Thread by @lbjamesy_

@AnthProc @Bombers_Boss @JonathanJWalsh @SilverTopHurls @Watsonstroops1 (2/8) Problem is, you can't have Caldwell, Parish & Merrett in the same trio just due to lack of height & strength. Merrett is the captain & our best player, so a choice has to be made whether we accomodate Parish and Caldwell.

@AnthProc @Bombers_Boss @JonathanJWalsh @SilverTopHurls @Watsonstroops1 (3/8) My preference would be Caldwell. Would let Caldwell move into the midfield and take Setters role, and then let Setters just play as a stop gap as a true inside mid until we find a better replacement. And of course have Hobbs sharing the inside role with Setters.

@AnthProc @Bombers_Boss @JonathanJWalsh @SilverTopHurls @Watsonstroops1 (4/8) Without even looking at the aforementioned balancing issues, you just can't have a midfield that contains all of Parish, Merrett, Setterfield, Hobbs, Caldwell and Tsatas, not to mention Shiel. Just too many blokes rolling through there.

@AnthProc @Bombers_Boss @JonathanJWalsh @SilverTopHurls @Watsonstroops1 (5/8) I was on the fence with what to do with Parish, but it's pretty clear now that we need to make some tough choices. I think letting off Parish & perhaps even Stringer/Shiel could be a catalyst to getting the list back on track with some high quality blue chip youngsters.

@AnthProc @Bombers_Boss @JonathanJWalsh @SilverTopHurls @Watsonstroops1 (6/8) Regarding the list, one thought experiment I always ask Essendon people is if you had a brand new guernsey, whose number would you put on the back? Taking out cult heroes like Drapes and Tippa, they are generally left stumped.

@AnthProc @Bombers_Boss @JonathanJWalsh @SilverTopHurls @Watsonstroops1 (7/8) We don't have a standout superstar player. And our youngsters also aren't "blue chip". Only two that I feel comfortable labelling is Martin and Tsatas. Martin because he's proven quality, & Tsatas only because he was pick 5.

@AnthProc @Bombers_Boss @JonathanJWalsh @SilverTopHurls @Watsonstroops1 (8/8) Lastly, I suspect that the reason we never really are in contention for the spoon is because we have a good distribution of talent across the best 22. And while that's a strength, it's also a weakness as we lack the genuine firepower to be a top 4 team. Lot of B graders.

@AnthProc @Bombers_Boss @JonathanJWalsh @SilverTopHurls @Watsonstroops1 @threadreaderapp unroll