Essendon champion Tim Watson has admitted Kevin Sheedy needs to “reign it in” as a board member of the Dons after his comments on Alastair Clarkson last week.
Following Paul Brasher standing down and Dave Barham being installed as president last week, the club was immediately linked to a pursuit of Clarkson.
On Tuesday last week, Sheedy suggested the four-time premiership coach would be a good fit at North Melbourne.
“I think Clarkson could be perfect moving into North Melbourne, I wouldn’t be surprised, take ‘em down to Tasmania,” Sheedy said on 5AA radio.
Those comments came despite Barham actively enticing Clarkson to join the Bombers beind the scenes.
Sheedy also suggested Clarkson could lead the Roos to Tasmania, leading to The Age journalist Caroline Wilson saying on Nine’s Footy Classified: “he’s lost the plot, Kevin.”
“I don’t see that his role on the board is tenable after those comments.”
Sheedy joined the board in October 2020, and Watson described him as “one of the great football people”.
However, he added that Sheedy needed to be more aware of his position as a board member and the influence his comments can have.
“I think that Kevin saying what he did at that time was probably something that influenced (Clarkson's) decision and brought it forward too,” Watson said on SEN Breakfast.
“Kevin has to understand that anything he has to say now publicly is a reflection on the Essendon Football Club because he holds a position on the board.
“If he doesn’t understand that and doesn’t want to adhere to that… Kevin is one of the great football people out there, he’s a football evangelist, so if he wants to be a loose swinging d--k, he can be that, but he can’t be that on the Essendon board.
“I’ve got a deep affection for Kevin.
“He likes to go out, he likes to talk, all that stuff… but he’s got to reign it in when he’s talking about the Essendon Football Club and other people around the Essendon Football Club because he’ll find himself in a situation like this again and it reflects badly on the club like it did last week.”
Breakfast co-host Garry Lyon added: “If Alastair Clarkson had been turned a little by David Barham, which he wasn’t because it was too late, then he got turned back the other way when Kevin went on radio.”
AFL Media's Damian Barrett reported over the weekend that when Clarkson’s management learnt of Sheedy’s comments, they were quick to pull out of negotiations with Essendon.
Clarkson signed a five-year deal with North Melbourne on Friday morning and will look to lead the club off the bottom of the ladder in 2023.
Listen to Watson's and Lyon's full discussion on Essendon below