CHAIRBOYS CRUNCH
It’s a vital time on and off the pitch at Wycombe Wanderers
THE opening stages of this season have been pretty special for Wycombe Wanderers – but the next few weeks could be crucial for their future prospects.
On the field of play, a Joe Jacobson hat-trick – two goals direct from corners and a free-kick – earned the Chairboys a 3-1 victory against Lincoln City a couple of weeks ago.
It took Wycombe to the top of the League One standings, the highest position in their 132-year history. Results faltered a little after that, but they still headed into yesterday’s game against Portsmouth in third place, not bad for a club written off by the socalled experts ahead of the campaign.
Meanwhile, off the pitch, the club are heading towards a pivotal moment in their history. Currently under the ownership of the Wycombe Wanderers Trust (WWT), there are talks taking place with American businessman Rob Couhig, who wishes to purchase 75 per cent of the club’s shares. Agreement
The 70-year-old had previously lined up a takeover at Yeovil, but that fell through at the end of last season. Now, though, it appears he is on the brink of taking a controlling interest in the Chairboys.
In a statement to their members at the start of this month, the WWT said they hoped to get an agreement signed with Couhig, the former owner of the New Orleans Zephyrs baseball team, by the end of this month. This would need to be ratified by 75 per cent of Legacy Members – those who have been a season ticket holder for four consecutive seasons, including this one, and are Trust members.
As part of the deal, Adams Park would remain 100 per cent owned by the Trust.
Wycombe chairman Trevor Stroud, also chairman of the WWT, manager Gareth Ainsworth and Couhig met supporters at a Fans’ Forum on Thursday evening to discuss the plans, but it was already clear that the WWT have faith in Couhig’s vision.
“We hope that Legacy Members will support this agreement when it is put to the vote, as we, your Trust Board, sincerely believe that it is the right deal to ensure the long-term survival of the football club and to make certain that we continue the great start to the season that we have made in League One,” said the WWT in their statement.
One of the reasons the timing of the would-be takeover is crucial is because the future of the highly-rated Ainsworth is coming under greater scrutiny. The former QPR winger celebrates his seventh anniversary in charge on Tuesday. In that time, he’s helped preserve the Chairboys’ EFL status and guided them to promotion from League Two.
The fact he has also led them, albeit briefly, to the top of League One on limited resources hasn’t gone unnoticed and Lincoln – one of his former clubs – have been heavily linked with him following the decision of the Cowley brothers to quit for Championship strugglers Huddersfield. To have a chance of keeping Ainsworth on both a short-term and long-term basis, the club need to show him they have the desire to match his own ambition. The extra financial clout Couhig could give him in comparison to what the Trust can offer may make the difference.
Speaking after the 1-1 midweek draw against Accrington Stanley, Ainsworth hinted that Couhig is already making a contribution on the budget side.
“The reason I think that we’re third in the league is the little bits we’ve had already,” he said. “Money does talk unfortunately in football. The fairytale of years ago when everyone was on a level playing field is long gone.”
But the good news for concerned fans is that Ainsworth would ideally like to stay put.
Flattering
“Speculation is flattering for me, the staff and the team, but I’m really excited by what potentially could happen here,” he said. “I want to manage in the Championship, of course I do, and my preferred option is to do that with Wycombe Wanderers.”
Forward Nick Freeman, who netted the equaliser against Accrington from the spot, believes
are on the right road with Ainsworth at the wheel. “He’s done a great job and he enjoys it here,” said the 23-yearold, who recently signed a twoyear contract extension taking him through to June 2022. “Obviously we’ve all got ambitions to go as high as possible and if he eventually goes on in the future, so be it. “But he’s a big part of what we do. We all get on with the gaffer and I think he can take us to the next level.” So what makes the 46-yearold Blackburn-born boss so effective? “His man-management is very good,” explained Freeman. “He’s very good with all the players, he puts his arm round us and wants the best for us. We all buy into the way he wants us to play.
“The ethos in the changing room, around the stadium and training ground is very much what he’s built alongside Dobbo (Richard Dobson – assistant manager).
“Everyone I’ve spoken to says it’s the best changing room they’ve been in and that comes down to the recruitment not just of ability but also character.” And Freeman doesn’t see any reason why Wycombe can’t continue to prove the doubters wrong and stay in the upper echelons of League One this term.
Consistent
“At the beginning of the season, if you’d said after nine games we’d be third we’d have been buzzing, but we’re almost disappointed we’ve dropped points,” he explained. “That’s the standard that we’ve set now. “We’ve got the best squad since I’ve been here in all areas of the pitch and it’s taking us to the next level. We all have to step up every game and we’re going to need everyone to play their part. We know how good we are, we just have to be consistent now.”
As for what the secret of their success has been, Freeman pinpoints one important factor.
“We can play different styles - we can play on the floor, we can go direct,” he added. “Not a lot of teams have more than one style of play, but we have. We can change for different games - deep press, high press. We’ve got a lot in our locker from all different types of players and we’ve got a good balance.
“People shouldn’t write us off, they know we can handle ourselves. We’ve just got to take every game as it comes, stay as high as possible and prove everyone wrong. We’re good enough, we’ve just got to keep believing it.”
I want to manage in the and Championship option my preferred do that with is to Wycombe Wanderers Gareth Ainsworth