Key player: Sam Vokes
After the departure of Uche Ikpeazu to Middlesbrough this summer it was important that Wycombe could replace their influential target man with someone of the same ilk, and with Welsh international Sam Vokes, Wycombe must surely feel they have done that. It would’ve been easy to list Ikpeazu as a key departure this season, but in vokes they have a striker with significant international and Premier League experience, who was causing some of the best defences in the world problems up front with his aerial ability and strength for Burnley just two and a half years ago.
Still only 31,many would feel that Vokes still has plenty to give particularly at this level coming fresh off a season in the Championship with Stoke City, where he made 36 appearances scoring five goals.
This appears to be a very shrewd signing for the level, and is the kind of signing that should flourish in a Wycombe side with a fiercely direct style and Vokes could prove to be a key part of any success The Chairboys have this season.
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Manager: Gareth Ainsworth
Gareth Ainsworth enters this season with it signaling his tenth year in charge. This gives him the title of the second longest serving manager in the EFL, only beaten to top spot by Harrogate Town’s Simon Weaver.
Ainsworth has been manager of the club since finishing his playing career with the Buckinghamshire outfit in 2012.
Despite not creating too many fans along the way with a playing style based on route one physicality and gamesmanship Wycombe have been nothing but effective over that period and got to places clubs of their size and even bigger could only dream of at this moment in time.
if we’re being completely honest here, Ainsworth has done an extraordinary job on a shoestring budget.
Ainsworth’s endeavours has taken the club from a middling League Two club to the most unlikely Championship outfit in the most Wycombe way possible, not once deviating from the style that got them this far.
Wycombe have one of the smallest budgets in league one and so when they reached the Championship not much was expected at all, but why should it be? The fact they were there to compete in the first place was a spectacle in itself.
Sure thing they found it tough, failing to win any points in the first five matches and not winning until the seventh.
Wycombe were a permanent fixture in the relegation spots from the start of the season, but in typical Wycombe fashion they battled until the very end, winning 4 out of their final seven matches, to give themselves at least a mathematical chance of staying in the division – even despite the goal difference.
I honestly don’t think too many Wycombe fans could’ve been too annoyed at the end result given the difference in resources going into the season.
Creator: Joe Jacobson
Like his manager, Joe Jacobson has pretty much seen it all at Wycombe since joining on a free transfer from Shrewsbury in 2014.
Jacobson, a left back with a wonderful left footed delivery has been an ever present for the club since joining clocking up over 300 appearances to date and has been a consistent outlet ever since he first put on the shirt.
Despite being 34 last year, Jacobson produced an impressive 4 goals and six assists in the champions and the Wycombe faithful can once again hope that Jacobson produces produces accuracy from the sides of the pitch, particularly with the quality of someone like fellow Welshman Sam Vokes in the box.
Key transfer: Sullay Kaikai
After the departure of lively and direct winger Fred Onyedinma to Luton earlier, it was clear that Wycombe needed to try and replace the attributes of a player who had been so reliable for them over the last two and a half years.
It appears they have once again done just that with the arrival of mercurial talent Sullay Kakai from Blackpool.
Kaikai didn’t always feature regularly in his two seasons with the tangerines, through lack of consistency, but when it clicks for Kaikai he has the ability to be one of the most exciting players in the division, with an excellent turn of pace and moments of skill.
After finishing last season on a decent 7 goals and eight assists, I am looking forward to seeing whether Kakai can start producing his level more consistently.
Target: Play-offs
Now, I know it was based on PPG that Wycombe reached the playoffs before getting promoted last time out in the division, but I feel after that initial taste of Championship football last season, I sense that Ainsworth will want to attempt to get his side back there as quick as possible and after showing that they have intent to replace key players with two quality players that could equally suit the system, you can see that just might be the case.
That, coupled with an already solid base and an uncompromising style of play I do feel like it is not out of the realms of possibility for Wycombe to once again, beat some bigger clubs and sneak into a playoff spot.
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