Season review part two: Our lads, in the middle of our team.

Some jobs look easier than others, playing midfield in a football team is no exception. When Man City are rolling it from side to side any fan fan would be forgiven for thinking "Sheesh I could do that" (SPOILER ALTERT-You couldn't) but watching our lads in midfield, there are few looking on with envy.

First thing is to play in our system, forget about Kevin De Bruyne through balls or arriving in the box like a Frank Lampard or a Steven Gerrard (even these days!), that ain't what we're expecting of you. No, we're expecting you to keep your shape at pretty much all times, defend compact and narrow as a unit and not to lose the ball in the first two thirds. Our system demands effort and discipline in equal measure (that measure being a "quadruple" down your local pub), and not all midfielders are naturally suited to it. James Ball would be the best example of those who don't really "fit". For the team he played as a 4 and a 6 and did pretty well, but curbing his natural tendency to be an 8 was like watching a greyhound on one of those long leads. 

Of those who DID play, DID make it work, these are my season reviews.

Jake Reeves-Fitting that he goes first. An absolutely integral part of our promotion season, he played every match in which he wasn't fit or suspended. Derided by many fans (including me) for being too safe with his passing, the overwhelming consensus when he got a three game ban was that it would probably help us. Those who said as much (including me) were of course totally wrong. Fortunately for us though when the captain came back and we won four consecutive games 1-0, we could all claim that he had "benefitted from the rest". That's total bollocks obviously, but at least it gave those of us who crave being able to say "I was right all along" something to cling to.

For Jakes part he is a very good footballer, breaks the play up very efficiently and passes it into a safe area very perceptively. When he does get forward, he is more than comfortable and capable of providing some cut be it from a slipped pass or a shot from distance.

Stepping up to L1 will be a challenge for him at this stage in his career in my opinion, but if the coaching staff can get "legs" alongside him he'll no doubt be an ever present next season too.

Ali Smith-There are a couple of rumours around that he might have played his last game for us. Apart from the other lads who play alongside him, I must be the person who wishes the most that it ain't so. Ali is an excellent footballer and if we hadn't had him this season, we wouldn't have gone up in my opinion.

I've always thought this lad firmly fits into the "doesn't realize how good he is" category of footballers, we have a couple of those. My guess is he'll seamlessly step up to L1, I just hope it's with us.

If footballers were insects this lad would be a preying mantis, impossible to get away from without one of his spindly legs wrapping around you and knocking the ball away. In my view we still have only seen 70% or so of his total capabilities, he really was good enough last season to absolutely boss L2 if only he'd realized it. Sometimes he did, he went on little runs of games where he made the decisive contributions, but I honestly thank that his goal tally for instance was only half of what it might have been.

That might read a bit harsh, but it's only because I rate him so highly as a footballer. I'd be going down the back of the setee to give this fella as close as possible to what he actually wants.

Callum Maycock-A good first season in league football from the Solihull Moors recruit. My guess (I've never met him) is that he's a quiet, modest lad, another who doesn't realize how good he can be.

For the first month or two he appeared to me to have "League footballer imposter syndrome" but he grew into it and by the end looked disappointed if he wasn't selected.

As a footballer he's a "glue" player, his ability to move perceptively into space often allowing the group to function with more fluency in possession. He has a goal in him (I'd personally like to see more) and although I haven't seen the stats Id guess he racks up the kilometres when he's on the pitch.

I'd hope he'd make the step up to L1 without too much of a problem, providing he can convince himself that he belongs there.

Miles Hippolyte-An absolutely vital player when available. I think if he'd have stayed fit all season we might have had a shot at the title.

It was no surprise that he got the vital goal at Wembley, he appears to have that "big player" mentality, lads like that generally DO step up when it matters.

As a footballer he's an excellent athlete and probably happiest in a three in the middle with him as a roving 8. He's better in the air than you'd imagine, gets his foot in and can hit it off both sides from outside the box. The only impediment to him stepping up a level is the fitness. My guess is that if we CAN keep him fit then he's going to play lots of minutes next season.

That'd be great news, we are going to need players like him. A lot.

Tomorrow we'll look at the strikers.

AFC Wimbledon review part one: The case for the defence.

Firstly to state the obvious, it is our defence which got us promoted out of League Two. When I say "defence" I don't just mean our defenders either. Our whole set up was geared towards being VERY hard to break down, even harder to score against. It's this resilience which got us over the line, culminating in four successive 1-0 wins.

Having that record at the end of the season, having statistically the best defence in the league, doesn't happen by accident. It's the result of excellent coaching, committed players and avoiding doing the stuff which leads to conceding chances. What stuff? Well we played very little football inside the first two thirds for starters. Yes we passed it around at the back while we probed for the best angle to hit it long, but in terms of playing it through the thirds and taking the risk of being caught in possession, we didn't really do it. Similarly we didn't commit large amounts of men forward to risk getting hit on the counter, nor did we by and large press high and risk getting played through. No, our approach was to be compact and relatively risk averse, with the WHOLE TEAM contributing to the defensive effort.

Obviously in some respects this adhesion to the plan slightly lessened our threat going forward on occasions. Unquestionably it made us less easy on the eye for the purists amongst us, but so what? In terms of achieving our seasons objectives (getting promoted), nobody can argue that our methodology wasn't effective.

It's not just about "method" either obviously. Countless times we blocked, we smothered, we put or head in where it might get booted, we put our bodies on the line for the cause. There were many heroic displays from the lads at the back, here's my seasons review of the players involved. I've avoided a "Scores on the Dores" rating, it doesn't seem to fit for the season as a whole. Here goes:

Owen Goodman: I remember bumping into Bayzo at a DLAG do sometimes before Christmas. Having chewed his ear off for a bit (I do that) the conversation turned to all things OG. He told me that our young keeper very much reminded him of Rambo (blond tousled shot stopper rather than the retired marine who ran amok in mid America). I was astonished to be honest. Up to that point, our aspiring keeper was proving himself capable of great saves but running at a mistake roughly every three games, some of them costing goals. I was heartened though. Bayzo knows more about goalkeeping than just about anyone else on planet Earth, I gleefully reported it back to a host of fans Whatsapp groups.

Obviously it was met with hoots of derision (my posts normally are). Phrases such as "Never make a keeper while he's got a hole in his arse" were bandied about, the fans (like me to be honest) were going to take some convincing, more than my drunken conversations could offer anyways.

Fast forward six months though, I should think 100% of AFC Wimbledon fans would be very happy if OG was our goalie next season, even happier if he signed permanently. It's almost like he's grown six inches in six months, his development has been staggering. He is one of the biggest reasons we've got a great defence, his performance away at Notts County in the playoffs was magnificent. Top man (not his suits, him).

Josh Neufville-Aside from telling the fans to Fuck Off after a defeat (Was it Gillingham?) never put a foot wrong all season. Surely amongst the quickest players in L2, he's become not just a destructive wing back going forward but an excellent defender too. 

He's scored some brilliant goals, made some superb defensive interventions and achieved the hardest thing in football, causing the opposition to approach the game differently simply because his name was on the team sheet.

From here I've no doubt there'll be a number of clubs who've got his agent on speed dial. He is obviously capable of playing at least to League One level, perhaps even higher. My take is that if he can add a touch more composure and slightly better decision making to his obvious athleticism, the sky really is the limit.

Unfortunately I've a hunch that it won't be with us next season, but the fella owes us nothing.

James Tilley-Like Josh Neufville has had to replace the ER of winger with BACK. It took him a fraction longer, but to my mind he'll be changing the "occupation" bit of his passport application from now on. He's played against some good wingers recently has Tills, absolutely none of them have gotten the better of him. He remains by a distance our most likely scorer from outside the box and is better in the air than you'd imagine too.

He's an excellent footballer who can go "both ways" and hit it off both sides, he's improved massively as the season progressed. I'd have no problem at all with him stepping up to L1 with us, he's plenty good enough IMHO and our offer of a new contract will no doubt be far off his only option this Summer.

James Furlong-Started the season brightly and has a wand of a left foot. Lost his place, then had that obvious fault of looking a bit rusty each time he occasionally played. I've a strong hunch that he's a far better player than he's shown or been allowed to show in a Wimbledon shirt, he'll go well wherever he ends up.

Jonjo O Toole-One of those lads who you can guarantee is great in the dressing room. Has let nobody down when called upon, if he continues to play then some young striker in another league who is too full of himself is going to get the shock of his life when he runs into this lad next season. A superb pro.

James Ball-I include him here rather than in midfield as this is where he made more of a mark this season. Always assured at centre half, always had time (the sign of a good player) and looked like he was born to play there.

My frustration with this lad is that he was never really given the opportunity to play at number 8, I'm absolutely convinced that he REALLY IS born to play there.

Few players who have played so few minutes over two seasons have made such a big impression as Bally. A big fan favourite, I'll be following his career with big interest from here on in. My prediction is that if he DOES play consistently as an 8, he will flourish wherever he ends up.

Ryley Harbottle-Word has it that he is one of the nicest people you could wish to meet, he is a bloody useful footballer too. Brave and committed to the last, when fit he has been hugely influencial and contributed massively to the cause.

My one frustration with him was when our WhatsApp stats man Arash Razal tipped him up to score first at Notts County, I wasn't on (it was 125/1!!!). I kind of wanted to dislike Riley because he replaced Ogs (who I love) but I can't. He was excellent, I'll really enjoy seeing make the step up to L1 with us.

Isaac Ogundere-My favourite player at the whole club. I'm not saying he's our best player (yet), but I love his attitude and I'm always happy when he does well.

Still just a kid who along with Owen Goodman is our most improved player this season, given a fair bit of luck I remain convinced that this lad has a fair bit left in the locker yet. Defends well, gets up and down with decent delivery and although I think there is a bit to work on in attacking it in the opponents box, that will come.

Isaac strikes me as a kid who listens to what the coaches tell him, takes information on board, goes away and thinks about it and improves. If he continues to do that, I think he can eventually follow Jack Rudoni and others who've gone up the grades.

Ryan Johnson-Another one of my favourite players. Old Magnet head had a dodgy month mid season (where at times it looked like his chess champion twin brother who "doesn't do football" had turned up in his absence) but came roaring back to his best as the season progressed.

"Roaring" is the right word, this fella is an absolute lion of a defender who must be a nightmare to play against. He is the master of the "clumsy/didn't mean to do it" one where he stands on an attackers foot after making the tackle, hits them with his shoulder after making the header. Never happier than when it's a proper rough and tumble scrap, but then surprises you with a left foot that he can probably sign his name with. Just a bloody good player, I hope he re signs for next season.

Joe Lewis-There can't be many ladies who occasionally watch us play who don't say "Joe Lewis" when you ask them who their favourite player is. It's hard to argue with their choice, even if your own reason for it might be about something other than the "short shorts".

In truth, there are many females who come watch us regularly and definitely know their stuff when it comes to football. They'd tell you that there's more to it than shorts, Joe reads the game really well, is as strong as an ox, good in the air, has a sprinkling of pace and is a great leader of men too.

We stole him when we bought him off Stockport, there is no doubt in my mind that we're we to cash in we'd get significantly more than double what we paid for his services.

I hope that scenario doesn't happen anytime soon though. Joe was to my mind the best centre half in League Two by an absolute distance (Whoever picked that team of the year for the EFL is literally clueless), he can EASILY step up to L1.

Hopefully he resists the offers that no doubt will come his way these days. He may as well become the best centre half in League One with us next season. Then, it won't be Exeter who come knocking it'll be Everton.

Joe Lewis, the man, the myth, the shorts. 

Anyway tomorrow we'll look at the midfield.