Is it time for Wycombe Wanderers to build for next season?

A draw with Mansfield Town. A shock 3-2 loss to Reading. A last minute equaliser away to Exeter City. Losses to Bolton Wanderers and Luton Town. And a 2-0 loss to relegation battlers Leyton Orient.

The wind feels like it’s been taken out of the sails of Wycombe Wanderers’ play-off push in recent weeks, after they made a strong but inconsistent start under Michael Duff.

Sat in 10th place, four points behind Stevenage in 6th. With Reading, Plymouth Argyle, Huddersfield Town and Luton standing between Wycombe in 10th and sixth, and with Wycombe’s inconsistent form, it could be a bridge too far.

One of the interesting problems is that, when Wycombe play well, they often don’t actually win. Solid performances against Reading and Luton resulted in defeats, courtesy of a masterclass from Jack Marriott and a disasterclass from Will Norris respectively. Similarly against Bolton, a fantastic 2-0 lead was cancelled out by 10 minutes of madness resulting in a 3-2 loss.

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Yet Wycombe too struggle to grind out results in a manner similar to say, Wrexham from last season. Thin 1-0 leads away to both Exeter and Plymouth both led to Wycombe dropping points in stoppage time, those four points would’ve seen the Chairboys sat in 7th just a point off the play-offs.

Perhaps the disastrous start to the season under Mike Dodds was too much to build from, with Wycombe sat in 19th, accumulating just five points from eight matches, which resulted in Dodds’ dismissal.

Perhaps it was too much to ask from a squad that had seen such radical turnover. Out of the squad that travelled to Exeter in February, only five starters (technically six if you include Aaron Morley) and one substitute had been at the club before the summer window. Similar to Matt Bloomfield’s first full season at the club, perhaps it needed a year to bed in and gain some stability.

And perhaps, quite simply, Wycombe aren’t there yet. There is undeniable quality in the team, from its strong midfield lineups, its promising centerback lineup, Fred Onyedinma having his best ever season in football, but there are also areas of weaknesses.

The club’s strikers have just nine league goals between them for Wycombe (even including Donnell McNeilly), and the Reading game proved how a great number nine can win points on his own. Norris has failed to win over fans in goals, replacing promising youngster Mikki Van Sas, whilst the winger opposite Fred has struggled since Sam Bell returned to Bristol City.

The club has also struggled with it’s centre-backs, while Dan Casey and Anders Hagelskjær made a strong pairing, both are currently injured, and Taylor Allen will now serve a 3 match ban following his straight red card against Leyton Orient, leaving just Connor Taylor (who to his credit, has excelled since coming back in) and Declan Skura.

While the club (and it’s fans), certainly won’t want to wave the white flag so soon, given there is another seven games in the season and many remember Wycombe’s last-gasp qualification for the play-offs away at Burton in the 2021/22 season.

But if it does come to the point where the play-off fight is lost, there is no great shame in that. Instead, Wycombe need to use it as a launching point for its future promotion battles.

Loanees such as Harris, Cauley Woodrow, Nathan Lowe should be set aside from Wycombe’s own players. Jamie Mullins and Bradley Fink can be given gametime, genuine gametime in those positions to give them a chance to fight for their spot going into the next season.

Van Sas should return in net, to replace the 32-year-old Norris. While Norris is still a spring chicken compared to many goalkeepers, the club’s future would likely be in Van Sas’ hands, and not Norris’.

Even new youngster Joseph McCallum should get a chance at first team experience, giving him vital minutes to adapt to the physicality of League One, and to understand the demands of Duff’s system.

Nobody wants to abandon a season that began with so much hope, where so many people had great expectations of fighting for promotion. But, there is much to be said for this as a longer term project.

The club have announced it’s long term plans for a new facility in Slough while also strengthening it’s short term facilities at Marlow Road, and while the squad uncertainty has had extensive investment, it also needs time to settle.

There is no shame in beginning to accept this season as a transitional one, where the club can better build under Michael Duff. After all, it has parallels to Bloomfield’s first full season as manager, after which he pushed Wycombe into an automatic promotion fight.

It will allow room for Wycombe to develop and grow into the next season, to allow Duff time to continue refining his best team, and to go into next season a much stronger force than we entered this one.