Match report (Written by Milly Dore) AFC Wimbledon v Colchester United.

Before the game, I did a 12-6 shift in the pub. As the day went by, the amount of Wimbledon and Colchester fans gradually increased, to the point where every pint was served with a side of conversation about the upcoming game. The overall mood among Wimbledon fans was unanimous: what previously wasn’t a very high profile game on our radar, suddenly became a (completely self inflicted) rather big deal. After the dire, lacklustre, and last season esque performance on Boxing Day, JJ and his boys needed to put a statement out to the world that this was not going to be a regular occurrence, and that we still were raring to go and push for the play offs. And I must say that they bloody did. After my shift I strolled down to Plough Lane, got a sausage roll from MyPie, utterly delicious as per, and I thought if this was foreshadowing for the game ahead we should be okay. 

Then the football began and unlike us we began with a bit of gusto and came out all guns blazing. Josh scored a lovely goal in the fourth minute and everything seemed to be going swimmingly. That was until Colchester’s Joe Taylor found the back of the net. Joe Taylor was a classic example of a player you’d love if he played for you but hate if he plays against you. He is Colchester’s Harry Pell. He was cocky, horrible, and winding everyone up: I was very impressed by him. For the rest of the half we seemed to take our foot off the gas and let Colchester score again, only being saved by the heroic Joe Lewis who scored from a header in the dying moments before half time.

Whatever Johnnie said to the lads in the dressing room it worked, as in the second half we absolutely bossed everything and everyone. It was some lovely football. The result (minus their third goal) was very fair and reflective of the events that took place, it was exactly what we needed. For me the MOTM title is shared between Josh Davison and Joe Lewis. Josh had imo his best game in a Wimbledon shirt. The first touch for his second goal was textbook perfect, and to score from that tight angle well and truly sealed the deal that despite what some people may have to say, he is an important and valuable player within our squad. Joe Lewis was just consistently on his A game tonight, it was very comforting to see him back in the squad where he should be; long may that continue. 

We all know that despite peoples best efforts, the atmosphere at PL can be slightly lacklustre at times, however though on this cold Friday evening, where we were sitting it was actually quite good. Well done to those in the South Stand for getting everyone else involved; it worked! Despite the obvious dislike for their manager the Colchester fans were also on good form which only added to the excitement. Their man getting sent off was slightly unlucky, but that was the final confirmation that the Colchester boys would be returning home empty handed, while the three points were safely tucked away in Wimbledon. 

We are now approaching arguably the most stressful and unsettling period of the season for any football fan, but especially those of the lower leagues: the January transfer window (dun dun dun). For the likes of Colchester and Sutton, I am sure they are excited to rebuild and hopefully improve their squad. However though, when you have a successful squad that you love, as we do at Wimbledon, the window comes with lots of nervously checking your phone, and having your heart skip a beat every time you see AFC Wimbledon have posted on Twitter. Let us all pray that Stockport don’t come traipsing back to us to snatch back their players and that all of the clubs sniffing around our beloved Ali Al-Hamadi do in fact decide to wait until summer. 

Overall what a night under the lights, and what a way to finish off what has been an emotional rollercoaster of a calendar year for us AFC Wimbledon fans. COYD!

The mentality of Bouncebackability

What's better when you're feeling nauseous after too many Jaegerbombs? Is it to lie down, feeling like death and wishing you could die? Or do you prefer the quick, strategic puke to get it out of your system? I'm very much in the second group, let's get it over with has always been my thinking.

As we know from the Lassoesque proclamations of Danny Rojas, "Football is life", and so it is here. There was no lying on the couch groaning by us on boxing day, there was a queue for the carsey as everyone decided to be shite on the same day. All is good, it's out of system.

It's better that way. Much better if we can have a co-ordinated, collective brain fart rather than taking it in turns over an extended period. That leads to bad runs, another carsey metaphor. No, being shite all on the same day is healthy. I wouldn't worry too much about the "Comms" on this occasion either. Obviously Alex Bass, Huss Biler and Jack Currie didn't read the "Let's all be absolutely rubbish on the same day" memo, but not to worry. Next time let's Tick-Tock it out, Snap talk it or something, the kids love that.

So anyway, by now we've all spoken into the big white porcelain telephone and "got it over with", let's re-assess. Forget what you saw the other day, Jake Reeves is still a brilliant player.  He'll boss the game tonight, and whether it's our ratter alongside him or the box to box eightishness of James Ball, we'll win the midfield. Scrub Sutton from your memory, Josh Neufville HAS played football before, and James Tilley DOES run around a lot. Omar Bugiel DOES win headers, and Ali (who is STILL the best player in the league by miles) WILL score. Ryan Johnson (who in fairness only half heartedly joined in with the "let's play shite" narrative) will have his buddy back alongside him. He and Joe Lewis will not only stop THEM from scoring, I've a hunch one of our centre halves will get on the scoresheet.

And our management team? Very handy that they got their bad day at the office out of the way against Sutton too. Once again though, in Johnnie Jackson, Skivvers, Rob Tuvey & Bayzo we ARE still talking about a group which has built this bunch of players into one of the top four best teams in the league. A management team that went to Stamford Bridge and scared the shit out of Mauricio Pocchetino & his billionaire players, went to Pompey and kicked THEIR arses, we're in good hands.

So I'm here to tell you that not only is there nothing to worry about, but performances like the abject display against Sutton can actually be healthy. Displays like that live long in the memory (or they do if the management are on it like ours are). They are referred back to from time to time, a low point which we never want to revisit. By now the lads will have watched the video, they'll be seething inside that on showpiece Plough Lane occasion with hundreds of first time supporters in, they played like THAT.

Well tonight is the night to put it right. A high energy, high tempo game (PLEASE no slowing it down) is what is needed, from minute one we need to be right at it. We've all puked into the toilets on the same day which is a good thing, now time to collectively get the Listerine out and give it a good swill.

I can't be there tonight, Milly has my ticket. I'm awaiting her match report/player ratings with interest (they're better than mine anyway as you know) but I'm less on edge about the result. We will absolutely batter these if we have the right mentality, and we have.

I'm not changing my prediction even 1% on the season BTW. We will finish AT LEAST in the top five. One shite performance doesn't alter the fact that we are a bloody good team with bloody good management.

COYD

My match report: AFC Wimbledon v Sutton United.

Sometimes in football you don't get what you deserve, that was the case at Plough Lane on Boxing day for both Sutton & AFC Wimbledon. The simple fact of the matter is we are severely flattered by a 1-0 defeat, neither team got their just desserts. Had it not been for Alex Bass's heroics, this could literally have given our neighbours an aggregate win "over two legs" after our 3-0 smashing of them in the early season.

So what went wrong? How DID we come third in a two horse race (we weren't good enough for second) and what could we have done different?

Well first things first. We have been excellently managed for quite a while now and the players have been brilliant. I haven't lost any belief after one game (and remember my "potential top three/playoff  certainties if we keep Ali" prediction) but if this is to be a blip rather than a bliiiiiiip, it's best we nail what went wrong and do it quick.

So let's start with the team selection. Nearly all observations here are WITH THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT. Pearcy had huge problems with Harry Smith, and obviously huge problems with anything in behind. Smith played probably the best he has all season in fairness and it's debatable whether a non match fit PK would have done much better. That said, having Alex Pearce in the back four at home does provide a bit of a handbrake to any forward momentum. The fact we hugely missed Joe Lewis was never going to be breaking news, but is it possible we could have mitigated by perhaps playing three midfielders central with James Ball as a 4?

Ball I think is long overdue a game (I mean REALLY overdue), while it's fair to say that bringing Tilley and Neufville into the team didn't work at all. It may have been more productive if we'd got going, but we didn't and it categorically wasn't. 

Our approach and body language was awful. We had the distinct look of a team who thought victory was inevitable, that it wouldn't matter overly if we lost a few early 50/50's. It always matters and it did here, we ended up being second to everything. Third sometimes, they had TWO blokes getting there before any of ours. They wanted it more. It hurts footballers when you say that, but I'm afraid it's true on this occasion.

And we reverted to slowing the game down at every opportunity. Quite why that was, when we are (in my opinion) always a better team when we play with high tempo is a mystery. Plus, I should think being a big, physical set-piece team they would like nothing better than the game to broken down into bite sized chunks. So why we'd slow it down is puzzling to me. Slow it down we did though, every throw in, free kick, goal kick and corner saw the captain imploring the taker to slow it down. Utterly baffling (as I say, to me anyway).

Against route one teams it's always been a given that you mustn't get drawn into playing their game. Like a boxer fighting a brawler, if it turns into a battle the brawler always wins and it was no surprise to discover that Sutton are far better at route one than we are. Unfortunately we got sucked into it and we got beaten up. Not many teams will beat Sutton at their own game.

But it IS only one game (thank God). Hopefully it's the proverbial kick up the arse that the players and the management will benefit from. No game in League Two is a given, we should have known that. We should have prepared better today, we should have been more at it. Equally though, we should have made our substitutions earlier, we ought to have recognized the fact that we were in the shite much earlier than we did. To me it was very obvious before the first half was over that things were going seriously pear shaped. It was a day for casting aside predictable "wait until after the hour" substitions, we left it far too late. Obviously it's just my opinion but there it is.

We ARE though still a good team, and we STILL have a good manager. This was a bad day at the office equivalent to the office burning to the ground, with Boris the office cat still inside, but we can rebuild.

It must start on Friday. At it from minute one, fast tempo, and absolutely smash Colchester. COYD.

My match report. Crawley v AFC Wimbledon

Average teams find excuses, killer teams find a way. If we were an average team, we wouldn't have had to search too hard to find reasons we didn't win or even had lost this game. As I suspect most are now beginning to appreciate however, we are far from being average. What we are is a very good team which is evolving into being a killer one. It's happening quickly too, right before our eyes.

For the first hour last night we were utterly dominant. That domination and swagger had begun an hour before kick-off. Johnnie Jacksons three striker team selection had "We are not here to arse around" written all over it. We were getting off the team bus, kicking the door in and having the points, simple as that. I loved the team selection and our attitude. No more "difficult place to come" and "great clean sheet" mentality, we tore into them from the off and could have been four or five up by half-time. The only barrier to us destroying Crawley at this point was a card happy referee who was in the early stages of what was to become an utterly extraordinary performance. In the first half he disallowed a headed goal from a corner for offside, sent off our manager into row G of the stands (the back row, it's a small stand) and booked everyone connected with our club. By now I was eating a not too Shabby (Alonso) meat pie which had been heated to a nuclear temperature. I burnt my hands on the thing and cursed, the ref flicked me a glance as he was booking someone else and for a moment I thought I too was walking a tightrope. We made Crawley look utterly abject, and Josh Davison justified his selection with a fantastic first 45 minutes.

As we contemplated why there is never any half time beer at Crawley, most of the chatter was that our only danger was the referee. Just when we thought that he couldn't possibly surpass his first half exploits though, he decided in the second half to completely put aside any concerns of obvious bias. If Kim Jong Un played football in North Korea, the ref would officiate the team he was playing for in a similar way to how this ref handled Crawley last night. Each time we went near the ball he gave a free kick and carded someone, each time Crawley committed a foul he tried his best to ignore it. It was all getting a bit "Kes" when Brian Glover won a self awarded penalty for Manchester United, but still we were the better team. Just when it looked like we were about to kill the game off, Joe Lewis made the mistake of committing a foul. Not a bad foul, not an assault nor a shirt pull, just a foul. That was enough though, before he could say "Aw come on ref FFS" he was off.

Cometh the hour though, cometh Alex Pearce. As is his usual way he emerged off the bench like a fella who had been folded into the back seat of a mini Clubman for two days, but we needn't have worried. When it's all hands on deck there is no better warrior, and along with the rest of the lads who hadn't yet been sent off, he dug in and dug us out.

We couldn't have done it without our goalkeeper who made some magnificent saves. I've felt a bit sorry for Alex Bass these last few weeks. He's had that "bloke in charge of the crazy golf at a seaside resort in November" look about him recently. Here though, those who hadn't been sent off were pretty much all booked so Crawley surged forward looking for Edward Woodward (think about it). Sensing their numerical advantage and the fact that we seemingly weren't allowed to tackle anyone, shots rained down. Alex Bass was magnificent, his saves got us over the line. There were heroic blocks and slides all over the pitch, and gradually the clock ran down. Right at the end the ref realized that in all the chaos he'd forgotten to book Jack Currie, so thirty seconds before the end carded him while our brilliant left back was taking a throw in. Nobody knew why, but by now the whole thing had descended into Christmas Panto farce and at least Jack didn't feel left out, so no matter.

That belief pill that I've been talking about for a while is really kicking in now, it's a Mitsubishi. Even the most sceptical of fans are starting to believe, how could they not? I'm not tempting fate when I say that we will smash Sutton on Boxing day, I'm merely stating a fact.

I stick with my prediction of a few weeks back. If we keep this team together, we are a live bet for automatic promotion. We are also in my view certainties for the play-offs. What a night. COYD

From Bad, to Good, to Very Good, to Killer. One stage to go.

The above is our team when we were beaten 5-1 at home by Swindon in April. Fast forward eight months and I think yesterdays starting line up would eat this one for breakfast, there's been massive progress. The team in the picture won once in the last nineteen league games, this seasons version is gutted to "only" draw 0-0 at Salford. 

Quite who all that progress is down to, depends upon who you ask. If you're asking a "Jackson out" devotee who is unshakeable, it's all down to Craig Cope and his shrewd eye for talent. If on the other hand you're asking a "Where are all the Jackson haters now?" merchant, someone who "knew all along" that even during that run of one win in nineteen that he would come good in the end, then it's all down to the manager. This observer thinks it's down to a combination of things. Better players certainly, but being managed better too. There is no question in my mind that this seasons version of our manager would do far better with last season's players, albeit given that our team back then wasn't that great.

The important thing though, whoever deserves all the plaudits, whoever was "right all along" in amongst the fan base, is that we are currently a very good football team. I've seen us up and down the land this season, and I am absolutely certain that not only are we very good but we are improving week by week too. It is my contention that at the moment, along with Stockport, Mansfield and Wrexham, we are one of the best four teams in the division. I'm not drunk, I genuinely believe that we will comfortably make the playoffs and have a live outside chance of automatic promotion.

Anyway disagree all you like (in my best Catherine Tate voice, "I ain't bovvered") let's look for a moment at how we can improve from here even more.

Goals. We HAVE TO find a way of scoring more heavily away from home. One goal in the last five away games ain't the stuff of Champion nor killer teams, so how do we change it?

Well one aspect of our game which is frankly rubbish, is goals from our centre halves. I love (in a manly way) Ryan and Joe, they are in my opinion THE biggest positive change to our line-up this campaign, but they have one goal this season between them. THAT let me tell you (and them as well if they're reading this nonsense), is shite for two players as good as them. Now I was right behind Jake Reeves when he was delivering second half corners yesterday, the problem isn't the corner itself. He gets good whip, dip and pace (sounds like a trio of kids entertainers in yellow jumpsuits) on 'em, so that ain't the issue. We look to attack it from just about the edge of the box it looks like (which is probably a yard or two further than I'd go for TBH but anyway), but for whatever reason we don't seem to get there. Whether that's because we don't get any blocks in or something I don't know, (I don't study video, I've got a pub to run) but it's an issue. I remember both James Ball and Harry Pell scoring with set-piece headers, so maybe there's a case when chasing a winner for chucking the big lads on. I know it's a bit league 2 two point oh, but it's not "how" you score it's how many. Anyways Skivvers was a demon at getting on the end of a dead ball back in the day, I hope he and the big lads are working on some "Piano falling down a flight of stairs"/"attacking the ball" routines.

Goals from midfield. Jake Reeves takes a cracking penno and scored a screamer against Ramsgate. Armani Little broke the net against Swindon (then a few floodlight lamps at Salford) but neither I don't think will ever score heavily at this level. I know Armani has a bit of history and is the more likely out of the two, but neither have so far looked like they are about to get ahead of the ball or even be there for a cut-back across the six yard box. Although he has barely played and has only one goal so far, to my eye James Ball looks by a distance our most likely central midfielder to score a goal. He's that type, I'd have given him at least twenty minutes yesterday and I hope that when Johnny DOES give him his chance, he takes it. We've looked to me to have played him in a kind of 6 role, I'd like to see us go with the big lad as a genuine box to box 8. Just to be clear, our two central midfielders are playing great and I'm not on about chucking one of them out of the starting eleven. I just think if we are going to become THAT team, we've got to utilize our potential cutting edge a bit better when needed. It was needed yesterday.

Our full-backs have gotta chip in too, yes even away from home. I'd like Jack Currie to appear unmarked at the back stick more often. He has done it to great effect occasionally, I'd challenge him to do it more often. He's a superb player and easily good enough to get back, it's time for him to become a weapon going forward. Huss Biler, I want to see those check back inside and dig from distance moves we saw away at Colchester last season. Another fine player, he's fully fit now and easily good enough to chip in with a goal or two to go with his terrier defending.

See we can't rely on Ali all of the time. I know it's hard to believe sometimes, but he IS human and sometimes he DOESN'T score. Yesterday being an obvious example. Omar is a fine foil for him (what a signing), but he's always going to a setter upper more than he is a finisher offer. We can't depend on those two every game 

You see "Killer" teams get the job done. Nineteen times out of twenty when they are as on top as we were yesterday, they win. They find a way. They get a goal from a centre half, a full back scrambles one in, a sub diverts one in off his arse, it matters not. It's never been about how, it's always been about how many.

See the evolution from "very good" team to "Killer" team is the hardest step of all. It's not about any one player stepping up, it's about the whole squad making that 3% improvement which swings games in your favour. Centre backs get a goal here and there, full backs push on ten yards further, the subs come on ten minutes earlier then make an impact. Killer teams find a way to kill, then they get it done.

It's about the fans too by the way. Young Josh Davison is paying a very high price for being not quite as good as Ali Al-Hamidi isn't he? It isn't HIS fault that after we signed him we then picked up a bloke who is miles too good for the division. It's isn't HIS fault that while he was playing very well for us in his first season, we got a bloke in who us even better. Ever seen him moan about being on the bench though? Ever seen him not give absolutely 110% when he's called upon? You never will, give the lad a break and stop the groans, he is a good player at the level and pretty soon we are gonna need him. Killer teams have killer fans, sometimes it's THEM who give the players an extra 3%.

If we can collectively do all of that, in April 2024, exactly a year since we got battered 5-1 by Swindon, we'll be getting roared on by banks of fans wondering where we'll finish up. They won't be wondering about relegation this year though, we'll be asking ourselves if we'll go up automatically or whether we'll have to "settle" for the playoffs.

Becoming a killer team. It ain't easy but if we believe, all of us, we can do it. See you on Friday at Crawley. COYD

My Match Report. Salford City v AFC Wimbledon

Sometimes in life you don't get what you deserve, and to quote Danny Rojas from Ted Lasso, "Football is life". So it was on a beautiful day in North Manchester, even the pink sky joined in with the referee and the cruel hand of fate in favouring the home team.

I suppose if you had to sum the game up as a Wimbledon fan in one word, you might go with frustrating ("bollocks" might be a viable alternative). The truth is that Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, David Beckham and Phil Neville, your boys took a hell of a beating. But it was 0-0!

There was so much to like about our performance, from the way we shut out Matt Smith and Elliot Watt to the way we carved out at least three second half clear cut chances. We were much the better team here from minute one, we just couldn't on this occasion put the ball in the onion bag.

Am I worried after predicting recently that we'll finish in the top five? Not even 1%. If Ali Al-Hamidi gets three one on ones per game and the other team doesn't muster a shot, we'll win plenty.

In truth I saw absolutely nothing here to convince me that I was wrong when I said we are currently one of the very best teams in the league. We came, we saw, we conquered, but we didn't score. It won't happen often, we move on and go to Crawley. They'd better watch out, if we play like this they could very well get a good hiding.

Scouting report: Salford City-Watt's all the fuss about?

Salford made the playoffs last season, I'd be very surprised if they did this time. Ask their fans and I'm sure there are a number of reasons, ask me and I'll tell you it's because Elliot Watt hasn't played very often. To my mind the best number six in the league is very sorely missed when unavailable, it wouldn't do us any harm if he misses tomorrow too.

Speaking of "misses", I hope someone has gotten hold of Armani Littles phone during the week. Our chief ratter always plays his best when he has the red mist visibility down to three paces, a few bogus messages to HIS Mrs (see what I did there?), "Hi Mrs Little, love you, Elliot, mwa mwa" should do the trick. After his total demolition job on Swindon last week (including a leg snapper on Jake Young), hopefully our snarly little terrier has been locked in a darkened room all week, been fed raw meat and with thrash metal blaring out of the speakers 24/7. If Watt plays, Armani needs to get a "restrictor" in within the first ten minutes or so.

Other than Elliot Watt, the big problem Salford pose is Matt Smith. I'd back myself against him over ten yards even now (I'm 57), but if we let them put crosses in, me, Johnny, Rob and Skivvers wouldn't stop him between us. I suspect our centre halves won't stop him either (excellent though they are) if we let them put loads of crosses in. Our full backs are going to have to get out quick, snap the tackles in and encourage a re-cycle.

The good news is, if we can stop Elliot Watt dictating the game, and if we can stop loads of crosses, we really ought to be OK. I DO like the young centre forward Junior Luamba, he's started getting to get a look in (VERY pacey) but not that much else. Incidentally Luamba (before Salford got him) would be the exact profile of player Id be looking at for our "we need another striker" conundrum.

They sometimes play a three at the back, with Adrian Mariappa as the middle one. He's 37, if they do that this time then my advice is to take the 80/1 available for an Ali Al-Hamidi hat-trick. I already have just in case, and even if they play a four I suspect that just like everyone else, they'll REALLY struggle to contain him. I like Theo Vassel for them in defence, but if we play as we should they're in for a hard day.

I've said a couple of times that we are a "belief pill" away from being one of the best teams in the league (for what it's worth, I think we currently ARE the best team in the league). It's time to take that pill tomorrow. It's not a "hard place to go" for us, it's not a "good point" if we draw 0-0. We are a MUCH better team than Salford currently, if we go there and believe it then we will win.

Defend high (Keep Smith out of our area), press high, be brave and get men forward. I think we'll get home with something to spare, 3-0 or 3-1, and Ali will score AT LEAST once. I'll be there cheering us on. COYD.

My match report: AFC Wimbledon v Swindon Town.

We've been threatening it for a while and hinting at some kind of extreme potential, but on a wet and freezing Saturday in December, AFC Wimbledon kicked the front door into the door marked "Playoffs" and shouted "WHO F*#***G WANTS SOME?!" 

It was all very well playing really well and smashing Ramsgate. It was even something different to capitalize on some kamikazi defending against Notts County. But to completely dismantle a team of such obvious quality as Swindon, to utterly dominate them from minute one was a statement performance in neon sign capital letters. Ive been saying for a little while now that we are a belief pill away from being a REALLY good side at the level, surely after this the gag reflex is surpressed and we can push on. This is a very good team we are watching, managed by a man who is visibly improving, right on the top of his game (get the contract sorted). I called "Top five AT LEAST" a couple of weeks back, I'm sticking with it.

Our utter control began very early in the game, Ali denied an obvious penalty in the first few moments by a predictably poor ref. VAR would have given that but we don't have it (Thank God). To be fair the dreaded Stockley Park would probably have disallowed our opener seconds later too. Two players lay stricken in the box but the ref "evened up" his earlier error to allow Omar to celebrate in front of their fans. It came from a nifty little Joe Lewis assist, the big man was magnificent from minute one. Our other big man Ryan Johnson had blood spurting out of his head. He didn't care overly though, we just bunged a big slop of Polyfilla on it and he was good to go. He's like that is Ryan Johnson, my kind of centre half and we are very lucky to have him.

From there we set about them and really should have been further ahead even before Connor Lemonheigh-Evans struck a post. We were outnumbered in midfield but it mattered not a jot. It's not the size of the dog in the fight, nor in this case the number of dogs in the fight, it is and always has been the size of the fight in the dog. Jake Reeves schemed as he does, but our chief ratter Armani Little was absolutely fantastic at doing what HE does. He left a straightener on the dangerous Jake Young from which the top scorer in the league never recovered, then bristled with intent and aggression all game, kicking everything which moved. He was THE dominant force in the match, I've never seen him play better.

Our defence kept the much vaunted Young and Kemp utterly quiet save for a few yelps when we smashed them, while our two wide men pinned their 3-5-1-1 firmly into a 5-3-2. Josh Scorched the earth while Connor Lemonheigh-Evans schemed and probed and leapt like a salmon. What a header of a football this lad is by the way.

Up top Omar was Omar, Ali thank God was Ali. Fittingly Armani Little smashed in the goal of the game with an absolute screamer. Ali bagged another brace and terrorised the Swindon back line. He is ridiculous at this level, just miles ahead of everyone else. Being the bandwagon jumping glory hunter that I am, it will surprise few that our performance against Swindon was comfortably the best I've ever seen AFC Wimbledon play. 

Long before the end their players had chucked the towel in, even their excellent support had exited stage left. Mick Flynn was the latest manager to say "In truth it could have been more than four". Like the Notts County manager, he wasn't lying either. My guess is that before the seasons end, many more will be saying it too. Utterly superb stuff 👏

I know. It's only Jacksonball and I like it.

If you get a bloke around to do some plumbing and he floods your house, you bin him off and get a new plumber. If you get a sparky in and the first time you switch the lights on you get a shock which makes you look like the bloke out of Beetlejuice, you get a new electrician. Course you could I suppose say "Tell you what Pavel, give it another crack mate" but few of us would do it given the option.

It's much the same with football managers. Once a fella has mucked it up to a lesser or greater extent, that's normally that. Even when the team being rubbish isn't really their fault, the manager normally bites the bullet when things go pear shaped.

Rewind to the end of last season. After one win in nineteen games I'd say the vast majority of fans would have pulled the plug on the manager. He HAD mucked it up, there WASN'T to my mind any sensible excuses for  a run THAT bad, and it seemed only a matter of time before there was a picture of the mythical "Cowley brothers" holding our scarf aloft on the OS.

The fans forum came and went. I'd say anybody who was there couldn't help but feel a bit of human sympathy for the manager. It wasn't just that he'd lost his better players in January, it was that we got a picture of the structure surrounding him. I spoke with him myself afterwards. I'd been impressed by his bravery in showing up, taking it on the chin. Under some quite extreme questioning from the floor (some from me) he retained his dignity, spoke with conviction. During the quick chat afterwards I told him that I would personally have pulled the trigger, but now that the club had backed him, so did I. I said I wanted to properly get behind him, but "Sheesh Johnnie you gotta win some football matches mate". He knew the score, he knew that he had a few weeks at the start of this season to avoid the chop.

And now this season. Imagine if THIS season had been his first. A trip to and an excellent performance at Chelsea, a cup win against Coventry. Some brilliant performances in the league, the team looking (to me anyway) to be in with a great chance of the playoffs. Just imagine this season had been his first, infact don't "imagine" it, pretend that it actually is his first, forget about last season altogether.

The reason I say that is that I still sense there are those who are struggling to fully row in behind Johnnie Jackson. Perhaps there's a reluctance to be proven wrong, I get that. The thing is though, I'm not sure that those of us who said last season was a disaster and nowhere near good enough WERE wrong. It WAS both a disaster and nowhere near good enough, but once the board decided to roll the dice and stick with the manager, it became irrelevant. If you're gonna back the manager, you've got to back the manager.

And people who say "I just can't take to him", once more I get it. His public stuff last season, from the no socks Zara clobber to the hands in the pockets demeanor to the prickly, defensive interviews were almost as bad as the results on the pitch. Once more though, that stuff is a million miles away from where he is now. It's club gear these days, he spends half the game squaring up to the fourth official with veins on his neck the thickness of hosepipes. I love that. In interviews he is more engaging, in person he is living up to the "tell you what, he's a lovely fella" billing that those who know him tell me.

Most of all though, I've always liked an underdog story and this a classic example. I thought it was a bonkers decision to keep him on, but as soon as we'd made it I wanted him to succeed. It can't have been easy coming into work when he knew the fans were against him, and when the players let him down not just on the pitch but at the end of season do as well, he must have wanted to lock himself in a dark room. It would have been really easy for him to walk away, go back to coaching, but he didn't. He stuck at it, he kept going and I like that.

And here we are today. I'm only a recent Wimbledon convert but the Johnnie Jackson story reminds me of when they were in the Premier League, beating the big boys with players that everyone had written off. He was damaged goods at the end of last season, had he gotten the bullet he wouldn't have gotten another gig anywhere else as manager. But he kept going, he kept listening to the fans, stayed humble and this season he is doing a fine job.

Whether or not you think I'm right about him getting a new contract is by the by. More important than that in the short term is finding a place in your heart to appreciate a fella who has dragged himself off the canvas when everybody thought he was finished. I think he gets AFC Wimbledon now, and I think he deserves every scrap of success he gets.

Scouting report, Swindon Town. It's not JUST Jake Young & Dan Kemp you know.

Swindon are a good team who seem to have gotten over their blip and have won their last two league games. Excellent wins as well, being the first team to beat Mansfield this season (2-1 at home) before winning 4-3 at Accrington Stanley. The last result is deceptive. They led 4-0 on the long trip up North, only a couple of stoppage time goals for Accy made it look close. As we know only too well, John Coleman's men are a good team, while Mansfield are one of the favourites for the title. So let's get this straight, this is a proper team we are playing tomorrow.

They seem to have settled upon a quite funky 5-3-1-1 formation. The "1" and the "1" are Dan Kemp (MK loanee) and Jake Young who is on loan from Bradford. Both, much as it pains me to admit it in Kemp's case at least, are excellent footballers. The thought process seems to be to give those two the freedom to go wherever they see fit. Given they have TWENTY SIX goals between them (Ali and Tilley have fifteen for context), you can see why. Young is more the fox in the box poacher, Kemp pops up everywhere and will hit it from distance. They are VERY dangerous and appear to have a bit of football chemistry.

It isn't JUST them though. In number 8 Saidou Khan they have arguably the best in his position in the league (him or Stockport's Will Collar for me), and it's easy to see why Wrexham are willing to pay 350K for his services. George McEchran at 6 was the best player on the pitch when they smashed us last season, and while I'd prefer Salford's Elliot Watt over him he is once again an excellent player at the level. Liam Kinsella as the other midfielder is a republic of Ireland international, an excellent player who knows his onions.

The wing backs are both pacey up and downers, almost regardless of which ones they play. Rameoao Hutton though down the right is one I like and especially good at the level, Jack Currie will need his wits about him.

So they are a good team. I like the young centre half Harrison Minturn, And the young lad to his right Udoka Godwin-Malife is promising too. He's not frightened of marauding forward with the ball.

So they are a very good bunch of players. Any good news?

Well, Swindon try and play. They WILL try and bring it out from the back, pointless them launching it to Kemp and Young. I think if we're brave enough to defend high enough (neither Kemp nor Young will burn us for pace) I think we can get properly in amongst them. I'd be getting Armani Littles phone off of him, send a few bogus text messages to his missus from "Dan from Swindon" before kick off. Our chief ratter is going to have to get in and around McEchran as well. The ex Chelsea man is slippier than Boris Johnson in the dock though, catching up with him ain't easy. I'm looking for Omar to drop in and get amongst Saidou Khan, when the Swindon man breaks forward with the ball Jake Reeves needs to be engaging him early. The full backs (particularly Jack Currie this time) are going to have to be bang on it, and our communication when we're passing Kemp over as he drops into pockets is going to have to be really good.

I DO though think Ali will scare the shit out of them (Why should they be any different?) and if we're brave enough to press high, I think we can nick the ball and kill them.

They beat us 5-1 here last season, it won't happen this time. 3-1 to us, Ali with AT LEAST two goals.

I'm calling it now.........

"It's too early to say" must be one of the most overused phrases in football. When I said after seeing him three or four times that Ali was miles too good for League two, loads of people either said I was mental or that it was too early to say. Of course if you never want to be wrong about anything in football, you're far better off never predicting anything early. By now you'll be convinced that Harry Kane is a pretty good striker, that Mo Salah will score lots of goals, and you might even be coming around to the idea that Ali Al-Hamidi is perhaps too good for League two.

I've never been a "wait and see" merchant and I'm not going to start now. So with that in mind, I'm going to make a couple of predictions here and also say what I think we ought to do about it.

1. We WILL get into the playoffs this season if we keep Ali Al-Hamidi in January.

Yep, forget all this "We'll finish mid-table" nonsense, it ain't gonna happen. We've got the best striker (by a country mile) in the league, a solid defence, a good keeper and an aggressive midfield. If we win our game in hand we'd sneak into the playoffs as it is, but I expect us to markedly improve as the season progresses. We are a very good team, and I expect we will comfortably get in if we keep Ali, probably top five.

Disagree all you want, but that's what I think. If we don't keep Ali in January (and I personally wouldn't even answer the phone for less than 1.5 million quid), then it's a completely different ball game. If we make the play-offs without him, it would be an excellent achievement.

By the end of Feb, I expect we will have developed our style into a more fluid 4-4-2.

We've seen glimpses of subtle little tweaks becoming more frequent as the season has progressed, and my guess is that our style is something of a work in progress. The Notts County performance showed both that the management team is tactically astute enough, the players plenty intelligent enough, to make some quite dramatic alterations if the situation demands it. Johnnie Jackson built the team spirit remarkably quickly this season, but we oughtn't to forget that it is still almost a completely new team. Patterns, nudges and tweaks take time. Despite the defeat at Gillingham, my impression/hunch is that we are a team who is improving as the season progresses.

We ought to offer the management team new contracts.

I said a couple of weeks ago that we were approaching the point where we ought to offer, in my mind we're now well and truly there. I know not everyone agrees, but to return to my "It's too early to say" point, we can't wait until the end of a very successful season then expect an out of contract manager to re-sign with us. It ain't in my opinion gonna happen.

If I'm right on us getting into the play-offs, on us developing our own style, improving as the season progresses etc, our manager is going to have lots of offers which financially dwarf anything that we can offer. It's not even as if he lives in SW London, so we ought to do the sensible thing and give him a new contract now, before it happens.

There'll be folks reading this and saying "You're off your head mate", but to those folks I'd urge you to forget totally about last season. Erase it from your mind. If you were to say "He shouldn't still be here after THAT" then I agree he was very fortunate, but he IS here and as I always say, "If you're gonna back the manager you gotta back the manager". 

But put that aside and look at THIS season. We're much higher in the league than most predicted, we beat Coventry and had a great effort at Chelsea in the League Cup, and on Monday night we'll beat Ramsgate and go into the third round of the FA Cup. But for a few missed penalties we'd be higher in the league than we are, and like I say I'm pretty strongly predicting we'll improve as the season goes. To those that aren't happy THIS season I'd be asking what exactly is it you want?

And do I agree with everything the manager does, everything he says? No of course I don't. I think we should go for it more, be less fearful of losing and commit/risk more in order to win. I think his interviews are a bit boring, but then he does get asked the same monotone questions every week. I'd get Morgan Williams back sharpish and give him minutes, and I'd play Aaron Sasu more. I'm not at training every day though, I'm pulling pints, so with the greatest respect you can take my opinions with a bucket of chicken wings.

AND, I've a hunch that once the manager gets a contract, we'll see him become a better manager. There's a natural tendency when someone is fearful of their job to play it safe. Like a golfer who needs to make the cut in order to pay the travel expenses and sort out what he owes the caddie, he'll always lay up short of the water. The one who has already won twice this year though, banked two million quid and guaranteed next year's tour card ain't laying up. He's getting the big dog out of the bag and going for the pin. Every time.

Give our fella a contract and my guess is it'll be the end of him laying up. We might splash it into the water a bit more often, but we'll win more often too. As I keep saying, it's all about winning.

It's not too early to say it, let's get the management team signed up.

Best performance since we returned to Plough Lane?

In Sport, the contest is always better if there's a contrast in styles. A puncher up against a boxer is a classic, as was the headbanded maverick that was McEnroe stomping around against an ice cool Borg.

And so it was on Saturday, the delicately symphonic rhythm of Notts County trying to kill you with the deftness of a thousand paper cuts, up against a somewhat more prosaic Wimbledon. We were happy to hang in there, roll with the punches then kick our opponents in the Jacobs at every opportunity. We came out on top in a thrilling encounter, and rather than do a match report (it's a bit late in the day for that), I thought I might write about a couple of points which caught my eye.

Firstly, we've got to talk about Johnnie Jackson. Much maligned last season by all and sundry (obviously including me), this was his finest performance in an official merch' gillet by miles. Although we won it, we could just as easily have lost it but for a worldie save, and although we deserved to win, Notts County showed plenty enough to demonstrate just how dangerous they are. In the diminutive yet hugely talented Danny Crowley they had an arch orchestrator, both wing backs were very tasty while Langstaffe and Mcgoldrick were as good a front two as we'll play against. Our organization had to be spot on and it was. The management deserve huge credit. I actually thought the decision to go with a narrow diamond and to drop Josh into the half space when they had it was inspired. It asked a lot of our full-backs but it worked perfectly, Isaac and Jack were brilliant.

Can this once and for all dispel the notion that the manager is too rigid? I hope so. I didn't feel that before and I don't now. Yes some of his tweaks are a bit more subtle than switching wingers or bunging an extra striker on, but he DOES nudge things around both before and during matches. I said a few weeks ago that we were approaching the point where we ought to offer the manager a new contract, I think we've now reached it. He's clearly improving and learning as he goes, and in my opinion has the team in roughly where we can realistically expect it to be in the league. I'd say the squad is plenty good enough to challenge for the playoffs, and that's where we are. Quick note here, that doesn't mean that if we don't get in he's done a bad job, it'll be VERY tight. In and around though with this squad is in my eyes a par return. He's doing a solid job, we ought to give him job security.

Joe Lewis? My gut feeling is that the fella likes being at Wimbledon and would prefer to stay here rather than go back to Stockport (who'd have thunk it?). He won't be on a free, but I really think we should go down the back of the sofa and stump up the sheckles to try and buy him. He's a top defender and seems like a great lad.

Connor Lemonheigh-Evans is another really good player. I got slagged a bit for criticizing his brain freeze which led to the first goal on Saturday, and probably rightly so. Yes he paused like he had just remembered he'd left the gas on at home, but apart from that he was excellent. We should try & sign him too.

We should also shake the magic money tree and extend Armani Little and Omar Bugiels deals. They have both been excellent and look like Wimbledon players to me.

Where's the money going to come from? Well we have a few biggish contracts running out in the Summer, that'll free up a bit of cash. I'm not an accountant, but these signings would be in my eyes more important than any incomings in January.

Lastly and obviously not leastly, we've got to mention Ali Al-Hamidi. Our star player is getting better and better, Saturday was yet another game in which if our opponents had had him rather than us, then we'd probably have lost. I think we're at the point with Ali where we ought to be letting teams know that we'll listen to offers in excess of 1.5 million pounds in the Summer. Let the bidding begin THEN. If it's to be January though (which would in my view finish our playoff hopes instantly) then the bidding must START at 2.5 million quid. I remain totally convinced that he's good enough to play at least in the Championship, but the deal has to suit us as well as the player and the buying club.

Oh and it WAS our best performance and win at the new Plough Lane. Utterly exhilarating stuff, absolutely loved it. COYD

Quick scouting report: Doncaster Rovers.

I had a couple of quid e/w on Doncaster at the start of the season. That bet has long hit the bin, they started terribly, had awful injuries and the squad isn't as good as I thought anyway. They do have a quality manager in Grant McCann, but I'm afraid for them only the playoffs are a realistic possibility, even then it's an outside chance in my view.

That said, they've won six out of the last nine in the league. They lost 1-0 at Stockport and by the odd goal away at Barrow, and got battered at home by Salford in a game which they dominated the stats. But they've won the other six, some injured players are coming back and they'll come to our ground thinking they've got a proper chance. They drew 2-2 with Accrington in the cup, but really ought to have won it after being much the better team (Accrington came from behind twice, late on).

So tomorrow is no pushover. One of their biggest losses injury wise is George Miller, the young striker who plays every game. He's still out, but in the towering figure of Mo Faal (on loan from West Brom) they have a very able replacement. The 6ft 5in 20yo is really starting to find his feet, the kid can play. Alongside him Joe Ironside (ex Cambridge) is a very useful and hard working foil. They'll give us plenty to think about when they have the ball. They have a few decent players in midfield, lads like Harrison Biggins, Luke Molyneux and Zain Westbrook are all good at the level, all can hit it from range if not closed town and can pick a pass.

In defence I think like every other team in the league, they'll struggle to cope with Ali Al-Hamidi. Their normal stalwarts (Tom Anderson, Owen Bailey and the like) are typical no nonsense stoppers. They'll be on toast for pace though up against Ali, I suspect they'll play young Joseph Olowu (ex Arsenal) in a central three to give them a bit of legs. The full backs will push on though, they'll not be sitting in a 5-3-2, they'll have a go.

This is a really tricky match in my opinion. Doncaster will provide MUCH stiffer opposition than either Cheltenham or the Palace kids did. Before our trip to concrete city a win here would be huge (and would make a draw there a decent result). I've a hunch that we might not get it though. We've a history of 2-2 draws against these, this might be another.

Johnnie Jacksons contract-The elephant in the room?

It's been a good few days for us, a good few days for the manager too. There were rumblings and grumblings after two batterings in a week, but the good ship AFC is seemingly tacking into calmer waters after two cup progressions in four days. Obviously the league is "where it's at", but if we aren't already into "let's talk about the manager" season, we will be real soon.

The mood in the pub I'd gauge as 10% "I don't like him or his football, I would not offer him a contract" evenly matched by 10% of "Yeah I think he's doing well, keep him on". In the middle the 80% overwhelming majority are the, "Let's wait and see" fraternity. In amongst those are a fair number that change camps from week to week based on results, but in the main they are the "Let's wait until Christmas/the end of the season" types.

On the face of it, the 80% would appear at first look to be the most sensible. Not rushing into anything is not a bad mantra for life, neither is "let someone prove themselves before you reward them". Stick to those two things and you won't go far wrong in this world.

Unfortunately of course the football world is not the real world, in the football world that's not how things work. In the football world, if by now Johnnies agent isn't asking the club for clarification as to where his man stands and/or sounding out other options, our manager should get a new agent. Unreasonable? Not really. You've got a young fella with a wife, kids, a mortgage to pay who doesn't know whether or not he'll have a job in six months. Whether or not anyone thinks he's done a good job is by the by, it's not beyond the realms to think Johnnie will be getting twitchy. If we DON'T offer him a new deal over the next month or two and someone comes in to offers him three years elsewhere, he'll be offski (like Schirofsky). Who could blame him? I certainly wouldn't.

So all talk of "let's wait until the end of the season" is for the birds, it don't work like that I'm afraid. That's like saying that we should let Ali's contract run down then expect him to sign a new one when it runs out. Not gonna happen in a billion years. The ONLY circumstance where the extreme "wait and see" approach makes sense, would be if we end up doing really really badly (last season for example). Then, the manager for sure would sign a new deal, he'd be short on options to do otherwise. You have to ask yourself though, would you WANT him for another two years under those circumstances?

So the extreme "wait and see" is pie in the sky. Short term "wait and see" probably makes sense, but by short term I'm talking January at the absolute latest. I think if we haven't "offered" by then, his agents phone bill will rival a lovestruck teenagers. We are going to HAVE TO make a call, and soonish.

My opinion? (I know nobody actually asked nor cares but I'm going to pretend they do). I think if he continues as he is, we ought to give him the very best chance of being successful. All people in my experience do their best work when they feel secure in their employment. We ought to offer him a new two year contract, and budget into our thinking that if it doesn't work out, we have enough to pay the fella off and shake hands further down the line.

As I've said many times, I wouldn't have kept Johnnie on this season. I wouldn't have, but we did. I've also said and continue to say, if we were going to back the manager then we've got to back the manager. Pep Guardiola or Jurgen Klopp he ain't, but he's doing a solid job right now. If that continues until Christmas, it is my opinion that it is time to back the manager and offer him a new contract.

Whether or not folks agree with me though, the important thing to consider is that the wait and see isn't really a viable nor sensible option. If we AREN'T going to offer, we may as well shake hands and pay him off. Having a manager "seeing out" the last three months of his contract is to nobodies benefit, least of all ours.

Match Report: AFC Wimbledon v Cheltenham town.

"One of these days someone is going to get a battering" is one of the oldest cliches in football. You don't normally have that feeling after being on the wrong end of two four goal maulings in a week however. So my guess is that like me, most AFC Wimbledon fans weren't expecting THAT performance.

In truth the first twenty minutes or so WAS typical us. Our skirmishes in the first twenty minutes are almost always "bloke looks at another bloke from fifty yards away then forgets about it", rather than "kebab shop punch up", this was no different. Cheltenham passed it around a bit, we ran around a bit and the whole thing was flatter than slowly drunk lager. Around the ground, discussions were just starting to veer off onto the merits of Jake Reeves chopping the man bun, Omar Bugiels impressive moustache etc when out of nothing we scored.

Alex Pearce did what he does and punted it forward, Omar did what he does and flicked it on, Ali did what he does and buried it. It was a goal of beautiful simplicity, and like when a 24 handicapper creams one down the middle and says "Why can't I do that every time?", it looked very repeatable but probably isn't. Before long we were two up, the excellent Connor Lemonheigh-Evans putting Tilley through, the wee man did the rest. Tills looked relieved to have "finally" scored one, he hasn't for about three games or something inconsequential. He should worry less, he owes us nothing.

As we took a walk around the concourse in the (as it turned out mistaken) belief that as there were less people there we might be able to get a beer, most expected a backlash from the league one team. Quick note here, the "sorry you can't have a pint at half-time unless you miss ten minutes of football" thing is getting a bit wearing now. God knows how much revenue we miss out on.

Anyway there WAS a backlash, but it came from us. Tills lashed in the third with a cracking volley, Josh came off the bench looking sharp as a tack and smashed in the fourth. Then Connor L-E absolutely broke the net with our goal of the season for the fifth. I know the season is only a third of the way through, but if anyone scores a better goal than that I'll show my arse in Elys window (let's all hope it doesn't happen).

After that they woke up a bit, Josh rattled the bar (I forgot that Armani Little did too) and Ali could literally have scored six. Unfortunately though for us and him, although he's brilliant he can only do it if someone passes to him. On numerous occasions he had a tap-in waiting to happen, only to see whoever had the ball preferring to shoot themselves. Tills did it many times (too many in my view) then Jimmy Ball did it in the dying seconds also. There's not much point in having a top striker if we don't feed him when he's in. It will probably have driven Ali mental, and it is my only criticism of what was a brilliant performance.

Anyway, we absolutely took them apart. "The gold cup, the book festival, Dom Joly (I Googled it), your boys took a hell of a beating" etc etc. Some reflection? Two defeats didn't mean we were shite, and a 5-1 win doesn't mean we're going to win the Champions League. The deep pan Bristol car showroom thing on Tuesday will run its course, but Doncaster at home next week will be a stern test. They are a good team who've made a poor start, but they ARE getting going now. I think it'll be a tight game, the fans need to enjoy this win but not get too carried away. The players might well need us to get behind them for periods next weekend, hopefully we step up.

COYD

Ivor Heller. A Dons story and how I fell in love with the club.

I'm quite good at doing pub quizzes, not answering the questions, setting them. I've been doing it for years. I guess I was a bit nervous at first, but over time much like anything else, if you stick at it you become better. These days I kid myself that the whole thing is quite entertaining, that people actually enjoy doing "my" quizzes. Secretly, I've got this little ambition that when I stop running pubs, I'll keep doing quizzes. Maybe I could have a little side-hustle doing a couple of nights a week to pay for a few beers when I've retired. I could maybe go round old folks homes for free of an afternoon, cheer em up a bit and have a giggle with them.

It's not much to have on your gravestone "He did a bloody good quiz as it happens", but at least it's something. It's my little thing, I really like doing a quiz.

My guess is that Ivor was a bit like that with the Man of the match presentation. He did it every time I went to watch Wimbledon at Kings Meadow, long before I was an actual fan. I love football, would quite happily watch two kids teams if I had the time, and on the odd occasion I took the kids to an AFC Wimbledon game, Ivor embodied (to me) what the club was all about. He doesn't (in the nicest possible way) look like your average compere, and he certainly doesn't talk like one. Just like being able to have a beer in the clubhouse and tell an actual player that he'd done well made me fall in love with it, so did the funny little bloke doing the Man of the Match too. I loved the food kiosk doing hot chips that burnt your fingers, the stewed tea served in two plastic cups which just about meant you could carry it. I squirted on the shite ketchup from the big catering bottles with glee, all of it reminding me of when I was a kid and used to go watch Scarborough with my brother. We cleared the snow off the pitch once to get the game on, me and my brother Tony. There was a picture on the front of the local paper. We had these bobble hats on that my Mum had knitted, it was probably fifty years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. There'll be kids going to AFC Wimbledon games now that'll say the same in half a century.

Time moves on though doesn't it? They've got a plastic pitch at Scarborough now, you can probably clear the snow with a golf buggy fitted with an ingenious front attachment. It doesn't even snow like it used to, time moves on.

Time moves on at AFC Wimbledon too, and so it should. Ivor isn't any more the commercial director bod now, he's moved on and become a freeman of Merton borough. I know him enough to say hello to, not much more, but he deserves that acolode no doubt. What he and the other founding fathers of the club did has enriched my life at least, whatever else they've achieved.

I like it at AFC Wimbledon that even though time has moved on, a certain Marc Jones still designs our kit. He does a brilliant job, does it for free too, so why replace him? Similarly some people who Im lucky enough to consider friends, Graham Price, Xavier Wiggins, Danny Norris etc (I know there are countless others) give THEIR time for free and do brilliant work as well. Why on earth would we pay someone else for the incredible expertise they bring (we couldn't afford it anyway) when they do it for free? It would be nuts.

And back to Ivor. Why would we pay someone to do the man of the match when he did it so well, for free? Now I'm acutely aware that I pour pints for a living and have literally no knowledge of the behind the scenes stuff, the politics and all that. For all I know there might be excellent reasons why the change has been made. Equally, I'm aware that perhaps it's not appropriate to make that reasoning public.

See, I wouldn't ask the question on the blog (I'd stay schtum forever) were it not the case that I was told a few weeks ago that Ivor WAS coming back to do it. I was told by a prominent person at the club, to my face. Since then, I've asked around and that appears NOT to be on the agenda. So am I being fobbed/mugged off, and if so why? 

Honesty and transparency, they are things.

We've got super Johnnie Jackson.

Twenty-Nine days ago it was my birthday. I think it was probably the best birthday I've ever had, you appreciate em more as you get older. The kids came back from Uni for the day, we went to the football and watched us demolish Tranmere 4-1. Ali Al-Hamidi scored a hat-trick, and I had a fiver on it at 80/1, (I also had a few quid on him scoring twice), it was a beautiful day all round.

We went in the Phoenix after, it was one of those pinch yourself and drink in the fact that you're so happy moments. Then, a Wimbledon fan came up to me and said "Let's sack Johnnie Jackson eh?". A cheap shot perhaps, but one I took on the chin. I did make no secret of my feelings at the time that we ought to have called it quits with Johnnie at the end of last season, so I suppose someone taking the opportunity to "rub my nose in it" was only to be expected.

My reservations about sticking with a manager who had won one league game in nineteen weren't simply tactical nor results based. They weren't just that I doubted whether he could take a bunch of new players and make them a fighting unit (a doubt which he has categorically proven to be unfounded). No, my chief concern was that I think a manager needs credit in the bank, political capital if you like. My worry was/is that Johnnie had spent all of that credit last season. As soon as we hit a bad run I thought, people would inevitably turn on him.

Twenty eight days after we smashed Tranmere 4-1, Morecambe did the same to us. I hope the manager has the good sense not to look on Twitter and has not sneaked onto a fan WhatsApp group under a pseudonym. If he has, he'll know that many folks are salivating over the prospect of getting Gareth Ainsworth. The only surprise is that nobody has said "Cowley brothers" yet. Probably most bizarre of all is the fact that many of those calling for the chop are the self same people who have been going around asking where "The Jackson haters are now". It truly is as someone once said, a funny old game.

My own feeling is that sometimes in life you have to gather yourself, take a deep breath and think. This is one of those occasions. I said before the season started that if we were going to back the manager (which we did), then we have to back the manager. I wouldn't have done it myself, but that matters not a jot. All the stuff about people "wanting to be proven right" was and remains nonsense, we must take the course of action which best preserves the viability of the club in the EFL.

We HAVE a manager, one who has shown encouraging signs this season of finding his method. Yes at times we aren't the easiest watch, and yes we've had our arses kicked twice in a week, but we ARE tenth in the league. We've gotten there by being a bloody good team, managed very well by Johnnie Jackson. We did until yesterday's game have the best away record in the league (let's not talk about the home bit for now), and the team is really obviously better than last season. Craig Cope has recruited well, and the players don't look (to me anyway) like they're downing tools as far as Johnnie is concerned.

So my call, such as it is, is that we should stick with the manager. We've hit a bump in the road, but in League Two pretty much everyone gets banjoed at some stage. Everyone has a dodgy spell, this is ours but there's no need to litter the concourse with lobbed out toys. Stick with the manager.

That's not to say obviously that the "Get out of jail free" card is everlasting. I totally disagree with those who said last season's debacle was unavoidable given the circumstances. Yes we lost players in January (which L2 club doesn't?) but we did pick up Ali Al-Hamidi and a kid who in a Leicester shirt is one of the best in the Championship. We didn't in that player turnover lose any of our "marquee, signed and on top money in the Summer" recruits (Alex Pierce, Harry Pell, Chris Gunther), nor did we lose our record signing (Josh Davison). I know someone will say "injuries!", and I know we had a lot. Infact, the "injury index" (remember that method where you add together the shirt numbers of the players who have missed games, divide it by the number of minutes, add twelve then subtract your last three house numbers) came up at 24.87 or something. Apparently that's the highest number since anyone thought of it.

But despite all the injuries, the rubbish squad, the floodlights not being bright enough, the home and away kit being too similar, the grass being too long and all the other reasons put forward, we continued to take the lead pretty much every week. That despite taking the lead each match we were singularly unable to ever "see it out" was to mind on the manager.

This season though, things have been different. Because of that, and because I'm not convinced that a change of manager right now makes sense, I think we shouldn't get trigger happy. Johnnie and the management team will know that they ain't gonna get nineteen games this time to turn it around. They'll know that an FA Cup exit and defeat away at you know who might prove very sticky, even IF we beat Doncaster in between (which is no gimme). We need results, and Johnnie needs one sharpish.

How to get one? Me, I'd be working the defence all week. They've gone from superb to shambolic in a week, let's get that sorted. We KNOW they are good players, let's do some fine tuning. I'd get Morgan Williams back off loan straight away (it was a bad idea in the first place), and I'd get James Ball into the team in a 4-3-3 formation. We are getting overrun in midfield, Tilley in the 10 slot behind the front two makes sense to me. Williams then becomes first change option, Larkin and Lemonheigh-Evans are good players but not ours. They can wait for injuries.

Most of all though, Johnnie has to look in the mirror. I'm convinced that his inability to arrest the tailspin of last season was caused at least as much by his haunted, hunted gait as it was by an injuries. He had that same look about him in yesterday's interview. He's got to lose that, get a smile back on his chops. Lift the mood in the camp don't drag it down, take the lads out for a game of golf, a few beers, a curry. 

We ARE a good team at the level, we DO have good players. We also have a manager who is obviously piecing together the kind of boss he wants to be. He deserves to be given a chance, deserves to be allowed the opportunity to turn around a worrying decline. 

So in answer to the question "Where are the Jackson haters now?" this one is still here. No of course I don't "hate" Johnnie or indeed anyone else, but I still have my views re last season. This isn't last season though, it's THIS season. We've stuck with the manager, so we should stick with the manager.

Come on Johnnie, time to prove people like me wrong again. Get us firing again 👊

Two points from the last twelve. Are the wheels coming off?

It's a fair question I guess, and one that has been doing the rounds in the Alex since Tuesday. Two points from the last twelve has quickly seen us go from "Sheesh win this and we're in the automatics!" to "Get beat here and we're looking down not up".

So should we be worried? Is it time for the Jackson "haters" (I know there never was any in the first place but let's go with it for now) to dust off the placards? Or has it just been an unfortunate blip?

The answer is probably a combination of all three. It almost always is in life. I do to be honest think it's understandable that people are concerned about our form right now, although I personally am still calm. It's true that we aren't playing THAT badly, but bad runs don't grow from awful performances. Horror shows tend to come later down the line. Like good runs, bad runs begin with a goal off someone's arse, a poor refereeing decision, a game in which the result doesn't reflect the performance. Good runs don't start with great performances either, they never did.

I thought for example we were decent at Mansfield, hard done by to lose against Bradford, solid if unspectacular at Barrow, but the three without a win turned into four and another loss with an awful first half against Accrington.

So concern is fair enough, I get it. Equally, we can hardly be surprised if that concern also brings the manager into the equation. The last time a poor run sprouted roots, it had become a Triffid and taken over the greenhouse in no time. Not only was Johnnie unable to stop it, he never looked likely to be about to get the petrol out either (it was quickly past the sheers stage). Long before the final couple of matches we had the calculators and the calendars out, only the season finishing when it did saved us from the drop.

So let's look at it and start with the defence. I personally am totally unconcerned that we conceded four goals against Accrington. Equally, I'm not bothered that the four could easily have been six. I don't care. Why? Because I KNOW we have a great defence. I've watched it all over the country this season. We have a solid goalkeeper and right back, two of the best centre backs in the league and a superstar left back. They defend and play well as a unit, totally cohesive. So much so that they even had a nightmare performance all on the same day, far better that way. They were all rubbish against Accy, they'll all know it, and it won't happen again.

In midfield, I know we have top players. Were they great against Accy? No they weren't, and neither are they collectively playing at their best right now, but they are all good players who work their nuts off. They'll do for me, although I would play James Ball tomorrow if I was doing the team sheet. I'd also consider a 4-3-3 with Tilley in the 10, but this post isn't about that sort of stuff so I'll leave it. Suffice to say we have good midfielders and I'm not concerned.

Up top in Omar and Ali we have a very potent combination, with Josh chomping away in the background. As previously stated, I'm not worried about Josh either. I hear the murmurings, but I've seen him have too many good games for us, bust a gut on too many occasions to give up on the fella now. "Supporter" isn't just a word, it's a thing. Josh needs to hear his name being sung while he's warming up, needs to feel the warm hand of supporter love again.

And Johnnie? Well no amount of "injury index" data, no "budget league table" or "we lost our best players in January" stuff will ever convince me that last season wasn't a total shit show. That said, I think that so far this season he's done an excellent job. He built the team into a fighting unit in a matter of weeks, and we've at times looked one of the best teams in the league. He has (I think it's a statement of the obvious) improved as a manager this season and by a fair margin. That doesn't mean of course that he doesn't occasionally make mistakes (the team selection in the last game was a bit of a shocker as it turned out), but by and large he looks like he learns quickly. Hopefully that learning includes a "how to get back on track" section, we'll need that if we don't win at Morecambe (which is far from an easy game). 

So in summary, I'm NOT worried yet, but we need a result. That result needs to be a WIN, not a "great clean sheet", a "really solid team performance" or any of that stuff, we need to WIN.

QUICK SCOUTING REPORT: Morecambe are a good team with a good manager. They are two points ahead of us and have played two games LESS than us. They're unbeaten in seven and have won their last four. They are essentially a good team rather than having outstanding individuals, but everyone's talking about young Michael Mellon up top, on loan from Burnley. He is very good and in time will be miles too good for the level. I really like the Northern Irish kid in midfield (JJ Mcsomething), he's box to box and has a goal in him. Josh Bedau at the back is a good player, and I think Adam Mayor is going to be a good player too. They work hard, don't mind if you have the ball most of the time, and fight till the death. If we can win there it'll be a great result, but we could really do with one.

My prediction? 1-1

My match report: AFC Wimbledon v Accrington Stanley

As we all know, you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. And although it's fair to say that last night we crashed the lorry from the egg farm over the side of a bridge (a really high bridge, with concrete underneath), we learnt much in the process. If we use the information we gleaned, REALLY use it, we may even end up thinking that being beaten up by Accy last night was a blessing in disguise.

"OK then silly Bollocks, what did we learn?" I hear you ask. Well let's look at it, and if you endulge me I'm going to break with what has become tradition at our club and not talk about the defence first. See, if we don't have a shot in games we always talk about the "great clean sheet" and how "solid" we were. So it seems to me to be only fair that on the occasion we were very "un" solid and have a sheet so embarrassingly dirty we'll probably have to wait until everyone's out before washing it ourselves, it's best we talk about the attack.

So here goes. For twenty five minutes of the second half that was the most exilerating and penetrative attacking display I've seen from us all season. Throwing caution to the wind (you do that when you're 3-0 down) we tore into our opponents. Gone was the obsession with shape, structure (and another word starting with "S" which would make the sentence really impressive but which I unfortunately can't think of), we just went for it. Suddenly Hus Biler was checking back & sprinting sideways like one of those Madagascarn crabs dodging the waves and hungry Seahawks. Jack Currie was bulldozing his way forward, smashing through people like a drunken student trying to rush the door at Glasto. Ali Al-Hamidi's boots flared an angry orange while he bristled with anger,  and meanwhile Omar Bugiel was doing a one man tear up with a hundred MK fans in a backstreet Kebab shop, in an ugly, concrete backstreet.

The centre halves went up for set pieces and stayed in there. No more retreating the minute it looked like it might be cleared, they blocked and spoiled and kept it alive. Accrington barely got out of their half, we suffocated them with will and intent, it was a beautiful moment. And the ground rocked, they hung from the barriers and ripped their shirts off to twirl around their heads as they bayed for blood (or at least the old ladies in block 108 of the West Stand did anyway). THAT was Plough Lane at its finest, THAT'S how we should play. We almost got pinged on the break a couple of times and it was chaotic but so what? We love a bit of chaos.

At the other end? Sheesh were all over the place. Conceded four and it could've been eight. Bad day at the office. Even good players have bad days, and we have some REALLY good players in defence. No damage done, we lost one, it happens, we move on.

That attacking though....

Not an easy game, but we can win this.

I've seen it mentioned a bit that this is a good time to play Accrington but if it is, I wouldn't want to play them at a bad time. They come to Plough Lane tonight on the back of three straight wins in the league, and four straight wins if you include the football league trophy. The last team to beat them (six games ago) was Stockport, and given that they beat just about everyone right now there's no shame there. So what can we expect when they come out tonight?

Well first things first. Any hopes that they might be distracted by the public row between the owner (who wants to sell the club) and the management team are in my opinion pie in the sky. John Coleman is an excellent manager, one of the best in the league, and if anything I reckon his players will be MORE galvanized not less by the strange situation around the club. In terms of style, I wouldn't describe Accy as being "direct" but like us they aren't shy of getting the ball forward quickly. Again like us they are a big, powerful team who aren't concerned with not having posession for lengthly periods of the match. Up top in Josh Andrews (on loan from Birmingham) they have a big, ugly target man who is a huge threat when crosses come into the box. They aren't shy about crossing it either, so our full backs are going to have to get out quick and tight to encourage a re-cycle. They are also a big threat from set pieces, the monstrous figure of Jay Rich-Bagalou launching himself at anything available.

They almost always play 4-2-3-1, and have two young kids in front of the back four who put the miles in (can't remember their names). In the three in front, the Scouse lad Whalley has a goal in him & will hit it from range, and I like the Portsmouth kid Tommy Leigh if he plays. All in all they are a solid outfit and will in my opinion finish top 12. They are in that group (as are we) of eight teams which are not quite as strong as the top four (Stockport/Wrexham/Notts Co/Mansfield).

Their recent record is good, but they were in my opinion lucky to win at Grimsby where until they had a man sent off, the home team were much the better side. Grimsby missed some sitters, something we obviously need to avoid. They won at home on Saturday too, but the away team missed a couple of really good chances. We'll need to defend properly, as already stated the full backs as first line, but Ryan and Joe are going to have a battle with Andrews. I'd let Ryan have him, he's hungry for a bit of raw meat after a few quiet weeks.

To hurt THEM, if we're brave enough to press higher and not instantly retreat into our shape, I think we can catch them around the edge of their box. They kind of try and play out sometimes (particularly the full backs), I can see a goal from a counter press if we do that. And I think our wide players can cause both of their full backs problems, both of their wide defenders are more the robust than the nimble types. As they only play one up top, I hope we're brave enough to push our full backs on (Josh Andrews isn't going to outpace anyone down the sides) and if we can get Reeves/Little on the ball in their half, Ali will be on for the slide rule through a gap. He'll really bother them with his pace if we can give him some service.

I like the game, under the lights it'll be a great atmos and I think a really good match up. I take us to nudge it 2-1, and I fancy Ali to score twice (which is 10/1). COYD.

Who'd be a football manager?

Who'd be a football manager? In what other job are you told that if you provide such & such then everyone will be happy, only to discover that when you ARE providing exactly what everyone was going to be happy about, someone moves the goalposts?

And so it is with Johnnie Jackson. "Give us a mid table position and a solid team" they said. Then, when he is in the process of giving us exactly that, they say the football is a hard watch. They wonder if we could go for it more, if the ever racking up draws column is the result of perhaps a too conservative approach. They worry that our goals have dried up, that a potential tilt at comfortable top seven might be in the process of turning into a "we need to win our last seven to have a chance of the playoffs". How fickle is the football fan? How ungrateful.

People unfortunate enough to be frequent readers of this blog (and you really ought to do something more productive with your spare time) will know of course by now that by "they", I actually mean "I". I was the personification of the "mid table will do me/I don't care if we play boring football" supporter. After last seasons post Christmas calamaties, any sort of stable points gathering appeared desirable.

That was before though I'd seen the manager build a defence as solid as any in the league. Before I'd seen us cut loose and rip Tranmere apart, do the same at Sutton once we'd got the goal, ditto Colchester. It was before I'd seen it demonstrated every week what a good player Jake Reeves is, before I'd seen Alex Bass, Ryan Johnson, Joe Lewis. See this is the thing, now that I've seen those players, that team we have, I do wonder if we are entirely doing our talents justice.

Take Saturday at Barrow. It wasn't the worst game of football I've ever seen, but it WAS the second worst, (the worst was the Gillingham away 0-0 of a couple of years back, I never want to surpass that). The two games were very similar in many ways. Both played on a potato field of a pitch, a bit of rain, a bit of wind, very few chances and both teams displaying an obvious fear of getting beat. The main difference is that the draw at Gillingham as good as condemned them to the drop and gave us a great chance of staying up (one which we unfortunately didn't take as it turned out). In many respects it was a great point, ugly but vital. My contention is the Barrow one was slightly less so, not in the overall scheme of things.

So to the league this season. I've long said that League Two is an "all about the wins" league. A quick look at it this morning shows that Stockport have won nine games, the most in the league. They are top, and it's little surprise to see that the team who have won the second most (Notts County who have won eight), are second. Interestingly, both teams have lost more games than us. Indeed Notts County have been absolutely smashed up twice (5-1 and 4-1) but they still are second. Mansfield are unbeaten in 13 games which is no mean feat, have no doubt gotten many "great points" and numerous "great clean sheets", but are sixth. This league is all about the wins, it pays to go for it, risk all for the win.

And so to us. Yes we have a brilliant defence and the coaching staff deserve huge credit for that. We also though have a central midfield partnership that has scored one goal in our first fourteen matches, a left side/winger slot which has yielded one. We have as one of our strikers the excellent Omar Bugiel who has never been a regular scorer throughout his career, alongside the best striker in the league who we aren't creating for. We don't score via our centre halves from set pieces, and the full backs have one goal between them so far. It isn't difficult to see why our goals drying up has coincided with James Tilley not scoring every single week, and in all honesty we don't look like a team who is about to turn the taps on anytime soon. We are a really good team within which everyone works their nads off, hard to beat, we put a shift in etc etc, but flowing we ain't.

But we CAN do it, we CAN play expansive, expressive, brave football. I know we CAN, because I've seen it. The shame is that we've only really opened up once the game is safe, once we don't have to worry about being beat any longer.

And that's the crux of the whole thing for me. We oughtn't in my view be sooo worried about losing the odd match. We are definitely not going to go down, there is only upside to our league season. We aren't going to fail in our ambition because we were too brave and lost too often, but being too safe and drawing too many might well hold us back.

At the moment we are shooting for the middle of the green, trying to save par, make the cut. It's time to get the big dog out and try to carry the water, time to go for the pin. Fortune in this league favours the brave, it's time to don the Warpaint and go a bit more Braveheart. COYD