@TheAndyGrahamFanClub said:
I tried to buy the photo of Matt and Stockdale hugging at the end of the play off final. An extraordinary photo with complete joy and emotion. Not allowed to. Owned by the FA. I’m just a fan after all.
My company has a Getty license, I can probably download it in high rez for free for you if you want.
I have actually met Rhino (interesting story in itself) and completely agree with @floyd and @ReadingMarginalista (and Mindless and Eric). Top, top bloke. We've really had some amazing people at the club over the years, haven't we...?
like @ReturnToSenda i was a youngster when he signed at 11, now staring down 30! Im also starting to feel old.
He was one of the nicest people I've met. Always had plenty of time for anyone, and it will be strange officially not seeing him on the pitch anymore. Retire the Number 10!
On another note this made me laugh reading it,"Town have negotiated a significant sell on clause"
Having watched the Chairboys since 1993, we realised that in that time the squad has always had Keith Ryan or Matt Bloomfield. Both would have played even more games had they not suffered serious injuries. Two absolute club legends.
So proud to have Bloomfield representing my team for so long. Yes, he's been a wonderful servant, but it shouldn't be forgotten that he was also a terrific player. I hope he continues to be part of the club for many years to come.
Please no retiring the no.10 shirt though. Bloomfield fully deserves a lasting tribute, but I don't go along with retiring shirts. Many great players have worn the no10 and I hope we see many more.
Have to agree about the non retiring of any shirt. So many other ways of marking a legends time with us and Matt deserves something special.
I would like to see the 14 available again.
Our club usually get their gestures bang on. We've seen the Kashket comeback, the Lana tributes as well as honouring other fans who have passed away recently, on the big screen and with the tribute over the pandemic.
So you can be certain they'll find a good way to honour Bloomy. Whether that's now, or if/when he actually leaves.
Statues probably aren't the thing at our sort of level, but there's surely a bar, an area of the ground, or something like that could be named after him.
Having thought about it (and seeing the swell of contrary opinion), I can see that retiring the number 10 shirt isn't the best approach. However, I do like the renaming of the Caledonian idea! I'm sure the club will be considering a number things.
@wwfcblue said:
Have to agree about the non retiring of any shirt. So many other ways of marking a legends time with us and Matt deserves something special.
I would like to see the 14 available again.
@ReturnToSenda said:
Retiring the 14 at the time was pretty controversial, was it not? I only have a vague recollection of that period.
It's hard to remember back, but I don't think it was at all, as it was a simple case of tragedy ripping through the club and it seemed an unarguable thing.
It was only ages later the awful situation became even worse with the full story.
At the end of the day it was still a tragic waste of life, so it'd be one heck of a minefield to start looking at bringing the shirt back now.
@ReturnToSenda said:
I mean, I remember hearing the news, but not any of what came after.
It was definitely the right thing to do at the time.
I also understood why we kept it retired for the following few seasons even after the inquest and the full story came out, as the then playing side would have felt very strongly about remembering their teammate and friend.
I’m not sure 16 years later whether it’s something we should still be doing, considering the full facts of what happened.
@ReturnToSenda said:
I mean, I remember hearing the news, but not any of what came after.
It was definitely the right thing to do at the time.
I also understood why we kept it retired for the following few seasons even after the inquest and the full story came out, as the then playing side would have felt very strongly about remembering their teammate and friend.
I’m not sure 16 years later whether it’s something we should still be doing, considering the full facts of what happened.
I'm not a fan that we should be retiring the shirt number as it's a ionic one which most strikers / attacking midfielders would be after.
However, I do find it really disrespectful that some of the comments on the club's Facebook page of people wanting Al-Hamadi to be given that shirt number straight away when they don't appreciate the commitment and character that Matt Bloomfield brought and kept in the club for so long.
I reckon the Family Stand should be named after Matt Bloomfield. He's been apart of the club's family for so long, many of us have grown up / old with him playing for WWFC and (I know it's the case for me) watched him playing his first games for the club from there. Being the ultimate professional, this would be a fitting place for his name to be so that young / future players of the game will always have a name to remember as they develop in their footballing careers.
Comments
I haven't met Blooms but if he's half the gent Keith Ryan is he'd be excellent company.
The Couhigs seem more sensitive and welcoming towards both former player legends than the former regime, thank Heavens for that, long overdue.
My company has a Getty license, I can probably download it in high rez for free for you if you want.
I have actually met Rhino (interesting story in itself) and completely agree with @floyd and @ReadingMarginalista (and Mindless and Eric). Top, top bloke. We've really had some amazing people at the club over the years, haven't we...?
like @ReturnToSenda i was a youngster when he signed at 11, now staring down 30! Im also starting to feel old.
He was one of the nicest people I've met. Always had plenty of time for anyone, and it will be strange officially not seeing him on the pitch anymore. Retire the Number 10!
On another note this made me laugh reading it,"Town have negotiated a significant sell on clause"
Having watched the Chairboys since 1993, we realised that in that time the squad has always had Keith Ryan or Matt Bloomfield. Both would have played even more games had they not suffered serious injuries. Two absolute club legends.
Loving that bit about the sell on clause. Has anyone told Ipswich the news yet? A final blast of shithousing!
So proud to have Bloomfield representing my team for so long. Yes, he's been a wonderful servant, but it shouldn't be forgotten that he was also a terrific player. I hope he continues to be part of the club for many years to come.
Please no retiring the no.10 shirt though. Bloomfield fully deserves a lasting tribute, but I don't go along with retiring shirts. Many great players have worn the no10 and I hope we see many more.
Have to agree about the non retiring of any shirt. So many other ways of marking a legends time with us and Matt deserves something special.
I would like to see the 14 available again.
Our club usually get their gestures bang on. We've seen the Kashket comeback, the Lana tributes as well as honouring other fans who have passed away recently, on the big screen and with the tribute over the pandemic.
So you can be certain they'll find a good way to honour Bloomy. Whether that's now, or if/when he actually leaves.
Statues probably aren't the thing at our sort of level, but there's surely a bar, an area of the ground, or something like that could be named after him.
Open a flower stall outside and call it Blooms
The Caledonian (rubbish name anyway) to be renamed 'Blooms' or 'Bloomfields ' I'd go for !
Yeah, why is it called the Caledonian? I always thought that was some kind of long-distance train.
Having thought about it (and seeing the swell of contrary opinion), I can see that retiring the number 10 shirt isn't the best approach. However, I do like the renaming of the Caledonian idea! I'm sure the club will be considering a number things.
Or rename the upper car park Bloom Field?
Yep, he did loads of sliding tackles! (Edit, to point out the often slippery nature of the upper car park.)
Agree 100% on the 14.
Retiring the 14 at the time was pretty controversial, was it not? I only have a vague recollection of that period.
It's hard to remember back, but I don't think it was at all, as it was a simple case of tragedy ripping through the club and it seemed an unarguable thing.
It was only ages later the awful situation became even worse with the full story.
At the end of the day it was still a tragic waste of life, so it'd be one heck of a minefield to start looking at bringing the shirt back now.
The Caledonian is a sponsored name. Will depend on wether that 3 years got extended.
https://www.wwfc.com/news/2016/october/fans-given-chance-to-name-new-beer-as-club-announces-heineken-partnership/
Not at all at the time. It’s hard to explain how awful that evening and the following weeks were.
Fair enough, I genuinely don't remember as I was only a kid
I mean, I remember hearing the news, but not any of what came after.
What do people think of this? Personally, I'm no more keen than I am on shirt retirement.
It was definitely the right thing to do at the time.
I also understood why we kept it retired for the following few seasons even after the inquest and the full story came out, as the then playing side would have felt very strongly about remembering their teammate and friend.
I’m not sure 16 years later whether it’s something we should still be doing, considering the full facts of what happened.
I think we should leave Bloomfield Road for Blackpool.
These are my thoughts exactly.
I'm not a fan that we should be retiring the shirt number as it's a ionic one which most strikers / attacking midfielders would be after.
However, I do find it really disrespectful that some of the comments on the club's Facebook page of people wanting Al-Hamadi to be given that shirt number straight away when they don't appreciate the commitment and character that Matt Bloomfield brought and kept in the club for so long.
Not sure it's distasteful so much as Iraqi fans who (understandably) don't know about Wycombe's history getting a bit excited
I reckon the Family Stand should be named after Matt Bloomfield. He's been apart of the club's family for so long, many of us have grown up / old with him playing for WWFC and (I know it's the case for me) watched him playing his first games for the club from there. Being the ultimate professional, this would be a fitting place for his name to be so that young / future players of the game will always have a name to remember as they develop in their footballing careers.