Blues bid farewell to League One

Wycombe Wanderers entertain Gillingham on Saturday in their 46th and final league game of the season.


The League table currently shows Wycombe in 23nd place with 42 points from 45 games, while Gillingham occupy 19th spot with 50 points from 45 games.

Gillingham's Away Record is.......Won 0....Drawn 6....Lost 16
Wycombe's Home Record is.......Won 5....Drawn 7....Lost 10



At five o'clock on Saturday evening, the Wycombe supporters will bid farewell to their players at the end of a difficult season which feels like its lasted for years. At the same time, over 2,300 Gills fans will either be distraught at their own relegation or bouncing up and down in delight at having survived the drop.

It's the final game of a long hard campaign, and Wycombe - the team with the second worst home record in the division, do battle with Gillingham - the team with the worst away record.

The Chairboys had hoped this game would turn out to be a relegation decider, but with their own fate already sealed by last week's defeat at Orient, it's now only the Gills who have something to lose on Saturday.

Having failed to win any of their 22 away-games so far this season, the Kent side arrive at Adams Park still requiring a point to be certain of avoiding the drop.

Should they lose, the Gills could be joining Wycombe in League Two next season if Tranmere and Exeter win their games against Stockport and Huddersfield respectively. Hartlepool may also require a draw at Brentford to be safe, if, as expected, they have three points deducted later today.

For Wycombe, all there is to play for is pride, although with over half the squad out of contract in the summer, this is also the last chance for many of them to convince Gary Waddock to spare them before he starts wielding the axe.

With Alex Revell unavailable for selection and Stuart Beavon out with a broken leg, Jon-Paul Pittman and Matt Harrold are likely to play up-front for the Chairboys.

Now that the unbeaten run is over, Waddock may be tempted to make a few more changes to his starting line-up, and he could take another look at loanees Alan Bennett and Julian Kelly in defence. Both were rumoured to be summer transfer targets for the Blues, although relegation may have put a spanner in the works.

Much as the Adams Park faithful would love to see him again next season, this is almost certainly Manchester United keeper Tom Heaton's last game for Wycombe.

For their part, Gillingham fans will be wondering whether talismanic striker Simeon Jackson will be making his final appearance for their club, with several Championship sides rumoured to be interested in his services for next season.


Here are all the stats........


Gillingham's last five games (All Competitions)

LG1: Millwall (A).............Lost 0-4
LG1: Brighton (H)..........Drew 1-1
LG1: Leeds (H)...............Won 3-2
LG1: Norwich (A)............Lost 0-2
LG1: Southampton (H)....Won 2-1


Wycombe's last five games (All Competitions)

LG1: Hartlepool (H)...........Won 2-0
LG1: Tranmere (A)...........Won 3-0
LG1: Franchise (A)............Won 3-2
LG1: Swindon (H)............Drew 2-2
LG1: Orient (A).................Lost 0-2


Gillingham Goal Stats (52 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total).........56
Goals Conceded (Total).....68

Goals Scored (Away)........13
Goals Conceded (Away)....47

Clean Sheets....16


Wycombe Goal Stats (49 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total).........59
Goals Conceded (Total).....88

Goals Scored (Home)........29
Goals Conceded (Home)....41

Clean Sheets....7


Gillingham's Top Goal Scorers (All Competitions)

Simeon Jackson......17 (inc 5 pens)
Curtis Weston...........8 (inc 1 pen)
Andy Barcham..........8
Adam Miller..............4
Mark Bentley............3
Dennis Oli................3

Four other players have each scored 2 goals.
Four other players have each scored 1 goal.


Wycombe's Top Goal Scorers (All Competitions)

Jon-Paul Pittman.......10 (inc 1 pen)
Matt Harrold.............10 (inc 6 pens)
Alex Revell................6 (inc 1 pen)
Matt Phillips...............4
Kevin Betsy...............4
Scott Davies..............4
Stuart Beavon...........3

Four other players have each scored 2 goals.
Nine other players have each scored 1 goal.


Gillingham Shooting (Top-3)

Simeon Jackson.....56 on-target...43 off-target...1 against woodwork
Andy Barcham.......35 on-target...21 off-target...1 against woodwork
Curtis Weston........20 on-target...22 off-target...1 against woodwork


Wycombe Shooting (Top-3)

Jon-Paul Pittman.....35 on-target...26 off-target...1 against woodwork
Matt Phillips............24 on-target...21 off-target...2 against woodwork
Scott Davies...........19 on-target...24 off-target...4 against woodwork


Shooting (Club)

Gills............233 on target...181 off target...14 against w'work (Rank-21)
Wycombe....229 on target...216 off target...12 against w'work (Rank-16)



League Form Guide

All Season
Gills..........Pld: 45...W: 12..D: 14....L: 19....Pts: 50...Pts per game: 1.11
Wycombe..Pld: 45...W: 9....D: 15....L: 21....Pts: 42...Pts per game: 0.93


Since 1st January 2010
Gills..............Pld: 22...W: 5...D: 9...L: 8...Pts: 24...Pts per game: 1.09
Wycombe......Pld: 21...W: 5...D: 9...L: 7...Pts: 24...Pts per game: 1.14


Against Top Half Opposition
Gills...............Pld: 24....Pts: 25....Pts per game: 1.04....(Rank-J12)
Wycombe.......Pld: 24....Pts: 25....Pts per game: 1.04....(Rank-J12)


Against Bottom Half Opposition
Gills...............Pld: 21....Pts: 25....Pts per game: 1.19....(Rank-20)
Wycombe.......Pld: 21....Pts: 17....Pts per game: 0.81....(Rank-24)


Last Five league Games
Gillingham........LDWLW - 7 points
Wycombe.......WWWDL - 10 points


Last Five League Games (Away)
Gillingham...........DDLLL - 2 points


Last Five League Games (Home)
Wycombe.........DDLWD - 6 points



Earlier this season, Simeon Jackson scored the winner in Gillingham's 3-2 victory over Wycombe at the Priestfield Stadium. The Chairboys had only just parted company with manager Peter Taylor and hadn't yet appointed Gary Waddock so Richard Dobson was in temporary charge as Craig Woodman and Leon Johnson both scored for the Blues.


Previous Meetings in Wycombe

1932/33: FAC Wycombe 2 Gillingham 4
1993/94: LG2 Wycombe 1 Gillingham 1
1995/96: FAC Wycombe 1 Gillingham 1
1996/97: LG1 Wycombe 1 Gillingham 1
1997/98: LG1 Wycombe 1 Gillingham 0
1998/99: LG1 Wycombe 0 Gillingham 2
1999/00: LG1 Wycombe 1 Gillingham 0
2008/09: LG2 Wycombe 1 Gillingham 0



The Man In The Middle

Saturday's referee is Paul Taylor from Hertfordshire who joined the National List of Referees in 1990. His last Wycombe game was the 3-3 draw at Brentford in March 2009 in which he gave Tommy Doherty his marching orders. During the current campaign he's issued 122 yellow and 11 red cards in 31 games.



Prediction

Wycombe 1 Gillingham 1

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