Best Of

Impressive as usual from Gab

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

Just move on.

Supporting Wycombe isn’t my job. How I adapt to it might be to do something else instead.

I lolled.

Have the Trust commented publicly on Matt Bloomfield’s departure?

The only view left to say..

I'm not surprised AP is giving this place a break.

Him posting would only provoke a lot of people to direct their ire in his direction.

He must have about 17 tag ins alone from you, and while you've clearly got a long standing issue with him you are a pretty decent fair poster in the main. Others aren't as measured as you, so imagine their comments!

This was one of my favourite & most used diagrams when I did Change Management for a living.

I am hoping that we can all see where we are on the curve & more importantly are working towards the "gradual acceptance" phase. I suspect if we really wanted to we could plot Bloom's move along the curve to the point where he reaches disillusionment & departs to LTFC.

Anyway I hope you all find this helpful (or not) and please remember change is inevitable & it is ultimately how we adapt to it that really matters.

I’d hate it if we ‘became a Watford’. I look at how they are run and feel sorry for those supporters whether you like them or not.

No indication that we are moving in that direction but a revolving door of ‘Head coaches’ just loses some of that special connection between fans/club/players that ‘little Wycombe’ have had over the decades.