In his eight years at the helm at Adams Park, Gareth Ainsworth has become one of the club’s all-time greats, leading them to their highest league position, but there have been a few bad moments along the way.
*That* Wembley play-off final
Arguably the most famous day in Wycombe Wanderers’ history, Joe Jacobson’s penalty sent them up to the Championship for the first time ever with a 2-1 victory over Oxford United at Wembley.
It was in bizarre circumstances, with covid-19 curtailing the League One season and the play-offs taking place in July.
The Chairboys had set the pace for the vast majority of the season up until the suspension, so there’s no doubt that they deserved their place in the season-ending finale, but no one could have predicted what followed.
A brilliant display at Fleetwood in the semi-finals set them on their way, and some last-ditch defending combined with typically scoring from two set pieces sealed promotion.
Ainsworth’s side celebrated long into the night; it’s just a shame that no fans were there to see it.
The magical day in Torquay
It could have all been so different for Ainsworth. A pretty disastrous 2013-14 season left them in a scrap to avoid relegation from the Football League for the first time since winning the Conference in 1993.
The unthinkable may have been the end for the club, with financial difficulties leading to the closure of the club’s academy the previous summer.
Wanderers went into the final day of the season needing to beat already-relegated Torquay and hope one of Bristol Rovers or Northampton lost.
The Pirates were beaten at home by Mansfield despite hitting the crossbar three times and Wycombe eased to a 3-0 win to spark jubilant scenes in the away end at Plainmoor.
The crucial defeat to Bristol Rovers
Ironically, the Chairboys had been beaten by Rovers the week before as they looked to be doomed to non-league.
Matt McClure’s stylish volleyed finish wasn’t enough to get anything from an absolutely massive game at Adams Park.
It was the second of a trio of games against relegation rivals following a draw with Northampton, but David Clarkson’s late winner caused a mass pitch invasion from Rovers fans and sealed one of the darkest days in Wycombe’s history.
Promotion at Chesterfield
Wanderers have enjoyed a couple of special days at the Proact Stadium, with that 5-0 cup win followed by a promotion party eighteen months later.
Everyone expected the race to go down to the home game with Stevenage on the final day, but when Exeter and Notts County fell behind early, the 1000 travelling Wycombe fans started to believe.
Club legend Nathan Tyson gave the visitors the lead, and although they were pegged back by the relegated Spireites, a second-half strike from Dom Gape sealed promotion and a day that will live long in the memory of every Wycombe fan.
A less than ideal start
When Gary Waddock was sacked with Wycombe struggling in League Two at the start of the 2012-13 season, Ainsworth was appointed on a caretaker basis with his first game away at Dagenham.
It was a real baptism of fire for ‘Wild Thing’ as the Daggers ran out 3-0 winners at Victoria Road.
That left Wycombe in real trouble at the bottom of the Football League and facing the possibility of back-to-back relegations.
An admirable turnaround
The Dagenham defeat thankfully was as bad as it got for Wanderers as Ainsworth rejuvenated the dressing room and led the Chairboys to a 15th-placed finish.
It looked like it could’ve been even better, but three winless games to finish the season put pay to that.
With Ainsworth still playing alongside his management duties, he led Wycombe to 9 wins from 13 over the winter period before retiring from playing on the final day against his former club Port Vale.
Morecambe spoiling the Adams Park party
There has been no shortage of late-season drama during Ainsworth’s tenure in Buckinghamshire, and 2014-15 was no exception.
An incredible season saw them lead League Two for much of the campaign just one year on from narrowly surviving relegation.
Back-to-back defeats to Oxford and Burton had allowed the chasing pack to catch up, and Wycombe went into a home game with Morecambe needing a result to stay in the top three.
Wanderers never really turned up, and the Shrimps eventually took a deserved lead in the final minutes to leave the Chairboys needing a miracle on the final day at Northampton.
Penalty heartbreak at Wembley
Promotion briefly looked possible at Sixfields, but despite Alfie Mawson’s late winner, Bury pipped Wycombe to promotion and Ainsworth’s men finished fourth with a club-record points tally of 84.
That meant a play-off semi-final with Plymouth, which they came through comfortably to set up a showpiece final with Southend at the national stadium.
A tense affair went to extra-time, where Joe Jacobson’s trademark free-kick was cancelled out by a last-gasp Joe Pigott strike to send it all the way.
Sam Wood and Matt Bloomfield missed from the spot in a marathon shoot-out as Southend sealed promotion 7-6 on penalties.
The 2016-17 FA Cup run
Ainsworth has overseen no shortage of cup runs while he’s been in charge, with two runs to the third round of the FA Cup and one to the fourth as well as a semi-final appearance in the EFL Trophy.
A tie with Aston Villa in 2015-16 was pretty special, but the campaign a year later, culminating in a thriller at White Hart Lane managed to top it.
Wanderers were handed a tough tie at Fratton Park in the opening round, but overcame Portsmouth 2-1 before thrashing Chesterfield 5-0 courtesy of a typically clinical hat-trick from Scott Kashket.
They squeezed past seventh-tier Stourbridge in the third round to set up a dream draw at Premier League giants Tottenham.
The 4000 Wycombe fans were in dreamland at half-time as Paul Hayes’ double handed them a comfortable lead, but a relatively strong Spurs side pegged them back.
A superb counter-attacking goal, finished by Garry Thompson but Wycombe back in front but they somehow contrived to lose the match 4-3 with two goals in the dying moments and rob themselves of a lucrative replay.
The nightmare run in 2018-19
Wanderers’ first season in League One for seven years started brilliantly and saw them threaten a play-off bid around Christmas time, but a dreadful run of results in the new year nearly ended in disaster.
A sequence of 12 winless games, including back-to-back late defeats against Shrewsbury and Oxford plunged Wycombe into a very tight relegation battle.
However, a more favourable fixture list in the last few games saved them as victories against Southend, Walsall and Fleetwood helped them finish 17th.
