Dreams the width of a crossbar

Two years after the end of “the Steve Hayes era” and the good ship Wycombe Wanderers remains adrift on the high seas, trying desperately to stay afloat.

The amount of water taken on in the intervening years is weighing the club down like a ten-tonne medallion and last season we came as close to hitting an iceberg and sinking into the depths of non-league football and most likely financial oblivion as is possible. As close as five inches to be precise; the width of a crossbar at the Memorial Stadium in Bristol.

Back in the summer of 2012, it is said we came just as close to entering administration as takeover talks between Steve Hayes and the Trust looked to have fallen at the final hurdle after almost eight months of wrangling.

The Trust, led by Don Woodward, did a remarkable job of keeping the club out of administration, avoiding any subsequent points deduction, and far worse possibilities. There was a sense of relief and gratitude, some even felt joy that the club was back in the hands of those that care about it, rather than in the private ownership who wanted to use us as a makeweight in a property deal.

Sea-faring analogies could equally be used for the community stadium at Booker, a fantasy that was left smashed into a thousands pieces after hitting the jagged rocks of Wycombe District Council. No one with any understanding of the situation was expecting an easy ride post-Hayes and it was always going to be painful.

Painful it most certainly has been, and it would have been most apt if our new shirt sponsors had been manufacturer of “personal lubricant.” Ice-cream it is instead, courtesy of new Chairman Andrew Howard`s Beechdean company. Many felt change was necessary, overdue in fact, and the last six months or so of last season saw predecessor Don Woodward make public statements that were soon contradicted by those involved.

These flights of fantasy created an uneasy atmosphere, running alongside varied failed takeover bids for WWFC, and a campaign which lurched from one disappointing defeat to another on the pitch. Rumours were rife, mostly involving the precarious financial state of the club, and the continual battle to prevent it from falling into administration.

They were only rumours of course but come early April striker Steven Craig broke cover and was quoted in the local press complaining about having not received payment of his bonuses. The concept of paying a bonus to one of our most underwhelming performers baffled many, but far worse was the reputational damage it did to the club.

There might not be a great deal of sympathy when it comes to underperforming players, but when loyal club servants like club photographer Paul Dennis, with twenty years of service accrued, have to wait several months before even being paid expenses, sympathy soon turns to anger.

The club has faced a cash-flow crisis since July 2012 when an expected overdraft facility from the bank (c. £1.2m) was withdrawn at the last minute and repayment requested. Since then the club have been forced to sell Stuart Beavon, Charles Dunne and Kortney Hause, renegotiated the sell-on clause for Matt Phillips, arrange the sale and lease-back of the training ground at Booker and take investment from the Chairboys Funders to try and reduce annual losses of more than £1m inherited from the Steve Hayes era.

They inherited an average attendance of 4,843 from 2011/12 which fell to 3,720 the following season. It fell again to 3,680 last year, and that figure was only achieved by two significantly increased crowds for the relegation six-pointers with Northampton Town and Bristol Rovers in April. They say when the going gets tough, the tough get going. It seems the floating voters in the Chair Metropolis have just plain and simply gone.

Having relied upon an unsustainable playing budget during the Hayes-era, it was always going to be the case that there would significant cuts. This season it seems the budget will be around the three quarters of a million mark, putting us alongside half-a-dozen or so of the smallest clubs in League Two. It is hardly going to make manager Gareth Ainsworth`s job any easier.

It is hard to not to feel an empathy for Ainsworth, who at least from the outside appears to be in a permanent state of firefighting. If the public embellishments from Woodward are anything to go by, he will have faced several hair-pulling situations behind the scenes. He has seen his budget cut and his best young players sold. There are rumours* of psychologists and even yoga teachers not being paid last season.

The problem with all these rumours is that whilst they can usually be ignored, occasionally they need addressing. The rumours are allowed to perpetuate because there is a huge vacuum of communication. Even in instances where there is communication, it is sometimes incomplete, confusing or deliberately misleading.

It is understandable therefore that in this environment of chaos those in charge, essentially Woodward, remained defiantly loyal to the manager and didn`t sack him in circumstances which have proved to be the last straw for many of his predecessors. The second half performance at home to AFC Wimbledon in January was on a par with the display against the same opposition at Adams Park in September 2012 which did for Gary Waddock.

Having done such an encouraging job following Waddock`s departure in 2012/13, last season was a disaster. Much like the Titanic leaving Southampton dock, the early part of the journey was one of blissful ignorance of what was set to follow. There were a couple of turgid home displays against Mansfield Town and York City and the ridiculous red cards shown to Stuart Lewis and Charles Dunne but what would prove to be a crucial away win at Bristol Rovers in October left the Blues on the edge of the play-off places.

What followed was a dreadful run of form, with mostly dreadful performances, with dreadful team selection, dreadful tactics, a dearth of entertainment and excitement and most importantly, a distinct lack of points. It was clear by the end of the January transfer window that the manager`s position was safe, but that team certainly weren`t, yet some steadfastly refused to recognise the danger.

That it took another dismal home defeat to relegation rivals Bristol Rovers on the penultimate weekend of the season for some to finally realise that the much cherished prize of Football League status that had taken 106 years to be won was in peril speaks of their ignorance and unwillingness to accept both reality and responsibility. We were left to rely upon fate and we had more luck than we deserved as Bristol Rovers laid siege to the Mansfield Town goal on the final day of the season.

Where Colin Daniel`s shot struck the inside of the post and bounced into the net, winger Kaid Mohamed and defender Mark McChrystal`s efforts hit the crossbar and bounced away to safety. All of this happened whilst we were comfortably beating an already relegated Torquay United that had the white flags waving before half-time.

For those of us who remember celebrating on the Adams Park pitch in front of the main stand in the aftermath of a 5-1 thrashing of Runcorn in April 1993, acclaiming our heroes as they celebrated winning the Conference title and promotion to the Football League, Saturday 3rd May 2014 will remain an afternoon of torment.

There were celebrations on the pitch at Plainmoor too, but those players weren`t heroes like those 21 years. They were players who had rescued both the club and themselves from the ignominy and humiliation of relegation from the Football League. It was an occasion of huge relief rather than one of utter rejection.

Ainsworth has a year of his current deal left to run and has been given the opportunity to build his own squad this summer. He has released a host of players, including the popular defender Leon Johnson and the divisive figure of Dean Morgan. His recruitment has certainly been positive and at least brings hope for the new season.

Right-back Sido Jombati’s form rather fell off a cliff last season but before that he was impressive for Cheltenham Town and he would have to go some to perform worse than Marvin McCoy and Nick Arnold did last season.

The permanent signing of Aaron Pierre and the return on loan of Danny Rowe are really encouraging. They were superb towards the end of last season and without them we would almost certainly have been relegated.

Left-back Joe Jacobson was voted Shrewsbury Town`s player of the year last season as they were relegated from League One. That says a lot about his calibre and his arrival also allows Sam Wood to push further forward where he was far more effective last season.

Peter Murphy shone brightly in Accrington Stanley`s midfield last season and impressed on many occasions. His capture is something of a coup for Ainsworth and if he can add some creativity to our midfield it will make a huge difference to our season. His goal in the pre-season victory at Barnet is just a little example of what he could bring.

Striker Paul Hayes was exceptional during his short loan spell at Adams Park in 2012 when he formed a potent partnership with Stuart Beavon. He scored six goals in six games before being recalled by Charlton Athletic. Since then he has scored 12 goals in 67 appearances for Brentford, Crawley Town and Scunthorpe United.

Goalkeeper Alex Lynch and wingers Nathan Evans and Nicky Walker are all unknown quantities and it remains to be seen whether they have any impact. With the likes of Charlie Horlock and Tommy Fletcher having never tasted league football, Junior Morias yet to be handed a league start and goalkeeping coach Barry Richardson and Ainsworth himself named in the squad list, it is painfully transparent that the squad is wafer thin.

If Ainsworth allows his players to be as indisciplined as they were at the start of last season and the likes of Gary Doherty, Paris Cowan-Hall and Matt McClure continue to be troubled by injuries, the squad is likely to be stretched to breaking point.

If Ainsworth continues to select out of form players, fails to address the alarming lack of creativity, continues to adopt negative tactics and shows an unwillingness to compromise and formulate a plan B, never mind a plan C, then we are in for another repeat of last season.

Since reaching the holy grail of the Football League in 1993, there has always been a weight of expectation at Adams Park. We are now in a phase where that expectation is being tempered, and rightly so. The only realistic expectation for this season is another battle for survival both on and off the pitch. But with the big kick-off at Newport County a matter of 24 hours away, there is still hope and we can still dream.

There`s a lot to be said for it.

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*rumour
/`ru:mə/

/noun
1. a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth.

/verb
1. be circulated as an unverified account.