The Round Ball Game

[BBMmk2]

AFC Wimbledon is the one team in the south of England who I want to do well - especially today.

Yes, indeed, EA! BBC News Sport were commenting on it, at length today.

[aeolium]

Please, Magpies, can we have a win today???

I think you mean tomorrow, bbm

Looking on the wiki page for MK Dons, I see that one of their former managers was a certain Roberto di Matteo....

I confess I am slightly puzzled at the tremendous animosity towards them. Many clubs now have only a limited association with their locality in terms of their players, manager and probably ownership (and in many cases supporters). MK have effectively dissolved the links they had with the old Wimbledon FC and returned those items associated with the heritage of Wimbledon FC to the London borough of Merton - they are now effectively a new club based in Milton Keynes with their own supporter base. It's surprising that people get so worked up about Milton Keynes but don't quibble about Russian or Saudi billionaires owning clubs, or the high price of tickets in the higher divisions.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

well as a Chelsea follower i have just had to get over the awfulness of the club being owned by a meddling billionaire with a dubious past .... i recall the noble purity of going to Barnet matches at Underhill in 69/70 and losing to sides like Telford ... and then Barry Fry came along and i somehow lost touch ....only to find he had followed me up the A1 ...at least Ken Bates overshot and took on Leeds [doing well of late] after he sold out ... i was pondering which, if any of the local teams in lower divisions [not Leicester] i could go and watch ..Pboro, Kettering Northants or MK Dons when Di Mateo was manager ...

i have been a few times to Villa with the a friend who is the kind of fan who will have his ashes scattered at the Holt End ... and there sat the magi, El Senor Ellis .... now someone called Randy sits there ... and they are struggling ...

none of which relieves the complete misery of the Chelsea situation .... what a fouled nest it now is ....

and the red devils keep on keeping eightobstruction happy - a noble cause

[EdgeleyRob]

0-1,ex Stockport player an' all,how dare he.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/mkdons

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

great goal for an equaliser!

[EdgeleyRob]

great goal for an equaliser!

Got some strange looks here when I shouted "get in".

[teamsaint]

Great goal, right in front of their fans. One to remember.

[EdgeleyRob]

Sick as a parrott.

[AmpH]

FA CUP 3RD ROUND DRAW

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20574485

[antongould]

Easiest draw possible teamsaint and the toon away to Brighton more than a little scary.

[gingerjon]

Our thoughts turn to the Welsh Cup now and what looks to be the juiciest tie of the round: THE MIGHTY BLACK AND GREENS (who wear white these days) against Rhyl (who always wear white). Aber are biding their time and waiting to pounce up the Premier League table when required whereas Rhyl are being a bit show-offy and are unbeaten this season in the Cymru Alliance.

As expected a game of such significance is live on S4C and you can watch it at www.s4c.co.uk starting at 2.45pm next Saturday.

[EdgeleyRob]

Easiest draw possible teamsaint

A forum derby too.
Big incentive for another of our teams,if Hereford can get past Cheltenham,a home time with Everton.

Cardif City 1 Sheffield Wednesday 0 ,grim for Owls fans at the moment.

[teamsaint]

Our thoughts turn to the Welsh Cup now and what looks to be the juiciest tie of the round: THE MIGHTY BLACK AND GREENS (who wear white these days) against Rhyl (who always wear white). Aber are biding their time and waiting to pounce up the Premier League table when required whereas Rhyl are being a bit show-offy and are unbeaten this season in the Cymru Alliance.

As expected a game of such significance is live on S4C and you can watch it at www.s4c.co.uk starting at 2.45pm next Saturday.

sounds like fun.would tune in but I have tix for Saints vReading

nice bit of practice for us in the cup......what is wrong with t'Owls?

[cloughie]

sounds like fun.would tune in but I have tix for Saints vReading

nice bit of practice for us in the cup......what is wrong with t'Owls?

Should a team take so long to gel? There seems to still be the team spirit there but there always seem to be too many changes match to match and the loan players other than Berley, who's now returned to Everton don't seem to be improving the side. The net two matches against fellow strugglers Barnsley and Bristol City will be crucial for the side and in particular for Jones!

[Lancashire Lass]

I confess I am slightly puzzled at the tremendous animosity towards them. Many clubs now have only a limited association with their locality in terms of their players, manager and probably ownership (and in many cases supporters). MK have effectively dissolved the links they had with the old Wimbledon FC and returned those items associated with the heritage of Wimbledon FC to the London borough of Merton - they are now effectively a new club based in Milton Keynes with their own supporter base. It's surprising that people get so worked up about Milton Keynes but don't quibble about Russian or Saudi billionaires owning clubs, or the high price of tickets in the higher divisions.

Aeolium, while fans being priced out of games is wrong and while ownership by investors (foreign or otherwise) who may try to change certain aspects of their club is a concern, the hijacking of Wimbledon FC and the theft of its league place by a Milton Keynes consortium is far and away the biggest crime striking against the very heart of football in modern times.

To put it in a nutshell: the Norwegian owners of WFC did to the club what the BBC is doing to Radio 3 – kick its hard core long-time supporters in the teeth and completely change its identity to attract a new swathe of supporters who didn’t even know they wanted to support the club in the first place.

Football is the greatest game in the world because of the depth of emotion it arouses, and that’s because of the history and traditions of football clubs. A club always stays within, or as near to as possible, its home community. And clubs climb the football pyramid purely by success on the pitch.

Milton Keynes actually had its own non-league team, Milton Keynes City, which could have progressed up the football pyramid, had Winkelman had the commitment and had there been the “football frenzy” in MK that he so laughably boasted about. After all, that’s what AFC Wimbledon have had to do! And what the old Wimbledon did as well.

Instead, the town were handed a league place on a plate, a league place stolen from a club 70 miles down the road.

Yes, they have handed back the history and honours, but that’s the least they could do. They still refuse to drop the “Dons” in their name. And as long as that outfit exists in the league, it’s a fundamental cheat, not only against Wimbledon fans, but against all other clubs who’ve gone up and down the divisions the honest way.

As for yesterday – well, it was a beautiful moment when that ball went in the net. We played much better than anyone expected – it brought the team together and hopefully that augurs well for keeping in the League this season. The injury-time winner was cruel (and sorry you lost your money, ER) but a replay at Kingsmeadow would have been another nightmare.

At least Franchise didn’t get a big club in Round 3.