The Crazy Gang - AFC Wimbledon

[leckuno]

AFC Wimbledon is an English professional football club, based in Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 season. The club's home stadium is Plough Lane.

The club was founded in 2002 by former supporters of Wimbledon F.C. after the Football Association allowed that club to relocate to Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Wimbledon. Most of the Wimbledon F.C. supporters were very strongly opposed to moving the club so far away from Wimbledon, feeling that a club transplanted to a distant location would no longer represent Wimbledon or the club's historic legacy and tradition. Wimbledon F.C. moved in 2003 and formally changed the name of the club to Milton Keynes Dons in 2004.

When AFC Wimbledon was formed, it affiliated to both the London and Surrey Football Associations, and entered the Premier Division of the Combined Counties League, the ninth tier of English football. The club has since been promoted six times in 13 seasons, going from the ninth tier (Combined Counties Premier) to the third (League One).

AFC Wimbledon currently hold the record for the longest unbeaten run of league matches in English senior football, having played 78 consecutive league games without a defeat between February 2003 and December 2004. They are the first club formed in the 21st century to make it into the Football League.

The club was initially based at Kingsmeadow, a ground bought from and then shared with Isthmian League club Kingstonian F.C. until 2017, and with Chelsea F.C. Women from 2017. In November 2020, the club moved to Plough Lane, a new stadium on the site of the defunct Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, only 250 yards away from the original Plough Lane, Wimbledon F.C.'s home until 1991. The new stadium has an initial capacity of 9,215, with the option of expansion to a maximum 20,000 at a later date.
(Thanks Wiki)

Squad

We actually have a decent squad for this level and a pretty large one at that which is always key down in these levels as rotation is going to be needed to navigate the busy schedule. There is nobody in the squad at the moment that will really fit the crazy gang methodology so its something we're going to have to certainly try and bring into the club over the next few seasons as we progress up the table. There are a couple of stand out players for us though such as 17 year old Alfie Bendle and Zach Robinson who is currently out on loan.

Board Vision

The board has a clear vision for us from the off and its to finish mid table and be competitive in the cups so hopefully a cup run can help us

Supporter Profile

No surprise that family, core and hardcore make up 77% of our supporter profile with it being a club run by a supporter trust which is why they have a high influence on the board. There is a real chance for this group to grow as well as we try and progress up the league.

Season Preview

Well its a bit of a surprise that even though we got relegated from league 1 last season we are only expected to finish 16th but at least its well above the relegation zone and we can put up a good fight to make it into the top half.

The Start

A mixed start to the season with a good range of teams to face to see where we can finish

Papa Johns Group

Again we might be able to scrape through this group depending on results against Crawley and West Ham U21's​

 

[Nightman]

Good luck.

 

[leckuno]

The Start

Friendlies

So over the course of preseason we tried to have a mis of friendlies that would test us and then let us build some confidence as well and in my eyes it was pretty successful bar the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday

The Tactic

So to play to the strengths of the squad just now we're going to go with a 4-3-3 where we can hopefully be defensively sound and also let the wingers do their things with bombing down the wing and cutting in

Papa John's Trophy Group

A fairly tricky group to get out of with Portsmouth and West Ham U21's but it does all depend on the strength of the squads put out against us and I fancy our chances against Crawley

AFC Wimbledon v Gillingham

Not the dream start we hoped for but considering we fell behind after only 2 minutes I'm happy to walk away with a point.

Hartlepool v AFC Wimbledon

A much better performance this time as Chislett shows he's going to be a decent player for us down the right wing as he scores two goals while cutting in off the wing.

Carabao Cup 1st Round
AFC Wimbledon v Peterborough

A dismal performance from Nik Tzanev here in goal as he was at fault for 3 of the 4 goals as we bow out at the first hurdle

AFC Wimbledon v Doncaster Rovers

We bounce straight back though in the league thanks to two well worked set pieces which make the difference

Mansfield v AFC Wimbledon

We got very lucky here after giving away a cheap penalty as a pass back went badly and Jaiyesimi was able to beat the keeper to it and get the goal

Crawley Town v AFC Wimbledon

Janneh getting a great hat-trick to put us in a very strong position going into the final half hour but two goals in 8 minutes made it a very nervy final 15 minutes and when they scored their 3rd I was very relieved to see it chopped off for offside

AFC Wimbledon v Barrow

Jaiyesimi with a darting run right from kick off got us off to a flying start before Robinson grabbed the important 2nd goal

Papa John's Trophy 1st Round
AFC Wimbledon v Crawley Town

Crawley gave us a proper game again here as we were made to fight back twice as Dom Telford had a great game before he missed the vital penalty to hand us an undeserved 2 points

League

Well 2nd after 6 games is a lot better than I thought so lets see what happens over the rest of the season

Transfers

So we had 3 pieces of business over the course of the window closing this month. After the defeat to Peterborough I recalled Zach Robinson from Dundee to give us a bit more fire power up front as he becomes the best striker in the squad now.

Next in the door was Lewis Ward to provide some competition in goal and will takeover until Tzanev can regain my trust.

Next in I wanted another midfielder so we brought in Ryan Trevitt on loan from parent club Brentford who will pay his wages as he becomes on of the best players in the squad.

September

A few tough games in the league this month before we have to face Portsmouth which could decide our fate in the Papa John's Trophy​

 

[leckuno]

September

Stockport County v AFC Wimbledon

I was really hoping to do better against the recently promoted team but sadly it wasn't to be as we left it very late to secure a point.

AFC Wimbledon v Leyton Orient

A much better team performance here. Our wingers are key for us so far and are where we're getting most of our goals this season.

AFC Wimbledon v Northampton Town

Al-Hamadi has been great so far for us with getting goal as he chips the keeper here to open the scoring before Janneh cuts in again for yet another goal

Carlisle United v AFC Wimbledon

A nice easy game as Zach Robinson was unlucky not to get a hat-trick as he also had a goal chopped off for offside. It was good to see Trevitt score a screamer as well from midfield.

Papa John's Trophy 1st Round
Portsmouth v AFC Wimbledon

We did extremely well to take this all the way to penalties as Portsmouth were unlucky not to win it in the 90 minutes and did deserve the most points but it keeps us in with a chance of getting out the group.

Bradford City v AFC Wimbledon

We record our first loss in the league but I'm not too disappointed as Bradford were one of the favourites to finish in the promotion spots and they scored a well worked team goal

League

We sit top on goal difference after our loss to Bradford but its very close in the race for the promotion spots after the opening 11 games

October

Another busy month with 7 games with 5 of them coming in the space of 2 weeks so we're going to have to rotate the squad where we can so players are going to have to step up​

 

[leckuno]

October

AFC Wimbledon v Colchester United

I was hopping from more in front of our own fans but we'll settle for a boring game and a point

Walsall v AFC Wimbledon

A great first half from us as we fight back after an early goal and the 2nd goal right on the strike of half time was just the way to finish the half that we wanted

AFC Wimbledon v Sutton United

This time it was us who conceded right at half time so a few choice words were needed to encourage the players and we did enough to get back in it through a well headed corner to finish with a point

Papa John's Trophy 1st Round
AFC Wimbledon v West Ham United U21's

What a final couple of minutes of the first half as it looked like we were going to go in 1 down but a darting run from Robinson between two defenders and lobbing the keeper before some sloppy defending gave us the other chance we needed from the penalty spot.

Rochdale v AFC Wimbledon

A disappointing defeat here again but our players were knackered after the West Ham game so we couldn't field a full strength team

AFC Wimbledon v Crewe Alexandra

More dropped points in a game we really should have one but squandered far too many chances in front of goal

AFC Wimbledon v Harrogate Town

It turns out we really love a late goal n the halves to end a game with a 2nd half.

League

Down to 2nd spot now after this month with the playoff and promotion spots being anybody's game at the moment with a lot more of the season to be played

November

A much quieter month for us which will bring a well needed rest to our players​

 

[leckuno]

November

FA Cup 1st Round
Leamington v AFC Wimbledon

We wanted to make sure there were going to be no upsets at this stage so we went all out and it paid off here as we ran riot and progress to the 2nd round.

Salford v AFC Wimbledon

Against another one of the favourites for promotion so we made sure we were defensively sound before breaking on the counter just after half time and Robinson chipped the keeper for the only goal of the game

Tranmere Rovers v AFC Wimbledon

We got lucky here to get the game back to 1-1 as Tranmere had 2 goals chopped off for offside earlier in the game so it could of gone in a completely different direction

Papa John's Trophy 2nd Round
Forest Green Rovers v AFC Wimbledon

What a scalp to take for us as we got the early goal meaning we could swap to a defensive approach and protect out lead out for the rest of the game.

League

We're back on top by a point here as we start to open up a gap on the teams in the play-off spots to 4 points now.

Cash Windfall

Thanks to the add-ons added on for the sale of Jack Rudoni we have an extra £200,000 add to the bank balance and its all been made available to the transfer budget as well

December

Back to a much busier month this time as we also have two cup games to look forward to as we have home advantage for both games.​

 

[leckuno]

December

AFC Wimbledon v Grimsby Town

Zach Robinson had a belter of a game as he bagged a hat-trick and assisted in the two goals from Jaiyesimi as well to round off a perfect 10 performance

FA Cup 2nd Round
AFC Wimbledon v Wycombe Wanderers

A great performance from us here as we manage to squeeze out a draw and force a replay

FA Cup 2nd Round Replay
Wycombe Wanderers v AFC Wimbledon

Sadly it wasn't to be as the better team won here and deserved to go through

Papa John's Trophy 3rd Round
AFC Wimbledon v Bristol Rovers

A much better performance here as we are able to beat the league one strugglers and progress to the quarter finals.

AFC Wimbledon v Stevenage

Sadly we weren't able to take the confidence from the last game and grind out a boring goalless draw.

AFC Wimbledon v Newport County

We need to be doing a lot better in these games at home and get some goals

Colchester United v AFC Wimbledon

Its amazing how a sending off can affect a game as this really showed it even though it was our striker but they really made us pay for it and we couldn't keep them out

League

Well thanks to the final 3 games of the month we've dropped down to 3rd but at least have a game in hand as everybody in the top half of the table still has a chance at the halfway stage

January

Another 7 game month to look forward to but at least we can try and sign some new players​

 

[leckuno]

January

Cash Influx

So we were able to cash out on a transfer clause for Matthew C-ox and it was a no brainer really as its a of a lot of money for a club of this level and really boosts the bank balance and puts us on a much more stable footing. It is all made available to the transfer budget though but I doubt I can make a dent in it

Transfers Out

Only 3 players left permanetly with the only one I wasn't happy about being Nathan Broome but he was going to throw his toys out the pram if I made him stay but its a good amount of money in for the club again and the rest was done to solely free up wages

Transfers In

I may have gone a bit mad and signed 8 players in this transfer window looking to really improve some positions in the squad with looking at next season as well and boost out promotion chances.

Ali Koiki

We sign Koiki from Northampton Town for £25,000, he's not the best left back at this level but does give us something else in that position

Admiral Muskwe

A versatile player who can play down the wing or up top will certainly find a starting spot in the team and was signed from Luton for £50,000

Andre Wisdom

Wisdom has been without a club since the end of last season and can bring a lot of experience into the team as he joins on a free transfer

Matt Palmer

Signed from Notts County for £100,000, he has plenty of experience at this level so should handle the step up again fine

Josh Emmanuel

We spend another £100,000 on Emmanuel from Grimsby and again has a lot of experience from League 1 and the Championship which can only be a good thing

Lawrence Vigouroux

A big chance to weaken one of our rivals in Leyton Orient and well worth £64,000 as he's a big step up from our current keepers

Nile John

Very capable at this level and will add depth to the middle of the park as John signs on loan from Tottenham

Kaide Gordon

Gordon joins on loan from Liverpool and again adds a bit of depth to the wings to cover injuries

Sutton United v AFC Wimbledon

A very narrow win here against a good team but we fully deserved the 3 points

Swindon Town v AFC Wimbledon

Its wins like this that win promotion where your not at the top of your game but grind out small wins

Papa John's Trophy Quarter Final
AFC Wimbledon v Shrewsbury Town

What a debut for Matt Palmer as he scores a screamer to open the scoring to show what he can do. I feel it should of been a more comfortable win after the sending off but Shrewsbury were still able to threaten us

AFC Wimbledon v Bradford City

We were out for blood in this game as we really wanted revenge from when they beat us last season and it sees Muskwe with a debut goal which cutting in from the left to tap in at the back post.

Newport County v AFC Wimbledon

A nervy game throughout even after the early opener as Newport had 2 goals chopped off before the sending off.

AFC Wimbledon v Walsall

Another game where we just do enough to get the 3 points as we keep our run going.

AFC Wimbledon v Stockport County

What a win as our new permanent signings all come into the starting XI and show just how good they can be and it fills us with huge confidence going into the rest of the season

League

We've managed to take top spot again and will be trying to grow our 3 point advantage at the top but we do have a 13 point gap over 4th now which really helps

Youth Facilities

We have decided to reinvest some of the Matthew C-ox cash into upgrading our facilities to help us bring through the next player to sell for a another upgrade

February

6 games this month but the key one will be the semi final again Bolton and hopefully we can continue to make home advantage work for us.​