By Jake Niall and Peter Ryan
Former Essendon president Paul Little has declined to comment on whether he would back a challenge to the incumbent Essendon board after expressing disappointment in the club’s recent problems.
Little also said that he would tell the club if he was involved in a challenge to the board, led by new president David Barham.
Andrew Thorburn’s tenure as Essendon CEO was short-lived.Credit: James Alcock
“If I was doing anything – and I’m not saying I am – the first phone call I’d make would be to the club,” Little told The Age, when asked if he was backing a challenge following the embarrassment of the appointment and immediate resignation of chief executive Andrew Thorburn.
But Little gave a firm “no comment” when asked if he would back a challenge against Barham’s board.
Wealthy ex-Good Guys owner Andrew Muir and ex-player Andrew Welsh – the latter newly appointed to the board – are two of the seven-member Essendon board who are up for election in December.
Paul Little.Credit: Michael Dodge
The Age had contacted Little in response to suggestions by well-connected Essendon supporters that Little was interested in endorsing a board challenge. Little, a billionaire and one of Australia’s richest men, was chairman (president) of the Bombers from mid-2013 to the end of 2015, at the height of the ASADA saga that ultimately led to the 34 players being suspended by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Little, whose former company Toll Holdings was a substantial club sponsor, is no longer a significant financial contributor to Essendon. Well-connected supporters think Little would be supporting a challenge, rather than standing as a candidate himself.
Barham joined the board as Little was handing over leadership to Lindsay Tanner, the former federal finance minister.
While Barham’s board has been criticised for the Thorburn appointment and resignation – the ex-NAB boss having decided to quit the Essendon job rather than give up the chairmanship of the City on a Hill church – two influential supporters contacted by The Age expressed the view that Essendon needed a period of stability and that Barham should continue to lead the club.
Thorburn’s exit has left Essendon’s board with the task of a fresh search for a chief executive and the implementing of a ground-breaking review of all club operations, which was done by Ernst and Young and Thorburn.
The review examined Essendon’s board, executive, administration, football department and culture and will make a series of recommendations to improve Essendon’s performance, following a lean spell that stretches back to Kevin Sheedy’s last years as coach.
Sheedy, who had criticised the board’s appointment of Brad Scott as senior coach – saying he had wanted the restoration of club legend James Hird – is viewed by some club insiders as unlikely to continue in his board role for long, having been brought in, in part, to appease fans in 2020.
The position of long-time recruiting boss Adrian Dodoro also is under threat as a result of the review, which has canvassed external as well as internal people to get a picture of where the Bombers are falling short.
About 30 people within the football department were interviewed, with one source saying there were talented and committed people within the department, however there were issues of alignment of roles and communication.
The source said resources were stretched with some staff expected to work across multiple roles, with both recognition and accountability lacking.
There would be an acknowledgment from the review that leaders within the football department needed to ensure communication happened across and down the organisation.
A former Essendon employee said turnover of staff has been high in 2022 as many people felt their commitment was taken for granted.
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