Wycombe Wanderers Poised for Memorable 2011

Wycombe Wanderers ushered in 2011 with a New Year's Day victory against Cheltenham Town. The Blues recorded a 2-1 win courtesy of two stunning goals from Stuart Beavon and Gareth Ainsworth. The result has propelled the Blues to third position in the npower League Two table.

In the past, much has been made of the significance of the number '1' in relation to the previous successes of Tottenham Hotspur, notably their last League title win in 1961 and FA Cup triumph in 1991.

A 2001 FA Cup semi-final defeat to arch-rivals Arsenal poured scorn on this erroneous piece of football nostalgia, even if there was some solace in the Gunner's defeat to Liverpool at the crucial juncture of the competition.

If Wycombe were to apply the same superstition, they can justly use their own statistics to make a case for a successful 2011 as they pursue promotion to League One.

After all, the Blues like Spurs were a 2001 FA Cup semi-finalist whilst only a Division Two side. Ten years prior to that historic occasion, Wycombe enjoyed FA Trophy success defeating Kidderminster Harriers in the 1991 final.

Delving further still into the annals of Wanderers history, there was an FA Amateur Cup triumph in 1931. In addition, a poignant reminder of the significance of the digit in relation to past success and the current stadium debate ruckus, is that former Wanderer and Loakes Park benefactor Frank Adams joined the club as a player in 1911.

The upcoming year could be memorable for a variety of reasons, good and bad. Wycombe District Council are expected to announce the outcome of their consultation with residents regarding proposals to build Wycombe Wanderers and tenants London Wasps rugby club a new stadium in the Booker area of High Wycombe. The results of the consultation are expected to be delivered in January.

Thus far, no concrete details have been released by the football club with regards to how the stadium plan would specifically benefit the Wanderers.

A potential promotion could propel the club a step closer to the promised land of the npower Championship. Those more cynical than myself may argue that achieving this feat would have questionable benefits, especially after the false dawn following Wycombe's last promotion and quick-fire relegation in 2010.

Some may take a dim view of having the chance to be the next Scunthorpe United or being able to replicate the feats of clubs like Bury, Stockport County and Grimsby Town. The latter three grimly clung onto their second tier status during the late nineties and early noughties before succumbing to their inevitable slide down the leagues.

Was the last game against Cheltenham a vintage performance to kick-off a year of achievement? It was certainly a win to savour over a bogey team, Wycombe's first in nine Football League encounters with the Robins.

By all accounts, the team awoke from their initial slumber to break with purpose and although there were elements of fortune, the Blues had chances themselves to secure the three points by a greater margin.

The rivalry of sorts with Cheltenham is a peculiar one, online animosity stoked by tedious banter and fanned by the tangible bitterness of Wycombe's 2006 play-off semi-final defeat. The Blues had battered Cheltenham in the return leg before bowing out on aggregate (2-1) after a very one-sided 0-0 draw in Gloucestershire where Wycombe did everything but score.

There are certainly valid reasons for Wycombe fans to be cheerful heading into the new year:

1. We are sexy. At least in a footballing sense. We have a midfield capable of industry and creativity and strikers scoring goals after a slow start to the season for the forward line. That we possess a defence that can sometimes resemble an articulated lorry trying desperately to turn quickly enough to avoid a South Ruislip bridge strike only adds more excitement for Blues fans and neutrals alike.

2. We are managed by an ambitious man of principle and integrity. Wycombe manager Gary Waddock wants the club to progress and to do so playing football the right way. This involves a ball predominantly zipping across the turf rather than the turgid hoofball of c.2002-2003 and other fitful periods of the last decade.

Despite the additional pressure from the men in suits to achieve promotion at all costs, our Gaz has largely managed to keep his focus on the team rather than Brand WWFC with exciting additions such as midfielder Scott Donnelly on a loan deal from Swansea City.

3. Wycombe fans of the world, unite!

You are more likely to see Wycombe fans delivering cutting online insults to one another or cursory glances across the Vere Suite as opposed to a mass conga snaking its way through the Frank Adams stand.

That said, a vociferous number are in agreement in their opposition to sketchy plans to move the club to a new stadium in Booker. Although the proximate cause is unpleasant, the unifying effect of the opposition, epitomised by the 'Black and White' movement, is refreshing.

There have been moments where results and performances have triggered murmurs of dissatisfaction. Defeat to Macclesfield Town at home was cause for concern, swiftly erased by a six match unbeaten run that included a welcome win against rivals Colchester United.

Torquay United's classy 3-1 victory at Adams Park had some questioning how good or otherwise this Wycombe team is compared to some of its promotion rivals.

Defeating Rotherham United, who now top the table, besides victories against fellow promotion hopefuls Bury and Cheltenham in recent weeks, are enough to dispel any accusations that the Blues are incapable of beating the top sides in the division.

Depending on your standpoint, this year is going to be memorable, for good or for ill. Not everyone is opposed to the construction of a new stadium. It is a lingering shiny promise representative of investment in the club and the wider community and has been proposed through worthy enough soundbites.

Their content though fails to answer pertinent qustions as to where exactly there is a need for a larger stadium to suit Wycombe Wanderers Football Club. How will it financially benefit WWFC and what plan, if any, exists to reverse the effects of years of debt accumulation?

As When Saturday Comes writer Paul Lewis noted in 2005, "How a club previously known to be financially stable had amassed debts of more than £2 million by 2003 was never made clear, especially given that players’ wages were always kept as less than 40 per cent of total turnover and that rugby tenants London Wasps have paid £300,000 a year since moving to Wycombe in 2002."

Six years later and these debts have increased to circa £6 million with no transparent plans to stem annual losses of around £1 million.

Let the mocking words of those in power not unduly disparage the genuine concerns of those who remain the lifeblood of an institution supported and maintained by their loyal devotion. Here is to a year to remember, for all the right reasons.