The coming season sees MK Dons in the same tier as Carlisle United for the first time. The move of Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes provoked emotional reactions such as supporters boycotts by fans of most opposition clubs, and many of the fans of the old Wimbledon creating a new club called AFC Wimbledon. For many, these actions against MK Dons came to an end with the transfer of Wimbledon patrimony (link) from MK Dons to the London Borough of Merton in August 2007. At this time, MK Dons Supporters Association was also accepted into the Football Supporters Federation.
I won't be going to the MK Dons match in Milton Keynes. So why am I boycotting the MK Dons stadium?
For me, it is simply that a club was moved so far away from its fans without consulting them. At one point in Carlisle's dark days there were rumours of Carlisle United becoming a Franchise club and moving to Ireland, or even merging with a Scottish club. Thankfully these things never happened to Carlisle, but the experience was not a pleasant one and I'd hate to see the same happen to another club's fans. Whilst others may have closed the book on the MK Dons affair, I do fear that it could happen again in the future, and I feel that some things are worth making the stand on. Despite Football League assurances that this sort of Franchise Move will never again happen without the consent of a club's fans, I fear that exceptions can always be made. Clubs having foreign owners and players are not the same issue, although I am not keen on these either. For me, it is the geographical relocation of a club.
Anyway, whilst I may disapprove and refuse to set foot in MK Dons' ground, I have nothing against the MK Dons fans, be they old Wimbledon fans or new Milton Keynes fans. I've only heard good things about the MK Dons fans, and all the ones I've chatted online with seem good people.
Some of the other objections raised by the move to a new city included that this was in effect a new club starting high in the English football pyramid, and that they should have been forced to start much lower. I can see the logic behind this, but I am uncomfortable with it, as it does provide a get out clause for moving a club. If Milton Keynes had wanted a club, it could have started one and worked its way up through the English football pyramid in the same way that Wimbledon did, and that AFC Wimbledon are doing now.
MK Dons may only be 60 miles from where Wimbledon were, but this can in fact be a world away, culturally. Morecambe and Newcastle are 60 miles from Carlisle, and an attempt to move our club to either would be upsetting for most of our fans.
Coincidentally, AFC Wimbledon have been promoted to Tier 6 South, on a par with Workington Reds in Tier 6 North. Many will remember that the original Wimbledon replaced Reds in Tier 4 when Reds were voted out of the Football League and, as my uncle Bob and brother Bob remind me, there is the long held belief amongst Workington fans that Carlisle voted against Reds' re-election to Tier 4 in the hope of removing a rival for supporters.
OK, so this was titled "A tale of four Dons", and we've had Wimbledon, MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon. So what is the fourth Don? Well, in my mind it is Don Quixote. Why? Well, Don Quixote gave his name to the word quixotic, which is one of my favourite words and I feel it captures many of my qualities:
And the relevance of being quixotic? Well, I am a proud Cumbrian, and one that has travelled the world and the UK, and lived and worked in several places in England. Perhaps it is this which makes me protective of tradition and culture, and a stubborn minded believer in perfect ideals. Whilst wishing no ill to the fans of MK Dons, be they old fans of Wimbledon, or new ones of their new local team, in my heart I still feel that I cannot be happy this club's existence. It is perhaps a case of my heart ruling my head, but sometimes this has to be so.
Oh, and the fact that Milton Keynes and Michael Knighton have the same initials doesn't help their cause, now does it?
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