Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
| MK Dons badge | |||
| Full name | Milton Keynes Dons Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Dons | ||
| Founded | 2004 | ||
| Ground | stadium:mk | ||
| Capacity | 22,000 | ||
| Chairman |  Pete Winkelman | ||
| Manager | Paul Ince | ||
| League | League Two | ||
| 2006–07 | League Two, 4th | ||
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Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is a football club from Milton Keynes, England. They play in Football League Two, the fourth division of English football. The side's home ground is the stadium:mk in Milton Keynes. The club was relaunched under its current name on 21 June 2004, nine months after Wimbledon F.C. moved to Milton Keynes. Somewhat controversially, The FA considers Milton Keynes Dons to be a continuation of Wimbledon F.C. However, most of that club's original fans no longer support it, having instead founded their own club, A.F.C. Wimbledon, in south-west London. After negotiation with AFC Wimbledon's Independent Supporters' Association, mediated by the Football Supporters Federation, the club agreed to return the trophies and memorabilia of Wimbledon F.C. to the London Borough of Merton, and to make no claims on the history of Wimbledon F.C. thereafter.[1][2]
History
- An account of the controversy surrounding Wimbledon's move is detailed in Wimbledon F.C.
The history of the Milton Keynes Dons (MK Dons) begins in the late 1990s with Pete Winkelman, a music promoter and resident of Milton Keynes. Winkelman saw an opportunity to build a FIFA-compliant new stadium complex in the town, as part of a large commercial development that included Asda and IKEA superstores. There were already four[3] non-League football teams in the borough, including Milton Keynes City, who played in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division. One option available to Winkelman would have been to invest in one of these local clubs, with the aim of repeating the early success achieved by Max Griggs, founder of the Dr. Martens footwear manufacturer, who had overseen the creation of Rushden and Diamonds from two small clubs in nearby Northamptonshire. However, Winkelman felt it would be easier to convince backers to fund a stadium for a league club rather than a non-League team, and to this end, he began trying to bring in a professional club from another town.
Winkelman began approaching any football clubs that were struggling financially, including Barnet, Luton Town and Queens Park Rangers, without success. However, in Wimbledon F.C., he found a club with owners who were already looking for a new base.[4] He persuaded the directors that a move 62 miles north to Milton Keynes might give them the financial boost they wanted. Unsurprisingly, however, most of Wimbledon's fans - as well as the Football League - were against such a move.
On May 28 2002, despite over a year of fan protests against the idea, the Football Association authorised the move to Milton Keynes. Although there have been club relocations in the UK, there had never been such a relocation of a professional club within the English pyramid system, and this move attracted widespread criticism. Those who interpreted the League decision as American-style sports "franchises" gave Wimbledon the disparaging title "Franchise F.C.". Supporters of other teams boycotted games against the club and crowds dwindled to non-league levels. On 5 June 2003, Wimbledon went into financial administration with debts of more than £20 million.[5]
During the 2003-04 season, Wimbledon F.C. was run by the administrators and many of the team's players were sold. At the end of a dismal season, the club was relegated to League One (the new name for the Second Division). During the summer of 2003, the National Hockey Stadium was converted for use as a football stadium, and in September 2003, Wimbledon F.C. moved into the National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes. By spring of 2004, Winkelman bought the near-bankrupt club from the administrators.
Change of name
In June 2004, against the recommendations of the Football Association's Independent Commission, Winkelman announced that he was changing the name of Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes Dons FC. This was not a popular decision - Winkelman had previously promised fans a vote on the issue, and the committee of the official supporters' club had voted unanimously for the word "Wimbledon" to be retained in the name. They felt that by losing the name "Wimbledon", the controversial move to Milton Keynes could no longer be justified as saving Wimbledon FC.[citation needed] Furthermore, the domain name mkdons.com had been registered by Winkelman in 2000, suggesting that he had always intended to use this name. When the club formally emerged from administration under the new name and ownership on July 1, Winkelman also announced that he was discarding the club's blue and yellow kit for new team colours and a new badge. This change was again implemented without any consultation with supporters. The new badge bore the letters "MMIV", signifying that 2004 was a new start for the MK Dons.
Supporters club recognition
On 4 June 2005, at the 2005 Football Supporters' Federation "Fans' Parliament" (AGM), the FSF refused [6] the MK Dons Supporters Club membership of the FSF in a debate that, among other arguments, questioned why the Football League had yet to introduce any new rules to prevent the "franchising" of other football clubs in the future. In addition, the FSF membership agreed with the Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association that the Milton Keynes Dons Supporters Association should not be entitled to join the FSF until they give up all claim to the history and honours of Wimbledon F.C. With this in mind, the FSF began discussions aimed at returning Wimbledon F.C.'s honours to the London Borough of Merton and/or AFC Wimbledon.
Shortly afterwards, following heavy criticism for allowing the move, the Football League announced new tighter rules on club relocation.
At its AGM on 5 June 2006, the FSF again considered a motion[7] proposed by the FSF Council to allow MK Dons Supporters Association membership if the honours and trophies of Wimbledon F.C. were given to the London Borough of Merton and/or AFC Wimbledon. In October 2006, agreement[8] was reached between the club, the MK Dons Supporters Association, the Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association and the Football Supporters Federation. The replica of the FA Cup plus all club patrimony gathered under the name of Wimbledon F.C. would be returned to the London Borough of Merton. Ownership of trademarks and website domain names related to Wimbledon F.C. would also be transferred to the Borough. As part of the same deal it was agreed that any reference made to Milton Keynes Dons F.C. should refer only to events subsequent to August 7 2004 (the date of the first League game of Milton Keynes Dons F.C.), making it clear that Milton Keynes Dons F.C. are a new entity independent of Wimbledon FC. As a result of this deal, the FSF announced that the supporters of Milton Keynes Dons F.C. would be permitted to become members of the federation, and that it would no longer appeal to the supporters of other clubs to boycott MK Dons matches.[1]
On 2 August 2007, Milton Keynes Dons transferred the replica trophies and all Wimbledon F.C. memorabilia to the London Borough of Merton.[2]
Stadium
The club's first stadium in Milton Keynes was the National Hockey Stadium, which was temporarily converted for football for the duration of the club's stay, Their lease on this ground ended in May 2007.
On 18 July 2007, the club's new 22,000 seater stadium:mk (known locally as Denbigh Stadium) in Denbigh, Milton Keynes hosted its first game, a restricted entrance event against a young Chelsea XI.[9] The stadium was officially opened on 29 November 2007 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
The complex also includes a 3,000 seat indoor arena, where the MK Lions basketball team will be based: this arena is currently not scheduled for completion until mid-2008.
Training Ground
The club currently uses the public sports facilities at Woughton on the Green for training. The club's academy sides also play their home games here. During the 2005 close season a new plastic-covered artificial training pitch nicknamed 'the bubble' was constructed.
Trophies
Berks & Bucks Senior Cup: 2006 Runners Up, 2007 Winners
League history
When the 2004-05 season began, MK Dons were still being managed by Stuart Murdoch. They started the season badly and Murdoch was sacked to be replaced by Danny Wilson. Under their new manager, the Dons began to improve and they were suddenly looking good enough for survival. They managed to beat the drop from League One on the final day of the season - but only because of Wrexham's 10-point deduction that had been their penalty for going into administration.
The following season, the Dons struggled all year, were relegated to League Two and manager Danny Wilson was sacked.
Wilson's successor for 2006-07 was Martin Allen, who had just taken Brentford to the brink of a place in the Football League Championship. With a new manager taking charge of a team in a new division, the Dons looked more convincing than they had done in either of the previous two seasons. They looked like serious promotion challengers for much of the season and were in the hunt for automatic promotion right up to the last game. In the end, they finished fourth and had to settle for a playoff place. They suffered a shock defeat to Shrewsbury Town in the playoff semi-finals and the promotion dream was over. During the 2007 summer break, Allen terminated his contract with the Dons to take over at Leicester City in an arrangement that lasted just five games before he was sacked.
For the 2007-08 season, former England captain Paul Ince took over as manager. After a slightly troubled start, they recovered well and had reached the top of League Two at the end of September 07.
Reserves
The club's reserve side currently competes in the Football Combination East Division. The reserve players also make up the bulk of the squad which competes annually in the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup. Commencing from the 2007/2008 season, reserve games will be played on Monday evenings.
Current squad
As of 04 December 2007. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Technical Staff
| Paul Ince |
|
First Team Manager |
| Ray Mathias |
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Assistant Manager |
| Paul Heald |
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Goalkeeping Coach |
| David Tuttle |
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Chief Scout |
| Mike Dove |
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Director of Youth and Community/Under 18's Manager |
| Duncan Russell | 
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Fitness Coach |
| Andrew Stone |
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Academy Sports Scientist |
| Paul Collins |
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Academy Physiotherapist |
| Joseph Aylett |
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Head Groundsman |
| Dr Peter Reed |
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Club Doctor |
Previous Managers
| Name | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | % | ||||
| Stuart Murdoch |
|
May 2002 | November 2004 | 122 | 35 | 65 | 22 | 28.69% |
| Jimmy Gilligan (Caretaker Manager) |
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November 2004 | December 2004 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50% |
| Danny Wilson |
|
December 2004 | June 2006 | 81 | 25 | 32 | 24 | 30.86% |
| Martin Allen |
|
June 2006 | May 2007 | 46 | 25 | 9 | 12 | 54.35% |
See also
Relocation of professional sports teams: United Kingdom
External links
References
- ^ a b "MK Dons agree to return Wimbledon trophies to Merton - and sanction amendments to football statistics" - FSF website
- ^ a b Merton given back Dons trophies
- ^ See Sport in Milton Keynes#Football
- ^ The Guardian's account of move, January 2003. See section beginning "But the dispute's roots stretch back as long ago as 1991."
- ^ Dons' move to city in doubt (MK Citizen, 9 June 2003)
- ^ Motion 1 on pages 6 minutes at www.fsf.org.uk (pages 44/45)
- ^ Motion 6 (pages 6)
- ^ "Accord on history and honours of Wimbledon FC" - WISA website
- ^ Dons open stadium against Chelsea