Seven league games, five points and 19th in League One tells its own story. After looking like play-off contenders last season, Mike Dodds’ Wycombe Wanderers are more likely League Two candidate right now.
The recent run reads too streaky to soothe nerves: defeats to Bradford, Stockport, Exeter and Stevenage, draws with Doncaster and Reading, then a much-needed 2-0 win over Mansfield. Cup ties added little clarity, with a shoot-out escape at Bromley, defeat to Colchester in the Trophy and a Carabao Cup exit following earlier progress.
The picture is mixed (at best) and the direction is uncertain. Should the manager fear the sack?
A Doctrine Of Consistency, But Where Is The Edge?
Mike Dodds talks in the language of consistency and repeatable behaviours. There is merit in that. Wycombe look drilled in rest defence, full backs rarely vacate the same channel at once, and the central midfield screen holds decent positions between the lines. Yet the attack has not absorbed the same reliability.
Possession arrives in tidy clusters, without the surge that breaks an opponent’s back. Too often, phases end in hopeful deliveries rather than crafted cut-backs, with runners arriving a beat late. Consistency in method is only persuasive when it produces consistent chances.
Structure Over Spark
The model is clearly defined: measured build, patient circulation, and protection against turnovers. That should fit a group with ball-secure profiles in Luke Leahy and Josh Scowen, plus athletic coverage from the back line. The issue is tempo.
When Wycombe are asked to accelerate, the gears grind. Opponents squeeze the middle third knowing the vertical pass is either delayed or sideways. The best spells under Dodds come when the first pass into the front unit is zipped, the second is set, and the third arrives in stride to a wide runner. It happens, but not enough to tilt territory into expected goals.
Home Advantage Eroded
Adams Park used to intimidate through aggression and territory. This season’s home slate has been unconvincing: a 1-2 reverse to Stockport, a 0-1 to Exeter and a 2-2 with Reading that felt like dropped points after controlling long passages. Even the Trophy defeat to Colchester carried the same pattern, with Wycombe neat until the final action.
The Mansfield win is a start, a reminder that when the Chairboys compress the pitch and force second balls, they resemble themselves again. The task is to bottle that formula across 90 minutes, not just in bursts.
Selection Jenga Up Front
Dodds has options, but the carousel has blurred combinations. Fred Onyedinma offers direct running, Sam Bell stretches channels, and Alex Lowry links zones, yet the rotations have lacked a settled reference. Cauley Woodrow’s movement would suit quick, early service, while Bradley Fink prefers a penalty-box game.
Constant tweaks are understandable in August and early September, less so as patterns should be hardening. A fixed front three, with defined roles, would help rhythm and allow the team to rehearse the same pictures week after week.
The club possess senior voices who can change the temperature of a match. Leahy’s passing range can flip pressure into territory in one action; Scowen’s intensity can raise the press by five yards. Those levers must be pulled earlier. When the game drifts, the change cannot be a like-for-like on the hour.
It needs a shift in behaviour: push the full back beyond the winger to pin a back five, ask the eight to crash the box on the next three attacks, force the game to become uncomfortable for opponents. Systems are frameworks, leaders supply the electricity.
The Missed Opportunities
Wycombe win enough ball in good areas to be more dangerous than the numbers suggest. The first two passes in transition are the problem. Too many counters are slowed by touches back inside, inviting the opposition to recover into shape. The fix is simple to describe and hard to execute: the first touch must face forward, the second must threaten depth. With runners like Onyedinma and Bell, and a passer like Leahy, there is no reason counters should feel so gentle.
Historically, they have extracted value from restarts. With size in the back line and decent delivery in the squad, corners and wide free kicks should be a weekly source of threat. The routines need freshness. Stack screens at the near post, disguise runs that clear the penalty spot for a late arrival, and vary deliveries to drag markers under the ball.
What Has To Change Now
First, settle a front three and live with it long enough for chemistry to form. Second, raise the speed of the first pass after regains, even at the cost of a few giveaways. Third, lean into set-pieces as a differentiator. Finally, trust the senior core to drag games onto Wycombe’s terms when patterns stall. The table is tight and the season is young; the gap between 19th and mid-table momentum is two assertive weeks.
If that doesn’t happen, and results continues, there is only one outcome. Mike Dodds gets the sack, and there is another reset at Adams Park. We hear the Gillingham manager might be a good fit, as he’s doing bits in League Two right now.
