Essendon president David Barham is confident the Bombers finally have the “right” people in place to improve the club’s fortunes but accepts there were “consequences” from a tumultuous year.
Barham and his board are also taking responsibility – but not “apportioning blame” – for the Andrew Thorburn debacle at the height of Essendon’s chaos.
Brad Scott and club president David Barham.Credit:Getty Images
Thorburn lasted just one day as Xavier Campbell’s chief executive successor after backlash around his involvement with a controversial church that previously condemned homosexuality and holds divisive views on abortion.
There is still the threat of legal action hanging over the Bombers, and Barham was succinct with his response at Thursday night’s annual general meeting when grilled on the Thorburn matter.
“I don’t think this is about apportioning blame. The board takes responsibility for the decision and the scrutiny it placed on the club,” Barham said.
“Ultimately, unfortunately, both parties considered that the situation was untenable, and we agreed to move on.
“I do want to say, though, that Andrew is a good person and a long-standing supporter of the club. He’s very passionate, and we look forward to seeing him and his family at the footy next year.”
Craig Vozzo is set to start as Essendon’s CEO in January, while Brad Scott replaced sacked coach Ben Rutten after an unsuccessful pursuit of Alastair Clarkson, who instead took North Melbourne’s job.
Barham, a respected broadcasting executive, has held his position since August after replacing Paul Brasher, with Andrew Welsh, Tim Roberts, David Willis and inaugural First Nations director Dean Rioli the fresh faces on the board.
Their appointments followed the rapid-fire departures of Brasher and Simon Madden before former football director Sean Wellman and finance director Peter Allen followed suit.
Barham’s first four months in the role have been rocky, but he believes there are better days ahead.
He thanked vice-president Dorothy Hisgrove and fellow board members Melissa Green, Andrew Muir – who was re-elected this week – and Kevin Sheedy, the legendary four-time premiership coach, for having the “courage to act”.
Barham said they “stood strong” when the Bombers “needed change despite the uncomfortableness of the situation”, although Sheedy created controversy when he revealed after Scott’s appointment that he wanted James Hird.
“I’m really confident now about where we’re at. We’ve made significant changes for the club over the last three months, which everybody has seen, and there have been consequences,” he said.
“But we now have the right people in the key roles to take Essendon forward. [We have a] new coach, CEO, and we’ve got incredibly talented staff and … the attitude of our people has been quite extraordinary.
“We understand this club will be judged on its actions, and we look forward to delivering on that and delivering on some actions. But I’m very confident that we are now in a great place to grow.”
Barham conceded that, at times, the Bombers’ “focus drifted, our communication was unclear, and we were not competitive”.
“Many challenges still lie ahead [but] I’m buoyed by the club’s enthusiasm for next year,” he said.
“I can tell you that we now have the right team of players, coaches, staff and board members in place to get to work on creating a stronger and more unified Essendon Football Club, a club which we can all be proud of.”
Barham also announced that work would begin next year to install seating and shade cloths at The Hangar to encourage fans to attend, with the Bombers already boasting 50,000-plus members.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
