Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Milton_Keynes_Dons_F.C.".

Milton Keynes Dons

Full name	Milton Keynes Dons Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Dons
Founded	2004
Ground	stadium:mk (Capacity: 22,000[1])
Chairman	Pete Winkelman
Manager	Roberto Di Matteo
League	League One
2007–08	League Two, 1st (promoted as champions)
Home colours Away colours

Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is a professional football club founded in 2004, based in Milton Keynes, England. They will play the 2008-09 season in Football League One, the third division of English football. The side's home ground is the stadium:mk in Milton Keynes. The club was relaunched under its current name on 21 June 2004, nine months after the then Wimbledon F.C. moved to Milton Keynes. Milton Keynes Dons is legally a continuation of Wimbledon F.C., however after negotiation with the Wimbledon Independent Supporters' Association, mediated by the Football Supporters Federation, the club agreed to return the trophies and memorabilia of Wimbledon F.C. to the London Borough of Merton, and to make no claims on the history of Wimbledon F.C. thereafter.^[2][3] This step was taken in part to ensure the recognition of the Milton Keynes Dons Supporters Association by the Football Supporters Federation.

History

Main articles: Relocation of professional sports teams and Professional sports league organization

An account of the controversy surrounding Wimbledon's move is detailed in Wimbledon F.C.

The history of Milton Keynes Dons (MK Dons) begins in the late 1990s with Pete Winkelman, a music promoter and resident of Milton Keynes. Winkelman had a vision to build a FIFA-compliant new stadium complex in the town, providing a sporting & events centre. The core to this project was to base a professional football club at the stadium. As such Winkelman began approaching football clubs within a reasonable radius of the town who were struggling to gain consent to redevelop their stadia. These included Barnet, Luton Town and Queens Park Rangers. These initial approaches were unsuccessful, however, in Wimbledon F.C., he found a club with owners who were already looking for a new base.^[4] He persuaded the directors that a move 56 miles (90 km) north to Milton Keynes might give them the financial boost they wanted. Most of Wimbledon's fans as well as the Football League were against such a move.^[5]

On May 28, 2002, despite over a year of fan protests against the idea, the Football Association authorised the move to Milton Keynes. Although there have been club relocations in the UK, there had never been such a relocation of a professional club within the English pyramid system, and this move attracted widespread criticism. Those who interpreted the League decision as American-style sports "franchises" gave Wimbledon the disparaging title "Franchise F.C.". At the behest of the Football Supporters Federation, the fans of other teams boycotted games against the club and crowds dwindled to non-league levels. On 5 June 2003, Wimbledon went into financial administration with debts of more than £20 million.^[6]

During the 2003-04 season, Wimbledon F.C. was run by the administrators and many of the team's players were sold. At the end of a dismal season, the club was relegated to League One (the new name for the Second Division). During the summer of 2003, the National Hockey Stadium was converted for use as a football stadium, and in September 2003, Wimbledon F.C. moved into the National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes. In spring 2004, to ensure that the idea of permanently basing a football team at the proposed stadium complex became a reality, Winkelman bought the near-bankrupt club from the administrators, although the owning of the club was never the original intention.

In 2008, the club claimed their first items of silverware, winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final 2-0 against Grimsby Town in front of over 55 thousand fans at Wembley Stadium. In May 2008, the club lifted the League Two championship trophy after winning League Two and gaining promotion to League One for the 2008/2009 season.

Change of name

In June 2004, against the recommendations of the Football Association's Independent Commission, Winkelman announced that he was changing the name of Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes Dons FC. This was not a popular decision - Winkelman had previously promised fans a vote on the issue, and the committee of the official supporters' club had voted unanimously for the word "Wimbledon" to be retained in the name. When the club formally emerged from administration under the new name and ownership on July 1, Winkelman also announced that he was changing the club's blue and yellow kit for new team colours and a new badge. This change was again implemented without any consultation with supporters. The new badge bore the letters "MMIV", signifying that 2004 was a new start for the MK Dons.

League history

When the 2004-05 season began, the team were still being managed by Stuart Murdoch. They started the season badly and Murdoch was sacked to be replaced by Danny Wilson. Under their new manager, the Dons began to improve and they were suddenly looking good enough for survival. They managed to beat the drop from League One on the final day of the season - but only because of Wrexham's 10-point deduction that had been their penalty for going into administration.

The following season, the Dons struggled all year, were relegated to League Two and manager Danny Wilson was sacked.

Wilson's successor for 2006-07 was Martin Allen, who had just taken Brentford to the brink of a place in the Football League Championship. With a new manager taking charge of a team in a new division, the Dons looked more convincing than they had done in either of the previous two seasons. They looked like serious promotion challengers for much of the season and were in the hunt for automatic promotion right up to the last game. In the end, they finished fourth and had to settle for a playoff place. They suffered a shock defeat to Shrewsbury Town in the playoff semi-finals and the promotion dream was over. During the 2007 summer break, Allen terminated his contract with the Dons to take over at Leicester City in an arrangement that lasted just five games before his contract was terminated.

For the 2007-08 season, former England captain Paul Ince took over as manager. After a slightly troubled start, they recovered well and had reached the top of League Two at the end of September 07, went 11 points clear in early January 2008^[7] and they continued to top the league at the end of February 08 by a one point margin. Also in February, they qualified for the final of the Football League Trophy with a win on penalties over League One leaders Swansea City in the Southern Area final. The final was played on Sunday March 30 against Grimsby Town where The Dons were victorious with a 2-0 win, to bring home their first professional trophy to Milton Keynes. On 19 April 2008, MK Dons beat Stockport County 3-2 and secured promotion to League One for the 2008-09 season. A week later, the Dons travelled to Valley Parade to take on Bradford City, where a 2-1 win gave them the League Two title.

Supporters club recognition

On 4 June 2005, at the 2005 Football Supporters' Federation "Fans' Parliament" (AGM), the FSF refused ^[8] the MK Dons Supporters Club membership of the FSF in a debate that, among other arguments, questioned why the Football League had yet to introduce any new rules to prevent the "franchising" of other football clubs in the future. In addition, the FSF membership agreed with the Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association that the Milton Keynes Dons Supporters Association should not be entitled to join the FSF until they give up all claim to the history and honours of Wimbledon F.C. With this in mind, the FSF began discussions aimed at returning Wimbledon F.C.'s honours to the London Borough of Merton.

Shortly afterwards, following heavy criticism for allowing the move, the Football League announced new tighter rules on club relocation.

At its AGM on 5 June 2006, the FSF again considered a motion^[9] proposed by the FSF Council to allow MK Dons Supporters Association membership if the honours and trophies of Wimbledon F.C. were given to the London Borough of Merton. In October 2006, agreement^[10] was reached between the club, the MK Dons Supporters Association, the Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association and the Football Supporters Federation. The replica of the FA Cup plus all club patrimony gathered under the name of Wimbledon F.C. would be returned to the London Borough of Merton. Ownership of trademarks and website domain names related to Wimbledon F.C. would also be transferred to the Borough. As part of the same deal it was agreed that any reference made to Milton Keynes Dons F.C. should refer only to events subsequent to August 7, 2004 (the date of the first League game of Milton Keynes Dons F.C.). As a result of this deal, the FSF announced that the supporters of Milton Keynes Dons F.C. would be permitted to become members of the federation, and that it would no longer appeal to the supporters of other clubs to boycott MK Dons matches.^[2]

On 2 August 2007, Milton Keynes Dons transferred the replica trophies and all Wimbledon F.C. memorabilia to the London Borough of Merton.^[3]

Stadium

The stadium:mk in Denbigh, Milton Keynes

Main articles: National Hockey Stadium and Stadium:mk

The club's first stadium in Milton Keynes was the National Hockey Stadium, which was temporarily converted for football for the duration of the club's stay, Their lease on this ground ended in May 2007.

On 18 July 2007, the club's new 22,000 seater stadium:mk in Denbigh, Milton Keynes hosted its first game, a restricted entrance event against a young Chelsea XI.^[11] The stadium was officially opened on 29 November 2007 by Queen Elizabeth II.^[12]

The complex also includes a 3,000 seat indoor arena, where the MK Lions basketball team will be based: the completion of this arena has been delayed due to Marks & Spencers pulling out of funding the stadium.

Training ground

The club currently uses the public sports facilities at Woughton on the Green for training. The club's academy sides also play their home games here. During the 2005 close season a new plastic-covered artificial training pitch nicknamed 'the bubble' was constructed. They are hoping to move to a new training ground near the stadium.

Honours

• Football League Two:

2007-08 Champions^[13]

• Football League Trophy:

2007-08 Winners^[14]

• Berks & Bucks Senior Cup:

2005-06 Runners Up,

2006-07 Winners^[15]

• Portimao Cup :

2004-05 Winners

Reserves

The club has announced that from the start of the 2008-09 season, no reserve side will be entered into any organised competition or league.^[16]

Current squad

As of 1 September 2008.^[17]

No. Position Player 1 GK Nathan Abbey 2 DF Jude Stirling 3 DF Dean Lewington 4 DF Miguel Ángel Llera 5 DF Drissa Diallo 6 DF Sean O'Hanlon 7 MF Mark Wright 8 FW Jemal Johnson 9 FW Aaron Wilbraham 10 FW Kevin Gallen 11 MF Florian Sturm 12 GK Willy Guéret 14 DF Carl Regan

No. Position Player 15 FW Sam Baldock 17 DF Shaun Cummings 18 FW Ali Gerba 19 MF Paul Mitchell 20 MF Alan Navarro 21 MF Luke Howell 22 MF Peter Leven 23 MF Craig Dobson 24 MF Flavien Belson 25 DF Danny Swailes 27 MF David King 28 MF Adam Chicksen

Loan Players In

• Shaun Cummings - Defender signed on an extended 6 month loan from Chelsea.

• Flavien Belson - Midfielder signed on a season long loan from FC Metz

Loan Players Out

• Paul Mitchell - Midfielder currently on a months loan to Barnet

Technical Staff

Roberto Di Matteo		First Team Manager
Eddie Newton		Assistant Manager
Paul Heald		Goalkeeping Coach & Assistant Academy Coach
Simon Crampton		Head of Sports Medicine
Pat Holland		Chief Scout
Mike Dove		Director of Youth
Ade Mafe		First Team Fitness Coach
Andrew Stone		Sports Scientist
Matt Hillyer		Sports Scientist
Paul Collins		Head Academy Physiotherapist
Joseph Aylett		Head Groundsman
Dr Martin Cave		Club Doctor

Previous Managers

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	%
Stuart Murdoch		May 2004	November 2004	122	35	65	22	28.69%
Danny Wilson		December 2004	June 2006	81	25	32	24	30.86%
Martin Allen		June 2006	May 2007	46	25	9	12	54.35%
Paul Ince		June 2007	June 2008	55	35	11	9	63.64%

Former Dons

• Adolfo Baines - Goalkeeper signed from CD Tenerife in July, 2006. He was famously sent off in his first senior match for the Dons for handling the ball outside the penalty area. Adolfo made 23 appearances before being released in May, 2007.

• Allan Smart - Much travelled striker who joined the club from Crewe Alexandra in July, 2004. The MK Dons was his 12th club. Allan made 22 appearances, scoring 6 times before moving onto Bury in June, 2005.

• Ben Chorley - Defender and a Wimbledon Old Boy. Signed from Arsenal in March, 2003. Ben went on to make 138 Appearances for Wimbledon and Milton Keynes Dons during his time at the club which he Captained regularly. He also scored on 5 occasions. he signed for Tranmere Rovers in July, 2007.

• Ben Harding - Midfielder who was another product of the Wimbledon Academy. Ben, who was a firm favourite with the female fans played for the club 54 times and scored 6 goals before moving to Aldershot in August, 2007.

• Clive Platt - Striker who joined the club in January, 2005 from Peterborough United. Clive played 113 times and scored 27 goals, including the first hat-trick by a Milton Keynes Dons player. He joined Colchester United after a prolific last season in July, 2007.

• Colin Cameron - Former Scottish International and Hearts Midfielder, he signed from Coventy City in August, 2007. Colin made 35 appearances and scored 2 goals in the Dons double-winning campaign of 2007-08 before leaving in July 2008 when his contract expired. He subsequently joined Scotish side Dundee

• Craig Morgan - Welsh international defender signed from Wrexham in July, 2005. He made 52 Appearances for the club before surprisingly being transferred to rivals Peterborough United in January, 2007.

• Drewe Broughton - Centre Forward signed from Chester City in July, 2007. The MK Dons were his 14th professional club. Drewe made 19 Appearances & scored 1 goal before being released in May, 2007. He will be remembered fondly for scoring the final penalty which beat Swansea City in the area final of the Football League Trophy, taking the club to their first visit to Wembley as the MK Dons.

• David Martin - England Under 20 Goalkeeper was a Wimbledon trainee who made 25 Appearances for the club. His raw talent was spotted by Premiership club Liverpool who he signed for in January, 2006. David is the son of West Ham legend Alvin Martin.

• Gareth Edds - Australian Youth International who signed from Bradford City in 2004. A versatile player who was equally comfortable at Right Back or Midfield, Gareth made 147 Appearances & scored 12 goals before being released in May, 2007. he subsequently joined Tranmere Rover and he will be best remembered for his goal in the final minutes of the last match of the 2004-05 season against this club, which kept the MK Dons from being relegated.

• Gary Smith - Midfielder who signed for the then named Wimbledon from Middlesbrough in March, 2004. He quickly established himself as a crowd favourite and made 91 Appearances in a injury plagued time, scoring 9 goals. Gary left in August, 2007 and joining Brentford.

• Izale McLeod - Prolific striker who signed from Derby County in July, 2004. Izale made 135 Appearances, scoring 60 goals before a £1.1 million transfer to Charlton Athletic in August, 2007. As a MK Dons player he was also capped at England Under 21 level.

• Jamie Smith - Hard tackling Defender, Jamie joined the club from Bristol City in the summer of 2006. He was immediately made captain. However injury restricted him to just 17 Appearances and he was forced to retire at the end of the 2006-07 season.

• Jason Puncheon - Another Wimbledon trainee who made his debut in 2003. This midfielder played 34 times, scoring 1 goal before his somewhat clock and dagger departure to non-league Fisher Athletic. Jason returned to the ranks of League football when he signed for Barnet.

• Jon-Paul McGovern - Former Celtic Midfielder who signed for the club from Sheffield Wednesday in July, 2006. He made 56 Appearances and scored 4 goals before his move to Swindon Town in August, 2007.

• Keith Andrews - Former Wolverhampton Wanderers Midfielder who signed for the club from Hull City in August 2006 on a free transfer. He captained the Dons in their double winning season of 2007-2008 when the club were crowned League 2 champions and won the Football League Trophy. He scored 21 goals in 87 appearances for the Dons before his move to Blackburn Rovers in August 2008.

• Laurent Herve - Midfielder signed from French club Guingamp in July, 2004. Laurent's time at the club was marred by injury and he only managed 20 Appearances and 6 Goals before being released in May, 2005.

• Lee Harper - Goalkeeper & former Arsenal player who signed from local rivals Northampton Town in October, 2006 initially on loan. Lee made 24 Appearances for the club before moving onto non-league Kettering Town in May, 2007.

• Leon Crooks - Defender who was a product of the Wimbeldon FC Academy. He made his debut in 2004 and played for the club on 66 occasions before moving to Wycombe Wanderers in June, 2007.

• Leon Knight - Diminutive former Chelsea striker signed from Swansea City in January, 2007. Leon made 36 appearances and scored 6 goals before being allowed to leave in January, 2008 for Wycombe Wanderers.

• Lloyd Dyer - Birmingham born Winger signed from West Bromich Albion in August 2006. Lloyd made 97 appearances and scored 16 goals during his time at the club before moving on a free transfer to Leicester City in July 2008 when his contract elapsed.

• Malvin Kamara - English born Sierra Leone international midfielder was a Wimbledon Academy player who broke into the first team in 2003. Malvin made 84 Appearances and scored 5 Goals before signing for Cardiff City in July, 2006.

• Mark Williams - English born, Northern Ireland international defender joined the then Wimbledon from Watford in 2000. He made 109 Appearances, scoring 10 goals over two stints with the Dons, separated by a brief time with Columbus Crew of the American MLS. Mark left the club in late 2004, joining Rushden & Diamonds.

• Matt Carbon - Former Derby County & England Under 21 International Defender signed from New Zealand Knights in December, 2007. Unfortunately injury wrecked Matt's time with the Dons & restricted him to just 4 Appearances before being released in May, 2007.

• Matthew Baker - Goalkeeper signed from Wrexham in December, 2004. A firm favourite of the fans he made 61 Appearances before joining non-league Weymouth in December, 2006. Serious injury forced Matt to retire and he is now a reporter for the Official Milton Keynes Dons TV Station Dons World.

• Michel Pensee-Bilong - Cameroon International Defender who joined the club in January, 2005 from Japanese side Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He made 18 Appearances and scored 1 goal before leaving in May of the same year.

• Nicky Rizzo - Former Liverpool Australian international winger signed from Italian club AC Prato in November, 2004. He made 63 Appearances and scored 7 goals in an injury hit time with the club. A favourite of the fans, he was released in May, 2007 and returned to Australia to play for Perth Glory.

• Paul Butler - Manchester born Republic of Ireland international defender who signed from Leeds United initially on loan in November, 2006. He went on to make 18 Appearances for the Dons before being released in July, 2007 when he joined Chester City.

• Shola Oyedele - Dutch born defender who was another Wimbledon Academy old boy. He made his debut for the club in March, 2004 playing 42 times before joining non-league Woking in August, 2006.

• Scott Taylor - Joined the club from Plymouth Argyle as a striker and quickly became a fans favourite. He made 50 Appearances, scoring 5 times before being released in 2008, joining non-league Grays Athletic.

• Steve Palmer - Veteran Defender who joined the club from Q.P.R. in 2004 as a Player/Coach. Since his retirement Steve has become the Performance Manager at the Tottenham Hotspurs Academy.

• Wade Small - Winger from the Wimbledon Academy who made his debut for the club in 2003. he went to to make 115 Appearances, scoring 15 goals before his move to Sheffield Wednesday in May, 2006.

International Dons

A list of all those Players & Staff of the MK Dons who have represented their countries at Senior International Level.

• Colin Cameron - International career 1999-2004. Former midfield general Colin represented Scotland 28 times, scoring on 2 occasions. He made his debut in a friendly on 28th April 1999 against Germany.

• Craig Morgan - International career 2006-Present. Former Dons defender Craig has represented Wales on 9 occasions. He made his debut for Wales on 11th October 2006 against Cyprus. Craig was the first MK Dons player to be awarded an International Cap whilst playing for the team.

• Danny Wilson - International career 1986-1990. English born, former Manager Danny qualified to represent Northern Ireland through ancestry & represented them on 24 occasions, scoring once.

• Drissa Diallo - International career 1996-2001. A French national born in Mauritania, MK Dons current player Drissa qualified to represent Guinea via his Guinean parents. Obtaining over 20 caps in a five year period, Drissa made his debut for Guinea on 1st June 1996 in a World Cup qualifying match verses Guinea-Bissau.

• Malvin Kamara - International career 2007. English born, former Winger Malvin qualified to represent Sierra Leone through ancestry & played his only International match on 18th June 2007 against Togo in the African Cup of Nations.

• Mark Williams - International career 1999-2005. English born, former Dons Defender Mark qualified to represent Northern Ireland through ancestry & he represented them on 36 occasions, scoring 1 goal. He made his debut on the 27th March 1999 against Germany.

• Michel Pensee-Bilong - International career 1998-2001. Former Dons defender Michel represented Cameroon on over 30 occasions, the highlight of which was the 1998 World Cup in France.

• Nicky Rizzo - International career 1998. Former Dons Midfielder Nicky obtained 1 Australian International Cap when he played in a friendly verses Croatia in 1998.

• Paul Butler - International career 2000. English born Paul qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland through Ancestry, made his only appearance for them on the 23rd February 2000 in a match against the Czech Republic.

• Paul Ince - International career 1992-2000. Former Manager Paul represented England on 53 occasions, scoring 2 goals. he made his debut in a friendly verses Spain in September 1992. He played in Euro 1996 & during the World Cup of 1998. He also has the distinction of being the first Black player to Captain his country, which he did on tour in the USA.

• Roberto Di Matteo - International career 1994-1998. Swiss born current Manager Roberto qualified to represent Italy through his Italian parents. Making his debut in 1994 he played for Italy on 34 occasions, scoring 2 goals. He played in both Euro 1996 & the World Cup of 1998.

See also

Relocation of professional sports teams: United Kingdom

External links

• Milton Keynes Dons Football Club Official Site

References

Football League One 2008–09 v • d • e
Brighton & Hove Albion | Bristol Rovers | Carlisle United | Cheltenham Town | Colchester United | Crewe Alexandra | Hartlepool United | Hereford United | Huddersfield Town | Leeds United | Leicester City | Leyton Orient | Millwall | Milton Keynes Dons | Northampton Town | Oldham Athletic | Peterborough United | Scunthorpe United | Southend United | Stockport County | Swindon Town | Tranmere Rovers | Walsall | Yeovil Town
Football in England v • d • e
League competitions The FA Cup competitions Premier League England (B) (C) FA Cup The Football League (Champ, 1, 2) (U-21) (U-20) (U-19) Football League Cup Football Conference (Nat, N, S) (U-18) (U-17) (U-16) FA Community Shield Northern Premier (Prem, 1N, 1S) List of clubs Football League Trophy Southern League (Prem, 1Mid, 1S&W) List of venues FA Trophy Isthmian League (Prem, 1N, 1S) (by capacity) Conference League Cup English football league system List of leagues FA Vase Records FA NLS Cup Foreign players