Inside the Bombers’ blow-up: Mark Robinson and Scott Gullan reveal the behind the scenes chaos at Essendon

Essendon president David Barham is a man under pressure after the club’s disastrous CEO search. Go inside the drama which has engulfed the Bombers and how they imploded.

Inside the issues at Essendon.

When Kevin Sheedy and his wife Geraldine boarded Lindsay Fox’s luxury boat in New York to celebrate the ol’ trucker’s 85th birthday last month, the Essendon coaching legend was in a festive mood.

Like everyone, he’d been looking forward to getting overseas again. But most of all he was content that the football club he loved was finally about to get its own ship in order.

Sheedy knew there was one final piece to the puzzle which required his touch and that would be taken care of when he finished mingling with 400 of Australia’s most rich and famous on the extravagant getaway.

Sheedy had the belief that he and the new president David Barham — a go-getter type for sure — would have the final say on who be the new coach of Essendon.

A six-member panel had been formed, which interestingly included his former arch enemy Robert Walls, to canvas a number of candidates, but in the end it would be Sheedy and Barham to make the ultimate call.

Or so he’d thought.

Kevin Sheedy shows his incredible passion for Essendon. Picture: George Salpigtidis

‘IT’S SO POLITICAL, IT’S UNBELIEVABLE’: HOW DONS GOT HERE

FOOTBALL clubs are unique but what they most resemble is a political party.

Factions dictate direction and at Essendon, it has long been the case where too much influence has been given to former legends or supporters with deep pockets and big mouths.

This year, and not for the first time, the Old Guard v the New Guard has faced off.

“It’s so political, it’s unbelievable,” said one former staff member, who’d come from another AFL club, of the goings on at the club’s Tullamarine headquarters.

“People have got to stop playing politics at that football club and actually just think about what they’re doing.”

The Essendonians is proudly the oldest coterie group in the AFL. They wield considerable power — or so they say — given they can alter the amount of money they donate to the club depending on how they view its operations.

So, if they don’t like someone or something (ie former coach Matthew Knights) then the administrators soon fall into line (ie hiring of James Hird).

The behind-the-scenes politics is at the heart of the latest mess.

Who would’ve thought the Bombers would find themselves in such a laugh-a-minute schmozzle so soon after the gut-wrenching and soul-destroying supplements scandal?

While understandably that horrible chapter in the club’s history has taken its toll, and probably still does, the botched number of resets in recent years is what continues to outrage the faithful.

The latest had its origin back to midway through the season – the Bombers won just two games from the opening 11 matches – when several powerbrokers, including Sheedy, concluded that Ben Rutten wasn’t the answer as senior coach.

Despite having got the Bombers into the finals in his first full season in the job following the departure of John Worsfold, the lack of a solid game plan and the disturbing regression by a number of players had Rutten clearly under pressure.

Even then, Sheedy had an inkling for Hird.

Ben Rutten leaves Essendon HQ amid the drama. Picture: Tony Gough

The season swayed under the umbrella of a micky-mouse internal review, until the result of that review — namely to keep Rutten — produced a good old fashioned boardroom showdown.

In the pro Rutten camp were longstanding CEO Xavier Campbell and president Paul Brasher who’d also only been in the job for a year.

Across the table was Barham, who would ultimately take over the Essendon presidency after getting Sheedy’s backing.

In many respects, Barham was only president because of Sheedy. And Sheedy wanted Hird as coach. And Barham knew Sheedy wanted Hird as coach.

When the Bombers produced one of their worst performances of the season in round 22 at Marvel Stadium against Port Adelaide, losing by 84 points, Rutten was officially done.

Barham then made his move on Brasher, who in May had instigated the internal review of the underperforming football department. It was a quick kill. Brasher was forced into handing in his resignation as president the following day.

An external review into the entire operations of the club was launched immediately with former NAB boss and big-time Essendon fan Andrew Thorburn brought in to run it.

At the same time, Barham made his dash at coaching great Alastair Clarkson. His Hail Mary approach was too late and too unprofessional. And Clarkson agreed days later to join North Melbourne.

All the time, Rutten remained as the head coach.

It was humiliating for Rutten and unbecoming of a football club which, at its helm, had a man scrambling around like the Tassie Tiger cartoon character.

Barham kept Rutten hanging all week, forcing him to coach the final game of the season before knifing him the next day.

“You look at the way they treated Truck (Rutten), regardless if he can coach or not, you don’t treat people like that,” one former Essendon great said.

“If the president does that then anybody else at the club thinks they can do the same thing and get away with it. There’s your culture problem.”

Xavier Campbell and David Barham were barely communicating in the CEO’s final days at the club. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Three days later, Campbell, who by this stage was barely communicating with Barham, fell on his sword. Then favourite son Simon Madden stepped down from the board and two other board members, Peter Allen and football director Sean Wellman, also signalled they would depart in the coming months.

It was brutal and badly handled.

The media giant Barham fumbled his first press conference, declaring the Bombers were after an experienced coach. It required football boss Josh Mahoney, who was leading the search for the new coach, to clarify Barham’s wishes days later when it became clear there weren’t any big fish desperate to get to Essendon.

One big fish who was becoming increasingly interested was Hird.

While his first stint in the top job at Essendon had ended horribly, and almost with his life, the club legend had put himself back into the football world as a part-time assistant helping his former teammate Mark McVeigh at the Giants.

Simply, he’d caught the bug again.

And Sheedy was quickly in his court, believing his premiership captain was exactly the man to pull his old club together again.

Hird believed it, too.

Further, it’s understood Hird and Barham had spoken several weeks previously and that Hird was assured he would be legitimately considered for the job.

No promises from Barham, but an assurance that he and Sheedy would be picking the coach.

So, Hird went for an interview.

And Sheedy went to New York.

The cunning old bugger’s plan was in train.

Already, whatever hope Barham had of landing Clarkson was scuppered when Sheedy suggested in a radio interview that Clarkson would be better suited at the Kangaroos.

In Sheedy’s mind, everything was in order.

Kevin Sheedy had a plan for James Hird’s return. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

HOW THE LAY OF THE LAND CHANGED AT ESSENDON

WHAT happened in the 12 days Sheedy was at sea is a mystery.

When he disembarked in Montreal, the lay of the land at Essendon had changed dramatically.

Four candidates had been interviewed by the Bombers panel which included Walls, Hawthorn premiership star Jordan Lewis, netball legend Simone McKinnins, football manager Josh Mahoney, board member Dorothy Hisgrove and consultant Thorburn.

Hird had reportedly impressed but he never heard back from the panel.

His former teammate Dean Solomon and St Kilda assistant Brendon Lade also only had one interview, while Melbourne assistant Adem Yze, who’d just missed out on the GWS job, received a second interview.

He was now the favourite.

And Hird? Media folk were emphatically declaring he had no chance — was there a leak from Essendon? — which left Hird pondering if he had been lied to.

As Grand Final week kicked in, and while Sheedy was still overseas, Barham’s focus shifted to former North Melbourne coach Brad Scott.

Scott had refused to say if he was officially interested in the role because, as the AFL’s football operations manager, he believed it wasn’t appropriate to be a candidate until the season had been completed.

After watching his twin Chris win another premiership with Geelong, Scott put his hand up to be interviewed the following Thursday, and then he met the Essendon board which included Sheedy via Zoom.

The so-called plan of Barham and Sheedy selecting the coach, presumably after considering recommendations from the selection panel, was ditched, which blindsided Sheedy.

There was no vote between Scott and Hird and even Yze per se.

Instead, after just the one interview, Scott was the nomination and he was voted in as the new coach. Not unanimously mind you.

Sheedy, who was in California, was shocked and disappointed.

He called the Herald Sun, wanting the world to know he voted for Hird.

He was widely condemned for “breaking ranks’’, but such is the cost of loyalty.

For sure, the bond between a captain and his coach in the AFL is special, far beyond any player-coach relationship.

Brad Scott and David Barham at the announcement of the new coach. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Think Chris Scott and Joel Selwood, Damien Hardwick and Trent Cotchin, Leigh Matthews and Michael Voss. There is a trust, respect and appreciation which is there for life.

A true example came with Luke Hodge’s statement in support of Clarkson at the height of the Hawthorn scandal. He wanted his ex-coach to know that he was in his corner.

That’s exactly what Sheedy felt when he publicly declared he’d voted for Hird. He didn’t want anyone to think he’d turned his back on his captain.

It blazed headlines on the very day Scott was at his first press conference.

If the footy world thought the Sheedy bomb was a PR disaster, the appointment of Thorburn as CEO made the club a national embarrassment.

It was announced just hours before Monday night’s Crichton Medal count, which allowed Thorburn to address the assembled players and supporters.

Twenty hours later he was gone.

Barham’s “comprehensive” process to appoint Thorburn failed to look into his links with church organisation, City on a Hill, whose website revealed its offensive views on abortion, homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

His resignation after Essendon asked him to choose between the church and the football club ignited a political debate which has gone around the country and is still raging today.

Indeed, the process of appointing Thorburn to the role had put some staff at the football club off-side.

Andrew Thorburn lasted one day as Essendon CEO.

He’d been in charge of the external review and as part of that review, he had spoken to dozens of staff, urging them to tell him everything as he was an impartial observer.

Thorburn also interviewed candidates for the vacant CEO job, canvassing their IP, before deciding he would put his hand up for the gig.

Talk about a conflict of interest.

Still, Barham gave him the job.

“That was never going to be a safe environment for the employees,” one club insider said.

“He ran the review, the staff were honest with him, he was saying, ‘I’m impartial, tell me all your secrets’. Then suddenly it was like, ‘Oh by the way now all those things you said, I remember them and I’m now your CEO’.”

The man left standing is Barham who has conceded there has been some missteps along the way.

How Barham survives this mess is now a matter of great discussion and among those powerful coterie groups, there will be a group of people who think they can do better.

For sure, a board challenge is not out of the question.

Sheedy, meanwhile, will support Scott to the hilt.

And Hird? He probably thinks he was strung along, and if that is the truth, he will never have anything to do with the Essendon Football Club again.