One Club And His Dog

[JoeyBaldwin]

Introduction

 

“Hello, Mr Newton. It’s Andrew Howard here. I’m ringing to let you know that the board were very impressed with you over the course of the three interviews you had with us. We've come to an unanimous decision. We’d like to formally offer you the job”.

Driving his Ford Fiesta through the busy centre of High Wycombe, Billy Newton smiled as his thoughts fixated on the phone call he’d taken from the Wycombe Wanderers chairman the previous day. He was on his way to Adams Park, the home of Wycombe Wanderers Football Club, to officially sign his contract and be formally unveiled as the new manager of the League Two club.

In truth, Billy was slightly nervous about the prospect of managing his boyhood club. Having been born in nearby Hemel Hempstead and raised in a small town just a few minutes from the ground, he’d been a Wycombe fan for as long as he could remember, and having been given the opportunity to actually manage the club’s first team, he was desperate to do well. Notwithstanding the pressure he knew he’d put himself under, managing as a fan of the club, but at 28 he was also the youngest manager in the long history of the club, never mind one of the youngest working in professional football, and he knew that this would be used against him should he not hit the ground running at the start of the season.

Nevertheless, as he drove down Hillbottom Road, the industrial estate that precedes Adams Park itself, Billy was a bundle of energy and excitement. Andrew Howard, the highly respected club chairman, who'd been the man to break the good news yesterday, was waiting outside the Vere Suite when he arrived, accompanied by club president Ivor Beeks.

“Alright Billy!”

Mr Howard’s informal welcome was reassuring, reminding Billy that he needn’t have his guard up quite as much as he had done during the club’s rigorous interview process. Both men offered warm handshakes as he approached.

“Come this way Billy, the contract is waiting in my office. I know you’ve read it already, but if you want to look through it again one final time, this is your chance. We’ll get that signed first, if you please, then we’ll do the photos”.

“No problem, Mr Howard”.

“Andrew, please”, said the chairman, smiling. He could sense that his new manager was nervous; of course, he’d never been a manager before. This was all a new experience for him.

Billy gave the contract one final glance. It was to be a one-year deal, and he had no arguments with that – if he performed well, it’d be extended, and if he didn’t, it wouldn’t. He couldn’t fault the logic.

With the photographs taken, a brief speech given – in which he vowed to work as hard as he could to make the 2015/2016 season just as enthralling as the prior campaign, in which the club had reached the Playoff final, losing on penalties to Southend United – and handshakes for everyone, Billy drove home with a beaming smile on his face. He was officially the manager of his boyhood club, Wycombe Wanderers, and he was absolutely delighted.

‘NEWTON TAKES THE REINS!’ was splashed across the back page of the Bucks Examiner the following day. The reality had started to sink in, and Billy had begun planning for the first week of pre-season. The reaction of the local media, and indeed fans on social media, had been one of positive intrigue. Billy’s comparative youth had generated interest in the appointment, and naturally, some had questioned it on that basis, but his contact with the players had been encouraging – they were keen to see what he’d bring to the table as a manager, and were prepared to give him a chance before passing judgement. They’d be back for the start of pre-season training in just four days time.

But Billy already had his eyes on Saturday 8th August, when his managerial career would begin at home against AFC Wimbledon.

[tenthreeleader]

Looking forward to your save and writing ... good start!

Though if you don't mind a pedant, the headline should be "REINS", unless you're the pro wrestler.

Good luck!

[JoeyBaldwin]

Chapter 1

 

“Yes lads! A very solid performance and a great start to the season! Thanks very much, I’m very happy with that!”

Billy’s first competitive match in charge of Wycombe Wanderers had ended in victory. Goals from centre-back Aaron Pierre and captain Paul Hayes had given the Chairboys a 2-0 lead at half time, and despite Lyle Taylor pulling one back for AFC Wimbledon after the break, Wycombe held on to win 2-1 in front of their own fans. It was the perfect tonic for the side after what had proven to be a difficult pre-season – the club had drawn with non-league Heybridge Swifts and Woking, and had only narrowly beaten Wrexham, which was their only pre-season victory.

“Congratulations Billy, well done lads!”

Billy’s assistant manager, Richard Dobson, followed him into the dressing room.

“We had to dig deep in the second half, but if we can pair the creativity of the first half with the resilience we showed in the second, we’ll give Forest a right good game on Wednesday night! That sets our season up well, well in lads!”

‘Dobbo’ had been working for the club since 2007, joining initially as the manager of the club’s U18 side, and subsequently becoming the first team assistant manager in 2011. The club had strongly recommended keeping him in his post, and Billy heeded their advice – Dobbo knew the club inside out, commanded the respect of the players and his understanding of what it takes to be successful in League Two was absolutely invaluable.

However, his prediction that Wycombe would give Nottingham Forest a good game in their Capital One Cup first round match was sadly wide of the mark. Billy felt the wrath of the home crowd at half time – his troops were booed off at the interval, already 4-0 down.

“We were very poor today”, Billy told the Sky cameras after the game – it had been his first televised match. “Of course, Forest are a Championship side, they’re a bigger club, and we all knew it would be tough, but to go down without a fight the way we did in the first half was unacceptable. We kept it respectable in the second half, but it’s far too late to start performing then”.

It was the first real test of his squad. A tough trip to Luton followed, and Billy demanded a response from his players after such a heavy defeat. Luton were among the favourites for the division according to the bookies, but respond the players did – they produced a sterling performance, and a first half strike by Stephen McGinn decided the match. It was the first clean sheet of Billy’s tenure, and once again, the defenders performed very impressively.

Despite winning their opening two league games, Wycombe failed to win any of their next five and were languishing in the bottom half of the table. A 91st minute equaliser from Jay Simpson had rescued a point for Leyton Orient at Adams Park, before another late goal, scored by Kealan Steenson, gave Accrington all three points at The Crown Ground. Wycombe were the beneficiaries of a late goal the following week – Garry Thompson found the net in the 92nd minute as Wycombe came from two goals down to draw 3-3 at home to Plymouth – but a 1-0 defeat at Stevenage was followed by a goalless draw at home to Morecambe, and Billy was already beginning to feel under pressure. The league isn’t settled after seven games, he knew, but having only won two of them he was beginning to place more and more importance on the next run of games.

“Our season starts now”, Billy claimed defiantly to his players ahead of their home game with Hartlepool. “This is where we rediscover that winning habit. I want you to play without fear. Relax. If you lose the ball, screw it. If you try something ambitious and it comes off, we score. The rewards for taking risks are tremendous, and that’s what I want to see you do. Take risks”.

Billy’s motivational team talk seemed to work. His players produced a spirited performance, and despite not being at their fluent best, a late goal from Rhys Healey, who had just signed for the club on loan from Cardiff City, was enough to seal a 1-0 win. This victory was the catalyst for a decent run of form – Wycombe picked up seven points from their following three matches, beating Newport County and York away and holding rivals Oxford United to a goalless draw at Adams Park.

This run put Wycombe just outside the Playoff places, albeit at this early stage of the season. Nevertheless, Billy and Dobbo both carried a sense of optimism into the autumn.

[JoeyBaldwin]

Chapter 2

 

Once again, Billy Newton found himself under pressure. Wycombe had begun October with a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy second round exit on penalties at the hands of Oxford, and their immediate league form had suffered as a result. Home defeats to Crawley and Carlisle, in which the score finished 3-1 and in which Wycombe were outplayed, did nothing to suggest that the club could make a challenge for the Playoffs.

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Wycombe put four goals past Barnet at The Hive – by far their most convincing performance to this point. Goals from Paris Cowan-Hall, Rhys Healey and two for Garry Thompson led to a very impressive victory, although Barnet had been performing poorly in general up to that point – the fixture came along at the right time for Billy, and he vigorously clapped the away fans after the final whistle.

“We haven’t had things our own way at all in the last few weeks”, Billy told the local press after the game, “but what I saw today gives me great confidence that we can string some results together in the coming weeks. We’ve shown today that we have the quality in the squad, and it’s time to start delivering performances like that on a consistent basis”.

A goalless draw with Cambridge was followed by a trip to The Bescot Stadium, the home of Walsall, in the FA Cup. Despite being away to League One opponents, Billy’s players certainly showed they were playing for their inexperienced manager, and were knocked out after a creditable 3-2 defeat in which they were competitive throughout.

Billy’s challenge after the Barnet game to his players had been to be more consistent, and following in the style of their determined manager, his players rose to that challenge. After their FA Cup defeat, the club won five of their next seven matches and drew the other two, climbing into the Playoff places and lifting the morale of everyone at the club. One man in particular was responsible for the club’s upturn in form – loanee Rhys Healey scored an incredible nine goals in that seven game spell, catapulting his side up the table. He netted twice in a 2-1 victory away at Dagenham & Redbridge, twice in a 2-0 victory over Northampton at Adams Park the following week, and twice more in home victories over Exeter (3-1) and Mansfield (3-2).

The victory over Mansfield was their final match of 2015, and Billy could celebrate the New Year with his side in the top seven.

However, a winless January later, Wycombe were struggling to keep up in the promotion race. Their biggest problem was that they couldn’t share goals around the squad – indeed, Rhys Healey was the only man to find the net in the month, and even he only managed two, leading Billy to enter the loan market for Man City striker David Faupala and Southampton winger Josh Sims. Three of the club’s January matches ended goalless, leading to criticism from the supporters who were crying out for some creativity.

So for the third time this season, Billy found himself under pressure. Wycombe needed a strong February in order to reignite their promotion ambitions.

[JoeyBaldwin]

Chapter 3

 

“Lads, Morecambe are bottom. I want us to be on the front foot from the word go. This is a must-win game today, I want to see desire, and I want to see which players are going to stand up and be counted. If we wanna go up, we have to be winning these games, starting today”.

February had begun with yet another goalless draw, this time at home to Stevenage, and the fans had booed the players off. Incredibly, this was despite the club having only lost one league game in their last fifteen, though admittedly eight of those fifteen had ended in draws, and six of those were goalless. Billy had described the situation perfectly – the home fixture with Morecambe, who were embroiled in a relegation battle, was simply a must-win game.

The game itself was an entertaining affair. Paris Cowan-Hall gave Wycombe the perfect start, scoring after four minutes, but their lead only last another six before Shaun Miller equalised for the visitors. Rhys Healey restored the lead, but this time Morecambe levelled immediately through Tom Barkhuizen. In the second half, David Faupala found the net for the first time in a Wycombe shirt, and victory was assured four minutes from time when Jason McCarthy powered in Wycombe’s fourth. The final whistle blew with the score 4-2 to Wycombe – they’d produced a vibrant attacking display when they’d needed it most.

Billy was “absolutely delighted” with the performance, and echoed his own sentiments from earlier in the season – now they had to perform that well on a consistent basis.

The subsequent trip to high-flying Hartlepool would be a real test of character for Billy’s troops, and again they delivered. Goals from Paul Hayes, Rhys Healey and an own goal sealed a hard-fought 3-1 win, and struggling Newport County were then brushed aside – goals from Hayes and Faupala securing a 2-1 victory. With the other promotion-chasing teams dropping points fairly regularly, three consecutive wins lifted Wycombe to within touching distance of the automatic promotion places.

However, a narrow 2-1 defeat at Oxford led to another sequence of draws, and while the club was slowly accumulating points, they really needed wins if they were to keep their hopes of automatic promotion alive. Yet another goalless draw (their ninth of the campaign!), at home to York, was followed by a crushing 3-3 draw at Crawley, in which Wycombe were leading 3-1 with five minutes to go. Rhys Healey’s hat-trick in that match was a reflection of how brilliantly he played throughout the season, even when the team weren’t picking up results.

Further draws against Yeovil, against whom Josh Sims scored his first goal for the club, and Carlisle, against whom Sam Wood scored to equalise in injury time, just about kept the club in the Playoffs. Portsmouth were clear at the top, but only a few points separated 2nd and 16th with nine games remaining.

Having not won in five, Barnet came to Adams Park. The North London side were sitting rock bottom of the league and in serious danger of relegation, and having already beaten them fairly comprehensively, Billy and his players knew this was the perfect opportunity to break out of their indifferent form. Paris Cowan-Hall opened the scoring, before an own goal and a Rhys Healey strike gave Wycombe a commanding lead at the break. Cowan-Hall completed the scoring late in the second half, and the 4-0 win was Wycombe’s biggest of the season.

It looked like Billy’s boys were beginning to peak just at the right time.

[JoeyBaldwin]

Chapter 4

 

Wycombe’s comprehensive victory over Barnet was followed by a disappointing 2-1 defeat away at Cambridge, which was all the more regrettable as the hosts had Jack Stobbs sent off in the first half and therefore played with ten men for an hour. However, Billy’s men, who’d proven themselves capable of going several games without a win once their confidence took a hit, responded with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge.

That victory came courtesy of Luke O’Nien’s third goal of the season, and it sparked a strong run of form that saw the club climb into the automatic promotion places with just a handful of matches to go. Another 1-0 win, this time away at Northampton, was followed by a goalless draw at home to Bristol Rovers and an excellent 2-0 win at struggling Mansfield – Sam Wood and Rhys Healey the scorers.

With three matches remaining, it looked almost certain that Wycombe would be promoted automatically. But the pressure was on, and the players had begun to feel it.

Portsmouth visited Adams Park in the 44th league game of the season, and they were on the verge of securing the League Two title. Wycombe were duly outplayed, and first half goals from Gary Roberts and Duane Holmes sealed a straightforward 2-0 win for Pompey. They were champions, but Wycombe’s fate was still in their own hands – victories at Exeter and at home to Notts County would see them up.

Sadly for Billy, Dobbo and everyone associated with Wycombe, the players saved their worst performance of the season for one of their most important games. Exeter ran riot, motivated by their own Playoff hopes, and they raced into a 3-0 lead at half time. Billy went for broke and tried to attack to get Wycombe back in the game, but it was a move that backfired – Exeter added a couple of second half goals and emerged 5-0 winners. It was utter humiliation for the Chairboys, who slipped out of the automatic promotion places in the process.

Billy stared glumly at the floor, as he stood in front of his players in the away dressing room at St. James’ Park. His dejection was shared with every player in the room.

“There’s nothing to be gained by pointing fingers, so I’m not going to. We all lost today. We win as a team, we lose as a team, and when we lose we react in a positive way. We can still be promoted if we beat Notts County, and even if we don’t, chances are we’ll be in the Playoffs. We can still do this! One shocking result doesn’t make us a bad team overnight. We can beat Notts County, especially when you factor in the positive reaction I’m expecting from today”.

The final day of the regular season finally came, and the question on Billy’s lips was ‘would the players show a strong reaction to the heavy defeat at Exeter?’ He would suggest after the game that he did see that reaction, but one thing was certain – events conspired against Wycombe that afternoon. Luke O’Nien was sent off early in the second half with Wycombe already a goal down, and despite a goal from Rhys Healey with thirteen minutes to go, Filip Valencic had already struck twice for the visitors. It finished 2-1 to Notts County, and Wycombe would have to make do with a Playoff berth.

[JoeyBaldwin]

Chapter 5

 

“Billy, you come into the first leg of this tie on the back of three consecutive defeats. How has that affected your preparation ahead of this game?” asked a Sky Sports reporter in Billy’s pre-match interview.

“Of course, it’s not ideal, but we’ve put those results out of our minds. We’re focussed on Leyton Orient. We finished level on points with them, and both our league meetings ended in draws. It’s going to be a tough match, obviously, but if we play to our potential I have faith in my players that we can get a positive result to take back to Adams Park”.

Billy’s optimism was justified. Wycombe had finished above Leyton Orient, their Playoff semi-final opponents, on goal difference, and both league games had finished 1-1. Incidentally, Orient had scored late equalisers in both.

It was almost a carbon copy of the league fixtures between the two. A very tight affair was lit up when Paris Cowan-Hall found the net after 58 minutes, but just as they’d done twice in the league, Orient found a late equaliser – Armand Gnanduillet scoring with six minutes to go.

“One last big push” Billy called for in the dressing room before the second leg. As it happened, the tie could have gone either way. Sadly for Wycombe, another goal from Gnanduillet and a late strike from Jack Payne secured victory for Orient, and Wycombe were out.

 

Leyton Orient would lose the Playoff final 2-1 to Plymouth Argyle, but as Billy Newton offered his reflections on the season as a whole for the official website, that was no consolation to him.

“If I’m being honest, you could make a case that our form wasn’t consistent enough throughout the season to warrant going up. Teams can’t rely on individuals and expect success, and there were times when Rhys Healey carried us with his goals, especially over the winter. We drew too many games, and we didn’t score enough goals. That being said, there are plenty of positives we can take into next season. Our defence was outstanding at times, and it’s easy to work out the areas I need to reinforce for next season.

When you get into such a promising position with three matches to go, and you don’t make the most of the chance, it’s extremely disappointing, and the players share every bit of that disappointment. There are going to be some changes to the squad in the off-season as I try to build a squad that can take us up to League One next season.

I’m well aware that we had ten goalless draws this season, and I’m well aware that we scored the fewest goals out of anyone in the top half of the table. I’m going to be moving in the transfer market to bolster our squad for next season and it might not be a surprise to hear that I’m prioritising our attack, especially as we lose 23 goals when Rhys Healey goes back to Cardiff.

On a personal note, I’m delighted to have signed a new contract this week, which will keep me at the club for at least another two years. I’d like to thank all the fans for their support throughout the season, and while I share their disappointment that we didn’t promote when we had a fantastic chance to do so, I hope they’ll continue to support the club as we try to take that next step in 2016/2017.”