History of Wycombe Wanderers F.C.
1896 The club finished fifth its first season in the Southern League Second Division and the rivalry with Marlow continued with defeat by ten men in the final of the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup in front of 4,000.
The team took the famous cup home with them on the London Underground and an estimated crowd of 10,000 saw captain Pat Badrick hold the club aloft and speeches were made before a celebratory dinner for 400 was held at the town hall.
The replay was played on the following Wednesday afternoon and despite having to take time off work, 7,597 fans saw the home side recover from conceding a first minute own goal to go 2–1 up only for the professionals to come back and eventually win 4–2.
Unfortunately the Wanderers crashed 6–2 to a team that would prove to be something of a nemesis in the decade that followed, one that is arguably the greatest amateur club to have played in England and one that shares the varsity colours, namely Bishop Auckland.
The side travelled up to Ayresome Park for the replay and a 30,128 crowd saw the semi-pros hold out until the last minute when David Armstrong slipped the ball past Maskell and into the bottom corner of the net.
There was an enjoyable two-legged final tie in the Anglo-Italian Trophy, and after a 1–0 defeat by AC Monza in Italy, the return leg saw goals from John Delaney and Dylan Evans seal a 2–1 aggregate win.
Two crucial factors during the season were the loss of striker Declan Link who left in November to work in the United States and the resignation of Manager Paul Bence in January, due to his business responsibilities.
O'Neill was only alerted to the job by new Wycombe director Alan Parry, who he bumped into purely by chance in the toilets at Carrow Road whilst both men were commentating on an FA Cup tie between Norwich City and Liverpool.
Martin Blackler finally found a way past him with a deflected shot but sub Paul Culpin snatched an equaliser to take it to a replay at London Road, which the Fourth Division side won 2–0.
Wycombe weren't going to be denied as less than ten minutes later Keith Scott broke down the right wing and crossed for local hero Mark West to dive low and head in the winner!
In driving rain and gale-force winds, and an ugly atmosphere which saw Police on horseback on the pitch, the visitors took an early second half lead through Nicky Smith but were soon pegged back by a Steve Guppy equaliser.
The game seemed destined for a draw when in the last minute Colchester goalkeeper Scott Barrett's goal kick caught on the wind, bounced once over Hyde and into the top corner of the net.
Keith Scott was declared fit and after a number of missed chances, centre-back Matt Crossley headed home from a corner and immediate sunk to his knees with a mixture of joy and relief.
The following week there was even more celebrations, after a 1–1 draw with nearest challengers Slough Town, a 5–1 thrashing of Runcorn at Adams Park, including a sensational solo goal from Steve Guppy, saw the Wanderers all but seal promotion to the Football League.
Wycombe Chairman Ivor Beeks countered the offer with a new contract, with a significant salary increase and on the Wednesday morning a press conference at Adams Park informed an overjoyed town that Martin O'Neill was staying.
Martin O'Neill knew the disappointment would be huge but fortunately a trip Wembley Arena for the London Standard 5-a-sides provided the perfect tonic, as perennial substitute goalkeeper Chuck Moussadik performed heroics and was voted man of the tournament as Wimbledon were beaten on sudden death penalties in the final.
[21] Smith made one addition to the squad during the summer, left-back Paul Hardyman from Bristol Rovers but after a slow start to the season he signed Jason Rowbotham, David Farrell from Aston Villa for £100,000 and striker John Williams from Coventry City for £150,000, another record fee.
Caretaker boss Neil Smillie helped guide the team to two important wins, over Rotherham United and Notts County but a series of defeats followed which left the side languishing at the bottom of the table.
A first round FA Cup tie with rivals Colchester United at Layer Road added some excitement and goals from Miquel Desouza and one from a suspiciously offside looking John Williams gave the Wanderers a very sweet 2–1 victory.
A pivotal result was secured at home to relegation rivals Shrewsbury Town, and it featured two loanees, goalkeeper Martin Taylor from Derby County and returning striker Keith Scott from Norwich City, making his second debut for the club.
Smillie had also strengthened the team bringing in Chris Vinnicombe from Burnley on a free transfer, Dannie Bulman from Ashford Town (Middx) for £10,000, Paul Emblen from Charlton Athletic for £60,000, Matt Lawrence from Fulham for £86,000 and hot prospect Jermaine McSporran from Oxford City for £75,000.
His first game in charge was a creditable 1–1 draw at home to Kevin Keegan's high flying Fulham Steve McGavin left the club for personal reasons before Sanchez was appointed and the new boss was told he had to make £200,000 from transfers before the end of the season.
A 5 ft (2 m) wooden statue of a Native American 'Comanche' was spotted by the team as they passed a second hand shop on the way to Sincil Bank (home to Lincoln City) for the last game of the season and decided that if they won and subsequently survived relegation they would purchase him as a lucky charm and he would become the club's mascot.
There was more bad news with injuries to Paul Emblen, Andy Baird and Jermaine McSporran and Sanchez, short of strikers, had to rely on the loan market, bringing in Steve Jones, Sam Parkin and triallist Niall Thompson.
In November an embryonic FA Cup run began with a 3–0 win over Harrow Borough but the second round saw the Blues face a tough trip to promotion favourites Millwall The tie was played on a Sunday and a patched-up team managed to somehow scrape a goalless draw.
Wolves snatched a deserved equaliser early in the second half but with five minutes to go a deep cross from Steve Brown was headed emphatically into the corner of the net by Sam Parkin to make it 2–1 and spark more scenes of celebration.
Wycombe faced a seemingly fateful fifth round encounter with Lawrie Sanchez's former club Wimbledon and after the Wombles had taken a 2–0 first half lead, a deflected Michael Simpson and a suspiciously offside looking equaliser from Steve Brown took the tie to a replay at Selhurst Park.
There seemed no way back for the Wanderers as the clock ticked into the 120th minute but Bulman's sliced shot from the edge fell perfectly for McCarthy to poke the ball past Kelvin Davis to make it 2–2.
A determined and well organised defence stood up to an International renowned attack boasting the likes of Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Nick Barmby, Gary McAllister, Steven Gerrard and Emile Heskey.
An improved run of form, which included back-to-back wins against Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City, lifted Wycombe to 22nd in the table, but three successive defeats in December saw the club drop to bottom position on the Saturday before Christmas.
