The Cold Blooded Hearts

How many football managers are rock stars? Or even look like rock stars? There are plenty who fancy themselves as style icons but not so many with rugged rock star hair, hairy chest and smoldering looks (think Rod Stewart). So all hail Gareth Ainsworth, long-serving manager of the mighty Wycombe Wanderers, aka the Chairboys. He is the longest serving manager, at 7½ years, in the top four divisions of English football (the average tenure is about 20 minutes).

Ainsworth is lead singer and songwriter of The Cold Blooded Hearts. Their latest effort The Wanderer is available on Spotify. It's cheesy country and western stuff. Great for a night out in High Wycombe (ask my sons about that).

Everyone has a nickname in football. His is Wild Thing.

Adebayo Akinfenwa is another wild thing. Also, like Ainsworth, a cult figure. He is Wycombe's centre forward (the modern usage "striker" might be a bit of a misnomer for him) and the word "figure" is apt; he weighs in at 16 stone (101 Kg), so says the purveyor of truth known as Wikipedia, and can bench press (whatever that means) 200 Kg. He roams around the football field like King Kong. Sprinting is not his thing but frightening opposing defenders (and sometimes his own teammates) definitely is. You have to play the ball to his feet. Do not expect him to jump. Do not expect him to run in behind defenders. Get the ball onto his chest and he will hold it up until teammates arrive to help him out i.e. take the ball from him and plonk it in the net. Don't expect him to run to the corner flag to join in the celebrations. But when his team scored the decisive goal tonight, even he was part of a huge scrum of flailing Wycombe bodies. I pitied whoever was underneath him; they may not be ready for next Monday's final.

Wycombe Wanderers are in League One and tonight  they fought their way through to the Play Off Final at Wembley Stadium. In normal times I'd definitely be up for the trip there. Unfortunately fans are not allowed at the moment. Boris, could you make an exception?

Somehow The Chairboys (High Wycombe is a furniture town) seems a rather feeble moniker for this burly group of lads. We really need something more gritty. Suggestions?