Re-birth of the 'Real' Dons continues

Whilst Wimbledon FC are currently in administration, trying to settle into their new 'home' at the National Hockey Stadium outside Milton Keynes and are rock-bottom of the First Division, desperately struggling to avoid relegation into Divison Two of the Football League, AFC Wimbledon, albeit from a lowly starting position, are heading swiftly in the opposite direction.

The calm has of course, still not settled on the two opposing factions, and perhaps never will as the relative success of AFC Wimbledon continues to bring the two teams closer together in terms of league positions if not actual mileage.

Last Saturday, AFC Wimbledon arguably suffered their worst result of the season, a 2-2 away draw at Sandhurst Town. That 2-2 draw brought to an end a 32-match winning run and left them just 6 points clear at the top of the Combined Counties League although they do still have two games in hand over their nearest challengers.

With a perfect record of 21 wins in 21 league games before Saturday, it's perhaps undersatndable that the 2-2 draw came as a bit of a shock to the CCL runaway leaders. With 91 goals scored in 22 matches, their supporters have seen their club score an average of over 4 goals per game and the added bonus of not (yet) witnessing a single defeat!

The fledgling club's home attendances have averaged close to the 3,000 mark, whilst six divisions higher, Wimbledon FC, ironically dubbed 'Franchise FC' by their AFC counterparts, can arguably claim to be doing slightly better, although their own increased attendances this season are directly related to their move 60 miles North up the M1 and into a 'new fanbase'.

The mere thought of your own club being moved to another town 60 miles away probably already fills you with horror, but once the go-ahead had been given by the Football Association, the nightmare became reality for many Dons fans. Their response was to form their own club, named AFC Wimbledon and raise the necessary cash to launch the newly-formed club into the non-league pyramid.

Their success so far is clearly very encouraging for all those supporters Trusts up and down the country who dream of one day owning their own club. AFC Wimbledon is owned and run by the supporters and as one of their number admits, “the biggest buzz now is supporting a club that you part own, it makes you feel even more involved and dedicated.”