Luton Town & Wycombe Wanderers now share same Matt Bloomfield feeling - it's quite unique | OneFootball

Luton Town and Wycombe Wanderers are sharing mutual disappointment after Matt Bloomfield's sacking as Hatters boss.

The January managerial movement between Luton Town and Wycombe Wanderers ended in mutual disappointment, as both of their new bosses failed to remain in post for a calendar year.

Championship strugglers Luton were in the market for a new manager in January, having parted company with Rob Edwards earlier in the month, and they had their eyes on Matt Bloomfield, who had Wycombe sitting pretty in the League One promotion places.

The 41-year-old had taken the reins at Adams Park after Gareth Ainsworth's departure in February 2023, and after a disastrous ten months that he was fortunate to keep his job for, he turned fortunes around, and had Wanderers fighting at the sharp end of League One once again.

Many thought Bloomfield wouldn't leave his beloved club in the middle of a promotion charge, but they were mistaken, as he took the Luton job, leaving Wycombe fans rather gobsmacked.

Sadly, this move would prove to be a disaster for all parties involved, as Bloomfield relegated Luton and was sacked, whilst Wycombe hired Mike Dodds, who threw away promotion and also got the sack, leading to a rather unique situation, where both sides were mutually disappointed.

Matt Bloomfield's final day blunder was ultimately the beginning of the end for him at Luton Town

After relegation from the Premier League, the Hatters had a bad hangover heading back into the Championship, which had them stuck at the foot of the table, and they subsequently decided a change in the dugout was required.

This saw Bloomfield hired as Edwards' successor, having led Wycombe to an incredible start to the campaign in League One, but the transition wouldn't be as seamless at Kenilworth Road.

It took the 41-year-old nine matches to win his first game in charge of the Bedfordshire side, but would steadily pick up towards the end of the season, winning six of the final 12 league matches, and giving his side a good chance of securing survival on the final day.

However, Bloomfield got it all wrong with his set-up against West Bromwich Albion, seeing his side lose 5-3, and they were subsequently condemned to back-to-back relegations. This result would be the beginning of the end of the former Wycombe boss.

Despite a busy transfer window in the summer which saw Bloomfield backed heavily, the Hatters failed to string together any form of consistency at the start of the League One campaign, and the manager was often in the firing line for his team selection and tactical structure.

After a disappointing 2-0 defeat to high-flying Stevenage, the Luton hierarchy and supporters had seen enough, and Bloomfield was dismissed just nine months into a three-and-a-half year contract.

Wycombe Wanderers got it all wrong with Matt Bloomfield's replacement

But what about the man who replaced Bloomfield at Wycombe? Well, that didn't go much better, and Bloomfield's sudden exit from Adams Park was certainly felt in the months after, which ultimately cost Wanderers promotion.

The Chairboys went down an unorthodox route with their appointment, opting for Sunderland assistant Dodds to become the club's first head coach. It's fair to say this was a risky move in the middle of a promotion battle, and that risk certainly didn't pay off.

It was clear from the get-go that the new head coach was so far out of his depth, lacking any real personality on the touchline, and playing a laborious style of football which turned one of the sharpest attacks in the division completely blunt.

An awful end to the season saw Wycombe lose all three of their final league games, scoring once, and dropping into the play-offs, where they would lose out to eventual winners Charlton Athletic in what was quite possibly the most forgettable semi-final clash ever televised.

Despite this, the 39-year-old was given the benefit of the doubt that it wasn't his squad, as he arrived after the transfer window shut, and was given the summer to build a new-look squad which suited his style of play.

Over the summer, the Buckinghamshire side signed a ridiculous 16 senior players, with other key individuals such as Richard Kone and Garath McCleary departing, which really signified a complete change to the fabric of the club as we once knew it.

Unfortunately, this didn't work for Dodds, as he won just one of his opening eight league matches, playing some inconsistent and disjointed football along the way, which saw supporters quickly lose faith that the ex-Sunderland interim would ever come good.

Dodds became the first managerial casualty of the season following a 2-0 defeat to winless Peterborough United, leaving fans asking questions as to why he was appointed in the first place.

Luton Town and Wycombe Wanderers mutual disappointment has concluded in unique situation

Luton's move to appoint Bloomfield in January was the first domino to fall in a long chain, which would see both clubs regress over the next nine months, and ultimately end where we are today.

It's a unique situation for all parties to come out of a managerial move in the same boat, but that is certainly the case for Luton and Wycombe, as they failed to achieve their goals last season, and have got off to a slow start in League One.

Bloomfield was brought in to keep the Hatters in the Championship, which he failed to do, was backed heavily in the summer, and was then sacked after a disappointing start to the season.

This is an almost identical sequence of events that unfolded at his former club, as Dodds failed to gain promotion, was also backed heavily in the summer transfer window, and was sacked due to poor results at the start of the new campaign.

Both appointments unfolded in a similar manner, which has created a unique situation where both clubs were left disappointed, and pretty much in the exact same boat after eleven games of the new season, which has seen them scrambling for answers.

With Michael Duff now in charge of the Chairboys, and Richie Wellens the favourite to take the reins at Kenilworth Road, it seems both clubs have realised they needed an experienced leader in charge, to try and undo the damage of the last nine months.

Bloomfield's move from Wycombe to Luton triggered a sequence of events that ultimately culminated in the decline of both his new club and his old one, and now both parties must follow a similar path to rebuild back to where they'd expect to be.

It's certainly a very strange situation, as there was no real winner in the January managerial movement, which is very rare to see in football, and the two clubs essentially sent themselves back to square one.