Have MK Dons been proved right?

[Tooting Gull]

I'm sure we all remember the origins of this club, and the franchise controversy. Brighton fans were probably at the forefront supporting AFC.

But the MK Dons now have the stadium (almost), the fans (13,000 for a live game in League Two, twice what we get) and the big-name manager. Have they won?

 

[NMH]

I'm sure we all remember the origins of this club, and the franchise controversy. Brighton fans were probably at the forefront supporting AFC.

But the MK Dons now have the stadium (almost), the fans (13,000 for a live game in League Two, twice what we get) and the big-name manager. Have they won?

Basically, yes they've 'won'. You cannot blame them for wanting a football team, you cannot blame anyone for fighting the way it was done or Wimbledon FC fans for being angry - and as usual, you can blame the 'authority' that enabled the way it was done. They, amazingly, won't give a shit because they'll see it as one of their 'successes'.

 

[beorhthelm]

who?

 

[perth seagull]

What happened was wrong and should not have been allowed to happen. This is regardless of how successful MK Dons become, even though I am sure one day people will forget about this.

 

[Superphil]

Basically, yes they've 'won'. You cannot blame them for wanting a football team, you cannot blame anyone for fighting the way it was done or Wimbledon FC fans for being angry - and as usual, you can blame the 'authority' that enabled the way it was done. They, amazingly, won't give a shit because they'll see it as one of their 'successes'.

That just about sums it up, FA did f*** All to protect the interests of the fans, but now can argue they were right to have allowed what happended to happen.

Thank goodness we had DK, who stood by the Albion, through some pretty shit times, got us back to Brighton and will now deliver a new stadium, in our City, not one 50 odd miles away.

 

[Tooting Gull]

I suppose as well as the question itself, what is lying behind it is this: What's happened is not exactly going to stop anyone else trying the same thing. Pick a club with a very small fan base and move it to somwehere with potentially a bigger fan base.

Must admit, I don't know exactly how many other 'big towns' there are without league clubs.

 

[Dave the OAP]

That just about sums it up, FA did f*** All to protect the interests of the fans, but now can argue they were right to have allowed what happended to happen.

Thank goodness we had DK, who stood by the Albion, through some pretty shit times, got us back to Brighton and will now deliver a new stadium, in our City, not one 50 odd miles away.

but if Merton Council had allowed Wimbledon to come back and redevelop the ground then there would have been no need for AFC

 

[Superphil]

I suppose as well as the question itself, what is lying behind it is this: What's happened is not exactly going to stop anyone else trying the same thing. Pick a club with a very small fan base and move it to somwehere with potentially a bigger fan base.

Must admit, I don't know exactly how many other 'big towns' there are without league clubs.

I always wondered about the Kingston/Woking/Guildford/Basingstoke sort of corridor, no footie clubs there (Aldershot may come back one day) a huge catchment area, and wealthy too, I don't understand why Koppell didn't move the Dons that way a bit.

 

[Il Duce]

I think that the way it happened was completely wrong. But the way things are now, with MK having a professional team and AFC Wimbledon being a well supported non league side progressing up the ladder, is not too bad an outcome. I think we should be grateful for the support DK has given the club. People moan about the lack of investment in the club, but who is offering to come up with alternative, serious investment?

 

[Badger]

If AFC Wimbledon break in to the league then I think it will be a fair outcome. It's just a shame MK couldn't have come up from non-league rather than stealing a club from London.

 

[Scotty Mac]

Must admit, I don't know exactly how many other 'big towns' there are without league clubs.

there is nothing down in cornwall, or north of blackpool to carlisle

 

[Southover Street Seagull]

If AFC Wimbledon break in to the league then I think it will be a fair outcome. It's just a shame MK couldn't have come up from non-league rather than stealing a club from London.

That is my view on the saga. If Winkelman had wanted a team in Milton Keynes, why did he not invest in the the local team Milton Keynes FC ande get them up through the non-league pyramid?
He saw an oppurtunity and exploited it, the FA were the ones really at fault for letting the move happen in the first place. But you also have to look at Merton Council too, they weren't very helpful to Wimbledon from memory either.

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

nothing north of blackpool to carlisle

Ahem! Kendal Town of the unibond premier league

Giants of the Netherfield!

 

[trueblue]

It won't happen again if the League are to be believed, because they maintain that no club is allowed to move away from its conurbation (even we had to pay a bond pledging to return to Brighton when we were at Gillingham).

Wimbledon's move was only approved because they had been playing out of their own borough for so long that it was considered the break had already been made.

 

[Simster]

but if Merton Council had allowed Wimbledon to come back and redevelop the ground then there would have been no need for AFC

They bent over backwards. I think you'll find Sam Hammam lied to the fans about what he was doing.

Anyway, yes MK Dons have won - it doesn't make it right though. It wasn't fair on Wimbledon's small band of loyal supporters, and it wasn't fair on Northampton Town,. Oxford United or Luton Town fans either - all of whom now have to compete with a club sporting a new 25k stadium for new fans.

 

[Brian Potter]

there is nothing down in cornwall, or north of blackpool to carlisle

Morcambe?

 

[Simster]

there is nothing down in cornwall, or north of blackpool to carlisle

Truro Town are spending a fortune in an attempt to capture Cornish support. They've even changed their colours to gold and black which are Cornish colours in an effort to rebrand themselves.

And before anyone laughs at them for doing this, I do think that bankrolling a club from the lower reaches and changing their colours is far fairer than the sort of horseshit that MK Dons were able to get away with.

 

[Pavilionaire]

MK Dons HAVE won, but I don't think Albion fans should feel too upset about it.

Yes, the whole relocation business was shabby, underhand and sold the Wimbledon fans down the river, but I made the point at that time that MK is a huge town and it was a great opportunity for football fans in that community to have a proper team to support with decent facilities. They've proved that they're prepared to turn up in numbers, so fair play to them.

However they will always be known as Franchise FC for the rest of their history. Every club has a culture and a set of standards, and theirs is shallow. I even heard one of their players interviewed describing them as a "new club", in which case why are they still called "The Dons"? Is this player familiar with the old Wimbledon?

Now there was a club who should go down if football history for (mostly) the right reasons, yet they seem to have been already erased in the eyes of the current team.

 

[Dave the OAP]

They bent over backwards. I think you'll find Sam Hammam lied to the fans about what he was doing.

Anyway, yes MK Dons have won - it doesn't make it right though. It wasn't fair on Wimbledon's small band of loyal supporters, and it wasn't fair on Northampton Town,. Oxford United or Luton Town fans either - all of whom now have to compete with a club sporting a new 25k stadium for new fans.

I stand corrected. the AFC bloke at work reconed there was no support from Merton to come back to Plough lane.

 

[Superphil]

Truro Town are spending a fortune in an attempt to capture Cornish support. QUOTE]

Is it not Truro City?