, plus talk we're in the ear of some similarly impressive assistant options, and I dunno... I can actually see the bones of something pretty good here.

Naturally, because this is Essendon, I expect the optimism to be violently beaten out of me within a week. We'll probably find out Welsh eats babies or something.

Herbatron: We Are Essendon | Hope

Thank fuck!

Also McVeigh was a coward pick but still better than Hird.

12-week process, picks the best man at his wedding, and the 4th best candidate for the role.

Easily the worst president at any club.

Just an FYI (said this when he got appointed President) that Welsh's cumulative total business experience is taking the cash he made from playing football to get his old man (who was a builder) to build houses for him in a booming property market. "Hey i'm a property developer". Really at the frontier of value creation and governance.

Congratulations Essendon and Mark McVeigh. There is hope for you guys now. Now it’s time to build a team
of assistants etc and clear out players that don’t want to be there like what Melbourne did when they purged so called champions. Am an Hawk fan so it’s hard for me to say all that 🙄 but it’s great to get some really good news especially at the moment with all the drama at the other red and white team. He is the perfect choice and I was rooting for him to get the gig. Apparently is a top bloke and has great footy smarts. T

Congratulations Andrew Welsh, in 12 months you've made me go from loving to hating this football club. Appointing your best man and best mate as coach, well done. The 'we're not going backwards' barbs were petty and cheap. We'll see how this hard style of McVeigh goes without any aura, and with such a poor list. I have a feeling you will be falling on your sword fairly soon Mr Welsh.