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Oppositionwatch - Wycombe
Oppositionwatch - Wycombe
Friday, 11th Jan 2008 06:23

Our build up to Wycombe continues with a look at the opposition and the sort of season that they've had so far.

Despite a disappointing start to the season by Wycombe Wanderers, it seems that manager Paul Lambert has turned the situation at Adams Park around. Sitting comfortably, eight points ahead of us, in a play off position, Wycombe are definitely enjoying their run of form with the 4-0 spanking of Mansfield Town just the latest of their impressive run of results.

Lambert sealed the signing of perhaps the biggest name to move so far this January a few days ago. Leon Knight joined Wycombe for an undisclosed fee from Milton Keynes and despite making his debut at Field Mill, all eyes were on his partner, Scott McGleish. The striker absolutely tore Mansfield apart on Tuesday night firing three goals in and enforcing the own goal, unless you listen to other reports, which credit the striker with all four anyway.

And that’s the easily the peak of Wycombe’s current run of form so far, which was kick-started from a 6-0 hammering at the hands of Jim Gannon’s Stockport County. Victories over Morecambe, Macclesfield, Brentford, Shrewsbury and Mansfield have seen Lambert and his team collect sixteen points from a possible eighteen. That’s not a bad points return at all

It is expected that the money Wycombe paid for Leon Knight came from the £210,000 that Wycombe recently received from Plymouth Argyle for striker Jermaine Easter. The fee could rise by another £30,000 due to the additional clauses they managed to include in the original fee aswell. Tommy Doherty, who seems to have been on loan at Wycombe since, well forever, has recently signed on a permanent basis for Paul Lambert’s side too.

So what else is going on at Adams Park? Well Wycombe are still waiting on the return of Frank Fielding from Ewood Park. The Blackburn Rovers reserve goalkeeper has enjoyed one successful spell at Wycombe already and is waiting on his new contract at Blackburn to be finalised before he rejoins Wycombe for a second spell. If this is still the case by Saturday, then it’s fully expected that former Celtic ‘keeper Rab Douglas will be continuing in his absence.

I’m sure the travelling support will be hoping that Wycombe’s goalkeeper behaves himself this time around. With their last loan goalkeeper, Ricardo Baptista’s antics still being fresh in the memory of most. If ever there was proof needed that there are Football Gods, then last season’s two games against Wycombe would surely provide that. Ricardo Baptista started and finished the events, with him somehow managing to karate kick 6 foot 7 Morike Sako in midair, only to get a yellow card for his efforts. But the Gods evened it out for us when Kelvin Etuhu’s cross/shot was directed into his own net by Baptista.

Aswell as Frank Fielding not being able to play on Saturday, the other players who are unavailable for selection against Rochdale are Will Antwi, Michael Williamson, Jamie Young and third in the goalkeeping pecking order, Scott Shearer, completing the injury head ache for Lambert.

So it’s good luck to every Dale fan going down there on Saturday. I know we’ll be setting off bright and early to secure a decent place on the starting grid, for the traffic nightmare after the game. But if you live in Rochdale you’ll probably be used to being stuck in traffic anyway.

Oh and no tweaking, these lot seem like a very decent team!

Photo: Action Images



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