Congratulations to AFC Wimbledon after returning to the football league pyramid and completing what can only be described as a meteoric rise back up the league structure.
Back when Wimbledon were in the Permiership, they were never my favourite side but what happened to them is nothing short of horrific if you are/were a supporter of the side. I still find it astonishing that it was allowed to happen in the modern game. Moving a club 70 miles away from its current location isn’t moving a club; it’s forming a new one and effectively deleting the former from existence.
What I find even more bizarre is the words I once heard spoken by Wimbledon legend, Lawrie Sanchez. The FA Cup final (1988) goal scorer is on record saying that his club is MK Dons, and that the club he once played for is that same club that moved those 70 miles, and not AFC Wimbledon.
Personally, I don’t feel he played for either. He played for a side that unfortunately ceased existence in 2004.
Thankfully though those fans who were unhappy with the shift did what has been the hallmark for many others who have since fallen, and they formed AFC Wimbledon.
The Dons enjoyed a first season attracting big crowds and bringing a new dimension to non-league football. In their second season, they were invincible, going the entire season unbeaten including winning their first 21 league games in a row. Since then, they’ve never looked back and have rose up the leagues before finally sealing the return to the football league with a penalty shootout victory against Luton Town yesterday.
It’s a funny old game football. With every downturn of fortune, I find it eventually levels itself out with a dose of success. So to those fans who stayed loyal to their love for a club that once was, and did a beautiful thing for the beautiful game in forming AFC Wimbledon, I say with great pleasure:
“Welcome back to the fans of Wimbledon.”
Simon Bourne