Despite Saturday's defeat extinguishing any embers of hope for this campaign, we have nevertheless had our money's worth of drama. The season of Alfie's homecoming ( my personal highlight) and the deserved transfer to the championship for Anis. The goalkeeping fiasco that ended with us having, statistically, one of the finest keepers in Europe. The housing of away fans in the Frank Adams Upper- aaarrrggghh! It was the year that Gareth and Dobbo sought pastures new. Although the moment was a decade in the making it still happened like a magic trick- a puff of smoke and they were gone. We remembered many Chairboys folk who sadly passed but won't be forgotten. And now, the future is another League 1 season starting in the summer where the slate is wiped clean and the perennial belief that the team will triumph once again takes hold. It is the football wheel that keeps turning and we merely change the tyres each close season. Enjoy the pit stop!
Well said @RuyLopez and totally concur with your mudings there although the line ' the perennial belief that the team will triumph once again takes hold.' Makes me worry you've never witnessed a Gasroom Summer before! 😉
Bringing down the average age has to be a priority. And if we do show more faith in youngsters, I hope they’ll get more game time than has tended to be the case in recent seasons.
Matt Bloomfield’s (unsurprisingly) low key musings since Saturday’s match suggest that there is a possibility that we might see the likes of Jasper Pattenden and Christie Ward given opportunities to impress at some stage of the last two matches.
What happened to Adam Leathers, I wonder?He showed promise during his fleeting appearances.
This may work out perfectly for Blooms. Having a run of games with no threat of relegation to get bedded in and see what he needs for the summer will hopefully really set him up for success next season. Yes, we all would have loved to make the playoffs and I am sure he is extremely disappointed not to, but the timing of his arrival means that he really has every chance of the team playing how he wants it to come August.
Not sure two games counts as " a run of games" @Shev but does feel like the last two games are a chance for a little experimentation - maybe giving Ward a start or two and Willis and/or Wakely if there is a chance either may stay plus perhaps giving the lad Cartwright a couple of games
I wouldn't expect any big line up changes for the final 2 games, but it would be good to see Ward get perhaps a 15-20minute cameo or 2, just to introduce him to League 1 football. I'd think we might see De Barr get another start also.
I hope so. Part of me thinks that the slightly odd pre-season was why we had such a sluggish start after the first game. We can play trialists in balaclavas to continue with the secret approach of course.
I was also thinking to myself yesterday that I'd like to see Ward and Pattenden get some game time in the last 2 games, and some decent game time, not just 5 minutes at the end
Agreed - I think he will be massively disappointed from that aspect, but can you imagine the pressure if he had this run of results to start a season? This way he has a full run at a summer and fresh season.
I have no idea why - I expect everyone on here would be patiently waiting for results to turn and writing effusive positive eulogies to the brilliance of MB and the obvious potential we are showing. But I may have dreamed some of that.
Totally agree. Since Bloomfield has come in , we have definitely lost our competitive edge. We have become to easy to play against. It seems Bloomfield wants to play more football and perhaps this has resulted in us losing our edge.
Yes - ironically, playing football at our level can be dangerous unless coupled with some serious incisiveness. On the one hand that is basically true at any level, but with the skills on display in the PL, it makes a lot more sense. At our level there is always a fine line between "playing football" and "playing five yard passes with no idea of how to manufacture a goal."
I think Pattenden and De Barr would definitely be up for a tough, ‘up and at ‘em’ approach. If, as seems likely, Jack Grimmer will be unavailable on Saturday, Pattenden might get an opportunity on the right flank at some stage but having said that, Willis would no doubt be Grimmer’s direct replacement and McCarthy seems to have come back into favour at right back/wingback so Jasper will probably have to bide his time.
Tjay De Barr on the other hand is likely to get more game time.
Alfie May will no doubt be the usual handful for Cheltenham. From memory, he tends to cut in from the left so Jordan Willis or Jack Grimmer will have their work cut out.
Perhaps MB has inside whisperings from players that they never liked GA's style? Seems interesting that he's gone with his own identity having being part of such a successful one.
To be fair, imagine trying to attract players....
"So what we like to do is, despite your undeniable talent, we will usually lump the ball straight past you to Super Sam Vokes, and hope that he can knock it down to you for you to finish. If he doesn't win the ball, chances are we will need you to win an aerial battle from the resulting free kick OR we will require you to do it all yourself because our fullbacks and wingers are 35+ and can't run or cross for love nor the really low money we are about to offer you but you will definitelt get a game because most of our players are only fit for 36% of the sesson......what d'ya reckon, you in??"
I think we need to make sure we have someone to pull the strings. I think our best display under MB was against Fleetwood, which was brilliant at times. Wing has seemed to play too far back after his purple patch, barely even finding opportunities to have a crack. Maybe a moot point now if he is not under contract (I know there is debate about this), as I expect he will be gone. I would like to see a mix of styles, but I think we need a conductor for the orchestra. At our best we had:
The Maverick (Mehmeti)
The Conductor (Wing)
The Wiley Old Gunslinger (Vokes)
The Veteran Creative Spark (McLeary)
With a supporting cast who could also be among the goals. With at least two of the above gone, and mavericks not growing on trees, I think a good 10 is desirable. I think Freeman can do the job, though I am aware others disagree. Either way, it is a role we need filled if Wing moves on.
So some posters who have spent years demanding football and decrying the limited tactics of that Ainsworth (and dismissing the claims of a limited budget) now moan about a supposed more footballing style which has no defensive solidity. Perhaps the players are revolting? Perhaps the unknown assistant did not have rigorous enough interview? Perhaps there was The Experienced Manager who would have been better than MB and come in time and within budget to get us promoted? Perhaps we'll never attract good players.... it's not like we have is it? Perhaps despite being bang average we have been in the top half of League One since the Couhigs because of luck and magic? Or.perhaps football management is harder than we think and Wycombe are a small League One team who will always be reaching for the stars whoever it is deciding whether to hoof it or pass across the back?
You can be sure if MB had kept all the old training schedules, style of play , picked the same 11 where possible with late / rare subs, ranting on the touchline, cowboy boots and a leather jacket on we might still have picked up the same injuries but the players would have thought he was an idiot. He can only be himself and deal with what he has.
I'll admit If we're 20th in December then I'll probably want him moved on but now he needs backing, couple of free hit games to see how players respond to different things, bit of reflection and planning over the summer, decent pre-season and we'll see what we have after 10/15 games.
Another great Wendoverian post, full of the kind of disguised irony which certain Gasroomers will (as usual) have difficulty in distinguishing from the truth.
It’s a thumbs up from me.
A Wanderers fan who is shy about coming on the Gasroom (but who many of you will know from his “old Bucks” inflected voice when asking questions at Trust meetings) told me a couple of weeks ago about a talk by Gareth Ainsworth which he attended early this year on motivational speaking. He said it was inspirational, absolutely brilliant and he reckoned Gareth could make a decent living from that talk alone.
Why Gareth’s motivational skills have (until last weekend ?!) been falling on stoney ground at QPR is something of a mystery but I suspect has a lot more to do with the players than it does with him.
I really hope the mould will be broken this summer at Loftus Road and that Gareth will be given a more reasonable amount of time to sort things out than some of his recent predecessors have been given.
Meanwhile, let’s back MB to the hilt and hope he can work his own magic over the summer months.
Comments
Oops
Despite Saturday's defeat extinguishing any embers of hope for this campaign, we have nevertheless had our money's worth of drama. The season of Alfie's homecoming ( my personal highlight) and the deserved transfer to the championship for Anis. The goalkeeping fiasco that ended with us having, statistically, one of the finest keepers in Europe. The housing of away fans in the Frank Adams Upper- aaarrrggghh! It was the year that Gareth and Dobbo sought pastures new. Although the moment was a decade in the making it still happened like a magic trick- a puff of smoke and they were gone. We remembered many Chairboys folk who sadly passed but won't be forgotten. And now, the future is another League 1 season starting in the summer where the slate is wiped clean and the perennial belief that the team will triumph once again takes hold. It is the football wheel that keeps turning and we merely change the tyres each close season. Enjoy the pit stop!
Nice, well said
Well said @RuyLopez and totally concur with your mudings there although the line ' the perennial belief that the team will triumph once again takes hold.' Makes me worry you've never witnessed a Gasroom Summer before! 😉
Bringing down the average age has to be a priority. And if we do show more faith in youngsters, I hope they’ll get more game time than has tended to be the case in recent seasons.
Matt Bloomfield’s (unsurprisingly) low key musings since Saturday’s match suggest that there is a possibility that we might see the likes of Jasper Pattenden and Christie Ward given opportunities to impress at some stage of the last two matches.
What happened to Adam Leathers, I wonder?He showed promise during his fleeting appearances.
What an illuminating set of reflections on a “nothing if not eventful” season @RuyLopez.
Wonderful stuff.
@micra Adam Leathers is on loan at Maidenhead.
This may work out perfectly for Blooms. Having a run of games with no threat of relegation to get bedded in and see what he needs for the summer will hopefully really set him up for success next season. Yes, we all would have loved to make the playoffs and I am sure he is extremely disappointed not to, but the timing of his arrival means that he really has every chance of the team playing how he wants it to come August.
Not sure two games counts as " a run of games" @Shev but does feel like the last two games are a chance for a little experimentation - maybe giving Ward a start or two and Willis and/or Wakely if there is a chance either may stay plus perhaps giving the lad Cartwright a couple of games
I wonder if friendlies might become a thing again.
To clarify, I meant the run of games since MB was hired.
I wouldn't expect any big line up changes for the final 2 games, but it would be good to see Ward get perhaps a 15-20minute cameo or 2, just to introduce him to League 1 football. I'd think we might see De Barr get another start also.
I hope so. Part of me thinks that the slightly odd pre-season was why we had such a sluggish start after the first game. We can play trialists in balaclavas to continue with the secret approach of course.
I was also thinking to myself yesterday that I'd like to see Ward and Pattenden get some game time in the last 2 games, and some decent game time, not just 5 minutes at the end
I would give Cartwright a game. You never know Hull might decide to let him go in a couple of years.
Ingram is on the bench these days. Cartwright back to his parent club, Mat ‘one of our own’ back home? Stranger things have happened.
I hope MB wasn't thinking of it this way when he came in.
Picks up side on a 5 game winning run beating top teams, right on the cusp of the playoffs...
"Right, i've got 12 games with no relegation pressure"
😁
Agreed - I think he will be massively disappointed from that aspect, but can you imagine the pressure if he had this run of results to start a season? This way he has a full run at a summer and fresh season.
Oh if we only win 3 of the first 12/15 next season and are wrestling with Cheltenham for 18th it might be best giving the interweb a swerve for a bit!
We need to get back to being hard to play against. We’ve really lost that tough edge in recent months.
I have no idea why - I expect everyone on here would be patiently waiting for results to turn and writing effusive positive eulogies to the brilliance of MB and the obvious potential we are showing. But I may have dreamed some of that.
Totally agree. Since Bloomfield has come in , we have definitely lost our competitive edge. We have become to easy to play against. It seems Bloomfield wants to play more football and perhaps this has resulted in us losing our edge.
Yes - ironically, playing football at our level can be dangerous unless coupled with some serious incisiveness. On the one hand that is basically true at any level, but with the skills on display in the PL, it makes a lot more sense. At our level there is always a fine line between "playing football" and "playing five yard passes with no idea of how to manufacture a goal."
I think Pattenden and De Barr would definitely be up for a tough, ‘up and at ‘em’ approach. If, as seems likely, Jack Grimmer will be unavailable on Saturday, Pattenden might get an opportunity on the right flank at some stage but having said that, Willis would no doubt be Grimmer’s direct replacement and McCarthy seems to have come back into favour at right back/wingback so Jasper will probably have to bide his time.
Tjay De Barr on the other hand is likely to get more game time.
Alfie May will no doubt be the usual handful for Cheltenham. From memory, he tends to cut in from the left so Jordan Willis or Jack Grimmer will have their work cut out.
Perhaps MB has inside whisperings from players that they never liked GA's style? Seems interesting that he's gone with his own identity having being part of such a successful one.
To be fair, imagine trying to attract players....
"So what we like to do is, despite your undeniable talent, we will usually lump the ball straight past you to Super Sam Vokes, and hope that he can knock it down to you for you to finish. If he doesn't win the ball, chances are we will need you to win an aerial battle from the resulting free kick OR we will require you to do it all yourself because our fullbacks and wingers are 35+ and can't run or cross for love nor the really low money we are about to offer you but you will definitelt get a game because most of our players are only fit for 36% of the sesson......what d'ya reckon, you in??"
I think we need to make sure we have someone to pull the strings. I think our best display under MB was against Fleetwood, which was brilliant at times. Wing has seemed to play too far back after his purple patch, barely even finding opportunities to have a crack. Maybe a moot point now if he is not under contract (I know there is debate about this), as I expect he will be gone. I would like to see a mix of styles, but I think we need a conductor for the orchestra. At our best we had:
The Maverick (Mehmeti)
The Conductor (Wing)
The Wiley Old Gunslinger (Vokes)
The Veteran Creative Spark (McLeary)
With a supporting cast who could also be among the goals. With at least two of the above gone, and mavericks not growing on trees, I think a good 10 is desirable. I think Freeman can do the job, though I am aware others disagree. Either way, it is a role we need filled if Wing moves on.
So some posters who have spent years demanding football and decrying the limited tactics of that Ainsworth (and dismissing the claims of a limited budget) now moan about a supposed more footballing style which has no defensive solidity. Perhaps the players are revolting? Perhaps the unknown assistant did not have rigorous enough interview? Perhaps there was The Experienced Manager who would have been better than MB and come in time and within budget to get us promoted? Perhaps we'll never attract good players.... it's not like we have is it? Perhaps despite being bang average we have been in the top half of League One since the Couhigs because of luck and magic? Or.perhaps football management is harder than we think and Wycombe are a small League One team who will always be reaching for the stars whoever it is deciding whether to hoof it or pass across the back?
It's a mystery.
Does MB favour carpet football?
”most definitely so”
You can be sure if MB had kept all the old training schedules, style of play , picked the same 11 where possible with late / rare subs, ranting on the touchline, cowboy boots and a leather jacket on we might still have picked up the same injuries but the players would have thought he was an idiot. He can only be himself and deal with what he has.
I'll admit If we're 20th in December then I'll probably want him moved on but now he needs backing, couple of free hit games to see how players respond to different things, bit of reflection and planning over the summer, decent pre-season and we'll see what we have after 10/15 games.
Another great Wendoverian post, full of the kind of disguised irony which certain Gasroomers will (as usual) have difficulty in distinguishing from the truth.
It’s a thumbs up from me.
A Wanderers fan who is shy about coming on the Gasroom (but who many of you will know from his “old Bucks” inflected voice when asking questions at Trust meetings) told me a couple of weeks ago about a talk by Gareth Ainsworth which he attended early this year on motivational speaking. He said it was inspirational, absolutely brilliant and he reckoned Gareth could make a decent living from that talk alone.
Why Gareth’s motivational skills have (until last weekend ?!) been falling on stoney ground at QPR is something of a mystery but I suspect has a lot more to do with the players than it does with him.
I really hope the mould will be broken this summer at Loftus Road and that Gareth will be given a more reasonable amount of time to sort things out than some of his recent predecessors have been given.
Meanwhile, let’s back MB to the hilt and hope he can work his own magic over the summer months.