3 hours ago
9
Go past the carving of Wembley cup-winning captains Dave Beasant and Roy Law whittled from the wood of Wimbledon Common and down towards the swish foyer with its replica trophies and honours’ boards.
Enter the subterranean club shop and turn right and there is a doorway to a trove of footballing treasures. Official documents and newspaper headlines, cups and medals, match-worn shirts and images of icons.
This is the heritage collection at AFC Wimbledon’s stadium in Plough Lane, all lovingly archived by volunteers and freshly displayed after the devastation caused by a flood last year.
It is free to the public and not hidden away in a boardroom for privileged eyes only because this is a club with a history - from its ascent out of amateur football to the Premier League, betrayal by the Football Association and its rebirth in phoenix form - entwined with its people.
Moreover, that rich past is fuelling the present. When new players sign, manager Johnnie Jackson will summon those who kept Wimbledon alive, guardians of the flame if you like, to address them, to share the stories that make their club unique.
Before Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Port Vale, FA Cup-winning manager Bobby Gould was out on the pitch, the 79-year-old guest of honour firing imaginary volleys off either foot to the delight of the home crowd and looking a million dollars with his silver hair and sharp blue suit.
ACF Wimbledon are on the up again and sit fifth in League One after getting promoted
The Dons won the League Two play-offs last season and are continuing their rebuild
Looking on from the directors’ box was Bassett, now 81, arguably the greatest of the Wimbledon legends, who led that unstoppable ‘80s charge through the divisions to the top-flight, where they remained for 14 years against the odds.
Anyone old enough to recall those days when the Dons were English football’s great disruptors will recognise shades of the same Crazy Gang spirit in Jackson’s team.
They will fight if fluency eludes them. They relish underdog status. They punch above the budget and are fifth in League One after promotion via the play-offs in May.
They are higher than they have been since their demise in 2002 and seemingly revitalised.
This time feels different to the last time Wimbledon were at this level, six years spent struggling to stay afloat without finishing higher than 15th before relegation in 2021.
This time they feel better equipped. Strong and stable under Jackson who was appointed in 2022 but suffered a miserable first season at the helm, flirting with relegation and limping across the line in 21st in League Two, with one win in the last 19 games and supporters on the turn.
Craig Cope, now director of football, arrived from Solihull Moors as head of football operations in January 2023 and identified training facilities and squad balance as the most pressing problems.
Cope recommended the Dons back Jackson and instead overhaul the squad and upgrade training ground. This they did and the team kicked on to finish 10th in 2023-24.
The club have a loyal, passionate fanbase who have stuck by them ever since the original club was rebranded to MK Dons
Last year they had to overcome a sinkhole after flooding at their Plough Lane stadium
They have stuck by manager Johnnie Jackson through highs and lows and recently given him a new deal to ward off interest
They draw on their past to inspire the present: FA Cup-winning manager Bobby Gould was out in front of fans on Saturday
Again, they resisted any temptation to change the manager. Cope is a numbers man with a background in data analysis and knew that of the previous 21 managers to clinch top seven places in League Two only one had been appointed in the previous summer.
The continuity candidate delivered. Jackson, maturing and growing into the role, led his team up via the play-offs, a success built on an impressive defensive record.
Wimbledon conceded 35 goals in 49 games last season and finished in binary mode with a quartet of 1-0 wins. This season, despite a bottom four budget in League One, they have made a fine start and went into the Port Vale game on the back of four wins in a row.
The challenge ahead is clear. Of the previous six clubs promoted from League Two via the playoffs, four went straight back down and the other two were relegated in the second season.
Cope crunched his numbers once more and they opted against wholesale change. Many key players came in during the big recruitment drive of 2023, which was led by data and backed by the eyes of Andy Thorn, chief scout and another link to the heyday of the Crazy Gang.
Given time to develop and mature, Jackson looks like the finished article and is attracting admiring glances.
With League One rivals Luton scanning their options, looking to invest some more of their Premier League parachute money in another managerial change, the 43-year-old signed a new deal on Friday, tying him to Wimbledon until 2027.
Jackson was without four key players on Saturday, however, with Ryan Johnson and Myles Hippolyte on international duty for Northern Ireland and Grenada respectively and Joe Lewis and Matty Stevens, last season’s 21-goal top scorer, both injured.
The club's spirit is one of the thing that defines it, as is their care to preserve their history
They are higher than they have ever been since their demise in 2002, when the old club was moved to Milton Keynes
Last season, they beat MK Dons 3-0 at home and drew 0-0 away in the league, while also winning 2-0 on their travels in the FA Cup
Still, they had captain Jake Reeves now in a third spell in Wimbledon’s midfield and were close to making it five wins on the bounce when substitute Antwoine Hackford scored the opener against Vale, a club where he spent last season on loan from Sheffield United.
Dons held the lead until the 86th minute before a defensive slip enabled Devante Cole to score a deserved equaliser for the visitors.
Still, another point to the tally for Wimbledon. Carry on like this and soon there will soon be reason to reassess the initial ambition to stay up and establish in League One before pushing on.
Nine is emerging as a mystical number in the AFC years. It took nine years from reformation in 2002 to climb out of non-league. And nine more after restoring EFL status in 2011 to the overdue return to the spiritual home in Plough Lane in 2020.
It is tempting to wonder just how far and how fast they want to soar. Success came with serious consequences last time. You could forgive fans of a certain vintage if they were suspicious of what perils lie in the Championship and beyond.
But the club is healthy with scope for growth and for all the pride in their 136 years of history there’s nothing to be gained by living in the past.
The plan is to beat the nine-year pattern and be back in the second tier of English football before 2029. It’s where they were when their club was moved to Milton Keynes and everyone agrees that would be a sweet circle to complete.
