Best Of
Re: Matt Bloomfield to Luton?
The way the Couhigs handled GA going to QPR vs the way MB has gone to Luton. There is a massive difference and it’s not a good one.
The Scott Mitchell removal.
ML being pretty much invisible vs Rob Couhig.
Re: Matt Bloomfield to Luton?
Genuinely curious to hear what it is that has changed to make some of you feel that the culture / ethos of the club is being eradicated?
What has changed but from a few staff? I appreciate MB was part of the furniture at WW, but we don't even know what life after MB is like yet, so how can you suggest things have got worse all of a sudden? There must be something you have experienced in the past 12 months which makes you feel that way.
Players, managers and other non-playing staff come and go - it is far more than that which creates a club's ethos.
Re: Matt Bloomfield to Luton?
JJ says he told Bloomfield "You had to take this opportunity" as Luton are a Championship club. Nothing very cagey about that.
Re: Matt Bloomfield to Luton?
And lastly - I hope Luton get relegated.
I wanted them to get relegated before Matt B went there.
I want them to get relegated now Matt has gone there.
Was the same with Col U.
I would love to see us get promoted.
After everything that gone on in the last week, nothing has changed in those respects.
Re: Matt Bloomfield to Luton?
Oh, and one last thing if we trying to pick a good side or bad side between old management and new owner - there’s one thing that can’t be said of the new ownership. Whoever was picking and scouting players etc - be it Rice and his software package, Matt B himself or Scott Mitchell, when you look at the signings we had over the summer and into the new season - including Fred who I suspect isn’t on a bad wage - the new owners sanctioned a lot of players Matt did want. Matt’s talked about them in his interviews.
They could have veto’d any/all of them if they really wanted to play hard ball. Instead they gave him a decent number of players signed and as the season has gone on, up until this window, things have gradually changed to a point that MB has found an opportunity that fits more like what he thought he was going to have here. But it changed on him.
Sometimes that happens without bad guys on one side of it and good guys on the other. It’s just change.
Re: Matt Bloomfield to Luton?
Smartest comment on this thread, would be interested to see the point of view for people that disliked it?
Re: Matt Bloomfield to Luton?
Your last paragraph nails this season under MB with increased funding from our owner ML, you could increase that to 2024.
Why would a man who has spent 22 years of his whole adult life here want to leave when he’s taken us to great heights and had the opportunity to take us up and take us much further in the FA Cup.
Matt was the man to lead us and was doing a great job with some of the finest football we’d ever seen at AP and getting result after result after result.
All the signs are there that he was not wanted by Rice and ultimately ML. The club made no effort to keep him or thank him openly which I find abhorrent considering his commitment over 22 years.
I am sure we will be successful without Matt but we were being hugely successful with him at the helm.
I’m gutted he’s gone and I bet Matt is too.
Do you think our owner will ever visit AP?
Re: The manager post Matty Bloomfield?
I don’t know much about Sam Grace but looking at his X account (which he doesn’t seem to be particularly active on anymore) one of his last posts was when Blooms left for Col U.
‘Must be a word somewhere in the world, to describe the joint feeling of shared excitement when a friend leaves to pursue a goal, combined with a sadness they’ve left. Outstanding man, team-mate, & mentor, that I’m sure will continue to set standards & help those around him.’
This can’t be an easy situation for him