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A questionable decision |
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by Thomas Grant | behindthegame.com.au
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When a board makes a decision to remove a coach, it will always be met with contention.
But when you effectively sack a man, who has been at the helm for 27 long years, with the success rate and dedication that Kevin Sheedy possesses, it is fair to ask why.
Rightful disgust and uproar was endured on the tumultuous day as news arrived that one of the games most decorated coaches in Kevin Sheedy, would not receive a contract renewal.
The Essendon board provided lame reasoning for the ruling at the official press conference through chief executive officer Peter Jackson, proclaiming that this season’s successes have been on the back of individual performances from the likes of James Hird, Dustin Fletcher and Scott Lucas, and that the board saw no real direction for the future of the list.
"I think if we're looking at where we're at, we've been led extremely well this year by players of the caliber of (James) Hird, (Dustin) Fletcher, Mal Michael's come into the team and released Fletcher who's playing some of his best football," Jackson said.
"I think the point about that is the youngest of those guys is 29 years old and whilst they're very important for us for the next year or two the board sees the future of this playing list over the next three to five years.
The comments as such were not only naïve but humiliating towards the entire Essendon squad and coaching staff who have worked tirelessly all year, threatening to make a surprising finals berth.
Turning around last year’s disappointment, Sheedy’s warriors currently sit inside the eight and have enjoyed incredible triumphs over Adelaide, West Coast, Fremantle and Sydney, all tinted as premiership material.
The success this year has come from a general improvement within the squad through the likes of Winderlich, Stanton, Watson, Ryder and Slattery. Some of Sheedy’s drafting also has to be admired, with the Bombers relishing in the additions of Gumbleton, Hislop, Jetta, Davey, and Houli, who have already impressed and proven that they are consigned to be top players.
But yet despite the marvel work by Sheedy and his men, the board felt that he was not the man to lead them into the new generation, but masking this with the basis that the list was ‘not up to scratch’ and possessed little ‘future talent’.
This in itself is questionable as Sheedy has already developed a key youthful structure with the likes of Gumbleton, Neagle, Johns, Ryder and Laycock, all deemed suitable replacements for the likes of Lloyd, Lucas, Fletcher and Michael. As well as a midfield with grit and speed that has the potential to win premierships.
The general conception gathered from the decision was that Sheedy was sacked in search for a modern day successor such as a Paul Roos or a John Worsfold, demonstrating that the club did not have faith in a 60 year old winning a premiership.
However, the flaws in the reasoning should not be ignored. It is proven worldwide that the most successful coaches and managers have been those with incredulous amounts of experience. One has to only look at the likes of Guus Hiddink and Sir Alex Ferguson, two of the best managers in the world game, both 60 and 65 respectively.
Sheedy, currently 59, has led the Bombers to an incredible 23 finals series in his 27 years of coaching, and has proven with his time at the Bombers that he can just about achieve anything.
Thus, the sacking of Kevin Sheedy for being ‘too old’ is faulty. A 27 year old experienced coach does not lose his quality in his sixty’s, nor does he lose the will to push forward and succeed. And if there was ever a coach that can modernize through time, it’s ‘Sheeds’.
If what the club has achieved this year is anything to go by, it certainly makes the decision to discontinue with Sheedy questionable.
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