Wimbledon (football club, 1889)

Foundation of the club and amateur period

The club was founded in 1889 under the name "Wimbledon Old Central" in honor of the Old Central School in the London suburb of Wimbledon , in which players studied. The first match in the history of the club was the game with "Westminster" (1: 0). Within a few years, Wimbledon won the Klepham League, and in 1896 - 1897, Dons became champions of the Herald League. Wimbledon again won the Klepham League in the 1900-1901 season , adding two cups to the title. At a meeting held on May 1, 1905 , it was decided to remove the Old Central prefix from the name of the club. Wimbledon won the South London Charity Cup in 1906 , but in 1910–1912 excessive debts did not allow the team to participate in tournaments.

“Dons” managed to start two years later under the name “Wimbledon Borough”, but the Boro prefix was removed in less than a year. The club was based in Wimbledon Common and played at various local stadiums until 1912 , when it received its “home” for many decades to come. They became the legendary " Plow Lane " (Plow Lane), built literally on the marsh mud. Wimbledon joined the Athenian League in 1919 , and two years later moved to the Eastmin League.

The 1930s were flourishing in the amateur history of the club. “Wimbledon” was four times at the top of the table and went to the finals of the Amateur Cup of England. Attendance "Plow Lane" rarely fell below 10 thousand, reaching once 18.

After World War II, the club again reached the final of the Amateur Cup (1946/1947) and twice became the second in the League in the next few years. In the 1958–1959 season , Wimbledon won the title of the Istminian League for the fifth time in history, and from 1961 to 1964 three times in a row became the champion. At the same time, in 1963, for the first time in history, Wimbledon players managed to win the Amateur Cup of England (Andy Reynolds scored four goals in the final, all with a head). These successes were followed by the decision to go to the professionals and join the Southern League, where the Dons immediately made their way from the 1st division to the highest one.

FC Wimbledon made a splash in the 1974/1975 England Cup : starting the competition from the first qualifying round, Dons consistently beat Bracknell Town , Maidenhead United , Wokingham Town , Gilford and Dorking United , Bath City and Kettering Town , reaching the third lap. They became the first non- professional club to defeat a team from the first division (now Premier League ), while playing away. The victim "Dons" became " Burnley " at its stadium "Turf Moore". In the fourth round, Wimbledon achieved a goalless draw on the famous Elland Road in the match with the English champion Leeds . Legendary goalkeeper Dons Dicky Guy , who, incidentally, is currently the president of AFK Wimbledon , scored a penalty from Peter Lorimer . The replay, which took place on “ Selkherst Park ” in the presence of 40 thousand spectators, ended with the victory of the more masterful “Leeds” with a minimum score of 1: 0. After three consecutive titles of the Southern League, Wimbledon was deservedly elected to the Professional League of England instead of Workington in 1977 (earlier, unlike now, the League was closed). All the successes of Dons during this period were associated with the name of head coach Alain Batsford .

Going to the league and breaking into the elite

The season of 1977/1978 , which became for Wimbledon debut in the League , the club finished in 13th place in the 4th division . Batsford as head coach was replaced by Dario Gradi , under whose leadership the club achieved a class increase. But the debut in the third division was unsuccessful, and Wimbledon, having won only 10 games per season, sank back into the fourth division. The following year, Dons managed to rise again in the 3rd Division, but at the end of the season, club president Ron Noads left the club, taking Dario Gradi with him to the Crystal Palace . The team was led by former assistant Grady Dave Basset . Under his leadership, Wimbledon again flew out of the third division. In the future, things in the club went smoothly. Over the next two years, the Dons consistently won the fourth and took second place in the third division, scoring 97 goals in the 1983/1984 championship. The 1984/1985 season which became Wimbledon's debut in the 2nd division , the club finished the year in 12th place, which was considered a more than satisfactory result.

The next season, Wimbledon began with the defeat of Middlesbrough with a score of 3: 0, thus declaring itself as a possible contender for entering the top division . In the last mast of the season, Dons beat Huddersfield Town and finished in third place, passing from the fourth division to the elite in just four years, which is a record of English football. After losing their first match away in the top division of Manchester City , Dons won the next four and on September 1, 1986, topped the table. As a result, the club finished its debut season in the top division in sixth place. After this success, Dave Bassett lured away " Watford ". He was succeeded by former Bristol Rovers manager Bobby Gould . It was in those years to the “Wimbledon” stuck the famous nickname “The Gang of Psychos” ( eng. The Crazy Gang ) for aggressive and tough style of play. The future multi-year captain of the club and the most famous player in the history of Wimbledon - Vinnie Jones , who literally terrified the stars of the English league, stood out in particular.

The draw of the 1987/1987 England Cup , when the reigning champion Liverpool was defeated in the finals, was the finest hour of the Gang of Psychos. At the end of the first half, the decisive goal was scored by Lori Sanchez , but Dave Bisant became the real hero - the first goalkeeper in history who reflected a penalty in the decisive match of the FA Cup. 37 thousand fans of the club who came to Wembley became the witnesses of the greatest victory of “Wimbledon”. The only spoonful of tar was that Dons could not participate in European cups for the first time - because of the tragedy at the Belgian Eisel Stadium in 1985 , where 39 fans were killed, the English clubs were excommunicated from European Cups for 5 years.

In the next two years, Dons finished the championship in 12th and 8th places respectively. In 1990, Bobby Gould was replaced by Ray Harford , who came from Luton . The new coach insisted on signing for 300,000 pounds of Warren Barton , who, along with John Faschan , eventually put on the England national team shirt.

Glorious 90s

In the early 90s, the first division was transformed into the Premier League , which resulted in tougher requirements for stadiums. The old Plow Line no longer corresponded to modern realities and Wimbledon had to move to the neighboring area of ​​South London , where the club rented for the next 12 years, owned by Crystal Palace and Selhurst Park . It was not the worst for the club in the 1990s.

Ray Harford unexpectedly resigned in October 1991 and was replaced by Peter Wiz , but only for a few months, after which Joe Kinneir , who had previously led the Wimbledon youth team, took over the team for many long and glorious years.

The first season in the Premier League ( 1992 - 1993 ) started very hard - the club approached Christmas on the 3rd place from the end, but after the New Year, Wimbledon took heart and finished in 12th place. In the next draw, Dons managed to repeat their highest achievement - 6th place. In those years, Robbie Earl , who became the club leader in the 90s, joined the team.

After the 9th place in 1994-1995 , Wimbledon took part in European competition for the first and only time in history, but this performance cannot be called full-fledged. Firstly, it was just the Intertoto Cup , and secondly, the management showed no interest in the tournament, having even put up a reserve, but a youth team, for which the angry UEFA officials imposed Dons tough sanctions.

At the end of 1995, the club waited for a very difficult period, when in December Wimbledon settled down on the hopeless last place, but then the team came to life again and finished 14th in the end. Season 1996 - 1997 could be the greatest in the history of the club. After three defeats at the start, “Dons” was again signed up as a candidate for departure, but it was not there - a great segment followed, and by the New Year Wimbledon came up in the top three, successfully performing in both cups. In the spring of "Banda Psycho" reached the semi-finals of the League Cup and FA Cup . Unfortunately, the race for three hares ended in failure. In March, an offensive departure from the Leicester League Cup took place, and Dons also began to lose ground in the championship, focusing on the English Cup semi- final against Chelsea (the club played its last matches with a semi-main team). But the "blue" did not leave "Wimbledon" any chance, confidently winning 3: 0 - in the end, such a promising campaign ended in nothing.

It is noteworthy that Wimbledon, while remaining one of the poorest Premier League clubs, had an excellent football school, which in those years was considered almost the best in all of England. In the late 1990s, about half of the players in the main Dons team were trained at the club academy. These are Neil Ardley , Neil Sullivan , Jason Ewell , Chris Perry , Carl Court , Dean Blackwell . A few more players were on the way to the base. It was thanks to the excellent training of their own staff that Wimbledon managed to stay in the Premier League for a long time.

The 1997–1998 championship was rather colorless - Wimbledon finished in 14th place, losing Winnie Jones , who left for Queens Park Rangers , where he soon ended his career, choosing the successful actor’s path.

But the next season began again promisingly. “Dons” were at the top of the standings, having won a number of bright victories (especially I would like to note the incredible strong-willed victory at West Ham United - 4: 3, after 0: 3), reached the semi-finals of the League Cup , signed with the same “Hammers” “Excellent striker John Hartson for a record £ 7.5 million. But again, hopes did not come true. Tottenham , an evil genius from Dons, knocked them out of both cups, but the main misfortune of the season occurred in March 1999 , when Joe Kinneir suffered a heart attack and never returned to his post. The rest of the championship "Wimbledon" spent disgustingly, having descended to 15th place.

Fall

The new owners of the club, Norwegian businessmen, were invited to the post of head coach of their famous compatriot Egil Ulsen , who achieved unprecedented success with the Norwegian team . The start of the championship under the leadership of Ulsen was neither shaky nor rolls - the team was hanging out near the relegation zone, but by the New Year things were getting better, and Wimbledon was fairly securely entrenched in the middle of the table, but after winning Lester on March 13, 2000 an inexplicable fall occurred. “Dons” lost 8 matches in a row, and the defeat of the main rival in the struggle for the survival of “Bradford” 0: 3 overflowed the cup of leadership patience, and Ulsen was dismissed in disgrace. The match of the penultimate round against Aston Villa instilled hope when John Hartson equalized the score in the 90th minute of the game, and before the decisive round everything was in the hands of Dons - you just had to win in Southampton .

May 14, 2000 is still a bitter pain in the hearts of Wimbledon fans - a loss of 0: 2, and the club left the Premier League after 15 years of continuous participation in it.

Moving to Milton Keynes and creating AFK Wimbledon

The next two seasons Wimbledon completed in the middle of the Championship table, but much sadder events took place on a different front. Wimbledon was in a difficult financial situation, and in the summer of 2002 it was announced that the club would relocate to Milton Keynes , a city located 80 km from London .

The Milton Keynes Consortium proposed a city development program that included the construction of a hypermarket, a football stadium, a hotel, and a car park. However, Milton Keynes did not have a professional football club; the highest-ranking team in the football pyramid hierarchy was in the eighth division, and developers could not approve the construction of a stadium for 30 thousand seats. The consortium decided to import a football club from another city, local officials approved the plan. Council leader Norman Miles said that "the city should have a professional football team." The consortium has already tried to transport Luton Town a year before, but this decision was blocked by the Football League due to the fact that "every club must remain in its own district." After that, the consortium tried to negotiate a move with Barnet from North London, but again failed.

For some time, Queens Park Rangers appeared in their field of vision in the administration, but this attempt ended with the same success.

Then the consortium re-directed its views on Wimbledon and the management of the club was susceptible to this idea. Although fans vehemently objected to these plans, Wimbledon President Charles Koppel announced in August 2001 that the club intended to move to another city. Wimbledon fans organized various protest rallies, but on May 28, 2002, the English Football Association commission issued a verdict to approve the move. Although the AFA made it clear that the decision was final and irrevocable, it still met with fierce rejection of the fans.

In the summer of 2002, they created AFK Wimbledon , which they consider to be the successor of Wimbledon, accepting all the attributes of the old club (name, blue and yellow colors, an emblem with a double-headed eagle). The club from Milton Keynes is positioning itself as a new one, changing its name, colors and emblem, having nothing in common with Wimbledon. A landmark event took place in 2007 , when the president of MK Donz , Peter Winckelman, returned to the municipal district of Merton, where Wimbledon was founded, the trophies won by the club, including the famous 1988 FA Cup .

AFK Wimbledon , starting from the basements of the football pyramid - the 9th division in the English hierarchy, over the years passed the way to the Professional League of England (3rd level).

The most famous and recognizable colors of the club are blue and yellow. The original colors were blue-white, although they changed several times in the following years: striped brown-blue T-shirts with blue shorts; green and white t-shirts and blue shorts; green shirts and black shorts; white t-shirts with blue shorts and black and green t-shirts with black shorts. The full blue uniform was approved in 1918, the letter W was also embroidered on the chest. Since the 1920s, Wimbledon players wore blue T-shirts with white sleeves and black shorts with blue socks until the 50s were black shorts. replaced by white. The combination of blue T-shirts, blue shorts and white gaiters was introduced in 1966, and a year later the form became completely blue again. White leggings returned in 1970 .

The blue-yellow colors were first approved in 1975 , but after the season they were replaced by a white form with a splash of blue and yellow. From 1978 to 1981, the uniform consisted of yellow T-shirts, yellow leggings and blue shorts. Finally, from 1981, the famous blue form was finally introduced, with a slight addition of yellow. Only in 1993, a change was made when the blue color became much darker and the next ten years Wimbledon was easily recognizable by this magnificent color.

"MK Dons" appears in white and black colors that do not resemble the colors of "Wimbledon".

AFK Wimbledon took on the colors of Wimbledon ( 1981–1993 ).

The first emblem of the club was the emblem of the municipal district of Wimbledon, which it was before merging with other districts in Merton County in 1965. This emblem with a double-headed eagle was on Wimbledon T-shirts from the late 1920s to the mid-50s, but was then removed until it returned again in the early 1970s . In the elections to the Football League, the club adopted its own emblem, also based on the coat of arms of the area with the double-headed eagle. And since 1981 , the famous blue-yellow emblem is introduced.

AFK Wimbledon adopted the old emblem of Wimbledon (until 1978 ). In MK Dons, the emblem is absolutely not similar to the emblem of the old club.

Wimbledon played at various stadiums in his area, until in 1912 he moved to the new Plow Line arena. It was a unique, completely wooden stadium, built literally on the marsh mud. In the 1930s and 1940s , attendance often reached 10,000. The largest audience was present on March 2, 1935 , when 18.080 spectators came to the match of the Amateur Cup of England against the club HMS Victoria . However, the stadium was outdated and even after the club’s rapid ascent to the elite of English football, “Plow Line” has not changed much since the amateur times of the club. The only upgrade was the installation of lighting, first used on October 3, 1960 in a match against Arsenal in the London Charity Cup.

When the club was accepted into the Football League , Plow Line met only the minimum requirements. After the tragedy at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield , the League introduced the rule that stadiums should be equipped with exclusively seating positions.

Wimbledon management announced a temporary move to the neighboring district at Selhurst Park , owned by Crystal Palace . Due to the fact that the " Plow Line " was located next to two large highways and also a power line, its reconstruction promised to be extremely difficult, but not impossible. The club, meanwhile, began unsuccessful attempts to find a new place to build the stadium, until it decided to stay at Selhurst Park . For some time, Wimbledon managed to play in Milton Keynes at the National Hockey Stadium . Until it was finally renamed “ Milton Keynes Dons ”, which now plays on the new 22-thousand “ MK Stadium .”

AFK Wimbledon performs at the small Kingsmedow Stadium in the neighboring London neighborhood of South London, Kingston-upon-Thames.

The record for the number of matches for Wimbledon is held by Roy Lowe , who 644 wore a club t-shirt from 1958 to 1972 . Roy also holds the record for the number of matches in the championship (433).

The top scorer in Dons history is Eddie Reynolds , who scored 340 goals in 329 matches between 1957 and 1966 . Also worth noting is Ian Cook , who distinguished himself 297 times from 1964 to 1977 . Cook is in second place and by the number of games - 615.

Alan Kork (145 goals in 430 matches) scored the most goals in the Football League . Cork also holds the season record (29 in 1983 - 84 ). Kenny Cunningham had the most games in the national team jersey, being a player of Wimbledon - 16 games in the national team of Ireland . The most expensive player in the history of Dons is the Welshman John Hartson , bought in January 1999 for 7.5 million pounds sterling. Carl Court was sold to Newcastle in the summer of 2000 for £ 7 million - the largest amount Wimbledon received for a player.

The biggest victory after entering the League was a 6-0 win at Newport County on September 3, 1983 . The biggest defeat is 0: 8 from Everton on August 29, 1978 .

The largest win-win series in the League - 22 matches from January 15 to May 14, 1984 , a series without a win - 14, from March 19 to August 28, 2000 .

The biggest winning streak in the League - 7 victories in a row from April 9 to May 7, 1983.

30,115 spectators watched the Wimbledon - Manchester United match on May 9, 1993 - this is the largest audience at the Wimbledon home game.

The first head coach in the full sense of the word was in 1930, Kh.R. Watts . Doc Dowden was appointed in 1946 , and remained at his post until the end of the season 1954 - 1955 . Liz Henley replaced Dauden and became Wimbledon coach for a long 16 years, winning the Amateur England Cup with the club, four titles of the Eastmin League, before becoming a professional team and moving to the Southern League. However, in 1971 he resigned and was replaced by Mike Everitt , who initially was a playing coach.

Two years later, Everitt went to Brentford and in August 1973 a new coach was appointed Dick Graham . However, Graham stayed in his post only until March 1974 . The position of the head coach remained vacant until July of the same year, when Alain Battsford arrived. With him, Wimbledon achieved incredible success, having won the Southern League three times in a row.

Soon the club was selected to the Football League . After half a season in the League, Batsford left the coach’s chair. Three days later he was replaced by Dario Gradi , who remained at the head of the team until 1981. Dave Bassett was appointed to take his place, leading the club to an elite division before leaving for Watford . Bobby Gould spent three years as the head coach of Dons, winning the FA Cup . After his departure, Ray Harford came, who spent a little more than one season at the club. Then Peter Whit was appointed, but only for a few months when he was replaced, first temporarily and then permanently Joe Kinnear . He stayed in his post until March 1999 , when he suffered a heart attack.

In the summer of 1999 , the famous Norwegian Egil Ulsen came to the club, but two rounds before the end he was fired when Wimbledon suffered eight defeats in a row. After leaving the Premier League, the team for two seasons was led by Terry Burton . “Wimbledon” with him twice finished a year near the playoffs, after which Barton was fired. Stuart Murdoch led the club until the appearance of MK Dons. AFM Wimbledon coach is currently Neal Ardley.

The table shows the Wimbledon coaches. AFK Wimbledon coaches here - AFK Wimbledon Head Coaches

Statistics includes only Championship and Cup matches.

Wimbledon was a very successful club even before the elections to the Football League , winning eight titles of the Eastmin League (including three in a row from 1962 to 1964 ) and three titles of the Southern League (from 1975 to 1977 ). The club also has the Amateur Cup of England and many other cups. At the highest level, Dons continued to collect achievements: The most outstanding was the winning of the FA Cup in 1988 , which made Wimbledon just the second club to win the FA Cup and the Amateur FA Cup . “ Old Kartuzian ” achieved the same achievement, but it was in the XIX century.

• Banda Psycho (rus.)
• AFC Wimbledon - Million Coaches Club (inaccessible link) (rus.)

• Milton Keynes Dons
• AFC Wimbledon

• The official site of AFK Wimbledon (English)
• Official site "MK Dons" (English)