Thursday, 7 August 2014

Pre Season News, Pictures, Fixtures and Results for 2014-15



Stuart Pearce Nottingham Forest manager arriving for the pre season Game that was also Dean Lewington's Testimonial.



Jimmy Gilligan Former Wimbledon assistant manager during Murdoch era and before the club became MK Dons in 2004 when he had a spell as caretaker manager



Ben Reeves


Former Dons Shaun Williams and Charlie MacDonald now at Millwall and Barnet respectively at Forest pre season.



Another former Don Gary McKenzie now at Blackpool.

Well pre season was not as successful result wise as last season as then we were undefeated.

This pre season we lost a couple of games but seemed to experiment a lot with team formations, we also gave the academy lads a good run out but more importantly we made some good signings and apart from the loss of Galloway who basically crapped on the club that developed him and took the advice of his greedy agent rather than try and get a better deal for the club we did not lose too many players.

Gleeson left for Birmingham and Chadwick to Cambridge but I thought we have replaced them with good players and the squad looks if anything stronger than last season.
The biggest loss for me was Williams and Izale was never a lone striker and I still wonder why he was ever signed as Karl would never change his system even if we signed Messi !!!.

I am reasonably optimistic anyway, changes have been made behind scenes regarding recruitment, the chairman has opened the purse a bit and is now concentrating on the new training ground the Mike Dove's academy looks in good shape and there are some good players amongst the current crop.

Here's hoping for a flying start and as usual the first target is fifty points after that Id expect with the team we have to make play offs I THINK automatic is probably too much looking at other teams but you never know !

Arsenal Striker Benik Afobe at MK Dons for 2014-15 season
SAT
12JUL 2014
Buckingham Athletic
Friendly (MK Dons XI)
A 3 - 4 W
MON
14JUL 2014
St. James's Gate
Friendly
0 - 6 W
TUE
15JUL 2014
Drogheda United
Friendly
A 1 - 0 L
WED
16JUL 2014
Bray Wanderers
Friendly
A 1 - 2 W
SAT
19JUL 2014
Aylesbury
Friendly
Att. 357 A 0 - 1 W
SAT
19JUL 2014
Stony Stratford
Friendly
A 1 - 7 W
TUE
22JUL 2014
Dag & Red
Friendly
A 0 - 1 W
SUN
27JUL 2014
Nottingham Forest
Dean Lewington's Testimonial Match
Att. 4,121 H 1 - 0 W
TUE
29JUL 2014
Cambridge United
Friendly
Att. 951 A 3 - 1 L
SAT
02AUG 2014
Brackley Town
Friendly
A 1 - 4 W
MON
04AUG 2014
Leicester City
Friendly
Att. 4,332 H 0 - 2 L
TUE
05AUG 2014
Leighton Town
Friendly (MK Dons XI)
2 - 1 L


Result Score Attendance Away Fans Position Points

Sat 9 Aug 3pm H Gillingham FL1 W 4-2 7595 1048 2nd 3pts
Tue 12 Aug 7.45pm H AFCW League Cup W 3-1 7174 1132
Sat 16 Aug 3pm A Peterboro Unt FL1 L 3-2 7115 813 9th 3pts
Tue 19 Aug 7.45pm A Chesterfield FL1 W 0-1 5811 246 4th 6pts
Sat 23 Aug 3pm H Coventry City FL1 D 0-0 10,600 3601 7th 7pts
Tue 26 Aug 8.00pm H League Cup Manchester United W 4-0 26,969 6,240
Sat 30 Aug 3pm H Crawley Town FL1 W 2-0 7148 243 3rd 10pts

Tue 2 Sep 7pm H Leicester Friendly L 0-4
Sat 6 Sep 3pm A Sheffield United FL1 Postponed International Call ups
Sat 13 Sep 3pm A Barnsley FL1 W 3-5 9192 363 3rd 13 pts
Tue 16 Sep 7.45pm H Bradford City FL1 L 1-2 7,139 231 4th 13 pts
Sat 20 Sep 3pm H Crewe Alexandra FL1 W 6-1 7,049 244 2nd 16 pts
Tue 24 Sep 7.45pm - League Cup 3rd Round Bradford W 2-0 5,707 572
Sat 27 Sep 3pm A Bristol City FL1 L 3-2 13,119 457 4th 16pts

Sat 4 Oct 3pm A Yeovil FL1 W 0-2 4,000 337 4th 19pts
Tue 7 Oct 7:45pm H AFCW Football League Trophy L 2-3 4,407 214
Sat 11 Oct 3pm H Rochdale FL1 Postponed International Call ups
Sat 18 Oct 3pm A Leyton Orient FL1 D 0-0 5,014 713 5th 20pts
Sat 21 Oct 3pm H Fleetwood Town FL1 W 2-1 6,736. 110 4th 23pts
Sat 25 Oct 3pm A Doncaster Rovers FL1 D 0-0 5,976 396 7th 24pts
Tue 28 Oct 7.45pm H Sheffield Unt League Cup 4th Round L 1-2 8,520 1,428
John Motson Match of the Day and commentary legend arrives for the Swindon game.
Sat 1 Nov 3pm H Swindon Town FL1 W 2-1 9,494 1,292 3rd 27pts
Sat 8 Nov 3pm - A Port Vale F.A.Cup 1st Round. W 3-4 4,120 314
Sat 15 Nov 3pm A Scunthorpe United FL1 Postponed International Call ups
Sat 22 Nov 3pm H Port Vale FL1 W 1-0 12,007 762 4th 30pts (3 games in hand)
Tue 25th 7.45pm H Rochdale FL1 D 2-2 6,720 200 4th 31 pts (2 games in hand)
Sat 29 Nov 3pm H Colchester United FL1 W 6-0 7,646 309 away fans 4th 34 pts

Tue 2 Dec 7.45 A Sheffield United FL1 W 1-0 17,030 248 3rd 37 pts (gamein hand)
Sat 6 Dec 3pm H Chesterfield FA Cup 2nd Round L 0-1 5,591 1,125 to replay
Sat 13 Dec 3pm A Preston NE FL1 D 1-1 9,856 322 3rd
Sat 20 Dec 3pm H Oldham Athletic FL1 W 7-0 7,998 400 2nd 41 pts
Fri 26 Dec 7.45pm A Notts County FL1 W 0 - 1 5,897 645 2nd 44 pts
Sun 28 Dec 3pm H Walsall FL1 L 0 - 3 9,311 538 4th 44 pts

Fri 2 Jan 7.45pm H Chesterfield FA Cup 2nd Round Replay L 0-1 8,040 1,164
FA took unprecedented decision to punish MK Dons by replaying match and incurring costs despite Chesterfield FC fielding an ineligible player.

Sat 10 Jan 3pm A Crawley Town FL1 D 2-2 2,468 424 4th 45 pts
Sat 17 Jan 3pm H Sheffield United FL1 W 1-0 9,633 1,451 3rd 48 pts
Sat 24 Jan 3pm H Barnsley FL1 W 2-0 8,310 657 3rd 51 pts
Tue 27 Jan 7.45pm A Scunthorpe Unt FL1 D 1-1 3,005 147 3rd 52 pts
Sat 31 Jan 3pm A Crewe Alexandra FL1 W 5-0 4,319 441 2nd 55 pts

Sat 7 Feb 3pm H Bristol City FL1 D 0-0 15,642 5,109 3rd 56 pts
Tue 10 Feb 7.45pm A Bradford City FL1 L 2-1 11,948 136 3rd
Sat 14 Feb 3pm A Gillingham FL1 L 4-2 5,107 321 3rd
Tue 17 Feb 7.45pm Colchester FL1 W 0-1 2,974 248 2nd 59 pts
Sat 21 Feb 3pm H Peterborough Unt FL1 W 3-0 11,162 1,738 2nd 62 pts
Sat 28 Feb 3pm A Coventry City FL1 L 2-1 9,334 1,689

Tue 3 Mar 7.45pm H Chesterfield FL1 L 1-2 7,335 227 3rd
Sat 7 Mar 3pm H Preston NE FL1 L 0-2 10,618 1,994 4th
Sat 14 Mar 3pm A Walsall FL1 D 1-1 3,887 473 4th 63 pts
Tue 17 Mar 7.45pm A Oldham Athletic FL1 W 1-3 2,455 66 4th 66 pts
Sat 21 Mar 3pm H Notts County FL1 W 4-1 11,981 559 4th 69 pts


Sat 4 Apr 3pm A Swindon Town FL1 W 3-0 10,087 896 3rd 72 pts
Tue 7 Apr 7.45pm H Scunthorpe United FL1 W 2-0 8,087 247 3rd 75 pts
Sat 11 Apr 3pm A Port Vale FL1 D 0-0 4,379 383 3rd 76 pts
Tue 14 Apr 7.45pm A Fleetwood Town FL1 W 0-3 2,752 186 3rd 79 pts
Sat 18 Apr 3pm H Leyton Orient FL1 W 6-1 10,137 905 3rd 82 pts
Tue 21 Apr 7.45pm H Doncaster FL1 W 3-0 8,159 266 3rd 85 pts
Sat 25 Apr 3pm A Rochdale FL1 W 3-2 3,501 422 3rd 88 pts

Sat 2 May 3pm H Yeovil Town FL1 W 5-1 16,965 150tbc 2nd 91 pts

MK Dons secured Automatic Promotion to the Sky Bet Championship

Wednesday, 23 April 2014

The MK Dons Season 2013-14


Club and Team Captain Dean Lewington

Below is a list of the fixtures including Pre Season and all Cup fixtures for the 20013-14 season I will add some comments at the end of the season and when I put the last fixtures up.
I have been getting up to six hundred views since I stopped the monthly blogs so I will keep the site going for the foreseeable future as it is obviously being used as reference tool.

Pre Season Friendlies

Mon 08 Jul 2013 St James' Gate
St James' Gate Friendly Att. A 2 - 0 W

Tue 09 Jul 2013 University College Dublin (UCD)
University College Dublin (UCD) Friendly Att. 193 A 2 - 2 D

Wed 10Jul 2013
Birmingham City Behind-closed-doors friendly Att. A 1 - 4 W

Sat 13 Jul 2013
Newport Pagnell Town Friendly Att. A 0 - 4 W

Sat 13 Jul 2013
Leighton Town Friendly Att. A 2 - 4 W

Tue 16 Jul 2013
Brackley Town Friendly Att. 789 A 1 - 2 W


Sun 21 Jul 2013
Plymouth Argyle Friendly Att. 1,686 A 1 - 1 D


Wed 24Jul 2013
Rayo Vallecano Friendly Att. 3,532 H 4 - 3 W

Sat 27 Jul 2013
Barnet Friendly Att. 1,062 A 1 - 4 W

Wed 31Jul 2013
Tottenham Hotspur XI Friendly Att. 8,671 H 1 - 0 W

Season 2013/2014 Sky Bet League One
August Sat 03 2013
Shrewsbury att 5,144 A 0 - 0 D

TUE 06 AUG 2013
NorthamptonCapital One Cup Att 3,486 A 1 - 2 W

SAT 10AUG 2013
Crewe Att 6,911 H 1 - 0 W

SAT 17 AUG 2013
Preston North End Att 9,944 A 2 - 2 D

SAT 24 AUG 2013
Bristol City Att 7,874 H 2 - 2 D

TUE 27AUG 2013
Sunderland Capital One Cup Att 18,992 A 4 - 2 L

SAT 31 AUG 2013
Sheff Utd Att 15,080 A 0 - 1 W

SEPTEMBER
TUE 03 SEP 2013
Northampton Johnstone's Paint Trophy Att 4,299 H 2 - 0 W

SAT 07 SEP 2013
Swindon Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,738 H 1 - 1 D

SAT 14 SEP 2013
Notts County Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,142 H 3 - 1 W

SAT 21SEP 2013
Peterborough Sky Bet League 1 Att 8,149 A 2 - 1 L

SAT 28 SEP 2013
Stevenage Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,770 H 4 - 1 W

OCTOBER
SAT 05 OCT 2013
Gillingham Sky Bet League 1 Att 5,410 A 3 - 2 L

TUE 08 OCT 2013
Stevenage Johnstone's Paint Trophy Att 1,456 A 2 - 1 L

SAT 12OCT 2013
Leyton Orient Sky Bet League 1 Att 6,359 A 2 - 1 L

SAT 19 OCT 2013
Rotherham Sky Bet League 1 Att 11,564 H 3 - 2 W

TUE 22OCT 2013
Carlisle Sky Bet League 1 Att 6,675 H 0 - 1 L

SAT 26OCT 2013
Tranmere Sky Bet League 1 Att 4,100 A 3 - 2 L

NOVEMBER SAT 02 NOV 2013
Walsall Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,711 H 1 - 0 W

SAT 09 NOV 2013
FC Halifax Town The FA Cup with Budweiser Att 4,049 H 4 - 1 W

SAT 23 NOV 2013
Bradford Sky Bet League 1 Att 8,970 H 2 - 3 L

TUE 26 NOV 2013
Colchester Sky Bet League 1 Att 2,597 A 3 - 1 L

SAT 30NOV 2013
Coventry Sky Bet League 1 Att 14,988 H 1 - 3 L

DECEMBER SAT 07 DEC 2013
Dover The FA Cup with Budweiser Att 4,060 H 1 - 0 W

SAT 14 DEC 2013
Wolves Sky Bet League 1 Att 17,142 A 0 - 2 W

SAT 21 DEC 2013
Port Vale Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,882 H 3 - 0 W

THU 26DEC 2013
Crawley Town Sky Bet League 1 Att 3,249 A 0 - 2 W

SUN 29DEC 2013
Brentford Sky Bet League 1 Att 8,010 A 3 - 1 L

JANUARY
WED 01 JAN 2014
Colchester Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,879 H 0 - 0 D

SAT 04 JAN 2014
WiganThe FA Cup with Budweiser Att 6,960 A 3 - 3 D

SAT 11 JAN 2014
Shrewsbury Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,408 H 3 - 2 W

TUE 14 JAN 2014
WiganThe FA Cup with Budweiser Att 8,316 H 1 - 3 L

SAT 18 JAN 2014
Bristol City Sky Bet League 1 Att 11,533 A 2 - 2 D

TUE 21 JAN 2014
Crewe Sky Bet League 1 Att 3,613 A 2 - 0 L

TUE 28 JAN 2014
Carlisle Sky Bet League 1 Att 3,007 A 3 - 0 L

FEBRUARY SAT 01 FEB 2014
Tranmere Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,460 H 0 - 1 L

SAT 08 FEB 2014
Walsall Sky Bet League 1 Att 4,116 A 0 - 3 W

SAT 15 FEB 2014
Oldham Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,385 H 2 - 1 W

TUE 18FEB 2014

Preston North End Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,279 H 0 - 0 D

SAT 22FEB 2014
Bradford Sky Bet League 1 Att 13,501 A 1 - 0 L

TUE 25FEB 2014
Oldham Sky Bet League 1 Att 2,792 A 1 - 2 W

MARCH
SAT 01 MAR 2014
Sheff Utd Sky Bet League 1 Att 9,192 H 0 - 1 L

SAT 08MAR 2014
Swindon Sky Bet League 1 Att 7,424 A 1 - 2 W

TUE 11 MAR 2014
Notts County Sky Bet League 1 Att 3,331 A 1 - 3 W

SAT 15MAR 2014
Peterborough Sky Bet League 1 Att 9,590 H 0 - 2 L

SAT 22MAR 2014
Stevenage Sky Bet League 1 Att 3,027 A 2 - 3 W

TUE 25MAR 2014
Gillingham Sky Bet League 1 Att 6,760 H 0 - 1 L

SAT 29MAR 2014
Wolves Sky Bet League 1 Att 20,516 H 0 - 1 L

APRIL SAT 05APR 2014
Coventry Sky Bet League 1 Att 2,781 A 1 - 2 W

SAT 12APR 2014
Crawley Town Sky Bet League 1 Att 8,877 H 0 - 2 L

FRI 18 APR 2014
Port Vale Sky Bet League 1 Att 5,074 A 1 - 0 L

MON 21 APR 2014
Brentford Sky Bet League 1 Att 10,549 H 2 - 2 D

SAT 26 APR 2014
Rotherham Sky Bet League 1 Att 9,405 A 2-2 D

MAY SAT 03 MAY 2014

Leyton Orient Sky Bet League 1 Att 9,965 (1,334 away) H 1-3 L

Read more at http://www.mkdons.com/fixtures-results/fixtures-list/index.aspx#odIQH8THD8ugUcer.99

Well its been a strange season and to be honest no better or worse than I thought.

With the small squad we had at the start of season and inevitable injuries we would undoubtedly incur through it I had predicted 12th to finish if we lost Bamford which of course we did.

With the sale of Williams the loss of Waddock the injuries to Kay Reeves Martin etc ,Chadwick going of to Cambridge we were just never going to realistically get in the play offs.

Interestingly none were training ground injuries to my knowledge although a new training ground is desperately needed.

Again we had a decent Cup run and again none of the money found its way to the squad the buildings around the stadium and the hotel are bringing more money in and the new developments like cinema will bring in more.

Its frustrating for us fans as we often see it as the clubs money but it is not and the money from those developments goes to Inter MK Pete Winkelmans parent company if you like.

Andy King was appointed as scout to work under Bobby Winkelman !! but really too little too late with Karl attending games up and down the country looking for players and even nipping over to Holland he really was doing more than a manager should have too.

I think I heard he did something like 10 games in 15 days while still doing daily stuff here like training and paperwork.
He has had the smallest budget of any Dons manager and it has been in real terms cut every year he has been manager ,so I give him a bit of slack for not getting in play off's this season.

But then according to Pete in his talk sport interview Karl had the 2nd biggest budget last season of any manager which looking back over the squads Allen Ince and Roberto had I found very surprising ! As under those managers we had up to and over 30 players used no kids and always filled the bench so I can only think the players we have had last two seasons must be on a hell of a wage or other things must be in included !! in Pete's figure anyway and the actual team budget is only thing included in Pete's figure.

Either way I know from doing team sheets every game we always have smallest squad all very confusing !(bar Orient)
But I do see some fans frustration at Karl to be warranted he has after all been manager for a while and to say he is now rebuilding the squad does kind of make you wonder why he didn't get it right before !

I am still a Robbo fan and like the City/Town and the club he is young and ambititious and i know from conversation's we have had he gets it and loves the club and has a real passion for the youngsters and the academy a thought Pete must have as he said not getting in play offs last two seasons was a disappointment but that Karl was still here for work he does with youngsters and around club or words to that effect.

Results have been erratic to say the least beating Wolves at theirs yet losing to Crawley at home to name just two.
I do still think a lot of fans expect too much but that is probably a general fan thing !

I think next season will be very interesting and do not think for one minute we will have a top five budget (despite Pete saying we are always top six in everything budget attendance etc ) and I don't think we will be top five unless we do.
Karl is still a learning manager but at this stage Id say he is still a better coach than manager though I do conceed he does more than a manager should.

But Id say he was as good as the money he gets ie if he gets 10th biggest budget he'll finish around 10th I do think he will get better but he has had outside interference's and I don't think an inexperienced head of recruitment with no Professional football career behind him is the greatest move the club ever made as we know contacts are made over time in the football world particularly .

The season seemed to be over before the Brentford game for most fans and even I was looking forward to the World Cup more than the last few games.

But a draw against already promoted Brentford seemed to lift the spirits a bit even amongst the gloomiest of our fan-base !

I really was left more confused as to next season after listening to Pete, as what he said seemed to be so different to what I have heard from others and I think we will just have to wait and see.

End of season is always a bit sad and on the Thursday before the Orient game I made a point of chatting to a few of players and after a chat with Dele and George and Daniel Powell I wondered how many would be here come August .

Two of the three I mention will hopefully be here but in light of recent rumours I said to Dele if you get poached good luck wherever you go ! I forget sometimes how young they all are and not much older than my own son but they are so polite and real credit to the club and their parents of course.

The last game saw us out classed by Orient a squad with two less players though they do not include as many youth in theirs it shows a small squad can get you in play off's ! As an O's fan said to me it cost nothing and its got academy players which sounded familiar but result was different.

Next season will be interesting and I think will be Karl's last unless at least play off's are achieved whatever the budget is.

But I have renewed my ST and will be here whatever to finish 10th with the injuries we have had and I suspect the 10th or round about that size budget is average we were average we finished mid table which is average we played at times great at times crap which combined makes average the season has looking back been average.

Lewington made it to five hundred games and ten years service and for me is still one of first names Id have on team sheet John Brockwell stood down as chair of MKDSA after ten years after helping to broker the accord and securing recognition for the supporters and nice few million for the club in process though I'm not a member his contribution has been immense over the years
and I for one thank him for his work all voluntary.

Onward and upward as they say and COYD.

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Pre Season Part Two

And so to my last pre season blog and it starts with the news that Milton Keynes Dons had on the Saturday before the Plymouth game agreed terms to sign Watford defender Lee Hodson on a free transfer.

Lee is a 21 year old and signed a one year deal with a further one year option.
Lee had to battle Watford regular Lloyd Doyley to play in his favourite right back position but still managed play 91 times for the Vicarage Round team.

Hodson has a wealth of experience and has played 96 times in the Championship and League 1 as well as International games for Northern Ireland, he became our fourth signing of summer.

An away trip to Plymouth was the next pre season game and awaydays on twitter again made fun of our away support. Plymouth is a 500 mile round trip the game was on a Sunday so work for most the next day ! but no mention that Plymouth themselves only had 1600 fans there, now I don't care that some people don't like us but please get a perspective.
The game itself was a pretty even affair with Powell keeping the undefeated record alive in the last few minutes.

MK Dons 4-3 Rayo Vallecano And still undefeated Pre Season
Adrián González Morales, known as simply Adrián

Rayo players arrive.

Our first of two games at home was against Rayo Vallecano,

Rayo finished eighth in the Spanish top flight last season and looked to be the perfect match for the Dons with our footballing style Rayo have an impressive passing style like we try to have.

The match proved to be a great entertaining one and the supporters were spoilt for choice with some fine goals.

Our former number two Mick Harford was here with his new boss Lomas sparking rumours of scouting our players ,but it was more likely they were here to watch Rayo as they played them the following Saturday in a testimonial for Steve Robinson but it was not a widely known fact so we can forgive the paranoia.

For most it was a chance to see new guys Reeves Bantom and Hodson I wasn't overly impressed with Hodson but liked Bantam and Reeves looked to be solid.
Alan Smith seemed to roll back the years and looked very sharp as did the other golden oldie Chadders in his new no 10 shirt.

It was probably the first game of pre season where we saw at least most of what will be our starting line up.
Dons lined up as last season in the familiar 4-2-3-1 with Martin starting to be replaced by McLoughlin on 82 minutes Hodson (Baldock 73), Kay (Flanagan who I prefer came on at 61), Williams, Lewington (c); Potter, Gleeson who got sponsors MOTM , Banton (Alli who really looked class and Id be worried Lomas was impressed if he was indeed looking to strengthen Millwall 71), Chadwick (McLeod 82 who though off side missed to sitters !), Powell (Reeves 71) Smith my MOTM (Bamford to be a way off being fit and missed a sitter in comical fashion 71).
Goals by Lewington 3 his 2nd of pre season so thats probably it for him now lol , Powell 43, Banton 44, Potter 59

Rayo Vallecano who made their subs at half time Cobeno, Martinez, Baena, Galvez, Trashorras (c), Rida, Florez, Arbilla, Mojica, Juanito, Perea

Subs: Alberto (GK), Ismael (GK), Tito, Diamanka, Gomez, Saballs, Lass, Gonzalez, Carlos, Isi, Niguez,

Goal: Mojica who was the stand out player 11, 27, Gonalez 71 (pen)

Referee: D Whitestone

Attendance: 3,532 about 10 away fans though I was told 4 but I saw a Spanish lady who teaches in MK with her family and a few guys as I left so approx 10 Id guess.

Next up was trip to the Hive and Barnet's new 5k capacity ground. The attendance was 1,062, 189 were Don's fans so plenty of room to move about.

It was a really hot day and Edgar David's team were under pressure first half with Potter coming closest to scoring but the Don's never took full advantage of the superior possession and it was 0-0 at half time.

The second half saw the tempo step up a bit and it was goals galore with former Bee's striker and our own club top scorer Izale getting two Chelsea loan Bamford got one and Dele got the fourth after it came off Barnet player Vilhete and rolled in thhe goal was credited as an OG though.

Barnet's goal was a cracker from twenty five yards and it actually opened the goal floodgate before Izale's brace.

So far pre season we have won seven and drawn two matches scoring twenty goals and top scorer is Izale McLeod with 4 goals despite very little match time.

Barnet: Stack, Yiadom (Vilhete 79), Stephens, Acheampong (Saville 45), Johnson; Davids (Allen 88), Byrne, Weston, Marsh-Brown a former Don's player (Marciano) 88), Gambin (Luisma 66); Hyde (Sykes 65).

Barnet substitutes: Jupp like our Ian never featured, Saville, Vilhete, Luisma, Sykes, Allen, Marciano.

MK Dons: Martin, Hodson who was better than Wednesday night, Kay, Williams (Flanagan who spent time at Barnet last season 61), Lewington (Reeves 61); Potter (Bamford 61), Gleeson (Alli 61); Powell (Baldock 61), Chadwick (McLeod 61), Banton, Smith.

MK Dons substitutes: McLoughlin who never featured, Flanagan, Reeves, McLeod, Alli, Bamford, Baldock, Galloway.
Goals: McLeod 67, 83, Vilhette (OG) 83, Bamford 85

Referee was Nick Kinselly attendance as I said earlier was 1,062 (189 Dons)


Spurs players arrive and rush in without saying hello !
And so the much anticipated home game with Spurs who we seem to have a good relationship with having in the past played a friendly against and loaned Jake Livermore Adam Smith and Andros Townsend. Spurs players arrive and rush straight in.

Quite why a few of their fans decided to protest against the game on twitter as part of the Against Modern Football I don't know, as it's ten years too late for protesting against the move of Wimbledon to MK, and Tottenham with the high wages and Sky money and the pretty high ticket prices seem to me to be more Modern Football than us ! we at the Dons do loads for the disabled supporters, the kids and low ticket prices and the community generally but perhaps they don't think we should ..who knows.

Anyway that was probably just on Twitter as there was no non cyber protests in fact the attendance was more like a League game and the away end was packed (a lot of local Spurs fans watching a live game for a change ).

It was an entertaining first half by the Dons and both sides played some nice football the second half after the substitutions in particular the Dons seemed to be camped in their own half but they defended well against the Premiership side and after McLoughlin was subbed young Charlie Burns was called upon third year scholar Burns in the closing stages had to pull off an excellent save to deny Coulthirst in injury time the Dons got the just about deserved win.

MK Dons XI (4-2-3-1): McLoughlin (Martin 88); Baldock, Otsemobor (Weston 76), Flanagan (c), Galloway (Osae 58); Alli (Wiltshire 58), Reeves (Tingey 76); Summerfield, Rasulo, Hines (Grant 72); Bamford (Osei-Addo 59).
Goal: Rasulo 34

Tottenham Hotspur XI: Miles (Archer 46); Fredericks, Ward, Bentaleb, Livermore (Lameiras 73), Stewart (c), Townsend (McEvoy 73), Carroll (Gallifuoco 73), Lancaster (Coulthirst 46), Falque, Ceballos.

Booked: Livermore a former Don loan with nasty tackle he claimed to referee was a dive !

Referee: Keith Stroud (Dorset)
Attendance was 8,671 (2,423 away fans )Id guess that was probably one of highest pre season attendances in UK.

So that's it for pre season and we were undefeated which although does not mean a lot during the season proper it does feel good and gives the fans and players a boost going into the start of a new season.

Away to Shrewsbury Saturday to start the season and I will be putting the odd blog up now and then through the season so keep it on your bookmarks or favourites.

Keep the faith and COYD.

Wednesday, 17 July 2013

Pre Season Round Up Part One

Pete Winkelman getting his Honorary Doctorate from the Open University.

So as the new season approaches and a season which will see my blogs take an
"as an when" type feel with no regular blogs as such.
I will be commenting on news stories about the Dons rather than the usual weekly or monthly blogs I did previously as they took a lot of time and effort and were done originally for the forums.
Dean Bowditch after the QPR game M.O.T.M
In the first of my pre season blogs I'll start with a familiar theme.
That being injuries and as the team returned to training we learnt after his Wedding and honeymoon Bowditch was ruled out of any matches to be played in Ireland as he had had an operation on his groin ,Im sure it was nothing to do with his nuptials but who knows !

The team were at Woughton before they left for Ireland and I saw and spoke to most of them and Karl who told me he was still trying to get Bamford and a winger on loan.
The Dons hit the beach on Sat 29 June 2013 after arriving in Dublin the day before.
The results of the pre season games in reverse order were
Brackley Town 1-2 Win
Leighton Town 2-4 Win
Newport Pagnell 0-4 Win
Birmingham City 1-4 behind closed doors in Ireland Win
UCD 2-2 Draw
ST James Gate 0-2 Win

The away games against Plymouth Argyle and Barnet and the two home games I'll cover in Part Two.

In player news as Karl hoped we got Patrick Bamford on a youth loan until early January.
And in the good old Dons tradition of having shed loads of mid-fielders Ben Reeves penned a one year deal with the Dons two months after he was let go by Premier League outfit Southampton leading some to speculate Paul Mitchell might have had a hand in deal.

Ben is a talented central midfielder and received a lot of interest during the summer but chose a move to the Dons to work under manager Robbo.
Speaking to mkdons.com Reeves said: “I’m delighted. You can see straight away, with the infrastructure, this is an up-and-coming club and I’m excited to be here.
“I’ve only been here for a day and I’ve already seen the quality of the team and hopefully I can add to that. Karl Robinson has shown faith in me by bringing me here and so I’m looking forward to repaying him too.” Reeves made his first appearance in a Dons shirt in the friendly against Leighton Town the same afternoon he penned his contract.

After the Brackley game Crystal Palace winger Jason Banton joined MK Dons on loan until January so for those who were dreading Balanta coming back fear not this is the winger Karl wanted.
Adam Chicksen
As I thought Adam Chicksen did not sign his new contract and joined the seagulls in Brighton a comment I saw interested me when Adam said "I've got to say a special thanks to, obviously, the Chairman and Karl who have instilled the philosophy which has changed the way MK Dons is viewed. Mike Dove, John Gorman and even Gary Waddock more recently as well, if wasn't for them and all their hard-work I wouldn't be where I am today.

I found it interesting as Adam never mentioned Mick Harford now I could add my two penneth but those of you who have read my blogs have probably read between the lines regarding my thoughts on Mick as a coach.
As most of us knew he would Gary MacKenzie left to join Paul Ince in Blackpool saying to mkdons.com before he left "When I came down here at 24 I was still learning the game in my position and I think I have improved Karl is a good manager and the way we play football would improve anybody especially the boys at the back as it really tests you. The way that this Club plays has really improved me as a footballer.” so another nice comment from a departing player and for those cynics who say well he would say that Id say no he could have just gone.
When Gary first arrived in Milton Keynes a lot of fans felt it was a gamble as he arrived on the back of a long term knee injury and although he had graduated from the Glasgow Rangers academy he was untested in English football but he adapted well and apart from the odd head butt and short temper he was a good servant to the club. I liked Gary he was one of those guys that although about twenty years younger than me seemed older certainly than his years with his serious demeanour and he always looked quite intimidating but he was always friendly and always spoke with the fans if you had the nerve to speak to him lol .

Also we saw Ryan Lowe depart and join Tranmere Rovers causing some of fans to say how stupid it was to give him to a rival ! WTF

Now quite what the fans that moaned don't understand about him leaving for personal reasons is beyond me !

Without going into the details Ryan needed to be back near his family for yes you guessed "personal reasons" In an ideal world he would have happily stayed but he couldn't that is why the club released him from his contract.

Yes Tranmere got him free when they should really have paid but that's business and an unhappy Ryan would have been no good for us and it was the right thing to do by the club.
No it was not a mistake by Karl or the club it was just that he needed to be back with his family.

Another departure was Matt Doumbe who seemed to not be a Robbo favourite despite playing some M.O.T.M performances when called upon I'll miss him as he was a real gentleman and all round nice bloke a real pleasure to talk to as well.

In other news Dan Micciche left Milton Keynes Dons to take up a position with The Football Association. The 34 year old will join The FA in August to become Coach and Player Development Technical Lead (Under-12s-Under-16s) which is a great loss as Dan was great with the youngsters and had them playing a great style of football.
Dan joined the Club from Tottenham Hotspur in October 2007 and initially worked on a part time basis with the Under-9 and Under-12s but then took control of coaching for the Under-9s and Under-16s.

In his six years with the Dons Dan and Director of Youth Mike Dove have developed a programme which has seen 11 schoolboys receive international recognition.

Good luck to all those that have left the club and I wish them all well in their new careers.

The blog site has been receiving on average over six hundred hits close season mostly direct to site so I know it is still popular despite not being advertised anywhere other than my feeble attempts on twitter so thanks to all you regular readers and hope the new format will still keep your interest.

Edit: Due to a complaint by MKDSA regarding the above comment I have since found out that the MKDSA have a link on their site under feature's tab there is a drop down option where a links options can be found my blog and other links are there.

In my defence it was something I did not know about and can barely be called an "advertisement" for the blog.. just a link.

Sorry for any offence caused to the MKDSA since the SA site has been upgraded I have had no traffic or hits from it so was unaware of link.

Monday, 1 July 2013

Bamford back in MK

Bamford back in MK
                                          Patrick Bamford last season at Woughton.

So young Patrick is back till January on a youth loan which I think is great news as like a lot of fans I think he is a class act.

Before the team went to Ireland I spoke to Karl and he said he was trying to get  Patrick back so he will be sinking a few tonight in celebration maybe !

Last season as we know we suffered with injuries to key players like MacKenzie , Gleeson and Chadwick but we also lost young Bamford an event that gets overlooked.

The young Chelsea player was awesome in that early game he played alongside Chadders and the pair of them looked like they had been paired for years and I think that was just the pure class and understanding of the game both possess , the seasoned old campaigner from Man Unt and the future star.

As we look forward to the coming season one of the highlights will be watching Patrick and Chadwick playing alongside each other again.

   

Monday, 24 June 2013

Waddock joins the Dons staff

Waddock joins the Dons staff 
link to OFFICIAL SITE



So Gary Waddock joins as Karl's number two or is he ? Gary has been given the title of Clubs Head of Coaching.
This seems a strange title is that like a Director of Football ? I find all these new fangled titles a bit confusing
as I never know how " important " the person really is or what his position in the hierarchy actually is.

I mean is Gary really an Assistant manager with a Posh title of is this one of Karl's new European style of management appointments ?

Anyway all a bit too confusing for my little brain but overall I feel happy with Waddock here, and Karl's comments were interesting as well  speaking to mkdons.com Robinson said: “The big thing for me is that Gary has been a manager himself in recent times and he has a great ability to encourage, develop and work with young players.

This suggests a return to the Gorman style of helping the young emerging players along, something I noticed Mick Harford did not do much of.

Also  Waddock has been working for the Premier League  monitoring clubs and their progress following the introduction of the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) 12 months ago. Waddock has left that position to take on the job here at the Dons and so will be familiar with a lot of players which will help us when it comes to loan's .
Gary will also know the lower leagues as well and maybe knows some players that could do a job for us here.
 

 



Monday, 17 June 2013

Robbo Confident Trio WILL Sign Contracts.

http://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/sport/mk-dons/robbo-s-confident-contract-trio-will-sign-1-5192445#.Ub8Kzg3Gw2g.twitter


So poor old Karl is happily sunning himself in Spain and local journalists keep ringing him asking him questions LOL

Dean Lewington I understand has already agreed and signed a new contract but as the paper says will not announce that till Robbo gets back.

Nothing new there as the club like to filter the big news through the close season to keep interest alive and give the season ticket sales a little helping hand !

Ian McLoughlin I think would go if he was offered a first team start somewhere else but I don't think he would go to a club likely to be a lower end League One club and Id think he will be told he will feature more especially in cup matches this coming season.

David Martin is however Robbo's first choice keeper and also Pete Winkelman's but I can see a compromise as Ian did so well last season.

In other keeper news Paul Heald the goalkeeping coach has had two new knee's put in and is recovering from that so hopefully he'll be like a new man come July return to training.

Adam Chicksen is a bit of a mystery and like a lot of fans I think Adam is after a regular starting place but will never be ahead of Lewie.

Like Ian I think Adam would be off if he got a better offer and I think it will be interesting to see if he is here come August.

Still quite a while to go before the season starts and there will be some more news I'm sure before then and Id expect some when Robbo returns from his holiday.

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

Harford departs stadiummk

Harford departs stadiummk

Not a great surprise although I thought he might be offered the scouting role.

In the year he was with the Dons I only ever spoke to him for more than  the customary hello once
in all the times I saw him him at training ground.

After the banter and talks Id had with John Gorman I thought Mick was quite aloof.

He seemed to have little passion during training or on the touchline and I think most fans were not
surprised or upset to see him go, although it does seem to have a feel of the scapegoat scenario about the departure.

So what will happen to Ian Wright ?  the infrequent coach !
Unless he is actually going to be here during training I can not see the point of him drawing a wage .



Wednesday, 29 May 2013

MK Dons U15 v Chelsea U15

http://www.mkdons.com/news/article/mk-dons-u15s-vs-chelsea-u15s-836983.aspx

Over 1200 fans came along to watch the future of football on a big stage as part of MK Dons policy of giving the youngsters a feel of what it is like to play on a league pitch.

Sadly the Dons lost with two goals from Butungu on 39 and 49 mins, the other two goals came from Solanke just before half time on 44 mins and Abraham made it four on 68.

A very impressive Callum Brittain scored a lovely goal by breaking through the defence and one on one with the keeper coolly slotted the ball home.
Both teams rotated the players although Chelsea only named two subs.

I enjoyed the game and always smile the difference in size of the lads at that age some look like grown men while others look like school boys which of course they are ! some of the quality shown at this level is pretty astounding the Dons boasted two Internationals amongst the team in Kevin Danso and Hugo Logan and it was easy to see why both have been called up.

Another player who caught my eye was Adam Hunt the young right back from Bedford who made some good passes as well as getting back to tackle impressively.
Sides lined up
MK Dons Under-15s: Van Der Schoot, Hunt, Bradbury, Danso, Collinge (c), Osei-Bonsu (Omar 56), Brittain (Kiwewesi 77), Hadden (Simmons 77), Owusu, Logan, Furlong.

Subs not used: Taylor, Tshikuna, Asonganyi, Jackson, Schulz.


Chelsea Under-15s: Tupper (Gyamfi), Tomori, Ali (a), Clarke-Salter (Benney 46), DaSilva, Sammut, Bakary (Makanjuola 46), Christie-Davies (Butungu 78), Abraham, Solanke, Butungu (Bakary 63).


Attendance: 1,221 this included the chairman Pete Winkelman and his daughter also MK Dons directors Andrew Cullen Sue Dawson (who helped out at the concession stand) and Reg Davis also a former Wimbledon FC director.

Tuesday, 28 May 2013

Is Robbo too big for Dons boots? - MK DONS - Milton Keynes Citizen

Is Robbo too big for Dons boots? - MK DONS - Milton Keynes Citizen

Personally I don't think so (in regards to this story which is basically responding to the rumours of Sheffield Unt supposed interest in Robbo) so no he  not to big for his boots.

Reason being it was only ever a rumour and no official approach or even talks were made by Sheffield Unt so why should Robbo or even MK Dons comment on it ?

Robbo has moaned about budget restraints but what lower league manager doesn't ! he has also cited the injuries to key players through the season but then I think with MacKenzie Gleeson and Chadwick fit we would have at least made the play off's  lets not forget how long Gleeson and Chadwick were out for and they were arguably our two best players.

Robbo is not perfect but he has been loyal to the club in the past when genuine interest was shown and for that reason alone I think he deserves our support .

My own view is Robbo has had three seasons to build a team and so last season was the one he should have done it but I sympathise with him and I think the injuries did cost us.

But it was his choice to have a small squad of quality rather than a bigger squad with more depth, in that regard the gamble did not pay off and he could have used his contacts to bring in players of same or better quality ! maybe he tried  and was not given the money to cover wages those players would have cost but we will never really know for sure.

Either way I think the 2013-14 season will be crucial to Karl's future at the Don's a good cup run and the defeat of  Kingston and QPR probably saved him this season gone but I do not think he will be so lucky again.

Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Blades made no approach for Robbo - MK DONS - Milton Keynes Citizen

Blades made no approach for Robbo - MK DONS - Milton Keynes Citizen

So everyone is getting their knickers in a twist over nothing  stop listening to rumours from unofficial sources if he goes he goes getting all bitter before it never happens is not going to achieve anything lol.

And slagging him off when he has probably just been working on team for next season is even more stupid !!

Sunday, 28 April 2013

April Blog

Brentford Players arrive at S:MK
MK Dons 2-0 Brentford

Jake Bidwell signing autograph,

So the first game of the month saw us pitted against Brentford.

I was pretty confident about this one as we have been good against teams above us and I thought we could win this and the play off hope would be very much on again.

Uwe Rosler had said before the game he was going to change his team but that Robbo would play the same team he played at Hartlepool (like we had choice with the injuries) Uwe also said he was not going to prepare as Brentford's record against the Dons meant he didn't have to prepare.

It was not the prettiest game to watch and football wise Brentford were probably the better side but we got lucky with the Bee's shots getting blocked by Don's limbs being in right place at right time , we were having a good defence day and the two shots we had were well struck and went in Bamford had his effort saved but other than that those three attempts were all I can remember us having.

Brentford huffed and puffed but the Dons defending all over the field was resolute in what was a pretty scrappy game and Uwe must have wished he had prepared and kept his mouth shut McLoughlin made some good stops and tipped a certain goal over the top the one's he spilled came to one of ours and that was how the game rolled.

And for once the luck went our way the officials got most calls right or in our favour and a pretty cold day was made brighter and warmer.
Teams lined up
MK Dons 4-2-3-1 McLoughlin, Otsemobor, Kouo-Doumbe, Williams, Chicksen sponsor M.O.T.M , Potter, Gleeson (c) Bamford my M.O.T.M (Smith 79), Lines, Bowditch (Chadwick 62) Lowe (Powell 59).
Subs not used:Baldock, Alli, Galloway.
Goals: Bowditch 14, Gleeson 85

Brentford Moore, Forshaw, Craig, Dean, Douglas (c), Donaldson (German 67), Trotta (Wright-Phillips 46 who put us under pressure without killer blow ), Logan, Forrester (Saunders 71), Diagouraga, Bidwell.
Subs not used: Gounet (GK), Adeyemi, Hodson, Reeves.
Referee was S Martin from Staffordshire who let play flow and overall was good, 8 out ten.

Attendance was 10,455 with 2,030 away fans which was pretty impressive considering the average gate at Brentford is around 5k, the game was on the Easter Monday so Wrighty was there but the cynics might say he was there to see his son he certainly stood separately from Karl and Mick !
We moved up to 10th on 60 points with 18 points available from remaining games can we reach 72 which is usually enough for play off spot ?

MK Dons 0-0 Crawley Town

So the second of our three home games in a row was against Crawley who had beaten us two nil earlier in the season but sat below us in the table.

I spoke to a few people before the game and most were confident we were going to win I still had my doubts and prefer to play teams above us as I have said before we struggle against teams below us.

Before the game I saw Sam Baldock who arrived with brother George and had a few words with him, I always liked Sam and spoke to him a lot when he was here especially at Woughton funnily enough his older brother is a training Doctor at the same surgery as Dr Cave the club Doctor, and although that is my surgery I have never met him though I have met Dr Cave before, anyway I digress. Sam said the grass isn't always greener referring to his West Ham time I assumed and not his Bristol City tenure.

I asked Sam if he still had the house in Essex but he said it was rented and he had got rid of it, someone joked about him coming here and I said it would have to be on a free loan as Pete doesn't like paying for player's and I doubt we could afford a day of his weekly wage now anyway.
Sam Baldock after joining West Ham photo courtesy of WHUFC

Another Old face returned and we all saw John Gorman as he was presented to the crowd and I wished he was still here, and I think along with injuries to key players at key times John's absence is a factor in our less than brilliant season.

As for the game I thought we totally dominated the first half but let Crawley into it second half, although they had come for a draw we were robbed in much the same way Brentford fans felt they were robbed the game before.
We had three goals disallowed for offside one of which I thought was a wrong call one dubious and one right.
Overall we were much the better team and the few Crawley fans that made the short trip must have been very happy with the point.

We stayed in tenth on 61 points just about keeping any play off hope alive but making the Tuesday night game with Swindon a real must win.
Teams lined up Dons (4-2-3-1) McLoughlin kept another clean sheet Otsemobor pretty dreadful passing at times , Doumbe who I thought was brilliant but will be overlooked in favour of Williams, Chicksen who I didn't think had a good game , Potter, Gleeson was again Captain Powell who is still not fit and missed a tap in (Chadwick looking almost back to his best 60), Bamford again showed so much class and was targeted by Crawley all game , Bowditch who I thought despite a less than great game might nick it for us, Lowe who was again tireless in running for everything and unlucky with the offside decision's.
Subs: Smith, Baldock, Lines not sure why he didn't get a run out and young Rasulo.
Booked very harshly Chicksen
M.O.T.M Doumbe for me
Crawley Town (4-4-2): P Jones, Dumbuya, Sadler, Essam, Clarke, Torres the poor man's version , Walsh, Bulman (c), Adams (Connolly 90), M Jones (Hunt 90), Hayes (Proctor 71).
Subs: Maddison on loan from Sunderland (GK), O'Brien, Elford-Alliyu.

Referee was Darren Bond from Lancashire his first season as a ref and he overruled a bad lino call and on the whole I thought he was above average for this level a 7 out of 10 would have been an 8 but for the bad offside call.
Attendance was a lowly 7,746 with just 390 pretty silent away fans .

MK Dons 2-0 Swindon
Swindon back-room staff arrive.

This was the game a lot were calling our cup final which I thought might be a bit premature, the club were going on about climbing a mountain which I thought a bit silly as we are not in the drop zone trying to get out.
But it was after the Crawley draw a game we needed to win to have any hope of grabbing a play off spot,unthinkable not so long back.

I thought it was probably the best footballing game I have seen at the Stadium this season and credit to Swindon for being part of that. Pictured Darren Ward and Chris Smith arrive.
Wes Forderingham

Swindon named two Rooney's and a Ferguson on the team sheet and with three Tottenham loan players amongst their throng it was perhaps understandable a few of us were nervous before the game.
These games tend to make me happy with a draw but of course that would be no good this time of the season and the play off hope we all still have.

As I said the game was a cracker and Id said during the second half to my mate Peter that one goal will win this so the 2-0 scoreline at the end probably flattered us as I thought it was a very even game.

As a team we showed great character and fight and deservedly Matt Dombe got man of the match by sponsor which unlike last game I did hear over our inconsistent tannoy system.

McLoughlin got a load of stick from the Swindon fans "dodgy keeper" but got his own back by winding them up after our goal and at the end of the game and he kept another clean sheet making Dave Martin's automatic return to the team Id have thought not quite a sure fire thing.

When Doumbe scored the stadium atmosphere went up another notch and stayed that way till the end when on eighty nine minutes Lowe took the ball after a cross from Semi on his chest and slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the goal to cap of a very exciting but tense night.

The teams lined up
MK Dons (4-2-3-1) McLoughlin, Otsemobor,Doumbe, Williams, Lewington who returned to side after injury and showed why he is still first choice LB(c) Potter, Gleeson who limped off with an ankle knock (Lines a very adequate replacement 48) Bowditch, Chadwick (Lowe 63), Chicksen, Bamford (Smith 79 who nearly won a penalty sured things up in last ten).
Subs not used:McLeod, Powell, Baldock, , Kay.
Goals by Doumbe on 58, and Lowe on 89

Swindon Town: Foderingham who despite Swindon fans chants was dodgier than Ian, McCormack (c), Ward, Flint, Byrne, Luongo, Parrett (Adam Rooney 69), Roberts (Collins 63), A Williams, Ferry, ex Don Navarro (De Vita 63).

Subs not used: Bedwell (GK), Devera, L Rooney, Ferguson.

Booked: Fodderingham who was lucky not to be sent off , Flint, Ward, Collins

Referee was Mark Haywood who bottled the sending off, seemed to not know what he was doing or even the rules of the game at times he was from West Yorkshire but as we won and he didn't effect the game too much he gets a 4 out of 10.
The league table as it looked after match.

Played GD Pts results at home
1.Doncaster 43 17 78 who we beat 3-0
2.Bournemouth 43 18 76 who we lost 0-3
3.Yeovil 42 14 71 who we beat 1-0
4.Brentford 41 13 71 who we beat 2-0
5.Sheff Utd 41 16 70 who we beat 1-0
6.Swindon 42 31 68 who we beat 2-0
7.Tranmere 43 12 66 who we beat 3-0
8.Walsall 43 9 66 who we lost 2-4
9.MK Dons 42 16 64
10.Orient 43 4 64 who we beat 1-0
So despite us seeming to do badly against teams below us we have only lost at home to Bournemouth and Walsall.
Our record against the top ten at home is easily play off standard which makes one wonder ...if only.
Losing manager but nice bloke Kevin McDonald




So off to Orient for another of those " cup finals " as every game seems to have become now.
I thought it was strange that although we were still hoping for play off's Orient fans seemed to be very quiet on the subject almost like they had given up on it.

We did not play badly but were often second to the loose balls and a number of our players were not up for the challenge, the usual suspects who I don't need to name.
The consensus of opinion was Doumbe and McLoughlin were the only two who really stood out and either could have been Man of the Match for us.

We like making things hard for ourselves and although it makes for an exciting end of season with play off's still mathematically possible.

I tweeted that the fat lady had cleared her throat and was about to sing, but I was still remaining positive probably in part because so many of our fans had already thrown the towel in (and not just the usual always moaning and critical one's who I always wonder why they bother coming to games anyway).

On the day we were the second best team and Orient deserved the win and really that's all you can say we went three at the back after the first goal chasing a draw but as happens when adopting that tactic we conceded a second to make the scoreline and our performance look worse than we perhaps deserved.

The teams lined up
Leyton Orient: Jones, McSweeney, Sawyer, Vincelot, Cox, Lisbie, J Smith, MacDonald (Cook 70), Clarke (c), Odubajo, Rowlands.
Subs: Butcher, Obafemi,, James, Lee, Vanderhyde.
Booked: Vincelot, Ritchie, Lisbie
Goals by Sawyer on 82, and O's Mr dependable Lisbie on 90

MK Dons (4-2-3-1): McLoughlin M.O.T.M , Otsemobor (McLeod 82),Doumbe, Williams, Lewington (c) Potter, Lines, Bowditch, Lowe (Chadwick 61), Chicksen (Powell 61), Bamford.

Subs: Smith, Baldock, Kay.
Ref was the infamous Andy D'Urso who missed two penalties one for each side, it pains me to have to give him any score but he was not as bad as Haywood so 5 out of 10 (and was okay last game we had him I just don't like him).
Attendance was 4,634 we sold our initial allocation so tickets only available on the day and 648 of the MK Army made the trip.
We slipped back down to 10th as the O's leap frogged us but we had game in hand on them and better goal difference.

Colchester 0-2 MK Dons
So we are now at the stage where we need other results to go our way but we still now have to win every game.
Colchester have their own battle but theirs is to stay in League One and they certainly played like they wanted to, we on the other hand seemed tired but unlike many other games made the chances we got count.

After ten minutes of U's pressure and our old friend Jabo making a nuisance of himself Powell managed to score against the run of play it has to be said with eleven minutes on the clock.

Jabo continued to make his presence felt and he and Massey were part of the onslaught of shots hitting the post going just wide and forcing some great saves by M.O.T.M. McLoughlin the U's came close but we hung on in there.

Bamford made some nice runs but it was not until the last ten minutes when Chadwick was on the field that young Patrick got his reward after a lovely defence splitting pass from the former Man Unt man found future Prem star and he duly despatched the ball for a two nil win.

Colchester manager Joe Dunne bemoaned his sides luck and mentioned the players had cramp but gave their all, but he was also gracious in defeat praising our quality.

Lewington twisted his knee and hobbled off, the same knee that ruled him out for a few weeks not so long back and Chico still has an ankle knock so Williams may be looking at a spot there at left back Saturday when we play Scunnny.

Swindon won their game and look favourites for the last play off spot but we could still do it if they somehow mess up. In other words with two games left it is still possible something many thought would never happen.

Teams lined up
Colchester United Walker the young loan from Chelsea, Garmston, Okuonghae, Sears (M Smith 82), Bond (O'Toole 82), Ibehre who I think we should never have let go, Wilson, Massey good player worth a sniff at should U's go down , White, Wright (Porter 75), Clifford.
Subs: Cousins (GK), Heath, Morrison who we had on loan, Bean.
Booked: White Porter Smith

Dons (4-2-3-1) McLoughlin M.O.T.M Otsemobor, Doumbe, Williams, Lewington (c) (Kay 49) Potter, Gleeson; Powell (Lowe 74), Chadwick (Lines 80), Bowditch, Bamford.
Subs: A Smith, McLeod, Baldock.
Booked Williams, Gleeson, Potter Goals by Powell on 11 and Bamford on 78
Referee was Roger East from Wiltshire who didn't do to much wrong 8 out of 10.
Attendance was a lowly 3,175 and 211 of that were Dons fans and makes you wonder how the U's survive with less than three thousand fans !
We moved up to 7th on 67 pts on 44 games played and have no games in hand we are 4pts behind Swindon both of us have 2 games left Swindon can achieve 77pts we can only get 73pts.
MK Dons 0-1 Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe players arrive as the underdogs.

Before the Scunthorpe game I spoke to Karl and Mick Harford also to Damien Doyle who is to all intents and purpose the first team coach with Alex Rae gone and Wrighty never here. The subjects covered were players who would be going players we have got lined up to replace them, the pre season in Ireland, the touchy subject of budget, the new kit cropped up as well and although not the same kit supplier it is from same stable as our current kit.

I also had a good chat with Alan Smith and asked him about badges his first response was what swimming badges so I said yeah the 100 metre breast stroke have you done it yet ! Alan has not got any he and said he thought a lot of manager's haven't and agreed you probably only need the amount Karl has if you get into Europe but said he would probably do the fast track Irish course as he was interested in coaching or management Id asked as I thought he would make a good coach or manager and still being young the younger players would have seen him play and he would have the respect that comes to ex players that have played at the highest level much as Ince did his first time here.

Mick was off to watch an under 21's match in Romford between West Ham and Wolves and we agreed this season was now out of our hands and we needed Swindon to mess up it was probably the longest conversation I have had with Mick and we talked about Zeli Ismail other games on that night amongst other things.

Also ran into Charlie Burns the academy keeper who has not been offered a pro contract and it was reported he was free to find another club but when I asked him if he had anything planned he said he had couple of things lined up but was hopeful of being offered a third year academy position I wished him good luck.

Hakeeb Adelakun
But I have gone off on a tangent again back to the game with Scunny who were in real need of a win to avoid relegation and our last two opponents of the season are also Swindon's but we could have done with getting Scunny after them really.

The reason I say that was that I knew it would be no push over and they would be fighting hard for the win to give themselves a slim chance of safety I seemed to be one of a few who thought it would be a tough game of those I spoke to, and the low turnout of travelling fans meant most of the Iron fans thought the same.

As with a lot of the teams below us this season we struggled to break them down despite being the better team although we were not great Scunthorpe were poor and looked like a relegation zone team.

The game like the Crawley game summed up our season to the extent we dominated the game but never scored only this time we somehow managed to give a goal away as well.

About the time Hawley scored just before half time we had all heard Swindon were winning meaning we were out of play offs whether we won or not and Id joked that maybe the players knew the score there as they seemed to be playing like the season was over.

How we did not score is beyond me we hit the post a couple of times and shots were just wide but that is how the season has been just not to be Karl was livid after the game and gave his "players wont be here next season " speech and "they had let the fans down" etc but frankly we'd heard it before and since most are out of contract and Gleeson who is in contract is going it was a pretty unremarkable statement.

Winkelman was said to be not happy but I have little sympathy there as I thought he could have helped Karl out
a bit more this season when the injuries to Gleeson and Chadwick happened and MacKenzie going to Blackpool was not the action of a chairman really going for promotion.
But Karl had his budget start of the season and chose to have a smaller than most size squad, less players on a bit more money was the way he saw it.

I can remember Mick Harford saying to me 22 was a player in each position as cover and would be the size of the squad, I thought then its not big enough as we included kids in that as well.
Teams lined up
MK Dons (4-2-3-1) McLoughlin, Otsemobor (Lowe 62),Doumbe M.O.T.M(Lines 82) , Kay, Williams, Potter, Gleeson; Powell, Chadwick (McLeod 82), Bowditch; Bamford.
Subs: Smith, Baldock, Galloway.
Booked: Williams

Scunthorpe United: Slocombe, Ribeiro, Mirfin, Reid (c), Ryan, Duffy, Godden (Alabi 77), Collins, Newey, Hawley, Forde.
Subs: Johansen, Grella, Gibbons, Adeakun, Howe.
Booked: Reid Goal: Hawley 41
Referee was James Linington from the Isle of Wight did nothing wrong as I saw 9 out of ten.

Attendance was 9,752 and the sort of figure we take away to Scunthorpe was all they brought here ! a surprisingly low and silent 276 considering the importance of the game for them.

We went back down to 9th with 67pts and Bournemouth were promoted as champions.
Part of Scunthorpe's steadfast defence Christian Riberio

On the Monday after Scunthorpe I saw Izale his wife and child at Next and wondered why he was not training so I made a quick trip to Woughton and only Bowds Powell Bamford Williams and Gleeson were training along with a few of the youngsters I saw Chico who said he should be fit for Saturday but it had the feel of an end of season session, where the rest of the squad were I have no idea ! Harford was taking the session and I just felt well this was a wasted journey ! Chelsea TV were there filming Bamford but I lost interest and left.


So the last game of the season was upon us and it was really just about pride for both teams.

I always think the last game is a bit sad as we know we wont see some players again in Dons colours and the season has been shorter this year starting later in August and finishing in April rather than May so I have felt a bit cheated this season as well.

The game was no classic typical end of season stuff and our two scorers may well be gone next season Bamford will return to Chelsea and Lowe is being linked with other clubs.

Adam Faiers completed his epic journey to cycle to every game raising thousands of pounds for S.E.T. and charity so well done to him.

We played Rasulo and Alli for a bit in the second half and unless they are poached we will be seeing more of them next season, along with Flanagan who has helped Gillingham to the L2 title and lately tried to help Barnet unsuccessfully avoid relegation.

Im sure a couple more of the youngsters will start to feature Hickford and Forrester would be my bet.
Teams on the day were :
Stevenage: Day, Gray, Charles, Dunne, Haber, Akins (N'Guessan 58), Roberts (c), Freeman, Ball (Tansey 69), Mahon, N'Gala.

Subs: Arnold (GK), Grant, Hoskins, Ehmer, Smith.

MK Dons (4-2-3-1): McLoughlin, Otsemobor, Doumbe, Kay, Williams, Potter, Gleeson (c) (Rasulo 80), Powell, Chadwick (Lowe 66), Bowditch, Bamford (Alli 71)

Subs: Smith, McLeod, Galloway who will hopefully feature more next season , Lines.

Booked: Gleeson, Kay no surprise there

Goal: Bamford 34, Lowe 77

Attendance: 3,801 there were 843 of the MK army
Stevenage:
Day, Gray, Roberts, N'Gala (Ehmer 5), Charles, Akins (N'Guissan 57), Dunne, Mahon, Freeman, Haber, Ball (Tansey 70)
Subs not used:
Arnold, Grant, Hoskins, Smith

Ref was Mr Phillips bit nit picky but okay 7 out of 10

We finished season 8th with 70 points
Picture courtesy of www.mkdonsset.com The great and much missed John Gorman.

John Gorman leaving last season due to ill heath and retirement I think has been a considerable factor in this season's under performance I banged on about how much he did with the players during and even after training had finished, his extra work with the youngsters like Powell was sadly missing this season and it has shown in the performance's , he was no yes man and he and Karl had some good ole ding dongs but he was respected and excepted he was no2 the whole camp seemed a happier place with him here.
Daniel Powell who benefited from John's one to one coaching.
John was replaced by Mick Harford not everyone's choice ! with Wright and Rae sharing the first team coach role.

Wright to my mind has been a complete waste of time and I have seen him maybe three times since September at training this has all happened during the season and has had an unsettling effect.

Rae buggered off to be with Ince at Blackpool but by then he was scouting more than coaching and was replaced in that role by the Chairman's son who whilst a nice guy is not an ex professional footballer and therefore has no contacts in the game this whilst amusing to our detractors is also not a good way to run the club in my opinion.

We had key players injured this season for longer than a team would expect in a season, and this has cost us games and points , we have played a lot of games with no keeper on the bench and in these days of seven on the bench that was a stupid risk to take for so long ,the suspensions early in the season also meant we were playing catch up Kay has missed nearly a quarter of the season suspended or getting match fit after which is another factor in the poor season .

I also think getting rid of Jabo to free up a wage was a bad move he did not score many but he was a menace and our win rate when he played was better than when he did not freeing the wage to bring in Izale seems even sillier now as Izale missed more sitters than he scored and can not play as lone striker.

We made 800 thousand pounds I'm told from the FA Cup run and that to me was over and above what we budgeted for and I think some should have gone to Karl to strengthen the squad ,this to me is like winning a bit on the lottery you don't expect it so spend it !

As I write we can finish 7th so with the 8th or 9th highest budget not a disaster in monetary investment terms but not where we thought we would be ! but that expectation was made by the bookies the club and in particular the chairman at the start of the season and we as fans got sucked in by the hype.

To me that says we have finished where we perhaps should have and Karl is perhaps not the next big thing but a manager that is still learning.

I think Karl is worth giving another season too whether Pete will back him financially remains to be seen and what the chairman says the budget is may not be the actual player budget so don't be fooled by figures banded about from the club.

The club has made over two million pounds in profit in the last reported figures and Inter MK as we know from the buildings around the stadium and the hotel itself are going to be raking in some serious money next few years we also have the stadium naming to come and some more serious money so the club and its parent company for want of better word, are healthy.

The club seems to many to be coming second to the hotel to the cinema to the developments and whilst I agree the work needs to be complete if it was not for the club there would be none of these things.

I have been fortunate enough to hear both side of the arguments but most fans do not and this has been a constant complaint ..lack of information.

We employ at great cost a commercial director and finance director in fact our set up is more Premier League than League One in that regard yet we as fans are told little of what goes on unless maybe we belong to the supporters club committee which obviously most of us don't, or we happen to know a sponsor or someone in the know, this leads to the silly rumours that often float about that I know to my cost make the chairman angry.

At this level a general manager is often enough and our support is not Premier League in fact it is not even the highest in League One but many fans feel they know as much about this club as the armchair fan does of a big Prem club without the benefit of the papers gossip columns and I think engaging with the wider fan base more would build an even stronger bond between fan and club.

In my own view I think the club is prudently well run but communication and the Official site are poor in fact I rarely use the OS even with the nearly 40mb download speed I get I find it slow to load and full of typo's and errors so don't bother.

Also we really need to sort out the tannoy system I listen to the team selection
outside as it's clearer to hear than in the East stand and if anything has got worse since the cladding went up but Im sure it will eventually be right maybe when the seats go in !!

This season's been an interesting one and it will be even more interesting to see how it has effected the season ticket sales.

I think we hit our level in terms of fans and it will be a challenge for the club to keep the fans we have if we are to stay in the third tier for much longer.

In blog news as you may know I started the blog for the old mk dons forum and a season on the zonemk due to its popularity I kept it going this season under its own steam as Id built up a regular following and did not want to let them down.

I promoted the blog on twitter but I am not really very good at putting up links even so I have still been hitting over seven hundred views a month and have now had nearly eleven thousand views with another six thousand three hundred and thirty five on football speak I can not remember now what figures were from the forums or mk dons online and never got figures from footballprs or mk online or even my number nine feature on the prostate cancer site.

But in all the time I have done the blog it has always far exceeded my hopes and expectations in terms of how many people read it and thanks to everyone of you who has read it and especially those who have tweeted the link or commented on the blog over the years.

It has led me to be asked to write for a lot of other media sources most of which I have declined as this was always about the Dons and our fans.


I have loved and enjoyed doing the blog and will miss doing it as it is a sort of therapy when looking back at what I was thinking at certain times of the season and who I was talking to.
But as I said without feedback I can not gauge whether people find what I find interesting well interesting !

So as they say all good things (or boring crap) must come to an end.
As I get no feedback and few retweets and with no forum to promote the blog on (which is why it was started way back when).

The blog was an alternative to what was back when it started a poorly run Official site (though thats not a lot better now)and a Supporters club that had no one keeping the site up to date or doing much for the younger fans or indeed keeping us ordinary fans informed.

Thankfully those issue's are now addressed particularly the Supporters site and it is now up to date and contains some good stuff article wise and the role of the supporters club is now more transparent and welcoming and not the secret society it was often criticised for seeming to be.

I still think there is a need for Independent sites or blogs but I've done my shift and will leave it to others hopefully some of the younger fans will become more active and vocal although I realise forums and supporters clubs and even club blogging is not really the youngsters thing.

Last close season I was still getting five hundred hits so I will keep putting up Dons news during this close season and next season will keep the site going as a news and information site maybe a stat site well till the hits stop all together than I'll close it lol

Thanks again for reading the blog and to those that promoted it a bigger thank you.
If you ever see me around and you must know if you read the blog where I'm likely to be say hello I don't bite and COYD