Arguably the most heartwarming story to emerge following English football's restart in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic is Wycombe Wanderers winning promotion to the Championship for the first time in their history.
Amongst the heroes on the night for the Chairboys during their 2-1 League One play-off final victory over Oxford United was former Torquay United striker Adebayo Akinfenwa. Since leaving Plainmoor in 2005, Akinfenwa has gained something of a cult following for being the strongest player in the FIFA computer game series, which is in no small part down to a phyisque that wouldn't look out of place in the NFL, that means that he is currently one of the most recognisable players in lower league football.
Because of his size he has often had to overcome a number of doubters who believed that he was too big to play football throughout his career - not to mention racial abuse. Earlier in his career, he spent two seasons with FK Atlantas in Lithuania where he was subjected to the levels of racism that were considered part and parcel of the game in the 1980s; at the time of writing the FA are also investigating claims that he was refered to as a 'fat water buffalo' during Wycombe's play-off semi-final against Fleetwood Town. This is one of the reasons why he started his own clothing range which is has christened 'Beastmode' - describing it as a state of mind.
However, for all his current fame, much of the success that he has had in his career can be traced back to the solitary season with the Gulls in the 2004-05 season.
United had just won promotion to League One under Leroy Rosenior for the first time since the early 1990s and were on the lookout for a replacement for David Graham, who had just been sold to Wigan Athletic for a fee of £215,000. After spending the 2003-04 season with Boston United, Leyton Orient, Rushden & Diamonds and Doncaster Rovers, Akinfenwa and the Gulls appeared to be made for each other and Rosenior, a former striker himself with the likes of Fulham, QPR and West Ham, took the pressure off him straight away by saying he wasn't there to replace Graham.
Akinfenwa found himself joining a roster of strikers that included Martin Gritton and Jo Kuffour, who would also be a teammate of his at Gillingham later in his career, and he found himself in the Gulls' starting line-up on the opening day of the season against Bristol City, which United drew 1-1 with Steve Woods converting from the penalty spot after Akinfenwa had been fouled.
He opened his account for the Gulls in the LDV Vans Trophy first round in a 4-3 win over a Yeovil Town side managed by current United manager Gary Johnson, who would also manage Akinfenwa briefly at Northampton Town, on September 28, 2004. Akinfenwa netted a brace and was also sent off after scoring what proved to be the winning goal in the 116th minute and received a second yellow card for sitting in a seat in a sparsely populated Family Stand.
A goal against his former club Doncaster Rovers followed on October 16, 2004 and a second half brace against Swindon Town completed a memorable comeback against the Robins at the County Ground, as the Gulls came from behind to draw 3-3.
From a personal point of view one of Akinfenwa's best performances came in a 4-1 defeat away to Tranmere Rovers on January 3, 2005. In the absence of Alex Russell and record signing Leon Constantine, Akinfenwa stepped up to the plate and was instrumental in taking the game to a Rovers' side that included former Liverpool and Republic of Ireland midfielder Jason McAteer and former Gulls midfielder and one-time Jamaica international Paul Hall. His goal brought the Gulls level at 1-1 before they eventually went down 4-1.
Akinfenwa would eventually finish the season with 16 goals to his name, which included five in United's final eight games as they were agonisingly relegated on goal difference - despite four of their final five fixtures. This run included wins over MK Dons and Oldham Athletic, who both finished directly above the drop zone and stayed up at the Gulls' expense.
Despite winning the club's player of the year award for the 2004-05 campaign, Akinfenwa decided that his future lay elsewhere from Plainmoor and, after much protracted transfer speculation, he finally agreed a move to Swansea City, which ensured that he would remain in League One.
Akinfenwa would remain with the Swans for two years and after brief spells with Yeovil Town and Millwall he went to appear for Northampton Town (twice), Gillingham (twice), AFC Wimbledon before signing for his current club Wycombe Wanderers in 2016.
Since joining the Chairboys Akinfenwa has now won two promotions with them, as they followed up their automatic promotion from League Two in the 2017-18 season with their play-off success in League One in the current campaign.
And the age of 38 few would begrudge him one last dance in the Championship when the 2020-21 season finally gets underway.
