Tag Archives: AFC Wimbledon

OPERATION SOUTHEND

by
Operation Southend

Operation Southend

Southend FC 1 AFC Wimbledon 3
Three well deserved points for the Dons. The win takes them up to 18th in League 2. The work I helped to do clearing snow from the pitch this morning paid dividends! Flying into Southend airport on Tuesday morning, all I could see from the plane window was a blanket of snow covering streets, gardens and playing pitches. A quick phone call to Southend FC established that they were still hopeful the match against my club AFC Wimbledon would go ahead, but expected there would not be any definite news until lunchtime.

I asked if the pitch was being cleared and the receptionist confirmed that an operation was underway and that volunteers had been called in to help. She confirmed that an AFC Wimbledon helper would be welcome, when I offered my services. I had booked my match ticket in advance via the Dons’ online service, so I was hoping my flight over to England would not be wasted. A three minutes journey on the train from the airport to the next stop along the line brought me to Prittlewell, and I could see the floodlights of the Club in the distance. On arrival at Roots Hall, this was the scene that greeted me in the car park and inside the stadium:-

Roots Hall Stadium

Roots Hall Stadium

Roots Hall Pitch 11am

         Roots Hall Pitch 11am       

One of the first people I met outside the main entrance was the chief executive of the club, Steve Kavanagh, who acknowledged my offer of help. I was the first to add my name to the list of volunteers. On entering the pitch, the first person I spoke to turned out to be a fellow Dub, assistant manager Graham Coughlan from Clondalkin.  He started playing soccer as a youth for Cherry Orchard and his first senior club was Bray Wanderers in the League of Ireland. He also plays in the team as a central defender, but did not line out last night.

Snow clearance

Snow clearance

At this stage (11am), most of the snow had been removed from the covers in the penalty box area at one goalmouth, so over three-quarters of the pitch was still covered with a layer of white. Using snow shovels and wheelbarrows, the snow was removed section by section and more volunteers arrived to help. By noon, almost half the pitch had been cleared and I was able to send a photo to AFC Wimbledon and keep them updated via twitter. The sun was shining and the white of the snow was being gradually replaced by the green of the pitch, which remained soft underneath.

Another two hours’ work ensured that the remaining areas of the pitch were cleared and work began to ensure that the stand on one side of the ground where the snow had drifted in was cleared and made safe for spectators. As a “thank you” for their work, each volunteer was offered a free ticket for the game (although there seemed to be more interest in the tickets for the Johnstones Paint FA Trophy final against Crewe at Wembley next month: Southend have sold their allocation of 20,000 seats). I was given a refund for my ticket and the gesture was appreciated.

PRICE OF FOOTBALL

by

                 Olympic Stadium 2012

“Economically, it (English football) is heading for a big fall“. I agree. I paid £19 to see Dagenham & Redbridge v AFC Wimbledon on Saturday. Worth the pleasure of watching the Dons come away with three points. If West Ham ever get to the Olympic Stadium, in my view it will be the ruination of the club, not to mention Leyton Orient. I was in a pub in Dagenham on Saturday that had a picture of Bobby Moore on the wall and a West Ham/England flag in front of one of the televisions. The landlord told me he thought the Hammers had done a deal and I think this is the news he was referring to: “Long Olympic Stadium wait almost over for West Ham after ‘positive’ talks, says  Mayor (of London)”, an article in the Daily Mail. However the news in the Guardian two days earlier had been less positive: “West Ham’s move to Olympic Stadium stalls again over approval process“. All this coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the death from cancer of former Hammers and England captain, Bobby Moore.

Bobby Moore Statue, Upton Park Bobby Moore Statue, Upton Park

hamstair_toilichte's avatarThis England

The BBC Sport Price of Football 2012 survey makes interesting, eyebrow-raising and depressing reading, and confirms what fans have long known, anecdotally, that it now costs an arm, a leg and an internal organ to attend a football match. I stopped seeing the team I’ve supported since childhood two seasons ago, due to the sheer cost in money and time going to their matches. As an exile from the club’s town I had to travel to see them, up to 200 miles round trip for a ‘home’ game and perhaps 50-100 miles for away games nearer to where I lived. So that’s many gallons of petrol and hours of travel time, but at least the match tickets weren’t too pricey. No longer – I would now have to pay a minimum of £25 to watch 90 minutes of mediocre Division 2 (Championship my arse) football, during which time I have…

View original post 1,335 more words

DONS DELIVER IN DAGGERS’ DEN

by
Home of the Daggers

Home of the Daggers

A weekend visit to London gave me the opportunity to see a part of it I had never seen before: Dagenham. Once it was a village in Essex and I manged to find the original village green around the Anglican church. It’s quite close to Dagenham East tube station, which in turn is only a short hop from West Ham. So it’s not surprising that in the pub, I saw a West Ham flag and a picture of Bobby Moore on the wall. I was there to see the local football team play Dagenham & Redbridge in league 2 against AFC Wimbledon. Known as the Daggers, the club was formed in 1992 when two sides merged. Their ground at Victoria Road opened in 1955, where Dagenham FC played.

The Traditional Builders & Contractors Ltd Stand at the West end of the ground is for the awy fans and was built during the close season of 2009. It has a capacity of 1,240 and is all-seated. Access to this  stand is via gates at the far end of the ground from the entrance via Victoria Road. The stand has disabled facilities, and incorporates a bar, snack bar, and new club office and changing facilities. The ground now has a capacity of 6078.

AFC Wimbledon pre-match

AFC Wimbledon pre-match

The players emerge onto the pitch from a tunnel in this stand rather than the old tunnel in the middle of the Carling Stand, on the right of the picture. The floodlights were replaced in summer last year, bringing the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Stadium fully up to the new Football League regulations. The view from the stand was excellent, particularly for any action in the goalmouth, but obviously more difficult to watch anything at the other end of the pitch! It meant that the 873 travelling Dons fand including myself in the crowd of 2265 got an opportunity to greet the team as they finished their pre-match warm-up.

Neil Sullivan AFCW goalkeeper

Neil Sullivan AFCW goalkeeper

One of the biggest cheers was reserved for goalkeeper Neil Sullivan, who kept a clean sheet during the game. The decisive moment came 80 minutes in, when a 19 year-old Parisian recently signed by the Dons on loan from Cardiff City, Kevin Sainte-Luce, struck a beautiful shot through a crowd of players after the Daggers had failed to clear a corner properly. A tense ten minutes of normal time and four additional minutes followed, but the Dons held out for a deserved victory, giving them seven points from their last three matches and lifting them off the bottom of the table.

Overall, there was a very friendly atmosphere at the club, which reminded me a bit of the old Plough Lane ground where Wimbledon FC used to play. The social club (one of the sponsors is a firm of local undertakers!) sold a nice pint of ale from Cornwall and was worth the extra 50p admission for non-members. One other point of interest: I noticed a steward sporting a Southend FC woolly hat, who remarked to a Dons fan that the teams would be meeting each other at their ground next month in a midweek match. So perhaps another short trip via Southend airport (where the service on both days was very good) is on the cards!

AFC WIMBLEDON ON THE BOX

by

IMG_4538 (2)AFC WIMBLEDON 2 BRADFORD 2 

A draw tonight for the Dons but if you are looking for a match report, look further down! I am going to reflect first of all on how my past was catching up with me today, taking in Dublin, Belfast and of course London, where the League Two match was played. I started the day in Dublin and as I began my journey northwards this afternoon, passed Milltown Park, where the Jesuit Provincialate is based. The complex used to be used for the training of Jesuit priests but now many of the buildings are leased. The Irish School of Ecumenics has its headquarters there. I was investigating the story of William Carleton, which I will be writing about on Saturday when we visit Sandford church.

I was on the trail of a Fr John Carbery SJ, who was based at Milltown Park and was in touch with Carleton, a neighbour, before his death in 1869. I was given some helpful information about the Jesuit archives. As I left the building I saw a rugby pitch which is now leased to nearby Gonzaga College, where I went to school for two years. In those days, the school rugby pitches were beside Glenmalure Park, home of Shamrock Rovers FC. I have written about their history and revival at Tallaght here.

Sacred Heart Church, Wimbledon

Sacred Heart Church, Wimbledon

In conversation with a Jesuit brother, I discussed how the order has decided to withdraw from the Sacred Heart parish in Wimbledon, where I grew up, owing to the shortage of priests. It was during my schooldays at Wimbledon College from 1963 that I started following Wimbledon FC at Plough Lane, then in their last season in the Isthmian League, having won the FA Amateur Cup thanks to Eddie Reynolds.  The following season they entered the Southern League first division as semi-professionals. Tonight as I followed them live on Sky Sports, I was wearing a Wimbledon supporters’ badge dating to the 1974/75 season when they were Southern League champions.

I went to (the) Chelsea to watch the match: my local bar on the Lisburn Road in Belfast. Another London connection! Anyway the televisions were showing some music channel but the bar staff kindly offered to turn over to Sky so that I could see the Dons in action, minus the commentary. I was delighted to see Jack Midson getting the opening score and then making it a double strike thanks to a penalty. His was one of the few recognisable names as the players came out of the tunnel before the kick-off. AFC Wimbledon were then unlucky I thought to concede a goal to Port Vale just before half time, making it 2-1. A lucky bounce on a well-struck drive eluded the keeper Neil Sullivan.

Jack MIdson

Jack Midson

The second half saw some good chances for AFC Wimbledon including an effort by Midson that could have brought his hat-trick but was ruled offside. Then a bad back pass by Mat Mitchel-King and a mistake by Sullivan saw Port Vale equalising 2-2. The Dons held out against the league leaders and manager Neil Ardley will be pleased enough to come away with one point. But the Dons are still perilously close to the bottom place in the table and need to start winning a few games if they are to escape relegation back to the Conference. A full report on the match “Plucky Dons Deny Vale” can be found on the club ‘s website.

FROM BRADFORD TO WEMBLEY

by

Bradford City FCIt was, as the BBC reporter described it, the stuff of fairy tales. Minnows Bradford City became the first League Two (fourth tier) side in English football to reach the final of the League Cup in fifty years. The last was Rochdale in 1962. Getting to Wembley is expected to earn the club £1 million pounds. Not bad going for a side who had two pre-season friendlies in Ireland (both wins) against Wexford Youths and Bray Wanderers. Shortly afterwards at the start of the season, they hammered the team I support, AFC Wimbledon, 5-1 at the Coral Windows stadium at Valley Parade in front of a crowd of nearly 9,500. On the bench that day was a young Donegal lad Carl McHugh from Lettermacaward, who had just joined the Bantams and made his League Cup debut a few days later against Watford. In October the 19 year-old defender had his Football League debut and the following month his header helped Bradford to win their FA Cup match against Watford.

Carl McHugh, Bradford City

Carl McHugh, Bradford City

It was another header from McHugh that helped City win the first leg of their semi-final in the League Cup against Aston Villa. Although going down 2-1 last night in the return leg at Villa Park, their home win meant they went through 4-3 on aggregate. Ironically the first leg goal by McHugh was put past one of his football heroes, Irish international keeper Shay Given, who is also a Donegal man. Mc Hugh is clearly a rising star. He began on a scholarship with Reading when he was 16, then played on loan for Swindon Supermarine and then Dundalk in the Eircom League. He has represented his country at under 17 and under 19 level.

This is the biggest achievement by Bradford since they won the FA Cup in 1911. Looking at their history, I discover that like Wimbledon, they were once in the Premiership. At the end of the 1999/2000 season,  “Sunday 14th May saw Liverpool at the Bradford & Bingley Stadium (as it was then called) and Bradford knew they had to better Wimbledon’s result, who were playing at Southampton, to ensure they stayed in the Premiership and condemn fellow strugglers the Dons, who were level with City on points but had a better goal difference. A 12th minute header from David Wetherall and a 2-0 defeat for Wimbledon sent the whole of Bradford into raptures and saw Premiership football at Valley Parade for another season.”  It was the finish of a fourteen year stay in the top tier for the Dons, who were managed by Terry Burton at the time and were playing their home games at Selhurst Park. It was also the beginning of the end for the club, as moves began against the wishes of most fans to relocate to Milton Keynes, sixty miles away.    capitalonecup

I wish Bradford every success on February 24th at Wembley against Swansea City, who had a goalless draw against Chelsea tonight and won on aggregate 2-0. But I very much hope AFC Wimbledon’s form will have improved by February 16th, when their home match against Bradford is scheduled. The Dons lost to Stevenage 3-1 in the first round of the Capital One Cup in August. They are currently struggling second from bottom, in the relegation zone of nPower League Two but you can watch them in action tomorrow night against Port Vale LIVE on Sky Sports, kick-off 19:45 (weather permitting). Today a major snow-clearing operation was mounted with the help of 60 supporters and under-18 players, in order to ensure that the pitch at Kingsmeadow would be playable.

Wimbledon banner

WE ARE WIMBLEDON

by

DONS BANNERA huge day in the history of AFC Wimbledon. A goal in additional time saw MK Dongs aka Franchise overcome the Real Dons and advance to the FA Cup 3rd round. But the Wimbledon players & supporters were the real stars. Full marks to whoever ordered the aerial bombardment sign #wearewimbledon! There was a great atmosphere at The Fans’ Stadium, Kingsmeadow, where several hundred Dons supporters watched the match on television.

Back Bar KM

Back Bar Kingsmeadow

AFCW Fans

AFCW Fans

Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes

The bar trade helped to bring in revenue as did the Club shop. I am glad I went there to follow the match and not to MK some 60 miles away. A moral victory for AFC Wimbledon. Two coincidences: as I write I am waiting for a bus at London Victoria coach station to take me back to Belfast via Cairnryan and the first stop is Milton Keynes. Update: A five minutes stop there for a cup of tea was plenty! Secondly I was picked up this morning heading to Belfast City airport by a taxi driver whose relative happened to work for MK DONS!! #wearewimbledon

AFC Wimbledon banner

60 MILES FOR 60 YEARS ACCOMPLISHED

by

Day 1: departing from Kingsmeadow

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! I undertook to walk 60 miles (one for each of my 60 years) to fundraise for charities. In Dublin I took part in the Milltown 25 walk, marking the exile of Shamrock Rovers FC from Glenmalure Park at Milltown quarter of a century ago. The 6 mile (10k) walk was to the new stadium at Tallaght. Back in Belfast, I completed another 5 miles by walking from home into town and back as part of my preparation for the major challenge. As a founder member of the Dons Trust (supporting AFC Wimbledon) I participated in the fifth Walk Further for Wimbledon. This year the route on the London outer orbital path  covered 50 miles over three days, starting at Kingsmeadow and finishing at Underhill, North London, in time to watch the league 2 match between Barnet (who had just dismissed former Dons’ FA Cup hero Lawrie Sanchez as manager) and AFC Wimbledon. Last year’s walk finished at Kingsmeadow in time for the final match of the season (40 miles over two days) but this time it ended at an away game.

Arriving at Underhill

What was even more painful after the walk was completed was to watch AFC Wimbledon being thumped by the Bees 4-0!  As a member of Belfast Lions Club I am also fundraising for the Moorfields Lions Korle Bu eyesight project in Ghana, a trust chaired by Past International Director Lion Howard Lee. The walk began on Thursday 26th April at 9:15 am and finished on Saturday 28th around 1:15pm. Thanks to my fellow walkers for the company on most of the route and for lending a helping hand when needed. I am also grateful to those who have already made donations via my JustGiving page.

A TALE OF TWO SCARVES

by
This is a tale of two scarves. Both have been in demand during the cold snap. They are football scarves but with a difference as neither has a club’s name in large letters across its length. By coincidence each was used on an occasion linked to my activities with the William Carleton Society, of which I am Chair.
AFC Wimbledon scarf
The first is an AFC Wimbledon scarf, described by the online shop as “a new era grey knit scarf with yellow and blue to ends with embroidered crest”. I purchased it last season and wore it on two recent trips to Europe and another to London. I was in Berlin at the opening of an art exhibition at the Irish embassy by an artist friend Patricia Lambert when I had this scarf with me. Thankfully the temperature in the German capital remained just above freezing during the weekend I was there in November. A few weeks later I was in Vienna and again the scarf kept me warm as I visited the Christmas markets in the Austrian capital. Most importantly, the scarf is comfortable to wear and does its job properly. As my season ticket seat at Kingsmeadow is in the front row of the stand I will be glad to wear it at any games I attend in the winter months. I brought it with me when I attended the league 2 game between AFC Wimbledon and Accrington Stanley, which we lost 2-0. The next day I went into the centre of London to meet someone I had never met before, so I wore my AFC Wimbledon wooly hat as well as the scarf.
Paul Brush met Michael Fisher at a Whitehall pub

As it turned out, Paul Brush who was in England from Australia along with his wife and two daughters turned out to be a Crawley FC supporter. He had attended their match the previous day when they beat Burton Albion 3-0 in front of a crowd of 3001. Paul pointed out he was the “1” on the end of that figure! The reason we arranged to meet was because he is a distant relative of the 19thC Irish author William Carleton from Co.Tyrone. I am Chair of the newly-formed William Carleton Society, which runs an annual summer school at the beginning of August every year. Paul provided me with some useful information and promised to remain in contact as he attempts to explore his family tree.

Now for the second scarf. It’s green and white. Some thought it was a Celtic one. Others might regard it as an Ireland one suitable for soccer or rugby. But it’s none of those. It was purchased at Tallaght stadium when I organised my tickets for the three home games that Shamrock Rovers FC played in the Europa League. I wanted to show my loyalties especially when it came to the last match against Spurs. It proved to be the final game for the Hoops’ manager Michael O’Neill after three years in charge. Rovers went down 0-4 to the English Premiership side but O’Neill got a rousing farewell along with Enda Stevens, who joins Aston Villa next month.

Shamrock Rovers 0 Spurs 4

The scarf was needed when I went on the annual mulled wine walk at Knockmany Hill near Clogher in County Tyrone. It is run by a number of ramblers groups from both sides of the border and also cross-community. I joined in the carol service after enjoying some warm gluehwein and mince pies. Then I proceeded to relate to the assembled crowd a story by William Carleton called A Legend of Knockmany. I did not have time to read it all but I summarised part of the tale about the giants Fin McCool and his great rival Cuchulain. When I returned home I posted a picture on facebookshowing me wearing the green and white scarf and remarked that this did not mean that William Carleton was a Shamrock Rovers fan! I then reflected on the matter and discovered that after all, there was a connection (albeit very tenuous) between Shamrock Rovers founded in 1901 and Carleton, who died over thirty years earlier in January 1869.

Addressing ramblers at Knockmany wearing Shamrock Rovers scarf

So here goes…….William Carleton in the days before his death was visited by Rev William Pakenham Walsh, rector of Sandford Parish Church, Ranelagh in Dublin, who also conducted his funeral. The chuch is beside an avenue that leads up to Gonzaga College SJ. The school colours are also green and white, by the way. When I went there in 1967 the back rugby pitches near Milltown Park were bounded on one side by a wall which also bordered Glenmalure Park, once home of Shamrock Rovers FC which had the best playing surface in Ireland. The Jesuits leased the land to the football club and there is a letter in the club shop at the new ground at Tallaght from the then SJ Provincial at the time the Hoops moved. So maybe the Shamrock Rovers scarf was appropriate in memory of the Sandford connection with William Carleton. In the case of Paul Brush, he would no doubt have preferred if I had worn a Crawley FC scarf to identify myself: no chance of that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

THERE’S ONLY ONE WIMBLEDON FC

by

Anyone who knows me will realise I am a Wimbledon supporter. That includes Hot Press readers thanks to Eamonn McCann’s article in the latest edition. The conversation sometimes starts along the lines of “you mean MK Dons?”. It’s a phrase I and many others cannot bear mentioning because of the way a once proud football club which won the FA Cup thanks to Lawrie Sanchez in 1988 v Liverpool was allowed by the football authorities to fold and move some sixty miles away to Buckinghamshire. There were plans at the time for the club to transfer to my home town of Dublin (or possibly even Belfast where I live). But I would not have gone to watch them in either place as I could not regard them as Wimbledon FC. I have followed the Dons since their days as amateurs in the Isthmian League. For me, their first major success was in winning the FA Amateur Cup final at Wembley in 1963 when they beat local rivals Suttton United 4-2.

Fast forward to the FA Cup 2nd round draw live on ITV on Sunday, presented by Jim Rosental, with whom I used to work in BBC Radio Birmingham. In fact I persuaded him to add to the station’s coverage of six league clubs by reporting a “minor match of the day”. I was motivated by the fact that Wimbledon were in the Southern League premier division at the time (1975) and the very first match of the new season was Nuneaton (at the edge of the station’s area) versus Wimbledon. The Dons won and Jim back-announced my report by saying “Mike Fisher, bit of a Wimbledon supporter himself”!  Sunday’s draw has produced the possibility of a tie between AFC Wimbledon and the franchise outfit. But first both sides have to win replays. Headlines in some media have portrayed this as a glamour tie and one which the TV companies would no doubt seek to cover. But judging by the mood on the ground as expressed in blogs and on twitter, many AFCW fans would prefer such a clash not to happen. As a founder member of the Dons Trust I agree. AFC Wimbledon are not yet ready to meet the club that stole the Wimbledon heritage and wrapped themselves up in the comforts of league status. AFCW have started from scratch, even going back to the roots at Wimbledon Common where they began trials for players. Now the club is at an exciting stage, contenders for promotion to the Football League. But I would be glad enough to meet MK when we get there, in another year or two and who knows, maybe they will even be relegated to division two. So my first thoughts are that I will be delighted to see either Stevenage or Ebbsfleet or even both of them progress in the Cup. I will return to this issue after the replays.

If it does turn out to be AFCW v MK Dons then the club I am sure will be very professional in its response, as indicated in the statement at [new window] www.afcwimbledon.co.uk . However the real fans will have to decide. Do they boycott the game (which would mean the club would lose badly needed revenue) or if they do attend, how do they behave towards the visitors? Various options have been discussed so far, but I think that if this fixture is held, then my best approach as a season ticket holder would be to purchase a ticket and then not go to the game or else attend but not take a place on the terrace or in the stand. Anyway the 1st round replays have to be held before the Dons fans face what could be some difficult choices. Neutrals have a lot of sympathy for them and nothing must be done by supporters at Kingsmeadow that would alienate the wider soccer fraternity.

UPDATE: The match that some media people would like to have seen will not happen (sighs of relief all around Kingsmeadow). Stevenage overcame MK Dons in a thrilling finish decided by penalties after extra time. The Dons needed extra time too as they overcame a very lively Ebbsfleet United 3-2 in their replay. Nice one Sammy!! So it’s a home match to look forward to now in the FA Cup second round against Stevenage on November 27th. The game will be televised live by ITV sport as they are now following the fortunes of AFC Wimbledon. The kick-off time has therefore been altered to 12.50pm.

From the website (new window) www.afcwimbledon.co.uk a brief description of how the Dons overcame Ebbsfleet:

In a pulsating game Sammy Moore scored an equaliser in the fifth minute of added on time to take the match into extra time and then the winner in the last minute of extra time. Mark Nwokeji had put Wimbledon ahead after 8 minutes heading home but a brace from Ashley Carew after 12 and 19 minutes put the home team ahead. Both teams created a number of chances with the two goalkeepers pulling off great saves.