The big transfer mistake Wycombe Wanderers have made transitioning from Matt Bloomfield to Mike Dodds | OneFootball

Wycombe Wanderers have signed an astonishing 25 new players since January 2025.

In the past two transfer windows, Wycombe Wanderers have signed 25 new players, and the teething issues that come with too much change in a short space of time have started to develop into even bigger problems.

When you think of Wycombe Wanderers in recent years, your mind often goes back to the special tenure of legendary manager Gareth Ainsworth, who crafted his squads under tough budget constraints to be fearless, spirited, and most notably, united as one.

Those words are a far cry from what we can describe this current squad of players who wear the famous light and dark blue quarters, as early performances this season have been disjointed, flat, and lacking any sense of comradery, cohesion, or togetherness.

Whilst things were always going to change under the ownership of Mikheil Lomtadze, the sheer volume of players brought to the football club since the turn of the year, with 25 new players coming through the door at Adams Park over the last two transfer windows.

It was obvious that change was coming when the new regime took over last summer, but have Wycombe been architects of their own downfall by trying to change too much in a short space of time?

Wycombe Wanderers currently undergoing a massive overhaul

This new era of the football club is definitely taking some getting used to, and it's seemingly started to go down hill since manager Matt Bloomfield left in January and was replaced by the club's first head coach, Mike Dodds.

Whilst this is a big enough change in itself based off the fact that Wycombe had always operated with a manager in the dugout, other significant alterations from the ownership group have completely transformed the Buckinghamshire club.

The reopening of the club's academy, a move back to a new-look Marlow Road training facility, and the influx of new staff on and off the pitch have made for a hectic summer in HP12.

It's crucial to stress that these changes are not negative things by any stretch of the imagination, and will pay off big time, as they begin to lay the foundations for the club's infrastructure over the coming years, which is required to reach where the owners want to be.

However, it seems this summer has particularly taken its toll on the Chairboys, with a slow start to the season seeing them winless in their opening six league games, and supporters piling the pressure on Dodds to start delivering results.

There seems to be a popular theory as to what the root cause of this poor form is though, and it's something that the head coach alluded to himself, which is the number of new players Wanderers are trying to implement at once.

Wycombe may have given Mike Dodds a mountain to climb by going overkill in the transfer market

As mentioned, the Chairboys have made 25 new signings in the previous two transfer windows, which is actually 26, if you count the re-signing of defender Caleb Taylor on loan from West Brom in January.

When you put it into perspective, that's over two starting XI's worth of players, and pretty much an entirely new squad for Dodds to try and get to know, not to mention all the outgoings.

Settled players who really brought the feeling of comradery, such as Richard Kone, Daniel Udoh, and Garath McCleary are all gone, and now just Jack Grimmer and the injured Josh Scowen remain from the old Ainsworth era squad that reached Wembley in 2022.

Now, this lack of understanding between the players is evident on the pitch, as constant mistakes, lack of communication and an all-round feeling of confusion from watching this squad makes supporters feel that maybe Wycombe have changed too much too soon in their playing staff.

Head coach Dodds even lashed out at some of his new players after a 2-1 defeat to Colchester United in the EFL Trophy, demanding that they step up if they want a place in his team, and seeing this leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of everyone connected with the club.

Not once did previous managers such as Bloomfield or Ainsworth publicly call out their players when they went through a rough patch, and these statements from the 39-year-old make you wonder if the impact of long-serving senior pros has been somewhat overlooked.

Wycombe's new-look squad is very young on paper, and trying to employ an advanced style of football that perhaps doesn't suit the players' strengths. But instead of adapting the system, Wanderers decided to sign another four players on deadline day.

Throwing more new players at the problem simply isn't the solution, and it now leaves Dodds in a very tricky position to try and get a completely new squad to somehow gel, which could've been avoided by focusing on gradual change, rather than signing 25 players in seven months.