Luton Town have announced Matt Bloomfield as the club’s new manager, with the 40-year-old moving from Wycombe Wanderers.
Bloomfield moves from the League One Chairboys to the Championship Hatters as a replacement for Rob Edwards, who left the club last week.
The move has seen Bloomfield sign a three-and-a-half year contract at Kenilworth Road, with his assistant manager Richard Thomas, first team coach Lee Harrison and senior analyst Ben Cirne also moving from Wycombe to Luton.
Bloomfield, who played for Wycombe for nearly 20 years and played over 550 games for, had taken Wycombe to second in the League One table following a strong start to the current season.
He had replaced Gareth Ainsworth in the Wycombe hot seat in February 2023 after his predecessor had left to take the job at QPR. Bloomfield’s prior experience before that had been 28 games in charge of Colchester United.
As Wycombe’s manager, Bloomfield won 52 out of 108 games in charge, having taken the Buckinghamshire club to a 10th place finish last season before a flying start to this campaign, which saw the Chairboys sit second in the third tier and saw Bloomfield win back-to-back Manager of the Month awards in October and November.
Bloomfield’s first game in charge will be against Preston North End at Kenilworth Road on Saturday.
Luton CEO Gary Sweet told the club’s official site that they were impressed by Bloomfield’s work, were delighted to bring him to the club and praised Wycombe for working with them to get the deal done.
Sweet said, “It is with great pleasure and excitement that we are able to announce Matt’s appointment on a long-term contract.
“Before anything else, I would like to thank Wycombe for their co-operation in ensuring a swift and smooth transition. It may be flattering to be on the receiving end, it’s never pleasant, but we have made sure that we’ve gone above and beyond to compensate Wycombe to secure his services, along with his trusted coaching team.
“Over the years in which we as a club have risen up the EFL, we encountered Matt at every step as a respected captain of his team, and together they have always shared our hunger and desire to improve and get to the next level.
“Since returning to Wycombe as manager we have been hugely impressed with his work in leading them back towards the top of League One, and especially in how they have done it in such an entertaining way, forging a reputation for front-footed attacking football.
“We identified Matt’s personal and team-building qualities as the outstanding candidate to fit in with the culture we have long established here at Luton Town, and I’m sure every supporter will join me in welcoming him, along with Richard, Lee and Ben to Kenilworth Road.”
Bloomfield himself said he was impressed by Luton’s board and felt honoured to be chosen as the new man at Kenilworth Road.
He said, “It’s a genuine honour and a privilege to be here, to be appointed as manager of this incredible club. I’m really, really proud. It’s been a busy few days, a very busy weekend but I’ve met the recruitment team, met Gary and spent some time with the board.
“The fact that they’re all Luton supporters and that they care so much about their football club shone through, and the fact that they had a real big desire for me to join our football club also shone through, so I’m incredibly proud and very, very happy to be here.
“That made me feel very comfortable and very wanted, which is huge for me. I want to work with people who care and fans who also care – and they certainly do here. I want to work with people who want the best for their football club, and that’s more than evident with Gary, the chairman and the board of directors.
“That feeling that they gave me and the feeling of being wanted, how much research they’ve done into me and the football team that we’ve produced at Colchester and Wycombe, and the knowledge base of what I stand for, who I am and what we’ve tried to produce in our football team left me in no uncertain times that this was the right move at the right time.”
A man from Suffolk has been jailed for a robbery in Milton Keynes following a police investigation.
Shaun Roadnight, 44, of Second Avenue, Sudbury, Suffolk, was sentenced to 15 years in prison at St Albans Crown Court on Thursday (9/1).
The sentencing came after a jury found Roadnight guilty by majority verdict of two counts each of robbery and false imprisonment, and one count each of Section 18 grievous bodily harm with intent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm following a three-day trial at the same court in September last year.
The incident happened at about 6.15pm on 11 April last year, when the victim, a woman in her thirties, returned to her home in Scotch Firs, Wavendon Gate, in her car, driving up to the closed gates and using her electronic fob to open them.
The victim drove through the gates and parked her car, but did not close the gates as she intended to take the family dog out for a walk.
As the victim stepped through the front door, an offender hit her from behind, causing her to fall onto her back and she saw a man dressed in black bearing down on her.
The victim immediately started to scream and another man instantly and forcefully put his hand over her mouth to stop her.
A man in his fifties was in the office upstairs and heard the screaming so came down the stairs but one of the men grabbed him and started beating him up.
Over the next hour and 45 minutes, the offenders tied both victims to a bed using cable ties, assaulted them, and sprayed the contents of a fire extinguisher over them.
The offenders also smashed a glass bottle over the male victim’s head, dragged them from room to room and down stairs, and asking them where the safe was.
At one point, the male victim saw one of the suspects take a black and gold watch from his bedside table.
The female victim eventually escaped the house and ran out of the front door to a neighbour, who called police.
When Thames Valley Police’s officers arrived, they saw Roadnight acting suspiciously in the grounds of the victim’s address but he then fled through a hole in the fence.
Officers chased Roadnight and found him after a member of the public told them they had seen him discarding some clothing in a bin on the estate.
Officers located Roadnight and arrested him. A search of his possessions found the watch stolen from victim’s house.
The male victim suffered a bleed to the left side of the front of his brain, three fractured ribs, swelling and bruising over his left eye socket and the left side of his face, bruising over both cheeks and upper jaw, and an abrasion to the right side of his upper back.
The female victim suffered bruising/reddening along her arms, legs and wrists where she was cable tied.
Roadnight was charged on 12 April last year.
Detective Constable Hazel Grant, of the Milton Keynes Priority Crime Team, said, “This was a nasty and vicious assault where the victims were subjected to a prolonged assault not knowing the capabilities of the offenders and whether they would survive the assault.
“The sentence Roadnight received is justified and reflects the gravity of his offences.
“While we did make other arrests in relation to this robbery, we have been unable to charge anyone else and bring the second offender to justice.
“Anyone with information that might help us to do that should call 101 or make a report on our website, quoting reference number 43240164210. It’s never too late to come forward.”
Brooklyn Ilunga has left MK Dons after signing for their fellow League Two side Bromley.
The left-sided player moves to the Ravens for an undisclosed fee, and he has signed a contract of undisclosed length with the side from South East London.
Ilunga made 22 first-team appearances with the Dons, six of which came this season, but the now-21-year-old was unable to get a consistent run of games with the side after making his debut as a teenager in 2021.
In his time at the Dons, he had loan spells with Royston Town, Hemel Hempstead Town and Wealdstone.
MK Dons’ Sporting Director Liam Sweeting told the club’s official website that they were proud of helping Ilunga’s development but that the time had come for a parting of the ways.
He said, “Brook has been around our First Team group for several seasons, training at a high level and providing competition across different positions.
“However, there comes a point where we have to assess whether we can provide the playing opportunities required to give Brook the best chance of establishing himself, and at this stage, all parties have agreed that Brook taking this opportunity makes sense all round.
“We are incredibly proud of Brook’s journey, not only graduating from our Academy and earning two professional contracts, but playing for the Club over 20 times and enjoying positive loan spells with Wealdstone in the National League.
“We wish Brook all the best as he takes on this new challenge and will be sure to follow his progress closely”.
The Parks Trust has announced the return of sheep to Campbell Park in Central Milton Keynes.
The flock of sheep at the site will enjoy grazing the large grass areas of the park, with the Parks Trust saying the sheep form a part of their farming operations. Grazing livestock are used by the trust as a sustainable and natural way to help manage the city’s landscapes.
Grazing sheep and cattle help to maintain wildlife habitats, creating better conditions for a variety of wildflowers which in turn attract many pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other insects as well as birds and larger animals.
The Parks Trust also said that livestock helps reduces the frequency of needing to use heavy machinery to mow the grass, which also requires removal of the cuttings. If the cut grass is not removed, the nutrients enrich the soil and promote strong grasses that outcompete the growth of wildflowers.
Head of Operations at The Parks Trust, Frank Gill, said, “using sheep to naturally manage some of the landscapes in Milton Keynes has a lot of benefits, and they’re a popular addition to the parks.”
Park users are advised to keep clear of the sheep and take particular care when travelling through grazing areas. Cyclists are advised to slow down, and dog owners are reminded to keep dog’s close, calm and on a short lead, keeping a distance from livestock where possible.
MK Dons have signed attacking midfielder Dan Crowley, who joins the club from their fellow League 2 outfit Notts County.
The 27-year-old moves for an undisclosed fee and has signed a contract of undisclosed length at Stadium MK. He becomes the Dons’ second signing of the January transfer window, after the capture of Jay Williams from Crawley announced last week.
The signing is a familiar face for Dons’ fans, with Crowley having scored one and set up another when Notts County played MK Dons on Boxing Day.
Crowley had joined Notts County from Morecambe in 2023, making 69 appearances for the Magpies. So far this season, he had scored 4 goals and taken an assist for seven more strikes.
Before joining Morecambe, Crowley had spent time in the Aston Villa and Arsenal academies before having spells with Dutch side Willem II, Birmingham City, Cheltenham and a second spell with Willem II, along with loan spells at Barnsley, Oxford, Go Ahead Eagles, SC Cambuur and Hull City.
Crowley told the official MK Dons website of his delight to make the move. He said, “Speaking with the Chairman and the Gaffer, it was something I didn’t want to miss out on, it’s an exciting project and I really believe in what we’re trying to do here. I think we can get to the top, and I’m just really grateful!”
MK Dons’ Head Coach Scott Lindsey said he felt Crowley would be a high quality addition to his squad.
He said, “Dan’s quality at this level is very clear. He’s a wonderful footballer with a great work ethic and fantastic ability on the ball. For us, it’ll be about integrating him into the environment as quickly as possible to get the best out of him. I’m excited to see him link up with the other players and show what he can do.”
