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| 1993-1994 RETRO INDEX | HISTORY MENU |
| Retro - A look back on the 1993/94 season Wanderers slow up in October |
With the excitement of the Coca Cola cup tie with Coventry City behind them, Wanderers returned to League action on Saturday 9th October 1993 with a visit to second from bottom Northampton Town. Backed by a decent following of around 2,500 in the 5,197 crowd, Wycombe struggled in the opening stages and Martin O'Neill may have been noting both Steve Brown and Mickey Bell in the opposing line-up. It was Bell who got the better of Matt Crossley in the 57th minute as Town opened the scoring - Martin Aldridge nodding home as Bell's cross was sent back into the danger zone by Darren Harmon. However, Wanderers responded and were level nine minutes later when Dave Carroll's ball in from the right saw Steve Guppy head home at the near post. Carroll almost snatched victory near the end with a free-kick but Wycombe had to settle for a point.A week later Wanderers entertained Lincoln City in another Division Two fixture and when Carroll followed up to score from Steve Thompson's blocked shot on four minutes, all seemed to be going to plan again. However, Wanderers conceded three times before the break while in the 2nd half Keith Scott missed a penalty against his former club. Thompson eventually pulled a goal back for Wanderers on 77 minutes following Simon Hutchinson's break down the right wing but it wasn't enough to prevent Wycombe slipping to their second League defeat of the season.  There was more disappointment the following week too when Wanderers played out a goalless draw at bottom of the table Darlington. This despite having the better chances to have won the game. The result left Wanderers in 6th place in Division Two with 20 points from their opening 20 games with Martin O'Neill's side remaining unbeaten away from home in the League.Tuesday 26th October 1993 provided a break from League action when Wanderers retained the GMVC Championship shield with 1-0 victory over Northwich Victoria at The Drill Field. Wycombe were outplayed for large portions of the game but Scott's speculative 25 yard effort, that caught Vics 'keeper Tony Bullock by surprise, was enough to earn victory against a side who had beaten Wycombe the previous season in the final of the Bob Lord Trophy. Speaking after the game Martin O'Neill said "It was a bit of sweet revenge on Northwich Victoria. We didn't play all that clever in the game but we did win it and it might eventually be the only thing we win this season, so it's nice to have the trophy re-instated in the Boardroom cabinet and that importnant for us. It's also nice to have won it three times and we will never have to defend it again I hope unless we are relegated back to the Vauxhall Conference but that sort of thought is not really in my mind at the minute." Wanderers ended the month with another relatively disappointing result against Shrewsbury Town at Adams Park on Saturday 30th October 1993. Scott chipped Wycombe into the lead on 23 minutes when he latched onto Guppy's through ball. However, the visitors equalised through Mickey Brown on 67 minutes when he beat Paul Hyde from a narrow angle on the right after a one-two with Dean Spink. Other news during the month saw Wanderers declare a profit of over £250,000 for the previous season where they had completed the Conference and Trophy double and where gate receipts had totalled over £625,000. The current season had seen most of the players convert to full-time but income remained stable after Season Ticket sales doubled to over 2,000 and would eventually see gate receipts for the season declared at close to £900,000. Speaking at the Club's AGM in October 1993, Financial Director Graham Peart said the reason the Club continued to trade successfully was "the almost unbelievable sucess on the field which had maintained interest for supporters and sponsors alike." However, Mr Peart added "The lessons learnt during the difficult times when we first entered the Conference would not be forgotten by the present Board and constant minor adjustments of direction would continue to prolong the happy situation we were now in." The Wanderers financial guru summarised the situation at the Club by saying that every area of activity was making a contrbution to the running of the Playing Staff but concluded by saying "It will become more difficult to increase our turnover as each year proceeds but we will continue to set out each year to show a small surplus. As there was a useful cushion of cash from the previous year, we would have the ability to withstand negative cashflow for a while should it be necessary to strengthen the playing squad" Meanwhile, back to playing matters, Wanderers heard they had been drawn away to Bristol Rovers in the First Round of the FA Cup. It would be a trip to the Club that Martin O'Neill turned down an opportunity to manage in the summer of 1991 after Gerry Francis left Rovers for QPR. Rovers current Manager was John Ward and commenting on the draw he said "We have got a great deal of respect for Martin O'Neill. I have been talking to my assistant Dennis Booth, who used to Manager at Stafford Rangers, and we recognise the quality you have got in the Wycombe side." The tie was scheduled for Sunday 14th November 1993. 1993-1994 index |
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