I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down

With League Two side Wycombe Wanderers looking good to bounce back from relegation last season at the first time of asking, Nobes looks at both the positives and negatives of yo-yoing between divisions.

Wycombe boss Gary Waddock is on course to lead his side back into League One

"I will be the manager building a group of players to build for promotion. We need to to make sure we don't have that yo-yo effect where we get promoted and get relegated again."

They were the determined words of Gary Waddock after the former QPR boss saw his Wycombe Wanderers side relegated from League One at the end of last season.

After Saturday's 1-0 win over high flying Rotherham, the Buckinghamshire side strengthened their hold on second place in League Two - and moved seven points clear in the automatic promotion positions.

With the season moving into its second half, it seems it's a case of so far so good in Waddock's attempts to bounce back from relegation last term at the first attempt.

Then will come arguably the more difficult task though - ensuring Wanderers don't fall straight back down again. That's because Wycombe are in danger of becoming the latest club to gain infamy for their yo-yoing ability.

Having spent so many years in the Non Leagues, successive promotions under Martin O'Neill at the beginning of the '90s was the beginning of a decade playing in England's third tier.

They were heady days for the Chairboys, who even managed an appearance in the FA Cup semi finals in 2001 after a sensational run under the guidance of Lawrie Sanchez.

However, a succession of lower mid-table finishes and flirting with the drop eventually saw them drop down into the basement division in 2004.

Consecutive top seven finishes ended in play off heart break in 2007 and 2008 before Peter Taylor took Wycombe back up to the third tier in his first season at the helm.

A few months into last season and Taylor had gone with Waddock - fresh from establishing Aldershot Town in the Football League - drafted in as his replacement.

In truth, the 48-year-old was always fighting a losing battle in looking to stave off relegation. After a slow start to this campaign though, Wanderers are now starting to justify their tag as one of the pre-season favourites.

It begs the question just where Wycombe's place is in the Football League. Apparently too good for League Two, they have always been strong challengers for promotion in the basement division.

However, ambitions in League One seem to revolve around staying above the dotted line come May. Welcome to the territory of the yo-yo club.

It's a term which has more commonly been associated with the movement of certain clubs between the Premier League and second tier over the years.

The likes of Sunderland, Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Leicester and, most notably of late, West Bromwich Albion have, at times, all been considered too strong for the Championship but not good enough for the top flight.

However, could we about to see a new generation of yo-yo clubs lower down the ladder?

The narrowing gap between League Two and the Conference, allied to an increase in the number of promotion and relegation places between the two has heightened the possibility of clubs moving between the two divisions on a more frequent basis.

Scunthorpe have spent the last few years interchanging between the Championship and League One - promoted in 2007 and 2009, relegated in 2008 and, very possibly, 2011.

Scunthorpe have twice been promoted, and once relegated, in the past four seasons

The likes of current League Two leaders Chesterfield and perennial League One strugglers Yeovil are also two clubs, like Wycombe, who seem in a constant struggle to determine just where in the Football League they are most at home.

Not that's it's a struggle which should be seen as entirely negative though. After all, life doesn't get any more exciting than when you're a supporter of a yo-yo club.

Every fan has experienced the tedium of meaningless end of season games when their team has nothing left to play for. The sun shines, the players look like they would rather be on vacation, and the fans want to be drinking beer while watching the cricket instead.

However, when you're involved in promotion or relegation battles every season, you're guaranteed great box office. Seasons go down to the very last game, the very last minute.

Yes, some of those nail-biting relegation battles may eventually be lost, but some are won - and they are possibly even sweeter than the joy experienced with every promotion.

Besides, does relegation hurt so much when you know your side will be well placed to enjoy a profitable campaign next term - winning more matches, scoring more goals, and possibly winning promotion once more?

They are the dramatic moments and memories which live with supporters. Being there when their side wins promotion or loses relegation. They are the games we remember, the programmes for which we are desperate to have, the ticket stubs we receive and vow never to throw away.

It's about taking the rough with the smooth - tasting the glory of moving up a division and taking the pain of slipping back down again. Surely it beats season after season in the same division ala Rochdale though?

Campaigns are always fresh. Beginning with fresh hope or that anticipation of entering the unknown was more. Fixture lists have a different look to them - not the same tired monotony of that Easter trip to Macclesfield yet again.

Of course, that's me putting somewhat of a positive spin on that particular yo-yo. It's true, too, there are downsides to constantly fluctuating between two divisions.

Indeed, one of them was probably key to Wycombe's managerial switch last term - replacing the more defensively-minded Taylor for a manager in Waddock who sends his teams out to attack.

After all, if you're going to go down, you might as well do it in style - entertaining along the way. As current-Bradford boss Taylor discovered, dull football is excusable if it helps win promotion. Doing the same on the way to demotion isn't.

Never knowing what division you're going to be in causes other problems though. Building a settled side is challenging - one constructed to win promotion often requires a different make-up to one looking for survival.

It also requires players with strong character and, if they remain after relegation, needing to shift their mentality from a losing one to adopting a more positive frame of mind.

History shows the difficulty of many sides in making the transition from getting used to playing for three points in every game, rather than going away and shutting up shop. Handling the pressure of a sudden raise in expectation is another common problem.

It's the kind of scenario where a careful and prudent club must consider one-year contracts - with budgets understandably affected by the change in divisional status and the difference in financial benefits on offer.

Clubs can become stuck - afraid to push the boat out for survival in case they don't achieve their goal and they find themselves, instead, suffering for their overspending whilst back in the lower division.

Should they secure promotion this term, it is the kind of headache Wycombe may, once again, find themselves in ahead of next season. Just this time, Waddock will be determined to overcome it.

What if... re-election hadn't ended?

Our series where we take a look back at pivotal moments in Football League history continues as Nobes asks what would have happened had automatic promotion from the Non Leagues not been introduced?

Walls come tumbling down: change was in the air 23 years ago

It's with a huge degree of bias that I say the following: 1987 was a special year. Indeed, there was plenty going on 23 years ago.

Maggie Thatcher was wrapping up a second landslide victory to stay in Number 10 for a third term. She then gave the go ahead for the Channel Tunnel to be constructed.

It was also the year of the Great Storm - Britain's worst for nearly 300 years - that battered parts of south and east England. Famously, the previous evening BBC weatherman Michael Fish had dismissed the storm happening.

In popular culture, Americans first caught a glimpse of a TV family called The Simpsons.

After far too many years of an ageing Roger Moore as James Bond getting cosy with much too young lasses we had a new 007, as well, with Timothy Dalton taking over the reins.

Things, it seemed, were changing. Typified by, perhaps, the most famous quote of all 1987 from US President Ronald Reagan who, on a visit to Berlin, demanded: "Mr Gorbachev - tear down this wall!"

That wouldn't happen for another couple of years. However, one barrier was being removed a little closer to home - that between the Football and Non Leagues.

Up until 1987, clubs seeking to gain promotion to the Football League from the Conference had to be elected by current League members.

It was the ultimate 'closed shop' with members able to prevent new clubs joining in favour of keeping the established order in place.

Indeed, the first eight winners of the Conference - established as the outright top division of Non League football in 1979 - failed to win election to the league.

Things had to change - and, in '87, they did. For the first time, the side who finished 92nd in the Football League would drop out of the top four tiers and be replaced by the Conference winners - as long as their ground met regulations.

So, it was probably appropriate that, in May 1987, Starship sat on top of the UK charts with 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now.' It was the prevailing mood among the ambitious clubs of the Conference desperate for their chance in the big time.

Neil Warnock and Martin O'Neill both led clubs into the Football League

That feeling was exhibited no more than on the North Sea coast - where the seaside town of Scarborough was celebrating their team having soared to the Conference title under the management of an ambitious Yorkshireman called Neil Warnock.

The Seadogs were to take their place in the Football League - eventually replacing Lincoln City - relegated after a frantic final day scrap also involving Torquay, and former English champions, Burnley.

The Imps became the first club to ever automatically be relegated from the 92 club - although they bounced back at the first attempt. No doubt they were thankful for the same rule they were cursing only 12 months earlier.

It was the beginning of the constant flow between the two divisions which - albeit thrice interrupted in the mid-1990s because of the condition of the grounds of the Conference winners - has become a natural feature of the English game.

In doing so, too, it opened the door to so many clubs previously restricted to try and make their mark in the Football League.

Just imagine, for a minute though, what might have happened had re-election not been scrapped? What if the team who won the Conference had to rely on a vote to gain membership of the Football League?

Without the change to the rules in 1987, what would fate have held for the likes of Wycombe Wanderers - Buckinghamshire's first professional club long before the MK Dons came into existence?

The Chairboys gained entry into the Football League in 1993 under Martin O'Neill and soon established themselves in what is now League One - remaining there for a decade.

In the past 17 years, they've also made it both the League Cup and FA Cup semi finals - memorably giving Chelsea and Liverpool runs for their respective money. Without automatic promotion, it may never have happened.

Yeovil Town, too, finally reached the promised land in 2004 after near misses in elections. After winning promotion in only their second season, they're now in their sixth consecutive season in the third tier.

Two clubs who, until the rules were changed, would never have been able to be the credit to the Football League they have become. Two counties in Buckinghamshire and Somerset that would never have enjoyed 92 club status.

Some could argue that they would have got there eventually. With persistence, a vote would have gone their way.

Altrincham's Moss Lane could have been a Football League ground in the '80s

Possibly, but history also shows that clubs who missed the boat have never got as close again.

Take the example of Enfield. The Hertfordshire outfit won the Conference title in 1983 and 1986 - the final season of re-election. They missed out in the vote on both occasions.

It was to prove their high point. The club spiralled back down the pyramid and financial problems eventually saw them wound up and a new club created in 2007.

Altrincham, too, are another club who seemed to have missed the Football League boat. The Greater Manchester outfit won the first two Conference titles but lost out in the re-election process both times.

That included, in 1980, losing out by just a single vote. Although they are still in the Conference, they are now a small fish competing alongside a plethora of ex-League teams. They may never return to those same heights.

For every Yeovil, Wycombe, or Boston - who lost out on a vote in 1978 before finally winning promotion in 2002 - there are clubs like Wealdstone and Runcorn who drifted into obscurity when they didn't win election as Conference champions.

The Football League landscape could look very different to what it does now - and not just with the teams who could have made it, but those who've dropped down.

This season's Conference has more of a look of a 'League Three' about it than the top division of Non League football. True, there are still Histons and Eastbournes.

However, a division including the likes of Luton, Grimsby, Mansfield, Wrexham, York, Darlington, and Cambridge deserves respect.

The second relegation place - following on from the removal of re-election - has not only opened the door to many Non League outfits, but also seen an increase in the quality and size of clubs in the Conference.

It's also unlikely the likes of Carlisle, Exeter, Shrewsbury, or Oxford - all relegated from League Two before being subsequently re-promoted - would have ever lost a re-election vote.

All four clubs dropped down but returned stronger than when they went down into the Non Leagues. Arguably, it allowed them to start again and get things moving in the right direction.

Would the Crewe and Dario Gradi story have been the same without re-election?

With re-election, they could have survived by the skin of their teeth and never found any forward momentum - continuing instead to toil around the lower reaches of the basement division.

The argument could even be extended further - what if re-election had never existed in the first place? With the bottom club immediately being relegated, things could have been massively different.

For instance, how about that bastion of good football, producing young talent, and punching above their weight? Crewe Alexandra may be a neutral's favourite, but no club has finished bottom of the Football League more often.

On eight occasions, Alex have finished propping everyone else up. Most recently in 1984, when they survived re-election and temporarily denied Maidstone United a place in the Football League.

Had they slipped down in '84 - the first season under the management of one Dario Gradi - what would have happened to the conveyor belt of talent that produced the likes of David Platt, Danny Murphy, and Robbie Savage?

The Cheshire club may never have enjoyed the success they did in competing in the second tier for a number of years had they lost any one of their re-election votes.

It's also unlikely the term the 'Rochdale Division' would ever have entered the footballing lexicon had Dale lost one of a number of re-election votes they had to endure.

Most notably, just one vote saw them survive the drop in 1980 at the expense of the aforementioned Altrincham. Even in 1978, it was Southport who took the drop at their expense when Wigan Athletic entered the Football League.

Dale spent 36 consecutive seasons in the basement division until promotion last term - nobody has spent a longer continuous spell in it.

They also hold the dubious record of having the lowest average position of all the continuous members of the Football League in the past 90 years. Crucially, though, because of their continued election victories, they are continuous.

However, had they slipped down into the Non Leagues, what would have happened to the Spotland outfit? With so many clubs surrounding them in Lancashire, how long would they have taken to return, if ever?

Fortunately, such questions are no longer restricted to the hypothetical. Common sense prevailed back in '87. The closed shop opened its doors - improved immeasurably for it - and has never looked back since.

It was 1987, truly a special year.

Waddock's Wycombe wager

Gary Waddock described his decision to move from Aldershot to Wycombe as the, "hardest decision I have ever had to make."

After a couple of successful seasons in Hampshire where he led them back into the Football League and established the Shots there, the club are currently sixth after an impressive start to the new campaign.

The decision to move to League One strugglers Wycombe arguably resembles more of a gamble for Waddock than his new club therefore.

After promotion last season, Peter Taylor failed to help the Buckinghamshire side adjust to life in the third tier. Just one win in their first 11 games sealed the fate of the former Leicester manager, including successive home losses to fellow strugglers Tranmere and Leyton Orient.

Another defeat at the weekend, this time to Gillingham, another side promoted from League Two last season, means Waddock's new side find themselves six points adrift from safety already.

For a man whose only previous managerial spell above League Two was an unsuccesful stint at QPR, there will be no time for Waddock to get to grips with the task of managing a step-up.

The reality is that Wycombe's problems run deeper than simply who picks the team. After a blistering start to last season, Wanderers barely stumbled over the finishing line to secure promotion on goal difference.

However, after failing to strengthen the squad over the summer, and rumours of a fall-out between club owner Steve Hayes and Taylor, they appear to be ill-equipped for the challenge of League One.

Barring loan signings, Waddock will be unable to recruit any permanent signings until January, by which point an immediate return to the basement division may already be on the horizon.

A relegation on your CV is something no manager wishes to experience, failure to keep Wycombe up and that's exactly what Waddock will have, even if his responsibility is minimal.

In the words of Roy Keane, Wycombe's failure to prepare means they have risked preparing to fail. Waddock has gambled on his ability to turn around their fortunes.

Waddock led Aldershot Town to the Conference title in 2008

He has also gambled on his ability to translate the methods which proved so successful at the Recreation Ground to the current group of players at Adams Park.

Expansive, attacking, passing football has been the order of the day at Aldershot. It's a stark contrast from the more dour and cautious approach which saw Taylor lead Wycombe to promotion last term.

Can Waddock adapt a team designed to be more industrious than imaginiative into playing good football and achieving results?

Will, in attempting to get the side to express themselves more, they be left more open to the more clinical forwards at League One level? 35 goals have been scored in league games involving Aldershot this season - Wycombe fans are in for a culture shock.

Finally, it represents a long term risk for his career prospects. After a poor spell at Loftus Road, Aldershot represented a chance for him to rebuild his managerial career, he grasped it with both hands.

Failure at Wycombe and he may find himself facing his old employers, or even seeing Town passing Wanderers as the two sides move in opposite directions in the pyramid.

Remaining at Aldershot and continuing his work there could have seen a bigger and arguably easier job coming his way in the future. However, with his stock probably at its highest point, could he be sure such opportunities would ever arise again?

Waddock has taken his chance.

Nobes.

Fan Files: Wycombe Wanderers

The next of our interviews with lower league supporters turns the spotlight on League One and Wycombe Wanderers.

The Buckinghamshire club were promoted from League Two last season after four seasons in the basement division.

Chairboys fan Tim Jenkins has been supporting the club for almost a decade.

He rates the club's 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the 2007 League Cup semi-finals as his best moment supporting Wycombe, saying, "Nobody could quite believe what was going on."

Unusually, one of his worst moments supporting the club was the final day of last season where, despite losing, the club managed to secure promotion on goal difference, in an experience he describes as "weirdly deflating."

However, with 10 games of the League One season gone so far, any deflating promotion looks a long way off with the club struggling at the wrong end.

So then, you’re back in League One after winning promotion last season, how’s life back in the third tier going?

Bad. As things stand, we're just not good enough, simple as that.

One of our best players - Tommy Doherty - is yet to feature this season. I can't imagine that he's singlehandedly going to turn things round though, especially when he's a holding midfielder and we're struggling to score.

What were expectations like in pre-season? You ended in poor form last season – was there a worry it might carry over into this?

We slumped over the finish line in the least dignified manner possible. It was loanee John Akinde's goals that got us through in the end, and we have no-one of equivalent quality at the moment.

So the problem's obvious - but of course good strikers are like gold dust.

I wasn't worried at the time, and I thought we'd done OK in the close season transfer market, but as it stands we're not quite there.

What about the manager, Peter Taylor, he must be under pressure after the disappointing start to the season?

Yes. The fans are starting to boo, do the "Taylor Sort It Out" chants, although it's not reached full on "Taylor Out" yet, but give it time.

Last year, we played for the 1-0 win every time, very direct play, nab a scrappy goal, defend for the remaining X minutes. This season we can neither score nor keep a clean sheet, so we have problems.

The experienced Taylor won promotion in his first season with the club

I honestly don't know what the solution is. I don't think sacking Taylor (left) is the answer, but unless we fluke an amazing loan striker from somewhere to save us, I can't see it going any other direction.

Is there a part of you that wishes you hadn’t got promotion? Is it not more fun watching your side winning games at Accrington and Macclesfield than losing at Leeds and Norwich?

No, not really. As much as anything, it's nice to have a change of teams to play. We've never managed to build up much of a rivalry with any of the current League Two teams so it's not like I miss any of them.

I do genuinely enjoy the comedy value that League Two-quality football brings up, but by the same token you do end up thinking, "God! Why am I paying to watch this?" sometimes.

But we'll be back down there sooner or later, so I'm not getting too comfortable in this division.

Having seen life in Leagues One and Two in recent years then, what do you see as the main differences between the two divisions? Is the gap becoming smaller?

I have a standard answer for this one, but I think it's borne out by what I've seen so far this season.

Basically, it's the quality of strikers, and to a lesser extent defenders.

You can make - and god knows we did last season - defensive howler after defensive howler, and the quality of finishing is such that you'll still get away with it 50 per cent of the time. Not in League One.

We've conceded a shedload of set piece goals so far this campaign, and that can't all just be bad marking or whatever. It's more that players are better able to take their opportunities at this level.

Wycombe are facing the likes of Leeds in League One this season

I don't think the gap is becoming smaller at all. Things are a bit skewed this season in League One, what with the number of big, well-resourced clubs for this level - Leeds United, Charlton Athletic, Norwich City etc.

I don't really see any of our fellow newly-promoted teams doing much more than consolidating. This division is a clear step up from the fourth tier, and maybe a bridge too far for us.

You got a new owner over the summer in Steve Hayes, what plans does he have for the club? Is this the start of something big?

Well he was already our Managing Director and he also owns our tenants Wasps rugby club.

He basically wanted to own the club so he could do what he wanted with it without even the merest suggestion of any opposition. Which is worrying - if the plans made sense, surely the fanbase would back him?

The long-term idea is to build a massive white elephant 'Darlodome', in conjunction with Wasps and the local council.

We will no longer be the owners of the ground as it will be a three-way split - uh-oh - and Steve Hayes's property company will make a killing.

It's easy to knock him as another Firoz Kassam or Alex Hamilton, but I don't totally understand why he wants to do this.

He was already worth £100 million when he flogged his company, so surely there must be easier ways of getting even more cash? Still, who knows.

I think he's kind of had enough of bankrolling us, though. We made an unbudgeted-for £1 million in the close season, through two Premier League transfer sell-ons.

Roger Johnson went to Birmingham and Mike Williamson to Portsmouth, but we didn't get any of that cash for the squad.

Adams Park - Wycombe's home, but for how much longer?

After many years in Non-League, Wycombe have spent the majority of their time in the Football League in League One. Is that where you see the club’s natural level as being?

Well, another of my stock answers to this question is we're either an above-average League Two side, or a crap League One one. Our record best finish was 6th in the third tier under Martin O'Neill.

I think we'll just yo-yo between the two, but probably spend more time in League Two as the years go by, just because it's harder for us to get out of League Two upwards than to drop down from League One.

We are in debt to Steve Hayes too - if he pulls the plug then the Non-League scene may beckon once more.

And finally then, what’s the best thing about being a Wycombe supporter?

The best thing is kind of also the worst thing. We are a small and friendly club, which also means that no-one cares about us rivalry-wise. But considering the utter rubbishness of the town, it's quite impressive that Wycombe has a league football club at all.

Tim, thanks for chatting to Soccer AM/MW.