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Mark Thompson walks out on Bombers

The upheaval at Essendon has continued, with the club’s 2014 coach Mark Thompson quitting.

The Herald Sun reported on Wednesday that talks between Thompson and the club had broken down.

“I’m out, I’m done,” Thompson told the paper.

“There’s not a job there for me.

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“I was happy to work there, but a role could not be agreed upon.

“In the end, it just didn’t work at all.”

His comments came after a meeting with club chairman Paul Little and chief executive Xavier Campbell in a bid to find a suitable role for 2015.

Mark Thompson

Thompson was one of the more entertaining coaches in 2014, but might not have a job for 2015. Photo: Getty

According to The Age, Thompson was chastised by Little for failing to meet the AFL deadline to pay his $30,000 fine for the controversial supplements scandal that has landed the club in hot water.

Thompson, an Essendon premiership captain and Geelong premiership coach, reuinted with former teammate James Hird in a dream ticket in 2011.

But, despite relative success on the field, their partnership was splintered and relationship tested by the supplements program run by the club under their watch.

Thompson took over as coach when Hird was suspended for the 2014 season, guiding the Bombers into the finals and gaining prominence for his stream-of-consciousness press conferences.

When Hird was in effect banned from the club’s 2014 best-and-fairest presentation and seemed on the verge of being sacked, Thompson made a speech that was widely regarded as an application for Hird’s job on a permanent basis.

It was widely reported that this had seriously damaged the relationship between the pair.

This was further complicated by Thompson’s departure for an overseas holiday, and the revelation that Hird and Thompson had not spoken since the best-and-fairest.

Despite that, Hird said publicly that he wanted Thompson to remain in the club.

Perhaps significantly, Thompson did not attract interest from Adelaide, Gold Coast or, it seems, the Western Bulldogs, as they looked to replace sacked coaches.

His situation at Essendon was further complicated by the presence of Neil Craig as the club’s head of football performance. It is believed that Thompson was not happy about the possibility of answering to Craig.

Thompson and Hird in happier times. Photo: Getty

Thompson and Hird in happier times. Photo: Getty

The situation at Essendon remains highly volatile.

Hird has just completed an appeal – against the wishes of his club – against a Federal Court ruling that the joint AFL/ASADA investigation into the supplements program was legal. The result might not be known until after Christmas.

Meanwhile, the players are waiting to find out whether they will have to answer charges of taking performance enhancing drugs.

And there are several new faces vying to win a spot on the board, which is reportedly split over its level of support for Hird.

Should Hird end up departing, possible replacements are former Bomber champion Mark Harvey, or Craig.

Yet Craig is in line to win the vacant coaching position at the Western Bulldogs.

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