As a supporter for over 50 years, I’ve seen many managers and quite a few owners for our club. Some have been good, some great and others quite frankly poor who have promised lots and delivered very little. Throughout this time , I’ve only ever wanted success for the team but fully understand and appreciate that over time things cannot remain the same ( that’s totally unrealistic) and have to evolve . That includes our football club. At the moment we don’t know whether the new owners will be excellent custodians of our club or not but we do need to give them a chance. What I cannot understand is there appears to be some on the forum who want them to fail , want Dodds to fail and even us not get promoted , so they can say I told you so. Our club is very different now , it cannot be the same as it was in the Ainsworth and Bloomfield eras , those days have gone unfortunately but I am willing to wait before passing judgment on our new owners and the new manager. And in answer to your question, do I feel engaged and connected as before, the answer is yes because I understand things have to evolve and cannot remain the same.
I can't see any regular posters on here wanting Dodds to fail. There is frustration with elements of our performances and the perceived negativity of his tactics at times.
Though I'd concede there are a fair few on social media who have already decided Dodds has to go because we're not playing right through teams set up to contain us. Or has the league's highest xHIP (expected hands in pockets) stat.
Or Mrs Marginalista who wanted him banished from the TV for his gum chewing technique.
I’ve no problem with this point of view and ultimately you are probably right.
But. Some of us (well I am and I would hazard a guess others feel similar) on here are mourning what we feel we have lost from our wonderful club these past few months.
The post-Hayes era was about creating an identity (‘Our House’) that was somehow different for some of us than just being a typical football club.
Belonging to ‘little’ Wycombe Wanderers be it as a player, supporter or even manager. Was different and, speaking for myself, that somehow mattered.
What hurts is just how unceremoniously that part of our recent history has been dumped.
Probably not unexpectedly given the vision of the new order but for me if they (apparently) cared so little for that legacy they are equally likely to not care about any of us supporters.
I’ve posted before that I envy people with your view who are able to move forward so quickly.
But please take a minute before chastising those of us who do deeply feel that we have lost a large chunk of ourselves.
Some of us (well me anyway) do find it therapeutic to talk about our feelings about our club and the Gasroom has always been and should remain a safe space to do so.
I can understand it may be better to air most of these on a separate thread but sometimes that is easier said than done.
To give an example - imagine yourself as a Rotherham supporter. You end up (again) with Steve Evans as manager. Some, with your openness will accept it and never complain but for other supporting Rotherham suddenly becomes a darker place until such time as he moves on (again).
For those I am pretty sure that they will always want their team to succeed, but I am also pretty sure they will never be able to move on and not complain about their manager/chair/owner whilst he’s still there.
“I’ll be honest with you all”, I can’t say I have particularly warmed to Mike Dodds so I won’t do so.
I have a feeling - as I believe quite a few of us do - that Mike may not have been totally nailed on as first choice to succeed Matt Bloomfield, albeit in a very different role and a different position in the hierarchy. Whether, if true, he would have been aware of that is anyone’s guess but, as he has readily conceded on several occasions, he faces enormous challenges both in sustaining the unprecedented momentum set in train by his predecessor and in maintaining the spirit of togetherness within a group of some 30 players, most if not all of whom would naturally want to be part of the action.
We all loved and admired Matt and shortly before his departure it was a joy to see his happiness and confidence in front of the cameras. He was clearly so proud of what he’d achieved and rightly so.
Mike Dodds has understandably appeared less assured in front of the cameras but I thought he looked much more relaxed and confident after the match yesterday, not surprisingly because, after a disappointing first 70 minutes, we started to see a performance much more like the performances that got us into the automatics in the first place.
Mike Dodds has understandably appeared less assured in front of the cameras but I thought he looked much more relaxed and confident after the match yesterday,
I have a theory that his interviews will be linked to the final score. Win 5-0 and he will be totally zen save for a cheeky wink to the camera at the end. Lose 5-0 and he'll look like he's on a spacehopper and will be difficult to understand with both hands in his mouth.
I hope the last 9 games don't give me the chance to prove both theories.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply - this type of response, and the excellent counter perspective from @bookertease, is an example of how I personally think the debate should unfold. I have no problem reading an eloquent viewpoint well put, even if I see things differently. But hopefully posts like Booker's give some insight into why some haven't and may not quickly move on.
Perhaps a lot of us are guilty of some curt barbs in this whole thing (I know I am) but there are serious perspectives in there.
Respect @Shev . I totally agree with your comments about @bookertease counter perspective. There are many comments that I agree with and have sympathy for but have chosen to move on without forgetting the past. Our culture has changed within the club, which has been the backbone of our club but even with new owners and new manager I still see the players trying their absolute best for our team and teammates even if not they are not playing well. That hasn’t changed. What frustrates me are those individuals who appear not wanting to give the new owners any chance to prove themselves . It is very early days. It is going to be very different from the past but it may be really good.
Time to move on with the people that are moving on. You know who they are. They keep telling you. Unless you've already moved on, in which case, you're not reading this.
It's clear that Dodds isn't a natural in front of the cameras, but I actually find his post match interviews refreshingly honest. He's quite open when we've played poorly and doesn't try to sugar coat anything. Will also bat away any opportunity to blame refereeing decisions and doesn't look for excuses.
He'll improve his interviews as he progresses. Blooms always used to be to much heart on sleeve for my liking post match. He'd look absolutely crestfallen when we'd lost, but he improved greatly after a time and came across much more stable after defeats last season and this season. I always admired the Ainsworth mantra of never to low never to high and that's clearly something Dodds has taken on board.
Perhaps a subtle difference in style that I am imagining, but it seems like Dodds (maybe because he is a head coach rather than a manager?) speaks of how the players see themselves, and how he encourages them, a bit like they are their own bosses and he is a kindly advisor.
Nothing wrong with that, but it certainly hits differently.
Comments
As a supporter for over 50 years, I’ve seen many managers and quite a few owners for our club. Some have been good, some great and others quite frankly poor who have promised lots and delivered very little. Throughout this time , I’ve only ever wanted success for the team but fully understand and appreciate that over time things cannot remain the same ( that’s totally unrealistic) and have to evolve . That includes our football club. At the moment we don’t know whether the new owners will be excellent custodians of our club or not but we do need to give them a chance. What I cannot understand is there appears to be some on the forum who want them to fail , want Dodds to fail and even us not get promoted , so they can say I told you so. Our club is very different now , it cannot be the same as it was in the Ainsworth and Bloomfield eras , those days have gone unfortunately but I am willing to wait before passing judgment on our new owners and the new manager. And in answer to your question, do I feel engaged and connected as before, the answer is yes because I understand things have to evolve and cannot remain the same.
I can't see any regular posters on here wanting Dodds to fail. There is frustration with elements of our performances and the perceived negativity of his tactics at times.
Though I'd concede there are a fair few on social media who have already decided Dodds has to go because we're not playing right through teams set up to contain us. Or has the league's highest xHIP (expected hands in pockets) stat.
Or Mrs Marginalista who wanted him banished from the TV for his gum chewing technique.
I’ve no problem with this point of view and ultimately you are probably right.
But. Some of us (well I am and I would hazard a guess others feel similar) on here are mourning what we feel we have lost from our wonderful club these past few months.
The post-Hayes era was about creating an identity (‘Our House’) that was somehow different for some of us than just being a typical football club.
Belonging to ‘little’ Wycombe Wanderers be it as a player, supporter or even manager. Was different and, speaking for myself, that somehow mattered.
What hurts is just how unceremoniously that part of our recent history has been dumped.
Probably not unexpectedly given the vision of the new order but for me if they (apparently) cared so little for that legacy they are equally likely to not care about any of us supporters.
I’ve posted before that I envy people with your view who are able to move forward so quickly.
But please take a minute before chastising those of us who do deeply feel that we have lost a large chunk of ourselves.
Some of us (well me anyway) do find it therapeutic to talk about our feelings about our club and the Gasroom has always been and should remain a safe space to do so.
I can understand it may be better to air most of these on a separate thread but sometimes that is easier said than done.
To give an example - imagine yourself as a Rotherham supporter. You end up (again) with Steve Evans as manager. Some, with your openness will accept it and never complain but for other supporting Rotherham suddenly becomes a darker place until such time as he moves on (again).
For those I am pretty sure that they will always want their team to succeed, but I am also pretty sure they will never be able to move on and not complain about their manager/chair/owner whilst he’s still there.
I've only done about 20 years. I havent seen one post on here suggesting anybody on here wants the club or Dodds to fail.
I saw a lot of posts revelling in it when Ainsworth was struggling in the Championship though.
Mike's press conference equivalent of 'most certainly so' is 'I'll be honest with you'.
My memory is terrible, but I’m sure some current Gaz fans had some quite different views back in the first half of the Championship season.
'We're going to struggle in the Championship...'
'Why are we struggling in the Championship...'
'Struggling like this in the Championship is a disgrace...'
'I knew we'd get relegated...'
Bugger all this Bloomfield stuff. I still haven't got over Alan Gane being pushed out.
Might have showed my age there....
“I’ll be honest with you all”, I can’t say I have particularly warmed to Mike Dodds so I won’t do so.
I have a feeling - as I believe quite a few of us do - that Mike may not have been totally nailed on as first choice to succeed Matt Bloomfield, albeit in a very different role and a different position in the hierarchy. Whether, if true, he would have been aware of that is anyone’s guess but, as he has readily conceded on several occasions, he faces enormous challenges both in sustaining the unprecedented momentum set in train by his predecessor and in maintaining the spirit of togetherness within a group of some 30 players, most if not all of whom would naturally want to be part of the action.
We all loved and admired Matt and shortly before his departure it was a joy to see his happiness and confidence in front of the cameras. He was clearly so proud of what he’d achieved and rightly so.
Mike Dodds has understandably appeared less assured in front of the cameras but I thought he looked much more relaxed and confident after the match yesterday, not surprisingly because, after a disappointing first 70 minutes, we started to see a performance much more like the performances that got us into the automatics in the first place.
Put all the attacking players on and just Sonny Bradley at the back and tell them to just keep bombing forwards.
Ten 9-7 wins will do.
@bookertease my sentiment exactly
Mike Dodds has understandably appeared less assured in front of the cameras but I thought he looked much more relaxed and confident after the match yesterday,
I have a theory that his interviews will be linked to the final score. Win 5-0 and he will be totally zen save for a cheeky wink to the camera at the end. Lose 5-0 and he'll look like he's on a spacehopper and will be difficult to understand with both hands in his mouth.
I hope the last 9 games don't give me the chance to prove both theories.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply - this type of response, and the excellent counter perspective from @bookertease, is an example of how I personally think the debate should unfold. I have no problem reading an eloquent viewpoint well put, even if I see things differently. But hopefully posts like Booker's give some insight into why some haven't and may not quickly move on.
Perhaps a lot of us are guilty of some curt barbs in this whole thing (I know I am) but there are serious perspectives in there.
Respect @Shev . I totally agree with your comments about @bookertease counter perspective. There are many comments that I agree with and have sympathy for but have chosen to move on without forgetting the past. Our culture has changed within the club, which has been the backbone of our club but even with new owners and new manager I still see the players trying their absolute best for our team and teammates even if not they are not playing well. That hasn’t changed. What frustrates me are those individuals who appear not wanting to give the new owners any chance to prove themselves . It is very early days. It is going to be very different from the past but it may be really good.
Time to move on with the people that are moving on. You know who they are. They keep telling you. Unless you've already moved on, in which case, you're not reading this.
It's clear that Dodds isn't a natural in front of the cameras, but I actually find his post match interviews refreshingly honest. He's quite open when we've played poorly and doesn't try to sugar coat anything. Will also bat away any opportunity to blame refereeing decisions and doesn't look for excuses.
He'll improve his interviews as he progresses. Blooms always used to be to much heart on sleeve for my liking post match. He'd look absolutely crestfallen when we'd lost, but he improved greatly after a time and came across much more stable after defeats last season and this season. I always admired the Ainsworth mantra of never to low never to high and that's clearly something Dodds has taken on board.
Those who aren't reading Wendoverman's post about 'moving on' might want to consider watching 'On the Move' a TV series for people learning to read.
Mike Dodds looking quite relaxed in the picture...
Perhaps a subtle difference in style that I am imagining, but it seems like Dodds (maybe because he is a head coach rather than a manager?) speaks of how the players see themselves, and how he encourages them, a bit like they are their own bosses and he is a kindly advisor.
Nothing wrong with that, but it certainly hits differently.
I know it's not much, but it's okay
We'll keep on movin' on anyway.
Five - 1999
Perhaps I should have copy righted’ move on’ . I’d have made a fortune in the last few days 😀
I would imagine a Brexiteer (N Farage Ltd?) already has the Merchandise licence as it was their mantra.
The trouble is Boozy Nige has never informed us where we are supposed to ‘move on’ to🙄
...restoring The Golden Age of Britain.