There is a large part of me who feels extremely sorry for the true Wimbledon supporters who followed the club from their non-league days to F.A Cup success in 1989 over a fairy-tale decade, to see where their club has ended up today.

The day their club moved from South London to Milton Keynes was a sad day for football in general - not because it included a long distance ground switch but because it proved the normal working class supporter meant nothing to the football club. I wonder how I would react if Blues were moved to a new location far, far, away from the West Midlands? I would probably feel exactly the same as the now departed Dons fans who follow AFC Wimbledon in the Combined Counties League.

However reading a Wimbledon messageboard earlier today, it brought the point home to me about the 'divide' which has obviously taken place between Dons fans. Some have bitten the bullet and taken the route of continuing to follow Wimbledon in Milton Keynes but it seems the majority have taken the local non-league side to their hearts and snubbed the Division One 'franchise'. Some fans have even set up a website which revels in the decline of Wimbledon MK which can be found here:
Feck off Franchise

These were some of the comments I read earlier:


Eaststand03 says "Great Game":

"Great play from the lads today they gave it everything and WERE unlucky. Even the most partisan Blues fan would admit that there were at least 1000 there today and out sang a rather poor Blues crowd in my opinion. Hope that showed the guys how much their effort is appreciated and their style of play.
If you dont believe me on the game then watch MOTD tonight- they had one of the main crews there today."

U_DONS says "down and out":

"Tell it to someone who is interested! This is an AFC Wimbledon board, not Franchise MunchKins. Haven't you paid your £5 and been vetted by AskMK?"

orinoco says "bye bye":

"Franchise have bottled so many relegation six-pointers already this season that their league campaign is over - hence they only seem to be able to muster any interest in the cup. Now that their cup run is over they really have nothing left to play for this season. I wonder how many Franchise mongs will bother to turn up to watch their farcically bad side get tonked all the way down to division two?"

Its awfully sad given the original small support, but not surprising. Maybe one day we will see the real Wimbledon back in the fray of English football, and considering their debut in the Combined Counties League, who would bet against it?

All the best is all I can say to them.

Ive read about the demise of the Wombles in the papers. Were they shoved out of Sellhurst Park? Or was it sheerly a financial decision?

Enlighten an Ignorant Aussie. How many promotions will one require to get fron to combined counties leauge to the Footbal Conference Ive always wondered as we dont have relegation and promotion in the professional AFL leauges. Ive asked people here in Oz before but there all Manure fans unconcerned with the ametuers

Yeah Ive always wanted to know

Well this is how it works....

I think they may be only 2 promotions away from the Conference.
Due to the amount of support/cash they generate they started higher up the ladder than a brand new club or that Aldershot did when they had to start all over again. The league they are in saw the cash potential of so many sell out league games they would have.
They should achieve the first of those promotions this year, as I think they are top of the division with games in hand.
If you need anything confirming, I can chat to an afc fan at work tomorrow.

Yes, I reckon J's right, 2 promotions from the conference. Not a 100% sure though.

It's so weird to hear comments like that from ex-Dons fans who now support the AFC. They hate the Franchise with passion, and it just seems so strange that they can feel that way about a club they've supported all their lives until 2 years ago. I know they all say that the Franchise is not the same Wimbledon they've followed through thick and thin, but under all the s**t - it is. I'd like to think that if the same thing happened to Blues then people would still have a shred of sentiment for the "old" club, but I suppose you never know how you'd feel after that sort of betrayal.