Best Of

I'm pretty sure McCleary was at pains in his post-match interview on Saturday to give credit to Matty B.

Love the positivity on here tonight and I think the celebrations at the end dispel any thoughts that the players will let the loss of a popular manager affect their desire and commitment to the cause. They are hardened professionals and they showed that today. To see a top player like Vokes who’s done it all for club and country leading the celebrations despite not even being on the bench proved that the oft mentioned Wycombe spirit can overcome any setbacks. Brilliant result in the context of a disruptive week.

Lovely moment at the end there. Time after time this club shows me that as long as we’re all together, we’ll keep on writing this brilliant story of our football league journey.

The result and manner of it was just what we needed as a club after a really difficult week.

Good win for you guys.

Please beat Wrexham to promotion.

Pure uneducated guesswork time:

We were only ever going to sell Joe Low if a replacement could be found, and the deals for Lloyd Jones from Charlton and others have failed to materialise meaning that we've decided not to sell, which we're allowed to do

Hopefully Joe can go on to finish what he's started and play a starring role in our ascent to the Championship. I don't doubt his character for one second, and even if he is disappointed I can't imagine that he would ever give less than his all in a Wycombe shirt

Spookily you are right, with no midweek game I am on a short holiday in sunny (sorry) Spain. I have caught up with the comments and found the majority to be sensible and measured. I don’t believe in speaking about the MB scenario since I don’t know all the facts. I have known MB for his entire tenure as player and manager and have the greatest respect for him as a man and as a professional in the crazy world of football. I wish him well and I am sorry that some people (not many) have cast aspersions in his direction. Regarding the new ownership regime, they have their own ideas and plans as to how the club should move forward and they have literally put their money where their mouth is for which I think we should all be grateful. Football and WWFC in particular is changing and some people are understandably uncomfortable and nervous about change and I get that. I will always support the club’s owners because without them we wouldn’t have a club to support and that would leave a big hole in our lives. In my time involved with this club the only two issues with which I have publicly disagreed are the re-naming of the stadium and the change from the famous quarters because Alan Smith wanted to. Privately, there have been many other issues but they will remain private, at least until I write my autobiography!

I don't post on here much but in light of the divide I found this write up by Gabriel Sutton quite interesting -

" Replacing Matt Bloomfield as Wycombe Wanderers manager is arguably even tougher than it was for the 19-year Chairboys playing stalwart to replace Gareth Ainsworth in the hot-seat in February 2023.

When Ainsworth left for QPR, the first of just two managerial departures at Adams Park since the club’s most recent sacking, of Gary Waddock in 2012, the exit was harmonious.

Sure, it was in-season, with the team still in the mix for the Play-Offs, but it’s not as if they had been in the driving seat for promotion - and ‘Wild Thing’ said his fond goodbye, doing an emotional final interview with Phil Catchpole at Wanderers TV to give his tenure a much-needed sense of closure.

That sense of closure is less palpable with Bloomfield’s exit for Luton, even if the opportunity at Kenilworth Road is far more lucrative, on paper, than the one at Loftus Road presented to Ainsworth nearly two years ago.

The former midfielder had a golden opportunity to lead the club he’s represented all his adult life, baring a five-month stint at Colchester, back to the Championship - a level they’ve only graced for one season at in their entire history.

For Bloomfield to give up that chance, regardless of how good the offer was that came his way - and it was clearly a very persuasive one - there had to be something wrong, subjectively for him, that is, with his pre-existing arrangement.

It seems significant that Bloomfield had been appointed manager under the Couhig family, as opposed to the Mikheil Lomtadze regime overseen by Chief Football Officer, Dan Rice.

And, whereas Luton have built their success on stability, trust and transparency, highly valuing their managers with honest brokers like Mick Harford and Gary Sweet in key positions, Wycombe may have a different vision for how they want to move forward.

Rice, for instance, has worked at four different Premier League clubs, and may have learnt his craft in a more detached, cynical, cut-throat climate, where the perspective is that managerial positions are transient, and that success is all about getting the next boss lined up on the conveyor belt.

That philosophy represents the greatest possible contrast to Bloomfield’s, with the Suffolkian having experienced much of his career working under a manager who was given a huge amount of autonomy, with the whole club built around him.

Whether or not Bloomfield demands quite the same degree of autonomy as his predecessor, it’s obvious that he needed to feel more wanted and valued - as he alluded to in his opening interview at Luton.

And, given the sky-high probability of Bloomfield accepting improved terms had he been offered them under the previous ownership, it seems fair game to presume that no such offer was forthcoming - and, in turn, that this may have aggravated tensions.

So, the point is not that either set of beliefs are right or wrong. It’s not unreasonable for Rice to have had half an eye on appointing his own person, and wanting the flexibility to do that if results and performances took a downturn under Bloomfield - however cold and cynical that might sound.

And, he might argue that seeing the managerial position as transient can have the advantage of bringing a new voice and fresh ideas into the club every so often, while a concerted focus on succession planning has done wonders for the likes of Brighton.

At the same time, it’s understandable for Bloomfield to have felt hurt that the club could even be thinking about other managers when he was delivering phenomenal results - especially given that he’s been schooled in the etiquette of stability and unerring trust.

So, without knowing the precise details, our best interpretation is that neither party is necessarily hugely in the wrong, but that they were both coming at things from different angles and were ultimately incompatible - ironically, concerning somebody who’s represented the club for nearly a (blue) quarter of a century.

The upshot, however, is that Wycombe now have an awkward managerial vacancy, even if it seems attractive on paper, with the team sitting pretty in 2nd.

Bloomfield, himself, succeeded when replacing a father figure - but he was the son.

Whereas, Rice seems highly unlikely to make an internal appointment, or bring Ainsworth back, so whoever comes in will be something of a step-father figure, replacing an extremely popular leader, with players and fans alike.

And, any drop-off that would seem very plausible given the unwanted sense of mid-season transition would go onto the new manager’s record, which may get unfairly judged.

So, replacing Bloomfield, as an outsider, will take outstanding people skills, savvy PR nous, and excellent man management."

apologies if this has been posted before

I have been unusually tied up with work these past few days so haven’t really had chance to contribute to the discussions.

Reading back through most of the comments I am reminded what a (generally) respectful community exists on this site as there have been some very strong and real emotions expressed and although these have been occasionally questioned very little has been dismissed completely out of hand.

Of course there will be differences in opinions and theories as to why a popular manager should choose to leave, for a ‘better’ club (that hurts to say but I do get that logic from @flymofrank’s arguments) halfway through a highly successful season.

For some it is easy to see as ‘just football’ and in the absence of any concrete evidence to the contrary I am envious of them. I really wish I could see what they see and just move on.

For those supporters, Wycombe Wanderers FC are fast-forwarding to a place where we can (apparently) pay €1 million euros for a midfielder few of us knew existed a week or so and can realistically dream of playing Championship football in the relatively near future.

It must be incredibly exciting for them to support Wycombe Wanderers FC at this pivotal moment in our 141 year (or 138 if you prefer*) history.

I really, really wish I could feel like that about our club at the moment.

But I can’t.

For me, a lot of things that mattered to me about supporting the club - the values, the culture of the last few years, the community essence of Wycombe Wanderers have seemingly been allowed to dissipate in a very short period and for me that hurts inside.

I do get that with a billionaire owner its pretty inevitable that’s what we are going to get and perhaps the pay off (a successful Championship level - give or take - team and a cracking Academy) will make it feel worthwhile.

But at the moment I feel as detached from what I always considered as ‘my’ club as I have ever done.

When we were under Hayes ownership I felt similar until the shock of Torquay reminded me that the existence of the club itself meant more to me than whoever happened to be paying (or not paying) the bills.

On a counter-argument though I am reminded of the schism that happened within the club in the later Loakes Park years between the more traditional board members who wanted financial stability and steady progression and those who believed now was the time to speculate to propel us forward. The latter won the argument leading to some of our greatest years so perhaps I’m just the wrong side of history.

I hope so.

Regardless, I will be at Mansfield hoping for three points (albeit expecting to lose 2-0).

For those of you who have read this far apologies for taking up your time. Writing it was a little cathartic and my thanks to everyone who makes this site such a safe space that I feel comfortable venting at such length.

*That debate we had on here a week or so ago over whether we formed in 1884 or 1887 now feels like it happened in a different lifetime/timeline.

Strong suspicion that the new boss will be Schumacher, just seen his car up Cressex Filling Station.