GOOD, BAD & UGLY
Matt Bloomfield guides us through his career highs and lows
AT A time when players tend to move around regularly, Matt Bloomfield has been a constant at Wycombe Wanderers.
After just one appearance for his boyhood favourites Ipswich, the midfielder joined the Chairboys in late 2003 – and has stayed through thick and thin ever since.
He’s just made his 500th career appearance and, at 35, is starting to plan for the future. Here, the Wycombe stalwart tells us about the joy of promotion last season, the pain of penalty shoot-out defeat at Wembley, taking on Chelsea’s superstars and sending a referee’s teeth flying…
FIRST CLUB:
Ipswich – I joined at 12 and left at 19. They scouted me playing for my local team near Felixstowe. I got into the academy, or school of excellence as it was at the time, and absolutely loved my time there. It was my local club and I supported them as a boy.
I only played one first team game, but for any football supporter to play for your own team is the ultimate – I’m very proud of it. It was a League Cup game against Notts County in 2003 and I came on as sub after about half an hour. I felt I did alright, but we got beaten 2-1 and were a Championship team playing against League One opposition, so it wasn’t a good result for the club.
I suffered with a few injuries and the best thing was to move on to get first-team football. It didn’t feel great at the time, but it was the making of my career.
BEST MANAGER:
(Laughs) I have to say (current Wycombe boss) Gareth Ainsworth, don’t I? The gaffer here has gone from being my room-mate and team-mate to being my manager and mentor. I look up to him, admire him and respect him. It’s been incredible what he’s done for Wycombe Wanderers and for me personally. He’s grown as a manager and grabbed his opportunity by the scruff of the neck. I’ve also got to say that I loved my two years playing at Wycombe under Paul Lambert. We got to the semi-final of the League Cup and should have gone on to achieve more than we did. The changing room was full of lads I’m still in touch with now, which is always a good sign. He’s gone on to achieve great things and is now manager at Ipswich, my team.
BEST TEAM-MATE:
I’ve played with some great players over the years so it’s a difficult one, but my first instinct is to say Russell Martin. He came in as a trialist, earned a contract and achieved amazing things. He played in the Premier League (with Norwich) and internationally (with Scotland) and we are still in contact virtually every day now. I admire and respect him, and he’s played in places many of us can only dream of.
FIRST PROMOTION:
That was under Peter Taylor at Wycombe in 2008-09. Paul Lambert left and I did my cruciate ligaments and was out for almost a year. Peter came in and rebuilt the team. He has an incredible record of getting teams promoted. He made us organised and we knew how to win games. We were strong defensively and he brought in some good players. It was a brilliant time.
I had joined in League One and we’d got relegated. That was pretty much expected at the time and I knew we’d have to rebuild, but I didn’t think it would take so long to get back into League One and get that first promotion.
FUNNIEST PLAYER:
Stefan Oakes, who played for the likes of Leicester and Notts County and had a good career. It was during the time when John Gorman and Paul Lambert were in charge and we had a lively dressing room. He was popular and had us in stitches – he’s the one that stands out. He was always doing something, winding someone up.
FUNNIEST INCIDENT:
It’s kind of funny looking back, though it wasn’t for the referee – I accidentally knocked some of his teeth out. We were playing Leyton Orient away and our goalkeeper has caught the ball and prepared to kick it upfield. I’ve gone to turn round and the referee was right there – and I’ve crashed into him. He had to go off and there was blood everywhere. The Orient youth team were out looking for his teeth on the pitch afterwards! It wasn’t funny for the ref, but it was one of those where you later thought ‘did that really happen?’.
BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT:
It was probably last season’s promotion. In terms of budget, we were probably about two-thirds of the way down, so that gives you an indication of how big an achievement it was. We nearly fell out of the League in 2014, we lost at Wembley 12 months later in the play-off final and three years later we got promoted out of League Two. It was the culmination of the journey that made it so special. I had been part of the whole journey and we had really achieved something. The gaffer rebuilt the club and the squad, everything changed, and it felt like we had been driving towards it for four or five years. There was a lot of satisfaction. It was an amazing feeling and it helped that we got promoted at Chesterfield. We were in a good position, but thought it would go to the last day. When we went up that day, it meant we had a great week. We had a home game against Stevenage on the final day and we had our families on the pitch. There was a real party atmosphere and it was the only game in my career it didn’t matter if we won or not. We won 1-0 and I scored – it couldn’t have gone any better.
LOWEST MOMENT:
Losing the play-off final and missing a penalty in the shoot-out against Southend in 2015. We had achieved so much and got 84 points – usually that wins you promotion.
We beat Plymouth to reach Wembley, but then conceded in the last minute of extra-time against Southend and lost on pens. It was devastating and the lads were absolutely gutted. It was a really tough summer. There are
highs and lows in football, and that was a very low low. Thankfully, I had just had my first little girl and that was the perfect antidote.
TOUGHEST PLACE TO GO:
I’m going to have to say Huddersfield. We went there, the game was on the telly and we got beat six-nil in League One in November 2009. They had players like Jordan Rhodes, Gary Roberts, Lee Novak and Anthony Pilkington. There must have been something about Huddersfield – a few years later they beat us 6-0 at Adams Park and Jordan Rhodes scored five. I knew Jordan from when he was a young lad at Ipswich - every time I play against him he seems to score a hat-trick!
TOUGHEST OPPONENT:
In those Chelsea games in the League Cup semi-finals in 2007, they had midfielders like Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele. I think Makelele had eyes in the back of his head.
In League Two, you would expect to tackle an opponent, but he would flick it around you and go the other way. I would have been around 23 and had aspirations to play higher. That showed me when you come up against these top sides just what it takes.
FAVOURITE PLACE TO GO:
After winning promotion there last season, I’m going to say Chesterfield. I look forward to going back there one day. Another would be Colchester – it’s 20 minutes from home and it’s always nice to have family and friends watching you.
AMBITION:
I did a journalism degree at Staffordshire University and I enjoy writing and talking about the game, but I’m doing my coaching badges now. I’m hoping to complete my A Licence by the summer. Coaching and managing is something that really interests me.
I love football and it’s what I’ve known since I left school. Whether it’s youth development or first team, I’m not sure. I’m doing some coaching with Ipswich’s U15s at the moment and, who knows, maybe at Wycombe one day. I want to stay in the game in some capacity.