After a brilliant promotion from League Two last season, Gareth Ainsworth’s Wycombe Wanderers were in for a busy summer of comings and goings. Goalkeeper Scott Brown left the club and was replaced by former loanee Ryan Allsop, following his release from Bournemouth. Darius Charles was another early addition to the squad and will provide some experienced defensive cover throughout the season. The club then sold one of their prize assets, Luke O’Nien. After a brilliant season last time out, the midfielder earned himself a move to League One big boys, Sunderland.
Following this, Ainsworth reinforced the midfield by bringing in Curtis Thompson on a short term deal, as well as Bryn Morris, who joined on loan from Shrewsbury until January. Randell Williams also rejoined the Blues for his second loan deal until January. Former Stevenage striker Alex Samuel was the club’s sixth signing of the summer before the Blues signed Jason McCarthy, who had previously been a fan favourite in his loan spell with the club in 2015, on a three year deal from Barnsley, .
The League One season began with an opening day home game against Blackpool. The Blues would have gone into the game wanting to prove they aren’t just there to make up the numbers. A game which could have gone either way ended 0-0, with the Chairboys perhaps being the slightly more frustrated of the two sides not to take all three points.
This first game left Wycombe fans feeling positive about the season ahead, but they were brought crashing back down to earth on the second weekend of the season, where an impressive Doncaster side put on a great second half display to earn themselves a 3-0 victory. This left Wycombe with just one point from their opening two games, having not registered a single goal.
A penalty shootout victory over Northampton in the League Cup injected some much needed confidence into the side and the Blues would have been looking to use that to their advantage in the weekend's home game against Bristol Rovers. However, this was not the case and within 20 minutes, Wycombe found themselves 2-0 down and fearing the worst. A late Scott Kashket goal was not enough to salvage anything from the game and things were not looking good for the Blues.
However, a slight tweak in the line up saw a change in fortune towards the end of the month. An encouraging 1-1 draw with Plymouth that Wycombe were unlucky not to take more from was followed by a first league win of the season against Bradford City. Goals from Craig Mackail-Smith and Bryn Morris were enough to earn the Chairboys a 2-1 win, leaving them 17th in the table. A League Cup second round tie rounded the month off, with an enthralling 2-2 draw with Forest Green which was decided with yet another penalty shootout. Wycombe were victors again and will be going into October with a sense of optimism for the rest of the season.
Summary/My Verdict
After a tough start to August, Wycombe have looked to grow into League One football and appear more than capable of competing at this level. There is no doubt that there will be tough moments throughout the season, but with a League Cup third round to look forward to and sitting four places above safety, Ainsworth will be pretty happy with how the opening month went.
The new signings will take time to integrate effectively with the rest of the side but once they do, I am confident that Wycombe can pick up enough points this season to survive in League One.
