Essendon chairman David Barham responds to list management criticism, next moves for Bombers

Essendon president David Barham has launched a defence of long-time recruiting boss Adrian Dodoro in the face of fierce criticism from Bombers fans.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 03: Adrian Dodoro, General Manager - List & Recruiting of the Bombers is seen during The 2022 Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period at Marvel Stadium on October 03, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Essendon president David Barham says footy fans have a “really unhealthy obsession” with long-time Bombers recruiting boss Adrian Dodoro, insisting list management decisions are more collaborative than to come down to one person.

As the Bombers sift through the disappointment of another unfulfilled season – their 19th in a row without a finals win – Barham said the club’s new chief executive Craig Vozzo would have “a massive say on what happens” in the upcoming draft and trade period.

But he stressed that the external blame game on Dodoro, who has faced criticism over the sameness of Essendon’s list and a lack of players with physical aggression, was unfair.

Adrian Dodoro with Bombers board member Kevin Sheedy. Picture: AAP Image/Michael Dodge

While he acknowledged that Dodoro and recently departed footy boss Josh Mahoney “weren’t great mates”, he dismissed suggestions the football department had been dysfunctional.

“Personally, I think there is a really unhealthy obsession with Adrian Dodoro, I really do,” Barham said on SEN.

“Recruiting is never one person in one department, recruiting is made up of a whole heap (of people) who sit there and analyse all the data and figure out what they want, they consult with the coach, they consult with everybody, and then they make decisions.

“There is a bit of a thing where it is all Adrian this and all Adrian that. That is OK, but what I am saying is we have made significant changes at the football club.

Adrian Dodoro has faced significant criticism from Bombers fans. He’s pictured in 2004.

“We have brought in a CEO who is a specialist, who has done list management, he has done football management. Craig Vozzo is all over this stuff.

“We have brought in an experienced coach in Brad Scott.

“We have got a pretty important three or four months coming up. We have another good pick in the draft, we have got some room in our salary cap, we have to improve across all areas of our football club.”

Barham conceded the Bombers were “not good enough to be a finals team at the minute” but stressed the club would continue to work to get better.

Asked if the club considered Dodoro – who has been in the role at Essendon since 1998 – the best person to be running its recruiting program, Barham said: “I am not going to get on radio and talk about individual people’s jobs, because I think that is really unfair.”

Congratulations to Adrian Dodoro who has AGAIN won the List Manager Premiership for Long Service:

Essendon - Adrian Dodoro (1997) 🥇
Sydney - Kinnear Beatson (2006) 🥈
Richmond - Blair Hartley (2009) 🥉
Port Adelaide - Jason Cripps (2011)
Adelaide - Justin Reid (2015)

(1/3)

— Albert Thurgood (@AlbertThurgood) August 28, 2023

I'll start to believe in the club once you sack Dodoro @barhamdave

— Andrew (@andrewsnitch) August 29, 2023

Jonathan Brown is right about Essendon. Nice football team that doesn’t put the fear into the opposition. Once again it starts with our recruitment and we all want Dodoro gone. All successful teams have tough footballers who love a scrap like Wallis , Barnard & Solomon https://t.co/f9i0LbyjxI

— PDavies (@Pdavies576Peter) August 29, 2023

Remove Adrian Dodoro from Essendon - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/Ydsw4eP9Oo via @ChangeAUS

— Matt Erickson (@matthewe76) August 22, 2023

But he said Vozzo and Scott had made a conscious decision to come into the club and take a broad view of the operations before making swift decisions on the future.

“What I think they have done really well is that they haven’t come in and made instant decisions,” Barham said.

“They have come in and had a really good look, and that is a smart and sensible way to run a football club.

“It may be that they go ‘Adrian is fantastic, he is staying’. That’s partly their decision because they are experts in those areas.

“I am absolutely satisfied that Brad Scott and Crag Vozzo will make all the right decisions to make this football club a successful club.”

David Barham has said Adrian Dodoro and Josh Mahoney didn’t need to be friends. Picture: Supplied

Barham said Dodoro and Mahoney had not been “best mates”, but maintained their relationship hadn’t impacted on the club’s recent fortunes.

“They didn’t get on, they weren’t best mates, but they did the job, and they would go to meetings and they worked things out,” he said on SEN.

“That (talk of tension) was overblown.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist were best buddies but they seemed to play well on the (Australian) cricket team.”

Barham said the Bombers were determined to enact cultural change at the club, saying there had been too many previous “sugar hits” and “quick fixes”.

“I think we have had a really good year … (but) we all hurt because of those last two games (which resulted in a collective 196 point losses to GWS and Collingwood).

“The whole year there has been an enormous amount of progress at the football club. You can’t change it in one year if you want to do it properly, and we want to do it properly.

“I think we have another year of instituting the right systems. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”