After being linked with job after job and always coming out on the other side still Wycombe manager, Gareth Ainsworth has brought his time at Wycombe to an end to become the new QPR manager.
Gareth Ainsworth will be returning to Loftus Road as he was a player there for 7 years. He even had his first managerial role as caretaker manager for a short period of time on two different occasions.
Although Gareth Ainsworth has left Wycombe Wanderers, it is important to remember the remarkable job he’s done over the years and the memories he’s made.
Before I mention all the great times and achievements throughout his management, it’s important to remember it wasn’t always brilliant, especially in his first couple of years in charge of the club.
In the 2013-14 season, Wycombe only retained their league status due to a better goal difference than Bristol Rovers.
However, with a new chairman, Andrew Howard, appointed in 2014, he decided to build a project with Ainsworth very much in charge and had full backing to take Wycombe away from relegation.
The backing from Andrew Howard really helped Wycombe and Ainsworth kick off the next season as he went from a relegation battle in 2013/14 to 4th place and one point off automatic promotion to League One, which was unimaginable after the season before.
Although Wycombe fell short that season and fell to defeat on penalties to Southend, this season Ainsworth and Wycombe had showed that Mark Howard and the club made the right decision.
“Andrew Howard coming in as chairman was a big moment in 2014 and really took control of the club to steer it in the right direction”
Bucksfreepress
In the years after the narrow loss to Southend on penalties, Wycombe finished 13th and 9th, but only missed out on the playoffs by one point in 2016/17.
In 2017-18, he won promotion to League One with Wycombe, which was an extraordinary achievement. In his first year in League One, he managed to stay in the league by just three points.
However, the second season was probably the most bizarre football season you will ever see due to the pandemic.
Wycombe were outside of the playoffs on goal difference when the season was halted, but due to points per game, the EFL gave them the final spot in the playoffs. Remarkably, the Chairboys went on to win, and Wycombe Wanderers became a Championship team.
July 13th: Euphoric celebrations in households across the country.
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) December 31, 2020
Wycombe Wanderers are promoted to the Championship.#Chairboys2020 pic.twitter.com/EyqeqbFbIt
Unfortunately, in his first season managing Wycombe in the Championship, they fell back into League One after being just one point away from safety, a brilliant effort considering the budget Ainsworth had at his disposal compared to the rest of the division.
There was no time to feel sorry for themselves in their first season back in League One they took the final playoff spot and returned back to Wembley to play Sunderland. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the happy ending like the previous time he took Wycombe to Wembley, but it was once again a fantastic achievement.
Now, 31 games into the current League One season, Wycombe are one place and three points from the playoffs. Although Gareth Ainsworth joins Queens Park Rangers, another Wycombe legend, Matt Bloomfield has taken over, perhaps to bring a whole new legacy to the club once again.
Ainsworth’s decision to move to Buckinghamshire and join Wycombe led him to this moment, where he has become the club’s most successful manager ever.
It’s almost fitting that Gareth Ainsworth returns to the club where he spent much of his career as a player. He has left Wycombe in a much better place than when he took charge.
In conclusion, in the many years, Ainsworth has been at Wycombe, he has taken the fans to places they haven’t been before, given them a different sense of excitement and a different kind of hope, and always remained loyal. I think it shows just how highly he’s thought of by the Wycombe club as a whole with their farewell tweet.
He was always aware that Wycombe didn’t have the budget to compete with some of the bigger clubs, but he would always bring in the right players: players who would give 100% in every game and players who brought positivity and experience to the dressing room.
What’s most impressive is that when he took the job, he had only previously managed 11 games over two spells at QPR.
“I really didn’t know anything about management, and it was hard.” (Bucksfreepress)
Taking the job after only 11 games of experience, shows how honest, brilliant, and hardworking Ainsworth was to make this work. After a disastrous first season, he came back and proved he could be a great manager. And this is something QPR obviously see themselves.
The chapter with Wycombe may now have ended, but there is still plenty of time to finish the story should he decide to return one day.
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