September Blog Part Two

The month of September so far up to the Yeovil game had been commented on a lot and on reflection there was almost a sense of mid season pessimism about our progress.
I was probably amongst the disappointed but not in the were doomed club, after the Glovers game I looked at the table and results and it did not look so bad ! six games in with ten points and only four behind the leaders who were not Bournemouth or Sheffield Unt as some had predicted.

In fact Bournemouth were nearer the bottom than the top of the table and that is with Harry Rednapp there giving his services for free .. allegedly.

So after the euphoria of the Glovers win had subsided and I was in more reflective mood I thought really the only bad result was Walsall, a draw at Bournemouth and the loss to Swindon over the season are probably the kind of results one would expect.
Of course the sore point is the red cards and I think that more than the results was what most of us were upset about.

The first game of the second September blog is the home game with Notts County a team who have spent a bit and seem to have a decent budget and are also ahead of us at this early stage in the league table they also have 29 players which is a big squad these days.

Looking at Notts recent past with Allen and Ince and now Curle it seems we have an old established set up with the same manager through their managerial crisis's in fact it seems like Robbo has been here forever.

The fact we are the youngest League club and they are the oldest in the world does seem to laugh in the face of the old traditionalists that say history is all in important , when you consider the recent problems Notts have had with the phoney businessmen and banks promising them Prem in three years the arrival of Sven and Sol and even hastier departure our grumbles about cladding and car parks seem quite petty.

The Infamous Lee Hughes arrives at SMK

The manager Kieth Curle arrived with the players but sat on the coach for over twenty minutes before getting off in fact I got bored waiting and went for a coffee I remembered Warnock did the same thing when he came with QPR and Curle who was his assistant must have learnt that off him lol.

The game itself was Id imagine for the neutral quite good Jamal Campelll-Ryce being the pick of the Notts players for me which was annoying as the BBC said he was unlikely to play.

Both teams had their chances and both keepers made crucial saves and overall Id say the draw was a fair result Notts seemed to be happy with a draw from the off with the keeper lucky to not be booked for time wasting we again were not clinical in front of goal and this is really the story of the season so far.

Karl said after the game much the same thing and that the boys got him out of trouble and reverted to a 4-4-2 with Lowe and MacDonald up front something the fans have been saying we should play for a while and especially on the road,so it was strange to hear Robbo say that for home matches! at home we have more room and if the 4-2-3-1 system was going to work that is where it would be most effective.

Notts star player Jamal Campell-Ryce

The teams lined up MK Dons 4-2-3-1: Martin; Otsemobor, MacKenzie, Kay (O’Shea 54), Lewington (c); Potter, Gleeson; Powell, Williams, Chadwick (Lowe 64); MacDonald (Smith 81).
Subs: McLoughlin, Bowditch, Chicksen, Bullard.
Booked: Lewington, Potter ,Otsemobor and OS only listed two bookings !
Goal: O’Shea scored on 68

Notts County: Bialkowski, Kelly, Bishop (c), Leacock, Liddle, Judge, Zoko (L Hughes 78), Arquin (Showunmi 87), Labadie, Campbell-Ryce (G Hughes 65), former Don Regan.
Subs: Bencherif, Spiess, Wholey, Hollis.
Goal: Bishop 21
The OS didnt list the Notts bookings but BBC listed the appropriatly named LaBadie
I thought there was at least another booking but hey ho.
Referee: Eddie Ilderton who was average and not helped by his linesmen who missed a lot of offsides and saw a few non offsides as off.
Attendance: 7,121 with 650 away which was not too bad considering it was champions league night on the telly.

Next up was an away trip to bottom of the table Bury and we were all hoping for our first away win of the season.

In truth the Dons were never troubled by the Shakers and dominated the game throughout, there was a nervy few minutes after the never knowingly undersold John-Lewis (sorry couldnt resist)got a late consolation goal in the 80th minute
but when Bowditch scored just after we had played half an hour and Bury needed to come forward more the result was not in much doubt.

Bowditch then added two more goals second half to put the game to bed and I was then hoping for the clean sheet which never knowingly put the damper on.
Chadwick our top goal scorer not to be outdone grabbed an injury time goal to make the score 1-4 and take us up to fourth in the League at this early stage of the season.

Bury were managerless and bottom of the table but we beat them comfortably and thats all you can ask for.
But more importantly we have our first win of the season away from home and that is always a nice thing to get before heads go down and it becomes a monkey on the back.
The teams lined up
Bury: Carson who probably saved it from being seven , Skarz, Lockwood who was injured in clash with Charlie Mac(Marshall 39), Sweeney (Worrall 59), Schumacher (c), Carrington former Don was kept quiet, Sodje, Hughes, Jones, Healy, Hopper.

Subs not used: Byrne, according to OS John-Lewis which is strange as he scored, Elford-Alliyu, Cullen, Belford.
Goal was by John-Lewis on 81 even though he was an unused sub lol

MK Dons lined up 4-2-3-1: Martin; Otsemobor who pulled up injured on 45(Kouo-Doumbe , Kay, Williams, Lewington (c); Potter, Gleeson; Bowditch was subbed to take the applause (Powell 71), Chadwick, O’Shea; MacDonald who got a gash that could not be stiched in time(Lowe 41).
Subs not used: McLoughin, Smith, Chicksen.

Chadwick the only booking.

Goal times were Bowditch 33, 55, 67, Chadwick 90

Referee was Mark Haywood who was for a ref pretty decent

The attendance was a lowly 2,321 with 179 Dons fans.
The game itself was Id imagine for the neutral quite good Jamal Campelll -Ryce being the pick of the Notts players for me which was annoying as the BBC said he was unlikely to play .
Both teams had their chances and both keepers made crucial saves.

Martin O'Neill signing Autographs for a couple of lucky fans.

On Tuesday 25th the much anticipated game with Sunderland was upon us and I have to admit that I did not think we would win this one.
Sunderland under Martin O'Neill put out a strong side and I think want to go as far as they can in the Capital One Cup and unlike some Prem teams O'Neill has respect for the League Cup as I still like to call it.

For Cup games I like to go in club red as a little treat to myself and while I was there I ran into Peter Leven who actually remembered me and said hello and he told me he was still living in MK and had been injured recently so had not been playing, he was there as guest of Gary McKenzie I said are you keeping him out of trouble and he laughed and said that's impossible ! before anyone gets the wrong idea it was a joke and Gary is quite the gentleman off the pitch.

Also floating about was Jabo but I never got to speak to him but he was not in Bury as some had suggested.

As for the game I thought we played well first half and did not look like a team two division below in fact I heard some reports from various media sources saying we looked the better team.

When Cattermole was sent off after just half an hour I thought we could win this and knowing that it was likely we would go two up front second half a cup upset was on the cards.

But then just nine minutes into the second half Gardner scored from a free kick that left second choice keeper McLoughlin rooted to the spot this seemed to be the catalyst for the Dons to fade from the game and despite changing the formation to two up front we never looked anywhere near as good as we did first half.

The second goal came and although did flatter the visitors we never looked like we were going to score but a one nil defeat would have reflected the game better I thought, we were not for the first time this season toothless in front goal and we really need to find someone who can take the chances we create personally unless we can get someone in on loan or buy in January Id play Bowditch up front.

So we are now out of the cup both JPT and League and await the FA draw though realistically it is not a competition we are ever likely to win or go past the fourth round in and will probably field a weakened team and concentrate on the League campaign.
The teams lined up
MK Dons 4-2-3-1 McLoughlin, Chicksen, Kay, Williams, Lewington (c); Potter, Gleeson; Powell (O’Shea 78), Chadwick (Lowe 62), Bowditch; Smith (MacDonald 62).
Subs not used: Burns, Kouo-Doumbe, Alli, Spence. Kay was booked.

Sunderland lined up Westwood,Rose, Cattermole (c), Kilgallon, Colback, Vaughan, Meyler, McClean, Saha, Sessegnon (Johnson 85).
Subs not used: Mignolet, Campbell, Wickham, Dong-Won, Fletcher, Egan. The captain Cattermole was sent off on 31 and Colback was booked the goals were scored by Gardner on 54 and McLean on 82 the referee was Stuart Attwell who I thought was pretty good to be fair.

The attendance was 10,489 bolstered by a very good turnout from Sunderland listed as 2,978 but looked and sounded more Sunderland have loads of fans in the South of England and a large supporter club in London but Id imagine a fair few travelled down from Sunderland as well.

Sunderland's Craig Gardner

Sunderland's second goalscorer James McLean.

Adam Chicksen Dons M.O.T.M just after getting the award.

On Thursday we were told that "Jabo Ibehre’s chances have been limited this season and that manager Karl Robinson felt it best to allow the 29-year-old to link up with the U’s on a 93-day loan, which will run until 27th December" we will play Colchester before his loan deal is up but Jabo will not be allowed to play I'll miss seeing Jabo around he was always cheerful and always said hello.

Rochdale trained at Woughton ahead of their game against Gillingham.

On the Friday before the Crewe game I was over at Woughton and managed to speak to Karl before the players trained he was still looking for players and I mentioned Jabo but he did not expand on the loan deal anymore than the OS had told us already.

Friday before a game is usually a light session with some shooting practice at the end, earlier in the week Karl had his windscreen broken by one stray shot and he had moved his car from its usual spot, Paul Heald was even more cautious and left his in the public car park.

Just as I was about to leave the Rochdale team turned up which was not that unusual as they have been here before and were using Woughton to train ahead of their game with Gillingham last time they came it was before their game with Crawley but it still seems weird seeing another team on our hallowed soil !

But as they say onwards and upwards and our next game and last of the month was against Crewe and I think Karl can put it far better than I could when after the game he said to MK News " the first half we were like Brazil, the second more like Bridlington".

It was the strangest game to watch as both halves were so totaly different.

Before the game we learnt we had signed signed West Bromwich Albion and Scotland U-21 midfielder (yes another International player )Scott Allan on a one-month loan deal.
The 20-year-old looked very lively when he came on and had a shot on goal which second half we seemed to be lacking.

Allan has made 10 appearances for Scotland U-21s and will be available for the games with Coventry City, Portsmouth, Preston North End and Stevenage before playing his last game away at Crawley Town on Tuesday 23rd October .
Sadly he could not inspire us to score again but I thought for a debut and considering he had only just met the team let alone train with them he looked pretty good.

To make matters worse after the goal drought against Crewe I heard that Jabo had scored twice at Colchester, I thought why could he not do that here we had again failed to capitalise on the numerous chances we created and were lucky to get all three points with Crewe hitting the post and Martin blocking a certain goal in a one on one situation.
Teams lined up
MK Dons (4-2-3-1) D Martin, Chicksen, Kay, Williams, Lewington (c); Potter got MOM, Gleeson, Bowditch, Chadwick (Allan 71), O’Shea (Powell 61), MacDonald got our first half goal (Lowe 82).
Subs not used: McLoughlin, Otsemobor, Kouo-Doumbe, Smith.

Crewe Alexandra A Martin, Tootle (Turton 79), Davis, Ellis, Clayton (Colclough 68), Murphy (c), Leitch-Smith (Pogba 63), Moore, Mellor, Robertson, Bond.

Subs not used: Garratt, Guthrie, Ray, Daniels.

Attendance: 11,037 with 768 away.

The Referee was James Adcock from Nottinghamshire who was one of the better ref's I have seen and I dont think he booked anyone either.

Anyway overal not a bad month we are up to third with seventeen points one behind Notts and just four away from Tranmere with nine games gone, not in the Auto spots but pretty damn close.
COYD

September Blog Part One

Jimmy Bullard before MK Dons V Carlisle United game

So into September we go and I thought Id comment on the various rumours that started on twitter at the end of the month of August.

It started with an interview Karl did for MK News and he said when asked if we were getting anymore in "that there might be people going out " I was listening to the interview with a few other fans so heard exactly what he said and to be honest the reporter and the camera man from Anglia I think it was were there as much to get an interview with Jimmy Bullard as anything.

This got picked up on twitter and it then got speculated on that we were selling players and Daniel Powell's name was mentioned, a Derby fan then said they wanted him and it became Powell was going to Derby.
I was then quoting the article from the MK News but it did not the stop the rumours then a Huddesfield fan chipped in and our Daniel was linked there as well I was expecting to see Sky Sports News reporting it but that never happened the other funny one was Micheal Owen being spotted at Cranfield in his helicopter but no one fell for that.

Then next day the other MK paper the Citizen reported that "Robinson had previously hinted that possible departures could be on the cards, but now it looks set to be an uneventful day at Dons" and I wondered if that was a reference to yesterday or Robbo had given a different interview to them because he certainly said people might be going out as it turned out George Baldock went out on loan to Tamworth (who we seem to be building a link with) until 31st December when Bullard's deal is up coincidentally ! George joins teammates Charlie Collins and Jordan Ivey-Ward in Staffordshire for his second stint with the Lambs.

Anyway back to the Jimmy Bullard interview Jimmy is a funny bloke and his resemblance to the Chairman was mentioned and he said he has got that nickname amongst the players and both media outlets that were there that day joked about his hair. Jimmy was joking its insured and that he uses wash and go and both interviews were very funny especialy the one Dan from MK News did.

I can imagine Jimmy is a right laugh in the dressing room and I have been lucky enough to speak to him a few times now and he is very approachable and friendly and has that personality that reminds me of a naughty schoolboy .

Mike Edwards Carlisle Defender


On Saturday 1st we had Carlisle so technically the above news is August but Id already put that blog out so forgive my liberty taking lol

I do like Carllise and their players always seem to have time for the fans when they arrive and I even got to say hello and shake hands with Greg Abbott as he arrived I wished him luck but was just being polite and didnt mean it of course, but he is such a nice bloke I dont like to be rude.

One of the fans I hang about with on match days knows the Carlisle keeper Adam Collin and Adam came over for a chat as well, perfect opportunity for a photo I thought only to find when I took it Adam was laughing and the picture was even more blurry than my normal attempts at photography !

As for the match it was a bit like the Oldham game in that we looked comfortable and not in any danger of losing apart from a few minutes second half when the Dons fans really raised the noise level and support and
cheered the team through it and Karl was quick to give the crowd praise for it post match.
Chicksen got M.O.T.M which I thought well okay Id have probably given it to MacKenzie but perhaps the sponsors are bored with him winning it every game.

I thought all our players were good and wouldn't have wanted the job of picking one out to be honest.
Chadwick again got on the score sheet and Lowe added to the goal tally of the day which would have been more had it not been for some fine saves by Collin who I thought a good game although Abbott seemed to notice his mistakes rather than his saves in the post match comments.

It was good to see Lowe score his first goal at home from open play on 64 and hopefully he will now get a lot more .

But a surprise for me anyway was the appearance of Jimmy Bullard who I thought we wouldnt see on the pitch for another week at least and he also raised the noise level when he came on he showed some us some lovely touches and might well of scored.
The teams lined up Dons 4-2-3-1: Martin, Otsemobor, MacKenzie, Williams, Chicksen; Gleeson, Potter; Powell (O’Shea 85), Chadwick (Bullard 72), Bowditch; Lowe (MacDonald 72).
The subs not used were: McLoughlin and Kay none of the young lads and just the five on the bench
Jabo and Smith were not at the game Smith is banned so understandable but Jabo missing was a concern for me !
Goal by Chadwick was on 11 Lowe was on 64
Carlisle United lined up Collin, Robson (O’Halloran 65), McGovern (Symington 73), Murphy (c), Noble, Cadamarteri, Edwards, Potts, Berrett (Thirwell 37), Jervis, Chantler.
Subs not used: Simek, Madden, Beck, Gillespie.
The attendance was 7,227 with 381 unusually quiet away fans.

September is a busy month and we now have an extra game against Sunderland so the JPT game with Northamton is probably something Robbo could do without but it is for us fans a competition with happy memories and tickets for the game were selling well ahead of the Tuesday night game and by Monday morning we had sold our allocation according to a Northampton forum, on Monday afternoon the OS confirmed we had sold out our initial allocation of 950 tickets and received a further 300 that afternoon.

Some other news ahead of the game was that Ian McLoughlin our 20-year-old reserve keeper linked up with the Republic of Ireland U21 team on Monday 3rd September and played against Hungary on Thursday 6th September a game which the Republic lost.

Also Gary MacKenzie joined up with Scotland on Monday night and missed the MK Dons JPT clash with Northampton and also our League 1 match at Walsall but never made the bench.

Back to the Northampton game and as we know we lost to a wonder goal from Robinson that caught out Martin and although we were arguably the better team we could not a find a way back into the game despite a few good passages of play.

Mason Spence from the academy had a good game and looks to be a good prospect and did not seem fazed by the occasion.
But the JPT campaign was over and we don't have to think about that again this season.
The teams lined up
Northampton Town 4-4-2 L Nicholls, East, Langmead (c), Charles, Widdowson; Demontagnac (Wilson 71), Tozer, Moult (Nicholls 82), Robinson (Turnball 76); Akinfenwa, Mukendi.
Subs not used: Snedker, Dias.
MK Dons Martin, Spence (Ibehre 66), Williams, Kay, Chicksen; Bullard (Chadwick 66), Smith (O’Shea 69), Gleeson (c); Bowditch, MacDonald, Powell.
Subs not used: Lowe, Galloway another academy lad, O’Shea.
Booked: Kay, Spence
Referee was Carl Berry from Surrey and the attendance was 3, 444 with 1,349 loud Dons fans.

On Thursday 6th we heard that teenager Mason Spence had been called up to the Wales Under-19 squad and I thought is there another team in League One with so many Internationals in the squad ?

And so thoughts then turned to the upcoming game with Walsall, last season at the Bescott we had Beevers starting with McNamee and Balanta on the bench all three have now gone but one of the goalscorers that day Lewington was due to return from his three game ban and that triggered the memory of the game last season when we all thought we were going to score a boatload with the whole second half playing against ten men but it turned out to be a case of forty five minutes of frustration and we didnt had to our first half tally the Saddlers had veteran goalkeeper Jimmy Walker sent off for handling outside the box which meant full-back Lee Beevers went in goal and I wondered if we would fare any better this time round.

But that was then and it was back to the Bescott Charlie Burns the Academy keeper was given the day out I thought he'd get last game and there were changes from the Northampton game as the team looked more like the first team we know.

But just as we were settling in Walsall were in front after Jamie Paterson's corner was poked home by Dean Holden on seventeen minute's and it was catch up time.But despite having most of the possession we went into half time one down we made all our substitutions but nothing changed despite fourteen corners and the better possession we were again toothless in front of goal and it was Northampton all over again.

Saddlers have made changes this season but no one of any note we have made changes and the players we have brought in are supposedly better , but we did not get the result we did last season ,should we be worried ? maybe because we should be winning these games if we want Auto.
Not time to press the panic button just yet but we need to be getting something occasionally from free kicks and corners but we don't.

Understandably most fans were disappointed some angry and Robinson said after the match “The boys will go away and it’s their duty of care to the badge and the Chairman to put a performance in and that’s me included, I have a duty of care to the Football Club to up my game as well.” which I thought was at first hearing a bit OTT but afterward thought it is the thing a fan would have said and actually quite good to hear a manager say it.
The teams lined up Walsall: Grof, Butler (c), Holden, Featherstone, Cuvelier, Paterson, Hemmings (Taundry 86), Purkiss, Bowerman (A Williams 90), Baxendale (Jones 77), A Taylor.
Subs not used: C Taylor, Benning, Downing, Jones.
Booked: A Taylor
Goal: Holden 17

MK Dons the unsuccessful away from home on small pitches team lined up 4-2-3-1: Martin; Otsemobor, Kay, Williams, Lewington (c); Potter, Gleeson; Powell, Chadwick (O’Shea 68), Bowditch (Smith 75); Rowe (MacDonald 61).
Subs not used: academy keeper Charlie Burns, Doumbe, Chicksen, Ibehre.
Booked: Lowe, Kay, O’Shea
Referee was the rather incompetent Patrick Miller from Bedfordshire the Attendance was 3,657 with 437 very frustrated Dons.

And now for some news on the players we have out on loan, at Tamworth FC George Baldock went straight into the starting eleven for the Lambs fixture with Mansfield Town and also played in midfield the game against Barrow the 19-year old helped to create chances for the Blue Square Premier side but they have fallen to 13th in the table after two defeats.
Academy graduates Charlie Collins and Jordan Ivey-Ward were on the bench for Tamworth and both players came on Ivey-Ward had a chance but his effort sailed wide.
Defender Tom Flanagan made his sixth appearance for Gillingham in their 3-1 victory over Barnet at Underhill Tom came on to replace the injured Matt Fish in the 84th minute and Tom helped to secure the win for Mad Dog’s team who remain at the top of League Two and are one point clear of Burton who are in second place.

And even better news was to come when on Wednesday the 12th George Baldock put pen to paper on a new two-year deal with the Dons keeping him at the Club until 2014.
Karl Robinson and I have spoken a few times about George so I thought if Karl had anything to do with it
George would stay.
George had spent most of the summer with Icelandic side IBV and made 19 appearances and scored once during his three month loan spell there.
George’s loan deal is up on December 31st and he will return to fight for a place in Karl's side.
George said: “I’m really pleased to have signed a new deal, this Club is the perfect place to be for a youngster, whether you are playing or in and around the squad because there is so much talent here to improve you as a player.

Yeovil manager Gary Johnson

And so it is the final match of this blog and we have Yeovil at home the game comes as we are having something of an early season wobble.
The games away from home are at best frustrating and at worst a sign that we are not going to make Auto.

Former Dons from Fulham loan player Keanu Marsh Brown

So this game with Yeovil was eagerly anticipated by those of us that want to get back to winning ways and those that want to keep in with the Auto shout.
The Yeovil team arrived by the same coach firm as the fans arrived on although it looked like it was a bit posher.

Then followed a game between two teams who looked to be as good as each other with both missing the chances they had but both playing some quite nice passing football but both seemed toothless in front of goal although both keepers did make a couple of excellent saves.

When Lowe was subbed for MacDonald I thought well Lowe has not got on the end of two lovely crosses and I was not convinced Charlie would either but he proved me wrong and found himself one on one with the keeper and after a change of direction placed the ball nicely into the net.

The it was squeaky bum time as we held on in the final few minutes and even managed to have a goal disallowed in injury time.
Our home form continues to be good just the away form to work on now.
MK Dons 4-2-3-1: Martin; Otsemobor, MacKenzie (Kay 12), Williams, Lewington (c); Potter, Gleeson; Powell, Chadwick, Bowditch (Bullard 82); Lowe (MacDonald 67).
Subs not used: McLoughlin, A Smith, Chicksen, O’Shea.
Only Don booked was Williams and Charlie's goal was on 75

Yeovil Town lined up: Stech; Ayling (former Dons loan player Marsh-Brown 76), Hinds, Webster (c), Ralph; Young, Blizzard another former Don player, Upson, Foley; Hayter (K Smith 62), Ugwu (Reid 62).
Subs not used: Stewart, Ince a cousin of Tom so therefore a relation of former manager Paul, Nkumu.
Booked: Ayling, Ugwu, Webster

Referee was the rather fussy and often confused (but equally so for both sides) Carl Boyeson from East Yorkshire.
Attendance was 7,235 with 322 away fans.

As this is a month with a lot of games I am doing two blogs this month which I'll probably regret as a lot of you regular readers will not check till October lol but hoping the Dons fans on twitter will spread the word.

COYD