Next Wycombe Manager Odds: Contenders to replace Matt Bloomfield

Wycombe are on the hunt for a new manager after Matt Bloomfield’s departure to take the reins at Championship side Luton Town.
Gab Sutton delves into the current state of play at Adams Park and highlights four potential candidates from the next Wycombe manager odds, including Brentford assistant Claus Norgaard, who has emerged as the early favourite for the League One vacancy.
Replacing Matt Bloomfield as Wycombe Wanderers manager is arguably even tougher than it was for the 19-year Chairboys playing stalwart to replace Gareth Ainsworth in the hot-seat in February 2023.
When Ainsworth left for QPR, the first of just two managerial departures at Adams Park since the club’s most recent sacking, of Gary Waddock in 2012, the exit was harmonious.
Sure, it was in-season, with the team still in the mix for the Play-Offs, but it’s not as if they had been in the driving seat for promotion - and ‘Wild Thing’ said his fond goodbye, doing an emotional final interview with Phil Catchpole at Wanderers TV to give his tenure a much-needed sense of closure.
That sense of closure is less palpable with Bloomfield’s exit for Luton, even if the opportunity at Kenilworth Road is far more lucrative, on paper, than the one at Loftus Road presented to Ainsworth nearly two years ago.
The former midfielder had a golden opportunity to lead the club he’s represented all his adult life, baring a five-month stint at Colchester, back to the Championship - a level they’ve only graced for one season at in their entire history.
For Bloomfield to give up that chance, regardless of how good the offer was that came his way - and it was clearly a very persuasive one - there had to be something wrong, subjectively for him, that is, with his pre-existing arrangement.
It seems significant that Bloomfield had been appointed manager under the Couhig family, as opposed to the Mikheil Lomtadze regime overseen by Chief Football Officer, Dan Rice.
And, whereas Luton have built their success on stability, trust and transparency, highly valuing their managers with honest brokers like Mick Harford and Gary Sweet in key positions, Wycombe may have a different vision for how they want to move forward.
Rice, for instance, has worked at four different Premier League clubs, and may have learnt his craft in a more detached, cynical, cut-throat climate, where the perspective is that managerial positions are transient, and that success is all about getting the next boss lined up on the conveyor belt.
That philosophy represents the greatest possible contrast to Bloomfield’s, with the Suffolkian having experienced much of his career working under a manager who was given a huge amount of autonomy, with the whole club built around him.
Whether or not Bloomfield demands quite the same degree of autonomy as his predecessor, it’s obvious that he needed to feel more wanted and valued - as he alluded to in his opening interview at Luton.
And, given the sky-high probability of Bloomfield accepting improved terms had he been offered them under the previous ownership, it seems fair game to presume that no such offer was forthcoming - and, in turn, that this may have aggravated tensions.
So, the point is not that either set of beliefs are right or wrong. It’s not unreasonable for Rice to have had half an eye on appointing his own person, and wanting the flexibility to do that if results and performances took a downturn under Bloomfield - however cold and cynical that might sound.
And, he might argue that seeing the managerial position as transient can have the advantage of bringing a new voice and fresh ideas into the club every so often, while a concerted focus on succession planning has done wonders for the likes of Brighton.
At the same time, it’s understandable for Bloomfield to have felt hurt that the club could even be thinking about other managers when he was delivering phenomenal results - especially given that he’s been schooled in the etiquette of stability and unerring trust.
So, without knowing the precise details, our best interpretation is that neither party is necessarily hugely in the wrong, but that they were both coming at things from different angles and were ultimately incompatible - ironically, concerning somebody who’s represented the club for nearly a (blue) quarter of a century.
The upshot, however, is that Wycombe now have an awkward managerial vacancy, even if it seems attractive on paper, with the team sitting pretty in 2nd.
Bloomfield, himself, succeeded when replacing a father figure - but he was the son.
Whereas, Rice seems highly unlikely to make an internal appointment, or bring Ainsworth back, so whoever comes in will be something of a step-father figure, replacing an extremely popular leader, with players and fans alike.
And, any drop-off that would seem very plausible given the unwanted sense of mid-season transition would go onto the new manager’s record, which may get unfairly judged.
So, replacing Bloomfield, as an outsider, will take outstanding people skills, savvy PR nous, and excellent man management.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the contenders…
1. Claus Nørgaard
It tends to be a positive sign when a coach hasn’t had a playing career, and has instead spent over two decades focusing on coaching, giving them far more experience in the industry than a recently retired ex-pro.
In that sense, Claus Nørgaard has been far better prepared for management, on paper, than Bloomfield, who is only five years younger than him yet started giving coaching his full attention some 27 years later.
Nørgaard’s relationship with Thomas Frank both endorses his coaching ability, and would open up a revived relationship between Brentford and Wycombe, who poached Aaron Pierre from the Bees in 2014-15’s Play-Off Final campaign, loaning Nico Yennaris, Alfie Mawson, Sam Saunders and Courtney Senior.
2. Des Buckingham
Des Buckingham has an outstanding coaching background, as the 39-year-old continues a thriving 22-year career that’s involved success everywhere he’s been - from Melbourne City, to Mumbai City, to Oxford United.
The Yellows were prepared to pay compensation to two different organisations - Mumbai City and City Football Group - to acquire his services, whereas Wycombe would need to pay compensation to none.
Favouring a blend of patient play in his side’s own half to draw the press, dispersed by quick accelerations out wide when it’s forthcoming, Buckingham has proven to be a good in-possession coach, with the ability to execute strong out-of-possession game plans in key matches – like the 2-0 Play-Off Final victory over Bolton.
3. Dean Holden
With a respected coaching career, Dean Holden is yet to find the right fit as a number one, and may not have been given a fair amount of time in permanent stints at Bristol City and Charlton, despite steady records at both clubs amid various challenges - a 49% win ratio with an unprecedented injury crisis in the former case, and top half form in the latter.
Those setbacks, though, haven’t stunted the 45-year-old’s ambition, as he looks for the right opportunity to put his name in English football’s managerial map.
Holden’s belief is in creating a positive environment which empowers players and staff to flourish, and perform at their best every day: he’ll feel he can bring that to Adams Park, where he’s worked with Tyreeq Bakinson and Joe Low previously.
4. Steven Schumacher
On the one hand, Steven Schumacher is a talented young manager, with the 40-year-old possessing the potential to go on and have a high-profile career in the industry.
On the other, he’s also proven to be one of the EFL’s most successful coaches of the last decade, helping to initiate Plymouth Argyle’s rise up the leagues as assistant to Ryan Lowe, then helping to complete it as manager, winning the League One title in 2022-23 with 102 points.
Somebody who can coach clear patterns of play, whilst also maintaining a strong defensive balance about his sides, ‘Schuey’ would tick a lot of boxes for the Chairboys.
The biggest question is whether he’d be prepared to drop down to League One, having already bought the T-Shirt at the level.
League One Winner Odds

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