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Wycombe Wanderers F.C.

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Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, currently playing in Football League Two. Their nickname is the "Chairboys" and they play in light blue and dark blue quarters. The traditional name of Wycombe's ground is Adams Park.

The club's manager is former Celtic captain Paul Lambert. He is assisted by Wycombe legends Steve Brown and Keith Ryan. The club captain at Wycombe was defender Roger Johnson, until he recently joined Cardiff City for a fee of £275,000.

The club was founded in 1887 by a group of furniture-makers, and settled at Loakes Park in High Wycombe in 1895. From 1896 they played in the Southern League, but had little success in a league dominated by professional teams. They moved to the Great Western Suburban League in 1908 and to the Spartan League after the First World War. After winning the Spartan League they joined the Isthmian League in 1921. Although they won the FA Amateur Cup in 1931 it would be 1956 before they won the first of eight Isthmian League titles.

In 1985 they were promoted to the Football Conference (then the Gola League) and, though they only lasted one season they were promoted again at the first attempt. Two important changes occurred in 1990: the Chairboys left Loakes Park for a new home at Adams Park, and Martin O'Neill was appointed manager. Under O'Neill they won the FA Trophy twice and were eventually promoted to The Football League in 1993 following a bad-tempered campaign alongside Roy McDonough's Colchester side in 1992. They were an immediate success in the League, winning promotion in their first season and narrowly missing out on the Division Two playoffs in their second.

Martin O'Neill left the club for what would turn out to be a short tenure at Norwich in 1995, and the side became, at best, mid-table performers in Division Two. The club tasted more success under the guidance of Lawrie Sanchez as they enjoyed an epic FA Cup run in 2000-01 which saw them reach the semi-final where they were beaten by Liverpool 2-1 at Villa Park, Keith Ryan scoring the Chairboys' goal. However, Sanchez was sacked just a few months into the 2003-04 season after a terrible start that saw the club bottom of the table. His successor was former Arsenal and England defender Tony Adams but he was unable to save Wycombe's season and they were relegated in 2004, joining Football League Two for its first season under that name.

Their first season in League Two saw a change of manager as John Gorman took charge of the club after a brief spell as caretaker manager the previous season. Wycombe finished the season in 10th place. However, a 21-match unbeaten start to the 2005-06 campaign saw them lead the division for a considerable amount of time. Unfortunately after manager Gorman's wife died Wycombe went on a 6-match losing run, seeing them drop out of the automatic promotion challenge, finishing in 6th. They eventually were defeated 2-1 on aggregate by Cheltenham Town in the play-offs. It was later announced that Gorman had been relieved of his duties as the club's manager as the Wycombe board did not believe that he was in the right condition to manage the club. Also during that season on the 14 January 2006 before a match with Notts County 21 year old chairboy Mark Philo died tragicly in a car crash on his way to the match. His manager, John Gorman, paid tribute to him by saying, "He was a fantastic kid. He lived for football and always had a smile on his face." Mark Philo R.I.P.

Contents

Current squad

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History

Source: [Wycombe Wanderers] at the Football Club History Database

Managers History

Brian Lee 1968 - 1976
Ted Powell 1976 - 1977
John Reardon 1977 - 1978
Andy Williams 1978 - 1980
Mike Keen 1980 - 1984
Paul Bence 1984 - 1986
Alan Gane 1986 - 1987
Peter Suddaby 1987 - 1988
Jim Kelman 1988 - 1990
Martin O'Neill 1990 - 1995
Alan Smith 1995 - 1996
John Gregory 1996 - 1998
Neil Smilie 1998 - 1999
Lawrie Sanchez 1999 - 2003
Tony Adams 2003 - 2004
John Gorman 2004 - 2006
Paul Lambert 2006 - Present

Honours

Rivalry

Wycombe's main local rivals are considered to be Oxford United. Traditionally, there is also ill-feeling between the supporters of Wycombe and Slough Town. Other rivalries are also present with neighbours Reading and Watford.

They are also vicious rivals with Colchester United due to Colchester and Wycombe being in a 2 horse race title challenge for the conference title during the 1991/92 season in which Colchester came out on top in the final game of the season between the two with a dubious last minute penalty. Wycombe won promotion the following season.

External links

 

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