THE FINAL COUNTDOWN BEGINS…………………………………..
Three wins for play offs, five for promotion, six for the championship, who knows? In seven short weeks, we all will.
The fate of this extraordinary season is in the teams hands, a team that, under the brilliant management of Steve Tilson and Paul Brush, have exceeded all expectations.
A team that has entertained and fought as hard as any in the history of the club, coming back from, at least, three dodgy spells, but from the second half at Chesterfield have decided to take matter into their own hands and have opened a six point gap at the top and a very healthy 19 points over the 8th place club.
Let’s take a look at the chequered history of the MK Dons, a team we certainly owe one, but are alone in the anger they bring out in opposition supporters. (And as won who paid a few trips to Plough Lane, a 1-4 defeat in the League Cup on a cold Tuesday night anyone, I believe what went on at Wimbledon was shameful in the extreme.)
Milton Keynes Dons F.C. is a football club in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It has been based there since 2003, and is a continuation of Wimbledon F.C., which had been based in south London. However, most of that club's original fans no longer support it since the move, and have instead founded their own club, AFC Wimbledon.
History
The history of the MK Dons begins in the late 1990s with Pete Winkelman, a music entrepreneur and avid promoter of
However, Winkelman saw an opportunity build a FIFA-compliant new stadium complex, as part of a large commercial development that included Asda and IKEA superstores, and near a mainline railway station. This was probably the last remaining site in the city that fitted the bill: if this opportunity were lost, there would not be another. It was unlikely he could persuade the backers to fund such a stadium for what was at the time a poorly-supported non-league team. Instead, he planned to bring in a professional club from another city.
Since 1998, Winkelman had been approaching other clubs that were struggling financially, including Barnet F.C., Luton Town F.C. and Queens Park Rangers F.C., but all had rejected his advances. However, in Wimbledon F.C., itself looking for a new home after years out of
During the 2003/2004 season, the club was being managed by the Administrators and many of the team's best players were being sold off. At the end of a very poor season, the club were relegated to League One. During the summer of 2003, Winkelman helped finance the National Hockey Stadium's conversion for football. In September 2003, Wimbledon F.C. moved into the National Hockey Stadium in
Change of name
In June 2004, despite the Football Association's "Independent Commission" recommendations, Winkelman announced that Wimbledon would change its name to Milton Keynes Dons, having previously promised fans a vote on the issue; the committee of the official supporters' club had voted unanimously for the word "
Supporters club recognition
On 5 June 2005, the MK Dons Supporters Club was again refused membership of the national Football Supporters' Federation (FSF), by 98 votes to 44. However, an informal indication was given that the FSF might be less hostile (though not necessarily favourable) if two conditions were met — although meeting them is not within the MK supporters' power, they might be able to influence the Board:
If the honours and history of Wimbledon FC are given back to the town of
The Football Association amend their rules to prohibit clubs being moved out of their natural Community ("Franchising") (That said, the Football Association have stated that this was a "One-off" and that it would not be allowed to happen again).
New stadium
In February 2005, the club's contractors started work on a new stadium and arena complex at Denbigh North near Bletchley railway station (map). The complex will combine an (initially2) 22,000 seat outdoor stadium with a 5,000 seat indoor arena, where the MK Lions basketball team will be based. The stadium, designed to UEFA's Four Star specification, is due to be completed by December 2006, though the date of its official opening has yet to be decided.
Training Ground
The club currently uses the public sports facilities at Woughton on the Green for training. The club's academy sides also play their home games here. During the 2005 close season a new plastic-covered artificial training pitch nicknamed 'the bubble' was constructed. The club put forward a bid to redevelop the National Bowl as a future state-of-the-art training facility, but lost out to a competing bid.
The club spent most of 2004–05 in the relegation zone; Stuart Murdoch was dismissed in November after a string of bad results. He was replaced by former Bristol City manager Danny Wilson, who was given the sole aim to save the team from relegation.
2005/2006 season
Their 2005/2006 season began slowly, with six draws and four losses before their first win. A sequence of wins took them to mid table briefly before sliding down again. At the halfway point (after 23 games) they were again in the relegation zone, third from bottom.
Pos'n | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
24 | 35 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 33 | 41 | 34 |
In the League Cup, they went down in the first round to Norwich City F.C. In the LDV Vans Trophy, they went down 2–1 in the third round to Colchester United F.C.. In the FA Cup, the also reached the third round, going down 4–3 to Southampton F.C..
Shrimper Fans Info
Away fans are normally located at one end of the ground, in the West Stand, where up to 2,300 fans can be housed. If demand requires it, then the North Stand can also be allocated to away supporters, further increasing the allocation by another 1,000. The West Stand has the feel of a temporary stand rather than a permanent structure, with lots of scaffolding and corrugated sheeting in evidence. There is a walkway running under the stand for its full width and if you do walk along it, you really see how the stand seems to have been bolted together, rather than being built as a permanent structure. This stand is all seated and is open to the elements so hope that it doesn't rain.
Entrance to the ground is by ticket only, so away supporters arriving without tickets need to first purchase one from the small ticket office located at the South West corner of the stadium (at one side of the Main Stand going towards the away end). Please also note that the stadium is a no smoking one.
By car you leave the M1 at Junction 14 and take the A509 towards
The stadium is over on the right. If you do happen get lost, follow the signs for the railway station, as the stadium is located close to it. There is plenty of pay and display car parking around the stadium. This is mostly £1 for five hours immediately behind the home end, but other parking areas can cost as much as £5 for the same period (these areas are indicated by red markings on the roads around the car park bays, so check carefully). For evening games the pay and display areas are normally free of charge after 6pm. Conrad Arnold adds; 'across from the Main Stand is a Car Park which is free all day on Saturday and is accessible from the V6 road and is called Grafton Gate Car Park'.
Milton Keynes Central train station is only a few minutes walk away from the stadium. As you come out the station entrance turn left and the stadium is situated just behind the office block located in front of you.
As for a beer the local Police will helpfully point away fans in the direction of a bar called Shout which has been designated as an away fans pub. It is only a five minute walk away from the stadium, being located above the bus station, which is just in front and to the right of the railway station. Although it was fairly easy to get served in Shout, the venue is more suited to being a night club and for me it was a bit soulless. A better bet if you arrive a bit earlier is to make the slightly further walk to the Wetherspoons located behind Abbey's head office. I stress arriving earlier as this pub gets extremely busy in the hour prior to kick off time. It's located just up Midsummer Boulevard (the road going up from the railway station towards the central shopping area).
Behind the East Stand across the dual carriageway is located a Staples and a Travelodge. If you look over the road to the right of these you will see a large red bricked office block which is the Abbey head office. The Wetherspoons is located one block behind this building. Further up Midsummer Boulevard on the right is another Wetherspoons outlet called the 'Secklow Hundred', plus a Bar Med, and 'All Bar One'. These latter three pubs are about a ten minute walk away. A couple of minutes walk away behind the North Stand is a McDonalds and a Burger King outlet.
Official Programme - £2.50.
Bucks Fizz Fanzine - £2.
So there you have it, top v bottom, easy. If only life, and sport, were like that. Expect a tough game from the Dons, manager Murphy is no mug, he will have them up for this one, but with Freddie in the form of his life, I see nothing less than a 2-0 win. Enjoy the match, sing your hearts out and lets get out of this division by Easter! What is it about promotion and playing northern teams away that start with a B?
Chris Daniels