Former Sunderland favourite Mike Dodds has struggled to win over the favour of Wycombe Wanderers fans since joining the Chairboys.
Taking over in the summer of 2024, new boss Regis Le Bris decided to keep Mide Dodds in his role as assistant coach.
It was clear that the Englishman had such an effect on the Sunderland side, especially with the younger players. Dodds has had a major impact on Jobe Bellingham’s development as a player, whilst also helping Chris Rigg’s decision to stay at Sunderland.
Unfortunately for Sunderland, Dodds decided to take up a head coach role at Wycombe Wanderers, a high-flying League One side that had just lost their boss Matt Bloomfield to Championship strugglers Luton Town.
The results have been a mixed bag for the former Sunderland man so far, it seemed as though Dodds had steadied the ship at Wycombe, but their recent result, a 1-1 away draw against Peterborough, has left some fans asking questions of him.
Wycombe Wanderers fans ask questions over former Sunderland man Mike Dodds
Since moving on from Sunderland, it has been a difficult task for Dodds to keep Wycombe Wanderers at the same levels they were hitting with Bloomfield, but they do still sit 2nd in the table, level on points with Wrexham in 3rd.
Nonetheless, some Wycombe fans weren’t too pleased with their new coach after their 1-1 away draw against a side currently sat 19th in the league.
One Wycombe fan that somewhat sympathised with Dodds after the draw said that the ‘only criticism I have with Dodds is his squad selection, tactically he is improving nearly every week, today I can admit was poor overall but I feel that’s more on the players than the manager.’
However, that Wycombe fan was outnumbered, with one suggesting ‘it felt like he didn’t really have a clue what to do today’, and ‘Dodds’ tactical decisions make zero sense. His team selection less so, and his game management awful’.
On X, Wycombe DJ also showed a fairly negative response to Dodds’ management, to which he said: “I’m not losing patience with Dodds yet, but I do struggle with some of his decision making, especially with the squad.”
Did Mike Dodds jump into first team management too soon
There is no doubting Dodds’ abilities when it comes to player-management and the influence he can have on the younger players’ development, but you have to think whether jumping head first into a head coach role halfway into a season was the best way to go about things.
Joining Wycombe when they were on such a high will automatically come with pressure for the former Sunderland man, who will constantly be compared to the previously successful Bloomfield, who had them pushing for promotion in the first place.
In the interest of all parties, many Sunderland fans hope that Dodds can translate his skills into being a top head coach in his career, but such a role was always set to come with challenges for him.