Chairboys Forever

Match 82: Stockport County 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-05-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

Wycombe had their do or die game against Stockport County today. After last weeks 1-1 draw at Adams Park the facts were simple. Win and we had a day out at Wembley to look forward to, defeat would mean, another year, at least in the Football League's basement division.

And just as before last weeks game there had been a war of words between the clubs, everyone from the Managers, through to the club websites, right down to the fans seemed to have something to say.

Personally I like Jim Gannon the Stockport boss. He was part of one of the best sides I have seen in a league that Wycombe played in, that being the Division 2 squad of 96/97. And he seems to be well on hos way to doing likewise in management soon. And in days of players moving club whenever they get the whiff of a bundle of money, his 383 appearances for the Hatters has to be commended, especially when he could have played at a higher level in my opinion.

But he has not gone down too well in Wycombe fans estimation this week after barbed comments about Wycombe's physical style of play. He does have a point, we were slightly more physical in last Saturday's encounter, but claims of us being thugs are exaggerated. The main "target" in County's eyes was their star striker Liam Dickinson, but even he has said it is all part of the game and that no malice was intended by the Wycombe players.

Paul Lambert has given as good as he has got back, it seems like a classic war of words with favouritism playing a big part in how the respective supporters are viewing the comments, rather than taking a step back and seeing it for the gamesmanship that it really is.

Before the game I took up the opportunity to watch the Cup Final, along with a few pints, again choosing to go with the Indies. "Billy" was not allowed to go on the indies by his wife Sue, as she likes to get to the ground early. So it was the wonderful world of the motorway service station that he sampled this afternoon. And as a consequence of leaving 2 hours later than the Indies, they got stuck in a traffic jam and didn't get there till nearly half time!

As for the game Stockport won 1-0 with a goal from Liam Dickinson. He cooly slotted past Frank Fielding after creating space for himself in the Wycombe area. Wycombe had possession but never really created any real chances to test Conrad Logan in the Stockport goal.

So, yet another season in the basement of the Football League for Wycombe, getting out of which will have to wait for another year.

Match 81: Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Stockport County

2008-05-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

A great goal from Stockport's Stephen Gleeson denied Wycombe victory in the first leg of the playoffs, leaving them with a tough battle to make the Wembley Final.

In the build up to the game, their manager Jim Gannon claimed that Wycombe were "fearful" of his side in the 0-0 draw back in April, having been stuffed 6-0 earlier in the season. Wycombe certainly showed no fear as they attacked from the off and probably had the better of the opening exchanges.

County were still tough opponents though, in my opinion the best side in the league from what I've seen and they too had their chances. It was a mistake from their keeper John Ruddy that helped Wycombe open the scoring, Delroy Facey profiting when he went walkabout. Wycombe going into the break with a valuable 1-0 lead.

Overall Stockport were starting to get back into the game though, Wycombe always looking like they needed a second goal to seal victory. Shortly before their equaliser they missed a sitter and perhaps it was no surprise when Gleeson's thunderbolt of a shot flew past Frank Fielding to tip the overall tie in their favour.

Wycombe must now go to Stockport and at least draw, a result they have only managed twice in 9 attempts at Edgeley Park, with no wins. But next Saturday would be a great time to break that hoodoo and the reward could be no greater than a Wembley day out and a real chance of promotion to League 1

Match 80: Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 Bradford City

2008-05-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Wycombe ended their league campaign with a good 2-1 win over Bradford City. Bradford had released 13 players in the week and included many of them in their squad for today's game.

Wycombe meanwhile, took the opportunity to rest players again, and that presented Matt Phillips with the chance to make his first ever senior start. And he did brilliantly, setting up the 1st goal and getting the man of the match award.

It was his great run that set up Delroy Facey to score his first goal in a Blues shirt. Wycombe continued to boss the game and doubled their lead when Leon Knight staked his claim for a first team place with a well taken goal.

Bradford pulled one back from the penalty spot, but Wycombe never looked like surrendering their lead, and therefore go into the playoffs on a high note.

Match 79: Notts County 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-04-26T13:01:00.001-07:00

Wycombe travelled to Meadow Lane, assured of a place in the playoffs and knowing that automatic promotion was no longer mathematically possible following Hereford's win in the week. Paul Lambert, once that result had been announced said he didn't mind who he got in the playoffs, so it was a much changed team that took on the relegation threatened Magpies. For a change Lambert opted for an attacking 4-3-3, resting 6 players from the previous week's victory over Chester.

Fielding

Stockley
McCracken
Antwi
Palmer

Martin
Oakes
Boucaud

McGleish
Sutton
Facey

was the Wanderers team that lined up this afternoon. For a change I went with WWISC, who always do a pub stop. This time it was one of their favourite haunts, the Nelson and Railway in nearby Kimberley. It was a nice pub too with good food and a wide selection of drinks. The town of Kimberley seemed to have as many pubs as it had residents - obviously the town's planners had more sense than most when building the place!!

We got to Notts County with about half an hour to spare before kick off and both sets of fans were in good voice. Our opponents knew that a win would see them safe which drew a bumper crowd. That and the offer of cheap tickets, which sadly Wycombe fans were unable to get, despite us playing fair with away supporters at Adams Park when we offer a promotion or deal on tickets.

It was a game of 2 halves really. Wycombe dominating the first and hitting the post in the opening minutes and going on to have several chances to give themselves a healthy half time lead. But in the second, a reinvigorated County side came out and took the game to us. Eventually the pressure told and Richard Butcher got the goal that sealed their safety. There was a suspicion of offside, but to be fair in that half at least they deserved a goal. Late on youth teamers Robert Rice and Matt Phillips came on to make their debuts. Phillips looked nervous and Rice hardly had time to make an impact but both are certainly players who will look to do well for us in the future.

Elsewhere results meant that it is likely that Mansfield will be relegated - the shenanigans of their despicable chairman Keith Haslam playing a massive part in their downfall. That man is just the sort of person who should not be involved in football, whoring Mansfield Town for his own personal gain and greed and causing nothing but misery for the long suffering Stags fans. Only Chester failing to pick up any points in their final 2 games, and victory over Dagenham next week can save them.

At the other end of the table, Milton Keynes were confirmed as Champions, whilst Hereford and Peterborough joined them in League 1. Wycombe must battle it out with Stockport, Darlington & Rochdale in the playoffs, to decide who joins them.

Match 78: Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Chester City

2008-04-19T11:04:00.001-07:00

Wycombe confirmed their participation in the play offs (or better) with a hard fought 1-0 victory over struggling Chester City.

Today was Celtic Day, to celebrate the growing number of links between the 2 clubs. Around 200 fans of the Parkhead club made their way down to Adams Park. They gave Paul Lambert a hero's welcome in the Vere Suite post match Q & A and gave the club some much needed revenue at the bar no doubt!

Chester looked anything but a side that was struggling as they contained Wanderers well with both teams canceling each other out. Of the few chances that were created they were wasted by various players. Wycombe had the better of the game, just about and came close to breaking the deadlock when Delroy Facey hit the post with a powerful shot. The big striker, on loan from Gillingham had another great game, making himself a nuisance and creating chances for others.

Scott McGleish, once again was the hero. A ball was played in to the box and he reacted quickest, slotting home on 78 minutes. It was a huge relief to seal 3 points, which still leaves us in with a slight chance of automatic promotion.

As for Chester, if they play as they did today then they shouldn't have too many problems avoiding the drop. Mansfield certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons with their victory over Shrewsbury and it will now go right down to the wire. Next weeks opponents Notts County are certainly in the dogfight and it will be a right old battle at Meadow Lane a week from today

Match 77: Wycombe Wanderers Reserves 3-1 Crystal Palace Reserves

2008-04-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

A young Wycombe side gained a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace Reserves with a comprehensive victory.

Reserve team manager Ian Culverhouse continues to opt for a young side, despite the likes of Sam Stockley, Martin Bullock & Chris Palmer not even making the bench for the first team.

The only player with regular first team experience playing today was Will Antwi as he bids to gain some match fitness following a lay off with injury.

Wycombe took the lead through a Derek Duncan goal on 29 minutes after he was set up by Matt Phillips. 2 goals in the space of 3 minutes put Wycombe on track for victory, both scored by captain Robert Rice. Firstly he converted a penalty after Cadmore was fouled in the box. The 2 minutes later he was on hand to prod home after Palace keeper Steven Arnold misjudged a cross allowing Rice to get his brace.

The second half continued in much the same vein with Wycombe looking threatening. But it was Palace who grabbed a consolation after Nathan Ashton's goal reduced the arrears. Wycombe had to play the last 25 minutes of the match after Scott Shulton had to go off injured. Wycombe had already made 3 substitutions and were therefore unable to bring on a replacement

Match 76: Grimsby Town 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-04-16T01:52:00.001-07:00

Wycombe faced their game in hand against Grimsby Town tonight in a bid to put some distance between themselves and the chasing pack just outside the playoffs.

The 2 teams recent League progress has been none too clever in recent seasons. Grimsby were in the what is now called the Championship not so long ago, with Wycombe being in the basement division for 4 years now, after a long stint at the next level up. Wycombe look the most likely to change that downturn though, a win would place them in good stead for a tilt at the play offs. Grimsby look certain to be spending another season in League 2.

The long trip to Cleethorpes, where Grimsby’s ground is situated has been an annual outing for Wycombe for a long time now. Owing to Grimsby’s participation in the LDV Trophy Final the game had been moved from it’s original Saturday date to tonight, meaning a vastly reduced Wycombe faithful would be travelling.

Wycombe lined up as it was at Milton Keynes on Saturday, with the exception of Delroy Facey who came in for Leon Knight. Wycombe won by a goal to nil and in truth could have had many more. Good work from Delroy Facey set up Sergio Torres to finish neatly and to send the Wycombe fans home happy.

Frank Fielding made a couple of good saves but overall Grimsby never really threatened. Stefan Oakes was unlucky with a shot from around 50 yards as he caught Grimsby keeper Phil Barnes off of his line after the keeper had came out to deal with a defensive clearance. The resulting shot hit the post and it was hard luck on Oakes who is enjoying the best form of his Wycombe career at the moment. Delroy Facey caused the Grimsby defence no end of problems with his physical presence and pace and it looks like a shrewd move by Lambert to bring him in on loan from Gillingham.

So a good performance from Wycombe and one which leaves them 5 points inside the playoffs and looking good for a shot at promotion.

Match 75: Milton Keynes 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-04-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

Wycombe were robbed of 3 points in the game billed as "The Big Bucks Derby" as they drew 2-2 with Milton Keynes.

I've made my feelings clear on the Franchise issue before, but have to concede that Milton Keynes FC (or whatever they choose to call themselves) has potential. If only they had done it the right way by working their way up honestly then I'd have more respect for them.

Wycombe started brightly and could have been ahead when Oakes's free kick was saved well by MK keeper Willy Gueret on 33 minutes. A few minutes later and Wycombe took a deserved lead, Scott McGleish heading in from around 6 yards. Another free kick from Oakes led to another good effort but it was Wycombe who were good value for their 1-0 lead at half time.

Wycombe made the mistake of defending to deep as the second half commenced. Time and again we put undue pressure on ourselves by gettimg the whole team playing in the last third of the pitch. As a consequence we have no one to play the ball to and allow the other team to pressurise us. Wycombe should have had a penalty on 68 minutes when McGleish was fouled by MK keeper Gueret. He needed treatment for his injuries, but the referee merely waved our appeals away.

Milton Keynes got their equaliser shortly after, but there was more than a suspicion of offside as Aaron Wilbraham netted. Their joy was short lived however, as a fantastic volley from Scott McGleish scored from a wonderful volley. Delroy Facey should have really wrapped the game up minutes later but he was foiled by the keeper. Another good contribution from the big man though, hopefully with some match fitness he will put chances like that away in future.

The 4th official signalled 5 minutes of injury time but Wycombe were still looking comftorable. But on 94 minutes a corner was met by the head of big defender Sean O'Hanlon amid appeals by Wycombe players for a push in the box.

So 2-2, a good point for Wycombe, and one that I would have settled for beforehand. But we could and should have been celebrating a victory - football can be a cruel beast at times

Wycombe Wanderers 2-2 Peterborough United

2008-04-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

An entertaining game today, one of the better that I've seen this season. Stefan Oakes and a Scott McGleish penalty gave Wycombe a 2-2 draw against the league leaders.

Wycombe started well, and dominated the first half. Stefan Oakes scored a great free kick on 5 minutes to put Wycombe ahead, and Peterborough looked anything but a top of the league side as Wycombe created chance after chance as they looked to increase their lead.

Torres weaved his usual magic and Oakes could have scored a second as another free kick had Peterborough's record signing and keeper Joe Lewis scrambling as the ball whistled narrowly past the post.

The Posh came into the game more in the second half and were rewarded when George Boyd scored an equaliser. Wycombe responded well but were undone by nemesis Leon Hatch, who always seems to score against Wycombe. His goal on 81 minutes looked to have won the game for Peterborough as they turned the game on it's head.

In between the goals Delroy Facey came on and looked useful. He had a big physical presence and won some key headers. But it was another sub, John Sutton who played a part in getting Wycombe back into the game. He was fouled in the area, the referee pointed to the spot. Scott McGleish duly did the honours, giving Wycombe a well earned point against hopefully league winners Peterborough

Match 73: Wycombe Wanderers Reserves 0-0 Aldershot Reserves

2008-04-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

Wycombe played out a goal less draw with Aldershot in the Reserves today despite dominating proceedings for most of the game.

It was a young Wycombe side that faced the Shots, with Jamie Young and Will Antwi the only players with first team starts. Callum Botham was the pick of Wycombe's youngsters, looking useful down the left wing.

Aldershot, who had former Wycombe trialist Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz in goal were second best throughout the game, but even could have snatched a winner with the few chances they had towards the end of the game.

Match 72: AFC Wimbledon 2-4 Horsham

2008-03-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

As Wycombe had a day off due to Grimsby's participation in the LDV Trophy Final, I chose to go to the Fans Stadium, home of AFC Wimbledon.

Today's opponents were Horsham, who were just a few places below The Dons in the Ryman League Premier. And they turned in a great performance as they beat their more illustrious opponents convincingly.

It all started so well for AFC Wimbledon. They took the lead on 8 minutes when Romone Rose's shot was parried and Danny Webb was on hand to convert the rebound. Lee Farrell equalised 13 minutes later before a great goal from former Wimbledon player Lewis Taylor gave the visitors a surprise lead at the break.

Wimbledon went in search or an equaliser and got it on 73 minutes when a penalty was converted following a Horsham handball in the area. The lead only lasted for 2 minutes however as another speculative shot went in for Horsham, this time from Dwain Clarke. Lee Farrell got his second minutes from time as the Dons defence was left exposed in their search for another equaliser.

A special mention for Horsham striker Lee Farrell, who despite being deaf managed to be one of the best players on the pitch. Hats off to him for overcoming a big hurdle to crave a career in football. Who knows, he could make it to the Football League one day, if he doesn't, it wouldn't be for his lack of determination

Match 71: Wycombe Wanderers 0-0 Stockport County

2008-03-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Wycombe played out a dull 0-0 draw with fellow promotion rivals Stockport County this afternoon.

In the reverse fixture Wycombe lost 6-0 to County - our worst ever football league defeat. Fortunately we have tightened up a bit at the back since then but were unable to break down a resilient County side.

Like that game at Edgeley Park in December the game started with inclement weather, with snow accompanying the opening 20 minutes.

And there was little to warm the fans up, including an impressive 700 travelling down from Stockport to see their team. Wycombe's best chance came after good work from Gary Holt. His cross found Scott McGleish, but the leading scorer's header was cleared off the line by a Stockport defender.

At the other end Frank Fielding made a few good saves, charging out of his area to deny Stockport on a couple of occasions late on. There were a few niggly tackles which maybe the referee could have clamped down on, but overall it was disappointing fare. A draw a fair result then, and not a bad one from Wycombe's point of view, as Stockport had won their last 8 away games. They missed out on creating a Football League record for consecutive away wins, but like us won't feel hard done by by only claiming a point today

Match 70: Morecambe 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-03-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

Along with a week in Blackpool I was planning to go to yesterday’s match between Fleetwood Town & Prescot Cables. But a combination of horrendous traffic around the Stoke area of the M6 and the fact that I was forced to work till 10am meant I didn’t get to my destination in time and missed it. I made the best of what I had though and had a few drinks in Blackpool in the evening.

On the way to the game I went to Blackpool Mechanics, Squires Gate and Fleetwood Town before a quick look round the town of Morecambe.

This was Wycombe’s first visit in the league to Christie Park, but we did play an FA Trophy match on our way to doing the double in 1993. The result on that occasion was 1-1, Wycombe winning the replay 2-0. Of course both sides fortunes and circumstances have changed since then with Morecambe following Wanderers into the League last year, 14 years later than the last match between the two sides.

Wycombe had already beaten the Shrimps 2-0, the game after the Stockport debacle. And it was 2 victories out of 2 as Wycombe won 1-0 with a great goal from Stefan Oakes.

After a slightly scrappy start, Wycombe pulled themselves together and took control of the game. Several chances has come and gone before on 36 minutes Chris Herd was fouled 30 yards from goal. Stefan Oakes sent the resulting free kick flying into the top corner to send the visiting supporters into raptures. Well almost all of them. A highly depressed Johnny P was seen with his head in his hands at half time as the combination of the presence of some Celtic fans and his least favourite player scoring made him probably the only Wycombe fan to go home unhappy today.

Morecambe tried in vain to get back into the game in the second half. There were a few hairy moments, but overall Wycombe looked the most likely to get the next goal. A valuable victory then, which leaves Wycombe with a bit of breathing space between them and the 8^th placed team, just outside the play-offs.

Match 69: Wycombe Wanderers Reserves 1-1 Leyton Orient Reserves

2008-03-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

In a quiet game at Adams Park this afternoon Wycombe continued their recent unbeaten run in the reserves as they drew 1-1 against Leyton Orient.

Like at Milton Keynes a week ago it was a young side, Orient much the same with the only experience players being the goalkeepers and those recovering from injuries.

It was Wycombe who had the better of the opening half, with Orient coming back into it late on in the first half. But at half time there wasn't much to write home about.

It was the visitors who took the lead on 63 minutes, when a mix up in the Wycombe defence allowed Orient's Efe Echanomi to get the opening goal with a simple finish past Jamie Young. Tom Cadmore did well to head off of the line to prevent Echanomi doubling the lead 10 minutes later.

Wycombe took the game to their visitors in the last 10 minutes and were rewarded when Fitchett finished low past Orient keeper Stuart Nelson after good work by Scott Shulton.

Match 68: Hereford United 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-03-15T13:46:00.001-07:00

A poor refereeing performance and an unlucky own goal cost Wycombe dear as they lost 1-0 at promotional rivals Hereford at Edgar Street. It was Russell Martin who was the unlucky man with a header that Peter Crouch would have been proud of that settled the game.

But that was far from the whole story. Wycombe battled well and deserved a share of the spoils. Frank Fielding produced yet another splendid performance to deny Hereford on a number of occasions, but at the other end Wycombe struggled to trouble the Hereford keeper, depite having a lot of the play. Woodman, Oakes and new signing from Villa, Chris Herd were other players in a blue shirt who did really well, and to be honest no player let us down.

It was referee Andy Woolmer who had a lot to do with the defeat. Constantly giving decisions to Hereford that shouldn't have been, the free kick that led to Martin's own goal should never have been. Continual cheating by the hen pecked Simon Johnson, whose wife turned down a move to Wycombe just over a year ago, went undetected by the numpty in black.

Woolmer already has a reputation with Hereford fans, looking at a report from their play off semi final game a few years back...

The referee, Andy Woolmer, had to be protected from an angry Hereford United fan wearing a jester's hat as he walked off the Edgar Street pitch yesterday after making the controversial decisions that contributed to Aldershot's triumph in this play-off semi-final.

A burly steward came to the rescue of the official, who had sent off Hereford's defender Andy Tretton and refused the hosts' two penalty claims for handball.

Even Aldershot's manager, Terry Brown, considered the 20th-minute dismissal a harsh one. "I would have been screaming and shouting if that had happened to one of my players,'' he said. "Hereford were the best footballing side in the Conference, and I offer them my most sincere condolences, if that is not going over the top.''

Graham Turner, Hereford's manager, was rather more explicit when it came to criticising the official's performance. "The referee had an absolute nightmare," he said. "You just want referees who are competent.''

Following Tretton's expulsion, after he had been contentiously considered by Mr Woolmer to have been the last defender when he tugged back Aaron McLean, Hereford's 10 men not only offered stubborn resistance but created two glorious chances that went begging.

Michael Rose, impressive in midfield, was involved in both the moves down the left, which ended with Danny Williams stabbing his close-range header wide of the same post that Steve Guinan missed later.

(Credit www.independent.co.uk)

Wycombe can take heart from a good performance, but now look likely to have to settle for a play off place as results didn't go their way in this afternoons other games.

Match 67: MK Franchise Reserves 0-3 Wycombe Reserves

2008-03-12T16:17:00.000-07:00

After last nights game against Wrexham for the first team, the reserves faced a trip to MK Dons in the Bucks & Berks Senior Cup. The 2 teams contested last seasons final, with the Franchise coming out on top. The season before Wycombe had won at the National Hockey Stadium on their way to retaining the Cup they had won a record 26 times.

Of course, many believe (including me) that the MK Dons should not exist. They were created from the ashes of the old Wimbledon FC who were bought out by a group of Norweigans and passed on to Milton Keynes resident and music mogul Pete Winkleman. Between the group of them, they orchestrated the move to Milton Keynes which has been so bitterly opposed by so many.

Originally it was planned to buy one of Milton Keynes's many non league clubs, but fears of lack of backing for such a small club led to the money men deciding to hijack a league club and move them to the City. Had Milton Keynes City risen from the depths of non league, and earned their place in the football league then there would have been none of the ill feeling there is against them today. Several "clubs in crisis" we considered, before Wimbledon were the unlucky victims, having dropped out of the Premier League and racked up considerable debts. The FA, too spineless to stop this mad dream, sanctioned the move, which has been opposed by fans up and down the country, leading to their nickname of "The Franchise" Hardly any of Wimbledon's fans followed their rebranded team to Milton Keynes, choosing instead to set up AFC Wimbledon, based just a few miles down the road from their original base in Merton.

It was a youthful Wycombe side that lined up tonight. Only Jamie Young & Lewis Christon had any considerable experience in the first team. The same could be said of our opponents whose only known player was Gareth Edds. A crowd of 183 watched the proceedings and it was the samll section of Wycombe fans that went home happy as the Blues crusised to a 3-0 victory.

In a one sided game George Daly almost gave Wycombe the lead after 20 seconds only to be foiled by the keeper. He finally got on the scoresheet on 44 minutes when he headed in after a shot had hit the bar. Further goals from Daniel Fitchett and Matt Phillips secured an easy victory for Wycombe who now face Chesham United in the final.

Match 66: Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 Wrexham

2008-03-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Wycombe faced relegation battlers Wrexham in a "should win" game at Adams Park tonight. Previously this season on a cold November night Wycombe had drawn 0-0 in a disappointing encounter in North Wales. Wycombe have a fairly good record at home against The Red Dragons having not lost at Adams Park against them since 1999. A 1-1 draw on the opening day of last season was the last time the 2 teams played a game at Adams Park, a repeat of which would be a huge let down for our promotion ambitions.

Matt Bloomfield had picked up an injury and Sergio Torres was still out, so that meant a recall for Sam Stockley as Wycombe changed to a 3-5-2 formation.

The first half was all Wycombe and 2 Wrexham mistakes led to well taken goals from McGleish and Knight. Firstly Wrexham keeper Gavin Ward's miskick went straight to Knight and the dimunitive striker scored a scorcher in the top corner from around 20 yards. Then after the Wrexham defence lost posession McGleish slotted home as Wycombe threatened to run riot.

The second half was a different story though. A triple substitution at half time spurred Wrexham into life. Michael Proctor grabbed one back for Wrexham on 52 minutes and from then on it was a nervous finish for Wycombe. Tommy Doherty's sending off didn't help matters but we clung on for a valuable 3 points.

Match 65: Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Darlington

2008-03-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

Wycombe triumphed 2-0 over Darlington who are still in an automatic promotion place despite this setback.

The afternoon started off brilliantly for Wycombe as star midfielder Sergio Torres signed a new 2 year contract on the pitch before the game. This is great news, even if he does decide to go now we can get a good price for him. As things stood, we could have lost him for nothing in the summer, with quite a few clubs sniffing around. It is refreshing in a day when little loyalty is shown at this level, let alone amongst big name players like "Cashley" Cole.

Wycombe were well on top for the whole 90 minutes, even if the game was a little slow in getting started. Darlington looked far from the side that their league position indicated. Leon Knight opened the scoring on 24 minutes with a great goal as he continues to settle into the Wycombe team.

And it was Scott McGleish who doubled the lead and sealed the win as he charged down a defender's clearance and slotted the ball past Darlington keeper David Stockdale.

Wycombe had several other chances during the game and plenty of times when they could have been awarded a penalty. Some of the refereeing decisions were questionable, but Wycombe's 2-0 win meant that they did not matter, at least result wise as Wycombe gained a valuable 3 points.

We must now carry it on on Tuesday when we face Wrexham. That looks a much easier task on paper, but Wycombe have already lost to Mansfield & Dagenham at Home this year and must be wary of being complacent

Match 64: Wycombe Wanderers Reserves 3-0 Millwall Reserves

2008-03-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

Wycombe fielded a strong side for tonight’s reserve game which was, unusually, moved from the normal afternoon kick off to this evening.

Jamie Young

Sam Stockley
Will Antwi
Mike Williamson
Alan Massey

Martin Bullock
Stefan Oakes
Andre Boucaud
Chris Palmer

John Sutton
Daniel Fitchett

Millwall had a fairly experienced side – most notable to Wycombe fans will be Bas Savage who enjoyed a disappointing loan spell at Adams Park under Tony Adams. Savage since then came good at Brighton, but tonight bought the familiar sight of him lumbering round the pitch and not getting much right. Other names on the Millwall team sheet included Neil Harris and former Crystal Palace defender Richard Shaw.

Wycombe dominated the game from start to finish, with the Lions rarely threatening an experienced central defensive pairing of Antwi & Williamson. It was Antwi who opened the scoring with a header on 25 minutes after Wycombe had been constantly pressuring the Millwall goal.

Wycombe went into the break 1-0 up and looking good value for it. The second half was a bit less lively, but continued in the same vein with Wycombe asking all the questions. Good work from Palmer set up Daniel Fitchett for a simple finish just after the hour mark to double Wycombe's lead. And it was 3-0 minutes later, Palmer again the provider, Bullock this time the beneficiary as he finished from close range. There was still time for a few more Wycombe chances, but 3-0 is an excellent result and will leave Lambert with something to ponder for Saturday as to who can make the step up to the first team

Match 63: Lincoln City 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-03-01T12:54:00.000-08:00

Wycombe travelled to Sincil Bank for a game with form team Lincoln City, who had won 6 out of 7 games prior to todays game.

However the main talking point around the game was that it would be Imps' Manager Peter Jackson's last game before he underwent treatment for throat cancer. Of course, I'm sure I and everyone at Wycombe wishes him well in his battle against an illness that attacks many innocent and good people.

The main team news in the Wycombe camp was that Argentinean midfielder Sergio Torres was out following an injury. He would be a big miss but I was still in an optimistic mood as I left Wycombe at 8am. 5 grounds today, the most impressive being Deeping Rangers, who have a really nice set up and a friendly club.

We got to Lincoln just before 12 and decided to go into town for a couple of pints before heading back to the ground for the game. It was a frustrating peformance from Wycombe, and had it not been for some good saves from Frank Fielding and some wasteful finishing for Lincoln, it could have been more. The goal that won it was very well taken, any keeper would have struggled to save Louis Dodds shot which flew into the top corner

We were by no means outclassed, but too many high balls to our short strike partnership of Leon Knight & Scott McGleish was never going to be productive against a fairly physical Lincoln side. We did have a few chances, but Lincoln were good value for their win and gave manager Jackson a good send off, before he faces a much harder and more important challenge

Match 62: Watford Reserves 1-2 Wycombe Reserves

2008-02-25T13:51:00.001-08:00

Just 2 days after a great victory against Rochdale, the reserves were playing over at Boreham Wood against Watford.

It was the usual unpleasant rush hour drive to get there but was worth it, result wise at least as Wycombe won 2-1 to set up a rare win for their second string. 2 goals from Chidi Ogbuagu, either side of a Billy Gibson strike won it for the Chairboys.

The game was hardly a classic. Wycombe had most of the possession and the majority of the few chances that were created and deserved their win. And it was the Wanderers who opened the scoring a quarter of an hour in when Botham's cross was bundled in by Chidi Ogbuagu. Wycombe looked good for a half time lead, but in injury time Billy Gibson levelled for Watford to send the teams in all square.

Their joy was short lived however, Ogbuagu scored his second, and the eventual decider just a minute into the second half. Man of the match in my opinion was right winder Matt Phillips, who got a full 90 minutes and looked good in the absence of Martin Bullock. Indeed young Phillips looks a better bet for the first team at the moment, as ex Macclesfield winger Bullock looks way short of form at the moment.

Match 61: Rochdale 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-02-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

Wycombe’s toughest game in a long while came against in-form Rochdale, who have several games in hand on their fellow promotion rivals. One thing that could count against them though is the fixture pile up that they will suffer due to the many postponements they have had lately. Only this week, despite a valiant effort by their fans involving burning oil barrels, their game against Notts County was postponed, that despite an all night vigil by their dedicated followers.

Despite having an awful record at Adams Park against Rochdale, the Chairboys record at Spotland is excellent. They are unbeaten in 3 visits, with 2 wins and 2 draws. The 2 wins have been in the last 2 visits, with the latest coming when Jonny Dixon scored after coming on as a late substitute to confirm Wycombe’s victory, as he made it 2-0 in the last minute. That came after Tommy Mooney put Wycombe ahead, and Ricardo Batista was lucky not to be sent off as he fouled Rochdale’s beanpole striker Morike Sako.

Both Mooney and Dixon have left the club now, and barring Scott McGleish, Wycombe have really struggled in the scoring stakes. Lately Leon Knight has been given the role of partnering McGleish up front, previously it was John Sutton. Neither have really hit top form, or anywhere near it. But to be fair to Knight he hasn’t really had that much time, he needs a while to settle in, and I for one think he will come good. But I can’t help thinking that 2 short(ish) strikers is like banging your head against a brick wall, particularly as we resort to humping long balls up the field, despite proving time and again that we play miles better when we keep it on the deck.

Today’s performance was excellent; every man played their part in a well earned win. It was a great ball from Neil Lennon that set up Leon Knight for his second goal in as many away games. Rochdale battled hard and can count themselves unlucky not to have a share of the spoils. Their number 16 David Perkins ran the game and was the best player on the pitch, however man of the match was credited to their number 8 Gary Jones. Looking at Rochdale’s website Perkins made his debut in their 5-0 spanking of MK Franchise, so hats off to him!

Tommy Doherty sailed close to the wind when it came to avoiding being sent off. After his final warning from the referee he managed to remain calm and composed for the remaining half hour, as Lambert resisted the urge to substitute him. A word on the referee Mr Laws who was not very good to say the least and seemed heavily biased towards the home side. The worst referee we have had in a while, maybe since the useless Richard Beeby who we had at Peterborough last year.

Match 60: Wycombe Wanderers Reserves 1-2 Southampton Reserves

2008-02-20T10:47:00.000-08:00

A strong Wycombe Wanderers Reserves side lost 2-1 to Southampton Reserves at Adams Park today. Due to my car being serviced I had to walk the 6 miles each way from the garage where my car was being repaired. I would have used the bus, but walking is probably just as fast and a lot more pleasant on a fresh day like today.

For Wycombe it was an experienced line up. Jamie Young started in goal as he continued to try and push Frank Fielding for the number 1 jersey (not strictly true in these days of squad numbers) A back 4 of Sam Stockley, Mike Williamson, Lewis Christon & Chris Palmer. The midfield 5 were Martin Bullock, Robert Rice, Scott Shulton, Andre Boucaud and Callum Botham, leaving John Sutton as the lone striker.

Despite a bright start when John Sutton fired wide, Wycombe were second best for much of the game. The opening goal came on 30 minutes when Baseya headed in after a good cross from the right. The lead was doubled when Mario Licka finished past Jamie Young with a good finish, shortly before half time.

Wycombe again started the second half brightly, being unlucky not to capitalise on a fumble from the Saints keeper. Young strikers Daniel Flitchett and George Daly were bought on to try and get back into the game and it was Flitchett who won a penalty with around 15 minutes to go. Robert Rice duly converted the spot kick. From then on Wycombe searched for an equaliser and actually looked the better side during the closing stages of the game. But it was not to be, a narrow 2-1 defeat was an improvement on the 5-0 thrashing the reserves received in the reverse fixture at Southampton in August though.

Match 59: Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Rotherham United

2008-02-16T10:23:00.001-08:00

After Tuesday when Wycombe chucked away 2 points against relegation candidates Bury, we faced Rotherham today in a tough looking clash.

Just a month ago Wycombe gained an excellent point in the 1-1 draw with the Merry Millers and today marked the return fixture. Wycombe were slight favourites, given their home advantage, despite a poor record in 2008 at Adams Park.

Paul Lambert kept faith wit the 11 players who drew at Gigg Lane in the week, Leon Knight again preferred to John Sutton as Scott McGleish's partner in attack.

David McCracken got his first goal for the Wanderers in a scrappy but entertaining affair. Both sides could have added to the scoresheet, Matt Bloomfield coming close for Wycombe on a couple of occasions after he came on. In reply Rotherham rallied late on, but failed to create any serious problems for the Blues defence.

A good victory then for Wanderers, whose next game is against in form promotion rivals Rochdale, who won 2-1 at Bradford today, and have a number of games in hand over most sides around them.

Match 58: Bury 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-02-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

After Saturday’s disappointing result against Mansfield a good result in tonight’s game against Bury was essential.

For me it meant an early start, as I was planning to travel up early, stay the night, then have a tour of Old Trafford tomorrow. As well as visiting various football grounds on the way up, we also stopped off in Warrington at Morrisons for a much needed breakfast. Coincidentally the topic of discussion on the radio was Warrington related, what with the news that Gary Newlove’s widow wanted the death penalty for the scum that murdered her husband. It’s been covered elsewhere, but his revolting killers booted his head “like a football” while his sobbing 12 year old daughter watched.

We eventually got up to Bury just before lunchtime, before having a look round the town and going back to the hotel for a bit of a relax. The owner sorted me out with a copy of the United V City programme from Sunday’s game that I had looking for, so thumbs up to the White Horse in Bury! Terry Christian on BBC Radio Manchester kept me entertained for a couple of hours before we set off for Gigg Lane just before 6. I fancied a leisurely stroll. But poor Billy’s legs couldn’t take the 10 minute marathon, so whinged into submission I drove

Bury (and a lot of their local rivals) have always been a pleasure to visit due to their friendly club and supporters. Generally travels with Wycombe are trouble free, but the North West always seems to offer the best welcome.

The first half was fantastic for Wycombe. We were playing some really good stuff and went 2-0 up. Sergio Torres and Scott McGleish from the penalty spot doing the damage. Bury’s furious protests were ignored as Leon Knight went down under pressure and McGleish set Wycombe on their way to what looked an inevitable win

Even in the 2^nd half Wycombe continued to control the game. The turning point play wise came when the influential Tommy Doherty was replaced. Shortly after Russell Martin’s handball in the area was penalised, Bury’s top scorer Andy Bishop did the business from the spot.

Wycombe continued to press though, Torres forcing a desperate save from Bury keeper Darren Randolph. Perhaps it was inevitable then, that through bad luck or failure to kill the game off that Bury got the equaliser. It was a great free kick from Brian-Barry Murphy, a curling shot into the top right hand corner that rescued a point for the Shakers.

Wycombe now face a home game against Rotherham, who were thumped 4-1 at Stockport tonight. If they play as well as they did tonight, they have every chance of being 3 points better off come 5pm Saturday afternoon.

Match 57: Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Mansfield Town

2008-02-09T09:29:00.000-08:00

Wycombe proved that old habits die hard as the lost to a Mansfield side, that only a month earlier they had beaten 4-0.

Too often Wycombe let their fans down in games that, should, on paper, be an absolute banker. It happened only 10 days ago when they lost 1-0 at home to Dagenham.

That night it was a penalty that decided the game. Again today it was a penalty that set Mansfield on their way. Jefferson Louis won it, and Mansfield's top scorer Michael Boulding converted it. To be fair Wycombe can have no complaint about the spot kick, which looked clear cut. To rub salt into the wound, Louis, recently released by Blue Square Premier side Weymouth, grabbed the winner a few minutes from time.

In between the 2 goals Wycombe had the better of the game and the lions share of posession. Scott McGleish got the equaliser just before half time when his header went in off of the bar.

In the second half John Sutton's header crashed off of the bar, he not having the same fortune as his in-form strike partner. Seconds later Sutton departed to make way for Leon Knight. Wycombe really missed his height and flick ons and failed to create anything to trouble the Stags defence. It was perhaps then, inevitable that the visitors would grab a late winner. This result lifts them off of the bottom of the table for the first time in a while.

Wycombe meanwhile must take a long hard look at themselves. This is a game that they should easily have won. If they had put the same attitude and effort in as their opponents they would have won. The league table doesn't lie, as results nearly every other time testify.

Next up, another relegation threatened side Bury are the opponents. Wycombe will have to step up their game if they want to come away from Gigg Lane on Tuesday with 3 points. If they fail to do so, promotion chances will be seriously in doubt as they have a much tougher run of games coming up, than the last few that they have faced, and in the main failed to take advantage of.

Match 56: Wycombe Wanderers Reserves 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves

2008-02-05T08:34:00.000-08:00

Wycombe beat Brighton & Hove Albion Reserves 1-0 but in truth should have had many more as they outplayed their opponents. Apart from a chance in the last minute from which Jamie Young made a great save, Brighton created hardly anything. They also had a man sent off when their number 6 was sent off for pulling Chidi Ogbuagu's shirt when he was clean through with only the keeper to beat.

The one chance Wycombe did manage to put away was cooly finished by Daniel Flitchett to give Wycombe's second string a rare 3 points

Match 55: Accrington Stanley 0-2 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-02-02T15:18:00.001-08:00

Wycombe finally broke their Accrington hoodoo at the 4^th time of asking. 3 times before we had failed to beat our lowly opponents A combination of bad refereeing (last September’s 2-1 defeat at The Crown Ground), minds on the cup (last January’s 1-1 draw in the return game) and general poor performance (the opening day loss at home this season) had seen us fail to gain the points the form book said we should have.

It was a fairly early start for the crew this morning, depleted by absences and numbering just 3 in my car. We set off at 7, with the possibility still on that the game would be postponed due to the bad weather. Conditions were fine as we set off, but it was looking decidedly dicey as we got up to Stafford so we stopped for a short break at Stafford Services to wait for news of the 9am pitch inspection. Talk of where we could go if the match was off ensued, fortunately the alternative was not needed as we got the good news that the game could go ahead.

The ticking off of grounds continued, but the bad conditions dictated that we couldn’t get to our first stop at Ramsbottom as all the surrounding roads were closed. Things didn’t look much better at Rossendale and Bacup as you can see from the first 2 pictures, but were clearing up as we got further up – Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Padiham and our eventual destination Accrington all looked a lot more playable.

We got to Accrington about 1ish and welcomed the team off the coach, including new signing Neil Lennon. It was then to the chippy for a pre match meal of steak pudding, curry sauce and chips which was excellent. Last year the chippy closed at 1.30, just as nearly 2000 football fans were arriving. Not brilliant business sense, but they’ve thankfully sorted it now.

After a quick pint we made our way to the ground for the game. Wycombe were brilliant, they should have had many more but in the end it was just 2-0. Scott McGleish continuing his rich vein of form with another goal, but also missing a penalty. Leon Knight got the second as he chased down a poor backpass by Accrington to make the game safe for Wycombe. Wycombe dominated the game from start to finish with Sergio Torres running our hosts ragged, much to the chagrin of the home fans. Scott McGleish In particular missed chances to make the scoreline embarrassing for Accrington but with the amount of goals he has put away this season he can be forgiven.

The journey home was uneventful. A stop near Aston Villa was taken for a Curry at the local Indian Restaurant, and very nice it was too, the food no doubt tasting a lot better after a good victory for Wycombe

Match 54: Didcot Town 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers Reserves

2008-01-30T15:09:00.000-08:00

Wycombe’s last chance of cup glory this season came tonight, albeit the Reserve team. A young Wycombe side travelled to the N-Power Loop Meadow ground, home of Didcot Town.

The hosts, going well in the BGB Division 1 South & West featured former Wycombe youth team player Josh Mulvaney and were sure to provide a decent test for Wycombe tonight.

Wycombe, the winners of the Bucks & Berks Cup a record 26 times welcomed back Mike Williamson after a lengthy injury lay off, Jamie Young also getting back his match fitness playing in goal. Others on the fringes of the first team that played were Sam Stockley, Chris Palmer, Andre Boucaud & George Daly.

On a cold night an uneventful game was won by the head of Tom Cadmore. The young defender was in the right place at the right time, to connect with an excellent Chris Palmer cross. Palmer, man of the match by a long chalk looked dangerous all night and Wycombe should have had more.

A trip to Milton Keynes Franchise is Wycombe’s reward, who are now just one game away from their 4^th consecutive final. The winners of the Windsor & Eton V Chesham Semi Final will play whoever comes out on top in our semi final.

Match 53: Wycombe Wanderers 0-1 Dagenham & Redbridge

2008-01-29T14:29:00.000-08:00

After the high of beating Chesterfield on Saturday, Wycombe had a much simpler looking game against Dagenham at Adams Park tonight.

But as is so often the case at Wycombe, they will get your hopes up, only to send them crashing down again.

The only change from Saturday's team was Martin Bullock coming in for the injured Matt Bloomfield, the tireless midfielder missing through injury.

Bullock never really got going though, unlike the reverse fixture at Victoria Road where he turned the game on it's head, after coming on as a sub, to rescue a late point for Wycombe. It was a last minute penalty from Jermaine Easter that made it 2 each that day, to continue Wycombe's disappointing start to the season back in August.

And it was a penalty again, this time in stoppage time at the end of the first half. Leon Johnson handballed, though not intentionally and Dagenham's Rainford converted the spot kick that ultimately decided the game. Until then the game had been a non event, with both sides struggling to gain any sort of control on the game and few chances being created.

The second half was a bit more livelier, both sides having chances with the majority falling to Wycombe. But none were taken, and this defeat leaves Wycombe out of the play-off zone for the first time in a while. Dagenham, who would have been in the relegation places had they not won now have a 3 point lead over Mansfield in 23rd spot, and Wycombe really must get 3 points against Accrington on Saturday to restore their promotion credentials

Match 52: Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Chesterfield

2008-01-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

Wycombe came through 1-0 in a tough game against fellow play-off chasers Chesterfield at Adams Park.

After a good 1-1 draw at Rotherham but only 1 point from the last 2 games, Wycombe badly needed 3 points and they got them today thanks to a great goal from Scott McGleish.

Former Leeds and Luton manager Kevin Blackwell, harshly sacked from both jobs at Leeds and Luton was reporting for BBC Radio Sheffield today and he couldn't have failed to be impressed with McGleish's strike. It was a half volley from just outside the area which flew into the top corner. I'd imagine McGleish, now with 17 goals this season could cut it in the league above and cash strapped Luton would certainly appreciate his input. But thankfully McGleish is going nowhere and will hopefully finish as top marksman in League 2 this season

Chesterfield had the early run of play but never really looked like scoring. Wycombe, unchanged from last week soon settled into their game and went into the break 1-0 up. Most of the half time talk was of Havant & Waterlooville's excellent performance at Anfield, the Hawks twice taking the league against Liverpool, before eventually succumbing 5-2.

Wycombe however, managed to hold onto their lead, chances came for both sides in the second half, but Wycombe were well on top and good value for their win

Match 51: Aldershot Town Reserves 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers Reserves

2008-01-22T10:01:00.000-08:00

Aldershot triumphed 1-0 over a poor Wycombe Reserves side in this afternoons game at the Recreation Ground

Jamie Young was back in goal for Wycombe following his long injury lay off. A back 4 of Sam Stockley, Tom Cadmore, Stuart Cattell and Darell Ellams was behind a midfield of Martin Bullock, Andre Boucaud, Stefan Oakes and Chris Palmer. Forwards George Daly and Daniel Flitchett completed the side.

Wycombe actually started the brighter side and were well on top for the first 20 minutes or so.

But then Andre Boucaud launched himself into a tackle that saw an Aldershot player on the ground writhing in agony. The Aldershot team were incensed and from then on their side got their act together and took control of the game.

The winner came in the 2nd half, just after half time when a shot hit the underside of the crossbar and went in, despite the best efforts of Jamie Young. Wycombe's best player was probably Chris Palmer who got in quite a few good crosses as he looked to build up his match fitness. On the other flank, Martin Bullock was disappointing and typified Wycombe's performance today

Match 50: Rotherham United 1-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-01-19T10:02:00.001-08:00

Wycombe followed up last weeks disappointing home defeat to Rochdale with a much tougher looking trip to Millmoor to play 2^nd placed Rotherham United.

Today was “United Rotherham” day up in South Yorkshire, an attempt to persuade the local council to give them a new ground. Since Wycombe last visited Rotherham 3 sides have stayed the same at Millmoor. The 4^th side is now a half completed stand, presumably unfinished due to financial difficulty.

In the lead up to the game an amusing article appeared in the Daily Mirror about former Wycombe player Tom Williams and his “Wanabee WAG” Williams left Wycombe at the start of the year following a mistake in the FA Cup game at home to Swindon in November. A bust up with manager Paul Lambert ensued and it said in this weeks Bucks Free Press that Williams was heard whistling the McDonalds advertising theme tune “I’m Lovin It” following the 6-0 drubbing at Stockport. But his other half is worse if you believe the papers. The link is below, and can be found with pictures on the Mirror website.

Diary of a Wanabee WAG

Pretty pathetic in my opinion, we are better off without people like that round the club.

Anyway, back to today’s game. Rotherham were well on top for most of the first half. A great free kick from Rotherham’s Steven Brogan gave them a 14^th minute lead, that following Tommy Doherty’s foul just outside the area. The Millers continued to come close on several occasions. The first save Rotherham keeper Andy Warrington had to make was just before half time from Matt Bloomfield, John Sutton blazing the rebound over the bar.

Thankfully Wycombe were a lot better in the 2^nd half and could and should have won it. Scott McGleish was the goal hero again, his curling shot evading the whole Rotherham defence and keeper Warrington to make it all square. Despite having plenty of chances Wycombe couldn’t win it. Russell Martin made some decent deliveries with his corners but we were unable to find a winner. Lambert went with 3 up front, bringing on Leon Knight as Wycombe pushed for the winner. But it wasn’t to be, and 1-1, a result most Wycombe fans would have been delighted with before the game was the final outcome.

Match 49: Wycombe Wanderers 0-1 Rochdale

2008-01-12T09:33:00.001-08:00

Wycombe's unbeaten run came to an end in a home defeat against fellow play off contenders Rochdale at Adams Park. This was Wycombe's first defeat at Adams Park since the opening day and despite being against a side with a good away record, many Wycombe fans will be very disappointed.

An awful referee and a poor looking pitch did not help matters but in truth Wycombe looked nowhere near the side that beat Mansfield so convincingly on Tuesday. Rochdale were a good side that made it difficult for Wycombe and the visitors shaded the game but both sides had good chances to win it even though it was a fairly quiet game.

The referee seemed to get almost every decision wrong and was very picky so the game never really got flowing. Wycombe's best chance, apart from the scrambles at the end as Wycombe piled forward, was when the ball dropped invitingly for Sergio Torres, but the Argentinean fired wide. In the end it was a penalty that won it for the visitors and to be fair the referee was probably right. On 87 minutes Craig Woodman barged into one of the Dale players and the resulting penalty was slotted home. Wycombe will now have to wait a week to put it right, when they face another stern test when they visit 2nd placed Rotherham United

Match 48: Mansfield Town 0-4 Wycombe Wanderers

2008-01-08T17:38:00.001-08:00

Wycombe enjoyed a comprehensive victory over a woeful Mansfield side at a rain soaked and windswept Field Mill.

I decided to go on the coach as I didn’t fancy driving home into the night after being up at 4am this morning. I’ve not won the coach sweepstake for what seems like an eternity but tonight I pulled out Scott McGleish and he came up trumps. The ex Colchester man, who has done so well this season added another 3 goals to his seasons tally. It would have been 4, but a Mansfield defender deflected the third goal over the line.

The big news for Wycombe going into the game was the signing of Leon Knight from MK Franchise. Knight who scored plenty of goals for Huddersfield and Brighton had had a falling out with his manager Paul Ince and had not played since October. He came on with around 20 minutes to go and showed some nice touches, despite not seeing first team action for a while. He could have even had a goal but an good save from Mansfield keeper Carl Muggleton denied him.

Mansfield were fresh from beating League 1 side Brighton at the weekend, recording a remarkable 2-1 victory at Brighton’s Withdean Stadium. Tonight was a different story thankfully. As with the nightmare at Stockport, exactly a month ago today, one side coped with the conditions and the other didn’t. Thankfully it was Wycombe that coped this time as they demonstrated why Mansfield are second bottom of the Football League. Every man in a red and white shirt played brilliantly tonight and were full value for their win. It could and should have been more but we failed to capitalise fully on some chances.

It is now 5 wins out of 6 games now for Wycombe. It would have been 6 in a row but for a bad decision by the linesman in the Barnet game. Wycombe must fancy their chances against Rochdale on Saturday before a tough game at Rotherham the following week. Even a delay on the way home due to an accident on the M1 couldn’t spoil the night, which will be remembered by all that attended the game.

Match 47: Lewes 4-0 Basingstoke Town

2008-01-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Lewes triumphed 4-0 against Basingstoke Town as they extended their lead at the top of the Blue Square South. Paul Booth got the first on 14 minutes after Basingstoke had matched their opponents early on. The second came from Simon Wormull on 55 minutes after a mistake from Basingstoke keeper Chris Tardiff, before Wormull again and Matt Groves added 2 late goals to give the scoreline a one-sided look. And it was no less than Lewes deserved, as they demonstrated why they are favourites to win their league this season.

I was visiting Lewes' Dripping Pan ground as Wycombe had no game today, owing to the FA Cup. It was a ground I'd wanted to visit for a while, and I have to say I was impressed - it's a nice set up and a friendly club.

Other grounds were visited on the way, namely Cobham, Bookham, Horley, Redhill, Hassocks, Ringmer, Chipstead, Three Bridges, Merstham and Burgess Hill Town.

The nicest was probably Merstham - a very good ground for their Combined Counties League Status and I'd imagine it would be more than capable of hosting high level football if needed. Three Bridges was a nice little ground too, with a smart stand and picturesque surroundings as well as looking well cared for.

On the flip side Bookham was pretty basic and Redhill was a bit run down, but finances at this level dictate what can be done in way of facilities

Match 46: Wycombe Wanderers 0-0 Barnet

2008-01-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

So, a brand new year for Wycombe, but let’s start it as we finished the last one please. At the close of 2007 Wycombe were on a 4 match winning run and were hoping to make it 5 today, against Barnet at Adams Park.

The visitors had lost Liam Hatch, a player who seems to always score against Wycombe in recent times. Peterborough were the buying club, for a fee of £150,000. Wycombe were also rumoured to be interested in Hatch, but for £150,000 I am glad he is London Road bound – we can do a lot better for that price – maybe even knock something off our spiraling debt if there is no one worth signing. In return, to replace him they acquired Cliff Akurang from Blue Square Premier side Histon.

2 players departed since our last game – Tom Williams completing a free transfer to Peterborough after a falling out with Lambert, and Frank Fielding going back to Blackburn for a few days at least – thanks to the poxy Transfer Window rules.

In goal we had Rab Douglas back to replace Fielding in goal. The former Scottish international had been on loan at Wycombe earlier this season, but only played 1 game for us – the 2-2 home draw against Hereford on December 4^th. Perhaps it was that lack of first team action that signaled his return to Leicester, or if the rumours are to believed, he had been a “naughty boy” and was under the strict orders of his wife to move back – and quick!

On a mild day at Adams Park, it finished in a goalless stalemate. Wycombe shaded it though and but for what seemed a poor offside decision from the linesman they would have had all the points. Matt Bloomfield also hit the inside of the post, the ball rolling across the line and then being agonisinly cleared by Barnet. In general though it was a sluggish performance but 13 points out of the last 5 games is an excellent return. Wycombe have a free Saturday due to the FA Cup next week, the game at Mansfield originally scheduled for that date will now be the following Tuesday.

Match 45: Shrewsbury Town 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-12-29T13:48:00.000-08:00

Wycombe gained their 4th victory in a row with an excellent 1-0 win at fellow promotion rivals Shrewsbury Town.

It seems unbelievable that 3 weeks ago Wycombe were losing 6-0 at Stockport and not playing at all well. But how things can change. This was an excellent performance, we battled well to gain a deserved victory. The future now looks rosy, 3 weeks ago you wouldn't have bet any money on Wycombe getting promoted.

This was Wycombe's first game at Shrewsbury's excellent New Meadow stadium, after they left Gay Meadow in the summer. It's a tidy little ground and they've got the capacity just right - not too empty but extra space if they need it, which I'm sure they will in the derby games against Chester and Wrexham.

There was a biting Shropshire wind in the air, but Wycombe's excellent performance warmed up the 500 or so travelling support. The goal came in a first half which Wycombe dominated. John Sutton followed up Scott McGleish's shot that had been parried by Shrews keeper Glyn Garner. There were several other good chances for Wycombe, with a few for Shrewsbury too, but Wycombe were good value for their lead going in 1-0 to the good at half time.

The second half was a different story though, Shrewsbury came out like a wounded animal and hit the woodwork twice in 5 minutes. It was mainly Shrewsbury for the rest of the game too, with Frank Fielding and the Wycombe defence performing miracles to keep them at bay. Youngster George Daly came on with 20 minutes to go and did really well, he looks a real prospect for the future and it's great news that he is getting his chance to prove himself.

It;s going swimmingly at the moment, Wycombe will have to be on their toes against Barnet -they have a habit of letting us down when we least expect it. But if we do as expected and gain 3 points then we can rally start to think about grabbing that 3rd automatic promotion spot.

Match 44: Brentford 1-3 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-12-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

Wycombe performed well to gain a comprehensive and well deserved victory over local rivals Brentford in this Boxing Day clash.

The signs weren't brilliant before the game - Wycombe have not won away since September and have a terrible Boxing day record. Added to that the fact that Brentford have just got rid of their manager Terry Butcher - players will no doubt be out to impress the new man whoever that may be.

But despite the home side taking the lead through Glenn Poole Wycombe came through 3-1 to make it a good Christmas for Chairboys fans. After Brentford's Ben Starosta was sent off the game was turned on it's head and in truth Wycombe should have scored more. Even before the sending off Wycombe were the better side, twice hitting the woodwork and having a few other good chances. At the other end Frank Fielding made a couple of good saves to keep Wycombe in the game.

In the second half, a great goal from Sergio Torres gave the Blues the lead, a curling shot beyond Brentford keeper Simon Brown making it all square. Scott McGleish put Wycombe ahead when Brown dropped a cross at his feet, leading to a simple tap in. And John Sutton put the game pretty much beyond doubt with a stooping header.

Brentford did start to improve then, but couldn't make the breakthrough to reduce the arrears. Wycombe could have had more. Youngster George Daly came on with 5 minutes to go to make a cameo appearance and looked like he could cause problems with his pace.

So 6 points out of 6 so far for the busy Christmas period. But Wycombe face a much tougher test on Saturday in their first visit to the New Meadow in Shropshire.

Match 43: Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 Macclesfield Town

2007-12-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

Wycombe beat Macclesfield with an unspectacular but hard earned win over visitors Macclesfield Town. It wasn't the best of games, nor did Wycombe look heads and shoulders above their opponents. But they shaded it and did enough to gain 3 points with a workmanlike performance and it is that 3 points that people will remember come the end of the season.

One of the most memorable meetings between the sides came in January 2006 when after going 3-0 down in 14 minutes, we pulled it back to 4-3 ahead, before 2 late goals made it 5-4 to the Silkmen. Oh for a game like that at the moment. The results have been fairly reasonable this season when you look at the league table, but the style of play has been lacking at times and that is why there are still some doubts over manager Paul Lambert.

Craig Woodman, for so long the forgotten man at Wycombe, continued his run in the team by playing well and looking solid. But it's another left sided player Tom Williams that has been sent to Coventry this time. And I don't mean the Ricoh Arena, or even Sphinx Drive, where the two tone City's non league team, Coventry Sphinx ply their trade. No, Williams has been out of the team since a bad error against Swindon in the FA Cup. He subsequently had a bit of a sulk and talked to League 2 rivals Peterborough United. But no deal was agreed, he came back to Adams Park with his tail between his legs and hasn't had a glimpse of first team action since.

Wycombe's starting 11 was unchanged from the 2-0 victory against Morecambe last Friday. On the bench was Youth Team striker George Daly, who has done so well and scored so many for Greg Heald's Under 19 side. The game started scrappily and it was Macclesfield who took the lead with a good lob over Frank Fielding by their forward Francis Green.

Wycombe got back on level terms with a penalty from Scott McGleish after Matt Bloomfield was felled in the area. And it was Wycombe's top scorer who got the winner and the man of the match award when he capitalised on an error by Macclesfield's number 4, Sean Hessey to give Wycombe the ideal start to their Christmas campaign and send the Wanderers support home happy. McGleish also had 2 goals chalked off for various reasons as the match officials made some debatable decisions. But 3 points in the bag, didn't make any difference to our League position unfortunately.

All that remains to say is to wish all the regular readers of this blog a Merry Christmas and thank you all for taking the time to read my ramblings over the past few months.

And don't forget, if you've got kids, family or loved ones - remember to give them a hug, give them a kiss and tell them that you love them!!

Match 42: Maidenhead United 0-2 AFC Wimbledon

2007-12-15T10:27:00.001-08:00

As Wycombe had played last night, I had the opportunity of getting another game in and chose to go to the local game at Maidenhead United, who were hosting AFC Wimbledon in the FA Trophy 1st Round.

The visitors formed in 2003 after the original Wimbledon were disposed of in favour of a football team for Milton Keynes. Not just the officials of MK Dons were to blame - everyone from Merton Council to the Football Association had their part in eroding over 100 years of football history as the original team were disposed of without a thought.

Maidenhead play a league above their opponents today - they play in the Conference South, whilst AFC Wimbledon ply their trade in the Ryman Premier League. So the home side must have been favourites before the game. Not that that counted for anything. AFC Wimbledon controlled the game from start to finish and could have scored many more to cheer their vocal support, who took over Maidenhead's York Road ground today.

It was still 0-0 at half time but AFC Wimbledon's class told in the second half as they scored 2 goals and never looked like giving their opponents a sniff. So it's one step closer to Wembley for the Wombles, with Maidenhead's Trophy dreams over for another year

Match 41: Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Morecambe

2007-12-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Wycombe got back to winning ways with a comprehensive 2-0 over Morecambe, who before tonight’s game were above the Chairboys.

After last weeks 6-0 reverse at Stockport things really couldn’t get much worse and Paul Lambert rang the changes bringing in David McCracken & Craig Woodman who were absent last week.

Wycombe took the lead in the first half with a well taken goal from Scott McGleish. John Sutton added a second in the second half which will hopefully be the start of a goal flourish, just like in the SPL with St Mirren.

All in all it was a welcome return to form for Wanderers, who with Macclesfield at home next week, have a real chance of getting 3 points to continue their play off push. They say a week is a long time in football, it is very true. Things might not be all rosy at Adams Park at the moment, but tonight’s performance went a long way to putting things right. With some astute signings in the January transfer window, we could well be celebrating come May.

Match 40: Wycombe Wanderers Youth 0-5 Liverpool Youth

2007-12-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

After Saturday’s miserable result, the FA Youth Cup is a welcome distraction for the club. Wycombe got this far by beating Leatherhead 3-0, followed by a 5-0 thrashing of Dagenham in the 2^nd Round. The Youth Team have been in excellent form this season, including two 8-0 hammerings of Hereford and that can only be down to the excellent work of Greg Heald and co who run the Youth side having taken over in the summer.

There have been many rumblings on various message boards (mainly the Gasroom) on whether Lambert should go or not since that dark day at Edgeley Park. It seems to vary from day to day but one thing that everyone agrees on is the sad situation involving the Watford player Al Bangura. In case you don’t know he came over from Sierra Leone 4 years ago, when he was 15. Since coming over he has married and had a young child. He has paid in and contributed to the system in no small way thanks to his footballing talent. And yet the powers that be want to turf him out on his ear. But if you’re a criminal or a scrounger they can’t deport you due to your “human rights”. It beggars belief. So if you want to help his cause head over to here and sign the petition to protest against his deportation.

On a freezing cold evening at Adams Park, Wycombe eventually succumbed to a 5-0 defeat but it was totally undeserved. Indeed Wycombe had the better of the opening exchanges and could have, if the breaks gone their way, been leading at the break. But it was the visitors who took the lead and it was 1-0 at the break.

It was still a single goal lead nearly an hour in but tired legs were starting to show. A defensive error lead to a second being scored and effectively ending the game as a contest. 3 goals late on gave the scoreline an unfair one sided look as Liverpool look to retain the trophy they have won the previous 2 seasons running. No doubt a footballers mansion with 3 different types of stone cladding and a Jaguar X-Type await those lucky enough to make it to the Liverpool first team, for the Wycombe players it will be a different story as the gap between the haves and have nots in the footballing world widens

Match 39: Stockport County 6-0 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-12-08T14:21:00.000-08:00

Another trip to Edgeley Park, Stockport, where we have never won. But I always look forward to a trip to Edgeley Park, the club, officials and friends are always really friendly and there is always plenty of decent places to eat and drink

The weekend started with me meeting Jon Gaunt (of TalkSPORT and Sun fame) at his book signing in Watford on Friday. Cue a slagging off on the Gasroom I reckon. “Mr Tattler” called me “Wycombe’s answer to John (sic) Gaunt” after me whinging about Labour on this very blog. Thankyou, I will take it as a compliment! Someone else accused me of being “a Tory” – no they are useless too, all politicians are self serving pigs, with only intentions of satisfying their own over inflated egos.

Back to the football, today’s opponents, managed by one of my favourite football people Jim Gannon, were without a win in 5 games. In fact 5 straight defeats. A section of the County support are on the Stockport legend’s (think Stockport’s Keith Ryan type) back. I for one hope he sorts it out, but only after today.

So that’s what I wrote before the game. And blimey was it bad. The journey up wasn’t bad – visiting

Bicester Town
Leamington

Highgate United
Stone Dominoes

Woodley Sports

Woodley Sports was probably the best ground, with a pitch like the one England played on in Russia though, it’s only 4 miles from Stockport County and a nice little set up. A few more grounds ticked off, now I’ve been to over 400 and am trying to complete everyone in the FA Cup (just short of 800)

We got to Stockport about 1.20, waited for the team and official supporters coach to arrive before going for a pint at our usual haunt when we are up in Stockport, The Robert Peel. On getting into the ground, the waterlogged pitch was not exactly a perfect surface, but was certainly playable. The Anti Lambert Brigade, at that point of which I wasn’t a member were singing “Lambert For Scotland” in an attempt to rid us of our manager.

The game up until Stockport scored their first was pretty equal, with Wycombe having a couple of chances they could have gone ahead from. But on 30 minutes County’s Michael Rose delivered a great cross from which Adam Proudlock got the opener. It was Dickinson who got the second, finishing well with a shot off of the post and a very good goal. But Wycombe were still creating chances and were still in with a shout.

The second half was a different story though, 2 own goals from Martin & Christon, Proudlock completing his hat trick with a great 40 yard strike the better of his 2 goals. Wycombe were completely clueless, Lambert just standing in the dugout with his arms folded, while the animated Gannon spurred his team on to a brilliant victory. Lambert has served up some awful performances in his time here this season and I believe he has to go now, preferably by resignation so we don’t have to give him money he doesn’t deserve. The football is unattractive, the new players he has bought in largely not up to standard and despite being in touch with the playoffs, the results have been poor. We have one of the biggest budgets in the league and yet we are not making good use of it. Several other fans agreed, with most of the “singing lot” or “drone army” as some on the Gasroom like to label them calling for Lambert’s head after the 4^th goal went in. We kept singing right till the bitter end though, a fact which impressed the County fans.

There was a fair bit of nastiness going on in the ground, a supporter in a brown jacket had a disabled fan, Shakes, in tears after a torrent of abuse in which he labeled all Wycombe fans “disabled” amongst other things. The Stockport stewards saw sense and turfed him out. Another group of fans down the front also gave us some stick, but to be fair to them it wasn’t as nasty and personal as the earlier fan and they are regular, loyal supporters and like us, they are entitled to their say. There is a way to debate things and Johnny P, another loyal fan went down the front to “have it out” with them.

On the way home we had some fun with some Oxford fans in silver Ford Focus. They kept holding up six fingers and we retorted with “You’ll always be non league” when we both had our windows down. This after they lost 1-0 at Northwich Victoria. I reckon the mickey talking went on from Keele services right up to the M40. But it was good natured and friendly, with both sets of fans needing something to cheer them up after a miserable day.

If we are going to lose 6-0 (and I certainly don’t endorse it), then I’d rather do it to a club like Stockport, that I have a healthy amount of respect for. A friendly club with a good manager who is a legend at the club, we are always made to feel welcome up there. And despite our awful record up there, it’s still one of the away trips I look forward to.

Our own situation needs to be sorted out soon, before we begin a horrendous slide down the table. After today’s horror show, who knows what will happen next Friday against Morecambe. One thing is for sure, we need to put this horrid result behind us – and fast

Match 38: Wycombe Wanderers 2-2 Hereford United

2007-12-04T14:30:00.001-08:00

In an entertaining game at Adams Park, Wycombe threw away a 2 goal lead in the last 5 minutes to draw 2-2 with Hereford.

Wycombe returning to their usual 4-4-2 formation after a string of games playing 4-5-1 were much the better side for most of the game and should have had the game sewn up before Hereford's 2 late goals.

It all started so well for Wycombe, with Stefan Oakes scoring after 8 minutes with a great long range effort. An even better strike by Gary Holt put the home side well in control at the break as Hereford looked nothing like the top 4 side that the league table showed.

The visitors came out early for the second half, no doubt on the end of a rollicking from their manager, Graham Turner. But they failed to get in the game effectively as the chances dried up for both sides. The most amusing moment of the half was seeing Sergio Torres and the linesman collide - the official coming off far worse and having to go off injured. Hereford's 2 late goals - the second was a good effort from Simon Johnson, who's Missus put the kibosh on his transfer to Wycombe last year by insisting he stayed in Darlington. It really put the dampener on a good performance by Wycombe. We now face a tough trip to Edgeley Park, Stockport - another ground Wycombe have never won at

Match 37: Darlington 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-11-25T12:14:00.000-08:00

On a cold afternoon Wycombe lost to 1-0 at Darlington to continue their winless run away to the Quakers. The performance wasn't bad, but Darlington shaded the game as you would expect from a team who have been up at the top end of the table all season.

Maybe if we got in a new striker to help McGleish we would have got more from the game - Reid appeared uninterested and Sutton still hasn't recaptured the form that saw him lead the top scorers chart at St Mirren.

Frank Fielding was the undoubted man of the match for Wycombe, saving a penalty and making several other good stops. Sergio was unlucky in hitting a post, but could have seen himself red carded for an elbowing incident in the first half.

As well as a group of drunken students chanting random rubbish during the game, there were also chants of "Lambert Out" near the end, despite Wycombe putting in a reasonable performance in a tough game. I'm not naive enough to believe that everything at Wycombe, or Paul Lambert is perfect. But it will cost us a years wages as Lambert is on a 12 month rolling contract, plus the fact that if you look at our league position it isn't that bad. I think we could be a lot more positive at times in terms of attacking play, but it doesn't help when we only have 1 striker who has done well enough to merit a place in the first team all season. Hopefully someone will come in during the January "Transfer Window" to push us towards promotion as I think that's all we need to make the difference.

Match 36: Wycombe Wanderers Youth 5-0 Dagenham & Redbridge Youth

2007-11-21T12:16:00.000-08:00

On another wet evening it was again down to Adams Park, this time for a FA Youth Cup game against Dagenham & Redbridge, the winners of which would face the Cup Holders Liverpool at Home in a few weeks time. The most notable name to those not in the know about the Youth Team would be Eddie Savage – formerly Steven Beale in Eastenders before he turned nutty and started shooting people. Shooting of a different kind would be in order if Wycombe were to progress and they lived up to expectations with an energetic performance in an entertaining game.

Wycombe lined up with Adam Holloway in goal, a back 4 of Jamie Turley, Elliott Braithwaite, Craig Read and Darrell Ellams. A midfield 4 of Matt Phillips, Scott Shulton, Steven Beale (sorry Eddie Savage) and Callum Botham, with George Daly.

Dagenham were managed by former Crewe player Steve Garvey, who having been at Crewe would know all about a fledgling youth system under the wing of Dario Gradi. Robbie Savage, Neil Lennon and David Platt just a few of the many top players who started off at Gresty Road. All that while playing some good football which was replicated by both teams tonight.

The visitors also started with a 4-4-2 formation. Keeper Billy Lepine behind a back 4 of Aaron Hunwicks, Billy Reynolds, Liam Thomas & Alex Devlin. A midfield 4 of Danny Johnson, Lee Garrity, Harlee Dean & Rubio Severino. Up front were Nathaniel Gordon and Reiss DeSouza.

Before an attendance of around a hundred it was the visitors who had the first real chance of the game 2 minutes in with Adam Holloway making a good save 1 on 1 with a Dagenham forward despite other players lurking to follow up any spilled shots.

Wycombe soon took control however and after 6 minutes George Daly put the hosts 1-0 up, firing home from inside the area. Daly was involved again on 14 minutes when a pacy run saw him fire just wide of the far post from an acute angle. The same player was again unlucky, his shot blocked by a several defenders in the area. Shortly after a powerful shot was fired just over the bar from outside the area.

Wycombe continued to dominate, Botham with a good run, but his cross was comfortably gathered by the Dagenham keeper. Scott Shulton was booked for a meaty challenge on one of the Dagenham players after 24 minutes, but no action was taken 2 minutes later after a challenge on Wycombe keeper Adam Holloway after he had the ball comfortably in his grasp.

On 31 minutes Wycombe’s Callum Botham made it 2-0, finally putting the ball in the net after a frantic goalmouth melee. It was 3-0 a minute before the break, another goalmouth melee saw a Dagenham defender clear the ball behind for a corner. From the resulting set piece George Daly got his second and Wycombe’s third to put the Chairboys well in control

The score at the break 3-0 the East Londoners started the second half the better side. Adam Holloway was injured but was OK to carry on 10 minutes in as he raced out of his area to foil a Dagenham attack.

3 minutes after the hour mark, a nasty looking challenge on Botham by Dagenham’s number 7 Lee Garrity resulted in him going in the referee’s notebook, as Wycombe again looked to regain control of the game. A few minutes later Botham fired narrowly over as Wycombe looked to wrap the game up.

It was 4-0 to Wycombe on 72 minutes George Daly getting his hat trick after he finished well from a cross from the left which was fired into the area. Game, Set & Match for the Chairboys, not that there was any doubting the result on the balance of play. It was 5-0 on 84 minutes, substitute Daniel Flitchett bundling in after the Dagenham keeper parried another shot as Wycombe continued to boss the game. A minute later Jordan Lumsdon’s shot went narrowly over the bar. An excellent performance from the Wycombe youngsters then, a bright future looks in the offing for several of Wycombe’s young starlets, although it is essential they are nurtured correctly. Too much talent has gone to waste from Wycombe’s youth sides, and a club such as hours, losing a lot of money each year, cannot afford to let this go on

Of course the country’s main focus tonight is the 8PM kick off between England & Croatia. I’m going for a 2-1 win for the 3 Lions, with Crouch and Gerrard getting the goals. But even if we do qualify, and it’s by no mean guaranteed as Croatia are a very good side, I believe McClaren should go. 0-0 at home to Macedonia and a very poor performance in Barcelona against minnows Andorra is not the sort of form or performances we should be taking into Austria and Switzerland, and that’s without the sub standard tactics and sometimes baffling team selections. Well having watched 15 minutes of this game, this pathetic collection of overpaid numpties run by that king dunce have already messed up my prediction. We are now relying on Andorra to do us a favour which is about as likely as hell freezing over. Good luck too to Northern Ireland, the UK’s only other representative still in with a chance. They have to beat Spain on their own turf, just as they did 25 years ago, Gerry Armstrong scoring in the nation’s most notable footballing moment. Latvia will also have to win in Sweden for the Northern Irish to have a chance. We may even see Tommy Doherty, the Wycombe midfielder pull on an Irish shirt next summer. One thing’s for certain, they deserve to be there more than England, they have shown more courage, guts and determination than their far richer and illustrious cousins ever have in this qualifying campaign.

Match 35: Wycombe Wanderers Reserves 0-1 Charlton Athletic Reserves

2007-11-20T13:29:00.000-08:00

On a damp evening at Adams Park, Charlton triumphed 1-0, Luke Varney scoring a penalty after Wycombe's keeper James Reading had felled him in the box. The youngster could have been sent off on another night, but the ref used his common sense and issued just a yellow card.

Chris Palmer was making his first appearance in a Wycombe shirt since pre season, following his aborted loan move at Wycombe's opponents on Saturday, Darlington.

Tommy Doherty continued his march to fitness by completing 80 minutes and Reuben Reid played up front on his own as reserve coach Ian Culverhouse opted to play a 4-5-1 formation, just as the first team had been doing in the last couple of games.

The first real action of the game saw Andre Boucaud booked after a tasty challenge on a Charlton player. Much amusement was caused as first of all Boucaud took telling 3 times before coming back to talk to the referee, then after a lot of whinging the referee replied "Well I don't make the challenges,do I!"

Overall it was a good game, with quite a few chances for each side, Wycombe keeper Reading redeeming himself with a great save at the death, after Varney had broken away from the Wycombe defence.

Match 34: Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Lincoln City

2007-11-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

Wycombe gained their first victory for nearly a month as they triumphed 1-0 over bottom of the table side Lincoln City at Adams Park.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men for what looked a fairly tame tackle and Wycombe took full advantage, winning comfortably if unspectacularly.

Lambert again went with a 4-5-1 formation, a strange one against a side bottom of the league and with us having home advantage too. The goal came in the first half from Scott McGleish but Wycombe could have had more. Sergio Torres had 2 good efforts, the best of which rebounded off the post. Other chances came and went, but it could have been a smash and grab for Lincoln as they came close right at the death.

But in the end it was a welcome 3 points for Wycombe, who can hopefully get their promotion dream back on track after falling away in recent weeks

Match 33: Thatcham Town 0-2 Wycombe Wanderers Reserves

2007-11-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

Wycombe visited Thatcham tonight, which meant me “ticking off” Waterside Park, the only ground left in the Bucks & Berks Cup that I had yet to visit. For once the luck of the draw was with me, making a change from the League Cup and a long trek down to Plymouth, when a home tie would have been nicer. Thatcham wasn't a bad little ground, the way my Sat-Nav took me made it look like it was miles from anywhere, but to be truthful it was just of the A4 with a decent pub just round the corner, near the train station.

Wycombe fielded a very strong line up for this game, most notably Tommy Doherty was getting his first taste of action following his loan move from QPR. Reuben Reid and John Sutton were also named up front, following the non inclusion of them in the starting line up for the Swindon game on Saturday. With Boucard, Christon and Crooks all having first team action in fairly recent times, this was about the strongest reserve side we have named in quite a while

The game was a tepid affair with goals from John Sutton & Lewis Christon. Christon's goal was the highlight but the rest of the game was really nothing to write home about. A typical Berks & Bucks tie I suppose with Wycombe never really getting out of first gear, yet being troubled little by Thatcham's attack. Their closest chance came just after half time when they hit a post but apart from that the 70 or so spectators had little to remember this game by.

Match 32: Forest Green Rovers 2-2 Rotherham United

2007-11-11T12:13:00.000-08:00

In an entertaining game at the New Lawn, Forest Green Rovers and Rotherham United shared 4 goals in a pulsating FA Cup game.

Leaving from work at 12, I picked up Paul in Slough. Rather amusingly he had the cheek to claim that his team, the Prince Of Wales were cheated in their 4-2 cup tie defeat against Citroen UK.

This despite the Citroen side starting with 10 men, but the game being evened up when one of the P-O-W players was sent off for handball on the line. Citroen had the cheek to bring on an 11th player with 5 minutes to go with the game already decided!!

The trip up the M4 was as bad as it could possibly be, with a stinking great accident causing us to sit at a complete standstill or 90 minutes. Why it took so long to clear is any ones guess, 4 hours in total the junction was closed. This government are happy to rake in the road taxes with petrol over a quid a litre but they don't seem too keen to clear accident scenes very quickly. A fast clear up is best for the injured victims, ensuring them speedy medical attention, and avoiding misery for others caught in the crossfire. An ambulance can't offer the same level of care that a hospital and all it's specialist departments can, and after all it's the victim of the accident that has to be the priority. This government has no morals though. Bottler Brown will nick your pension, and lie to you about the EU referendum, as well as making the country go to rack and ruin due to feral youths and feckless scroungers.

We eventually did get going and were "only" 15 minutes late in the end. Forest Green were very accommodating and friendly, letting us in through reception as all the gates were shut. Their safety officer also remembered his opposite number at Wycombe Richard "Stan" Stanford as a miserable bugger, from when they went on a training course together, although I think he was half joking.

The game was brilliant. Stuart Fleetwood put in a great performance for the home side, scoring both their goals, both neat finishes. Rovers were unlucky not to have the tie won by half time but a shot that looked well over the line was adjudged "no goal" by the match officials, who otherwise did an OK job. So the non leaguers 2-0 up at the break, Rotherham offering nothing, and being booed off by their own fans at half time.

Forest Green continued to dominate after half time and should have added to their tally. Rotherham pulled one back from the spot around the hour mark, but still they looked well out of it. But during another Forest Green attack on 84 minutes, Rotherham moved quickly to break and grab the equaliser with the shot being drilled into the bottom left corner. Very harsh on the home side as Rotherham had threatened rarely. Even after the goal the home side had the better chances. But it finished all square, a replay occurring on Tuesday week, when fingers crossed, I will be at Staines v Stockport, ticket availability permitting.

We listened to the FA Cup draw on the way home, when ironically, Swindon, Wycombe's conquerors were drawn at home to the eventual winners of today's tie. Most likely destination for me that day, will be Burton V Barnet, hopefully no difficulty with tickets there.

Match 31: Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Swindon

2007-11-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

An uninspiring performance from Wycombe in a poor game saw them crash out of the FA Cup at the first hurdle - completing a full set as they had also failed to progress in the Carling Cup or Johnstones Paint Trophy.

After the performance in the week, Wanderers fans deserved better. The writing was on the wall as soon as the team sheets had been handed in, Lambert going with a negative 4-5-1 formation.

Frank Fielding in goal, a back 4 of Martin, McCracken, Johnson and Williams (who is by far better as a left midfielder)

A 5 man midfield with Gary Holt returning, alongside Bullock, Torres, Bloomfield and Oakes (who couldn't string a pass together on Wednesday) Scott McGleish was on his own up front, maybe due to Lambert's negativity, but also due to the fact that we only have 3 strikers at the club, 2 of which are well out of form.

In an equal first half of few chances McCracken went off injured to be replaced by Stockley. But Wycombe were at least equal to Swindon, who were equally poor, misplaced passes galore.

In the second half, a mistake by Williams, who was being played out of position, led to Christian Roberts scoring. This failed to wake Wycombe up. Billy Paynter scored a great second goal from a long range shot. Still Wycombe offered little response but Matt Bloomfield scored a scrappy consolation 5 minutes from time.

The FA Cup dream over for another year, Wycombe and their fans now have a free weekend on the 1st of December, maybe a blessing in disguise after the way this week has gone.

Match 30: Wrexham 0-0 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-11-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

A Wednesday night trip to Wrexham for the hardy Wycombe followers, of which 102 made the long journey to North Wales for a disappointing 0-0 draw with the Red Dragons.

North Wales as I am sure some of you are aware is home to the "Mad Mullah of the Traffic Taliban" - the once and only Richard Brunstrom. The man who puts the "you know what" into Constable, obsessed with catching drivers a fraction over the speed limit, yet wants to legalise drugs like Heroin, and probably give them out free on the NHS! And true to form there is a speed camera right outside Wrexham's ground!

The man who likens the association of British drivers to the BNP (!), performed a rap at the association of Black Police Officers (which they found patronizing) and showed a picture of a deceased motor cyclist whose head had been decapitated to the press, without even asking the dead man's family. But all this is par for the course and sadly inevitable under today's Labour government.

Right, rant over, that filled a bit of space because there was precious little else to talk about in today's game. A poor performance by Wycombe, with Frank Fielding saving Wycombe further embarrassment with a penalty save in the first half. Apart from that there were very few chances, most of Wycombe's attacks came near the end, all too late to make an impact. A few of the older supporters were even chanting "Lambert Out!!" after he failed to make any substitutions until very late on.

And to cap it all, when we got back to Adams Park, a coachload of supporters found themselves locked out of the ground as some clever clogs had locked up and gone home with the keys, despite the obvious visual clues of several cars being in the car park. It was all sorted out after a 20 minute wait, but with some having to be up for work early the next morning it was pretty damn inconvenient.

Let's hope for better against Swindon in the FA Cup on Saturday, perform like we did tonight against a higher division side and we could be in for a hiding.

Match 29: Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Franchise

2007-11-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

Don’t believe all the “Bull” about this being the “Big Bucks Derby” as it has been billed in some quarters. Today was about justice for football and it was Wycombe’s job to provide it. The Franchise, hated and ostracized by most of the football world were our opponents in today’s league game at Adams Park.

“Milton Keynes Dons” as they like to be called, you will be aware, unless you have been living on the planet Mars for the last 5 years, were created from the ashes of Wimbledon FC. The 1988 FA Cup winners were bought up by Charles Koppel and shunted 70 miles north to a City that already had several non-league clubs. The football world’s gripe is not about the location of course, many people would have been the first to welcome this club with open arms, had they not stolen their place in the league and instead worked their way up to the league in an honest fashion

Don’t believe any of the hype, the true Dons now ply their trade in the Ryman League Premier Division under the guise of AFC Wimbledon, a true fans club and something to be proud of.

Of the few voices in the football world supporting the idea of the Franchise, many use the excuse that Wimbledon would be no more if they stayed as they were. True, Merton Council were highly un co-operative when it came to finding the original Dons a new home. But they would have got through, whether it be playing at another ground or whatever. Certainly their attendances would not have been much different to what they are now in Milton Keynes.

MK were dirty last season too under Martin Allen. And I didn’t see much change today. 2 players sent off for them and could have been more if the referee had been so inclined. Matt Bloomfield, who was sent crashing into the advertising hoardings in last seasons game up at MK was the hero for Wycombe, putting them ahead after around 40 minutes. But Colin Cameron equalized for the Franchise on the stoke of half time. And despite having 2 players sent off in the space of a minute, Wycombe couldn’t get the winner against 9 men after 2 sendings off in a minute. John Sutton missed a penalty in between those dismissals, but Wycombe really should have taken advantage.

But in the end we had to settle for a point, 1-1 the final score, this setting up an interesting re-match in North Bucks next March.

Match 28: Chester City 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-10-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

Wycombe gained a decent 2-2 draw from their visit to The Deva Stadium. Chester who have taken many people by surprise by climbing to 2nd in the table behind the vile Franchise. I am sure if it was between them for the title and the lot who stole Wimbledon's place in the league then everyone in Wycombe and indeed everyone outside the "Stadium:MK" would be cheering today's opponents. But Wycombe showed that they can be up there too with a battling performance.

Now Chester isn't my favourite away trip. Like us they are stuck at the end of an industrial estate, with no pubs visible from the ground. But if you know what you are doing Frankie and Benny's is only a short while away and while it's only an overpriced restaurant-bar it is a godsend to wet your whistle pre-match. And it makes the day that little bit more bearable. The fans were friendly and stewards helpful too which is always nice.

Wycombe's goals came from Sergio Torres and John Sutton, either side of a brace by John Murphy for Chester. Either side could have won it, in my biased mind Wycombe probably shaded it. But in the end the draw was a fair and welcome result.

The Football grounds continued to tick themselves off. On the way:

Alvechurch & Barnt Green Spartak
Tividale
Oldbury United
Redditch
Cradley Town
Pelsall Villa

On the way back:

Nantwich Town

Of the grounds I particularly enjoyed Alvechurch (had to go through a kind neighbour's garden!), Redditch (decent ground for The BS North) and Nantwich (smashing new ground)

Unfortunately I couldn't get any pictures of Cradley and Pelsall as they were completely locked up but there are are still a few pictures below should you fancy a look.

Grounds

Match 27: Wycombe Wanderers 3-0 Grimsby Town

2007-10-20T09:54:00.001-07:00

In a boring game Wycombe easily triumphed in a 3-0 victory against another side who's manager's position is in serious peril, especially after today's result

Indeed in 6 visits to Adams Park Grimsby are still winless, much the same can be said of our record up there, although we did gain a 1-0 victory a couple of seasons back, Tommy Mooney doing the honours.

Wycombe's goals came from Gary Holt, his first goal for the club. Scott McGleish grabbed a brace, one of them a last minute penalty. And that was about it as far as entertainment went, very few other chances and I can't recall Grimsby having a chance of note, despite Martin Butler's constant diving.

Another away trip awaits next week. That's when we travel to Chester, stuck 2 miles into an industrial estate and their bar won't let in away fans. A bit similar to Adams Park then but at least we sometimes let away fans in our "Scores Bar". Another side who have suffered from their local council, like ourselves. 3 points is a must then, to give the travelling Wanderers something to smile about.

Match 26: Wycombe Wanderers Reserves 0-1 QPR Reserves

2007-10-16T08:42:00.000-07:00

Despite a good performance on a wet afternoon at Adams Park, Wycombe's reserve team lost 1-0 to QPR, unfortunately owing to a mistake from the normally reliable Lewis Christon.

Wycombe fielded a youthful side with on loan keeper Przemyslaw Kazierczak in goal, a back 4 of Robert Rice, Lewis Christon, Will Antwi and Craig Woodman, a midfield 4 of Derek Duncan, Andre Boucaud, Scott Shulton and Matt Phillips with Reuben Reid up front with Callum Botham.

QPR meanwhile brought a side with plenty of experience including former Man United and Blackburn star John Curtis.

Wycombe started the brighter side - Derek Duncan forcing an early save from Rangers' keeper Jake Cole. A good through ball to Callum Botham forced Cole to come sliding out of his area with the ball still in his hands. In the rule book a sending off for handling outside of the area but the referee used his common sense as the wet surface was making things tricky. The resulting free kick from Derek Duncan was wasted when he hit it right into the QPR defensive wall.

QPR took the lead on 15 minutes when after a mistake by Lewis Christon. He gifted possession to Kieron StAimee who's powerful run through the few remaining Wanderers players was finished with a finish into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.

Chances came and went, but it was 1-0 to the visitors at the break, but with plenty of positives for reserve team boss Ian Culverhouse to take into the half time team talk.

Reuben Reid and Callum Botham created plenty more problems for the Rangers defence in the second half too, both missing good chances though. On 82 minutes Wycombe had a claim for a penalty, Scott Shulton's shot striking the impressive Dominic Shimmin on the hand, but the referee didn't see it and another chance went begging. Shulton himself missed a great chance in the final minute - a good ball was delivered to him from Matt Phillips, but the midfielder failed to make contact and the chance was gone.

But a good performance from the Reserves and lots to look forward to. If Reuben Reid could cut out his displays of petulance that he regularly shows, he would be a better player for it, as he certainly has bags of skill. Callum Botham, son of Cricketing legend Ian "Beefy" Botham was impressive too and Wycombe could have a real star on their hands if they play their cards right.

The referee too, Mr Creighton also did well, apart from our penalty claim and would put Sunday's referee at Peterborough, Richard Beeby, to shame when it came to common sense and letting the game flow.

Wycombe Official Match Report
QPR "Rivals" Match Report

Match 25: Richard Beeby 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-10-14T11:31:00.001-07:00

A game in which Wycombe should have had at least a share of the spoils was totally ruined by an utterly incompetent refereeing performance from clown prince Richard Beeby.

As if totally inept performances in the away games against Accrington & Franchise last season was not enough, he proceeded to give an almost totally biased performance to Peterborough United in this afternoon's game, which had been re-arranged from the original Saturday date, due to the International games.

It was Peterborough who started the brightest, unaided by the referee with Craig Mackail-Smith the main culprit when it came to missed chances. Wycombe's first real chance was 14 minutes into the game, with John Sutton narrowly missing his lob over the home keeper Jalal. Chances came and went, Peterborough even having a penalty claim when the ball hit Johnson's arm but it was goalless at the break.

Peterborough took the lead shortly after half time when after poor Wycombe defending, George Boyd slotted the ball home from inside the area. A foul on Sergio Torres presented Wycombe with a free kick and Russell Martin was unlucky to only hit the bar with a great effort. Desperate defending from the resulting melee in the area prevented Wycombe from grabbing a quick equaliser, but they weren't to be denied for long - Torres' great through ball set up Matt Bloomfield to finish with a great shot and it was all square.

Wycombe then pressed further forward, Stefan Oakes unlucky with a powerful drive that just went beyond the far post. George Boyd missed another golden opportunity to regain the lead for Posh but he shot wide when it should have been easier to score. Sergio Torres was then booked for diving after he had a very strong penalty claim. Worse still for Wycombe the resulting break in play gave Peterborough the opportunity to grab a late winner, a real kick in the teeth for Wycombe on an afternoon where hardly any decisions seemed to go their way.

On the way to and from the game I visited a number of Footy Grounds, if you're interested you can see the pics here:

Grounds Visited 14th October

Match 24: Oxford City 2-3 Farnborough

2007-10-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

With Wycombe playing on Sunday it was a good chance to go and see another team in action. After working a rare-ish Saturday till 12, due to all our Muslim staff celebrating their Eid festival, I set off for the short trip to Court Place Farm, home of Southern League Oxford City.

Oxford City had 4 former Wycombe players in their side. Firstly Stuart Cattell, the young Defender on loan, who was enjoying his second spell with them. Also Ikechi Anya, Jermaine McSporran and James Faulkner who has played in various capacities over the years made up the forward 3 for the home side. I'd been to Court Place farm for a couple of pre season friendlies before which were both one comfortably by the Chairboys. And who could forget the 3 match duel against them in the FA Cup in 1999. After drawing the first game we went to a replay, that also ending in a draw and (we thought) a penalty shoot out. But just as the spot kicks were about to start a "fire" started in the main stand, and the game was abandoned. In the re arranged replay Wycombe eventually triumphed, the game being played at Oxford United's old Manor Ground.

Farnborough also had a former Wycombe player, Steve Dell who played a few games for us in 2003 under Lawrie Sanchez. The newly formed club, still playing at their original Cherrywood Road ground. After the original Farnborough Town club went bust the new club was entered into the Southern League. Despite dropping a couple of divisions they still had a sizable support present at today's game, with about 60 making the journey from Hampshire. Farnborough Town had some good battles with Wycombe in the Vauxhall Conference with Wycombe mainly coming out on top, but they were always a decent side with the Conference's top scorer at the time, David Leworthy amongst their ranks. Since Wycombe's promotion to the football league their fortunes altered somewhat but looked to have altered when another former Wycombe man Graham Westley took over the club. But the joy was short lived. After changing their colours and their ground name Westley pulled out his money and went off to Stevenage Borough. The resulting dire straits eventually led to their demise, but thanks to fan power they still exist, albeit in a different guise.

It was a good game, which City had the chances to and should have won. But the officials didn't help with some poor decisions. Firstly they should have taken the lead when McSporran was wrongly ruled to have been offside. Farnborough then took the lead themselves with a well worked goal, finished off by Neville Roach. The same man then scored again, miles offside, but the linesman who must have been asleep at the time just waved play on.

So 2-0 at the break, with Oxford City looking to get back into the game. And they started the second half well, the pressure eventually leading to them reducing the arrears. James Faulkner crossed after good work by himself, setting up McSporran for the goal. Despite more pressure it was Farnborough who got the next goal, Farnborough's number 11, sporting a daft haircut raced away from the City defence before finishing well to make it 3-1. City then had another perfectly good goal ruled offside before getting a late consolation from the spot from their giant number 12, just on as a sub.

Match 23: Swansea City Reserves 2-0 Wycombe Wanderers Reserves

2007-10-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

Before I got the time off to go to Swansea, I had to do my usual pennance at ASDA from 5am up until 1pm. Having missed out on a better job earlier this week I am there for the foreseeable future. And to make matters worse they didn't have any of my favourite Yorkie Cookies - what is the world coming to?!?

Once I had finished I met Big Macca down the chippy and we made our way to the coach which left at one. Much animated conversation amongst the regulars about the usual subjects ensued – I can’t see Johnny P joining the Stefan Oakes fan club anytime soon!

At about 4 we stopped for our obligitary stop at one of the UK’s delightful service stations. This one, the “First” service station in Magor looked a bit like a time warp from the 1970’s We enjoyed a fairly trouble free trip down and got to the Liberty Stadium just before 6

Swansea were looking for revenge following us putting them out of the Carling Cup on our way to the semi final last season. Before the game Big Macca and I went to another chippy before making our way to the ground.. Wycombe made a number of changes including in goal where Przemyslaw Kazimierczak made his debut following his loan move from Bolton a couple of weeks ago. Swansea also fielded a patched up side as the Johnstones Paint Trophy was obviously low on each respective managers priority list. The fans were not that interested either, just 43 made their way from Wycombe, the lowest ever support in the Football League for a competitive game if I’m not mistaken.

In an uneventful game it was Swansea who took a 2 goal lead and could have had more in a first half where Wycombe looked in trouble on quite a few occasions. The second half was a bit better and we probably just shaded it but couldn’t find the net. Reuben Reid was probably the best Wycombe player causing a few problems for the Swansea defence. But the dream of winning the JPT is over at the first hurdle for Wycombe and they can now concentrate on the league bar the FA Cup which starts next month..

Match 22: Wycombe Wanderers 3-1 Notts County

2007-10-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

After the 2-1 defeat at Barnet the Wycombe team were keen to make amends by winning against Notts County.

Another man keen to make amends was Jermaine Easter, who posted the following on popular fans message board, The Gasroom....

Hi everyone this is jermaine easter! I just wanna say sorry 4 everything u have been reading in the press about me of late. I wanna tell u that i NEVER refused 2 play at bradford and i CERTAINLY didnt say i would never play 4 the club again.... all this has been blown out of hand... What happened was i felt i was not playing 2 my usual standard and i felt this was due 2 the disappointment of not being able 2 spk 2 plymouth, i expressed my feelings 2 the manager and that was that, nothing more than that! I owe this club alot and i would never disrespect it in the manner in which it has come out... U have all been great support 2 me while i have been here and i thank u all alot 4 that. But i just wanna stress 2 u all that im not a bad egg and that i do care about the club and when the manager is ready 2 play me again i will be there and fighting 4 the team. Im sure there will be a few of u that wont care about this apology and that think the damage is already done now and i totally understand that, but i feel that i owe u this explanation and hope u will continue 2 support me the way u have done during my time here. Many thanks Jermaine.

Now despite several grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors the sentiment is still there. I say let bygones be bygones for now. We will achieve nothing out of barracking Easter, despite him doing the same at Stockport. The best thing Easter can do is buckle down, before scoring more goals to up his transfer fee. I see no future for him beyond the new year, he has made it clear he wishes to move, but lets hope he does the business for Wycombe this season, starting at Swansea where I see a changed starting 11 given the number of games that have been coming at us lately.

Swansea themselves won 5-0 at high flying Leyton Orient today so they will be in eager mood to follow that up with Johnstones Paint Trophy success. Whatever sides both teams field, it should be a good contest.

Back to today however and an excellent 3-1 victory over Notts County was achieved with the visitors going down to 10 men after Mayo was dismissed for a foul on Martin Bullock. Sutton made it 10 from the resulting penalty. The first half had been pretty even and a draw was right at half time after very few clear cut chances.

Shortly after Notts made it 1-1 with a good finish. There was to be no repeat of the midweek game at Barnet where Wycombe threw away a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 however. From Sutton's good head on McGleish found the net to make it 2-1. Matt Bloomfield got away from the Notts defence to make it 3-1 shortly after and it looked like it was going to be a rout for Wycombe.

But despite more chances coming their way Wycombe failed to capitalise on their dominance and the score stayed 3-1, a comfortable and well played victory for the Wanderers.

Match 21: Barnet 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-10-03T10:48:00.001-07:00

It was a game of 2 halves for Wycombe after an excellent 1st half performance was undone by some sloppy mistakes and lack of inspiration going forward in the second.

Wycombe started brightly and took the lead on 22 minutes when a good finish from John Sutton gave the summer signing from St Mirren his first goal for the club. Wycombe continued to pressurise and could have had more, but 1-0 was the scoreline at half time.

Paul Fairclough must have said something to his Barnet team during the break because they came out a different side. But it wasn't until the 76th minute that the tide really turned. In a rare attack Reuben Reid found himself racing away from the Barnet defence, only to be ruled offside, wrongly in my opinion. From Barnet's next attack they equalised through Liam Hatch, who always seems to score against the Chairboys.

Wycombes misery was complete 4 minutes from time when poor defending,from Reid in paticular gifted Barnet a soft winner. Wycombe still had the chance to get a late equaliser when Sutton failed to connect with a cross that went right across the face of the Barnet goal.

The day out in London with Paul, Beanhead, Sue and I had been pretty good up until that second half collapse. Firstly it was off to Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane where we were disappointed there were no tours. A quick visit to local side Harringey Borough allowed me to "tick off" another ground from my list.

It was then into Central London for lunch, my treat as it was Big Paul's birthday - I hope he enjoyed his "Boss Hog Burger"! After that we met up with Lynette and went for a pint in my favourite London pub, The Glasshouse Stores in Brewer Street, Soho. This place rwally has to be tried by anyone who likes their pubs with a bit of tradition. It's a pub run by the Samuel Smiths brewery in Tadcaster. They really only stock their own products in the main but this is no problem as the prices are reasonable and the quality excellent. I can particularly recommend the Organic Cider which is amongst the best I have tasted.

After all that it was time to be getting on the way to Barnet. The others went on whilst I stopped a couple of stops early at West Finchley to get pictures of Wingate & Fichley's Harry Abrahams Stadium, before catching a bus up to Underhill.

Match 20: Bradford City 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-09-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

Bradford away was one of the trips I had been looking forward to visiting. The curry capital of the UK and a ground I hadn’t seen a game at (although I did get a few pictures of the outside of the ground when passing through once)

I decided to stay overnight in Bradford and it was about 10 when we left, due to Macca having to get his wages out of his Mum’s bank account. After listening to him moan that ASDA had ripped him off (which they had) we were on our way.

As usual I visited a few grounds on the way up. Long Buckby was the first stop. Original club of Notts Forest star Gary Birtles and suspected tornado destination according to this weeks papers. Fortunately the weather held out…just, apart from some light drizzle.

Next up was Oadby, getting to and from which was an unexpected nightmare. Due to the roadworks on the “Pork Pie Roundabout” meant that a 20 minute trip took an hour more than that. It would have been longer but for a late dive through the lights, saving another long wait. As per usual the workmen were standing round doing sweet FA.

Near neighbours South Normanton Athletic and Sutton Town were next up, Sutton’s being a nice modern stadium and a friendly club too, chatting to their first team manager who was sorting out the ground for the game on Saturday, such is the way of life at that level.

Stocksbridge Park Steels was last on my list for the day and was the best ground of the lot. A good terrace and a big enough stand for the Unibond League. Nicely kept too and a good pitch. It a pleasant drive up to the ground too, through loads of little streets with some good English countryside to look at.

After fighting traffic on the M1 and M62 we finally got to Bradford at around 5. Traffic had added at least 2 hours onto the journey which was mightily annoying. We went out for a Curry at the excellent Kashmir on Morley Street. – Chicken Tikka Kebab, Samosas, 2 Naan’s, 2 popadoms, Chicken Dhansak and Chicken Curry plus a couple of drinks set us back just £18.60 between us – remarkable value. After a couple of pints we went back to the hotel in eager anticipation of the game, and trying to think of a song for our new Polish keeper.

After a hearty English Breakfast I set off for the game, visiting Farsley Celtic (where someone advised me in no uncertain terms not to bother with Bradford due to it's large Asian population, and that it was only good for a curry). Eccleshill United and Bradford Park Avenue were also visited.

After a look about town I made my way up to the impressive Valley Parade. Wycombe's team news saw Frank Fielding selected in favour of our Polish compatriot, which the Bradford PS announcer had great fun trying to pronounce. Easter was missing, replaced by John Sutton. Sutton was a bit disappointing again, doubts over the quality of SPL defenders must be prevalent amongst the Wycombe fans as Sutton has failed to make any impact since joining Wycombe. I personally think that once he gets his first goal many more will follow.

Wycombe won 1-0 with a goal from Scott McGleish. It was a brilliant performance with everyone playing their part. It would be unfair to single out a man of the match but take your pick form Torres, McGleish or Johnson who were all exceptional.

After visiting Halifax & Liversedge on the way home I got back about 9.30. Barnet on Tuesday - if we perform like we did today, they won't know what's hit them!

Match 19: Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Shrewsbury Town

2007-09-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

A whole week without football due to various commitments meant my match count was slowing down a fair bit.

It wouldn't have been helped by Alliance and bloody Leicester who scandalously docked £50 yes £50 out of my bank account for going £8.99 overdrawn in the week, a totally disgusting and disproportionate fee. Delightfully there was news of the con artists having financial difficulties during the week, but unfortunately it came to nothing.

Wycombe with 2 games won in a row went into this game with a fair bit of confidence and started fairly well. But it was Shrewsbury who took the lead, Colin Murdoch rising highest at a corner and heading into the Wycombe net. Leon Johnson then cleared one off the line shortly after before Wycombe took a grip of the game.

They were rewarded when Scott McGleish scored from Russell Martin's cross to make it all square. Wycombe rallied but couldn't find a winner. The officials were pretty poor without being catastrophic but time and again decisions went against Wycombe. A positive performance before the trick trip to Bradford next week, when we will have to be at our best to avoid defeat

Match 18: Macclesfield Town 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-09-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

And so to Macclesfield. Home of the best chippy in the world believe me. Absolutely awesome, spot on, magic whatever you want to cal it. Steak Pudding, Chips and Curry Sauce done to utter perfection for the utterly reasonable price of £2.60 (10p up on last year!) Beanhead certainly filled his boots. And not just with a generous portion of Scampi and Chips neither. On the journey he consumed (this is not an exhaustive list) 6 rolls, 4 iced buns, crisps, prawn crackers, other cakes, plums and apples. Plus a big meal waiting for him when he got in. Where that boy puts it all I don't know but it doesn't show on his fairly slim body - it must be the 4 pints soaking it up!

Anyway as regular reader of this blog will have noticed I have a penchant for visiting football grounds, concentrating on FA Cup entrants. So from top we have.

Coleshill Town. Decent venue. The road near their ground must have the highest squirrel population in the UK. ! counted 10 running out in front of my car plus a couple that had become a cropper due to other drivers not stopping in time. It really was bizarre.

Boldmere St Michaels; Another good ground.

Ardley United: It's "Ardley" any distance off Junction 10 of the M40, but a pleasant stadium for Hellenic league level. Well kept and smart.

Sutton Coldfield/Romulus: 2 teams from the BGB league share this ground.

Willenhall Town: Where one match wonder Matt Barnes-Homer came from last season.

Mickleover Sports; Kind of an accident stumbling on this one. A passenger known only as Bobby Orange to protect his real identity told e he knew where he was going. Said he would get us home quicker but it ended up adding an hour on to our journey. What a plonker, but another ground done and not many miles added on to the trip.

After a pleasant pre match pint we entered the Moss Rose. What we saw was scrappy at first but eventually we got control of the game. Scott McGleish scored the first but ended up injuring himself in the process. He has a much better game than his starting strike partner Jermaine Easter who again was quiet.

Perhaps we should have had Macclesfield's physio who's healing hands brought Macclesfield's players back to life after they looked like they had been shot down by a sniper in an attempt to win a free kick. Perhaps he could also have a look at the night shift bloke at my work who seems barely alive every morning when I have to go and clear up his mess, the lazy Taffy.

Our second was scored by Reuben Reid who had looked excellent in the reserves in midweek. Again he was lively and looked like he could tear League 2 defences apart. Start him up front with McGleish please Mr Lambert.

I think Sergio changed the game when he came on for the injured Bloomfield. He was his usual creative self and helped put the Macc defence to the sword. That couldn't be said for John Sutton who came on earlier than Reid, despite not looking that good in the reserves.

Not writing him off just yet, but to use him in front of other, better strikers is madness when he is not on form

Match 17: England 3-0 Russia

2007-09-13T06:30:00.001-07:00

My 5th and final match of this week was the big game between England & Russia at Wembley Stadium. I'd previously been to Wembley in May for the FA Trophy Final between Stevenage and Kidderminster who fought out an entertaining game which the side from Broadhall Way won 3-2.

I'd also been to watch England at the old Wembley around 10 times, the first was Terry Venables first match as England Manager when we beat Denmark 1-0.

The pressure on manager Steve McClaren was reduced following a decent performance against Israel on Saturday, which we won 3-0. But Russia were expected to be tougher opposition and I thought that we would do well to get a win of any sorts against the side managed my Dutchman Guus Hiddink.

I drove to Amersham Station and got the train to Wembley from there. Far easier than parking around the stadium and paying silly prices. It cost me just shy of £6 for parking and train fare and with the ticket only costing me £32.50 it was an affordable way to watch my national side. Getting the train out was no problem and I arrived in Wembley at around 6.

A decent pre match atmosphere was already building up as I had a mooch round the local area. I stocked up on goodies for the game and got some dinner. Curry Sauce and Chips was very nice and at £2 was way cheaper than the overpriced fare inside the stadium. I doubt you find a better Curry Sauce and Chips down South, you'd have to go up North to find the real decent chippies. The outstanding one is the Mill Lane Chippy in Macclesfield, honourable mentions also to the one outside Rochdale's away end.

I got into the stadium at about 7.20 and it was nice and easy to find my seat. I had a great view, right up in the corner as you can see from my picture. The atmosphere was good too, England fans made themselves heard and the team reciprocated with a very good solid performance. Although it was disappointing to hear the booing of the Russian national anthem - pointless and disrespectful in my opinion.

There will be acres and acres of match reports elsewhere so I won't go into too much detail. England took a 2-0 lead in at half time, both goals from Michael Owen. The second one was particularly good, a dipping shot beating the Russia keeper. In that first half Russia were playing fairly well until 2-0 - they even had a goal chalked off for offside when it was still 1-0.

Russia started the second half the strongest and had a few good chances within the first 10 minutes. But eventually England took control, putting the game beyond doubt with a rare Rio Ferdinand goal. England could have had more but stout Russia defending prevented them adding to their tally.

A good performance and a good game then. England look to have a much better chance of going to Austria and Switzerland next summer. Estonia at home should be a home banker, despite them looking a bit useful in Tallinn. It's the games against Croatia and Russia that count - I think our fate will be decided in Moscow. On tonight's showing we can go there with a lot more confidence now

Match 16: Holmer Green 2-1 Amersham Town

2007-09-11T14:16:00.001-07:00

I wasn't originally planning going to a game this evening but upon going up my local chippy I noticed that Holmer Green had an Intermediate Cup fixture against Amersham Town. Not one to turn down a game of football - especially a cup game, I opted to take the short walk up to Watchet Lane to watch my local side.

It was exactly 3 months to the day I last went to this venue, the last was the July visit of my team (and comparative giants Wycombe Wanderers)

Tonight however the roles were reversed somewhat. Holmer Green ply their trade in the Spartan South Midlands League, while Amersham play in the division below. It was the first time I'd seen Amersham play, surprising as they are only a few miles away from my home.

I was pleased to see my mate Matt Stringer play for Holmer, but only as a sub.

What was not so welcome however was the late kick off. Despite being advertised as starting at 7.30 it was nearly 8 before it eventually kicked off. A bit of a pain when I had to be up at 4 in the morning for the rest of the week and already would have a late night tomorrow with me going to England v Russia at Wembley.

It was Holmer Green who did much of the early running however Amersham came closest when they hit the bar after about 5 minutes.

Holmer continued to press and they too hit the bar. The performance wasn't to the satisfaction of their number 5 who rallied the troops by yelling "Fucking hell, come on - get stuck in for fucks sake!" and "Georgie" came in for plenty of stick too.

Amersham did better as the half wore on but it was goalless at Half time. I learned that the kick off delay was due to the ref insisting that Amersham used their own balls meaning a 30 minute delay because it was technically their home fixture. What a numpty - quite literally a load of balls

"He can't do it all himself" said my mate Andy as a Holmer player received the ball. But he did and it was a good goal that gave the home side the lead on 50 minutes.

A free kick on 65 minutes rattled the Amersham cross bar but the resulting rebound was blasted well over

Holmer continued to dominate and their number 10 - a real donkey made it 2-0 10 minutes from time

Stringer came on for the Green's number 11 who was the best player on the park shortly after. A free kick legend? I think not! His attempt well over the bar

Amersham got a late consolation in the last minute with a well drilled shot into the bottom left corner of the goal

And that was how it stayed, a decent evenings entertainment and well worth the short walk there and back.

Match 15: Wycombe Wanderers Reserves 1-2 Watford Reserves

2007-09-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

WYCOMBE (4-4-2)

1 Adam Holloway

5 Lewis Christon
4 Will Antwi (Cattell 45)
6 Leon Crooks
3 Craig Woodman ( Obersteller 71)

2 Robert Rice
7 Matthew Phillips
8 Andre Boucaud
11 Derek Duncan

9 John Sutton
11 Reuben Reid (Samba 62)

Unused subs: Jamie Turley & James Reading

Watford: (4-4-2) Scott Loach, Adrian Mariappa, Matt Jackson, Malky Mackay, Cedric Avinel, Alessandro Campana, Douglas Rinaldi, John-John O'Toole, Anthony McNamee, Will Hoskins, Steve Kabba. Subs: Junior Osbourne, Liam Hendersen, Kieron Forbes, Dale Bennett, Callum Forbes, Robert Kiernan.

An entertaining afternoons football saw Wycombe unlucky to lose out to Watford in a narrow 2-1 defeat at Adams Park.

Watford fielded several players with Championship & Premiership experience including ex Wycombe target Steve Kabba, who we could have had in 2001 instead of Richard Harris. Both scored hat-tricks in a 6-1 demolition of the reserves in a game versus Crystal Palace when they were playing for the South London club. Our ever so wise scouting team opted for Harris who now plays his football in the Conference South for Bromley after a stuttering career for Wycombe. Kabba meanwhile came to Watfiord by way of a £500,000 transfer from Sheffield United. In hindsight the scouts should have snapped Kabba up, but then again we are talking about the scouts who dismissed Wayne Andrews and Fitz Hall as "not good enough" when they were playing a few miles down the road at Chesham. Kabba was by far Watford's best player, put himself about and caused plenty of problems for a fairly experienced Wycombe defence.

For the Wycombe side there were plenty of positives though. Every player played well, the pick of the bunch being Reuben Reid who grabbed our goal and looked a real handful. He must have impressed Paul Lambert who was at the game and really should start on Saturday at Macclesfield. But with Mr Lambert you never know. Things are looking up after an excellent second half against Brentford on Sunday so let's hope we carry this forward and set up a winning run. Other great news was the return of Will Antwi in central defence, with this performance he will be banging on the first team door soon enough. In his 45 minutes on the pitch he looked to be over the worst of his injury problems and made some good tackles and interceptions.

The first real chance of the game fell to Reuben Reid on 9 minutes, his shot going just over the bar after he had sprinted clear of the Watford defence. Rinaldi went off injured for Watford to be replaced by Kieron Forbes as Wycombe continued to press. 15 minutes in Wycombe were awarded a free kick just outside the area. Boucaud's ball into the area found Will Antwi who had the ball in the net but the linesman adjudge Antwi to be offside.

3 minutes later a cross was put into the Watford box, Sutton somewhow managing to clear the ball rather than score. Will Hoskins had Watford's first real chance a couple of minutes later but his shot was straight at Adam Holloway who held the ball well. On 22 minutes Wycombe's dominance finally paid off when a great ball from Antwi over the top of the defence found Rice on the right wing. Rice crossed to Reuben Reid who slotted home for a deserved 1-0 lead.

It was all square 4 minutes later when Steve Kabba got clear of the defence. Keeper Holloway and a defender were unable to stop him getting the ball over the line to give the visitors an undeserved equaliser.

The rest of the half was all Wycombe. Sutton failed to connect with a good Woodman cross, while a minute from half time he did better and was unlucky not to score after good work from Boucaud found him in space, his shot being cleared off the line with the keeper beaten. There was still time for a Reid shot to be well held by Loach in the Watford goal on the stroke of half time.

In the second half Watford looked slightly the better side but Wycombe still had their fair share of play. Cattell came on for Antwi at half time and looked another bright prospect for the Blues. Watford hit the bar 2 minutes after the restart but had they got the ball in the net it would have been rules out for offside anyway.

A minute later Loach spilled a shot from Reid but there was no-one around to follow up. Will Hoskins should have done better for Watford after a good run but his shot was high and wide. Sutton was also unlucky, 2 of his shots well saved by Scott Loach each side of the hour mark. Sutton made way for Cherno Samba on trial from Plymouth shortly after as the game quietened down, Obesteller also came on for Woodman.

Watford had a few chances in between and got out what turned out to be the winner on 78 minutes when Campana scored with a header after poor Wycombe defending. Chances fell to both sides, but it was Watford who held on to take all 3 points. Samba was fouled just outside the area, but the free kick was fired straight at Loach

But Wycombe could take heart from a good performance against a good Watford side. The reserves take on Orient at Brisbane Road next , if they play like they did today then they have every chance of coming away with a good result

Match 14: Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Brentford

2007-09-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

It was safe standing day at Adams Park, for the televised visit of Brentford. A good day was had by all and fans from all over the country mixed well together in the name of wanting to have the choice to stand at football. Wycombe fans mingled with their fierce rivals from Colchester and Swansea and Cardiff fans chatted happily together in the aim of one good cause.

The tragic events of Heysel and Hillsborough will never be forgotten. But they were old crumbling terraces, with fences making the fans penned in like animals. It was at a bad time for British football, with Luton's "no away fans" rule and the government's determination to foist ID cards upon us. Not much change there then, but yesterday's football fan was today's terrorist in the eyes of the powers that be, back in those dark days.

The Taylor report and Sky's money put pay to almost all the traditional terraces, but modern, safe, well managed terraces such as the Valley should be welcomed in the modern game. Indeed Steve Hayes wants to include a terrace in our proposed new ground, and experiments in German football have indicated that the idea is indeed viable.

But the main event, for Wycombe fans at least, was the afternoons game against our old friends from Brentford. Many players have played for both clubs over the years, our current youth team physio Terry Evans to name just one.

It was ex Wanderer Adrian Pettigrew, his contribution was the first half against Bristol Rovers, who had the best chance of the game for the visitors. He may have looked nervy and raw in Wycombe's defence back in the 1-0 spring defeat that kick-started Rovers late run into an eventually successful play off bid. But today moved up into midfield he looked a lot stronger. His crashing header was one of many chances in a good, entertaining, end to end game.

Wycombe's second half supremacy eventually told though. After Brentford had had a man sent off for 2 bookings (the second for diving) Wycombe began to take more of a hold in the game. Martin Bullock was tripped in the box, the otherwise quiet Jermaine Easter slotted home the resulting penalty.

The game was not without niggles Wycombe wise though. Scott McGleish and Gary Holt, playing their best games of the season were taken off, when there were worse players on the pitch. The main thing was we won though, hopefully this good performance and result will set up the season, Tom Williams was certainly very confident we had a lot more in our locker at the after match forum.

Man of the match and deservedly so was again Sergio Torres. His tricky runs, enthusiasm and willingness to track back as well as go forward swung the game in Wycombe's favour. Priority must be to extend his contract which expires next summer before several clubs try and get their mucky paws on a player who surely has a very bright future ahead of him.

Match 13: Leyton 2-2 AFC Wimbledon

2007-09-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

A rare Saturday off from watching Wycombe allowed me to make the trip over to East London to watch AFC Wimbledon's game at Leyton. The game finished 2-2, both of AFC's goals coming from penalties. For a side that had been bottom up until recently, Leyton didn't look bad. Their first goal was probably the best of the game, thumped in from a fair way out.

The usual task of visiting grounds on the way was accomplished. From the top: London Colney, Potters Bar, Cockfosters, Waltham Forest and Leyton.

A pleasant day out, made all the better by England wins in the Cricket and Football. But the real thing starts tomorrow when we play Brentford on Sky. The last time a league game was televised we thumped Leyton Orient 4-2. A repeat performance would be most welcome.

Match 12: Marlow 0-3 Windsor & Eton

2007-09-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

Marlow have been in every FA Cup since it started bak in the 1870's, the only team to achieve such a feat. They have also had some great days out, most notably when Dave Lay scored the best goal of the game in a 5-1 defeat at Spurs in 1993.

No such luck this year however as their interest was ended at the Preliminary Round stage. Windsor were a cut above Marlow, who to be fair had a few players missing. But still they were very poor and only started playing once they went down to 9 men.

Windsor are a much changed side to the last one I saw, back in the days when Dennis Greene was manager. It's fair to say that they ain't as good as they used to be. They had also spent a lot of money upgrading their pitch, only for their tenants Slough Town to renege on a deal that they had signed and pack their bags for Beaconsfield. But they took the lead in the first half. A good through ball found Jon Case who slotted home.

Marlow then had a man sent off for bringing down a Windsor player when he was last man. From the resulting free kick Ryan Parsons - one of the few players remaining from the Dennis Greene era, and an ex Wycombe youth teamer, slotted home following confusion in the Marlow defence.

There was nothing scrappy about the 3rd goal. A great shot from Parsons evading the Marlow defence and keeper, and the match was as good as over. A half time rollicking from the Marlow manager did little to inspire his side and Windsor controlled the second half.

That was until Marlow had another man sent off, this time for foul and abusive language to the referee. This seemed to perk Marlow up, and they had a flurry of shots and were unlucky not to get a goal back.

It was a good evenings entertainment, well worth the admission money. And a lot better than some of the games I've seen from Wycombe this season.

Match 11: Chesterfield 2-0 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-09-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

After the snorefest in West London on Monday, I was hoping for something better today. Pre match was pretty good. I visited a few grounds on the way up, as I like to do. I'm trying to do every team in the FA Cup which is just below 800, so it's a marathon task. So today we had (from top to bottom)

Friar Lane & Epworth - couldn't really get any decent pics as it was all locked up.

Graham Street Prims - an unexpected one, I just stumbled upon this one by mistake as it was across the green from Borrowash. They're not in the FA Cup, but have a tidy little ground
that a lot of sides higher up the Pyramid would be proud of.

Borrowash Victoria - another nice little ground, called the Borrowash Construction Bowl. They've got the stand shown in the picture, plus seats/terracing behind one of the goals. Nice friendly people at the club, who tell me they are without a game today. They're awaiting the winners of the Hallam V AFC Emley tie in the next round of the cup.

Long Eaton United - again a decent ground. Luckily there was a kiddies game going on, allowing me to get in and take photos of the ground. It was debatable whether this was the best football I saw today!

Staveley Miners Welfare - despite being locked up, I managed to get a decent few pictures. Not a bad ground again, and another one off the list.

And finally, Saltergate, Chesterfield. About my 4th visit here - the first starting off as we should have meant to go on in 2000ish. We won 1-0 with Sean Devine making the tricky coach journey worth it. The second game, "SanchezGate" was a 4-0 defeat, where then manager Lawrie Sanchez brought the players over to apologise to the fans, and ended up getting a lot of stick himself. To be truthful that was near the bad end of Sanchez, he could have gone a hero a few months earlier, instead he left under a cloud. And the last outing was when we threw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 under Tony Adams.

In the pub before the game I discovered someone actually reads this stuff I write. So hello to that gentleman, hope you continue to enjoy.

All the pre match talk was on why Lambert had dropped Tom Williams - it later transpired that he had had chest pains before the game and had to go to hospital. How true that is I don't know, but it would seem a logical explanation for his omission.

That wasn't the only strange change Lambert made in the game. Bloomfield was strangely taken off, for no apparent reason. Gary Holt was dire today and was eventually substituted, but not before Bloomfield had made way.

Easter was poor, although he perked up towards the end. He didn't look that happy though, obviously disappointed about not going to Plymouth, if you be live what the papers say. Though he did perk up near the end, putting our best chance of the game into the side netting.

The goals - one was a well placed shot after poor defensive play, the other a result of Scott Shearer failing to deal with a cross, at least that's what it looked like from my end.

Positives? A few of our players strived to create something. McGleish, Bullock and Torres looked OK, but overall very disappointing. We will have to shape up next week against Brentford, live on Sky, unless we want to be humiliated in front of the TV Cameras

Match 10: Hayes & Yeading 0-0 Hampton & Richmond

2007-08-27T10:12:00.001-07:00

Wycombe wern't playing so me and Macca (He's the one on the left!) decided to take the short trip over to Hayes to check out how some of the former Wycombe players/players on loan were getting on.

It was a toss up between Hayes & Yeading V Hampton & Richmond in the Conference South where Wycombe loanees Steven Gregory & Tom Cadmore were playing, along with former trialist Matt Hislop. Or we could have had AFC Hayes (formerly Brook House) v Oxford City who were fielding Ikechi Anya who signed in the past week, along with Jermaine McSporran and former Youth Teamer James Faulkner.

I was destined to make the wrong choice. Oxford City were cruising to victory down the road at AFC Hayes, winning 3-0 Ikechi Anya scoring and Jermaine McSporran missing a couple of chances.

But no, I went down the road to Church Lane to watch a pitifully boring 0-0 draw with few chances. The highlight of the game was in the last minute when a mass brawl saw 2 player red carded, one for each side. This was pretty predictable as there were several crude challenges made, which in a League game would have been a straight red card. Add to that Hampton's lanky number 4 (I think) bearing down on the diminutive referee saying "Fuck off, you fucking cunt" amongst other expletives, which earned him just a yellow card. Again that would have surely merited a sending off in League 2. The referee to be fair did excellently to keep the game running, perhaps a bit too lenient at times but he kept a lid on it well until the late red mist descended.

As for the Wycombe loanees - Gregory was pretty anonymous and was substituted at half time and Cadmore looked fairly solid with a couple of minor aberrations which wouldn't be punished by the tame attacking efforts from the opposistion. Both look nowhere near ready to cope at League 2 level quite yet, but a season down at this level should help a great deal. Matt Hislop was out with an injury. I think these 2 sides will be relegated at the end of the season, they looked way off the level of Maidenhead who are struggling a bit - they looked a handy side in our 2-2 pre season friendly at York Road last month.

But there was an upside. Hayes & Yeading are a good friendly club and have got an awesome club shop. I spent over an hour and £20 in there, obtaining 3 books:

With Clough, by Taylor £5 (currently £25 on Amazon!)
David Elleray Autobiography £5
Paul Merson - Hero and Villain £3

plus 61 fanzines and mags of my choice for a fiver. I also got home to find that my Uncle had sent me a big bag of programmes, so I should be sorted for stuff to read on the khazi until sometime in 2010!

I cannot recommend the clubshop at Church road enough, it really is a fantastic place to get any reading material, videos, old shirts etc and made up for the naff match, as it is so much better than anywhere else I have been.

I'm looking forward to seeing Oxford City play sometime in the near future, they should be amongst the promotion contenders in their league this season.

Match 9: Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Bury

2007-08-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well there we have it. Wycombe's first win in nearly 6 months of trying (the last if I recall correctly was the 3-0 drubbing of Macclesfield on March 2nd)

The game hotly followed the interesting but slightly tame fans forum on Thursday. After a disappointing season the knives might have been out but the only controversy of note was when some old boy commented that we'd be OK once we get "our decent centre halves back" Lambert got slightly riled leading to a quick u-turn from the aforementioned gentleman.

The reserves didn't exactly inspire much confidence after their 5-0 gubbing at Southampton in the week but the mood around the ground was pretty upbeat.

And rightly so. Our best performance so far, a much better performance and a great header from man-of-the-match Sergio Torres sealed all 3 points against a Bury side who had come looking for a draw as per usual.

It did take nearly 80 minutes to make the breakthrough but at last it came. We had other chances too and could and should have won by more but at the end of the day it's the 3 points that count.

So off to deepest Derbyshire next week for a visit to the not so lovely Saltergate. Rain or shine, the usual suspects will be there and hopefully cheering the Blues onto victory once more.

Match 8: Dagenham & Redbridge 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-08-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

A bit of an improvement, but not that much really on our previous 2 efforts so far this season. A last gasp penalty from Jermaine Easter after Sergio Torres was:

A) Tripped in the area

B) Dived

C) Sod it, it got us a point anyway

got us off the hook after we looked dead and buried at 2-0 down to Dagenham, who were celebrating their first home game in the football league. Wycombe's was 14 years ago, when we beat Chester City 1-0 with a goal from Keith Scott.

All those years ago and we are probably in a worse position playing wise now, than we were then. Well that's progress for you. We are off course in a more advanced position off the field with the new big screen up on display and a much better stadium compared to the compact and tidy ground we had upon entering the league. Dagenham's is a lot more basic, 2 uncovered ends which the skies, as gloomy as Wycombe's start to the season threatened to rain down on, and 2 basic sides, 1 seated and 1 terraced, but covered.

The day didn't start too good with the coach being 25 minutes late, and then being forced to endure a very warm 2 hours journey across the car park that is the M25, because the flipping air conditioning wasnt working very well. It wasn't exactly Guantanamo Bay, but pretty cramped and uncomfortable all the same. Things wern't much better when we got to East London either. Not enough time for a drink, and Toy-Town-Nazi's, the BNP were flogging their worthless rag to anyone who was prepared to give them the time of day. I doubt many of them would complain if they had their life saved by a doctor from India, but then, that's morons for you.

Lambert's team selection was strange too. Playing a 3-5-2 with no natural wing backs or wingers takes some doing. Craig Woodman and Tom Williams wern't even in the squad, even though they were amongst the better players on Tuesday. Andre Boucaud made his first start for Wycombe and Jermaine Easter was back from suspension, replacing John Sutton.

It didn't start too bad though, Wycombe having the better chances in the opening 10 minutes. Dagenham slowly got into the game again, and after countless defensive slips Wycombe were lucky to go in at the break just a goal behind. Sadly for the third game in a row, the team were booed off the pitch, what the few that partook in this think it will achieve is anyone's guess, but it makes for a very poor atmosphere and to be honest will be pretty embarrassing if it goes on, match after match.

Lambert couldn't have been pleased and the team just have got a rocket up their collective backsides at half time, but no substitutions were made. Indeed things got worse before they got better. Dagenham doubled their lead and Wycombe looked like they were going to be on the end of a hammering. However the introductions of Martin Bullock and Sergio Torres changed all that.

Bullock's constant threat down the right side produced dividends when Matt Bloomfield bundled the ball across the line to reduce the arrears. And then Sergio Torres' run into the box was halted, Jermaine Easter converting the spot kick to give Wycombe a fairly lucky draw and a definite point gained.

EASTER'S LATE PENALTY RESCUES A POINT FOR WYCOMBE

Match 7: Marlow United 1-2 Cove

2007-08-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

The magic of the FA Cup arrived one day earlier than anywhere else in leafy Bucks, courtesy of Flackwell Heath's Wilks Park.

However it was tenants Marlow United and visitors Cove, a couple of levels above in the Combined Counties league that provided an excellent evenings entertainment.

Marlow United who play in the regional divisions of the Hellenic League were making their first appearance in the FA Cup and must surely be the smallest ever team to enter in the FA Cup. Just a few years ago they were a Sunday League team and they have come a heck of a long way in such a short space of time. Indeed the players don't get wages or expenses, in fact if they want to play then they have to stump up their subs to help keep the club running. A million miles away from the superstars of Man U and Chelsea who have their every whim pampered for. It's part of the magic of the FA Cup that given the right results the sides could meet in a later round. The most notable name from the Marlow United side was former Wycombe youth player Marc Sciaraffa, whose only appearance of note for Wycombe was in a Bucks & Berks tie, incidentally a 1-0 defeat at the hands of tonight's landlords Flackwell Heath.

Cove were the giants tonight, a rarity for them, their finest hour in the Cup coming when they knocked out Bognor Regis Town in the 1990's. They fielded ex AFC Wimbledon players Kevin Cooper and Lee Passmore. The former also played for Wycombe as a youngster and played a massive part in AFC Wimbledon's 2003/04 Championship season in the CCL, plundering nearly 70 goals for AFC's cause.

The game was a real end to end affair. Marlow United took the lead at the start of the second half with a well taken goal and could have gone further ahead if they had taken their chances. But Cove always looked like they had that little bit extra in their locker and when Lee Passmore scored it was a real backs to the wall job with plenty of shots cleared off the line. Unfortuantly they couldn't hold out for a replay and Passmore added a second around 10 minutes from time. United had a couple of half chances but couldn't get the equaliser.

A brave effort though, and a great effort from a smashing little club that have come such a long way in such a short space of time.

Match 6: Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-08-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, another game, another poor performance and inevitably another defeat. Wycombe were simply dire, only offering one shot on target, a deflected Stefan Oakes shot which mercifully for the 250 strong Wycombe following went in. We had 3 other shots, all of which went nowhere near on target.

It’s not that I’m expecting us to beat Plymouth, who after all are a decent championship side, even if they did play some of their reserves. But at least let’s have a go. Generally this season and the back end of last we have not been getting enough decent shots in, or creating much attacking wise. Lambert says he wants to “win ugly” but what about when we are losing while barely mustering an attack.

The total lack of willing to help out those who try and create chances is concerning too. Several times Matt Bloomfield or Sergio Torres were trying to take on the whole Plymouth side as we were not supporting them by getting into positions from where they could receive the ball.

It’s no the whole team that is the problem, indeed Matt Bloomfield had a very good game, but with so many new faces it’s bound to take some time for the new people to settle in. Dave McCracken and John Sutton look like they will need time adjusting to life in League 2. But all is not lost, let them get into the swing of things by coming on from the subs bench, not by sticking everyone in straight away. I’m convinced they will come good, no matter what anyone says, the SPL is a fairly decent level, probably akin to the lower half of the Championship or top half of League. So given time the new players will bed in and prove to be very good players for Wycombe Wanderers.

So for Saturday’s game at Dagenham, I’d go 3-5-2 which produced several good performances in the early part of last season.

Young

Stockley
Christon
Johnson

Bullock
Torres
Holt
Bloomfield
Williams

McGleish
Easter

SUBS: Shearer, McCracken, Martin, Woodman, Sutton

Jamie Young for me is a safer, more reliable choice in goal and the presence of Gary Holt in midfield will allow Torres & Bloomfield to get forward and get involved in creating chances.

Matt Bloomfield should take the captain’s armband, although concerns over his ability to boss people around and lead the team may see Stockley as a more natural choice. But at least give him a chance before dismissing the idea. He certainly led by example last night and was full of running and hard work. This Guardian Football article has got a fairly good assessment of his strengths

And if the performances weren’t enough certain sections of the crowd decided to boo the team off the pitch. After a long awkward journey and a poor performance frustration sets in, but booing is counter productive and only serves to make the problems worse, certainly this early on in the season. Come December if we are still in this position of being on a dire run of form then yes, questions need to be asked on whether the right decisions have been taken. And of course there is the fans forum, next Thursday to put across some points of view, whether it be team wise or what goes on elsewhere at the club behind the scenes.

So Dagenham on Saturday, the return of Jermaine Easter which should spark some life back into the side. I sincerely hope that I have something more positive to write come Saturday evening

Match 5: Wycombe 0-1 Accrington Stanley

2007-08-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

Well it had to happen, didn't it? All that pre season optimism blown to pieces within the first 90 minutes of the season. The day started ominously as I couldn't park in my usual space, due to the club hijacking the car park to raise money for charity. It didn't get much better for another normally well spoken Wycombe fan who described the new matchday menu in the Vere Suite as "fucking shit" The new "big screen" was delayed for a week but at least the club made an effort to get a temporary screen though, with all the (sometimes deserved) flack that I get it's nice to give them credit for once. A lot of people (including me in fact) work their backsides off and give 100% in their work for the club, all the same it is very disappointing when cock ups happen week after week.

And what about the game. Well it didn't start too badly, we shaded the first half but were simply dire in the second. We looked ropey at the back at times, but simply didn't get enough shots on goal at the other end to trouble the Accrington keeper. They were a hard working side who battled for every ball and deserved their win. Basically it was 2 sides playing very ugly football as our wayward passes and defensive negativity were never going to beat their hoofball and timewasting tactics in a month of Sundays. Best player for them - Roberts, their number 5 looked pretty solid and stood out amongst a pretty poor side. For Wycombe Sergio was below par but still ok, official man of the match Matt Bloomfield was his usual hard working self. But for me it was Leon Johnson, making several vital interceptions who made the most telling contribution. And Martin Bullock looked like he had potential before he came off

Looking on the positive side, we hardly ever start well, especially when it's boiling hot like today. And the new players need time to gel and settle in. McCracken didn't play 200 games in the SPL for no reason, the same goes for Sutton who will hopefully discover his scoring touch soon enough. And so to Plymouth on Tuesday, where we will be hoping that the Carling Cup will provide some glory and a tonic for the fans who have seen their club fail to win since March. OK so it won't be another trip to Chelsea in the semi finals, but a good performance at least will lift the gloom that has descended round Adams Park lately.

Match 4: Oxford United 1-1 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-08-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

And so to Wycombe's last pre season friendly, at rivals (and now Non League) Oxford United. A trip over to the 3 sided Kassam stadium which recently provided a home for those stricken by the recent flooding in the Oxford area.

There wasn't much flooding of football though, this being a typical pre season game, albeit with a few niggly tackles. Sergio Torres again the undoubted star, with a wonder goal - taking the ball past 4 players before placing it past a bamboozled Billy Turley in the Oxford goal.

Oxford replied through Rob Duffy after a cross caused confusion in the Wycombe box, but that was about it really in terms of real chances. Paul Lambert has a fair bit of work to do before next weeks opening league game against Accrington Stanley if this performance is anything to go by

For the record, at present I'd go with (4-4-2)

Jamie Young

Sam Stockley
David McCracken
Leon Johnson
Craig Woodman

Martin Bullock
Sergio Torres
Gary Holt
Tom Williams

Scott McGleish
John Sutton

SUBS: Shearer, Christon, Martin, Bloomfield, Palmer

Match 3: Maidenhead United 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-07-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

A pleasant evening for the short trip to York Road with summer coming at last and an entertaining game with some good performances. The game finished two each with Scott McGleish's well placed shot and Jermaine Easter's penalty being cancelled out by an excellent 30 yard free kick and a penalty from Maidenhead's best player on the night, Dwayne Lee. Lee has played in the league for Barnet and certainly looks like he could cause some problems for defences in the Blue Square South.

In general Maidenhead looked a quality team who should have no problems staying in their new league, having been promoted from the Southern League via the play-offs in May. They were certainly not shy to but the boot in as by far the man of the match Sergio Torres found out. Time and again he was crudely hacked down, but the female ref seemed uninterested in taking any action. A fully fit Sergio will be like a new signing for Wycombe this season and it was a real positive for him having a very productive 90 minutes without any injury problems. Trialist Andre Boucaud impressed again in his second half performance, linking up well with Torres in midfield.

Match 2: Wycombe Wanderers 0-1 QPR

2007-07-29T08:09:00.001-07:00

After missing the SC Verl game due to a flipping company stocktake I was looking forward to the QPR Home game as a chance to say a proper goodbye to Wycombe legends Keith Ryan & Steve Brown, both dumped by the club during the summer break and both taking up new positions at todays visitors QPR within hours of their departures being announced.

However neither are present, I later learn that they are on their way back from Germany after a no doubt succesful trip with the QPR kids.

Just one new face for Wycombe from the last game at Holmer Green - Tommy Williams, himself a former QPR player was signed from Swansea in the week and he looked like he could add a touch of class to the left wing area for us.

But it was an ex Wycombe man, Martin Rowlands who scored the only goal of the game with a great free kick that not many keepers would have saved. Rowlands who finds himself at QPR via Farnborough and Brentford was let go as a youngster by Wycombe. The then manager John Gregory, boss now of course of QPR was reportedly quoted as saying that Rowlands "Won't make a footballer as long as he has got a hole in his arse" Wycombe kept the likes of Alan Beeton and Aaron Patton that season from the youth setup, both have faded into obscurity despite Beeton getting a number of games for the first team.

Wycombe pretty much dominated proceedings, with a great John Sutton shot the highlight, forcing a great save from Rangers keeper Lee Camp. Jermaine Easter too should have scored, but his dallying on the ball allowed a defender to get it clear and away to safety. Andre Boucaud was Wycombe's best player of the first half, here's hoping we give the trialist a contract as he looks more than capable of cutting it in League 2 football.

QPR looked no better than an average League 2 side, only Camp, Rowlands and Dominic Shimmin looking like they were a cut above this level. Ray Jones, who was 12 months ago playing on Hackney Marshes in Sunday football looked a handful, everything that Fola Onibuje should have been, but he was a bit clumsy, making a committing of fouls which saw him getting stick from some sections of the Wycombe crowd.

All in all a game of few chances for either side, which Wycombe shaded. QPR brought a good following with around 1000 fans out of a 3000ish crowd. Things shaping up pretty nicely at the moment for the new season then

Match 1: Holmer Green 0-5 Wycombe Wanderers

2007-07-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

At last!

The new season is back. First off it's a trip to my local club Holmer Green, to help celebrate their centenery. It's a pleasant change to be able to walk to a game.

In fact I've been to Holmer Green a few times before. Firstly back in the 1992/93 season while Wycombe were up at Telford United in their Conference Winning season I went to see them beat Peppard in the Chiltonian League. Fast forward 15 years later and it was just like today a pre season friendly, which they drew 2-2 with Chesham United in an excellent game. And the latest time was just a month after that when they lost 5-2 to Harwich & Parkeston in a midweek FA Cup Replay.

But this is the first time I have seen the mighty Chairboys play here. Watchet Lane is a pleasant well kept venue, if a little basic but is a credit to a team at Spartan South Midlands League level, especially the pitch which has always been good whenever I have visited. £5 entry is a fair price to pay for a pre season friendly but with in excess of 300 people attending will make a valuable contribution to club coffers I'd imagine.

Wycombe are always a class above their opponents and are 1-0 up at half time thanks to a header from trialist Ramon Calliste. They never really get going until the second half though when after a flurry of substitutions Jermaine Easter and Leon Johnson score and Scott McGleish gets a couple - one the best goal of the night with a good chip.

All in all a good night out, a good game and a comprehensive 5-0 victory