30-12-2014, 13:29
Milton Keynes Dons are every fan's favourite example of a team that shouldn't exist - The Grinch that stole Wimbledon; Franchise FC. Isn't it time someone put a case for the defence?
The old Wimbledon done great. From nowhere to cup winners. From nowhere to a team feared by the best. Their football may not have been a samba to satisfy Len Goodman, but supposedly top teams could always count on having any weakness exploited by the Dons.
Being uprooted seemed like a tragedy, but apparently dead land did really breed lilacs .... twice. The spirit of Wimbledon lived on in their fans who started again and founded a club that has already consolidated its position in Division 2. And the concrete city of the hollow men, empty of soul and football history has responded to its transplanted team, is delivering decent support and finds itself watching almost the football antithesis of the old crazy gang.
Wherever MKD get they are doing it by playing football people want to see. They are scoring goals. They run on a tight budget. Their squad is small yet on Saturday they lost a league game for the first time since September. Despite the disappointment of being walloped by Walsall, their manager Karl Robinson didn't react by berating all and sundry, blaming his players and the ref'. He just started picking up the pieces, congratulated Walsall and looked to the future - exactly as he did when MKD suffered a shock, but merely temporary, defeat by my club Chesterfield in the FA Cup.
Whatever regrets linger behind the forceps birth of Milton Keynes Dons it's time to appreciate what has been created. A city has a team, and it's an admirable one. When it might have chosen to press to have Chesterfield thrown out of the Cup both club and manager chose to come out in favour of Chesterfield. They thought the best team on the day won!
How excellent is that for sport? I hope we have the manners to thank them.
Come Friday the game has to be replayed with the unforgettable prize of a trip to Scunthorpe for the winners. If, as I suspect, that is MKD, let's hope it doesn't de-rail their promotion bandwagon. If they can survive the January window and none of the big teams is bright enough to make Mr Robinson an offer he can't refuse, maybe we can see how they fare in The Championship. I'd love it, and what would be even better would be AFC Wimbledon latching on to the tail of the Division 2 promotion race too. The birth of the Dons was a gynaecologist's nightmare, a textbook for midwives to burn, but that illegitimate child might just be about to come top of the class .....
The old Wimbledon done great. From nowhere to cup winners. From nowhere to a team feared by the best. Their football may not have been a samba to satisfy Len Goodman, but supposedly top teams could always count on having any weakness exploited by the Dons.
Being uprooted seemed like a tragedy, but apparently dead land did really breed lilacs .... twice. The spirit of Wimbledon lived on in their fans who started again and founded a club that has already consolidated its position in Division 2. And the concrete city of the hollow men, empty of soul and football history has responded to its transplanted team, is delivering decent support and finds itself watching almost the football antithesis of the old crazy gang.
Wherever MKD get they are doing it by playing football people want to see. They are scoring goals. They run on a tight budget. Their squad is small yet on Saturday they lost a league game for the first time since September. Despite the disappointment of being walloped by Walsall, their manager Karl Robinson didn't react by berating all and sundry, blaming his players and the ref'. He just started picking up the pieces, congratulated Walsall and looked to the future - exactly as he did when MKD suffered a shock, but merely temporary, defeat by my club Chesterfield in the FA Cup.
Whatever regrets linger behind the forceps birth of Milton Keynes Dons it's time to appreciate what has been created. A city has a team, and it's an admirable one. When it might have chosen to press to have Chesterfield thrown out of the Cup both club and manager chose to come out in favour of Chesterfield. They thought the best team on the day won!
How excellent is that for sport? I hope we have the manners to thank them.
Come Friday the game has to be replayed with the unforgettable prize of a trip to Scunthorpe for the winners. If, as I suspect, that is MKD, let's hope it doesn't de-rail their promotion bandwagon. If they can survive the January window and none of the big teams is bright enough to make Mr Robinson an offer he can't refuse, maybe we can see how they fare in The Championship. I'd love it, and what would be even better would be AFC Wimbledon latching on to the tail of the Division 2 promotion race too. The birth of the Dons was a gynaecologist's nightmare, a textbook for midwives to burn, but that illegitimate child might just be about to come top of the class .....
