12/21/24
April 28, 2009
One Step Closer: AFC Wimbledon, a club formed by supporters when the League hierarchy moved their team, are promoted again. Now only one division away from a return to the League. Grown men cried.
This is the beauty of European soccer. The have-nots have something of which they can aim -- promotion -- and the haves must maintain their performance if it does not want to find itself in a lower division. Imagine the Yankees playing in the Eastern League (though their pitching staff might have problems against the league).
posted by jjzucal at 07:38 AM on April 29, 2009
and the haves must maintain their performance if it does not want to find itself in a lower division
Except the truth is the real Haves stick to the Champions League places in the league, collect that money every year and use it to stay where they are.
posted by yerfatma at 07:47 AM on April 29, 2009
I own a share of AFC Wimbledon and have been following our climb to league football the past several years. It's one of the great stories in sport -- the fans are so invested in the club that last weekend, the management said the parking lots were a mess after the final game and asked owners to come in and help clean it up. Many did.
Radio broadcasts of home games are on WDON and you can join the Dons Trust, the fans who own the team, for around $55 a year at the web site. You get a membership card and voting rights.
I expect that the Dons will reach league football within the next 1-2 seasons. The GM did a great job this year of getting the team younger and faster, which is how we were promoted for the second season in a row. We have had better attendance at games and resources than the clubs at our level. We bought Kingsmeadow, the ground where the Dons play, in 2003 and share it with Kingstonian FC.
This season, there was a chance that AFC Wimbledon would draw MK Dons in the FA Cup. It's funny how the club and supporters talk as little as possible about the old club. The subject is avoided like somebody who doesn't want his ex to know he still gives a damn.
Using "we" and "our" makes me sound like a Cubs announcer, but in this case it's accurate. That's one of the perks of owning a team.
posted by rcade at 08:37 AM on April 29, 2009
Link to Dons Trust on AFC Wimbledon site turns up a blank page.
posted by scully at 08:37 AM on April 30, 2009
Here's a Dons Trust page with details and a link to signup information. Let me know if you have trouble with it.
posted by rcade at 04:43 PM on April 30, 2009
Beautiful story. Here's hoping that one day they end up in the same league as MK Dons. That would be quite a match.