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Neil Harman’s book Close Quarters will be out in August 2020
A piece of home counties history was made in Wembley on Monday night when Wycombe Wanderers reached the second tier of English football for the very first time. They beat Oxford United 2-1 in the final at an empty but noisy Wembley Stadium.
The delight will be obvious in Buckinghamshire, a county that is not known for reaching such heights in the English Football pyramid.
But one man watching a safe social distance from me last night at Wembley had even more reason for glee.
Former Daily Mail journalist Neil Harman had wanted to write a book covering the season of a club who he feared might struggle in 2019/20. So many books are written about successful sides, but a tell-all book about a club losing many matches would be a rarity, and in the right hands, a great read.
Harman’s history suggested he had the literary chops to do that. As well as the Mail, Harman had written for The Times, and was the SJA Sports News Reporter of the Year in 2007.
He collaborated with Andy Murray and David Beckham on their stories, also writing Court Confidential: A Year in Tennis and Gambling for Life, along with Harry Findlay, which was longlisted for the William Hill prize in 2017. It was also named in the top ten Sunday Times sports books in the same year.
Wycombe wasn’t always the plan. Initially Harman had approached his local club Southend United, but they were less keen.
So he looked around for another club who he thought might be above their weight and reveal a good story about how clubs and players persevere when things are going against them.
Wycombe had struggled in their last three appearances in League One. They had resulted in relegation at their first attempt and were at a financial disadvantage to most other clubs in their division.
Wycombe only just avoided the drop last season after ending a ten game streak in which they took just one point, ironically ending that run on a memorable day in Southend. That’s where you could say Southend native Harman’s story really begins.
– Wycombe aim to revive the “Spirit of Southend” as they head to Wembley –
Wycombe had struggled in their last three appearances in League One. They had resulted in relegation at their first attempt and were at a financial disadvantage to most other clubs in their division.
Yet somehow, they have not only survived but last night secured a first ever promotion to England’s second tier. Harman’s book has taken on a totally different hue. He was tense enough as he entered the stadium but after the final whistle, he exuded almost an air of disbelief in what Gareth Ainsworth’s side had achieved.
“I’m not from Wycombe. I’ve never really seen them until this season, but this is one of the greatest stories in football.
“I’ve seen a lot here. I’ve seen World Cups. I’ve seen European Championships. I’ve been with United when they won the Premier League back in my Daily Mail days, and this is right up there. This is right up there.”
They will be heading to the Championship next season for the first time in their history and Harman is, as I write, adding the last and most unlikely chapter to his book Close Quarters, a title that gives a nod to the club’s iconic quartered jerseys.
“Who’s going to buy that book now?” quipped a joyful Wanderers player at him as he walked by through the press tribune last night.
Close Quarters is out on August 3
Harman has decided not to go back and amend any of the chapters in the light of the extraordinary and unexpected conclusion to the season, a move that seems designed to preserve the authenticity of the narrative.
The access Harman was given to both coach and players became a very different challenge during lockdown and their prolonged period of inactivity, something he could not have foreseen when he took on the challenge.
It will be interesting to read a deeper insight into how bored young athletes, deprived of their passion of playing football, reacted to having it all taken away amid a global pandemic.
That may well have been the main story of the book, but now it is just one of the many side stories from inside a club who still don’t seem to believe their own reality.
Bill Turnbull works for Wycombe Wanderers media. In the absence of any fans, he and Chief Financial Officer Pete Couhig, led the chanting of “Chairboys, Chairboys” from areas of the stadium where such lack of decorum is normally frowned upon.
It seemed to lift some fairly tired legs as Oxford pressed for an equaliser in the closing stages.
His spectacles may have been hiding a tear. Turnbull was emotional as he watched the players celebrate on the pitch at Wembley:
“It’s beyond dreams really. It is a dream. Some say that winning the Premer League is a big deal. But for a side that nearly fell out of the Football League just a few seasons ago, to be in the Championship now is beyond belief in some respects.”
They join Coventry City and Rotherham United who won automatic promotion to the Championship next year.
More romantically, the tiny club from one of the lesser known footballing counties will be locking horns with the likes of Derby County, Nottingham Forest and possibly Aston Villa and West Ham.
Someone should write a book about that adventure.
Close Quarters is out on August 3, 2020 and will be available from WHSmith and Waterstones, and online.
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