If Matt was not willing to work with the current structure and the management team wanted their own man they are unlikely to release the name of this replacement so quickly . Basically it will back up the argument that this was planned all along. Can see something happening next week but not before that .
We don't need to appoint someone with no managerial experience. It makes little sense in the grand scheme. Might be different if we had a load of young players in the team who came through the development team.
Also think he'd be sacked very early if we lost a few games or a player or two openly questioned him.
Matt has gone now. I know there is no sentiment in football and it's a business and we were wailing for five billion at Torquay but if we don't get a proof of life RTB from Phil and Matt soon, I reserve the right to think the ownership group are ****s
'But it's Matt Bloomfield' isn't a reason to keep him as manager long-term if he didn't fit with the grand plan for whatever reason. But for the club to barely acknowledge his departure after 20 years really does stink of a lack of respect for the supporters, the culture of the club and Matt himself.
Times change. I wasn't expecting Matt to be Wycombe manger forever. But the media team haven't even been allowed to so much as repost the club captain's brief message of thanks to Matt (a post which I get the feeling Jack had to get signed off by the club hierarchy).
But it's not really "his departure after 20 years", is it? That was the first time he left.
I'm not on any social media anymore, so I'm not clued up as to which players have said what, but that feels like a bit of a reach re. Grimmer. Let's not get carried away.
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.’
I think there are some "straw men" out there, especially the one about the club being within their rights, it's okay for there to be workplace differences, etc. etc. I don't think many (or any) are contending that point. I think the bone of contention is (for me) basically how a club legend was treated, and secondarily the wisdom of seeing little value in (and showing so little respect to) a manager who gave so much to the club AND overachieved this season.
We should all be able to agree that three of Blooms' staff members were unceremoniously sacked (no ITK needed there) and that it is unlikely in the extreme that he was happy about it, or had a say. This is a very passive aggressive (or even outright aggressive) way of putting someone on an island. Yet Blooms continued to achieve great things despite all that.
I also doubt many would contend that the current regime were really enamoured with Matt - even Mick Hartford remarked on how unusually quick and easy it was to grab him. Again, that's public. We can't know for sure an extension was not offered a la Sadler at Walsall, but it seems unlikely in the extreme.
It should also be remarked that the two main players in this who were not valued by the new regime (Matt Bloomfield and Scott Mitchell) walked into Championship jobs, so our "smartest people in the room" valuation of them differs from smart people in the division we are trying to get to.
To put the focus on the football rather than the interpersonal, my ongoing concern is that we have an imbalance towards data. Blooms referenced "we will use data but we will also use our footballing brains and eyes" in the Luton interview, and I think that was another dig. My concern with being too imbalanced with data is that you end up with gaining plaudits for 56-pass moves or touches in the opposition box "but due to mixed results, came 13th". The only Wycombe team ever promoted to the Championship were the antithesis of data-driven, but had serious intangibles. I don't think we should go back to that, but I would have liked to see more of a balance. Maybe we are indeed going to see that, but the treatment of Mitchell and Blooms would appear on the surface to indicate otherwise.
Of course opinions will differ as they always do, but it's a legitimate footballing concern to have, especially if we end up with someone with no track record of success at the helm because the data said so (that obviously remains to be seen). We have always really valued strong culture, characterful leadership and other less tangible qualities, and it is a little concerning we may be completely getting away from that in favour of sniffing match-worn shirts from Brentford and Brighton.
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If Matt was not willing to work with the current structure and the management team wanted their own man they are unlikely to release the name of this replacement so quickly . Basically it will back up the argument that this was planned all along. Can see something happening next week but not before that .
We don't need to appoint someone with no managerial experience. It makes little sense in the grand scheme. Might be different if we had a load of young players in the team who came through the development team.
Also think he'd be sacked very early if we lost a few games or a player or two openly questioned him.
Matt has gone now. I know there is no sentiment in football and it's a business and we were wailing for five billion at Torquay but if we don't get a proof of life RTB from Phil and Matt soon, I reserve the right to think the ownership group are ****s
Number 1 reminded me of the R.E.M. Simpson's episode...."Michael, NO!...It's not the R.E.M. way."
'But it's Matt Bloomfield' isn't a reason to keep him as manager long-term if he didn't fit with the grand plan for whatever reason. But for the club to barely acknowledge his departure after 20 years really does stink of a lack of respect for the supporters, the culture of the club and Matt himself.
Times change. I wasn't expecting Matt to be Wycombe manger forever. But the media team haven't even been allowed to so much as repost the club captain's brief message of thanks to Matt (a post which I get the feeling Jack had to get signed off by the club hierarchy).
Not a terrible idea.
But it's not really "his departure after 20 years", is it? That was the first time he left.
I'm not on any social media anymore, so I'm not clued up as to which players have said what, but that feels like a bit of a reach re. Grimmer. Let's not get carried away.
No? Ok then.
The closest I got to a 'denial' was this by the looks of it 🤷♂️
Honestly, this place has turned ridiculous over the past 48 hours. There must have been an awful lot of toys in that pram.
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
Many on here started supporting Wycombe in the non-league days. Let's be honest, Leagues One and Two still have a lot of that ethos.
But now the Big Boys are here and we might be getting really professional and the non-league stuff is over. So a lot of people feel sad.
(Yes, I know we spent a year in the Championship but that wasn't a typical year)
I think there are some "straw men" out there, especially the one about the club being within their rights, it's okay for there to be workplace differences, etc. etc. I don't think many (or any) are contending that point. I think the bone of contention is (for me) basically how a club legend was treated, and secondarily the wisdom of seeing little value in (and showing so little respect to) a manager who gave so much to the club AND overachieved this season.
We should all be able to agree that three of Blooms' staff members were unceremoniously sacked (no ITK needed there) and that it is unlikely in the extreme that he was happy about it, or had a say. This is a very passive aggressive (or even outright aggressive) way of putting someone on an island. Yet Blooms continued to achieve great things despite all that.
I also doubt many would contend that the current regime were really enamoured with Matt - even Mick Hartford remarked on how unusually quick and easy it was to grab him. Again, that's public. We can't know for sure an extension was not offered a la Sadler at Walsall, but it seems unlikely in the extreme.
It should also be remarked that the two main players in this who were not valued by the new regime (Matt Bloomfield and Scott Mitchell) walked into Championship jobs, so our "smartest people in the room" valuation of them differs from smart people in the division we are trying to get to.
To put the focus on the football rather than the interpersonal, my ongoing concern is that we have an imbalance towards data. Blooms referenced "we will use data but we will also use our footballing brains and eyes" in the Luton interview, and I think that was another dig. My concern with being too imbalanced with data is that you end up with gaining plaudits for 56-pass moves or touches in the opposition box "but due to mixed results, came 13th". The only Wycombe team ever promoted to the Championship were the antithesis of data-driven, but had serious intangibles. I don't think we should go back to that, but I would have liked to see more of a balance. Maybe we are indeed going to see that, but the treatment of Mitchell and Blooms would appear on the surface to indicate otherwise.
Of course opinions will differ as they always do, but it's a legitimate footballing concern to have, especially if we end up with someone with no track record of success at the helm because the data said so (that obviously remains to be seen). We have always really valued strong culture, characterful leadership and other less tangible qualities, and it is a little concerning we may be completely getting away from that in favour of sniffing match-worn shirts from Brentford and Brighton.
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