Reaching 40,000 members before Christmas for the first time shows the fans have great confidence in the future direction of Essendon, says Xavier Campbell.
The Bombers CEO praised the loyalty of their supporters, following a tough few years for the club.
“We were sort of forecasting at the start of this financial year to get to 40,000 by Christmas,” Campbell said on SEN Breakfast.
“To have reached that number on the second of December is an amazing effort and clearly for three or four years it’s been a challenging period for Essendon fans, their loyalty has been unbelievable.
“They’re showing great confidence in the direction and great support the players, the returning players and more broadly the club.”
Campbell is full of praise for the work senior coach John Worsfold has done in galvanising the playing group and the club, and says his previous experience leaves him well versed to deal with the highs and lows the past few years have brought.
“Having been there for so long myself you feel the landscape is shifting, it doesn’t mean we haven’t got an enormous amount of hard work in front of us,” he said.
“The impact John’s had, he’s very clam, he’s very consistent and he’s got enormous experience both as a captain and as a senior coach where he’s gone through highs and lows in both on those roles.
“His impact on the football club has been enormous and he’s a great person, his family’s been involved in the football club which I think helps in bringing people together as well.
“He’s doing a great job.”
He admits to being a fan of a proposed Twilight grand final and says it is something the AFL Commission and executive should strongly consider.
“We quite like it, I mean it’s hard to see too much downside on something like that,” Campbell said.
“It’s a great event the Grand Final and I understand the traditional views and everything else like that, but it’s certainly something that the Commission and the AFL executive should consider.
“They understand the landscape much better than the clubs anyway.
“I feel like it’s something that’s certainly on the radar for a reason and it seems that there’s a lot of upside around it.”