Originally named Wimbledon, the club went into financial ruin at the beginning of the 1990's and were forced to leave there Plough Lane ground in 1991 and share with rivals Crystal Palace despite being a top flight club.
In the year 2000, along with Sheffield Wednesday they were relegated from the Premier League and in 2004 decided to move away from Selhurst Park after eleven years.
They moved after much controversy to Milton Keynes and based themselves at the National Hockey Stadium; with Sheffield United being the first team to play under floodlights and be the first team to claim three points after drawing there previous home fixture with Burnley.
After a year away from London the club changed there name to what we now know as Milton Keynes Dons FC, whilst back home in the Capital fans broke away and formed there own club; AFC Wimbledon who are going strong in the Non-League.
The club now have a purpose built ground which can house at the moment 22,000 fans with one day the plan to finish the upper tier which will take the ground to some 31,000 and will be will equipped for life in the Premiership, eventually!
Club Guide
Team: Milton Keynes Dons |
Upon arrival at the ground, I couldn't believe my eyes - I had quite simply never seen anything like it in my entire life. The ground was only half built, I could only imagine what it was like inside. However the ground was more like Dr. Who's Tardis and reminded me of a trip to Manchester City last season.
Stadium and Pitch: 7/10
The ground looked small from the outside but this was because the ground was dug into a whole, so upon entering the stadium you were at level above the first tier. At this time there is no access to the second tier but obviously these will be built once work on this part of the stadium takes effect.
The stadium was fantastic, I really want to give this ground ten out of ten; even more so with the cushioned seats but as the ground is only half built, I feel it is unfair to award maximum points. Once the ground is finished I have no doubt that this ground will become one of the best stadiums in Britain.
I enjoyed the experience of visiting Milton Keynes and most certainly would like to visit this ground again; but once it is more established.
Programme: 6/10
The programme was very average and didn't offer much to the opposing fan but was happy to pay the £2.50 asking price and they did offer a full 76 page programme when most teams would only 32 pages in the region of £2.00.
Performance and Result: 7/10
The performance by both clubs were acceptable; Blades boss Bryan Robson didn't quite pick a full strengthen squad with Jonathan Stead starting upfront along with Billy Sharp. But, United edged this tie despite going a goal behind when Drew Broughton (12 minutes) beat his marker to flick past Paddy Kenny.
However the Blades got back on level terms when defender Chris Lucketti (20) headed home Nicky Laws Corner; and Law himself put the visitors ahead (55); prodding home from close range after keeper Nathan Abbey kept out David Carney's effort.
The Blades looked safe from then on but with twelve minutes remaining the game was forced into extra-time when Jon-Paul McGovern's deflected free-kick spun past Kenny at the far post.
In extra-time United sealed the win; Luton Shelton did all the hard work to round three defenders before cutting in to shoot; his drive was saved by Abbey but he could only shove the ball into the path of veteran Geoff Horsfield (103) who finished from close range.
Despite being a League Two outfit; MK Dons played good ball to feet football and weren't tempted to use long ball tactics that we are endeared to down in the bottom tier of the Football League.
Atmosphere: 6/10
I was quite surprised by the MK Dons faithful, the fans behind goal held in fine voice even if there chants were pretty poor. However the fans at either side only broke their vocal cords to cheer there two goals whilst the away end were cheering United (and Billy Sharp) all the way to victory.
Overall: 26/40
:: Previous Visits to Stadium:MK ::
- 28.08.2007 - MK Dons 2-3 Blades (LC2, aet)