Essendon Chairman David Evans today confirmed that Matthew Knights will no longer be coach of the Essendon Football Club.
David issued the following statement to media today:
We are here today to announce that the Essendon Board met this morning and have come to a decision today that Matthew will no longer be the coach of the Essendon Football Club. We have met with Matthew today and have told him of our decision.
As Chairman of the Club, I firstly want to say that at all times, Matthew has conducted himself at our club with the utmost passion, commitment and courage, and over the last few months he has shown grace under considerable pressure.
This was not an easy job to take on three years ago. We were a club that was looking backwards not forwards. Matthew took the job following one of the most long serving and successful coaches in our history.
David issued the following statement to media today:
We are here today to announce that the Essendon Board met this morning and have come to a decision today that Matthew will no longer be the coach of the Essendon Football Club. We have met with Matthew today and have told him of our decision.
As Chairman of the Club, I firstly want to say that at all times, Matthew has conducted himself at our club with the utmost passion, commitment and courage, and over the last few months he has shown grace under considerable pressure.
This was not an easy job to take on three years ago. We were a club that was looking backwards not forwards. Matthew took the job following one of the most long serving and successful coaches in our history.
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It has not been an easy year on the field for our club. But I do want to say that Matthew has started the process of rebuilding our list, and playing many new young players.
However, it has become very clear to the club that we have not made the progress we needed to make this year, and that we need a fresh start going into the new season. This lack of progress is the basis of the Board’s decision today.
I want to say to Matthew and to our members that we owe him thanks and respect for the job he has done the last three years through a period of great change and transition at our club.
This has not been an easy decision or one taken lightly. And I want to say to everyone at our club – from the members, to the football department, to the executive and to the Board – we ALL have a job to do over the coming years. There is a lot of hard work to be done.
We are a club used to success on and off the field. But we do face big challenges in the coming period – a new 18-team competition, decisions about our facility, and we need a plan for growing our revenue base and membership.
Many of our members have let us know how they feel about our performance this year. Having a passionate membership is a great asset and I say to all our members today – we need you to keep the faith and to support our club and team during the challenges over the next few years.
Again I want to thank Matthew for his work for our club over the last 3 years, and assure him that while we did not get the success we planned, we do acknowledge the work he has done in building a new young team.
It has not been an easy year on the field for our club. But I do want to say that Matthew has started the process of rebuilding our list, and playing many new young players.
However, it has become very clear to the club that we have not made the progress we needed to make this year, and that we need a fresh start going into the new season. This lack of progress is the basis of the Board’s decision today.
I want to say to Matthew and to our members that we owe him thanks and respect for the job he has done the last three years through a period of great change and transition at our club.
This has not been an easy decision or one taken lightly. And I want to say to everyone at our club – from the members, to the football department, to the executive and to the Board – we ALL have a job to do over the coming years. There is a lot of hard work to be done.
We are a club used to success on and off the field. But we do face big challenges in the coming period – a new 18-team competition, decisions about our facility, and we need a plan for growing our revenue base and membership.
Many of our members have let us know how they feel about our performance this year. Having a passionate membership is a great asset and I say to all our members today – we need you to keep the faith and to support our club and team during the challenges over the next few years.
Again I want to thank Matthew for his work for our club over the last 3 years, and assure him that while we did not get the success we planned, we do acknowledge the work he has done in building a new young team.
