MK Dons fan in peace !

Happy new year to you all.

Just wondered what the conditions are like up there and if it looks like the game could be called off?

Hope not, looking forward to getting up there early for a few pre match bevvies! Then onto Whitley Bay for the night!

Cheers.

Looking at the conditions now and the forecast I'm 99% confident the game will be on.

Just noticed this has posted twice for some reason! Sorry, please ignore this thread. Thanks for the reply though!

I'm confused now. Which one do we ignore? this one or the other one?

both of them - bloody franchise fans

Ha Ha! Franchise and proud!

An artificial football club for an artificial city.

An artificial World Cup City might I add!

Dont ya just love it! Something else to wind everyone else up with! Quality.

I'm almost hoping the 2018 bid fails just to stop that!!

Who did you support before MK, and why don't you support them now?

Take care,Whitley Bay is full of poofs who'll bum you for the price of a pint

I'm not bothered either way about MK, why does everyone conveniently forget that Wimbledon was the most detested club in the country (apart from Leeds of course)

Who did you support before MK, and why don't you support them now?[/quote]

A ha, the million dollar question! Well I will give you the honest answer, no probs.

I used to follow, and still do occasionally, Tottenham Hotspur. I had a season ticket for 15 years, followed them home and away and into Europe. Great times. Six years ago I moved out of London to Milton Keynes due to the missus falling pregnant, and basically not wanting to bring my child up in the shithole that my area was rapidly turning into. (this transformation is now complete by the way) !! Anyway, I had to sacrifice my season ticket for financial reasons. We had a boy who is now 6, and I just wanted to take him to watch some live football. The new stadium is 10 mins drive from our house. So I thought why not. At least if he didn't like it, I could just leave. "why not take him down White Hart Lane" I hear you ask? Cost mainly. Fair enough, the odd game would have been possible, but I wanted to get him into following his local team. I would rather him follow MK as he grows up than become another bloody Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal fan. Anyway, once we started going, he loved it. I took him to his first away game just before he turned 5......away to Millwall!! Since then we have been all over the country (only missing 7 games last season). Not bad for a lad of his age! I have met plenty of other lads who are in exactly the same boat, and have met some great mates on our travels. Yes we are a right mixed bunch. Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, QPR, Newcastle to name but a few. But at the end of the day, it's not really about us. It's about the youth. This is going to be their team in the future. We have the highest percentage of under 16 season ticket holders in the country. I'm just enjoying a more personal, interactive kind of football, where you can easily get involved in a club as opposed to the glamour and commercialism of the premier league. I also quite like the fact that everyone hates us!! The old seige mentality thing I suppose!

That's me done. Good luck for Saturday. Anyone fancy a pint, I'll be in the corner bar or whatever it's called!

Cheers people.

Fair enough comment.
Well said.

Had a season ticket for Spurs for 15 years but now takes his son to watch MK Dons.

Why the need for hostility to a bloke who wants to take his bairn to watch their local footie team?

I worked done Milton Keynes the other year for a few months at a place called Two Mile Ash and stayed in a few different places like Bradwell village, Olney and Stony Stratford and i thought it was a lovely place once i had sussed the roundabouts out ( everywhere looks the same). There is loads of places to go and i liked how there was all these villages in the middle of the place and i had the best indian ive ever had at a restaraunt next to the train station

If either of the above teams were 10 mins from my house, then I would most definitely have gone there instead. I don't see a problem with supporting your local side. When I was following Spurs, I used to go and watch non league Hendon who were just up the road from me. But I suppose that's more acceptable is it? What's the difference? All it comes down to is the fact that it's MK Dons, and what went on with the whole Wimbledon thing. Everyone has an opinion on that, fair enough. Like I said before, I kind of like the fact that everyone hates us!!!

I bet there are a fair few of your supporters who follow the likes of Newcastle, 'Boro or Sunderland?

Verbal, that Indian is still there! Very nice too!!

Cheers ADG, might pop in there for a couple just for the touch of plastic!

Seriously, I do understand how smaller clubs must feel about the possibilities of being upped and moved, but after the Wimbledon saga, I doubt it will ever be allowed to happen again.

If I'm being honest, when they moved to MK, I was one of the people who was quite disgusted with it. But like you said, it happened, it wasn't going to change and MK Dons are now here to stay. The Chairman has done a fantastic job for the local area, and has won many people over, myself included.

But as my main point was originally, it's not about me and who I choose to support / watch / follow. It's seeing the look on my lads face when he travels around going to new grounds, proper old school English football grounds that does it for me. I hope it's a good bit of grounding for him in the future, that's all. A chance to get involved, and follow his local team however they came about. I'd rather that than sit back, do nothing and watch him become a Utd or Liverpool fan!! Or worse still, Chelsea or Arsenal!

As for the hatred thing and embracing the whole franchise thing, it's all just tounge in cheek really. Something to throw back at whatever team it is that week when we hear the same old "Wimbledon" chants etc! It's just to raise a bit of banter at the end of the day!

Bri, I think ADG meant The Millhouse, not the ill house. That doesn't sound too attractive, whereas the Millhouse is where you should be. Good Lads, Good beer and good craic.

OK , cheers PB!

Although I quite like the sound of the ill house now! Could have been interesting!

Indeed Brian.
But there's even more choose to follow neighbours Darlington every week.
10 buses leave our town every week just to follow those guys home or away.
We humbly tug our forelocks and know our place.

Same thing happens at Gillingham I believe. A mate of mine says that Charlton lay on buses to bring them to The Valley from there. Also, I think I'm right in saying that Southend move alot of their home games to a Friday night when possible if West Ham are at home on a Saturday. Happens all over the country I guess.

It does make me laugh at some of the things we get thrown at us!!

For example, last year at Walsall, we didn't know it at the time, but for the whole of the game, the scoreboard above our heads on the roof of the stand read:

WALSALL 0-3 *********

(well that was the final score) ! One asterix for every letter of the word 'Wimbledon' !!

I thought that was very funny!!

Also, this season down at Leyton Orient, the stadium announcer proudly saying "A warm welcome to the supporters of MK Dons. We hope you all have a safe journey back to SOUTH WEST LONDON " !!!!

Keep them coming lads, keep them coming!!

I know! This place is going to the dogs......


'Ow MacDon...........welcome to the board!!!!!!!!



good bit of posting that John btw...

A good, interesting thread. I'm still no closer to deciding which end I should go in on Saturday though.

A ha, the million dollar question! Well I will give you the honest answer, no probs.

I used to follow, and still do occasionally, Tottenham Hotspur. I had a season ticket for 15 years, followed them home and away and into Europe. Great times. Six years ago I moved out of London to Milton Keynes due to the missus falling pregnant, and basically not wanting to bring my child up in the shithole that my area was rapidly turning into. (this transformation is now complete by the way) !! Anyway, I had to sacrifice my season ticket for financial reasons. We had a boy who is now 6, and I just wanted to take him to watch some live football. The new stadium is 10 mins drive from our house. So I thought why not. At least if he didn't like it, I could just leave. "why not take him down White Hart Lane" I hear you ask? Cost mainly. Fair enough, the odd game would have been possible, but I wanted to get him into following his local team. I would rather him follow MK as he grows up than become another bloody Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal fan. Anyway, once we started going, he loved it. I took him to his first away game just before he turned 5......away to Millwall!! Since then we have been all over the country (only missing 7 games last season). Not bad for a lad of his age! I have met plenty of other lads who are in exactly the same boat, and have met some great mates on our travels. Yes we are a right mixed bunch. Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, QPR, Newcastle to name but a few. But at the end of the day, it's not really about us. It's about the youth. This is going to be their team in the future. We have the highest percentage of under 16 season ticket holders in the country. I'm just enjoying a more personal, interactive kind of football, where you can easily get involved in a club as opposed to the glamour and commercialism of the premier league. I also quite like the fact that everyone hates us!! The old seige mentality thing I suppose!

That's me done. Good luck for Saturday. Anyone fancy a pint, I'll be in the corner bar or whatever it's called!

Cheers people.[/quote]

As much as I don't really like MK that was an excellent post and puts it all into perspective!!!!

it does add perspective Muttley, but for me what chip wrote just then is what gives me anyways the real perspective......having a club tore out of your community like that must be truly heartbreaking

Good post John, cheers.

I agree with alot of your points. Wimbledon winning the F.A Cup was the stuff dreams are made of. I think they were the team everybody loved to hate, but secretly had a bit of a soft spot for.

I think it was a bit of a gamble at the time to move to Milton Keynes, but what did they have to lose? Everyone in football would love to have seen Wimbledon move back to their own area, just like it was great to see Charlton return to The Valley.
But the fact was it was never going to happen due to a whole range of issues with finances, Merton council etc.

So Mr Winkleman took a gamble and it paid off. The lure of a decent standard of football on the doorstep in Milton Keynes was enough to get people interested. It didnt take much to match, or even better attendances at Selhurst. Yes you are right in saying that a total local boycott may have changed things. I honestly think that there are quite a few lads like myself who were against it at the beginning, but now go for different reasons, my own being that of taking my young fella.

At the time, it was something new, something that had never been done before in this country on such a scale. I think if it was ever allowed to happen again, which it wont, that it wouldn't work and would be boycotted in a much heavier way in whichever area was chosen. It was a one off.

But it has happened, and in 20 years time people will not care so much about what has happened. The youth in MK will be taking their own kids, and the club will continue to grow. Maybe by then we will get close to filling the soulless concrete bowl of a stadium that is way to big for us!!!

Or maybe not, who knows? !!

Anyway, should be a good game on Saturday, seems ages since theres been any football!

Currently snowing here in MK quite heavilly.

Any score predictions? Im going for an exciting 2-2 draw, because we cant defend for toffee!!

There are a few about. Not many, granted, but a few. I'd love to be able to get an official number. Would be interesting.

Also raises the debate of what to think of the Wimbledon supporters who have stuck by their old team and follow MK? Surley they are the loyalist of the loyal? Or would you class them as traitors towards AFC?

It's a tough one, but I would say you have to give credit to them. Must have been a very hard time.

Interesting. I see what you are saying. It's a tough one really. I feel sorry for the fans that lost their club. But the thing is, at the time of the move, the team were still Wimbledon, so the Wimbledon fans who followed were being very loyal. It was just the same as when they followed them from Plough Lane to Selhurst, wasn't it? At the time, AFC hadn't really got going, so there was no real alternative. I suppose the difference came about with the name change, handing back trophies etc. Now was it then wrong of the loyal supporters who followed Wimbledon to MK to carry on following MK? Or was that the time to go and support a brand new club in the shape of AFC? I don't know really? I'm not sure what I would have done. One thing I do know is that I hope it never happens to anyone again. I'm sure Lessons have been learnt, and we just all have to get on with it.

Yeah, that's right. As I live in Gillingham, I know that Gillingham FC are rather proud to have the title of being the only Football League Club in the County of Kent and they're unhappy about Charlton operating a bus service from as far afield as Royal Tunbridge Wells and Margate for people to go and watch Charlton, especially with the cheap prices Charlton have offered to children in the past few years, instead of the Gills.

the biggest embarrassment for the FL and FA might still be to come, if MK and AFCW ever meet in a league match. Plus AFCW have a fairly large thug element, and major policing would be needed for that fixture - because any MK fan would be fair game on a day like that.
I know this first hand as I spoke to loads of AFCW fans on the first day of the season when they played at home to Luton. This is because I won't go to MK and give them any money either

I'm not exactly 100% sure of all the facts, and quite frankly I couldn't really give a toss about the politics behind it all. I know plenty of MK fans who would love to enter into a big debate with you! ! I'm not one if them.

I'm just looking forward to some live football and some cheap beer!

Oh, not to mention the Whitley Bay hospitality!

See you Saturday people, cheers.

Great thread this.

Nice to see a good, sensible debate rather than just abusing each other

I'm honoured ! But there's still time ! lol

whitley bay! it's closed is'nt it,last i heard most of it was boarded up

Oh Bo**ocks !

mind it was a while back,so it might not be so bad,is that where spanish city used to be? they were on about doing it up last year

Looks like Bigg Market on the cards then......if the bloody game is on!

poor sod it will take you about a week to thaw out,you'll be called a poof if you go round the bigg market with a coat on,they'll know straight away you're from down south if you are wearing one

No worries. T-Shirt and no lager shandys. I'll blend in no probs. I can also do a decent accent thanks to Jossys Giants and Byker Grove!

They were not asleep, they were part of the newly formed millhouse meditation group, which meets to meditate over a pint (or two) of john smiths, to transcend this world into the next.....

just to clarify an error made here by mr fireball - the article was not written by a former wimbledon supporter - i contacted a former wimbledon supporter in the line of research and some of his notes are used in my article.

A tip for visitors: If you want to look at the wonder that is Hartlepool and at the same time see if it is snowing, check out

http://www.hartlepoolfe.ac.uk/New-Build/WebCams

The football ground floodlights can be seen to the left of the 'church' (now a museum)

I've been quite surprised that no scally has yet trespassed into this building site over Xmas and written 'Darlo scum' in the snow.

It's starting to look as if we might miss another game on Saturday, even if it goes ahead.
Freezing fog has descended, snow shows no sign of disappearing and haven't been able to get the car out for about 10 days. It's all right for Bri, just being able to hop on a train......

Where are you based? No train for me, I'm jumping in a minibus for a lift up! Coach back from toon Sunday afternoon.

Pleeeeeeaaase don't let the game be off!!!!!

i must live in a different town to you lot cos its fine out there.

No call off, no chance.

as far as i can make out grabec lives in durham or round that area