Pre-season friendlies

[Snake]

Please excuse my American-ness but I've never understood the antipathy people have for MKDons. They moved the team and didn't start over at the bottom of the pyramid... so what? It's still the same organization isn't it? People would rather the team had dissolved rather than continue as a functioning entity? Just wondering...

As you are American (where teams are shifted about at the drop of a hat) I'll forgive you. It's a bit like imagining if Oxford United were in £4m of debt and didn't even own their own ground (a very recent scenario) someone decided to relocate Us to say, some English/Scottish border town who didn't have a football club. Well, same organisation init?

[SmileyMan]

I'm a bit sad that people are attacking Mkdon personally for coming and sticking up for his club. I thought RO had a reputation for being good to the fans of other clubs (except Slumdon, natch), and while people might have an issue with the situation surrounding the club's existence, taking it out on their fans is just bullshit.

So Mkdons, best of luck for the coming season (apart from any games against us of course) and thanks for doing over the Scum home and away last season and helping in their demise.

[Hog]

But it's not his club is it, really?

And I thought this forum was above using the word Scum to refer to the other team.

[Mkdon]

Its only a friendly pr-season take a chill out pill and watch your team and enjoy yourself theres too much bitterness in world.

What kind of club call another club up to ask if it's okay if they play yet another club?

[Kernow Yellow]

I'm a bit sad that people are attacking Mkdon personally for coming and sticking up for his club. I thought RO had a reputation for being good to the fans of other clubs (except s*****n, natch), and while people might have an issue with the situation surrounding the club's existence, taking it out on their fans is just bullshit.

So Mkdons, best of luck for the coming season (apart from any games against us of course) and thanks for doing over the Scum home and away last season and helping in their demise.

Eh? Who's attacked him/her? The debate has been no more or less personal than it was before MKdon arrived. You seem overly sensitive to this whole MK Dons thing, given that you claim to care 'half of precisely fuck-all' about them!

Anyway, fair play to MKdon for coming and giving their side of part of the story.

[SWA]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
BORING

[Tabbernackle]

Are we not playing Oxford City this year?

[SmileyMan]

For KY:

So Don, were you previously a supporter of Milton Keynes City? Or Bletchley? Or some other professional team in a different town? Or were you a Don that moved from Wimbledon?

I'll take a wild stab in the dark and say your &quotreal&quot team is Spurs.

[Hog]

Bloody hell!

I'll say no more.

[Kernow Yellow]

For KY:

So Don, were you previously a supporter of Milton Keynes City? Or Bletchley? Or some other professional team in a different town? Or were you a Don that moved from Wimbledon?

I'll take a wild stab in the dark and say your &quotreal&quot team is Spurs.

What an attack! I bet Mkdon (who answered the question perfectly politely) would have taken massive offence if you hadn't taken it all for him first.

As I said, your sensitivity on a subject you claim not to care at all about is frankly bewildering, especially given the extremely broad range of opinions amongst the RO community, the vast majority of which have been reasonably and moderately expressed.

Anyway, I'll follow your lead from last time we debated this and bow out now, but not because I think it's been a boring or ill-mannered thread. Far from it.

[recordmeister]

Please excuse my American-ness but I've never understood the antipathy people have for MKDons. They moved the team and didn't start over at the bottom of the pyramid... so what? It's still the same organization isn't it? People would rather the team had dissolved rather than continue as a functioning entity? Just wondering...

Yes.

Part of managing your team is being a solvent business. If you cant do that, you lose. You lose games, you slip out of the league. You lose in the banks, you get thrown out of the league. Seems fair to me. The issue is that MK Dons were &quotgifted&quot a place in the football league with a clean slate and a way to make money that isn't fair on the rest of the teams in the league who are trying to run a business on a limited income and achieve their highest possible positions within those restrictions.

[BigCrompy]

Please excuse my American-ness but I've never understood the antipathy people have for MKDons. They moved the team and didn't start over at the bottom of the pyramid... so what? It's still the same organization isn't it? People would rather the team had dissolved rather than continue as a functioning entity? Just wondering...

Different players, different name, different history, different kit, different staff, different fans...but just as Trigger's broom had several different heads and just a few different shafts, it's still the same broom...

Franchise FC are a different organisation altogether.

I've nothing against Lombardiism and franchise sport as a rule as I think it has a certain novelty appeal...I'm just glad it doesn't happen in Britain. In fact, the thing that makes me most proud is that football here belongs to and represents the community that it is played in.

[Baboo]

[
In terms of attendance, you brought up your assumption that MK have a low away following seemingly in an attempt to argue that we should not feel empathy for those fans. I agree this, and AFC's attendances, have no relevance but you brought it up!

Only continuing your arguement when you first mentioned attendances - you said that MK average 8000 home fans. (Can't find this any longer. Poss in another thread or been removed. The size of their away following was nothing to do with empathy. You seemed to be arguing because they have - on the face of it - good home attendances, then they deserve a place in the football league. Firstly I think that is irrelevant anyway to the arguement that a team should progress up the ladder on merit, but secondly perhaps the support is not as great as is sometimes made out.

[Mooro]

I dont think the support has ever been as large as some would make out - were not hundreds (thousands even?) of season tickets handed out for free in the first years just to push up attendance figures?

The MKDSA link posted earlier is interesting, particularly the section about previous clubs in the MK area. Questions marks over Sam Hammans involvement with MK City, which highlight an issue over whether they could have stayed in existence if they had stayed independent from him - perhaps even benefitting from visiting supporters not wanting to go to the MKD game.

Would also be interesting to know how serious the local reloctation search was taken, no suitable site within Merton or any one of 35 other local boroughs between Plough Lane and BRighton? That, BTW, is a serious question - did anyone ever come up with a realistic location for WFC to settle?

[theox]

[
In terms of attendance, you brought up your assumption that MK have a low away following seemingly in an attempt to argue that we should not feel empathy for those fans. I agree this, and AFC's attendances, have no relevance but you brought it up!

Only continuing your arguement when you first mentioned attendances - you said that MK average 8000 home fans. (Can't find this any longer. Poss in another thread or been removed. The size of their away following was nothing to do with empathy. You seemed to be arguing because they have - on the face of it - good home attendances, then they deserve a place in the football league. Firstly I think that is irrelevant anyway to the arguement that a team should progress up the ladder on merit, but secondly perhaps the support is not as great as is sometimes made out.

Sorry, you're mistaking me with someone else. I've never mentioned the size of their attendances as I have absolutely no idea what they are and would not claim to. As I have stated, I think attendance is not a relevant part of this debate.

edit - 8000 is actually lower than I would have guessed had someone asked me to!