Best Of

Not all the fans on here have supported him to be fair.

At the end of the day the only thing that really defines the culture of the club is the supporters.

Stadiums change. Players and staff change. Managers change.

Some form of continuity among the supporter base is the only thing that really embodies the club (which is why everyone recognises AFC as the true continuation of Wimbledon).

I certainly want the players and staff that represent the club to behave with dignity and class. But the reality is that's normally for a shorter spell than the decades we had with Gaz and then Matt.

It was a wonderful added bonus that we enjoyed a prolonged spell with two club legends leading the team so brilliantly. But that doesn't mean that we can't combine a different model and style of recruitment with a sense of pride in the team.

Seems likely we're headed into a period in which players and managers at the club are here for shorter spells. No more signing the same players 2-3 times over. And we'll need to get used to recruiting players and managers who know little or nothing about the club in advance.

That's going to feel a bit alien, but I don't think it follows that the heart and soul of the club is being somehow abandoned at the same time.

Joe Low and Richard Kone are two good current examples - superb young players who play with a smile on their face and conduct themselves fantastically. I don't expect either to be with the club for more than a couple of years. But watching them develop at WWFC and go onto better things can still be a source of pride in pleasure in my view.

The same goes for whomever come in as the next manager. I want them to be a decent person who takes the time to sign autographs, show supporters respect and embrace their support. But that doesn't necessarily mean they have to be at the helm for ten years through thick and thin.

Having said all of that, I do think it's quite poor not to have any sort of farewell comment, video or something of substance from the club on this. We'll go on without Matt and there will be plenty of new heroes in the future. Nonetheless, it would have been appropriate to hear something from him and I've no doubt that the media team and Matt himself would have wanted to offer supporters something more meaningful than a bland statement. Perhaps that will come in the next few days in some other form. If not, I'm sure we must be able to arrange for Matt to attend the play-off final as the 'Gasroom Guest of Honour' to watch his team finish the job and clinch promotion.

Awful statement from us.

Also, will this impact Humphries? Wasn’t he signed based on working with Matt at Ipswich?

could all those Gasroom members who sit in the directors box (you know who you are), notable by their absence here in recent days, now come out from under the duvet and make a contribution. (I won’t be holding my breath)

Alan Smith wasn’t even an upgrade on Bodger.

If it was him they would be lorries not vans!

Lee leaving is a bit before my time. Alan Gane would be the first I recall leaving, because he seemed to feel that the club was still stuck in the amateur days (from distant memory). Having just won promotion and a couple of cups fans were a bit miffed about it. Things have generally gone OK since.

As for the Couhigs, while some of the stuff Rob came out with was silly, their enthusiasm and treatment of Ainsworth, Bloomfield and the team we had gave the club an air of being a family that I feel is definitely not what the current owners are bothered with. I think it is OK for people to be sorry about that, no matter how much cash they start splashing around.

We all will if they give it to someone who's 17

I was gifted a second hand copy of the wonderful WWFC official history 1887-1996. What it made me realise is that even a little old club like Wycombe is in a constant state of flux and profound change.

The obvious examples are leaving Loakes Park and joining the football league. But some people probably felt the club had strayed too far from its core values when we changed our name from North Town Wanderers. Other perhaps felt the same when the club switched the pub used as a HQ, or when we stopped playing on the cricket pitch, or began charging spectators with a newly installed turnstyle, or when electing the starting XI via committee came to a close, or because the gasroom changed hands.

Maybe we will end up in the premier league and be a totally different club in 5 to 10 years. Maybe we'll end up in non-league. As long as we still exist, and retain a direct and unbroken continuation to what came before, I'll still support WWFC. Thousands of people, many now largely forgotten, have given so much for this club to be here and would marvel at the idea of us being in League One, let alone the Premier League.

On that note, its rather sad but predictable to see the digs and jibes being directed at Bloomfield on Facebook. Even though this decision doesn't seem entirely his own choice, with external factors pushing him out, people have a right to be disappointed. But nobody should be questioning MB's overall loyalty and commitment to WWFC.

He was here during the good times - winning promotion from L2 and L1, and that league cup run. But he also stayed during some really grim times - rock bottom of L2, the miracle of Torquay, when we didn't have a pot to piss in, trust run with the wider football community poaching our player instead of coming to our aid.