Close Quarters: An Extraordinary Season on the Brink and Behind the Scenes

by Neil Harman

Close Quarters is the inspirational, against the odds story of Wycombe Wanderers, the poorest club in League One, and how it shapes into a side that sustains a nine-month challenge for promotion before the global pandemic stops the team in its tracks. When the season restarts, Wycombe finds itself in the play-offs behind closed doors, an unprecedented opportunity through unprecedented turmoil. Led by the longest-serving boss in professional football, the charismatic Gareth Ainsworth, this becomes an astonishing campaign, witnessed up close by award-winning sportswriter Neil Harman thanks to his special access. Harman gets to the heart of the team, joins them in the dressing room, on the coach, in the medical room and in team meetings to chart this unparalleled challenge. He gets the inside story of Ainsworth's rise from a working-class upbringing on the back streets of Blackburn, through a rumbustious playing career, to a one-club manager moulding Wycombe while dealing with an American takeover that could make the difference between the club's life and death. Close Quarters is a book that resonates, not just with Wycombe supporters, but fans of underdog clubs everywhere.

Kindle Edition

Published August 14, 2020

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you didn't hear about Wycombe's incredible run through League One in an extraordinary season that Covid almost cancelled, this book will get you up to speed. Although it may be a little challenging for someone new to English football, Harman has several excellent biographical chapters, of general interest, that illustrate the difficulties faced by professional athletes who aren't at the top levels of the sport. All in one extraordinary year, Wycombe was taken over by a Louisiana Lawyer, managed by a man with a lot of moxie, and inspired on the field by the likes of Adebayo "The Beast" Akinfenwa. A great look inside a great club that rose to meet the challenges of an extraordinary year.

[Simon Prior · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic journey which could almost be fiction! Being a fan of the club anyway made this a great story to reflect and learn from as it was from before my sons started following Wycombe.

Looking forward to seeing more magic happen!