Football League World
·8 November 2024
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·8 November 2024
Coventry City are reportedly interested in Wycombe Wanderers manager Matt Bloomfield following the shock sacking of Mark Robins.
Coventry City shocked the football world by announcing the sacking of long-serving manager Mark Robins on Thursday morning.
Robins returned to the CBS Arena for a second spell in charge in March 2017, and over the past seven-and-a-half years, he has guided Coventry from League Two to the Championship.
The 54-year-old almost led the Sky Blues to the Premier League in 2023, but his side were beaten by Luton Town on penalties, while they also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup last season, where they again suffered spot-kick heartbreak as they lost out to Manchester United.
Despite many tipping them for a promotion push, it has been a disappointing start to the season for Coventry, and the 2-1 home defeat to Derby County on Wednesday night left them sitting 17th in the Championship table and only outside the relegation zone on goal difference, prompting the board into action.
In a statement, the Sky Blues said that Robins' achievements "will never be forgotten", and that the club "would not be where it is today without the inspired actions of Mark and his team", but they said that the recent performance of the team had "just not been good enough", forcing them to make a "difficult decision".
Coach Rhys Carr will take charge of Coventry's game against league leaders Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, but it seems the hunt for Robins' permanent successor is already underway, with The Guardian claiming that Wycombe Wanderers manager Matt Bloomfield is a "leading contender" for the role.
After spending his entire playing career at Wycombe, Bloomfield made the move into management when he took charge of Colchester United in September 2022, and he quickly made an impact at the League Two club.
Bloomfield guided Colchester away from the relegation zone after his arrival and into mid-table, but his tenure at the JobServe Community Stadium would prove to be a short one as he returned to Wycombe in February 2023, departing after winning nine, drawing five and losing 13 of his 27 games in charge.
The 40-year-old had the unenviable task of replacing long-serving Chairboys boss Gareth Ainsworth following his move to Queens Park Rangers, and it is fair to say it took time for Bloomfield to get his ideas across, but there were signs towards the end of last season that his side were starting to head in the right direction.
Wycombe lost their first two league games of this season against Wrexham and Birmingham City, but they have been on a remarkable run since then, winning nine and drawing two of their last 11 matches.
The Chairboys went top of the table with an emphatic 5-0 win over Stockport County at Edgeley Park on Tuesday night, and their dominant victory was particularly impressive considering that the Hatters had previously lost just twice in the league all season.
However, Wycombe now face the prospect of losing Bloomfield to Coventry, and while that would be devastating news for them, it would no doubt delight Birmingham and Wrexham.
After spending a reported total of around £24 million during the summer transfer window, including £15 million on Fulham striker Jay Stansfield, many tipped Birmingham to comfortably win the League One title this season.
When the Blues reached the top of the table in late September, few thought they would be knocked off that position at any stage during the rest of the season, but Chris Davies' men surprisingly dropped points on two occasions in October in their defeat at Charlton Athletic and draw at Mansfield Town, opening the door for Wycombe to hit the summit.
It should be said that Birmingham do have a game in hand on the Chairboys, but they would not have expected to be pushed so hard at the top by a side that were largely unfancied at the start of the campaign.
Wrexham made an excellent start to life in the third tier following their promotion from League Two last season, but a decline in form that has seen them win just three of their last eight league games has coincided with Wycombe's remarkable run, allowing Bloomfield's side to open up a four-point lead over the Red Dragons.
It is unfair to say that Bloomfield's departure would spell the end of the Chairboys' promotion push, and similarly gloomy predictions were made after Ainsworth's exit 18 months ago, but there is no doubt that losing the man who has inspired their rise up the table would be a huge blow.
Both Birmingham and Wrexham, and the likes of Mansfield, Lincoln City, Bolton Wanderers, Huddersfield Town and Barnsley, will be closely watching developments at Adams Park over the next few weeks, and they will be hoping that Coventry