The unknown is really are the owners looking to make money or mainly in it for status? Lomtadze has billions. He is not going to make billions out of Wycombe. We may not need to sell any players for anything other than silly money (£10 million for Kone, etc).
If King Kone decides he wants out after a Premier League club makes an offer then I suspect he will be gone as long as that offer is reasonable.
Owners just don’t have any power once a player downs tools. Not saying Richard would do that but he might push for a move, would be life changing for him and his young family, especially considering where he was just 3/4 years ago.
The owners are in this to improve football in Kazakhstan. When they realise that this plan makes no sense at all our number is up. Hoperfully it'll be a few more years before the tenge drops.
But when our Adademy becomes the best in the world, the Kazakhstani kids coming over to join will have the best coaches and facilities to raise the overall standards of their country's football!!
He's developing nicely, but it's important to remember he's 21 and a very rough diamond. Loads of potential, but hopefully we match him nicely as we both progress.
that's the point, isn't it? The rate of his development is so notable and so impressive. He's doing so much more in his second 6 months than in his first, whilst consistently showing that uncoachable, instinctive goalscorer stuff.
He’s also now an important player in heading away crosses in our own penalty area. There was one superb example on Tuesday when Mansfield were bombing our box in the second half.
We are top of the league. Of course higher tier clubs scouts are looking at our players. Its their job.
It doesn't mean that they will decide to bid, or that we would accept the bid or that the player would wish to leave.
If Leeds came in offering £20m in January, it is very likely he is gone. If Oxford came in offering £300k, he stays. Somewhere between those extremes there is a tipping point.
Of course. What you say is no doubt absolutely true. I was simply making the point about the mixed emotions (coexistence of joy and anxiety) that we are experiencing in an unprecedented and, let’s be honest, unexpected situation.
What l a change in Bloomfield’s post match interviews. During that awful spell last year he’d just stare at the floor and trot out cliches almost robotically.
This year it’s lots of eye contact, smiles, engagement and humour.
How great it is to see him enjoying life so much and to have seen him grow into the role.
Not sure what would best serve him development wise. Stay up and he'll probably remain a cameo late sub option, go down and he'd have a much better chance of being a regular.
Makes the bench and occasionally pitch because of injuries, low budget and a very surprising double promotion. Hasn’t scored goals consistently in League 1 yet. I’m sure he’s a fantastic player, but you could argue Kone is more proven than AAH2.0.
Always worth emphasising that a player's developmental trajectory is rarely perfectly linear. Kone could 'level off' for the rest of the season and that would be absolutely fine. I think we saw that with Mehmeti to an extent.
Would be a good test of ML’s ongoing financial commitment and vision for the club. If MB tells DR that keeping Morley is essential to getting promoted (it may be) then we will get a fair idea of what’s to come next season. Let’s be honest, the gap between Champ and L1 is huge. Promotion is one thing, making it stick is another. I suspect that ML isn’t here just to enjoy a fairy tale ride to the Champ and back again. I’d be happy with that mind you, as I still can’t believe we are in this position.
A snippet of data which may or may not be relevant: After 16 games of the 23/24 season, Portsmouth were top of L1 with 36 points, and a goal difference of +15.
We have 38 points, and +18 at the same stage. They were unbeaten at that stage (W10, D6), and ended up with 5 defeats over the season, finishing on 97 points.
I've said before promotion and any season always has a massive amount of luck attached to it. Sometimes your 'keeper falls over trying to time waste and drops the ball giving away a goal, sometimes a rubbish cross hits the top corner. At the moment arguably we are out of luck on injuries (crazy though that is) but it could be worse and the continued loss of Scowen will hurt us at some point. We will see where we are at New Year when we have been through this brutal run of games and loans are recalled or not.
Indeed. I could definitely see us having a bad run owing to Scowen being out, and everyone beginning to feel deflated as we drop into 5th or 6th, only to go on another stormer towards the end of the season.
Either way, I can't shake the feeling this season is going to be special. Lots of similar feelings to 19/20, though hopefully without the worldwide stoppage, and with the football being much more exhilarating.
I am glad we are getting fairly close to January, too - though there are concerns we may lose the likes of Morley, I could imagine us making absolutely scintillating pickups if needed. Bloomfield's stock is sky high, and I could imagine us being first in line for some serious loan talent should we need it.
I cannot wait to see Josh back on the pitch, but I think we have midfielders that can do a decent Scowen-lite job until his return.
I think our blip is more likely to be as a result of teams 'doing a Wycombe' on us (like Mansfield?), tightly marking our front men and targeting our ball playing midfield.
We're going to have to find a way to grind out a few more results, but so are our competitors. Still confident of play-offs at the very least, but whatever happens...what a ride!!!
Josh Scowen’s display against Burton Albion last month has to be included in any list of the greatest individual performances in a Wycombe Wanderers shirt.
His loss is huge and cannot be understated. I fear we are about to discover just how much we miss him.
Yes - I am just glad we won the first two without Josh, as it keeps us closer to "par" of what we would have achieved with him. I get a sinking feeling he is going to be out for months, though.
Great post. Yes, we still have a great team, and some fantastic midfielders even without Scowen. I am very optimistic for how the season will finish, even with a blip or two.
Comments
The unknown is really are the owners looking to make money or mainly in it for status? Lomtadze has billions. He is not going to make billions out of Wycombe. We may not need to sell any players for anything other than silly money (£10 million for Kone, etc).
If King Kone decides he wants out after a Premier League club makes an offer then I suspect he will be gone as long as that offer is reasonable.
Owners just don’t have any power once a player downs tools. Not saying Richard would do that but he might push for a move, would be life changing for him and his young family, especially considering where he was just 3/4 years ago.
The owners are in this to improve football in Kazakhstan. When they realise that this plan makes no sense at all our number is up. Hoperfully it'll be a few more years before the tenge drops.
I love Kone, but he isn’t anywhere near premier league quality at the moment.
But when our Adademy becomes the best in the world, the Kazakhstani kids coming over to join will have the best coaches and facilities to raise the overall standards of their country's football!!
He's developing nicely, but it's important to remember he's 21 and a very rough diamond. Loads of potential, but hopefully we match him nicely as we both progress.
that's the point, isn't it? The rate of his development is so notable and so impressive. He's doing so much more in his second 6 months than in his first, whilst consistently showing that uncoachable, instinctive goalscorer stuff.
He’s also now an important player in heading away crosses in our own penalty area. There was one superb example on Tuesday when Mansfield were bombing our box in the second half.
We are top of the league. Of course higher tier clubs scouts are looking at our players. Its their job.
It doesn't mean that they will decide to bid, or that we would accept the bid or that the player would wish to leave.
If Leeds came in offering £20m in January, it is very likely he is gone. If Oxford came in offering £300k, he stays. Somewhere between those extremes there is a tipping point.
I thought that about AAH when we sold him.
granted he’s not starter Prem quality. But makes the bench and he’s far better than we thought he was.
Of course. What you say is no doubt absolutely true. I was simply making the point about the mixed emotions (coexistence of joy and anxiety) that we are experiencing in an unprecedented and, let’s be honest, unexpected situation.
thanks for explaining that
What l a change in Bloomfield’s post match interviews. During that awful spell last year he’d just stare at the floor and trot out cliches almost robotically.
This year it’s lots of eye contact, smiles, engagement and humour.
How great it is to see him enjoying life so much and to have seen him grow into the role.
Not sure what would best serve him development wise. Stay up and he'll probably remain a cameo late sub option, go down and he'd have a much better chance of being a regular.
Makes the bench and occasionally pitch because of injuries, low budget and a very surprising double promotion. Hasn’t scored goals consistently in League 1 yet. I’m sure he’s a fantastic player, but you could argue Kone is more proven than AAH2.0.
Always worth emphasising that a player's developmental trajectory is rarely perfectly linear. Kone could 'level off' for the rest of the season and that would be absolutely fine. I think we saw that with Mehmeti to an extent.
Especially now that keepers know they just need to dive right. He's never going to score again
Would be a good test of ML’s ongoing financial commitment and vision for the club. If MB tells DR that keeping Morley is essential to getting promoted (it may be) then we will get a fair idea of what’s to come next season. Let’s be honest, the gap between Champ and L1 is huge. Promotion is one thing, making it stick is another. I suspect that ML isn’t here just to enjoy a fairy tale ride to the Champ and back again. I’d be happy with that mind you, as I still can’t believe we are in this position.
A snippet of data which may or may not be relevant: After 16 games of the 23/24 season, Portsmouth were top of L1 with 36 points, and a goal difference of +15.
We have 38 points, and +18 at the same stage. They were unbeaten at that stage (W10, D6), and ended up with 5 defeats over the season, finishing on 97 points.
We can do this!
Agreed, it was just hypothetical.
Ooh, my first ever Bargie upvote!
We’re living in crazy times my friends.
Spot on. The improvement in his game has been amazing.
Quicker, stronger. Better hold up play. Great touches to link up with midfield. Smarter running behind the defensive line.
I've said before promotion and any season always has a massive amount of luck attached to it. Sometimes your 'keeper falls over trying to time waste and drops the ball giving away a goal, sometimes a rubbish cross hits the top corner. At the moment arguably we are out of luck on injuries (crazy though that is) but it could be worse and the continued loss of Scowen will hurt us at some point. We will see where we are at New Year when we have been through this brutal run of games and loans are recalled or not.
Indeed. I could definitely see us having a bad run owing to Scowen being out, and everyone beginning to feel deflated as we drop into 5th or 6th, only to go on another stormer towards the end of the season.
Either way, I can't shake the feeling this season is going to be special. Lots of similar feelings to 19/20, though hopefully without the worldwide stoppage, and with the football being much more exhilarating.
I am glad we are getting fairly close to January, too - though there are concerns we may lose the likes of Morley, I could imagine us making absolutely scintillating pickups if needed. Bloomfield's stock is sky high, and I could imagine us being first in line for some serious loan talent should we need it.
spot on 👍
I cannot wait to see Josh back on the pitch, but I think we have midfielders that can do a decent Scowen-lite job until his return.
I think our blip is more likely to be as a result of teams 'doing a Wycombe' on us (like Mansfield?), tightly marking our front men and targeting our ball playing midfield.
We're going to have to find a way to grind out a few more results, but so are our competitors. Still confident of play-offs at the very least, but whatever happens...what a ride!!!
Josh Scowen’s display against Burton Albion last month has to be included in any list of the greatest individual performances in a Wycombe Wanderers shirt.
His loss is huge and cannot be understated. I fear we are about to discover just how much we miss him.
Yes - I am just glad we won the first two without Josh, as it keeps us closer to "par" of what we would have achieved with him. I get a sinking feeling he is going to be out for months, though.
Great post. Yes, we still have a great team, and some fantastic midfielders even without Scowen. I am very optimistic for how the season will finish, even with a blip or two.
Blooms said "a little while" - which in my anxious mind means months