Wimbledon

[Sackcloth Ox]

A fantastic story it's all about the supporters at the end of the day.

Their ground is however not good enough for league football.

[witney dave]

Good luck to them, I have great respect for their manager Terry Brown, he was a total credit to his club when they came to us last year. Another year in the depths for Luton, must admit I never thought they would be out of the league so long.

[Ancient Colin]

And more important, &quotstuff you Luton&quot. I sense I lothe Luton much more than Swi@d#n.

[theox]

And more important, &quotstuff you Luton&quot. I sense I lothe Luton much more than Swi@d#n.

Agreed! I was desperate for Luton to lose. I take much more joy from their failure to get promoted than Slumdon's relegation. Nearly threw the baby across the room when Kedwell scored the decisive penalty. Luckily, the missus was out of the room.....

[dr ceri]

Did you know that Glenn Mulcaire, infamous News of the Screws private investigator jailed for and at the centre of the recent phone hacking scandal, scored AFC Wimbledon's first goal when they formed 9 or so years ago?

FACT!

[theox]

The other surprising thing is that yesterday's attendance was only just over 18000. I thought that our record may have been in danger if enough casual supporters of both clubs turned up but clearly neither club have that many!

[YF Dan]

The other surprising thing is that yesterday's attendance was only just over 18000. I thought that our record may have been in danger if enough casual supporters of both clubs turned up but clearly neither club have that many!

I think that's a little unfair on both teams.

The fact that it was played in Manchester made it less attractive to day-trippers, both in terms of the cost of getting there, and the fact it wasn't a day out in the iconic Wembley. If last year's final had been in the City of Manchester stadium, my Mrs and son wouldn't have gone, and I reckon a lot of other very occasionals would have felt the same.

[recordmeister]

The other surprising thing is that yesterday's attendance was only just over 18000. I thought that our record may have been in danger if enough casual supporters of both clubs turned up but clearly neither club have that many!

I think that's a little unfair on both teams.

The fact that it was played in Manchester made it less attractive to day-trippers, both in terms of the cost of getting there, and the fact it wasn't a day out in the iconic Wembley. If last year's final had been in the City of Manchester stadium, my Mrs and son wouldn't have gone, and I reckon a lot of other very occasionals would have felt the same.

It was also £40 a ticket. How daft are the folk who run the Conference? I can't imagine that with 18000 people there, the Conf made any money at all.

[Kernow Yellow]

The other surprising thing is that yesterday's attendance was only just over 18000. I thought that our record may have been in danger if enough casual supporters of both clubs turned up but clearly neither club have that many!

The fact that the final was held in Manchester didn't help matters. And the ticket prices were as exorbitant as last year. I was surprised there weren't more in attendance, but I wonder how many fans we would have had last season had the final been at, say, Anfield. Not 33,000, that's for sure.

Well done AFC though, fantastic achievement for a club that basically played park football less than ten years ago.

Edit - I see Dan and RM beat me to it.

[slappy]

I don't think the ticket prices were particularly rich, considering a Premier League game is probably more than that. The location could have been booked in the midlands such as Villa Park, but for a 3pm Saturday game I don't think Manchester is that difficult to get to, although the cheap train tickets were probably all gone by the time they knew they were in the final.

I am enjoying Luton's suffering, but part of me thinks AFC Wimbledon have had it a bit too easy. They get into the football league only nine years after forming, when it took Aldershot 16 years.

Also AFCW only had two years in the Blue Square Premier, after going prety much straight through from Combined Counties (2 seasons) =&gt Isthmian League1 =&gt Isthmian Premier (2 seasons)=&gt Conference South =&gt Conference Premier (2 seasons). [apologies for any errors]

[tomoufc]

Very pleased to have Wimbledon back in the football league, having watched them in Premiership when I was a kid.

Just as an aside I wonder if they'll keep their excellent fans' radio commentry, which I used when we playd them in the Conference.

[Baboo]

part of me thinks AFC Wimbledon have had it a bit too easy.

And what does the other part of you think about how easy MK Dons have had it????

[Sideshow Rob]

Only 10k from Luton was a shock.

[Dr Bob]

Very pleased to have Wimbledon back in the football league, having watched them in Premiership when I was a kid.

Just as an aside I wonder if they'll keep their excellent fans' radio commentry, which I used when we playd them in the Conference.

More to the point - I wonder if they will be allowed to keep it? I saw one of their very first games in the League, in August 1977 away at Torquay (my Aunt lived two streets away from Plainmoor) and it was obvious to us then they were going to do well. I had to explain to my wife on Saturday, as we were driving along, why the news that AFC had beaten Luton led to the reaction it did. Really happy for them.

[slappy]

part of me thinks AFC Wimbledon have had it a bit too easy.

And what does the other part of you think about how easy MK Dons have had it????

Most football clubs have a history of grandfathers and fathers and sons being fans through the years, or it was the club where you were come from. As MK Dons have only the latter, it must be a task to attract locals who up until 10 years ago the residents would have presumably been Premiership supporters (as there is not much else round MK), as Northampton, Luton and Oxford presumably keep their historic support.