EFL Play Offs

Just tuned into the Wycombe v MK Dongs game

Hoping the franchise don’t get to the final ….

Reminded me of when I moved to MK years ago

Went to see MK v Wycombe in Bletchley in the Berks & Bucks county cup

It was a proper MK club who were playing that night & not one that Winkelman hijacked with the FA’s blessing

Nice to see plucky Wycombe sticking it to the BFS.

Red card for the Dongs, just as the same player was about to be subbed. Real shame.

WW have been value for their lead but they still need to be on their toes even if their job’s been made easier by the red

2-0

Hope they can turn the screw on the Donuts & make the second leg a formality

Always good to see those franchise illegitimates lose…

Wycombe continue to astound me, not just in terms of punching about their relative weight but also the players they manage to attract and yet still be financially sound.  Players like David Stockdale, Sam Vokes, Gareth McCleary....all players I would expect could command wages much higher than Wycombe's offering.

Even though they played the season behind closed doors, so reduced income levels, they still managed to make a profit of £3.2million.  Their wage bill was well below the average per player (£800,000 a year - jesus!) and only really went down because Derby got away with one.

The pushback whenever Gareth Ainsworth is linked with the bigger jobs is that he's got a unique style at Wycombe that might not transfer elsewhere.  I prefer to look at it that he's working with what he's got and doing a bloody good job of it, just imagine what he could with a bigger budget and infrastructure.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Wycombe continue to astound me, not just in terms of punching about their relative weight but also the players they manage to attract and yet still be financially sound.  Players like David Stockdale, Sam Vokes, Gareth McCleary....all players I would expect could command wages much higher than Wycombe's offering.

Even though they played the season behind closed doors, so reduced income levels, they still managed to make a profit of £3.2million.  Their wage bill was well below the average per player (£800,000 a year - jesus!) and only really went down because Derby got away with one.

The pushback whenever Gareth Ainsworth is linked with the bigger jobs is that he's got a unique style at Wycombe that might not transfer elsewhere.  I prefer to look at it that he's working with what he's got and doing a bloody good job of it, just imagine what he could with a bigger budget and infrastructure.

Ainsworth is an interesting one, he's got 10 Premier League appearances to his name and has played in every division from the Premier League to the Conference. He's a bit of a unique character off the pitch too by all accounts but I've only ever heard about him being a great guy. Managers are always one bad move away from the cards tumbling down; Hurst to Ipswich being a classic example of this but Ainsworth's experience across all the levels will help him command respect I'm sure; not to mention his management record at Wycombe which is remarkable.

It works for him at Wycombe and he's been there 10 years which provides a great case for those that believe success comes from sticking with your managers. They have to be good enough in the first instance which is half the battle but you have to commend the great work he's done at Wycombe. He will be a tough act to follow when he does eventually leave.

I don't know what his affiliation with Wimbledon is like but he spent 5 years there and played 45 games. I wouldn't expect him to rock up at MK and AFC Wimbledon would be a huge step down at the moment. I do think his next move; if he ever moves on; will be to a club he has an affiliation with so Preston, Port Vale, Lincoln or QPR are the other likely options. Given how he's doing at the moment, Lincoln would need a promotion first otherwise it's a very risky sidewards step, QPR is a bit of a basket case club and I don't think he's that stupid which leaves Preston who seem to give their managers a decent amount of time.

I seem to think he got shat on when he was caretaker at QPR.  It might even have been the Undr The Cosh podcast where he talked about it.  

He was linked with the Preston job when it came up last year but now linked with Blackburn (his home town club).  

Could be that he's settled in the South East and doesn't want to move.

On a complete side note, I seem to think he was linked with us when he was at Lincoln as a player.  Probably under Laws, which would certainly fit in with the 'Rough Diamond' approach to transfers we had then.  Looking at the time frames we probably got Darren Wrack instead.  

Quoted from diehardmariner

On a complete side note, I seem to think he was linked with us when he was at Lincoln as a player.  Probably under Laws, which would certainly fit in with the 'Rough Diamond' approach to transfers we had then.  Looking at the time frames we probably got Darren Wrack instead.  

That sell on clause will come good one day.