I think the various perspectives on here are all pretty well articulated and valid - I don't see any abuse of MB (on here, anyway) so it is perfectly reasonable that thoughts range from "he just needs time" to "we have been dreadful since February - how much time does he need?"
Of all the concerns, my most significant is that I have simply not seen anything approaching an identity in the past six months. It seems like individuals making individual decisions with no cohesive plan or collective ethos. Hopefully that indeed comes over the next few games, and it is quite possible that it does.
Kevin Couhig really needs to keep quiet, though - given the past comments by RC and PC, this presents the suspicion that this is simply how they see Wycombe customers...I mean fans.
I admire the positivity of @glasshalffull and want to hitch myself to his thinking, up until 3:02pm last Saturday I was very much thinking Wembley or better. But the last 7 days have shown that despite a total overhaul of the squad we remain as disjointed as we were last season. I wrote off last season as soon as GA left and maybe that was silly as we were still in with a chance or the playoffs but I was pragmatic. I assumed that the summer had spent concocting tactics and pre-season was spent drilling players on how to attack and how to defend. We seem really unprepared on both fronts.
I’m most certainly a fan of MB and in no way want him to be replaced. I want him to succeed and become a managerial legend. Like a playing legend he was. But we have to get results better than this
Despite my optimistic predictions in @DevC s competition, I have always said that if we are safe by Easter and playing a coherent style of football with a united group of players who believe in Bloom’s vision and methods then that’s a decent result, bearing in mind the mantle he has inherited and his lack of experience. I’m other words, I’m happy to give him time to work out how he leads both the team and the non playing staff and establishes how he works with the owners and board. That stuff takes time for anyone moving into a leadership role. I know he had some time at Col U and they survived. This is a bigger more pressured job, not because we’re a bigger club, but because of what it must mean to him to be here and what it means for us as supporters to have him here.
My concern is not that we have lost two games badly and didn’t look great in closing out last season. It is that this is a rebuilding year but with many blocks we won’t retain next season. The right loanee filling a gap in a mostly settled system can be a great thing. I worry we have two many loanees and other players, albeit with great potential, that we will lose in 6 or 12 months. What will next season’s model be? Same again, another season of transition? Has Rob the idea in his head that this season will see promotion guaranteed as long as enough raw talent is on the pitch. A philosophy of “As long as the notes are right, it doesn’t matter in what order you play them”?
I’d like to think not and he will give Matt time to learn how to lead and build a team that works on and off the field and will be comfortable with survival in league 1.
Rob’s job, as it has always been, is to manage the club so that next season, whether Coughig owned or not, we have a platform to build on. It isn’t to have us promoted or win a cup. The few decent owners out there get this.
If you want to get rid of me, can I suggest you start a Bloomfield out, Barton in petition? If Blooms loses every one of the remaining 44 league games I would still prefer him to Barton.
I think you’re being unfair. After ten years with Wycombe, you can’t question his loyalty to our club. The timing was unfortunate, but he didn’t create the vacancy at QPR nor did he approach them. However, he realised that the offer might never come again and he is ambitious to manage at a higher level.
I have no interest in saying 'I told you so'. [...]
I was in no doubt that last season's form would carry over into this season and so it has transpired. Only a couple of weeks ago I got a Gasroom pile-on for saying it and now others are starting to say the same thing
I agree with this. Perhaps that's the view with the loanees. Get them in to keep us stable, hopefully, and have some time assessing players we can get in for a longer term with asset growth.
In addition to GA leaving we also lost Mehmeti and with him a major part of our goal threat. AM scored goals , AM created goals, AM created panic in opposition defences. Opposing teams feared AM which in turn created space for others create and score goals particularly Vokes. Now teams don’t fear anyone at WW. I suspect Leyton Orient are pleased to be playing WW on Tuesday and the opportunity that brings to get over their own terrible start and heavy defeat on Saturday. MB has to find the next AM amongst the squad. I thought that might be Mellor this season, but he’s now gone until January someone else has the opportunity.
MB has all the ingredients in the building he just has to find the great recipe .
I actually think that the few weeks after Mehmeti leaving saw the culmination of everything GA had learnt and developed and his (and his supporting managerial/coaching team) ability to get his team playing to his tactically astute demands.
(A passing thought; could that “fantastic football” have been what finally led to GA being offered a job?)
Expecting anyone to have just picked up and carried on as if nothing had happened was unrealistic and without the clear magic of Mehmeti to cover up (as he did weekly in the early part of the season) some of the fault lines in the team and squad it was always likely to be difficult.
The concern of course was just how far we seemed to regress in the last few weeks in particular, seemingly getting worse every week.
It’s this period I think that is fuelling the symptoms of anxiety on show here.
To ease that we are going to have to start to show some signs of cohesion sooner rather than later.
This is starting to remind me a little of the Peter Suddaby managerial era - popular and respected ex player replaces popular and successful manager who quit and soon to lose the key player and threat (AKA God).
There was a 0-7 home loss in there somewhere along the way and it was a difficult (but truly interesting - you would be surprised what straws you can create to clutch on to…) period to watch us. (Happy ending for WWFC - we avoided relegation, Less happy for PS who never managed again).
The rather sobering fact is that we have been beaten 3-0 by two clubs who are likely to finish mid table and that is worrying. Stating the obvious, the next two games are vitality important for Bloomfield and his team. Another two defeats and even the most staunchest supporter of Bloomfield will have major doubts about his ability.
On a separate note, Kevin Couhig needs to basically shut the f..k up. His bad mouthing of fans on a subject he does not understand ie English football, has the potential to undo any good work of Rob and Pete.
I think you're spot on with your first sentence. My problem with MB is that he clearly tried to implement his own brand of football straight away. If you take over a struggling side or even a mid-table side, then fair enough but not in the position we were in. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think at Shrewsbury (his first game in charge) it appeared that he wanted us to play like Barcelona circa 2015 but with two banks of four and with free-scoring Wing suddenly playing at the back and I don't think there was a shortage of defenders. My memory isn't the best so again, sorry if I'm wrong but didn't he then persist with 4-4-2 in spite of results?
I'm reminded of the time Pete Couhig said - and this has always stuck with me - 'The biggest obstacle to running a football club sustainably is fan opinion'. We're just customers, remember.
Comments
I think the various perspectives on here are all pretty well articulated and valid - I don't see any abuse of MB (on here, anyway) so it is perfectly reasonable that thoughts range from "he just needs time" to "we have been dreadful since February - how much time does he need?"
Of all the concerns, my most significant is that I have simply not seen anything approaching an identity in the past six months. It seems like individuals making individual decisions with no cohesive plan or collective ethos. Hopefully that indeed comes over the next few games, and it is quite possible that it does.
Kevin Couhig really needs to keep quiet, though - given the past comments by RC and PC, this presents the suspicion that this is simply how they see Wycombe customers...I mean fans.
Holy Shit. We’ve found it. We’ve found the line at long last.
faints
😉🤣
Absolutely this. If this is a transitional season why are our best players predominately loanees?
Exactly. Defend your relatives against a few stupid facebook comments. After all, they are the owners and management who put a lot of work in.
But start slating the fanbase? That's just utter idiocy and the sort of thing that will see the fans turn on them quicker a gasroom kneejerk.
I admire the positivity of @glasshalffull and want to hitch myself to his thinking, up until 3:02pm last Saturday I was very much thinking Wembley or better. But the last 7 days have shown that despite a total overhaul of the squad we remain as disjointed as we were last season. I wrote off last season as soon as GA left and maybe that was silly as we were still in with a chance or the playoffs but I was pragmatic. I assumed that the summer had spent concocting tactics and pre-season was spent drilling players on how to attack and how to defend. We seem really unprepared on both fronts.
I’m most certainly a fan of MB and in no way want him to be replaced. I want him to succeed and become a managerial legend. Like a playing legend he was. But we have to get results better than this
And KC needs to come off Facebook.
Imagine if you had a Siri that was Alex Ferguson's voice!
You could use your hairdryer
Despite my optimistic predictions in @DevC s competition, I have always said that if we are safe by Easter and playing a coherent style of football with a united group of players who believe in Bloom’s vision and methods then that’s a decent result, bearing in mind the mantle he has inherited and his lack of experience. I’m other words, I’m happy to give him time to work out how he leads both the team and the non playing staff and establishes how he works with the owners and board. That stuff takes time for anyone moving into a leadership role. I know he had some time at Col U and they survived. This is a bigger more pressured job, not because we’re a bigger club, but because of what it must mean to him to be here and what it means for us as supporters to have him here.
My concern is not that we have lost two games badly and didn’t look great in closing out last season. It is that this is a rebuilding year but with many blocks we won’t retain next season. The right loanee filling a gap in a mostly settled system can be a great thing. I worry we have two many loanees and other players, albeit with great potential, that we will lose in 6 or 12 months. What will next season’s model be? Same again, another season of transition? Has Rob the idea in his head that this season will see promotion guaranteed as long as enough raw talent is on the pitch. A philosophy of “As long as the notes are right, it doesn’t matter in what order you play them”?
I’d like to think not and he will give Matt time to learn how to lead and build a team that works on and off the field and will be comfortable with survival in league 1.
Rob’s job, as it has always been, is to manage the club so that next season, whether Coughig owned or not, we have a platform to build on. It isn’t to have us promoted or win a cup. The few decent owners out there get this.
Or ...
You could use it as your hairdryer!
I'm bald, and consider this a hate crime.
Everybody's bald on here.
The Gasroom, baldly going where no man has gone before
If you want to get rid of me, can I suggest you start a Bloomfield out, Barton in petition? If Blooms loses every one of the remaining 44 league games I would still prefer him to Barton.
I'm hirsute!
I'm her hat
Our owner's a merkin
Thankfully not all our league games are on Saturdays, so that won't happen.
There is still just a little part of me blaming Gaz for leaving when he did. Shocking timing for all concerned.
just being honest
I think you’re being unfair. After ten years with Wycombe, you can’t question his loyalty to our club. The timing was unfortunate, but he didn’t create the vacancy at QPR nor did he approach them. However, he realised that the offer might never come again and he is ambitious to manage at a higher level.
He'd been considered before and never offered it.
It's quite unreasonable to expect him to turn down his dream job on the wishful thinking it's one day offered again.
I have no interest in saying 'I told you so'. [...]
I was in no doubt that last season's form would carry over into this season and so it has transpired. Only a couple of weeks ago I got a Gasroom pile-on for saying it and now others are starting to say the same thing
🤣
I agree with this. Perhaps that's the view with the loanees. Get them in to keep us stable, hopefully, and have some time assessing players we can get in for a longer term with asset growth.
In addition to GA leaving we also lost Mehmeti and with him a major part of our goal threat. AM scored goals , AM created goals, AM created panic in opposition defences. Opposing teams feared AM which in turn created space for others create and score goals particularly Vokes. Now teams don’t fear anyone at WW. I suspect Leyton Orient are pleased to be playing WW on Tuesday and the opportunity that brings to get over their own terrible start and heavy defeat on Saturday. MB has to find the next AM amongst the squad. I thought that might be Mellor this season, but he’s now gone until January someone else has the opportunity.
MB has all the ingredients in the building he just has to find the great recipe .
I’m bald as a chimp’s arse
We were playing fantastic football without Mehmeti.
I actually think that the few weeks after Mehmeti leaving saw the culmination of everything GA had learnt and developed and his (and his supporting managerial/coaching team) ability to get his team playing to his tactically astute demands.
(A passing thought; could that “fantastic football” have been what finally led to GA being offered a job?)
Expecting anyone to have just picked up and carried on as if nothing had happened was unrealistic and without the clear magic of Mehmeti to cover up (as he did weekly in the early part of the season) some of the fault lines in the team and squad it was always likely to be difficult.
The concern of course was just how far we seemed to regress in the last few weeks in particular, seemingly getting worse every week.
It’s this period I think that is fuelling the symptoms of anxiety on show here.
To ease that we are going to have to start to show some signs of cohesion sooner rather than later.
This is starting to remind me a little of the Peter Suddaby managerial era - popular and respected ex player replaces popular and successful manager who quit and soon to lose the key player and threat (AKA God).
There was a 0-7 home loss in there somewhere along the way and it was a difficult (but truly interesting - you would be surprised what straws you can create to clutch on to…) period to watch us. (Happy ending for WWFC - we avoided relegation, Less happy for PS who never managed again).
The rather sobering fact is that we have been beaten 3-0 by two clubs who are likely to finish mid table and that is worrying. Stating the obvious, the next two games are vitality important for Bloomfield and his team. Another two defeats and even the most staunchest supporter of Bloomfield will have major doubts about his ability.
On a separate note, Kevin Couhig needs to basically shut the f..k up. His bad mouthing of fans on a subject he does not understand ie English football, has the potential to undo any good work of Rob and Pete.
In fairness, RC has called fans 'idiots' on record before, and PC has said not dissimilar behind closed doors, so it probably runs in the family.
I think you're spot on with your first sentence. My problem with MB is that he clearly tried to implement his own brand of football straight away. If you take over a struggling side or even a mid-table side, then fair enough but not in the position we were in. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think at Shrewsbury (his first game in charge) it appeared that he wanted us to play like Barcelona circa 2015 but with two banks of four and with free-scoring Wing suddenly playing at the back and I don't think there was a shortage of defenders. My memory isn't the best so again, sorry if I'm wrong but didn't he then persist with 4-4-2 in spite of results?
I'm reminded of the time Pete Couhig said - and this has always stuck with me - 'The biggest obstacle to running a football club sustainably is fan opinion'. We're just customers, remember.