BletchleyDons

Agree with the comfort of the seats but I fell out of love with the ground ages ago. Shyte for atmosphere compared to the old NHS. Give me Boundary Park and fans right next to each other any day, even with just three sides. I'll be stopping in Oldham post-Leeds to visit relatives (and for a pint or two in the Grey Mare!) so if there's a plastic :censored: drinking soft southern drinks in there in a fortnight, you'll know who it is!

Hope you enjoyed your day even though the result didn't go your way, and hope the pre-match advice went some way towards helping out. Fair play to your side. You came to win the game and were finally punished when we eventually clicked just before half-time. At least you gave it a good go, and you'll still make the play-offs with that sort of attitude as long as the alleged unrest in your camp dies down. Thought Sam Baldock was the genuine difference between the two sides, and your support was amongst the more vocal we've had at ours this season. Good luck for the remainder of the campaign!

Nearby pubs with Sky Sports... The Chequers in Fenny Stratford. Small but homely pub about 15 minutes from the ground. Best to park in Tesco just down the road. Family friendly. MK2 2BY. The Dolphin, Whaddon Way Bletchley. Being used by a few Dons fans now and some Leicester supporters discovered it too the other weekend. 10 minute walk to ground. Car park plus shopping area adjacent that I think has a chippy with plenty of parking too. Probably going to pop in myself tomorrow has I haven't been in there for yonks. MK3 7JZ. Slightly further afield, the Tawny Owl is a decent stop-off. Hungry Horse themed pub with giant plates of food and a three minute drive to the ground. MK7 7AN. If you're drinking away from the ground, try to get those cars to Mount Farm by 2.15ish before it gets busy and parking spaces get filled up!

Daniel - I've got to go to work, but I'll pop on mid-evening with a selection of pubs and postcodes that suit your needs. I'll check and see if The Dolphin on Whaddon Way does Sky Sports. If not, I know quite a few slightly further afield that are kiddie friendly.

Skyline taxi's (01908 222111) are about the most reasonable. There's a rank outside the train station, and a Weatherspoons about five minutes walk away. Returning to MK Central, I'd suggest walking over to Asda and getting a cab to pick you up from there. If you pre-book it for 5.15, you'll make the train in plenty of time.

I've stuck up a thread elsewhere with places to drink. If you're drinking in the city then cabbing it to the ground, expect to pay around £6 to £8 and allow 15 minutes for the journey.

Evening Folks. Just popped back on to give you some quick basic information for Saturday to help you on your way... The Stadium can be found sat-navved by using MK1 1ST as your postcode. For those without gadgets, the best way I can describe it is as follows: Exit M1 Junction 14 Turn right on roundabout heading into Milton Keynes. Turn right on next roundabout onto H5 Portway Proceed straight over loads of roundabouts until you come to the roundabout with traffic lights. Go straight over (past McDonalds and the old Hockey Stadium) and head to the next roundabout. Turn left onto the A5. Come off on the first exit Turn right on the roundabout and the ground is right in front of you. Don't park at the ground. You'll be ripped off for a fiver and you won't be out of the bloody car park before 6pm. A better bet for away fans is to head onto Mount Farm Industrial Estate and park roadside for free, and only a matter of minutes to the ground. Alternatively, DenbighWest offers a fair few spaces as well but takes around 8-10 minutes walk to get to the stadium. Don't park in the Asda next to the ground - They tend to clamp football traffic and although this is only occasional it's not worth the risk. Ikea are much more tolerant though. Those travelling by train to Milton Keynes Central will either need to cab or bus it to the grond, or get another train to Bletchley. Pub-wise, you don't have much choice. The most popular venue remains the Beacon on Mount Farm (whch also has a fair bit of parking and they don't mind you leaving the car there during the game) simply because it's closest. It's a friendly enough place as far as fans go, but the place itself is a :censored:hole! There aren't many nearby alternatives, although rail travellers getting off at Bletchley can choose from the Eight Belles or Enigma Tavern en route. Nearby Fenny Stratford has five pubs within a stones throw of each other, but expect a fifteen minute walk to the ground. Recently, some fans have started using The Dolphin on Whaddon Way but it's a little more difficult to find. Alternatively, the local Railway Club has recently said it would be happy to cater for football fans and the beers a bit cheaper too. Food-wise, there's very little nearby. Both Ikea and Asda have cafes which cope well with football custom. If you want a chippy, the nearest is Napoli's in Fenny Stratford. Food is available in the ground but it's exortionate and tastes like poo! Beer is £3.40 in the ground for a 500ml plastic bottles of Carlsberg. If you're getting here early, the City Centre has the usual nest of Weatherspoons and Lloyds bars and there's loads of places to eat in the Theatre District. Lots of shopping for the girls too! I'll be popping back on in the run-up to the match. If there's anything else you need to know, leave your questions on this thread and I'll do my best to help. Good luck for Saturday.

AFC Wimbledon don't have ownership of Wimbledon FC's silverware. The patrimony was returned to the London Borough of Merton after an agreement was reached between MKDSA and WISA. The trophies are there for the benefit of everyone, and both clubs have the right to borrow pieces from the collection for display purposes. Neither club has an outright claim on them.

In truth, you'll find many of my fellow plastics claiming significantly higher numbers than the approximation of 2-300 that I suggested myself. I'm confident my own estimate is pretty much there really. Remember I haven't tried to justify anything at all while having the privilege of posting here. I've only tried to give you answers to the issues you've raised and I've done so with honesty. Let's be as clear as we can here - The move to Milton Keynes was an insipid and questionable solution but for the Norwegian chaps who were sold a pup by Sam Hamman, it was the only solution available. Are we wrong to support the decision? Globally, the answer is a definite Yes! But if only one former Wimbledon FC fan continues to accept the current scenario as a continuation or progression of their former side, I'm obliged to accept that the concept was viable. For the record, I know of at least half a dozen former Wimbledon fans who chose to follow the AFC Wimbledon route, but decided to defect to football in Milton Keynes for a variety of reasons. Predominantly, they feel that the managerial, coaching and playing staff that continued to represent Wimbledon in Milton Keynes itself before the name change were the real deal. Their words, not mine. I've made my case abundantly clear in terms of my refusal to pass judgement on a set of fans who had little choice but to follow their own hearts, no matter where it led them. I don't mind if you view me as being below you, or if you feel I'm not a real football fan. You're genuinely entitled to say what you feel and I'll defend your right to do so. Being from Croydon, you're probably better equppied than me to make certain judgements anyway. But I continue to stress that I won't take responsibility for the actions of those that made the whole situation arise in the first place. Show me a football club without the proverbial skeleton in the closet, and I'll down my giant foam hand and souvenir Wembley mouse-mat and follow them instead.

OI! You said former Wimbledon fans, not former Wimbledon fans residing in SW19!!

I always lurk for a day or two after playing a side that has a decent fans forum (and this is definitely one of the better ones) but I'll be returning to the Colchester effort in a day or so to read the build-up for this coming weekend. Little chance of cleansing myself of any more plasticity in their new meccano box of a ground though! At least our unfinished effort gives us something to boast about - We don't really have much else! I should be lurking in here again around early March. Good luck until then!

RDM gave you an awful lot of credit pre-match in our local press, and declared the fixture as easily being our biggest game of the season so far. It's been a fairly unsteady pre-season down here and RDM had very little time (and only three friendlies) to assess his squad and decide what he needed to add. Combine that with the Keith Andrews saga that seemed to drag on forever, and it's fairly clear our gaffer has enough to worry about closer to home. If you do feel like having your ego massaged though, I'll happily pitch in and tell you that you were the best organised team we've met so far and had the ability to mix up various aspects of your game at will. I thought we played reasonably well, yet never saw us coming away with anything and that's fairly significant praise indeed. And if you ever want to offload Gregan, be sure to give Di Matteo a call first. An absolute dinosaur of a player, but one that any fan would want in their side.

I'm afraid our lack of longevity means that rivalries, even with local clubs like Northampton, are pretty much non-existent. Some of our lot try really hard to hate other sides, but it's half-hearted at best. As far as numbers who attend games in Milton Keynes go, I'd put the number of former wimbledon FC fans attending (either regularly or occasionally) at around the 2-300 mark. Personally, I feel their choice is significantly different to those who adopted the side after the relocation took place. I've said earlier that, for the sake of simplicity, former WFC fans essentially fall into three categories: Those who accepted the move and followed their side to MK, those that opposed the move and saw the birth of AFC Wimbledon as a direct continuation of their former side and those who opposed the move and saw neither as a viable option. With AFC Wimbledon averaging around 2,700 over the past three seasons and 300 former Wimbledon fans attending games in Milton Keynes, it translates that the majority that followed Wimbledon chose neither option. I genuinely feel that irrespective of the choice ANY of those individuals made, none of them is wrong. I wasn't there, and wouldn't want to second-guess how people were feeling at the time. I do feel it's safe to assume, however, that most had a genuine reason for making their choice and that choice should be respected by everybody. I'm happy to accept that those that jumped onto the Milton Keynes Dons bandwagon without any former affinity to Wimbledon will continue to be looked down upon. But it's equally unfair to label those who had to make such a difficult choice as being 'plastic' fans. One of my favourite posts from another forum came from a chap from Godalming, who said he chose to accept the relocation simply because it broke his heart to imagine Wimbledon running out at Selhurst to an empty stadium. Very simple, but it managed to tell me a whole host of things about how people were feeling at the time. From my own viewpoint, I don't see either MK Dons or AFC Wimbledon as a direct continuation of Wimbledon FC. I feel Milton Keynes will always be tied to the history of Wimbledon purely by origin, and the fact that the club will always continue to be the legal identity of the side. But it's also fair to say that although they're a completely new club, AFC Wimbledon probably epitomise the spiritual side of Wimbledon FC on the basis that they still represent the community that Wimbledon FC left behind even tough it's unlikely they'll ever breach the borders of Merton at all. There will never be a satisfactory agreement on the relocation issue but it's encouraging that both sides of the story are still being listened to, and commented on, so long after the move took place.

Happy to answer, as I have been many times before. I actively followed Chelsea (in terms of attending games) from 1976 through to the end of the 00/01 season. For most of that period, I paid my money, both home and away, to watch some of the worst football imaginable. I've been at Stamford Bridge to see sub-6000 crowds watch dire performances against the likes of Cambridge and Cardiff, and attended places like Rotherham to see them lose 6-0. I've always felt I've given Chelsea not just the best support I possibly could, but also the best years of my life as I travelled relentlessly through the country oblivious to the neglect I afforded my family, friends and, eventually, my children. As I'm sure you're aware, things can change very quickly in football and I found myself in a position where I wasn't simply being priced out of attending matches, but essentially being told that my type or class of support wasn't particularly wanted. After giving most of my life to Chelsea, I chose to walk away from the machine it was becoming and ultimately missed the recent glory years that I probably earned the right to be part of over the years. Devoid of football, I followed my local non-league side (Aylesbury United) home and away for several seasons. Enjoyable, but without the passion I held for my former club. Eventually, I moved to Milton Keynes and made the decision to see what was happening there for myself before actually jumping on the anti-franchise bandwagon. The fact I knew Wimbledon fans following football in Milton Keynes made that choice a little more easy to make. By the time I became fully aware of the facts behind the move, I was already travelling home and away every week to follow the side. I know my viewpoint can't be easy for most to take, but the moral stance offered by many supporters on this issue is normally tempered by the fact they're already watching regular football within their own community. I choose to do the same, and don't feel obligated to assume responsibility for the whims of businessmen or music promotion people with bad haircuts. Indeed, had Wimbledon moved to any other area without a league footballing option, I'd pretty much guarantee that they'd have made a successful and well-supported transition into whichever area they may have landed in. Evil? Probably not. I save the strength of such descriptions for those who truly deserve it and there are many more people in this world who deserve the tag more than MK Dons supporters. But I'm not looking for approval. I'm really not. I've made my choice and accept all the derision that comes my way because of it. It's part of the package. But my money, over the years, has gone into the coffers of around two-hundred clubs in this country at all levels. I'm as much of a 'real' fan as the next guy, and like so many thousands of others, I'll be up bright and early next Saturday to leave the family stranded at home while I spend money I don't really have to follow my side. Sorry I can't offer you an explanation to please your inquisitive streak. Your points are valid, accepted and reasonable. I like to think that, irrespective of agreement, that mine might be a little understandable as well.

Technology must be really advanced up your way! When we text, you can't hear anybody shouting anything at all! Must admit that I like all the trips up to your neck of the woods. Bury, Rochdale, Stockport and Oldham are all wonderfully traditional footballing hotbeds that offer a great day out in safe and hospitable surroundings. Some of our lot enjoy the banter inside the grounds, but we don't have any bad eggs in our travelling support and we rarely get too much by way of intimidation even when our history (or lack of it!) is taken into consideration.

Appreciate the viewpoint and have seen both sides of the argument so many times over the past 5 years that they're pretty much etched into my mind and re-callable at will! From the stuff I've amassed in terms of speaking to former Wimbledon fans who came to Milton Keynes, and quite a few who chose to build a new community club by starting AFC Wimbledon (Some of us, surprisingly, get on fairly well even though there will never be any agreement with what happened from their perspective and I fully understand why they feel that way), there was never any significant proof that Wimbledon would have folded without the relocation taking place. I believe it's important that when figures were produced for consideration by the appointed independent FA Commission, a sizable amount of incoming finance from completed transfers out of the club were omitted in what I believe to be a deliberate ploy to sway the Commission into allowing the move and thus giving the Norwegian owners the opportunity to offload their dead duck. Admittedly, things weren't looking good for Wimbledon. No home ground for 13 years. Relegation. Loss of top-flight revenue. Falling crowds. Disparaged by their own council. Sold down the river by Hamman. Survival would have been unlikely, but not impossible. What has always been key here is the fact that Wimbledon were woefully short of survival options. Moves to Dublin and Cardiff were raised without any significant backing, and the genuine option that Winkelman provided finally saw approval granted. Yes! Definitely a pre-meditated method of buying a league place without coming through the pyramid in the traditional manner, but more realistically I'd call it the absorbtion of an existing club to facilitate a property deal for a chancer of a businessman who saw his opportunity with Wimbledon after trying to court several other struggling clubs into the area previously. The whole thing was, in hindsight, ethically and morally questionable in footballing terms, but entirely legal in every other sense. Hope this offers a viewpoint from this side of the debate, and sorry to clog up your own forum with our baggage. Just thought it might give some of those with an interest in the issue a little bit of insight.

You beat the franchise! We got drunk anyway! Stewards were predictably tedious. Well win next time! Thanks for the hospitality. Oh Yes! Just forgot... We have a firm? Bloody news to me!

In which case, might I recommend a series of YouTube compilations under the 'Does It Blend?' category? Everything from golf balls to compact discs, although the worthless destruction of an iPhone is a personal favourite of mine. There's quite a few, so feel free to pospone the plumber until at least Tuesday!

Quite a few don't, and the FL have had a few of these removed as there's obviously some copyright issues involved. Some grounds have been really accomodating though (Notts County, Darlington, Gillingham) and they've managed to get some decent interviews too with Brian Laws being particularly helpful in our PSF against Sheffield Wednesday. There's a chap who does some really good ones for Wrexham that are worth a watch if you're ever at a loose end too!

Jeez! you should see some of the numpties we get on our forum! Why they arm 14 year olds with keyboards is beyond me, and if anybody ever managed to open a virtual packet of sweets on our fans site, there'd be a bloomin' bloodbath! Look forward to you coming down later in the season. Will pop back on nearer the time to give you some healthy tips on free parking, pubs and swedish furniture shopping!

Just thought I'd pop this up. We've got a couple of posh blokes with a gadget that do these on our away trips and they're always worth a watch. Try to view it reasonably quickly, as YouTube are known to remove them occasionally. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30k9FOyupW8

Strange as it may seem, I'm pleased with how AFCW are forming their own unique history. Without going through the whole thing again (in much the same way you lot must be sick to death of going over the Lee Hughes thing all the time), I'll simply add that ALL Wimbledon fans had a choice to make. Some started afresh. Some came to Milton Keynes. The majority did neither, and are probably cosied up to Chelsea or Fulham instead! My view, for what it's worth, is that none of those supporters were wrong in their choice. Just glad it wasn't a choice I had to make myself as I'd walked away from my money-grabbing, ignorant side a year or two before. The whole relocation thing was a right royal unsavoury mess, but we're short on moral fibre down this neck of the woods at the best of times. It was only a matter of time before the businessmen that created this situation 'hoiked' us in! Yup! We're in the dirtiest keepnet of them all!

We are what we are, but at least our plasticity matched the seats in the away end! You'll enjoy our the seating at our place though - Comfy and padded for all those years we spent sat in our armchairs idolising teams that we'd never have dreamt of following for real! How did that nice bunch of boys from Manchester get on yesterday anyway? And did that nice Lou Macari chap score at all?

Strange start to the day, as the misses had her sister leaving Oldham to visit us in MK at 9.30am while we were boarding the coach to Oldham at the same time. Chance of a weekend away on the drink wasted. Never let women organise anything of worth. They never take the beer factor into account, do they? Enjoyable day out even though the result went against us - Sat out in beautiful sunshine in the Clayton Green beer garden chatting to some very friendly local lads, enjoyable banter with fans inside the ground and a competitive match that just seemed to die off a little in the second half. Real, traditional atmosphere when both sets of fans were singing. Shame our turnout was poor again though. Clever lob by Hughes after Stirling allowed him to escape inside for the first goal, although I thought we dominated the first half afterwards. Missed penalty, Wibraham clears the bar from two yards with Crossley bearing down, a disallowed goal that must have been very close and a one-on-one for Baldock denied by a lino that was as poor in the second-half for Oldham as he was for us. Taking Wright off for the relatively unknown McDermott affected our balance, and Cummings died off after the break as well. Wilbraham seemed more interested in sampling the lush Oldham turf with his arse while Stirling seemed determined to give the hosts as many opportunities to score as possible. One world-class save from Gueret in the second and another great parry soon afterwards before our defence stood off of Allott long enough for him to rifle home a good second. Five minutes of stoppage time professionally wasted in the way we were doing it all last season. Oldham will do reasonably well this year, but I wouldn't say I was neccessarily watching a title-winning side. Definite play-off chance though, and a reasonable bet for automatic if Leeds or Leicester fail to make an impact. Hughes is a bloody handful, while Gregan adds a certain steel to the side. But Oldham can mix rough-and-tumble style with some decent football. Our first-half performance was encouraging, but after losing our way I'm still not quite sure if we deserved anything from the game or not. Cheers for the friendly hospitality afforded to our fans - No hassle inside or outside the stadium - Just a shame to see over-zealous stewarding in both home and away sections that seems to be the norm this season. Passion-killers, the bloody lot of 'em! Best of luck for the remainder of the season.