On Saturday, Oxford United made a surprise decision to part company with head coach, Matt Bloomfield.
While it remains unclear the intent behind the call, or even who made it, the club need to find a suitable replacement ahead of life back in League One.
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Oxford United Turn the Page: How the Matt Bloomfield Dismissal Shapes the Season Ahead
Behind the Scenes Changes
Oxford were heading into the new season with some uncertainty but that has developed further following the departure of the head coach.
Dusan Bogdanovic replaced Grant Ferguson as chairman, while head of recruitment Scott Mitchell, who worked with Bloomfield at Wycombe, left to join Leyton Orient.
There have even been murmurs that Bloomfield’s assistant, Mike Dodds, could return alongside Tony Mowbray at Blackburn, with the duo having previously worked together at Sunderland.
With all that in mind, the dismissal of Bloomfield comes as both a surprise and somewhat expected. It appears that Bogdanovic, who himself is a former football agent, is looking to make an immediate standpoint on the club and will look to bring in his own man at the helm.
While that may be the case, the timing is odd. Bogdanovic replaced Ferguson back in May and communication has been minimal. The U’s are about to begin pre season so to relieve Bloomfield of his duties this close to their trip seems irresponsible, when it could have been done at the end of last season following relegation.
New Season Chances
Having suffered relegation from the Championship, Oxford were seen as one of the favourites to make an immediate return to the second tier. But now, those uncertainties may have had a significant impact on their chances.
Backroom staff has been depleted and the club are yet to make any signings, despite the window being open since June 15.
Of course, there have been rumours but, at the time of writing, there are no new faces through the door at Grenoble Road.
If the club want to secure promotion, building a capable squad should have been the priority but that becomes even more difficult without a man in charge.
Transfer targets could easily be put off by a move without knowing the tactics and philosophy of a head coach and that is another issue that the U’s face.
Strategic Move or Panic Reaction?
Back to Bloomfield and we ask this question. You would have to assume that it is strategic move given those backroom changes but as mentioned, the timing seems odd.
You would hope and suspect that given how close to pre season we are, the board would have a man lined up. The question is who?
Dave Challinor was the initial favourite to take the role but news spread quickly yesterday suggesting that former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey was set to take his first steps into full-time management.
Given his lack of experience as a head coach, it could be a gamble but the new board will be hopeful that it pays off.
Featured image courtesy of IMAGO / Focus Images
