Will Wycombe wobble?

Wednesday, 16/03/2011

by Phil Slatter, Shoot's Wycombe blogger

A trademark weak finish to a promotion campaign has become a staple of Wycombe Wanderers since we first joined the Football League back in 1993.

Promotion from the fourth tier has only been achieved twice. The first occasion was in 1994 when the Blues collapsed towards the end but managed to pick themselves up for the play-offs.

More recently, Wanderers did clinch third place in 2009, but it all felt like a bit of an anti-climax when needing just a solitary point from the final game against Notts County, the Blues lost but managed to clinch third by having a better goal difference than Bury. A 21-game unbeaten start to the 2005-06 season ultimately ended in play-off defeat and the Blues would fall to a similar fate in 2008.

It appears that Wycombe can only finish the season strongly when in a relegation fight, most memorably in 1997 and 1999. Despite being relegated last season however, Wycombe did finish the season very well, with four wins and a draw from the final six games.

A similar end this time around will surely see Wanderers avoid the play-off lottery? Gary Waddock, who achieved automatic promotion with Aldershot back in 2008, will be hoping so.

A 4-1 defeat to Chesterfield has seemingly put paid to hopes of the League Two title and all of a sudden Wycombe's results are looking inconsistent. Hard-fought victories against struggling Macclesfield, Burton and Barnet have been countermanded with home defeats to Accrington and Stevenage.

Have teams figured out how to play against the Blues? One of the areas that has been hotly disputed all season is which two to play up front. The fans love the work rate of Beavon but his tally of five goals makes for stark reading.

JP Pittman however has found the net three times, which is impressive considering he has spent nearly five months of the season out injured and has started just six games. If you ask me, it should be Pittman and top scorer Rendell (12 goals in 18 starts) who start every game.

Elsewhere in the treatment room, left back Andy Sandell is hopefully close to a first-team return but midfielder Stuart Lewis faces a spell on the sidelines. Both players were injured by very nasty tackles that only resulted in yellow cards for the offenders from Rotherham and Stevenage. It's hardly fair, but Wycombe mustn't feel sorry for themselves.

Despite recent results, most teams in league two would quite happily take Wycombe's place right now as the form over Christmas was good enough to allow a temporary wobble. That margin of error now is slipping rapidly and Wycombe must pick themselves up, dust themselves down and get some points on the board to ensure a far more comfortable finish than two years ago.

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