Wycombe Wanderers (h), The ACN Preview

Jon: Let’s get this out of the way early doors. Our respective managers’ fashion senses couldn’t be further apart. Farke a picture of sartorial elegance, usually bedecked all in black with an expensive Peuterey Parka to keep him warm. Then we have Gareth Ainsworth, with a look that suggests he’s either an old school rocker, or that bloke down the pub who stands by the fruity and is eager to tell you about when the wife and kids left him for good. 

He must be doing something right though, as he’s taken your boys to the second tier for the first time in Wycombe’s history. What’s his secret?

Tom: Gareth definitely comes under ‘old school rocker’ – I’m struggling to think of another manager who’s released a Christmas single.

His secret? Well, I guess there are a few. I should start out by highlighting the importance of loyal and studious assistant manager Richard ‘Dobbo’ Dobson – who’s actually been at the club even longer than Gaz. Together, they’re a true team, and they’ve both been integral to our six-year journey from the brink of non-League (and probable oblivion) to the Championship. I’m not sure how many fan bases have a song including the number two’s name, but we do and it’s testament to the job they’ve both done.

The main key to our recent success is the unbreakable team spirit they’ve instilled here; they’ve built a true culture. Many players say they’ve never been in a dressing room like it. There’s a remarkable mutual respect and they will all go that extra mile for their team-mate – knowing that they’d naturally return the favour. In isolation, they’re small things which you might not think make a big difference, but it’s sometimes astounding to me how lacking other teams are in that respect.

Getting the absolute maximum – and then some – out of players who many would pigeonhole as ‘only good enough for x division’ on paper is the other main key to our recent success. We play to our strengths – our football in Leagues One and Two was, for the most part, ‘agricultural’, but there are too many teams at those levels who value style over substance. We barely had a pot to piss in – we paid our first transfer fees in four-and-a-half years this summer – so we didn’t have the freedom to go out and build whatever team we wanted. That said, we’re more adaptable than people give us credit for – and we’ve seen that already this season, even if it hasn’t yet brought any points.

The only other thing I’d mention is how good Gaz has been at ‘playing the underdog card’ and managing expectations. That still doesn’t cut it with some fans, of course, but he’s kept us humble even when we were flying at the top of the league last season. We may have a little bit of money with new owners now (although we still have the smallest budget in the Championship) and we may be playing in one of the best leagues in Europe, but we’re still the small club that rose up through non-league at heart. You can’t forget where you came from.

Sounds quite a bit like our rise through the leagues under a manager we struggle to speak of now in these parts, Paul Lambert. A culture and unified dressing room can often take teams to places they never thought imaginable.

Is this as good as it now gets for Wycombe (FA Cup semi-final aside), or is there more to come? Six straight losses suggest it might be a very temporary stay in this league, yet we’ve seen plenty of sides turn things around after a poor start?

Even if we do go straight back down, there’s every chance we’ll be back. Our CFO is on record saying we’re prepared to yo-yo – and if that what it takes, so be it. It’s worked for Rotherham – the only Championship club of similar stature – so who’s to say it can’t work for us?

The only way for a club with our resources to instantly bridge the enormous gap between League One and the Championship is to spend money that’s not there – and that’s something we were absolutely never going to do. The bigger picture and long-term future of the club have never been more important. Six straight defeats to start the season obviously sucks, but we were a dubiously disallowed goal away from a point – maybe even more – against Millwall and were the better team for large parts on Tuesday night. We need a bit more up top – although we’re still missing summer signing Uche Ikpeazu – but we’re competing now. We’ve still got another couple of key players to come back and are looking at the free agent market, so we shouldn’t be written off at all.

One thing’s for sure: we’ll put up a proper fight to stay in this division and scrap for every point.

Glad to hear it. You mention your style might be a bit more direct than many sides in the division, is that what we should expect to come up against on Saturday? What kind of system and philosophy runs through this Chairboys’ side, and who should we be looking out for, aside from Mr Beast Mode?

There won’t be a bigger clash of styles in the Championship this weekend. Norwich rank top for possession and passes completed; we rank bottom in both. We’re all about getting the ball forward quickly, scrapping in midfield, and playing for free-kicks in dangerous positions – although Joe Jacobson can put it on a sixpence from just about anywhere and score from corners. Rotherham, who you beat last Saturday of course, are the team we’re most comparable to in terms of style.

4-3-3 is our default formation, usually with three battlers in midfield, but I feel like we might go slightly more cautious and play a wide 4-2-3-1 – Jacobson is still adjusting to the rigours of this division and will need protection, probably in the form of David Wheeler, a winger who’s our main aerial outlet with no target man on the pitch. The trouble then is how you accommodate Fred Onyedinma and Daryl Horgan – both quality wingers who’ve played at this level before – but it’s good to have options. Midfield anchor Dom Gape hasn’t featured in the league yet due to injury, so it would be huge if he was back, but Curtis Thompson is a combative presence with decent technical ability and has started the season in great nick. Everton loanee Dennis Adeniran has really impressed too, collecting the ball deep and looking to quickly turn defence into attack by driving forward.

If it’s a 4-3-3, I’d expect Alex Samuel – the most selfless striker I’ve ever seen, he’ll hold the ball up against defenders twice his size, a skill I suspect he picked up from roughing it out in Welsh football as a youngster – to start through the middle. If we go 4-2-3-1, it would probably be Scott Kashket, a pain in the arse in the best possible way and probably our best finisher – although his goal against Millwall was rather put on a plate for him… That said, we are in the market for a striker as we need a bit more goal threat, so we might yet bring someone in before Saturday. If Bayo plays a part, it will be from the bench.

Oh, and look out for 19-year-old attacking midfielder Anis Mehmeti. Released by Norwich, we picked him up for our ‘B team’ programme and he’s made quite an impact already, breaking into the first team and coming on as a substitute in the last two games. He looks some player – he showed more vision in one pass against Millwall than any Wycombe player has in years – and I’ve got high hopes for him. Hopefully he’ll have a bone to pick!

This worries me slightly, Rotherham were the side who found it easiest to cut through us, and although I’m trying to put that down to teething issues, I guess we’ll find out pretty soon. If you decide to press higher and are happy to throw caution to the wind, you might get some joy.

Let’s finish on a really specific prediction then, I’ll take 3-0, with Todd Cantwell announced himself fully back on the Championship stage with a brace either side of half time. Teemu Pukki then finishes proceedings off with a deflected strike on 75 minutes. You?

Let’s go 2-2, with an Adeniran screamer to open the scoring early on and Jacobson to score straight from a corner yet again to salvage a point in injury time.