Mronelung you continue to spout the same nonsense regarding the real Wimbledon, they were a small team in a small catchment area and had a low average attendance. So what, why does that mean the FA and the scum behind MK Dons should be allowed to move a club 70 miles north? In a counter to your pointless posts how many supporters do MK Dons actually have? I doubt there is much difference between the two, should the club now be relocated again?
It was never the case that Wimbledon fans didnt turn up, they just didnt have many. The club grew from a non league southern side to a Premier league club very quickly (in relative terms) and it was only in the 1990's and 2000's the younger generations started to support them. Plough lane was a very small ground and like us were forced to leave due to the fact it was falling down.
Merton council have now agreed that Wimbledon should move back to Merton and the site of the dog track is most likely. I wish them all the best in the future.
Sam Hamman didnt get his wish of keeping Wimbledon out of Merton!
I have been looking forward to this fixture ever since AFC Wimbledon started. I hope that the AFC fans go in their thousands.
Unlike when they were plain old Wimbledon. If they had turned up in their thousands would never have needed to move in first place.
as someone once sang - 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone'
That's not right. It's not as if they had thousands of supporters sitting at home not bothering to go - it was a small club, non-league as recently as the late seventies, which didn't have a large enough supporter base to sustain a club that didn't have it's own ground.
MK franchise boss Karl Robinson thinks its ok as "AFC Wimbledon were formed before MK Dons"
WTF is this man on? Everyone connected with that club is utterly clueless and without shame over what's been done.
Technically he's right. MK Dons were formed AFTER AFC Wimbledon.
He's still an idiot though.
I think to be accurate the club was RENAMED after AFC Wimbledon were formed, but the FA Commission sanctioned the franchise much earlier. Extract from an excellent article: (here)
1) AFC Wimbledon was formed after the FA Commission decision was announced. The FA Commission decision was legally binding and there was no right of appeal. The fact it took the new entity two years to limp up the motorway and change its name is neither here nor there. To claim otherwise is disingenuous sophistry.
Those few who think MK Dons = Wimbledon should ask themselves, what if it was us? What if Winkelman had got to us instead, effectively closed us down and formed a new club 2 hours away using our Football League share? Would we think MK Valiants was still Charlton?
For the record, Wimbledon's FA Cup win is officially part of AFC Wimbledon's history, not MK Dons.
Mronelung you continue to spout the same nonsense regarding the real Wimbledon, they were a small team in a small catchment area and had a low average attendance. So what, why does that mean the FA and the scum behind MK Dons should be allowed to move a club 70 miles north? In a counter to your pointless posts how many supporters do MK Dons actually have? I doubt there is much difference between the two, should the club now be relocated again?
It was never the case that Wimbledon fans didnt turn up, they just didnt have many. The club grew from a non league southern side to a Premier league club very quickly (in relative terms) and it was only in the 1990's and 2000's the younger generations started to support them. Plough lane was a very small ground and like us were forced to leave due to the fact it was falling down.
Merton council have now agreed that Wimbledon should move back to Merton and the site of the dog track is most likely. I wish them all the best in the future.
Sam Hamman didnt get his wish of keeping Wimbledon out of Merton!
I apologise for having different view to you spouting nonsense.
I still cant get my head around how some people think it is better to have a club fold completely than move 50 miles to try and save them. Obviously in an ideal world, they wouldnt have to move but the fact is they did.
Lasy year someone posted about AFC's treatment of Kingstonian so it is not like AFC are the moral guardians of the game - many non league clubs were happy to be rid of them as they went up the leagues.
I have been looking forward to this fixture ever since AFC Wimbledon started. I hope that the AFC fans go in their thousands.
Unlike when they were plain old Wimbledon. If they had turned up in their thousands would never have needed to move in first place.
as someone once sang - 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone'
Jeez, you really have got a bee in your bonnet about this.
The comparisons between us at The Valley and the Wimbledon at Plough Lane are way too close for comfort. Our support had dwindled to the low thousands and that (and the East Terrace deterioration) was used as an excuse to move to Selhurst and allow talk of a merger with Palace.
We were fortunate to have a slightly larger fanbase - at that stage - than Wimbledon did when they reached their depth a few years later and to have a set of owners committed to getting back to The Valley. Crucially, the Wimbledon fans never had that committment from their owners, although it should be recognised that the fans were as committed as we were to getting back to their borough, if not their old ground.
They are/were a smaller club than us, but they certainly punched above their weight (literally sometimes). The fans knew/know that...they have a level of core support who were sold out by their owners and the FA.
Mronelung, sorry if i took it too far, of course you have the right to your own view and i am sorry for how i started my last post.
I just dont see that the owners of MK were ever trying to save the club, they did nothing to try and get the club back to Merton and claimed that they did. Merton council have denied they ever received planning applications from them or from Sam Hamman (who started all of this).
Mronelung you continue to spout the same nonsense regarding the real Wimbledon, they were a small team in a small catchment area and had a low average attendance. So what, why does that mean the FA and the scum behind MK Dons should be allowed to move a club 70 miles north? In a counter to your pointless posts how many supporters do MK Dons actually have? I doubt there is much difference between the two, should the club now be relocated again?
It was never the case that Wimbledon fans didnt turn up, they just didnt have many. The club grew from a non league southern side to a Premier league club very quickly (in relative terms) and it was only in the 1990's and 2000's the younger generations started to support them. Plough lane was a very small ground and like us were forced to leave due to the fact it was falling down.
Merton council have now agreed that Wimbledon should move back to Merton and the site of the dog track is most likely. I wish them all the best in the future.
Sam Hamman didnt get his wish of keeping Wimbledon out of Merton!
I apologise for having different view to you spouting nonsense.
I still cant get my head around how some people think it is better to have a club fold completely than move 50 miles to try and save them. Obviously in an ideal world, they wouldnt have to move but the fact is they did.
Lasy year someone posted about AFC's treatment of Kingstonian so it is not like AFC are the moral guardians of the game - many non league clubs were happy to be rid of them as they went up the leagues.
You my friend are the reason Palace fans callus clowns.....YOU CLOWN!
Mronelung you continue to spout the same nonsense regarding the real Wimbledon, they were a small team in a small catchment area and had a low average attendance. So what, why does that mean the FA and the scum behind MK Dons should be allowed to move a club 70 miles north? In a counter to your pointless posts how many supporters do MK Dons actually have? I doubt there is much difference between the two, should the club now be relocated again?
It was never the case that Wimbledon fans didnt turn up, they just didnt have many. The club grew from a non league southern side to a Premier league club very quickly (in relative terms) and it was only in the 1990's and 2000's the younger generations started to support them. Plough lane was a very small ground and like us were forced to leave due to the fact it was falling down.
Merton council have now agreed that Wimbledon should move back to Merton and the site of the dog track is most likely. I wish them all the best in the future.
Sam Hamman didnt get his wish of keeping Wimbledon out of Merton!
I apologise for having different view to you spouting nonsense.
I still cant get my head around how some people think it is better to have a club fold completely than move 50 miles to try and save them. Obviously in an ideal world, they wouldnt have to move but the fact is they did.
Lasy year someone posted about AFC's treatment of Kingstonian so it is not like AFC are the moral guardians of the game - many non league clubs were happy to be rid of them as they went up the leagues.
You my friend are the reason Palace fans callus clowns.....YOU CLOWN!
I think you will find that you look the clown for insulting someone who has an opinion .
The fantastic stadium that AFC will get to visit represents what can be achieved in football with the right level of dedication, knowledge and investment
Pete Winkelman and everyone connected to the club should hold their heads high at what they have achieved in the last eight years, but they should also leave the mudslinging to others. Robinson often talks about ‘class’ when it comes to matters on the pitch, and in this instance, it’s men against boys.
The fantastic stadium that AFC will get to visit represents what can be achieved in football with the right level of dedication, knowledge and investment.
Quick question if are owners decided they wanted to move Charlton to Kent to take advantage of us being the only bigger club in the county how would people feel, i personally would fight every inch despite the fact i was born in kent and most of my family still live there, if the people who have no issue with Franchise Utd would have no issue with us doing this move then i can respect that even if i disagree, as an aside number of fans is meaningless, a club with 50 fans has as much right to not have there club stolen as a club with 50,000 fans.
Lasy year someone posted about AFC's treatment of Kingstonian so it is not like AFC are the moral guardians of the game - many non league clubs were happy to be rid of them as they went up the leagues.
Then you might find this link of interest in correcting your view. Wimbledon didn't buy the lease to the ground until at least a year after Kingstonian had sold it themselves. And the article linked is the horse's mouth, the guy who set up the Kingstonian supporter's trust and watched it all happen.
Interestingly Winkelman was on TalkSport earlier. Might be crocodile tears of course, but he stated that he regretted what he'd done in the sense that he didn't then understand the intrinsic link between supporters and their club, and said he wouldn't do the same thing today.
He wasn't repentant of creating MK Dons, of course, and declined to drop the 'Dons' from the name when challenged to do so by AFC Wimbledon's chairman. Same argument about respecting the fans' emotional investment in the club. Frankly I doubt they've got more than a handful of Wimbledon's original supporters left so I'm not sure what that means.
Mronelung you continue to spout the same nonsense regarding the real Wimbledon, they were a small team in a small catchment area and had a low average attendance. So what, why does that mean the FA and the scum behind MK Dons should be allowed to move a club 70 miles north? In a counter to your pointless posts how many supporters do MK Dons actually have? I doubt there is much difference between the two, should the club now be relocated again?
It was never the case that Wimbledon fans didnt turn up, they just didnt have many. The club grew from a non league southern side to a Premier league club very quickly (in relative terms) and it was only in the 1990's and 2000's the younger generations started to support them. Plough lane was a very small ground and like us were forced to leave due to the fact it was falling down.
Merton council have now agreed that Wimbledon should move back to Merton and the site of the dog track is most likely. I wish them all the best in the future.
Sam Hamman didnt get his wish of keeping Wimbledon out of Merton!
I apologise for having different view to you spouting nonsense.
I still cant get my head around how some people think it is better to have a club fold completely than move 50 miles to try and save them. Obviously in an ideal world, they wouldnt have to move but the fact is they did.
Lasy year someone posted about AFC's treatment of Kingstonian so it is not like AFC are the moral guardians of the game - many non league clubs were happy to be rid of them as they went up the leagues.
You my friend are the reason Palace fans callus clowns.....YOU CLOWN!
I think you will find that you look the clown for insulting someone who has an opinion .
So says the biggest clown of all.
I tell you what Beds as you love them so much and live so close why don't you go watch them instead.
Lasy year someone posted about AFC's treatment of Kingstonian so it is not like AFC are the moral guardians of the game - many non league clubs were happy to be rid of them as they went up the leagues.
Then you might find this link of interest in correcting your view. Wimbledon didn't buy the lease to the ground until at least a year after Kingstonian had sold it themselves. And the article linked is the horse's mouth, the guy who set up the Kingstonian supporter's trust and watched it all happen.
Interestingly Winkelman was on TalkSport earlier. Might be crocodile tears of course, but he stated that he regretted what he'd done in the sense that he didn't then understand the intrinsic link between supporters and their club, and said he wouldn't do the same thing today.
He only regrets it as he thought by now they'd be in the prem with big crowds earning him loads of money instead they've cost him bundles. I hope it bankrupts him.
Lasy year someone posted about AFC's treatment of Kingstonian so it is not like AFC are the moral guardians of the game - many non league clubs were happy to be rid of them as they went up the leagues.
Then you might find this link of interest in correcting your view. Wimbledon didn't buy the lease to the ground until at least a year after Kingstonian had sold it themselves. And the article linked is the horse's mouth, the guy who set up the Kingstonian supporter's trust and watched it all happen.
Interestingly Winkelman was on TalkSport earlier. Might be crocodile tears of course, but he stated that he regretted what he'd done in the sense that he didn't then understand the intrinsic link between supporters and their club, and said he wouldn't do the same thing today.
He wasn't repentant of creating MK Dons, of course, and declined to drop the 'Dons' from the name when challenged to do so by AFC Wimbledon's chairman. Same argument about respecting the fans' emotional investment in the club. Frankly I doubt they've got more than a handful of Wimbledon's original supporters left so I'm not sure what that means.
Thanks for that link Rikofold - interesting reading from someone that closely involved. Like I said, recalled someone on here a year or so ago posting that non league clubs didnt like AFC.
I do stand by my comment that I dont think it would have been better to let Wimbledon fold than to relocate to MK. Some club must be better than no club. Obviously even that opinion is enough to be villified by some on here.
I do stand by my comment that I dont think it would have been better to let Wimbledon fold than to relocate to MK. Some club must be better than no club. Obviously even that opinion is enough to be villified by some on here.
Surely if the club had folded, then the fans would have formed AFC Wimbledon anyway and we'd be where we are today but without MK Dons existing. Which would be a far better scenario in my opinion. The original club would be dead, but at least Milton Keynes wouldn't have robbed their grave.
About MK Dons dropping the 'Dons' part of their name - surely if they are a completely new club, unrelated to the old Wimbledon, they can call themselves whatever they like? AFC Wimbledon have no right to insist it be changed.
Well considering the term "Dons" derives from "Wimble-DON", I do find it odd that they wanted to keep that part of the name going. As a nickname, it actually means F-all to Milton Keynes.
Comments
I'd be amazed if that's the case
It was never the case that Wimbledon fans didnt turn up, they just didnt have many. The club grew from a non league southern side to a Premier league club very quickly (in relative terms) and it was only in the 1990's and 2000's the younger generations started to support them. Plough lane was a very small ground and like us were forced to leave due to the fact it was falling down.
Merton council have now agreed that Wimbledon should move back to Merton and the site of the dog track is most likely. I wish them all the best in the future.
Sam Hamman didnt get his wish of keeping Wimbledon out of Merton!
1) AFC Wimbledon was formed after the FA Commission decision was announced. The FA Commission decision was legally binding and there was no right of appeal. The fact it took the new entity two years to limp up the motorway and change its name is neither here nor there. To claim otherwise is disingenuous sophistry.
This is worth a read too.
Those few who think MK Dons = Wimbledon should ask themselves, what if it was us? What if Winkelman had got to us instead, effectively closed us down and formed a new club 2 hours away using our Football League share? Would we think MK Valiants was still Charlton?
For the record, Wimbledon's FA Cup win is officially part of AFC Wimbledon's history, not MK Dons.
having different view to youspouting nonsense.I still cant get my head around how some people think it is better to have a club fold completely than move 50 miles to try and save them.
Obviously in an ideal world, they wouldnt have to move but the fact is they did.
Lasy year someone posted about AFC's treatment of Kingstonian so it is not like AFC are the moral guardians of the game - many non league clubs were happy to be rid of them as they went up the leagues.
The comparisons between us at The Valley and the Wimbledon at Plough Lane are way too close for comfort. Our support had dwindled to the low thousands and that (and the East Terrace deterioration) was used as an excuse to move to Selhurst and allow talk of a merger with Palace.
We were fortunate to have a slightly larger fanbase - at that stage - than Wimbledon did when they reached their depth a few years later and to have a set of owners committed to getting back to The Valley. Crucially, the Wimbledon fans never had that committment from their owners, although it should be recognised that the fans were as committed as we were to getting back to their borough, if not their old ground.
They are/were a smaller club than us, but they certainly punched above their weight (literally sometimes). The fans knew/know that...they have a level of core support who were sold out by their owners and the FA.
I just dont see that the owners of MK were ever trying to save the club, they did nothing to try and get the club back to Merton and claimed that they did. Merton council have denied they ever received planning applications from them or from Sam Hamman (who started all of this).
to put it more frankly, opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one, some stink more then others.
Are you a season ticket holder? No
Are you a member? No
Do you live in the area? No
OK, we only have 28,000 tickets available to you, how many do you want?
The fantastic stadium that AFC will get to visit represents what can be achieved in football with the right level of dedication, knowledge and investment.
proper wankers
Whose opinion am I meant to blindly follow?
Perhaps I should ask Siri.
Interestingly Winkelman was on TalkSport earlier. Might be crocodile tears of course, but he stated that he regretted what he'd done in the sense that he didn't then understand the intrinsic link between supporters and their club, and said he wouldn't do the same thing today.
He wasn't repentant of creating MK Dons, of course, and declined to drop the 'Dons' from the name when challenged to do so by AFC Wimbledon's chairman. Same argument about respecting the fans' emotional investment in the club. Frankly I doubt they've got more than a handful of Wimbledon's original supporters left so I'm not sure what that means.
I tell you what Beds as you love them so much and live so close why don't you go watch them instead.
Like I said, recalled someone on here a year or so ago posting that non league clubs didnt like AFC.
I do stand by my comment that I dont think it would have been better to let Wimbledon fold than to relocate to MK. Some club must be better than no club. Obviously even that opinion is enough to be villified by some on here.