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  1. #1
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    Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    Robbo confirming shortly and reporting per his tweet.

    Carro also on to it here:

    Mark Thompson's future at Essendon now looks increasingly remote after a tense meeting early on Wednesday with club chiefs.The talks between the 2014 coach, Bombers chairman Paul Little and CEO Xavier Campbell are understood to have seen Thompson believing his professional relationship with the club was close to finished.

    Thompson was chastised by Little for his failure to meet the deadline to pay his AFL-sanctioned $30,000 fine, a failure the chairman believes has embarrassed the club.


    However Essendon, which has refused to cover Thompson's fine, remains hopeful it will be paid.

    Campbell confirmed that he and Little had met Thompson but refused to give details of the talks.

    The chief executive said there had been no final decision on Thompson's future.

    Wednesday's meeting came as the Bombers were waiting on a decision regarding the Western Bulldogs coaching job for which Essendon's football boss Neil Craig has been a contender along with the Saints' new coaching director Luke Beveridge.

    Craig joined Essendon in April, sharing the head of football responsibilities with Rob Kerr who is overseeing the club's list. Both men are contracted to the club for next year with Craig assuring Essendon he would only move to leave the club for a senior coaching position and not a senior mentoring role which the Bulldogs had also entertained.

    While Thompson was officially answerable to Craig during the 2014 season he struggled with the new structure and left some at the club in no doubt regarding his views regarding the football department pecking order.

    Thompson, who coached Geelong to two premierships but who was not spoken to by the Gold Coast nor the Western Bulldogs for their senior roles, has always felt he was made a scapegoat by the AFL of the Essendon drugs program
    .


    Fairfax Media reported in July last year that Thompson had raised objections on two occasions to the number of injections and other medical treatments that were punctuating the club's 2012 football program.

    Should the fine remain unpaid Thompson's case is expected to come before the AFL Commission when it next meets.

    EDIT

    From Robbo:

    MARK Thompson will not work at Essendon next year after talks today broke down with club officials.

    ‘’I’m out, I’m done,’’ Thompson told the Herald Sun.


    “There’s not a job there for me.


    “I was happy to work there, but a role could not be agreed upon.’’


    Thompson today met with Essendon chairman Paul Little and chief executive Xavier Campbell, where it agreed Thompson’s coaching career at Essendon was finished.


    The club had tried to work out a role, but had become increasingly frustrated with Thompson in recent weeks because the club could not contact him.


    “In the end, it just didn’t work at all,’’ Thompson said.

    It means the coaching dream ticket formed in 2011 of Thompson and James Hird has ended after a controversial two years.


    Thompson was stand-in coach while Hird was suspended for the 2014 season and Thompson admitted at the club best-and-fairest in October that he wanted to continue coaching.


    Neil Craig’s position as head of football performance meant Thompson would’ve been answerable to Craig if he stayed, a situation which bemused Thompson.


    Even if Craig is appointed coach of the Western Bulldogs in the next 48 hours, which is a possibility, Thompson won’t return to Essendon.

    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

  2. #2
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon after meeting today

    Should we be approaching him?
    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

  3. #3
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon after meeting today

    Quote Originally Posted by bornadog View Post
    Should we be approaching him?
    I don't think so, I think Bomber has showed his true colours the last couple of months and I don't think that reflects greatly upon him.
    "Loves a scrap....oh yeah & he's a pretty handy footballer as well"

  4. #4
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon after meeting today

    Quote Originally Posted by bornadog View Post
    Should we be approaching him?
    Can coach but is an absolute lunatic - a ticking time bomb.
    But then again, I'm an Internet poster and Bevo is a premiership coach so draw your own conclusions.

  5. #5
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    Hopefully dozens follow Thompson out the door.

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  7. #6
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    I've alwa kind of liked Bomber but I think we need stability and a strong hand. For all of his positives, I don think that's him right now.
    "You always own the option of having no opinion. There is never any need to get worked up or to trouble your soul about things you can't control. These things are not asking to be judged by you. Leave them alone" - Marcus Aurelius

  8. #7
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    If we were interested in him for the head coach role then we would have already interviewed him, it's not like him leaving Essendon is a shock.

    I would imagine his salary demands as coaching director (or whatever role you want to call it) would be too rich for our blood, regardless of whether we thought he would be suitable or not.

  9. #8
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon after meeting today

    Quote Originally Posted by bornadog View Post
    Should we be approaching him?
    Absolutely we should be, non stop phone calls, get him here please, I know he's a nutter but he's a nutter that can coach and someone the young kids might have respect for given his playing and coaching history, our young guns need someone like Bomber, they need success fairly swiftly or we are in danger of losing them, this decision is vital to our future on many levels, we cant afford to lose any kid, because we appoint another dud coach.

  10. #9
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    A full focused Mark Thompson would be an asset to the club but at the moment he is exhibiting erratic behaviours and I don't believe he is ready for a challenge like we will present him.

    I wonder where this leaves our interest in Neil Craig because Essendon could easily now sweeten an offer to keep him.
    Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"

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  12. #10
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    I like this photo in the Age:

    http://m.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/...d45f47d86fb4fa

    Beveridge has Thompson covered..

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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    Quote Originally Posted by GVGjr View Post
    A full focused Mark Thompson would be an asset to the club but at the moment he is exhibiting erratic behaviours and I don't believe he is ready for a challenge like we will present him.

    I wonder where this leaves our interest in Neil Craig because Essendon could easily now sweeten an offer to keep him.
    I hope they do!!!
    Neil Craig-NO THANK-YOU!!!

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  15. #12
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    I've heard we have been waiting on this Thompson announcement because we all know bomber wants to coach and if he can't coach the cheats then he might be keen to coach us. Not a source that i'd consider credible though.

    Agree with GvG here. Bomber with his head straight would be a massive get for us but he looks a long way from that at the minute. I'd worry it might end up like Blights last coaching gig. Having said that, if he is appointed as the new coach i'm confident the sub committee and board are convinced that he is in the right head space and thats good enough for me in the end. We should at least have a chat to him.

  16. #13
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    I wouldn't have thought so at this point. He should of indicated his interest already and not just because his first choice job fell through.

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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    Quote Originally Posted by ratsmac View Post
    I wouldn't have thought so at this point. He should of indicated his interest already and not just because his first choice job fell through.
    He has a very different set of circumstances to navigate. He may have expressed an interest quietly, but you'd think anything leaking to the press would be disastrous for him right now.

  18. #15
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    Re: Mark Thompson leaving Essendon - Should we Call him??

    Quote Originally Posted by anfo27 View Post
    I've heard we have been waiting on this Thompson announcement because we all know bomber wants to coach and if he can't coach the cheats then he might be keen to coach us. Not a source that i'd consider credible though.

    Agree with GvG here. Bomber with his head straight would be a massive get for us but he looks a long way from that at the minute. I'd worry it might end up like Blights last coaching gig. Having said that, if he is appointed as the new coach i'm confident the sub committee and board are convinced that he is in the right head space and thats good enough for me in the end. We should at least have a chat to him.
    Thinks he is bigger than the game.
    AFL has taken an internal body blow, thanks to Human experimentation program, Windy Hill, and McLachlan can increase the size of flags, bring back kick to kick and whatever else, but the harm has been massive. So over Essendon. Refusal to pay his fine and also support the players assoc is pathetic. How does he deserve to be an AFL coach?
    You don't develop courage by being happy in your relationships every day. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity. ― Epicurus

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