Maybe we can give Phil death threats. It seemed to have done Reading fans no harm, they got another one of our assets
All the best @bluntphil, what an amazing journey we’ve been on with you.
From 3 Counties Radio days to landing your dream job under the Couhigs and I’m sure much more before.
I hope you’ll still do some independent Ringing the Blues!
I’ll certainly miss seeing and hearing you around the grounds, always positive, upbeat and a smile on your face. You had time for everyone and will be sorely missed.
All the best for the future and whatever that brings.
Just wanted to say a huge thank you to Phil.
From being stood right by me when he announced we were staying up at Torquay to the fantastic job he did in bringing to life pandemic football, think he has enhanced everything that has happened on the pitch over his years of involvement.
Think he is a great commentator, and love the way he combines insight with humour, a recent memory being Rotherham away with Bez!
Wish him nothing but the best for the future, he comes across as a great person.
This is really sad news. It was great to have somebody as warm, knowledgeable, committed and funny as Phil in the role.
The club have an impossible task filling the void Phil will leave.
A committed and true supporter, fantastic commentator, brilliant content creator, and most importantly a great person, who I’ve been fortunate enough to have befriended through the Gasroom (he might deny the last part!)
I hope the club realise that the reason Phil was so popular is because he’s genuine and authentic in his coverage and love of the club. Wycombe fans don’t want generic, bland, corporate comms and content.
I think some do. Less personality, more stats. And talk of ‘the shed end’.
Personally, I’ve just cancelled my monthly payment for the website and commentary. I can always start it up again if and when the club stirs its stumps and lets us know how it’s planning to deliver content that’s anywhere near the class that Phil delivered.
The thread should really be about Phil and his excellent contribution rather than rehashing old arguments but it’s difficult to look past this suggestion and see so many key characters depart. I haven’t seen what some have regarding anything to do with Reading but at the same time Phil has been involved long enough to get an official send off rather than announcing himself that he’s leaving via Facebook.
Much like last season’s three centre backs who have now all gone all those that leave have different motivation and are at different stages of journeys and career paths but a little more time and effort invested in relationships and trying to make the club an attractive place to be will be needed. It really isn’t long ago that we had iconic players the opposition fans wanted to see, managers who had been here decades, players who rejoined a second, third and fourth time and those we could never have afforded at full price who wanted to be here.
We might be flush now for a bit but longer term you need these guys for it to have any meaning, and once you lose all the goodwill and get a reputation for being arses that will make everything more difficult and expensive and be a real problem.
I hesitate to post this but I do think some of these posts are getting a little OTT. You have to separate the man and the job. Clearly Phil is a very passionate fan whose knowledge and jolly persona touched a chord with many supporters - and I’m sure he’ll be very gratified to read the tributes on here. But irreplaceable? Was Alan Hutchinson irreplaceable? Alan Parry? Bill Turnbull was an incredibly sad loss but did anyone stop listening to commentaries after he passed on? Do people now switch off when it’s Sam Avery on commentary duties (different style but just as good in my book - the Barry Davies to Phil’s John Motson)? I never listened to the podcast or watched the interviews on the site so maybe I’m missing something significant in Phil’s contribution but people move on in their careers - if he’s been poached by Reading in a big money transfer then good luck to him but others will fill the job and may, in turn, have a different style and new ideas that prove just as appealing to the supporter base.
I quite like Dodds calling it the shed end. Clearly it’s just the colloquial term for a similar terrace at a club he used to watch games at elsewhere.
Come on @aloysius I don’t think you hesitated really, did you?
bluntphil has given the post a thumbs up so it looks like aloysius called it as he saw it.
You can’t blame Phil if he’s had a better offer. He’s got a young family to think about & I expect it was a very difficult decision to leave. I’m sure he’ll keep in touch but not for 2/46 games next season.
Thanks @bluntphil for all the commentaries and trying to find out why we had white and blue checked nets for me… You are a club legend and I wish you all the best in your future endeavours, wherever they may be.
…and remember, once a Chairboy, always a Chairboy. COYB!
Same here, @last_quarter. From my own selfish point of view (because of personal circumstances), it’s the absence of that aspect of Phil’s involvement with the club that will hurt most.
Excellent post. My thoughts exactly @thedancingyak .
Phil is a true blue. One of us. So imagine we will see him at AP soon.
I wonder how similar my story is to others - I stopped regularly attending games twenty years ago when I finished school and left HW. It was Phil who pulled me back in. Terrific commentary and interviews. Reconnecting me with the club. Making players relatable. Creating the fans’ narrative. Adding depth and dimension behind the scenes that we now take for granted. Not only ‘communicating’ club culture- my hunch is that his personality helped drive it. A thoroughly likeable, engaging and passionate chap oozing positive energy. Wishing Phil the very best with future professional endeavours
All the best Phil, you’ve been tremendous for Wycombe Wanderers over the years. Very sad to see you go but wishing you all the luck for the future!
We were lucky to have Phil doing that job. “One of us” and an exceptional broadcaster.
Hopefully somewhere out these is someone else who loves Wycombe as much and has a flair for communication who will land their dream job in the next month or so.
Am I being dense, but how did you cancel? Just cancel your scheduled payments?
I’m not saying I am going to cancel forever, but I was inclined to let the subscription roll through the summer as Phil’s content would have been enough as and when it came, but the value for money through the off season has dropped significantly for me with him leaving.
Big boots to Phil (see what I did there?) and whoever does will determine how I consume my WWFC media moving forward.
I’ve intermittently looked to see how and what Alicia Povey has gone onto since she and Phil were excellent match day pairing - she’s now Womens football media manager at FIFA by the looks of her Linkdin.
I wish Phil ALL the success in the future. I have my suspicions, as many do, it will be at Reading next. But I hope one day to see him at the very top of the industry