Andrew Stephen’s Hot Off The Habbin article in the match programme for the CUFC v Wycombe Wanderers match on 20th October 2026.
“Pessimists calculate the odds. Optimists believe they can overcome them.”
Ted Koppel
Many years ago, in Nottingham, my neighbour Martin O’Neill told me that he was leaving Grantham to become manager of Wycombe Wanderers. I said I’d never heard of them. He told me that I would, since their ambitions were far more lofty than those of Grantham Town. Of course, but for a nasty injury in a testimonial against Cambridge, Martin might have become our player manager. How many what- ifs do football fans dwell on for years? There’s a PH.D. in there somewhere. He took them into the league and to the second division before finally leaving. In the process he turned down an offer from Nottingham Forest. Loyalty is a rare quality in football, but we know it when we see it. Their ground, on the outskirts of High Wycombe, borders on Farmland and is a nightmare to get away from after a game. It hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for us either. It has a great fanzone but we haven’t traditionally done well there. I remember going there when things were unravelling under Herve Renard. We lost a game we should have won, were attacked by a swarm of bees and our centre half was sent off. It was that kind of season.
Wycombe have had their problems too, just not particularly against us. They had spells of promotions and relegations and needed U’s old boy Gareth Ainsworth to steady the ship and then take them up the leagues. He made them very hard to beat, and he got the very best from well-remembered giant Akinfemwa, who contrived to score goals and create havoc, despite his unathletic build. Like all clubs without massive crowds or wealthy backers, Wycombe and Ainsworth made the most of what they had. When they couldn’t sustain it, Ainsworth left and it became a real struggle. The margin between success and failure is very fine, as Sean Derry often used to remind us. Michael Duff was the first EFL manager to be sacked this season and when Tom Hounsell was placed in charge temporarily, Wanderers won 4 out of 5 games, drawing against Reading. Some pundits have them as promotion favourites now, but weren’t we the Bookies’ favourites to go down?! In our last 5 games against Wycombe, we have won 3 and drawn 2. Promising.
In many ways, we are a similar club to Wycombe, in the sense that we have to be well and sensibly managed to survive. Indeed, we are flourishing. There will be another huge crowd under the lights. Every home league game this season has been watched by over 7,000 fans, which is incredible. Our away support has been brilliant and noisy too. We can see something very special happening here. A great set of players who never give up. A top manager who won’t let them and a squad getting bigger as players return from injury. Competition is already fierce and our Bench is as strong as I’ve seen it for years. Will we see Callum Stead tonight? Our forward line is already fast and incisive, and he will add to that. It’s interesting that we went away from the Wimbledon game feeling that we should have won, despite only equalising in time added on. More confidence and better finishing will see us heading for a second consecutive promotion. What will the Bookies say about that?
Andrew Stephen