Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, currently playing in Football League Two. The club's official nickname is "The Chairboys", and they play in Cambridge and Oxford blue quarters. The name of Wycombe's ground is Adams Park. The club's manager is the former Leicester City and England Under-21 chief Peter Taylor. The former Leicester City player Junior Lewis holds the position of First Team coach. The club was founded in 1887 by a group of furniture-makers, and settled at Loakes Park in High Wycombe in 1895. From 1896 they played in the Southern League, but had little success in a league dominated by professional teams. They moved to the Great Western Suburban League in 1908 and to the Spartan League after the First World War. After winning the Spartan League they joined the Isthmian League in 1921. Although they won the FA Amateur Cup in 1931 it would be 1956 before they won the first of eight Isthmian League titles. Wycombe Wanderers famous navy and light-blue quartered kit is described as Oxford and Cambridge Blue in their early days, although the club had no connection with the Universities, the players being local working men. The two blues have also been attributed to the town colours of High Wycombe. Wycombe Wanderers have used variations of their famous quartered kit, but due to supporter pressure, have left their football strip largely unchanged since 1996-97. The Wycombe team of 1898 In 1985 they were promoted to the Football Conference (then the Gola League), and though they only lasted one season they were promoted again at the first attempt. Two important changes occurred in 1990: the Chairboys left Loakes Park for a new home at Adams Park, and Martin O'Neill was appointed manager. Under O'Neill they won the FA Trophy twice and were eventually promoted to The Football League in 1993 following a bad-tempered campaign alongside Roy McDonough's Colchester side in 1991-92. They were an immediate success in the League, winning promotion in their first season, beating Preston in the play-off final at Wembley and then narrowly missing out on the Division Two playoffs in their second due to number changes caused by the introduction of the FA Premier League. Martin O'Neill left the club for what would turn out to be a short tenure at Norwich in 1995, and the side became, at best, mid-table performers in Division Two. The club tasted more success under the guidance of Lawrie Sanchez as they enjoyed an epic FA Cup run in 2000-01 which saw them reach the semi-final where they were beaten by Liverpool 2-1 at Villa Park, Keith Ryan scoring the Chairboys' goal.
What can I add to that! The best team in Bucks for sure and the heady days of the Isthmian League in the 60's and 70's will remain with me forever. One lasting memory of any supporter would be when Middlesborough came to Loakes Park in the FA Cup of 1975, holding them to a fantastic draw in front of a packed Loakes Park and then taking them nearly all the way in the replay http://www.chairboys.ndirect.co.uk/history/boro75a.htm Sadly, I couldn't go to the replay. Then there are the recent exploits in the FA Cup which any lower league club would be proud of. It's in the blood and there is nothing I can do about it
Loakes Park, the real home of a Chairboy over a certain age In this old B&W pic, you can see Wycombe General hopsital in the background, there was always a large patient crowd watching from this fantasic vantage point. In those days Wycombe played in Sky Blue shirts, Navy shorts with Sky Blue Socks, oddly my local team use exactly the same colours as their away kit today Adams Park with a view of the Frank Adams Stand
Why, or more correctly, how I became a Chairboy. I was born in 1961 into a family of mainly non football supporters apart from my uncle who was and still is at the age of 81 a big Wycombe Wanderers fan. His son wasn’t interested in football as far as I can remember and I’m told I joined him on his bi-weekly pilgrimages to Loakes Park at the tender age of 6 years old, my first real memory would be around two or three years later when Enfield visited in a league fixture. I can’t remember the score and nothing exciting took place, no hooliganism etc but it is the first memory I have of going to Loakes Park. My uncle even moved to Suffield Rd in the fifties so that he could closer to his beloved football club though sadly rarely gets along to a home game these days because of illness but I know he tunes in via the radio or if they get featured on TV, watches every week. When I go back home to visit family we always have to go and visit my uncle so that we can spend hours chatting about how well/poorly the team are doing. I became my uncles regular companion right through the seventies, rarely missing a home game but getting to very few away games, my uncle didn’t drive and we relied on others or the supporters coaches for away games when we did travel, we also saw quite a few Reserves games through that time as well when we did not travel, In the early eighties I started playing Saturday afternoon football so my visits to Loakes Park declined to almost zilch, I never really played at a high level though I did once get scouted then attended trials for Nott’s County. A serious Knee injury put an end to my playing football soon after and I’ve never kicked a ball in anger again, this would have been around 1984/85. Once my knee had heeled, which to this day isn’t perfect and I still get grief from it when walking any distance, I moved to Norfolk. Why, I’ve never really been able to answer satisfactorily even to myself but I did and what with work and it being a five hour return trip to Wycombe, I became something of a lost supporter. I then married, had kids and this made it even harder to get back to watch them. Then about five years ago my son started to get interested in football and we started going up to watch Diss Town FC and one afternoon he asked me who my ‘real’ football team was. The next thing we are at Adams Park watching the mighty Chairboys once again and we’ve made the journey at least half a dozen times every season since, he is now a firm Chairboy himself and proudly wears his colours whenever we go to watch any football, not just local football as he like to go and watch Ipswich Town where we both get odd looks because of the colours we wear. He even digs at his Norwich City mates about how poorly they are doing this season and how he’s looking forward to going to Carrow Rd next season to cheer on the Wanderers rather than a team that is less than twenty miles up the road and one that he could quite easily support. The Diss Town thing for me is something that has also gotten into my blood, I enjoy the camaraderie, the freedom of watching the game from anywhere in the ground I choose, I can take a beer with me if I have the desire and I think most of all, I’ve made some solid friendships among the people that do go and watch the lower tiers of non league football, it reminds me of when Wycombe were in the Isthmian league all those years ago though the crowds are much smaller than they were then, Diss have an average attendance of 117 this season which I guess isn’t bad for a step 6 club, it would be great to see more though and I would recommend anyone that follows top flight football to go and watch it when your team is away one Saturday afternoon. You never know you just might enjoy yourself and it’ll only cost you a fiver to get in, club prices for the beer and most offer a burger for around £2, when was the last time you went to football and it cost you a tenner all in?
Ah yes, the swan in chains. I've never heard of a satisfactory answer but it features as the Bucks County crest and is seen in a different pose on the Bucks County website http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/ This might symbolise how important the county was to royalty in previous times during the counties history. The Swan being protected by royal decree the chains symbolising the ties the county had to royalty at one time or another, afterall the royal residence in London is Buckingham Palace How it ended up as the Wanderers badge, I've no idea but my guess is that when the club was formed it was chosen simply because it was the county crest and it just got restyled If you are interested in the full history of the club, they have some excellent history pages here; http://www.chairboys.ndirect.co.uk/history/index.htm
That ones simple, the club was founded by chairmakers in the town, until recently High Wycombe was reknown as the furniture making capital of the UK, also a lot of the players were drawn from these furniture factories in their amateur and semi-pro days. Over the years the club has recieved major investment from the local furniture manufacturers and until very recently was sponsored by Verco, still a leader in office furniture throughout europe (and also a place where I spent several years earning a very nice crust)
Love it! Too bad about your knees though. I play and have horrible knees as well but have decided that the pain is worth it.
Sadly, there is no way I could ever have played again, and now as I get ready to approach my fiftieth year, I think I'm well past it anyway, the training alone would be enough to put me in hospital,I've enjoyed the good life far too much
Wycombe face Shrewsbury tomorrow in a must win game if they are to sustain their promotion challenge this season which is also being screened live on Sky Sports 1 from midday with a kick off time of 12:15 (GMT) for those lucky enough to have the required subscription (one here that doesn’t ). During the week Taylor has had to defend his policy of getting loan players to cover injuries and suspensions as the business end of the season draws in, he has signed Frank Sinclair, one time Chelsea and Leicester City defender from Lincoln City until the end of this season. Defending the signing Taylor told www.wwfc.com.co.uk that “Frank is an excellent defender and leader on the field. We have a very young squad and with two defenders already out through injury and suspension I felt I needed to get someone in with experience” Without a win in the last four the Chairboys need a change of fortune especially after a recent loss to Rochdale and a draw at Brentford, both teams with promotion claims of their own they need to find their form soon with Saturdays game hopefully providing the springboard for that final push and promotion back to League 1. Recent weeks has seen Brentford, Rochdale and Gillingham coming to the fore while Wycombe have stuttered to just two wins, four draws and 3 losses since the beginning of February and down into fourth place and a playoff place rather than an automatic promotion spot. Come on the Chairboys, time to be hitting the back of that ole onion sack!
1-1 Wycombe took the lead in the 28th minute through a Gary Holt shot from outside the box. Shrewsbury equalised in the 74th minute with a Ben Davies header. The stats don't read great either, Wycombe stats were, posession 45%, Shots on target 3 to Shrewsburys 7, the rest are pretty unintersting. We needed a win today and didn't get one, with 8 more games to go we really do need to be pulling our fingers out!
What you can't see in the picture is the slope of the pitch. The left side of the pitch in the picture was 8 feet higher than the touchline on the right. You can see the line of the back of the far terrace. It looks like the terraces rises into the far right corner, but it was actually completely level. It was the rest of the terrace that sloped. I used to pop along there now and then when Reading were away. I remember walking out of the ground, out of the gate at the far right corner, and seeing a fan cross the street behind the terrace and walk into his house, the first house directly across the road on the corner. From front door to gate must have been literally no more than 20 yards.
Wycombe Wanderers 1 - 1 Shrewsbury Town 29' Gary Holt 1 75' 1 Ben Davies Not a convert per se but I'll help ya see them through to promotion. And I do love that badge.
"1895 - The club moved to Loakes Park, a site near Wycombe Hospital which sported a pitch with an infamous 11ft slope" Source-http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/sport/wanderers/wwfchistory/clubhistory/ I checked this just to be certain but knew it was an 11ft slope, the other odd fact about the ground is that when a player took a corner, he couldn't see the corner diagonally opposite due the 'skew' in the slope @IvanIV, I welcome you along for the ride, I'm sure it will be bumpy but in the end a triumphant one
You guy's have Pittman! Great player. Wish he played more but he's done well since arriving in January. Feel free to visit the yanks abroad forum. I made a thread about him at Wycombe and I usually make game day threads. Tough tie today, but a point is better than nothing. Holt's goal was beautiful. Norfolk you can still watch the games on the internet. I watched the game today. I know they aren't on tv often but check myp2p.eu in the future. They will have internet streams.
Wycombe could go back to second with a win tonight, I think we should get the points over a lowly Barnet, this is also our game in hand so it really is a must win. Wycombe Wanderers 2 Barnet 0
Oh well, another draw last night With games running out they really need to win games against teams like Barnet, looks like we're bottling it
No game this weekend, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing but we are back in action on Tuesday evening with what I'm sure will be a tough game at Darlington