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| Full name | Wycombe Wanderers Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | The Chairboys The Blues | |||
| Founded | 1887; 138 years ago (1887) | |||
| Ground | Adams Park | |||
| Capacity | 9,558 | |||
| Owner(s) | Feliciana EFL Ltd (90%) Wycombe Wanderers Supporters Group Ltd (10%)[1] | |||
| Chairman | Dan Rice (Interim) | |||
| Head coach | Michael Duff | |||
| League | EFL League One | |||
| 2024–25 | EFL League One, 5th of 24 | |||
| Website | www | |||
 Current season | ||||
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club (/ˈwɪkəm/) is a professionalassociation football club based in the town ofHigh Wycombe,Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes inLeague One, the third level of theEnglish football league system.
Founded in 1887, they entered theSouthern League in 1896. They switched to theGreat Western Suburban League in 1908 and then theSpartan League in 1919, before joining theIsthmian League after winning the Spartan League in 1919–20 and 1920–21. They spent 64 years in the Isthmian League, winning eight league titles and oneFA Amateur Cup title. Having rejected numerous invitations to join theAlliance Premier League (now National League), they finally accepted an offer in 1985 and eventually found success in the fifth tier of English football under the management ofMartin O'Neill, winning promotion into theFootball League as Football Conference champions in 1992–93. They also lifted theFA Trophy in 1991 and 1993, and won theConference League Cup, Conference Shield (three times) and Conference Charity Shield.
Despite never making it to theEFL Championship before 2020, the team has had successes throughout their history. Wycombe made an immediate impact in the Football League, winning promotion out of theThird Division via the play-offs in1994. They spent a decade in the third tier and reached theFA Cup semi-finals in 2001, though were relegated three years later. They also reached theLeague Cup semi-finals in 2007 and then gained promotion out ofLeague Two in 2008–09. This was the first of four successive seasons of promotions and relegations between League Two andLeague One, which was followed by a decline that saw the club only avoid relegation into non-League on goal difference in 2014. The club secured promotion out of League Two in 2017–18 under the stewardship ofGareth Ainsworth, who then took the club to theChampionship for the first time in the club's history with victory in the2020 League One play-off final. However, they would be relegated in their first season in the Championship. They play their home matches atAdams Park, located on the western outskirts of High Wycombe.
The exact details of the formation of Wycombe Wanderers F.C. have largely been lost to history. A group of young furniture trade workers started a team to play matches which led to a meeting, held at the Steam Engine public house in Station Road, High Wycombe in 1887 which saw the formation of Wycombe Wanderers F.C. It is highly likely the club was named Wanderers after the famousWanderers, winners of the firstFA Cup in 1872. The club played friendly matches between 1887 and 1896. It first entered theFA Amateur Cup in 1894 and the FA Cup in 1895. In 1895 the club moved toLoakes Park, which would become its home for the next 95 years. In 1896 the club joined theSouthern League and competed in the Second Division until 1908.[2][3]
In the summer of 1908 the club declined the invitation to retain their membership of the Southern League. The club decided to pursue amateur instead of professional football and joined the Great Western Suburban League and remained there until the outbreak of theFirst World War. After the hostilities had ended the club joined theSpartan League in 1919 and were Champions in successive years. In March 1921 the club's application to join theIsthmian League was accepted.
The club remained a member of the Isthmian League until 1985, when they finally accepted promotion to theAlliance Premier League. For over sixty years the Wanderers sought to be the greatest amateur club in the country. One of the club's greatest achievements came in April 1931 when it won the FA Amateur Cup. The Wanderers beatHayes 1–0 in the final atHighbury, home ofArsenal. The club also reached the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in November 1932, losing toGillingham in a replay at Loakes Park.
The club remained active during theSecond World War, competing in theGreat Western Combination, which was won in 1945. In 1947 Frank Adams, who had captained the club to its double Championship victories in the Spartan League and made 331 appearances for the Wanderers, scoring 104 goals, made arguably his greatest contribution when he gave Loakes Park to the club. It provided the basis for a period of unprecedented success in 1950s.
The club appointed Sid Cann as coach in 1952 and he led the Wanderers to their first Isthmian League title in 1956. The title was successfully defended the following season, and the club also reachedWembley for the first time in their history. They were beaten 3–1 byBishop Auckland in the final of the FA Amateur Cup in April 1957. Their North-East rivals were something of a nemesis having also beaten the Chairboys at the semi-final stage in both 1950 and 1955. The second round proper of the FA Cup was reached in December 1959 when the club was defeated 5–1 byWatford atVicarage Road. The stars of the team included winger Len Worley and striker Paul Bates.
Cann left the club to joinNorwich City in 1961 and the club's fortunes took something of a downturn during the 1960s. That changed in December 1968 whenBrian Lee was appointed as the club's first conventional manager. He changed several aspects of the club including team selection, which up to that point had been chosen by committee. He led the Wanderers to a third Isthmian League title in 1971 and it was again defended successfully in 1972. The club suffered yet more FA Amateur Cup disappointment at the semi-final stage, losing 2–1 toHendon atGriffin Park,Brentford.
A fifth Isthmian League title was won in 1974 and the following season it was defended yet again, this time by the narrowest of margins, a superior goal difference of 0–1 to Enfield. In the same season the club created history by reaching the third round proper of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 1–0 to First DivisionMiddlesbrough in a replay atAyresome Park having drawn 0–0 at Loakes Park.
Lee retired as manager in 1976 and again the Wanderers suffered a decline. A significant factor was the abolition of amateur football by the FA in 1974 which left the club without a sense of purpose. The Wanderers rejected the invitation to join the Alliance Premier League on its formation in 1979 and again in 1981 with concern over the increased travelling costs. The club reached the semi-finals of theFA Trophy for the first time in 1982 but lost out toAltrincham. A seventh Isthmian League title was won in 1983 but promotion to the Alliance Premier League was again turned down.
As a consequence crowds at Loakes Park dropped to record lows and the club decided to accept promotion to the Gola League in 1985, having finished third in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club's first season in a national league ended in disappointment, with the Wanderers relegated on goal difference. They soon returned after romping to an eighth Isthmian League title in 1987 after a battle withYeovil Town. The club consolidated their place in the newly named GM Vauxhall Conference and under manager Jim Kelman they finished in fourth place in 1989. The following season would be the club's last at their Loakes Park home. It was a disappointing season on the field with Kelman being asked to resign following an ignominious defeat to theMetropolitan Police in the FA Trophy.
The club appointedMartin O'Neill as his successor and he went on to lead the Wanderers to unprecedented success. The club moved to its newAdams Park home in 1990, and in May 1991, the Blues defeatedKidderminster Harriers 2–1 in the final of the FA Trophy in front of a then-record crowd. The club narrowly missed out on promotion to theFootball League the following season, finishing level on 94 points withColchester United, but placing second in the league on goal difference.
The club recovered to become only the third in history to do the non-league double. The Wanderers claimed the 92–93Conference title before winning the FA Trophy again, beatingRuncorn 4–1 in the final at Wembley in May 1993. O'Neill rejected the chance to manageNottingham Forest that summer, staying with Wycombe to lead the club to fourth in the Third Division and qualify for the play-offs in their inaugural season in the Football League. They beatCarlisle United in the two-legged semi-final, and beatPreston North End 4–2 in the final at Wembley in May 1994 to secure their second consecutive promotion, entering theSecond Division (the third tier) for the first time in club history.
In their first season in the Second Division, Wycombe finished sixth, but due to league re-organisation, missed out on a play-off place, and O'Neill left to become manager ofFirst DivisionNorwich City in June 1995. FormerCrystal Palace managerAlan Smith was appointed as his successor, but was sacked in September 1996 as Wycombe struggled in the bottom half of the Second Division.John Gregory took over and managed to steer the club to safety on the penultimate weekend of the 96–97 season. He left to manageAston Villa in February 1998 and youth team bossNeil Smillie was given the job.
Smillie was sacked in January 1999 with the Wanderers looking destined for relegation back to the fourth tier.Lawrie Sanchez was appointed his successor and tasked with keeping the club in the Second Division. Safety was secured on the final day of the season whenPaul Emblen headed home the winner seven minutes from time to beatLincoln City 1–0. In tribute to this result, the club acquired a new mascot, in the form of the Wycombe Comanche.
In 2000–01, Wycombe began a successful FA Cup run, with wins over First Division sidesGrimsby Town,Wolverhampton Wanderers andWimbledon taking them to a quarter-final withPremiership outfitLeicester City. StrikerRoy Essandoh headed an injury-time winner to seal a 2–1 win for the Wanderers atFilbert Street. The semi-final atVilla Park saw Wycombe faceLiverpool, and goals fromEmile Heskey andRobbie Fowler put the Premiership side up 2–0. A last ditch effort from club mainstayKeith Ryan gave some hope to the Wanderers, but they would exit the competition after succumbing to a 2–1 defeat.
Despite cup success, the club's league form continued to struggle, as they finished 13th in the Second Division in 00–01. As bottom half finishes continued, Sanchez was eventually sacked in September 2003 after the club ended the previous campaign in 18th. His successorTony Adams failed to turn things around, and Wycombe ended a 10-year stay in the Second Division at the end of 03–04, finishing bottom of the league and suffering relegation to the Third Division, then renamed as theCoca-Cola League Two. At the time, the Wanderers were English football's last professional members' club, but at anextraordinary general meeting in July 2004, the members voted by a narrow margin to restructure the club as aPublic Limited Company. Chairman Ivor Beeks, Director Brian Kane and sponsor Steve Hayes all subsequently invested in the club, with an approximate total value of £750,000.[citation needed]
Adams remained in the manager's job for just a year, resigning in November 2004, andJohn Gorman was appointed as his successor. His tenure saw a record of 21 league games unbeaten at the start of the 2005–06 season. A double tragedy would soon hit the club, however, with midfielderMark Philo killed in a road accident in January 2006 and Gorman's wife Myra dying of cancer in March. Subsequently, the team's form slipped and they fell from top spot to eventually finish in sixth place, still achieving a playoff spot.Cheltenham Town won the two-legged play-off semi-final 2–1 and Gorman was sacked in May 2006.[4]
Paul Lambert took over in June,[5] and took the club on another ambitious cup run, this time to the semi-finals of theCarling Cup. Having previously never passed the second round, Wycombe defeatedFulham away, and knocked out then Premier League sideCharlton Athletic in the quarter-finals. This bought them to a semi-final with reigning Premier League championsChelsea. The Wanderers drew the first leg 1–1 at Adams Park, withJermaine Easter scoring a late equaliser after a first half goal fromWayne Bridge. The second leg atStamford Bridge was a different story, as doubles from bothAndriy Shevchenko andFrank Lampard saw Wycombe lose 4–0 and exit the competition. Again, however, the side's league form would suffer, and a number of changes were made to the squad and staff in the summer of 2007. They reached the League Two play-offs in 2008 but were knocked out 2–1 on aggregate byStockport County. Lambert resigned shortly afterwards.[6]
Peter Taylor was appointed as his successor in May 2008 and he led the side to another lengthy unbeaten start which lasted 18 games. The side was nine points clear at the top at Christmas but results soon tailed off and the team eventually finished in the last automatic promotion place, ahead ofBury by virtue of a superior goal difference of just one. The summer of 2009 sawSteve Hayes become the first sole owner of the club, converting £3m of loans into equity.[7] He also announced his intention to move the club into a community stadium based on the site of theWycombe Air Park.[8]
Taylor was sacked in October 2009 after a poor start to the season,[9] and was replaced byGary Waddock who was unable to save the club from relegation back toLeague Two. Waddock did however guide the Wanderers straight back toLeague One at the first attempt. He led the side to a third-place finish, and achieved a points total of 80, the highest the club had recorded since its promotion to the Football League. In July 2011, after much argument and debate,Wycombe District Council announced that work on the community stadium proposed at Wycombe Air Park would stop.[10][11] Wycombe were relegated back to League Two at the end of the 2011–12 season.
On 30 June 2012, the supporters-owned Wycombe Wanderers Trust formally took over the club.[12] This financial stabilisation ended a transfer embargo.Gary Waddock took advantage of this immediately and signed several new players for the2012–13 season.[13] The season also included their 125th anniversary, and the shirt design was an adaptation of their first-ever kit, in Oxford and Cambridge blue halves (instead of quarters). On 22 September, Waddock was sacked as manager with immediate effect with the club above the relegation zone.[14] Former club captainGareth Ainsworth was immediately named as the caretaker manager in Waddock's absence before later earning the role permanently.[15] Ainsworth revitalised the squad and the club as a whole and steered Wycombe safely away from the relegation threat, eventually ending the season in 15th place, nine points clear of relegation.
At the start of the final day of the2013–14 season, Wycombe were three points adrift of safety in the relegation zone of League Two. However, after a 3–0 win away atTorquay United, andBristol Rovers losing toMansfield Town, Wycombe finished in 22nd place, above Bristol ongoal difference, to remain in the Football League.[16] Following the near-relegation of the previous season,Gareth Ainsworth released seven players from the club to start a rebuild of the squad.[17][18] The2014–15 season saw the club spend the majority of the season in the automatic promotion places. However, two costly home defeats toMorecambe and local rivalsOxford United led to a finishing position of fourth, setting up a play-off fixture againstPlymouth Argyle. Theplay-off final took place on 23 May againstSouthend United. After a goalless draw during normal time, Wycombe scored four minutes into extra time. Southend continued to put pressure on Wycombe untilJoe Pigott scored in the 122nd minute to tie the game at 1–1 and send it to a penalty shoot out. Southend won the shoot out 7–6.[19]
In the2017–18 season, Exeter and Notts County both losing respectively combined with Wycombe winning their penultimate game of the season ensured promotion toLeague One.[20] In the2019–20 season, Wycombe finished third in League One on points per game due to theimpact of Covid-19. They won the play-off semi final 6–3 on aggregate, againstFleetwood Town, then, on 13 July beatOxford United 2–1 in the final, at an empty Wembley Stadium, to ensure that Wycombe would play in theEFL Championship for the first time in the club's history.
The following 2020–21 season saw all but three of the 46 league matches being played behind closed doors due to the continuingpandemic. Wycombe struggled in the early stages, failing to register a point in their first seven league outings, and failing to score in their first four. An improved run of form, which included back-to-back wins againstSheffield Wednesday andBirmingham 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. The indifferent form continued into the New Year, but a fourth round FA Cup tie at home toTottenham Hotspur proved a welcome distraction, with Wycombe taking the lead throughFred Onyedinma in the first half, before thePremier League club found their form to win the tie 4–1. Still bottom of the table going into the Easter period, Wycombe's fortunes then began to turn around significantly, and they still had a theoretical outside chance of survival going into the final game away atMiddlesbrough. A 3–0 win was not enough, but results elsewhere meant that Wycombe finished the season in 22nd place with 43 points, 16 of which had been gained from the final eight games. The club was therefore relegated back toLeague One, but only by a margin of one point and an inferior goal difference toDerby County. After Derby County, previously accused of breaching financial fair play regulations, went into administration in September 2021, Wycombe considered legal action to recoup potential losses of up to £20m.[21]
Gareth Ainsworth departed forQueens Park Rangers in February 2023.[22] The club quickly sought a replacement in former Wycombe club captainMatt Bloomfield fromColchester United.[23] Ainsworth's departure marked the end of 10 years at the club which included of a period of unprecedented success for the club. During his time he took the club from the bottom ofLeague Two to theChampionship for the first time in their history.[24]
In the 2023–24 season, Wycombe reached theEFL Trophy final for the first time in the club's history.[25] In thefinal, Wycombe lost 2–1 toPeterborough United.[26] Following the conclusion of the season, the club announced that ownership of Feliciana EFL Ltd, the company owning 90% of the club, had transferred to Blue Ocean Partners II Ltd, owned by Kazakh-Georgian billionaireMikheil Lomtadze.[27]
Wycombe went on a 19-game unbeaten league run early in the 2024–25 season which also included eight straight wins. With the club sitting second place in the league,Matt Bloomfield left the club on 14 January 2025 to take up the vacant managerial post atLuton Town. Bloomfield was replaced by formerSunderland assistant managerMike Dodds.[28] The club missed out on automatic promotion and subsequently lost in the play-off semi-finals toCharlton Athletic.[29] A poor start to the 2025–26 season then saw Dodds leave the club on 18 September 2025, along with first-team coach Pete Shuttleworth.[30] Dodds was replaced by the formerHuddersfield Town head coachMichael Duff.[31]
Source:Wycombe Wanderers at theFootball Club History Database
Wycombe's stadium is known asAdams Park, and is located on the edge of an industrial estate in the Sands area ofHigh Wycombe. The stadium was named in honour of benefactor and former captain Frank Adams. The club has played at the stadium since 1990; the move from its previous groundLoakes Park was financed almost solely by the sale of Loakes Park to the health authorities in order to facilitate the expansion ofWycombe Hospital.
During the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons, the stadium was known as "The Causeway Stadium" for sponsorship reasons.
The stadium has a current capacity of 9,558 with four stands.[34] The original seated Main Stand (Origin Stand) is on the north side of the stadium, with a capacity of 1,248. The largest stand in the stadium is the Woodlands Stand on the south side of the ground, which was built in 1996, replacing a covered terrace. It has three tiers; the upper tier is known as the Frank Adams Stand (like the stadium, named after former captain Frank Adams), with a capacity of 2,842; the middle tier contains 20 executive boxes, plus the Woodlands Lounge, and has a capacity of 360; the lower tier is the Family Stand, with a capacity of 1,777. The stand therefore has a total capacity of 4,979. At one end of the Family Stand are 60 so-called "2020" seats, which can be used by both seated and standing spectators.[35] The away section of the stadium, on the east side, is the Hillbottom Stand (WhiffAway Stand) with a usable capacity of 1,866 (although the physical seating capacity is actually 2,057). This stand was rebuilt in 2001, almost doubling its previous size. The stadium also has one terrace, on the west side, which is the Valley Terrace (Beechdean Terrace). This is the home supporters' end, with a capacity of 1,430. In addition, there are 35 places in the stadium not accounted for above.[36]
The main supporters' bars at the stadium are the Woodlands Lounge, the Caledonian Suite (formerly the Vere Suite), and Monty's (formerly the Centre Spot, then Scores). The new club shop was built in 2006, replacing theportable buildings that previously served as the shop; it was reconfigured in 2015 along with the main reception area, and again in 2020.
Wycombe Wanderers also shared the stadium withAviva PremiershipRugby Union teamWasps (then known as London Wasps) between 2002 and 2014.
Wycombe have two training facilities in use.
Marlow Road in High Wycombe. Wycombe sold Marlow Road in March 2013 and leased it back.[37] Over the Summer of 2025, Wycombe invested £10m into redeveloping Marlow Road.
Harlington Sport Ground atHarlington, in West London, the former training ground ofQPR andChelsea and currently owned byImperial College of London. On 10 June 2024, Wycombe agreed to lease the ground to rebuild its academy and the use for the first team.[38]
As a non-league club,Slough Town were considered Wycombe's fiercest local rivals. A rivalry with the more distantColchester United also exists due to the two clubs battling to win promotion to the Football League in the early 1990s, which recently got more traction due to Wycombe's Matt Bloomfield starting his managerial career at Colchester, then moving to Wycombe mid-season, this despite the two teams not being in the same league since 2018.[39]Since becoming a Football League club, the Chairboys have also built on and off rivalries with neighbouring clubsOxford United (M40 Derby),Reading,Milton Keynes Dons (Buckinghamshire Derby),Luton Town, the rivalry with Reading gaining more traction due to Wycombe's enquiry on Reading's current training ground, Bearwood Park, coming one week after Wycombe beat Reading 2–1 in March 2024, with Reading fans protesting at Adams Park a few days after.[40]
They also had a small yet well-documented rivalry withPlymouth Argyle, which stemmed from Plymouth's former managerDerek Adams having a vocal dislike for Wycombe which is outlined in a photo of him rejecting a handshake from Gareth Ainsworth. It was ignited in the2015 League Two play-offs and flared up in January 2016, whereBarry Richardson, who was 46 years old at the time, played a professional game for the first time since 2005, coming on for an injuredAlex Lynch and keeping a clean sheet, prompting the Plymouth Argyle Twitter Admin to respond negatively to the playing style,[41] with most Wycombe fans proclaiming 30 January 2016 as "Barry Richardson Day"[42][43]
The club's average home league attendances since 1980–81 (* = approximate figure, ^ = season curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic (18 home games), ¬ = limited spectator attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic (2 home games)).
Averages have been calculated from referenced sources.[44][45]
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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The club's first full-time coach,James McCormick, was appointed in 1951; the first manager (with responsibility for team selection),Brian Lee, was appointed in 1968.[59][60] The appointment ofMike Dodds in 2025 asHead Coach was the first time that this title had been used by the club since it joined the Football League.[61]
 | James McCormick | 1951–1952 |
| Sid Cann | 1952–1961 |
| Colin McDonald | 1961[62] |
| Graham Adams | 1961–1962 |
| Don Welsh | 1962–1964 |
| Barry Darvill | 1964–1968 |
| Brian Lee | 1968–1976 |
| Ted Powell | 1976–1977 |
 | John Reardon | 1977–1978 |
| Andy Williams | 1978–1980 |
| Mike Keen | 1980–1984 |
| Paul Bence | 1984–1986 |
| Alan Gane | 1986–1987 |
| Peter Suddaby | 1987–1988 |
 | Jim Kelman | 1988–1990 |
 | Martin O'Neill | 1990–1995 |
| Alan Smith | 1995–1996 |
| John Gregory | 1996–1998 |
| Neil Smillie | 1998–1999 |
| Lawrie Sanchez | 1999–2003 |
| Tony Adams | 2003–2004 |
| John Gorman | 2004–2006 |
| Paul Lambert | 2006–2008 |
| Peter Taylor | 2008–2009 |
 | Gary Waddock | 2009–2012 |
| Gareth Ainsworth | 2012–2023 (player/manager 2012–2013) |
| Matt Bloomfield | 2023–2025 |
| Mike Dodds | 2025 |
| Michael Duff | 2025–present |
Wycombe Wanderers' club records include the following:
League
Cup
Awards
