Fans group to involve FIFA in MK Dons row
Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association have claimed that they are ready to take their battle against Milton Keynes being used as World Cup venue to FIFA.
Fans of Wimbledon are dismayed that the FA chose the controversial Milton Keynes host city bid to be a part of the England 2018 World Cup campaign.
Simon Wheeler, chairman of WISA, wrote an open letter to Lord Triesman, Andy Anson and FA chief executive Ian Watmore conveying the organisation’s disappointment at the choice of MK Don’s stadium for potential World Cup use.
In his original letter, Wheeler stated: “WISA remains mystified as to why the Football Association has once again decided to so publicly punish Wimbledon supporters, renewing the hurt and pain caused by the shameful decision of the Football Association Commission to allow Wimbledon FC to relocate to Milton Keynes, a decision which at the time seemed certain to destroy another community’s football club.”
However, the organisation has yet to receive a postive reply from the FA and is looking at potentially taking the matter further.
Wheeler said: “We’ve written to the FA and if we don’t receive a response in due course, we will be following it up. Wimbledon supporters camped outside their offices for three weeks when we faced losing our club so we’re not averse to making sure our opinions are heard.
He added: “If our concerns aren’t addressed by the FA then we will be contacting Fifa. Having Milton Keynes on the list of venues has, I believe, damaged the credibility of the World Cup bid. Our supporters are deeply upset about this. The World Cup is supposed to be open to all but this choice will put a lot of Wimbledon fans off going to games. I can’t see many Wimbledon supporters travelling to Milton Keynes to watch matches.”
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“Fans of Wimbledon” are dismayed about the Milton Keynes world cup bid?
Are these by any chance the same so-called fans who regularly turned their back (literally!) to their own players at Selhurst Park when they were still Wimbledon FC?
Contrary to Mr Wheeler, chairman of that dinosaur called WISA, I can see quite a few of these characters traveling to MK, but not to watch the games, but simply to cause trouble, something they have shown to be very good at in the past.
Get real, you are fighting a losing battle.
Wimbledon FC as a club were finished, there only option for survival was to move to a place where they would get world class facilities and support from the local population.
MK Dons have also given back the trophies won buy Wimbledon so they can be successful in their own right.
The old Wimbledon fans should let it die they’re only jelous that the MK Dons are now a successful team and have facilities that are capable of hosting world class teams.
Wimbeldon Fans – Get Over it!! this bid isnt about MK Dons/Wimbeldon its about providing the best stadia/host cities to win england the WC Bid…so stop trying to F**k it up for all of us!
It appears that Mr Wheeler and WISA have broken the accord. That or they do not have an argument.
Is there grievance against a) Milton Keynes or b) MK Dons?
If a) then they have no argument as the bid was judged on the stadia, city and surrounding areas that will benefit and not on the MK Dons which Mr Wheeler is harping on about.
If b) then they have broken the accord which states that WISA should not hinder the success of the club.
So Mr Wheeler, you do not have an argument other than to use this platform to air your grievance about the decision made in 2002.
You should be ashamed sir, to have broken a gentleman’s agreement and for that, the world will (literally) see what cheap cynicle person you and your group really are.
Welcome to the world stage, now get off it!
The accord hasn’t been broken, it doesn’t state anywhere in the accord that WISA should not campaign about milton keynes hositng world cup games.
The WC bid will be stronger without Milton Keynes in the bid. They have nothing of value that cant be provided elsewhere and its too close to London (less than an hour from Wembley). What ‘added value’ are MK bringing to the table? No sporting history, crap town. They have a snow zone, whoppee-do. The FA refuse to divulge the criteria they listed which makes you wonder exactly what MK won their place on. Probably a few brown envelopes and a sprinkling of ‘infectious enthusiasm’. I can’t see much else they have to shout about.
Horst – when have Wimbledon fans caused trouble? WFC fans were constantly praised for their good behaviour in the premier league and were also praised for the way protests were carried out over the Franchising of the club. Many other groups said they’d be a lot more militant, but Wimbledon fans conducted themselves in a very upright fashion (unlike their owners and Winkelman) despite the immense provocation of having your club torn away from it’s community to enable a supermarket to be built 70 odd miles away.
WFC were a going concern and in no worse a mess than many other FL clubs who continue to operate. Winkelman would have used exactly the same arguements if he got QPR, Barnet, or any off the other clubs he tried to attract before Wimbledon moved there. I don’t see Barnet or QPR being out of business, or any FL clubs for that matter.
I can’t even begin to describe the hurt and anger that I felt when MK was included in the bid. My previous excitement about the prospect of the World Cup maybe coming to England evaporated in a flash. If the most disgraceful episode of modern football history is really something that the football authorities think warrants being held up to the world as something to be proud of, then shame on them.
It’s down to the football authorities to realise how divisive the inclusion of this town is and remove them from the bid. Then we can concentrate, again, on ‘England united, the world invited’, rather than the disunity that their current choice has bred.
Your are mistaken, Messrs Bullinger et al, if you think that it is only Wimbledon fans who oppose the inclusion of Stadium MK in England’s World Cup bid. Here are just a few quotes from the press and football blogs which oppose and/or ridicule this sorry decision (not a Wimbledon fan among them, afaik):
Jim White, Daily Telegraph, 17 December 2009:
And now the 2018 bid committee have gifted Winkelman and MK that place in the football firmament he promised eight years ago. Meanwhile, in Wimbledon they must be looking on in astonishment at the glittering rewards of theft.
Barney Ronay, The Guardian, 16 December 2009:
Like all the chosen grounds, Stadium MK will be upgraded before the tournament, leading some to claim that the existence of a 40,000 super-stadium at a club that generally draws 8,500 fans might seem an act of grandiose – and expensive – pretension.
Dave Kidd, The People, 20 December 2009:
Well that’s clinched it, then. The right to stage the 2018 World Cup is surely in the bag now that the greats of the world game can strut their stuff at Milton Keynes, home of an illegitimate third-flight team, whose stadium is sometimes almost half-full.
Twohundredpercent blog:
The decision to include Milton Keynes into the end game of the selection process, however, will anger a good number of people – significantly, a good number of the people that make up the bread and butter of football supporters, who continue to regard the franchising of football to Milton Keynes as an abomination.
Chris Flanagan, Lancashire Daily Telegraph, 30 December 2009:
WHEN Burnley take on MK Dons in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, they will do so in a stadium that could yet host matches at the 2018 World Cup. It would be the validation of one of English football’s greatest sins.
…
Hosting the World Cup there would be an insult to the football fans of this country.
Chairman of Trust in Luton, Liam Day:
We are amazed that the Football Association have compounded their huge mistake of letting this Frankenstein club exist by then giving it ill-deserved credibility through involving them in the 2018 World Cup bid.
Quoted in Luton Today, 22 December 2009.
Editorial, When Saturday Comes, February 2010:
The uprooting of Wimbledon from South London to Buckinghamshire was the single most contentious decision made by English football administrators in modern times. It’s inconceivable that the 2018 bidding team could be unaware of the strong aversion that many football supporters feel for MK Dons and what they represent. So the decision to include Milton Keynes looks like an attempt to retrospectively justify the team’s creation, not least when the Midlands, a region representing one sixth of League clubs, only has two venues on the list.
One of the main selling points of England’s 2018 bid is the fact that there is deep-rooted interest in football at all levels throughout the country. Yet there was no such enthusiasm in Milton Keynes until they acquired a League club less than a decade ago, previous attempts to develop a team having foundered on local apathy.
Um, I shouldn’t normally worry, but I realise on reading the above that the first word should be “you” and not “your”.
Supermarket property developments shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a World Cup hosting bid supposedly based on history and tradition, England’s unique selling points.
Check out franchise’s accounts to see how “successful” they really are.
They have been hopelessly insolvent since moving to MK.
…its all very interesting but MK Dons wont be playing at the 2018 World Cup….the town/city as a WHOLE has been fully inspected and has impressed the inspectors more so than Hull and Derby etc. So ‘The City’ has been selected. The ‘MK Dons’ havnt been selected….Its The City that has been selected, because it offers international fans just what they want at a WC and in the eyes of the inspectors is an ideal setting. And they will happen to use the Stadium there because it is UEFA 4* and ideal as a WC venue. Yes MK is not proud of the Wimbeldon fiasco, but a lot of good has also come out of MK and families move to MK because it is a great peaceful city. So can everyone please stop banging on about MK Dons please!
And the city shouldn’t have it, because of their bastard club and stadium.
Honestly, if Milton Keynes had gone about acquiring football in the manner that is proscribed by the rules and regulations of the game (ie promotion), then nobody would have an issue. But Milton Keynes acquired it through franchising, a unique thing in the modern game. Milton Keynes collectively has to take the consequences that come as a result of that, and if Milton Keynes residents resent the criticism and hostility that comes their way as a result, then really the target of their ire should be their local council, which persistently, over a large number of years, encouraged the franchising.
You cannot divorce Milton Keynes being part of the bid from the MK Dons or stadium:MK – it’s like saying that you can have a cup of tea without water. The two are inextricably linked.
To “Row”:
“Its The City that has been selected, because it offers international fans just what they want at a WC”
- How do you know? Have you asked any foreign football fans what they want and if Milton Keynes offers it? Concrete cows? A very large supermarket? What else to set their pulses racing?
“and in the eyes of the inspectors is an ideal setting”
- The FIFA inspectors are the ones who have to be impressed.
“And they will happen to use the Stadium there because it is UEFA 4*”
- No, it isn’t. On page 10 of “UEFA Infrastructure Regulations 2006 Edition, it says an UEFA Elite stadium must “Provide at least 30,000 seats” and Stadium MK doesn’t. It isn’t finished yet and Winkelman can’t finish it without further funding. No wonder he wants it to be used as a World Cup stadium – someone else will pay to finish it.
“and ideal as a WC venue”
- How so? Where is its football history and heritage? It was built as a supermarket deal and is, according to a Burnley supporter, “the most soulless football ground it’s ever been my misfortune to visit”. How could it be anything else when it is the home of (in the words of a Luton supporter) “a Frankenstein club”?
I get sick of hearing how the move to Milton Keynes ’saved’ Wimbledon, how? What exactly did they save? History? No, colours? No, badge? No, location? Erm, no, name, erm, no again, aahh! The league place, if that is saving a club, then no thanks, in our eyes Wimbledon fc died in 2002, and ‘afc Wimbledon was a club born out of the ashes, in the same way as aldershot, accrington, Telford, maidstone and Newport. If Wimbledon fc had not been allowed to be franchised, Wimbledon may have died, then again maybe not, who knows, but if it had, an ‘afc wimbledonesque’ club would still be in existance, and Milton Keynes would not have a league club. So did Milton Keynes save Wimbledon? The answer is an emphatic NO!
Will you stop refering to MK as a city….its not.
Just because Winkelman keeps calling it a city doesn’t make it one, nor is the half finished stadium anywhere close to being a UEFA elite stadium. (they have not used the 4* ratings for many years) again just because Pete W keeps telling people it is doesn’t award itself that status. If so can I give myself a Knighthood.
It’s not got close to 30000 seats min requirement, there’s no undersoil heating (the pipes might be there but the infrastructure doesnt work as that costs big money that PW doesnt have)
You would have to knock down a few of the shops to create the required car parking spaces and park/ride facilities, have you been to the home of the European champions and seen the massive ASDA there … no me neither.
Plastic town, plastic support/customers.
If you agree that England’s 2018 World Cup bid would be considerably enhanced by removing Milton Keynes from it, then you can sign the petition online at:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/mk2018bid/
The FA/FL are trying to legitimise the idea that MK could poach somebody elses’ club and then call the exercise a success. The MK outfit is insolvent and reliant on subsidy from the owner (flying in the face of Mawhinney’s own policy). If it folded then the authorities would be left looking rather stupid. But even hosting the WC is unlikely to save it, so the cabal that made this opaque decision is probably going to find it’s efforts are scuppered anyway.
@ Rob C, there is also a petition in favour also (though only recently published so not as many against yet admittedly).
Some of the arguments against MK and the use of ‘theft’ are actually quite liable.
A lot of the above is technically correct but what everyone has against the bid is the fact that Winkelman did this and that? Wimbledon were good fans (really?)? Who are now forced to support AFC (another cuckoo in a nest(?) – Gone back to Chelsea more like.
Football is a business and the sooner you all realise it the better. Every city included will benefit, they are not bothered about the fans – money is what talks these days.
So if Pete Winkelman gets to finish the stadium on the back of this, I as a fan will be happy as would you if it was your town/city. But Pete is not doing this for me and neither are the other cities.
@ Martin, Plastic fans? Please advise what that entails? Most people from MK support a premier team especially before MK Dons, so were they plastic before or after? You have no basis of an argument.
@ The Press. Cheap, easy reporting material. Find a forum and quote from it – easy pickings.
No-one shouts how bad MK infrastrucutre is when hosting thousands of concert fans so why all the criticsm over football fans?
As I said, it’s business, no-one argues over Chelseas millions when it suits eh?
Proud to be MK!
You are right that people don’t complain about Chelsea, if abramovich wants to pour his money into them, that’s up to him, in the same way jack walker did the same for Blackburn, but those and others have invested in a club, without the need of a move, Chelsea still at Stamford bridge, Blackburn likewise at ewood park, clubs that have moved, have remained within their conurbation, with 1 exception, why did winkleman not invest in Milton Keynes city fc? Wimbledon fc turned professional in 1964, elected into the league 13 years later, and a further 11 years on won the fa cup, in 2002 afc Wimbledon were formed and started at level 9, and it is not inconceivable we could be in the league next season, it’s called progression, it’s called ambition, the ‘long arduous journey’ that we are embarking on for a second time, and since 1964, winkleman has attempted to lure clubs including Northampton, barnet, qpr, Luton amongst others, before finally getting his way with the former Wimbledon fc in 2002, in attempt to by-pass that route. You state the word ‘theft’ as libelous, but did Milton Keynes earn their league place? No, they took a league place that between 1977-2002 had been earned by Wimbledon fc, so when did Milton Keynes earn their league place? They took wimbledons, that’s theft in my book. If you have a car, and I take it, you would agree that is theft, so how can you say tht Wimbledon having earned a league place, and Milton Keynes taking it as anything different? Remember if Wimbledon fc had gone bust, then either an extra conference club would have been promoted, or the side due to be relegated from what’s now d2 would have had a reprive.
to Margaret H:
To your 3 points:
- True but we’re not even at the ‘FIfa inspection Stage’ yet? Well the FA selectors have fully inspected the best cities that they think will inpress Fifa the most. So i think they have more of an idea what they are talking about than all the ‘MK haters’, who I bet most of them hav’nt even been to MK or if they had probably spent little time there or even visited 10 years ago or so when there was a lot less attractions in the city
- All that is missing to make it a 4* UEFA staduim is some seats being put in on the upper tier which is already built – hardly a mountain to climb. And Also P.Winkleman has stated that the £15m needed for the 45,000 expansion will come through fundraising & advertising and not other peoples pockets which u are stating.
- Its not just about footballing history & heritage (this is what Manchester, Liverpool, Nottingham are in the bid for), the selection is also on the basis of leaving a couple of cities with a legacy which is also attractive to Fifa. One of the reasons our 2006 WC Bid failed was because all we banged on about was the footballing history of our ‘Bid Cities’ and never gave the other cities a chance to bid and leave them with a chance of leaving a footballing legacy and something to built on for the future.
also Margerat I missed your 1st point:
- I have’nt asked foreign fans what they want but being a football fan myself and have travelled to Football tournaments before, i think I can take a pretty good guess at what foreign fans would want from a city: I’d say probably in order. 1. A Good Fan Park. 2.Good Modernized Stadium with great seats & views. 3.Bars/Clubs in the City. 4. Infrastructure/ Transport etc. 5. Hotels/Accomodation. 6.Other Activity Oppurtunities In City. 7. Links to other Cities for other matches.
So weighing those 7 points up with Milton Keynes:
1. Fan Park – Other than Hyde Park with London, Mk will probably have the 2nd best Fan Park in the bid with ‘The MK Bowl’. Ideal for a fan park as it will hold 75,000 by 2018 and has already staged massive events/concerts in the past. It is only a 10minute walk from the Stadium and there will be shuttlebuses running for 2018 anyway. Ideal location. http://miltonkeynes.com/milton-keynes-bowl-information.html
2. Newly built stadium so great seats with legroom and a great view wherever you sit.
3. A great selection of modern bars especially around the Theatre District and also some medium sized nightclubs and 1 giant Nightclub called Oceana. http://miltonkeynes.com/oceana-nightclub-at-xscape-milton-keynes.html . Also potential for a 2nd giant nightclub in MK as there is a giant unused nightclub(formerly called Empire) that is not in use at the moment. Every chance it could be in use again in the future. Nightlife in MK is very good at the moment and with new bars popping up at a fast rate its only going to get bigger & better. And for people who prefer old styled UK pubs & restaurants they’re are plenty of them also especially around the lakes.
4. As MK is only 40 years old it has the best Infrastructure in the bid, with an easy to use grid system, very good trains & buses and talks of a tram system coming in.
5. Hotels – Not their strongest point to be fair, theyre are some new modern hotels in the city but at the moment probably not quite enough for a WC. But hotels are being built all the time in MK and by 2018 I’m sure they will be fine.
6. Other Activity Oppurtunities In City – Take your pick: A Big modern Theatre, Massive Xscape Snow Slope, 2 massive Cinema Complexes, Plenty Of Bars & Clubs, 1 of the biggest Shopping centres in Europe, also 2 gigantic lakes where people relax & take part in water sports, a new ‘las vegas style’ Casino is about to be built. And by 2018 who knows what else could pop up!
7. Links to other Cities for other matches – MK is ideal. 30mins from Luton Airport and is also situated on the M1 dead in the middle of Birmingham and london – 1hour 15 min drive to either. Also a simple 30 min train journey to either London or Birmingham
….sounds like an ideal host city to me
The fa? Hmmm – not exactly the most knowledgeable footballing body there is, so let’s take their recommendation with a pinch of salt, and will you stop referring to mk as the city it isn’t! It a town. Your stadium has been a white elephant from day 1, and your winky, how much hot air has he spouted over the last 8 years or so? He would say anything to get his way, and I would expect him to bill the fa for the completion of a stadium that does not require expansion – how many for a semi – final, oh 8000, apathy amongst the locals? Selfishness is what this bid is about, winkleman to be part if the bid, and the fa to add credence to franchising, if mk are jettisoned, I am wholehearted for england to host the world cup, despite resentment toward the fa, but mk are aboard, then I hope it goes elsewhere
well theyve inspected the city on a few occasions along with hull, leicester etc….so im guessing theyr knowledge is a lot better than a ‘herd of sheep’ who have probably never been to MK and just stereotype MK with ‘Concrete Cows & Roundabouts’…well yeah that probably was MK 20years ago but its come an awful long way since then.
And so what if i keep accidently refering to MK as a city. town or a city it hardly changes anything. Its big enough to be a city anyway and is very likely to be named a city within the next few years anyway.
Winkleman has stated that the money for expansion is to be made via fundraising. He’s not going to the FA for it so you cant slate him just because you have a hunch that he ‘might’ just because you dislike him.
David Jones –
To you and other Franchise customers, football is ONLY a business. This is where you differ from real fans of real football clubs.
After all, most people think that football is a competitive sport and recognise that there exists a Football League in which clubs can play if they win enough games in non-League. The townsfolk of Milton Keynes don’t seem to accept this.
You’re right that it is easy finding critical comments about the MK Franchise in the press. It’s easy because there are so many of them. I gave those quotes in my previous message because you and other Franchise customers cling to the belief that it’s only Wimbledon fans who are against the inclusion of Milton Keynes in England’s World Cup bid and who are angry with the way they lost their club. Here is yet another quote, this time from Oliver Holt in the Mirror online (19 January 2010):
“I admire the people who have made AFC Wimbledon such a success and still rage against the way their club was stolen from them by Milton Keynes Dons.” (Note – “stolen”.)
And it’s not just in the press either but in football blogs and fans’ forums. Here’s a Workington fan on his messageboard recently: “The MK lot are a franchised football club, and their very existence is a shameful episode in English football.” (12 January 2010). If you read football forums, you will find many, many people expressing similar views.
For real football fans, football is more than a sport. It’s a whole sub-culture, a way of life for them and their families. The history, traditions and character of their clubs are more important than the business. This is not the case for Franchise customers which is why they cannot understand why so many Wimbledon fans still feel anger and a burning sense of injustice about what happened to their club, and why many real football fans of other clubs sympathise with them. When football fans lose their club there’s a hurt which is like a bereavement – but you wouldn’t understand that.
Paul Duffen, former chairman of Hull City and a Spurs fan, said, “A football club is an emotional piece of intellectual property that belongs to the fans. You can’t buy that. What happened with Wimbledon was rape and pillage.”
“Theft”, “stolen”, “rape and pillage” – if these terms are “quite liable” according to you (or libellous even), it’s strange that Winkelman doesn’t sue.
To r0w:
I have been to Milton Keynes and know several people who work or have worked in the Open University there. We all agree that MK represents soul-less modernity at its worst, its history lost among hypermarkets, roundabouts and mass entertainment venues. Nor does the town have attractions that cannot be found elsewhere.
Most important of all for the purposes of this discussion, it is not a football town; there is no history or heritage or tradition of football in it. Nor is there much interest.
Last Wednesday, Stadium MK was only one-third full for the JPT semi-final – a fact which attracted derision and scorn from Southampton fans and caused much embarrassment among Franchise customers themselves. (See the BBC’s 606 and the Moocamp.) The following (complete with mis-spellings) was posted by a customer on the Moocamp :
“A Population of 200,000 and only 4,000 can be bothered to get off there fat arses. You have to say do the people of MK want a proffessional football club. Actually this is typical of MK and the support the population gives to sport.”
And this is a town which wants to host the World Cup!!??
One of the excuses given by Franchise customers for Wednesday’s low attendance was the recession (which for some strange reason seems to have affected Milton Keynes but not Southampton). That being the case, how successful do you suppose Winkelman will be at “fundraising” from MK’s residents and businesses?
Your forgetting MK Dons has only been going a handfull of years, so pretty much everyone in milton keynes already supported other clubs before MK Dons exsistance. Football fans dont just drop their club to just instantly support someone else, its going to take time to persuade the younger generation to support MK Dons & fill the stadium on a regular basis.
Yeah good try in selecting the JPT semi-final as an example to try and mislead everyone….4,000 is not that bad for a pointless cup in midweek anyway for a League 1 side. You have forgotten to point out that MK Dons has an average attendance of 10,144 for every league home game and a highest gate of 16,713 for one game which is nothing short of Superb for a new team in League 1 that has recently been promoted from League 2. But conveniently you forget to point this out? a city thats not interested? yeah good one.
And as i pointed out before….the bid is not just about cities with footballing history & heritage (this is why we have Manchester, Liverpool & nottingham etc), its also about giving an oppurtunity to a couple of cities to leave a footballing legacy. For the 2006 bid we did what you suggest – just select cities with footballing history & heritage and parade them to the world thinking that should be enough to win the World Cup Bid – a reason why we lost the bid and FIFA and the world see’s us as arrogant….now I dont think we’re going down that road again
To r0w:
Re your first para. No, I hadn’t forgotten and indeed this has always been an argument AGAINST the relocation of Wimbledon to Milton Keynes. You yourself have forgotten that Pete Winkelman’s stated purpose in providing League football for Milton Keynes was that the population was gagging for it and would flock in huge numbers to watch a local club. Now you’re saying that older people are unwilling to give up old football allegiances. I happen to agree with you there. The only people who would support a League club which is parachuted in to provide entertainment are plastic fans or customers.
Re your second para. “4,000 is not that bad for a pointless cup in midweek anyway for a League 1 side.” Perhaps you ought to post that point on both the Franchise messsageboard (the Moocamp) and on BBC’s 606 because there the Franchise customers are really beating themselves up over the pitiful attendance at that match. Shall we see how many people go to the next leg in Southampton in midweek for a comparison? And as for Franchise’s League attendances, they are falling against the trend of rising attendances elsewhere. (See Mike Avery’s website.) I suspect that failure to win promotion will see them fall further next year.
Re your third para. Who said that the bid is “also about giving an oppurtunity to a couple of cities to leave a footballing legacy”? (Your spelling mistake, not mine.) Did you just make that up or is that listed anywhere as a criterion for making a city/town a venue for the World Cup? And who (apart from you) said that we lost the 2006 bid because we didn’t include Milton Keynes?
Sounds to me like mr wheeler is just one of those bitter twisted old jessies who like a good moan. I have read read the Accord over and over and cant understand what his beef is. Wimbledon couldnt find anywhere else anyway there was no place they could re-locate to down that neck of the woods. The guy wants to get on with his life as he has only made himself look stupid . Life goes on so just stop livin in the past and enjoy your football.
God some people.. they go on about franchise this and that then moan about spelling mistakes how dreary. It is obvious that there is a massive jealousy going on and underlying hatred for MK. If you look at the stats since MK Dons began you will see that Mr Winkleman was right in what he said about people gagging for League football the attendances prove that in comparison with other clubs. r0w never actually said that older people were unwilling to give up old football allegiances he merely stated the obvious that a new club will take a long time to grow basically. MK is young and a great location for visitors. Just look at it this way you can also have a franchise burger or franchise KFC if you were hungry before the game. If supporting football is something you like then You have to just enjoy the football and the choice of venue for the world cup instead of moaning about spelling mistakes, franchises and plastic fans and customers. The fans love the game here and have a laugh when the away support sing wimbledon wimbledon to them. More people need to read the Accord among other statements made to truly understand what went wrong at the wimbledon end . Not so loyal fans around wimbledon then.
Concentrate on the great game of football and go forward with your life without this horrid jeaous streak that many carry with them it can’t be healthy
I think this is a bit silly. AFC Wimbledon is now doing well in the Blue Square Premier League and I’m sure this decade there will be League Football in the London Borough of Merton once again. And this time, the club is owned by the fans.
My thoughts to Wimbledon supporters: enjoy your new club and drop this.
Jealous of frachise? Do me a favour, we are definately not jealous. You are saying the jsp is a tinpot cup, is this the same tinpot cup you were bigging up a couple of years ago when you won it? If or when (when being the liklier) we gain promotion to the football league, whether it is this season or a few seasons down the line, we will be joyous – the fact we will have earned it, done it the right way AGAIN, while frachise could not be bothered to do even once, and winkleman poured his energy to the then existing ‘milton Keynes city – ahem! Fc’ when he moved there, they might have EARNED their league place, instead it took him 40 years to steal one, we are 1 promotion away in this our 8th season, shows what can be achieved. Jealous of franchise? …… Not a chance
Shame that MK “City” didn’t last as a club. But if a few of you from MK went off and formed your own club from scratch and set about working your way up the pyramid the perception of trhe general football public would change – everyone would actually like you. As you may guess I am a Wimbledon fan but my wife is from Newport Pagnell and I would be more than happy to back an “AFC MK” or “Real MK”. You’d have the high moral ground over Winkelman Inc. and you would own your own club. How about starting off in the Hockey Stadium? It’s much nicer to be popular than unpopular.
Mk NOT a CITY !
GAGGING for football.. hahaha 4,000 at home for a semi final,not bothered by a petty cup? hmmmm wonder how many glory hunters would of gone to the final if MK got there lol.(MK TOOK 300 to the 2nd leg ….what passion LMAO.)
SUPERB attendance of 16,000 wow, no mention of the 9,000- 10,000 freebie tickets given out and the hugh away support LOL.
mk – no history (The town and footballing company)
souless
Get real, MK should never of been included (As it also promotes cheating and stealing of another clubs league place) and i hope it gets dropped from the bid as it has put myself and others off enjoying the 2018 bid,and none of us support Wimbledon, but they have our FULL SUPPORT AND BACKING!
If Milton Keynes is the answer, then I dread to think what the question is.
“… all we have to do is look to a club such as AFC Wimbledon for comfort. Eight years ago Wimbledon fans were so incensed that their club was moving 100 miles to Milton Keynes that they decided to stop following them and create their own team from whoever they could find. They gave those part time players the same passion and the same support that they had shown to their previous set of players since 1889 and simply carried on as normal, eventually winning successive promotions to the Football Conference last season. This amazing story proves that the strength of a season ticket holders burning desire to pay money, in order to be put through ninety minutes of emotional trauma every Saturday afternoon, is simply too strong for football to disappear. AFC Wimbledon displays to us that football is still alive and that it always will be as long as we don’t let it die. It shows that the power of a football fans’ love for the game will always be greater than the size of someone’s bank account. This tiny club in South London proves that it doesn’t matter what any corrupt chairman, any judge, any administrator or any liquidator does, the heart and the desire of a true football fan will always pull through.”
From “Time to save the people’s game” by Kieran Lovelock (not an AFCW supporter as far as I’m aware), on footballfancast.com.