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| Retro - A look back on the 1986/87 season October 1986 |
After consecutive defeats to Farnborough and Yeovil, Wanderers aimed to get back on track in their 1986/87 Isthmian League
campaign with a home meeting with Bishop's Stortford on Saturday 4th October 1986. However, things continued to go slightly astray following a frustrating game for the Wanderers which ended 0-0. The Midweek headline blasted out "WHAT A BORE!" and reporter Rolf Niven described Wycombe's showing as "their most inept of the season". But Wanderers had their excuses. Midfielders Kevin Durham and Paul Hackett were out injured and Graham Bressington was serving a suspension. Wanderers' best chance came with just five minutes remaining when a slip by a Stortford defender gave Mark West room but his shot cannoned off the far post. Perhaps going almost unnoticed on the day of the game with Bishop's Stortford was the release of the first ever issue of Chairboys Gas - A Magazine by supporters of Wycombe Wanderers FC. The name was derived from an old nickname of the Club used in the pre-1900's, coupled with a reference to the Gas Works end terrace at Loakes Park. Apparently in the pipeline for several months, the producers finally overcame the disappointment of relegation from the Gola League to publish a magazine aimed at providing a mixture of views, news and history on the Wanderers. The magazine was later to become embroiled in the football fanzine revolution about to sweep the country. The first issue saw Simon Burrage describe Wycombe's start to the season in his From the Terraces article, commenting, "It is difficult to expressa anything other than sheer admiration and appreciation for the way the Club responded to its potentially disastrous drop back into the Isthmian League. Quite honestly, ever since that horrific Sunday afternoon at Runcorn last May, and even up until seeing a Wycombe side lose 3-1 to Buckingham Town in a pre-season practice game at Bisham Abbey in August, the prospect of watching Vauxhall Opel League football for nine months was not particularly appealing....I had visions of us playing games this season in front of crowds in the region of 300 with the Club making only a half-hearted attempt to regain promotion."
The increased level of optimism for the season was put on hold the following Tuesday (7th October 1986) when the visit to Harrow Borough resulted in a 2-1 defeat. This came despite the appearance of ex-Football League star Barry Silkman in a Wycombe shirt for the first time. The 34 year old was best known for his time with Crystal Palace, Manchester City, Queens Park Rangers and Leyton Orient but Wanderers boss Alan Gane had managed to sign him on a match to match basis after he had moved to Crewe Alexandra. Silkman's performance was one highlight from another lacklustre performance from the Wanderers which saw Lawrence Holmes put the home side ahead on 16 minutes after Dave Burgess and Kevin Day were caught napping in defence and Gary Lester, making his 400th appearance for Wycombe, was beaten between the posts. Silkman was heavily involved in Wycombe's equaliser shortly after the break. First his quickly taken free-kick from the edge of the box was chipped over the Harrow wall and converted by Mark West. However, the referee asked for the kick to be taken again. This time Silkman bent the ball around the wall, off the far post and into the path of West who slotted the ball home home to level the scores at 1-1. It signalled Wanderers' best spell of the game but the strikers lacked that finishing touch and on the hour Holmes was allowed through again to beat Lester with a well struck shot.Having started the season taking a maximum 24 points from the opening 8 league matches, only a single point had come from the next four. The next game at Slough Town on Saturday 11th October 1986 was crucial from Wycombe's point of view to regain the winning habit. A crowd of 1,435, with probably close to 50% supporting Wycombe, saw a 3-0 victory for Alan Gane's side. The score was perhaps flattering for Wycombe but it marked the first competitive goals for Wycombe from Andy Graham, while the three points took Wanderers back to the top of the table. The result came amongst a mounting team selection crisis for Alan Gane. Kevin Durham and Paul Hackett were still injured, Graham Bressington was serving the final game of his suspension and Kevin Collins was playing his last game before heading out to Australia. Former Watford defender Neil Price was also injured against Slough, gashing his leg after only 2 minutes and being replaced by College youngster Simon Fisher. But there was a bonus for Wycombe in the fact that Barry Silkman had agreed to play at least one more game for the Wanderers. Silkman took the corner on 38 minutes that saw Wycombe open the scoring - Graham heading back into the path of Noel Ashford, who rifled home. Moments later home fans and players alike were left reeling after Silkman's cross was headed home by Graham to make the score 2-0 to Wycombe at the break. Nine minutes after the restart Graham scrambled home Wycombe's third after West had crossed at the second attempt. Ashford twice went close to adding more goals as Wycombe dominated the closing the stages.  The following Saturday (18th October 1986) saw the visit of Tooting & Mitcham to Loakes Park and on a cool afternoon Wanderers hit form again with Silkmen impressing and entertaining the home crowd for the first time. A crowd of 1,243 turned out and would have gone home delighted with a comfortable 4-0 scoreline. The Silkman/Ashford combination has onlookers describing the show as 'pure football theatre' and the memory of Silkman leaving the pitch with applause ringing around the ground after setting up a Mark West goal will remain in the memory of those lucky enough to be at the game. The story actually went that Silkmen had asked to be substituted in order to get away early to attend a greyhound meeting. Unfortunately, the former Football League star was blocked in the car park behind the main stand and had to wait until after the final whistle before being able to leave. Scoring on the day saw Kevin Connolly rifle home on 15 minutes after Ashford's downward header and it was 2-0 three minutes later when Silkman picked out Jason Seacole whose cross from the bye-line was thumped in by Andy Graham. A spirited response from the visitors was finally ended on 66 minutes when Mark West ran the ball into an empty net from Seacole's pass on the break. The highlight of the day came on 71 minutes when Silkman somehow flicked the ball over from the right wing when seemingly trapped near the corner flag. West converted with ease with his head to make the score 4-0, while at the same time Silkman was heading towards the tunnel for his attempted early getaway. The impact of Silkmen on some of the Wanderers supporter was evident by Alan Gane's note in the following week's macth day programme, where the Wycombe boss commented, "I was approached on numerous occasions last Saturday with offers of financial help to keep Barry Silkman at the Club. It is great to see such support for the Club but please be aware that I am in full agreement with the Club's policy of not paying out more than we are bringing in. As I've said before, this is the quickest way to financial ruin and I could name you a long list of non-League clubs that have taken this perilous route in the past and are now heavily in debt with a poor football team and crowd to match. However, I am sure that you will be pleased to know that Barry has decided to stay with us and hopefully this stay will turn out to be a long and successful one." But Silkmen may have wished he had called it a day at Wycombe following his showcase performance against Tooting. The next Saturday (25th October 1986) Wanderers were given another jolt back down to earth after the visit of VS Rugby in the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. A sloppy goal to the visitors in the opening minute followed by a second soon afterwards sent the Wanderers on the way to a disastrous and somewhat embarassing 5-1 home defeat. Gane apologised for the defeat via the press after the game, saying "They got one good goal. We gave the other four away. It was one of those games where everything went wrong and the harder we tried the worse it got. I think we were a bit too cocky. We thought we were through to the next round already." But the Wycombe boss added. "We weren't going to win the FA Cup anyway, so what's the loss? I'd rather lose that game than lose three league points."
Vauxhall Opel League Premier Division
Up to and including Tue 28th Oct 1986
Top six only
PL W D L GF GA Pts
1. Wycombe W 14 10 1 3 31 10 31
2. Yeovil Town 14 8 5 1 20 10 29
3. Slough Town 13 8 2 3 28 13 26
4. Farnborough 15 8 2 5 32 29 26
5. Barking 15 7 4 4 31 19 25
6. Kingstonian 14 8 1 5 20 14 25
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