Wycombe Wanderers entertain Exeter City on Boxing Day in their 22nd league game of the season.
The league table currently shows Wycombe in 23rd place with 17 points and Exeter in 18th spot with 21 points, both sides having played 21 games.
Wycombe’s Home Record….W 2 – D 2 – L 6 – Pts 8…Ppg 0.80 (Rank-22)
Exeter’s Away Record………W 1 – D 3 – L 6 – Pts 6…Ppg 0.60 (Rank-23)
It’s been an emotional week for Blues’ fans.
First came the quandary of whether to be delighted or disappointed with a 2-2 draw at Carlisle.
Make no mistake, a Wycombe fan is likely to snatch your arm off for a point this season, but having been deprived of all three by a late equaliser, there was no escaping the feeling that this was an opportunity lost.
Nevertheless, it put the Blues on a run of two whole games without defeat, which given the rotten season they’re having, made it an ideal time to release the news that two talented players were leaving the club.
No-one would deny 16 year-old Jordon Ibe his chance to shine at Anfield and great credit goes to Richard Dobson for the youngster’s development. It is however bad news for the fans. Ibe’s departure leaves the Blues’ bench with all the threat of a gummy sheep, and don’t hold your breath waiting for the undisclosed fat fee to be reinvested in the squad.
Sadly, there’s nothing to be proud of in the sorry saga of Kevin Betsy. Frozen out of the match-day squad and now forced to go elsewhere to ply his trade, the popular winger is on record as saying he wanted to end his career at Adams Park and is clearly saddened at the way things turned out.
Given the number of dismal team performances this season where Betsy’s presence could only have helped, this tawdry episode stands firmly as a monument to the folly of stubbornness.
Obviously frozen-out for reasons other than his ability, Betsy’s omission has upset many fans, upset the player, and probably cost the club valuable points. Let’s hope someone’s happy.
Amidst the news that two flair players were leaving for good, came the news that teenage loanee Marcello Trotta is staying until mid January.
In stark contrast to Gary Waddock’s woeful summer signings (Joel Grant apart), his recent loan-signings have been a resounding success. Trotta and Anthony McNamee have both found the net each time they’ve played and their arrival has been the catalyst for a rare flurry of eight goals scored in the last three games.
Unfortunately for the Blues, some typically horrendous defending has seen the same number of goals hit the back of the net at the other end.
Monday will see Waddock’s Wycombe make their 27th attempt to keep a clean sheet in all competitions. The fact that they’ve only succeeded once tells you why they’re second-bottom and out of all the cups.
As far as Exeter are concerned….
For the optimists among you…The Grecians have the second-worst away record in the entire division and have scored only eight league goals on their travels this season.
And for the pessimists among you…the Devon side have lost only once in their last eight league games.
Happy Christmas from me!
Here are some stats?
Exeter’s last five games (All Competitions)
Lg1: Yeovil (A)…………..Drew 2-2
FAC: Walsall (A)…………..Lost 2-3
Lg1: Tranmere (H)……….Won 3-0
Lg1: Orient (A)…………….Lost 0-3
Lg1: Scunthorpe (H)…….Drew 0-0
Wycombe’s last five games (All Competitions)
FAC: Fleetwood (A)…………Lost 0-2
Lg1: Bournemouth (H)……..Lost 0-1
Lg1: Franchise (A)…………..Lost 3-4
Lg1: Chesterfield (H)……….Won 3-2
Lg1: Carlisle (A)……………Drew 2-2
Exeter Goal Stats (27 games in all Competitions)
Goals Scored (Total)…………Lg: 20…Cups: 8…..Total: 28
Goals Conceded (Total)……..Lg: 33…Cups: 10…Total: 43
Goals Scored (Away)………..Lg: 8…..Cups: 2…..Total: 10
Goals Conceded (Away)…….Lg: 20…Cups: 3…..Total: 23
Clean Sheets…………………..Lg: 5…..Cups: 1…..Total: 6
Wycombe Goal Stats (26 games in all Competitions)
Goals Scored (Total)…………..Lg: 25…Cups: 8…..Total: 33
Goals Conceded (Total)……….Lg: 36…Cups: 13…Total: 49
Goals Scored (Home)………….Lg: 11…Cups: 8…..Total: 19
Goals Conceded (Home)………Lg: 16…Cups: 11…Total: 27
Clean Sheets…………………….Lg: 1…..Cups: 0…..Total: 1
Exeter’s Top Goal Scorers – (All Competitions)
Daniel Nardiello……….8 (inc 2 pens)
Guillem Bauza…………3 (inc 1 pen)
Five other players have each scored 2 goals.
Six other players have each scored 1 goal.
Wycombe’s Top Goal Scorers – (All Competitions)
Stuart Beavon……….11
Scott Donnelly………..5 (inc 2 pens)
Joel Grant……………..3
Marcello Trotta……….3
Two other players have scored 2 goals.
Six other players have each scored 1 goal.
Exeter Shooting (Top-3) – All Competitions
Daniel Nardiello…..18 on-target…19 off-target…0 against woodwork
David Noble……….14 on-target…13 off-target…2 against woodwork
Liam Sercombe…….9 on-target…11 off-target…1 against woodwork
Wycombe Shooting (Top-3) – All Competitions
Stuart Beavon……..29 on-target…..5 off-target…0 against woodwork
Joel Grant…………..15 on-target…13 off-target…0 against woodwork
Scott Donnelly……..13 on-target…11 off-target…0 against woodwork
Shooting (Club) – League Games Only
Exeter…………75 on target…87 off target…9 against w’work (Rank-24)
Wycombe…….89 on target…94 off target…4 against w’work (Rank-23)
Most Assists
Exeter – Scott Golbourne………….3
Wycombe – Beavon & Sandell……3
League Form Guide
All Season
Exeter……….Pld: 21…W: 5…D: 6…L: 10…Pts: 21…Pts per game: 1.00
Wycombe…..Pld: 21…W: 4…D: 5…L: 12…Pts: 17…Pts per game: 0.81
Last Five league Games
Exeter………..DDWLD – 6 points (Rank-14)
Wycombe…….DLLWD – 5 points (Rank-15)
Last Five League Games (Away)
Exeter…………LWDDL – 5 points (Rank-17)
Last Five League Games (Home)
Wycombe……..DLLLW – 4 points (Rank-19)
Against Top Half Opposition
Exeter………..Pld: 11…Pts: 4…Pts per game: 0.36…(Rank-24)
Wycombe……Pld: 11…Pts: 6…Pts per game: 0.55…(Rank-21)
Against Bottom Half Opposition
Exeter…………Pld: 10…Pts: 17…Pts per game: 1.70…(Rank-12)
Wycombe…….Pld: 10…Pts: 11…Pts per game: 1.10…(Rank-20)
Previous Meetings
In 5 previous meetings there have been 3 draws and 1 win for each side.
At Adams Park the tally is 1 win for the Chairboys and 2 draws.
2000/01 FLT: Wycombe 1 Exeter 0
2008/09 Lg2: Wycombe 1 Exeter 1
2008/09 Lg2: Exeter 1 Wycombe 0
2009/10 Lg1: Exeter 1 Wycombe 1
2009/10 Lg1: Wycombe 2 Exeter 2
The Man In The Middle
Monday’s referee is Graham Scott from Oxfordshire who was promoted to the National List of Referees in 2008. His most recent Wycombe game was a 2-1 win at Cheltenham Town on New Year’s Day 2011. So far this season he’s issued 7 red and 85 yellow cards in 22 games.
Prediction
Wycombe 2 Exeter 2
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