And then there were four...

Two weeks, two successive recoveries from two goal deficits and Wycombe Wanderers continue to desperately cling to the one remaining automatic promotion place in npower League Two.

Arguably, the Blues' ability to rescue themselves from seemingly hopeless positions displays encouraging resolve however the trite obviousness of the necessity to claim as many of the twelve remaining points available, beginning with the Good Friday trip to promotion rivals Torquay United, is apparent.

Whilst Wycombe have remained defiant in their quest to secure a quick-fire return to League One, familar signs of the end of season implosions that have featured throughout the past decade raise tangible fears of anti-climatic misfortune.

In evaluating the final four fixtures of the season, Arm Chairs & Deck Chairs reflects on a few of the comparable run-ins from recent years where success and failure at the telling denouement have manifested themselves in differing ways.

1998/1999: (Notts County, Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Lincoln City)

The merits and subsequent deteoriation of Lawrie Sanchez's tenure as Wycombe manager have been much discussed recently following comments made by attendees at a club dinner to commemorate the heroic FA Cup run that culminated in the semi-final against Liverpool.

Sanchez's personal skills may have been scrutinised as the team he inherited and built upon became stale at the turn of the new century however most Wycombe Wanderers historians now seem to prefer the revisionist approach to assessing the Northern Irishman's time at the helm.

Hired to replace Neil Smillie during the 1998/1999 campaign, Sanchez's Wycombe adventure began with one of its finest hours as he helped to save the club from
relegation to the former 'Division Three'.

With only two defeats in the final eleven games of the season, one of those a dispiriting 1-0 reverse at Meadow Lane to Notts County, the Wanderers embarked upon the 'Great Escape' and they would enjoy another five seasons in the third tier of English football before falling down the ladder in 2004.

Losing in Nottingham meant that defeating Blackpool at Adams Park appeared even more imperative. One of Sanchez's most astute purchases was striker Sean Devine, who had initially joined on-loan from Barnet. He netted his seventh goal since his arrival a few months previously as Wycombe twice took the lead before the visitors claimed a point, meaning that the Chairboy's fate was no longer in their own hands.

Contained within similar tales of triumph over adversity, there are quirks of fate that aid the victorious party. It was perhaps fortunate that when Wigan Athletic made the long trip south to Buckinghamshire for the penultimate game of the season, they had played six games in two weeks in their own pursuit of glory, namely achieving play-off qualification.

As the visitors threatened to extinguish Wycombe's survival hopes with a Simon Hawarth opener, two heroes of the battle to beat the drop combined to ensure that the Chairboys could at least attempt to look forward to the pivotal trip to Sincil Bank to meet Lincoln City for a relegation decider as the Latics tired.

A Sean Devine effort and a first Wycombe goal for striker Paul Emblen, a £60,000 signing from Charlton Athletic, completed the home side's comeback.

Merely three days later, 2,643 Blues fans travelled north to witness the ushering in of a new era of hope following a period of stagnation post-Martin O'Neill.

The aforementioned Emblen sent a looping header into the top of the Lincoln net with just seven minutes left to send the Blue hoardes wild with delight. The 1-0 victory completed an incredible final four games for Wycombe, a microcosm of a season full of emotions encapsulated by defeat and just enough success to stay above the condemned.

2002/2003: (Cheltenham Town, Port Vale, Colchester United, Plymouth Argyle)

If the culmination to the 1998/99 season represented the re-birth of Wycombe's Football League ambitions then the manner in which the 2002/2003 campaign crawled to a disappointing finale surely achieved the opposite.

It has been described as 'one of the worst seasons' in living memory, a turgid campaign characterised by a lack of fluidity in Wycombe's play and an outmoded focus on strength over technical ability. The winds of change that were sweeping through the club as Lawrie Sanchez approached his personal endgame are perfectly evinced by this quartet of harrowing encounters.

In the dewey-eyed haze of the FA Cup run, Wycombe had made a credible charge for the play-offs during the first-half of the 2001/2002 season however a traumatic 4-1 home defeat to Blackpool on a drizzly Tuesday night put paid to any legitimate hopes of promotion.

That evening is widely regarded as a watershed moment in Wycombe's recent history and that of Sanchez's reign.

Where Wycombe had previously dispatched of most visitors to Adams Park, the fortress was now far less impregnable. Memorable scalps of the 'giants' of the division were replaced by ignominous defeats where the strength of the squad was questioned.

Although still full of endeavour, the notable victories of the previous season, such as those over Stoke City and Wigan Athletic, were replaced by a 4-0 hammering against a rampant Cardiff City side and even a disastrous 4-1 collapse at home to Stockport County having taken a 1-0 lead in the 65th minute.

A 1-1 draw against Cheltenham Town at Adams Park, who would eventually fall to the Football League's basement division, effectively secured Wycombe's place amongst the twenty-four sides in Division Two for at least another year.

The depressing nature of the contest lives long in the memory. The Gloucestershire side deservedly equalised one minute from time through the diminutive journeyman, Tony Naylor, to cancel out Steve Brown's opener from the penalty spot.

This encounter was a 90-minute summation of the ineffective, dreary percentage football that the Blues had resorted to. Although Cheltenham's attempts to avoid relegation were ultimately in vain, they travelled to Buckinghamshire full of purpose and were it not for the woeful finishing of Damien Spencer and Kayode Odejayi in front of a disbelieving Valley End, they could have emerged comfortable victors.

The erstwhile squad were fading with left-back Chris Vinnicombe in particular, often regarded as the team's 'Mr Consistent', suffering at the feet of Port Vale on the Easter Monday.

The Blues earned a point from Vale Park courtesy of a headed goal from maligned striker, Richard Harris, whose ability to dispatch rocket-like long-throws into the opposition penalty area became symbolic with the team's desperate malaise.

If the Chairboys faithful were hoping for some end of season cheer at home to old rivals, Colchester United, there was more disappointment.

The U's could have left with more than just one point following a drab 0-0 draw however Kemal Izzet's header smacked back off the crossbar. Wycombe could only fire tame efforts towards the Essex side's goal as the season continued to peter out.

By the time Wycombe meekly finished the 46th league game of a forgettable season with defeat to Plymouth Argyle, most were past caring.


2008/2009: (Aldershot Town, Luton Town, Port Vale, Notts County)

As divided as opinion remains on the 'wow factor' of only the second Football League promotion that the Wanderers have achieved, it's worth mentioning that Taylor's charges only lost once in the final four games of this particular season.

It could be argued that the opposition in question had less to play for than those in upcoming fixtures, however Taylor's Blues did just about enough to win a place in League One despite a last-day setback.

Current Wanderers incumbent Gary Waddock and his former employers, Aldershot Town, were enjoying their first season back in the Football League since their resignation in 1992. The Hampshire club had the worst away record in the division and probably travelled to Adams Park on Saturday 18th April 2009 with more hope than expectation, as the Wanderers ran out 3-0 winners.

There was still immense pressure on the Blues to not falter at the final hurdle and as yours truly anxiously huddled around a laptop, whilst frantically clicking the refresh button from the comfort of an undisclosed Dorset location, history was being made.

John Akinde, an explosive loan signing from Bristol City, had breathed fresh life into a season where Peter Taylor's model of efficiency had at times failed to tighten its grip on claiming all three points when called upon.

The Nigerian striker's 56th minute winner at Kenilworth Road against Luton Town ensured a 1-0 victory that seemed to draw the Wanderers tantalisingly close to a return to the third tier following a five year absence.

A win in the following game against Port Vale would have sent the 1,000 travelling Blues contingent into raptures and sealed automatic promotion however Wycombe could only escape with a point after Lee Sawyer's late equaliser.

Requiring only a draw from their final game at Adams Park against Notts County, a team who had in the past been home cannon fodder, Wycombe performed the inevitable and slipped to a 2-1 defeat.

A Football League record attendance of 9,625 fell into deadly silence following the away side's 90th minute winner before news finally filtered through that the Blues had prevailed by the narrowest of margins, a superior goal difference of just one.

The repercussions of the half-hearted pitch invasion that ensued were deemed by some to be more noteworthy than the nature of the promotion itself.

As the Blues prepare to face fierce promotion rivals Torquay United and Bury, sandwiched between equally as crucial games against Crewe Alexandra and Southend United, it will take another herculean effort to persevere.

Seventy-eight points in 2009 were barely enough to start the party. You get the feeling it will take at least that total and perhaps a couple more to raise the roof two years on.

Peter Taylor's side left their slip-up to the final day. Gary Waddock's version of Oxford and Cambridge blue might not even have that luxury.

Willi's Wycombe 1.2

It has been a frenetic few weeks for Wycombe Wanderers. Since the last blog, Wanderers' league position is little improved however there is hope amongst the faithful that the spate of new signgings will act as a catalyst for a revival. At the very least, manager Gary Waddock is attempting to build a squad capable of promotion straight back to League One, if required.

The task of avoiding relegation looks daunting. Wycombe are seven points from safety and have played up to three games more than some of their nearest rivals. Their last victory came at home against bottom club Stockport County, at a time when hope of a great escape was tangible. Following the last update, Wycombe have recorded a morale boosting draw away at Leeds United with Jon Paul-Pittman again on the scoresheet with a classy finish. Indeed, Leeds were allegedly suitably impressed with the American striker, instigating rumours of a possible transfer though no approach has so far been made. Pittman scored again in the 2-1 reverse at home to much fancied Charlton Athletic and Wycombe picked up another point on the road last Saturday with on-loan West Ham midfielder Josh Payne equalising on his debut when the Blues played Southend United.

The January transfer window has seen a glut of activity at Adams Park. Perhaps the most high-profile piece of business was the departure of Tommy Doherty. Doherty left the club having failed to reconcile with Gary Waddock who released Doherty to Wycombe when he was in charge at Queens Park Rangers. The combative midfielder had a successful spell at the club and was twice named in the League Two Team of the Year. Certainly, his presence as a player was influential both physically and psychologically, albeit not always in keeping within the right spirit. Doherty had flitted in and out of the team over the course of this season as his powers appeared to wane, despite the occasional characteristic flourish of class. Waddock obviously weighed up Doherty's contribution with the undesriable elements of his temperement and made his decision based on what he considered would be the more advantageous for the club.

Kevin Betsy has returned on a permanent basis from Southend, citing his previous stint at the Blues as his most successful and enjoyable. Striker Alex Revell has also joined from Southend, initially on an emergency loan owing to complications with the player's registration. Goalkeeper Jamie Young has left the club by mutual consent, four years and forty-eight games later. The position vacated by Young has quickly been filled by young goalie Steve Arnold, signed from Eastleigh. Recent developments have also seen Wycombe bring in Bristol City goalkeeper Stephen Henderson, a former Ireland U-21 international. And finally, on-loan Josh Payne, whose impressive strike rescued a point last weekend, will stay at the club until the end of February. Arguably the most eye-catching signing has been that of former Peterborough United midfielder Dean Keates, who like Arnold, has a deal until the end of season. More signings are expected with a bid already turned down for Aldershot player Scott Donelly, who is said to be desperate to team up again with former boss Waddock.

Meanwhile, proposals for the building of a new 'Community Stadium' to house Wycombe and rugby union side London Wasps have been further discussed publicly by Wycombe District Council. The figure of £700,000 has been earmarked for the development. Despite protestations from numerous residents and fan groups, the Council have stated that they are committed to the move with the 2014-15 season targetted for opening although the aforementioned hurdles could delay the process. With Wanderers' increasing debt mountain and the commercial benefit to London Wasps, the supporters within the Council, along with Managing Director Steve Hayes will no doubt continue to drive the project. The overall benefits to Wanderers and the town in general remain unclear.

Willi's Wycombe 1.1

Three games, three defeats and a thoroughly miserable festive period for Wycombe Wanderers has left them cast adrift at the bottom of League One. A 4-0 drubbing at the feet of Yeovil Town began a series of catastrophic results. This was closely followed by a morale sapping 5-2 reverse at home to relegation rivals Brighton & Hove Albion having at one stage led the game. This was further compounded by a battling 1-0 defeat to promotion chasing Norwich City which leaves them six points from safety.

Aside from difficulties on the pitch there are other concerns. At the beginning of the season there was boardroom talk of 'not merely making up the numbers in the division' however this notion seems laughable now given the current state of affairs. Coupled with this, owner Steve Hayes' vision of Wycombe Wanderers and the successful rugby club he also owns, London Wasps, playing their respective sports at a 20,000 community stadium is another implausible dream. Wycombe's poor form has magnified the examination of the overall health of the club with promotion briefly glossing over the increasing debt mountain and subsequent repercussions. A significant section of the fanbase are now focusing on the long-term problems that could affect the club as well as the more immediate travails.

Similar to the defeat at St. Mary's to Southampton, Wycombe's most recent loss, to Norwich City, highlighted the gulf in class between fallen Premier League giants and a Wanderers side who were fortunate to have eventually crawled to promotion last season. What has been more galling is the joint capitulations against Yeovil and Brighton. These are both two sides who had Wycombe fared better against, they could be in contention with, facing a much better chance of avoiding relegation. The reality was two heavy defeats with the defence once again lacking composure and the options available up front failing to produce. Glenn Murray's four goal salvo for Brighton against the Blues combined with his strike partner Nicky Forster's contribution highlights the abundance of attacking riches at the disposal of Wanderers' rivals.

Gary Waddock has already moved swiftly in the transfer window to bring in defender Adam Hinshelwood from former club Aldershot Town. The defender's competent display against Norwich City bodes well for the future however it could be the influence he exerts rather than his ability that sweetened the deal for his old boss. Certainly listening to Shots fans, Hinshelwood, a former club captain, is regarded as a good professional though his injury problems indicate he may find it difficult to cement his place in the team over a prolonged period. Indeed, following the Norwich defeat, Hinshelwood had already issued a rallying cry, stating that every remaining game will be 'like a cup final'. Wycombe's next opponents are Leeds United, who will probably feel as if they've already won a cup final having defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup third round this past weekend. A trip to Elland Road is probably the toughest in the division. And it won't get any easier the following week when the Blues face Charlton Athletic. Hope is at a premium amongst the fans at Adams Park. The next few games could all but extinguish its dying embers.

WilliWycombe is an exile from the fair town of High Wycombe, having once been a season ticket holder at Adams Park. He doesn't get to many games these days and his views are those of the exile, on the outside looking in and should be treated thusly.

The Results Business Shows No Mercy to Reputation

Six games, no win and a squad of underachievers low on confidence. Gary Waddock could be forgiven for thinking he's taken on a poisoned chalice at Wycombe Wanderers given his record so far. He may also feel that the club's fall, even under his guidance, could be irreversible. The Blues' defeat last night to Brighton and Hove Albion in a first round FA Cup replay saw the boss ring the changes following the humiliating 6-0 defeat to Huddersfield Town the previous Saturday.

Unfortunately it wasn't enough as Wanderers collapsed to a 2-0 defeat though by all accounts, the performance was an improvement. Those who witnessed the defeat to Huddersfield, live on Sky television, would perhaps argue that nothing could be worse. Granted, Huddersfield are a tidy, upwardly mobile side capable of playing attractive and incisive football. But the manner in which Wycombe were taken apart was abject at best and at its worst, demoralising for players and fans alike. There were pockets of Wycombe's play, mainly in the first-half when the scoreline was respectable, where they looked capable. There were neat exchanges in midfield and attempts to penetrate the channels and hurt the opposition with livewires Scott Davies and Kevin Betsy, talisman Tommy Doherty and re-called hero John Akinde offering a threat.

However, middle third of the pitch aside, in defence Wycombe were disorganised and sloppy, in attack they were toothless and devoid of ideas. Former Premiership defender and Wycombe captain Michael Duberry partnered Luke Oliver in the centre of the backline and so far this season both have managed to produce a series of error-strewn displays. Blues fans must be fondly recalling former defensive lynchpins Jamie Bates, Jason Cousins and Paul McCarthy with a renewed rose-tinted vigour. In his defence, Oliver looks like he is needing the kind of assistance that an in-form, experienced partner would provide and he was kept in the side at Brighton and performed admirably. Duberry may be experienced but in-form he isn't and the natives are restless.

By dropping players like Duberry and Matt Bloomfield, Waddock is follwing a refreshing tack. Unprepared to tolerate poor performance and stick to rigid systems and pick favourite players, he admitted that after the debacle at Huddersfield, the honeymoon was over. To be blandly matter of fact, Wycombe at present are staring relegation in the face and are going down with a whimper. With Millwall away next up followed by a crucial encounter with fellow strugglers Southampton, Waddock and Wycombe desperately need to get into the results business. If this means the collective team ego receiving a well-needed massage ahead of individual reputation, then so be it.

WilliWycombe is an exile from the fair town of High Wycombe and does not get to many games. His opinions are those of the exile, on the outside looking in and should be treated thusly.

Two Points as Signs of Life Emerge

Since Gary Waddock took charge of Wycombe Wanderers, the Blues have notched two points against rivals Colchester United and Exeter City. Wycombe remain bottom of the League One table, two points adrift of Tranmere Rovers and six from safety but signs of life are beginning to emerge.

Jon Paul-Pitman continues to display what a valuable asset he is to the club and it was his late equaliser against Colchester that secured a point. Fortunes were reversed however when the Blues faced Exeter at St. James' Park on Saturday with Barry Corr's header, again a goal conceded from a set-piece, deep into stoppage time that denied Wycombe their first away win of the season and Waddock's first in charge.

There do remain concerns however the signs of promise from the team appear to have the fans reinvigorated with a crucial home game against Walsall next Saturday to look forward to. It will be interesting to see whether the new manager alters the playing personnel or whether he believes that there is enough quality in the squad to avoid relegation. Could it be the previous system and style of play that were to blame for poor results? Against Exeter, Waddock employed the much maligned 4-5-1 formation that his predecessor favoured. One thing is certain, the Blues need a win quickly to give them confidence as they head into deepest winter.

williwycombe is an exile from the fair town of High Wycombe so does not get to attend many matches. Therefore his views and opinions should be treated thusly and not dissected as if he were some expert who actually witnessed events unfold first hand.

The Season So Far

Given the club rhetoric, long-suffering Blues fans could be forgiven for having entered this campaign with a sense of optimism, one that if it existed before, has since been severely diluted. The protracted 'takeover' (coup d'etat?) by local financial monolith and the self-proclaimed philanthropist (in terms of portraying himself as the only solution, the saviour, the bloke doing us a favour) Steve Hayes finally went through, halting manager Peter Taylor's advances in the transfer market. Supposedly this was going to usher in a new era of prosperity and limitless ambition with the Championship and the promise of a shiny new identikit stadium to house Wanderers and current tenants, the successful rugby union side, London Wasps. This sporting union would surely lay the foundations for an unstoppable enterprise that would ensure High Wycombe becomes the envy of the Home Counties. First, let us get on with the nasty business of dispatching with fallen giants Leeds, Charlton and Southampton then we can concentrate on the important task of plotting the downfall of the European greats.

Of course, things never do quite work out as those intended had hoped and after the 'bail out' was voted on, the bitterness and division amongst the fan base lingered and events on the pitch so far this season have done little to lift the cynicism. Languishing in the relegation zone with problems conceding goals and scoring them, the recipe for success is missing key ingredients including the notable absence of Tommy Doherty, struggling with injury and unable to participate in his own indomitable manner.

The opening day brought a courageous 3-2 defeat away at much fancied Charlton, a game and result which appeared to boost morale rather than dampen spirits. Even a subsequent defeat to Leeds was dismissed as par for the course in what was already regarded as a difficult beginning to the season. A point at home to a slick Southend side was given a mixed response. Whilst it was nice of the visitors to afford Wycombe their first notch on the league scoreboard, the manner in which Southend outclassed the Blues suggested that points were going to be exceedingly difficult to come by unless the team proved that they too have the ability to compete in the third tier. A 5—2 mauling at Norwich did little to prove doubters wrong and the critics were already starting to dissect the team's notable weaknesses. A home win against Bristol Rovers provided a brief respite as did a valuable away point at Hartlepool however the latest result, a 1-0 defeat at home to rivals MK Dons in the faux Bucks derby leaves Wanderers rooted near the bottom of the table and looking increasingly devoid of ideas.

The aforementioned Tommy Doherty's midfield presence is paradoxically essential to ensuring a better chance of success. The skill and graft he exerts on proceedings is often offset by a formidable temper that is also capable of contributing to the team's downfall in matches. Peter Taylor is also presented with a front line dilemma. At the other end, although the inclusion of ex-Chelsea and Stoke man Michael Dubbery has shored up the defence, putting the ball in the opposition net has proved difficult and the manager's selections have not always met with approval. Jon Paul-Pittman would do well to take note of Jermaine Defoe and remain a persistent goal scorer coming off the bench to perhaps one day merit a chance from the start. Matt Harrold is doing his best targetman impression however despite a goal against former club Southend, he has looked lacklustre in leading the line however the tactic employed of knocking the ball over his head cannot help. Meanwhile Stuart Beavon waits eagerly for an extended chance in the first -team, one that he may be afforded following his goal against Hartlepool.