Massive relegation battle at Adams Park

Wycombe Wanderers entertain Rochdale on Saturday in their 27th league game of the season.

The league table currently shows Wycombe in 23rd place with 20 points and Rochdale in 22nd spot with 21 points, both sides having played 26 games.


Wycombe’s Home Record…W 3 – D 2 – L 8 – Pts 11…Ppg 0.85 (Rank-24)

Rochdale’s Away Record…..W 2 – D 3 – L 8 – Pts 9….Ppg 0.69 (Rank-23)


Saturday’s relegation battle with Dale sees Wycombe return to Adams Park for the first time since their humiliating 6-0 defeat at the hands of Huddersfield Town.

Last week’s performance at Preston deserved better, but an unlucky 3-2 defeat stretched the Blues’ latest losing streak to four consecutive games.

It never rains but it pours, and earlier this week loanee striker Marcello Trotta chose to return to Fulham after giving the Wycombe fans a tantalising glimmer of hope with eight goals in eight starts.

With two-goal loanee Anthony McNamee also back at his parent club, Stuart Beavon is the only current Wycombe player to have scored a goal since 5th November.

Blues’ boss Gary Waddock is reportedly in the hunt for a replacement striker.

Meanwhile at the leaky end, 18-year-old Louis Laing has arrived on-loan from Sunderland to bolster a defence that’s conceded the highest number of goals in the division and kept the fewest number of clean sheets in the entire Football League.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s game, Waddock said: “If the players show the same commitment, determination and desire that they showed up at Preston, we give ourselves a chance in the game.”

If his plea sounds familiar, it’s because it is.

Looking on the positive side, it seems Rochdale aren’t much cop either.

With only one win in their last seventeen games, Dale have scored just twice since the end of November, and appear to be in even worse shape than Wycombe.

Popular manager Keith Hill left for Barnsley during the summer and his replacement Steve Eyre was sacked just before Christmas. Director of Youth Chris Beech was appointed caretaker manager and has a record of three draws and two defeats from his five games in charge.

Managers don’t like to talk about six-pointers, but both these teams are currently odds-on to be relegated and the loser of this one will have a huge mountain to climb.


Here are some stats?


Rochdale’s last five games (All Competitions)

Lg1: Walsall (A)………….Drew 0-0

Lg1: Preston (H)………….Drew 1-1

Lg1: Hartlepool (A)………..Lost 0-2

Lg1: Stevenage (H)……….Lost 1-5

Lg1: Tranmere (A)……….Drew 0-0



Wycombe’s last five games (All Competitions)

Lg1: Exeter (H)…………….Won 3-1

Lg1: Stevenage (H)……….Lost 0-1

Lg1: Bournemouth (A)……Lost 0-2

Lg1: Huddersfield (H)……..Lost 0-6

Lg1: Preston (A)……………Lost 2-3



Rochdale Goal Stats (32 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total)…………Lg: 24…Cups: 8…Total: 32

Goals Conceded (Total)……..Lg: 46…Cups: 7…Total: 53

Goals Scored (Away)………..Lg: 10…Cups: 3…Total: 13

Goals Conceded (Away)…….Lg: 24…Cups: 3…Total: 27

Clean Sheets…………………..Lg: 6…..Cups: 1…Total: 7



Wycombe Goal Stats (31 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total)………….Lg: 30…Cups: 8…..Total: 38

Goals Conceded (Total)………Lg: 49…Cups: 13…Total: 62

Goals Scored (Home)…………Lg: 14…Cups: 8…..Total: 22

Goals Conceded (Home)……..Lg: 24…Cups: 11…Total: 35

Clean Sheets……………………Lg: 1…..Cups: 0…..Total: 1



Rochdale’s Top Goal Scorers – (All Competitions)

Ashley Grimes………8

Gary Jones…………..5 (inc 1 pen)

David Ball……………4

Marcus Holness……..3

J L Akpa Akpro……..3

One other player has scored 2 goals.

Six other players have each scored 1 goal.



Wycombe’s Top Goal Scorers – (All Competitions)

Stuart Beavon………11

Marcello Trotta……….8

Scott Donnelly……….5 (inc 2 pens)

Joel Grant…………….3

Two other players have scored 2 goals.

Six other players have each scored 1 goal.



Rochdale Shooting (Top-3) – All Competitions

J L Akpa Akpro….24 on-target…29 off-target…3 against woodwork

Gary Jones……….23 on-target…25 off-target…1 against woodwork

Ashley Grimes…..25 on-target…14 off-target…1 against woodwork



Wycombe Shooting (Top-3) – All Competitions

Stuart Beavon…..36 on-target…10 off-target…0 against woodwork

Joel Grant………..16 on-target…13 off-target…0 against woodwork

Scott Donnelly…..13 on-target…11 off-target…0 against woodwork



Shooting (Club) – League Games Only

Rochdale….134 on target…127 off target…7 against w’work (Rank-16)

Wycombe…117 on target…110 off target…4 against w’work (Rank-22)



Most Assists

Rochdale – Nicky Adams………………………..4

Wycombe – Ainsworth, Beavon & Sandell……3



League Form Guide

All Season

Rochdale……Pld: 26…W: 4…D: 9…L: 13…Pts: 21…Pts per game: 0.81

Wycombe…..Pld: 26…W: 5…D: 5…L: 16…Pts: 20…Pts per game: 0.77



Last Five league Games

Rochdale………DDLLD – 3 points (Rank-22)

Wycombe………WLLLL – 3 points (Rank-23)



Last Five League Games (Away)

Rochdale………WLDLD – 5 points (Rank-16)



Last Five League Games (Home)

Wycombe……..LLWWL – 6 points (Rank-18)



Against Top Half Opposition

Rochdale…….Pld: 14…Pts: 11…Pts per game: 0.79…(Rank-17)

Wycombe……Pld: 15…Pts: 5…..Pts per game: 0.33…(Rank-22)



Against Bottom Half Opposition

Rochdale…….Pld: 12…Pts: 10…Pts per game: 0.83…(Rank-22)

Wycombe……Pld: 11…Pts: 15…Pts per game: 1.36…(Rank-19)



Previous Meetings

In 13 previous meetings there have been 5 wins for Wycombe, 4 for Rochdale and 4 draws.

At Adams Park the tally is 1 win for the Blues, 3 for Dale and 2 draws.

1993/94: Lg2 Rochdale 2 Wycombe 2

1993/94: Lg2 Wycombe 1 Rochdale 1

2004/05: Lg2 Wycombe 0 Rochdale 3

2004/05: Lg2 Rochdale 1 Wycombe 1

2005/06: Lg2 Rochdale 1 Wycombe 2

2005/06: Lg2 Wycombe 3 Rochdale 0

2006/07: Lg2 Rochdale. 0 Wycombe 2

2006/07: Lg2 Wycombe 1 Rochdale 1

2007/08: Lg2 Wycombe 0 Rochdale 1

2007/08: Lg2 Rochdale 0 Wycombe 1

2008/09: Lg2 Rochdale 0 Wycombe 1

2008/09: Lg2 Wycombe 0 Rochdale 1

2011/12: Lg1 Rochdale 2 Wycombe 1



The Man In The Middle

Saturday’s referee is Patrick Miller from Bedfordshire who was promoted to the National List of Referees in 2005. Last season he took charge of Wycombe’s 2-1 home defeat to Macclesfield Town and earlier this season he refereed the 3-3 draw and penalty shoot out victory over Colchester United in the Carling Cup. During the current campaign he’s issued 2 red and 29 yellow cards in 12 games.



Prediction

Wycombe 1 Rochdale 1