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‘Game changer’ Kazakhstan billionaire bought EFL club and challenged Wrexham and Birmingham
League One has been about more than just Birmingham and Wrexham this season – there’s one team that has been a major disruptor at the top of the third tier. That’s because Wycombe are one game away from reaching the League One playoff final, having been bought by Kazakhstan billionaire Mikheil Lomtadze last summer. Lomtadze is worth nearly $6bnAFP His net worth, according to Forbes, is $5.8billion and that makes him the 592nd richest person in the world right now. An article with PwC described Lomtadze as a ‘game changer’ and Wycombe fans can be assured that he is living up to that moniker. Having been owned by American businessman Rob Couhig since 2020, 90 per cent of the club was sold to Lomtadze’s Blue Ocean Partners Ltd and he made his intentions clear from the start. “Our goal is to achieve long-term success both on and off the pitch whilst building a financially sustainable club”, said Lomtadze. “The football world is evolving very fast and our priority will be to integrate data analytics and technology to elevate the club’s performance to new levels. “I am also a strong believer in youth development and it will be fundamental to the club’s vision. We aim to re-open and build a leading high-performance academy which will become an essential part of our long-term strategy of developing a club that consistently performs at the top level.” Wycombe finished 10th in League One last season and it was always going to be an uphill battle to get out of a tough division. Lomtadze’s billions come up against the riches of Wrexham, backed by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and recently relegated Birmingham, who spent around £25m last summer and smashed the league transfer record multiple times. Then you also have several former Premier League clubs, like Charlton, Reading and Wigan, who are all trying to escape the third tier. Wrexham and Birmingham have already clinched promotion having finished in the top two. It’s an exciting time to be a Wycombe fanGetty Dodds took over from Bloomfield and has Wycombe two games shy of the ChampionshipGetty And now the Chairboys are agonisingly close to joining them as they travel to The Valley for the second leg of their League One play-off semi-final against Charlton Athletic. Wycombe began the season with Matt Bloomfield, a man who knew the club inside out, at the helm. He played more than 500 times for them and went on to become a hugely promising young coach. Bloomfield got them firing, but saw Luton in the Championship come calling and he departed in January. While many thought they might drop off the pace, they kept up the pace thanks to the appointment of Mike Dodds. Dodds arrived as a highly-rated coach who helped oversee the development of Jude Bellingham at Birmingham. “My responsibility now is to continue all the fantastic work that’s happened previously,” Dodds told BBC Three Counties Radio. Dodds got his first win as Wycombe boss against Bristol RoversGetty “We’ll give it our best shot, we’ll need a little bit of luck at times, we’ll need results elsewhere to go our way at times but they’ve given themselves an unbelievable opportunity.” The 38-year-old added: “I’ve always said I wanted to be a head coach. Did I think it would come this early? Probably not, if I’m being frank and honest. “I do think the interim role and being permanent is very different. It’s like being a supply teacher (as interim boss), the kids know you’re not the real teacher, that’s the easiest context I can give it. “Being a head coach, you live and die by your decisions and when you’re an interim head coach, you’re always thinking ‘can I do this?’ and ‘I shouldn’t really do that’ because of the next person coming in.” Dodds got his Wycombe stint off to the perfect start with a 2-0 victory over Bristol Rovers and eventually secured a third-place finish in the league. He now has the chance to write himself into club folklore should he steer the club past Charlton and into the play-off final, where they will play Leyton Orient. Wycombe and Charlton played out a scoreless draw in the first leg, meaning there’s everything to play for at The Valley. As for the O’s, they booked their spot at Wembley after they overcame Stockport County in a dramatic penalty shootout on Wednesday. Richie Wellens’ side secured a 1-1 draw in the second leg after a 2-2 draw in the first leg, with neither side able to be separated in extra-time. However, Orient dominated the shootout 4-1 to progress to the League One play-off final. Fans can tune in to all the action from the second leg between Wycombe and Charlton live on talkSPORT 2.
League One has been about more than just Birmingham and Wrexham this season – there’s one team that has been a major disruptor at the top of the third tier.
That’s because Wycombe are one game away from reaching the League One playoff final, having been bought by Kazakhstan billionaire Mikheil Lomtadze last summer.
His net worth, according to Forbes, is $5.8billion and that makes him the 592nd richest person in the world right now.
An article with PwC described Lomtadze as a ‘game changer’ and Wycombe fans can be assured that he is living up to that moniker.
Having been owned by American businessman Rob Couhig since 2020, 90 per cent of the club was sold to Lomtadze’s Blue Ocean Partners Ltd and he made his intentions clear from the start.
“Our goal is to achieve long-term success both on and off the pitch whilst building a financially sustainable club”, said Lomtadze.
“The football world is evolving very fast and our priority will be to integrate data analytics and technology to elevate the club’s performance to new levels.
“I am also a strong believer in youth development and it will be fundamental to the club’s vision. We aim to re-open and build a leading high-performance academy which will become an essential part of our long-term strategy of developing a club that consistently performs at the top level.”
Wycombe finished 10th in League One last season and it was always going to be an uphill battle to get out of a tough division.
Lomtadze’s billions come up against the riches of Wrexham, backed by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and recently relegated Birmingham, who spent around £25m last summer and smashed the league transfer record multiple times.
Then you also have several former Premier League clubs, like Charlton, Reading and Wigan, who are all trying to escape the third tier.
Wrexham and Birmingham have already clinched promotion having finished in the top two.
And now the Chairboys are agonisingly close to joining them as they travel to The Valley for the second leg of their League One play-off semi-final against Charlton Athletic.
Wycombe began the season with Matt Bloomfield, a man who knew the club inside out, at the helm.
He played more than 500 times for them and went on to become a hugely promising young coach.
Bloomfield got them firing, but saw Luton in the Championship come calling and he departed in January.
While many thought they might drop off the pace, they kept up the pace thanks to the appointment of Mike Dodds.
Dodds arrived as a highly-rated coach who helped oversee the development of Jude Bellingham at Birmingham.
“My responsibility now is to continue all the fantastic work that’s happened previously,” Dodds told BBC Three Counties Radio.
“We’ll give it our best shot, we’ll need a little bit of luck at times, we’ll need results elsewhere to go our way at times but they’ve given themselves an unbelievable opportunity.”
The 38-year-old added: “I’ve always said I wanted to be a head coach. Did I think it would come this early? Probably not, if I’m being frank and honest.
“I do think the interim role and being permanent is very different. It’s like being a supply teacher (as interim boss), the kids know you’re not the real teacher, that’s the easiest context I can give it.
“Being a head coach, you live and die by your decisions and when you’re an interim head coach, you’re always thinking ‘can I do this?’ and ‘I shouldn’t really do that’ because of the next person coming in.”
Dodds got his Wycombe stint off to the perfect start with a 2-0 victory over Bristol Rovers and eventually secured a third-place finish in the league.
He now has the chance to write himself into club folklore should he steer the club past Charlton and into the play-off final, where they will play Leyton Orient.
Wycombe and Charlton played out a scoreless draw in the first leg, meaning there’s everything to play for at The Valley.
As for the O’s, they booked their spot at Wembley after they overcame Stockport County in a dramatic penalty shootout on Wednesday.
Richie Wellens’ side secured a 1-1 draw in the second leg after a 2-2 draw in the first leg, with neither side able to be separated in extra-time.
However, Orient dominated the shootout 4-1 to progress to the League One play-off final.
Fans can tune in to all the action from the second leg between Wycombe and Charlton live on talkSPORT 2.
