Wombling up the Football League with AFC Wimbledon

Played for many years, first time I've plucked up the courage to do a career thread. I'll hopefully update every month, as most do, but I'm trying to avoid too many screenshots.

Starting with AFC Wimbledon, with lots of leagues loaded. I may well move on as I progress, but I have some goals for the Dons first:

Goals for AFC Wimbledon:

Hammer the MK Dons at least once

Get some decent silverware (League Cup or better)

Get into Europe

Improve Youth and Training Facilities to be among the best in the country.

My squad as of the start is strong in some areas, but worryingly weak in others, as the team report shows.

I have identified the main goals for season 1.

AFC Wimbledon 2011-12 goals:

Build squad capable of League 2 football

Finish at least 15th

Try to remain responsible with spending

Get a parent club from the EPL

Trophy Cabinet

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AFC Wimbledon
2011-12  Johnstone's Paint Trophy Winners (Tranmere, 3-1 AET)
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Good luck!

July 2011

I won't bore you with details of my pre-season, I myself had the assistant manage the friendlies as I don't enjoy sitting through meaningless matches.

I have strengthened the squad, mostly in attack, with several signings, including 2 loanees. Transfer Summary. I have also started to clear away dead wood, though my squad is small enough that there will not be a large clearout. One player, Quincy Rowe, is convinced he is good enough and will not leave, despite my attempts to the contrary.

In July, we played one competitive match:

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Stuart, John) Crawley 1 - Carling Cup Preliminary Round

Shocking defending at times, but terrible finishing from both sides led to a victory. Stern John came on late, and did not let me down. I face Bristol City in the next round. Probably greatly helped by the fact that my players injured Matt Tubbs (Y).

August 2011

Two more signings were made, both 3 month loans. I signed two CMs, Sean Murray from Watford, and Jamie Smith from Brighton. Despite this, my best CM (according to my assman) is Yussuf.

We have had a pretty good start to the campaign, with several good results.

Gillingham 0 AFC Wimbledon 0 - League 1/46

A general poor match in which both teams squandered what few decent chances there were.

AFC Wimbledon 1 (Crowe) Bristol City 3 - Carling Cup 1st Round

Wasn't expecting anything from the game, but a generally good performance led to a closer match than I'd have liked

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Cunago, Wellard) Northampton 1 - League 2/46

After Cunago's excellent goal, Northampton managed a pretty good strike themselves. Was preparing for a draw when Wellard hit a screamer, which later earned 3rd in goal of the month.

Plymouth 1 AFC Wimbledon 2 (John, Stuart) - League 3/46

With a goal in each half, we were looking comfortable. The last 15 minutes were nerve racking, however, after Plymouth scored.

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Cunago, Stuart) Dag & Red 1 - League 4/46

After Cunago showed his skill, Stuart hit another goal, giving us victory.

Shrewsbury 0 AFC Wimbledon 0 - League 5/46

Our biggest test, against the early leaders. In the end the match was nervy, with the quality of attempts at goal being very poor indeed.

Colchester 0 AFC Wimbledon 2 (Wilson og, Stuart) - JPT 1st Round

A great result against the Essex team a division above ours. Defending was poor at times, but Bouzanis played well.

Good points

Wellard's goal against Northampton

The win against Colchester

Stuart's goalscoring despite being a DC - he's scored all three from corners, even though I've not altered the tactic!

Bad points

Jamie Smith played like cack against the Shrews, then moaned when I told him off. He may well return to Brighton early.

September 2011

AFC Wimbledon 3 (Hatton, Counago, Stuart) Morecambe 2 - League 6/46

A close game, but fairly exciting to watch. Hatton's goal was an utter peach of a free-kick that the Morecambe keeper still has nightmares about.

Aldershot 0 AFC Wimbledon 2 (Cunago, Djilali) - League 7/46

Excellent defending from Brett Johnson made this game an easy victory. Every ball played towards the Aldershot attackers seemed to be intercepted by Johnson, whilst balls played forwards to my attackers were usually better aimed (then largely wasted :|)

AFC Wimbledon 1 (Crowe) Cheltenham 1 - League 8/46

Easily the worst result of the month, thanks to the fact that Cunago had forgotten to pack his shooting boots.

Rotherham 0 AFC Wimbledon 2 (Cunago 2) - League 9/46

Much, much better! When Cunago finds the net, all he needs is a solid performance from the midfield and we will get this sort of result.

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Djilali, Cunago) Macclesfield 0 - League 10/46

Once again Cunago proves to be the player to talk about - he was largely wasteful and the match should have been 4 or 5-0, thanks to several clangers from the Spaniard. His late goal was enough to secure the win, but Vermijl grabbed headlines with a nasty tackle, earning both an early bath, and bizarrely man of the match. He'll be out for the next 3 games suspended.

Good points

Excellent form

Hatton's screamer -

General solid defending

Bad points

Cunago's inability in some games to find the net

Vermijl's red card

The Cheltenham game. Less said the better.

Good start in the league, KUTGW

October 2011

Torquay 1 AFC Wimbledon 4 (John, Djilali, Hatton, Cunago) - League 11/46

Poor performances from Torquay's defence led to this easy victory. The Torquay goal was an own goal by Jamie Stuart. Once again Hatton's goal was a longrange free kick.

AFC Wimbledon 1 (Cunago) Brentford 0 - JPT 2nd Round

An excellent defensive display, particularly by loanee Jamie Reckord (more on him later), ensured another good result. We sadly drew Wycombe away in the next round.

AFC Wimbledon 4 (Yussuff, Cunago 2, Green og) Hereford 1 - League 12/46

Once again solid at the back, we were perhaps unlucky to concede.

Southend 0 AFC Wimbledon 0 - League 13/46

A poor game for both sides, not helped by the fact that captain Jamie Stuart was suspended.

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Stuart, Cunago pen) Bradford 1 - League 14/46

The relief that we got a penalty was obvious, as we did not really deserve to win this game against a struggling Bradford side. What happened to these guys? They were EPL only a few years ago!

Crewe 0 AFC Wimbledon 0 - League 15/46

This was poor from us. We didn't concede, but the game was far too even given our relative positions in the table.

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Yussuff, Counago) Swindon 1 - League 16/46

Swindon had many more chances in this game, but were incredibly wasteful, getting only 4 out of 21 shots on target. We also got 4 on target, but had only 9 shots. It's this general accuracy which wins these matches.

Transfers

Reckord, one of the better loanees, went back to Wolves, the ungrateful git deciding that him being with us was a waste of time! What a cheek! We signed three further loanees, Reece Caira from Villa, and Marko Mitrovic and Rohan Ince from Chelsea. Only Ince is likely to slot straight in, replacing the injured Brett Johnson alongside Stuart in defence. Furthermore, I managed to persuade the board to negotiate the transfer of Oliver Lancashire from Walsall, who joins us on a free in the new year. No idea what wage he's on, but I managed to massively reduce our wage bill by releasing Jack Midson, who I deemed a weak link, from the club. It cost us £45k, but he was earning a princely £1.3k a week, which I can hopefully put to better use elsewhere.

Other news

In the FA Cup, we drew Rugby Town away, our trip to Warwickshire taking place on the 12th.

November 2011

AFC Wimbledon 4 (Murray, Yussuff, Jolley, Counago) Oxford 2 - League 17/46

Considering the large distance between us in the table, the game was surprisingly even. It was only thanks to Bouzanis, who saved 3 of their 5 shots on target, that we pulled this result off

Wycombe 0 AFC Wimbledon 1 (Mitrovic pen) - JPT Quarter Final

This match was painful to watch at times, due to cringingly bad passing and wasted chances. Counago was unavailable, and the quality of the team was noticeably down. I was waiting for extra time to start when we got the penalty with the last kick of the game.

Burton 2 AFC Wimbledon 3 (Counago 2, Djilali) - League 18/46

A poor performance against another side at the wrong end of the table. Bouzanis yet again proves to be inconsistent, letting in both decent shots they got.

Rugby 0 AFC Wimbledon 3 (Counago 2, Dawson og) - FA Cup 1st Round

Rugby were one of the lowest ranked sides left, and this showed. Only their 'keeper showed any form of fighting spirit.

Accrington 0 AFC Wimbledon 1 (Counago) - League 19/46

Another hard earned victory, shocking passing and defending at times was somehow wasted by the Lancashire side. Maybe they need to drink more milk!

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Counago 2) Bournemouth 1 - JPT Semi Final

A good performance considering that my right midfielder was injured early on. Our good run in the JPT goes on.

Transfers

Sean Murray was among the loanees that returned home this month, the Irishman being the first I've had who hasn't moaned that we wasted his time. Ex Aberdeen man Sone Aluko will be joining us in January, as I need some more depth on the sides of the pitch, as the match against Bournemouth demonstrated. Is Aluko the first man to play for both Dons? Luca Scapuzzi, Yaser Kazim and James Wilson all joined on 3 month loans.

Other news

The JPT's Southern Final will be against Charlton, whilst the FA Cup game, which is on TV (netting me a much needed £70k), is against Dagenham and Redbridge.

December 2011

Dagenham & Redbridge 0 AFC Wimbledon 0 - FA Cup 2nd Round

Perhaps the TV cameras were too much for both sides, who played out a bore draw. Bouzanis managed to somehow slide out of the box while holding the ball. Luckily, he was only booked.

AFC Wimbledon 2 (John, Djilali) Bristol Rovers 2 - League 20/46

A game of two halves. We were awful in the 1st half, conceding two thanks to poor performances from Bouzanis and Stuart. After the half-time bollocking, Stern John immediately surged forwards, making it 2-1 with a fine chip over the goalie. Djilali scored a few minutes later, saving an embarassing result.

AFC Wimbledon 1 (Counago) Dagenham & Redbridge - FA Cup 2nd Round Replay

The score of 1-0 doesn't really reflect that we dominated, with 63% of the possession. The opposition didn't even manage a shot on target.

Port Vale 1 AFC Wimbledon 1 (Djilali) - League 21/46

In truth, we were lucky to escape with a draw. While we had plenty of the ball, we wasted it, whilst Vale managed 10 shots on target.

AFC Wimbledon 2 (John 2) Barnet 0 - League 22/46

After two poor draws in the league, playing basement side Barnet was a welcome relief. Stern John left it late, however, as he finally showed some goalscoring.

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Counago, Djilali) Crawley 2 - League 23/46

After going 1-0 up, we conceded a penalty and a setplay goal thanks to shocking defending. For some reason my backroom staff felt this should have been an easy victory - Crawley are just below me in the league!

Other news

We drew EPL side Bolton away in the FA Cup! Should be a nice little earner.

Mid-season summary

League - Despite being unbeaten as we reach the turning post, we are 2nd behind an also unbeaten Shrewsbury. I am generally confident that we can get promotion, as I feel 8 points SHOULD be enough of a cushion. The bottom team, not visible on the screenshot are Barnet, with a record of W1 D4 L18 F26 A68 GD-44 PTS 7

JPT - To say I am pleased is an understatement. I was expecting us to go out against Colchester, but we have instead beaten several League 1 teams. I remain pessimistic, however, and suspect that Charlton will be too much for us.

League Cup - Not much to say about this. Bristol City are two leagues above us and I didn't expect anything. Would have liked a higher attendance at the game - why would Dons fans not come to see a big match?

FA Cup - A good cup run, but nothing to shout about. Hopefully the match at the Reebok will lead to a large amount of revenue.

Best players

Pablo Counago - When Cunago is on form, we win. It is that simple. Our best player by far this term, he is among the highest paid in the squad, but is worth every penny. I doubt, however, that he will be able to step up to League 1, as he can be dreadfully inconsistent at times.

Stern John - Pablo's usual partner, though not the original choice (that was Glen Crowe, who has the 10 shirt as you'd expect). Stern has not enjoyed a large amount of goalscoring, but has provided Cunago with chances on multiple occasions, leading to an impressive

8 assists.

Worst players

Dean Bouzanis - I signed this keeper knowing that he was supposedly useful at this level. Whilst he has occasionally played well, his inconsistency has cost me many a match. I am now actively looking for a replacement, as I don't deem Seb Brown, Dean's current backup, to be good enough at this level.

January 2012

Bolton 3 AFC Wimbledon 0 - FA Cup 3rd Round

3 goals in the first half killed any chance of a result, but once I upped the aggression of tackles, the flow of goals seemed to stop.

Northampton 1 AFC Wimbledon 3 (Cunago 3) - League 25/46

An excellent performance from Cunago, who totally destroyed the Northampton defence with his runs.

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Counago, Djilali) - League 26/46

AFC Wimbledon 1 (John) Charlton 0 - JPT South Final, 1st leg

Both sides played out a very nervy game. In the end, Stern John's goal was enough to win, but I suspect we'll be thrashed at the Valley..

Dagenham & Redbridge 1 AFC Wimbledon 3 (Lancashire 2, Counago) - League 27/46

...thanks to this game. Three of my players, Hatton, John and Aluko all got injured. Two opposition players ALSO got injured. If this had happened IRL, both managers would have complained to the FA, as the pitch, which was icy, had an obvious affect on the game.

AFC Wimbledon 1 (Cunago pen) Gillingham 1 - League 24/46

This game was meant to be the first of the month, but was postponed due to snow on the pitch. The loss of Stern John probably affected this game, as the backup, Glen Crowe, clearly did not have the same ability to provide Cunago with a decent service

AFC Wimbledon 1 (Cansdell-Sheriff og) Shrewsbury 1 - League 28/46

In truth, we should probably have lost this game. Shrewsbury are still ahead of us, despite having lost a game, thanks to our inability to win games like this one.

Transfer news

As the window opened, Oliver Lancashire, a centre back, joined us from Walsall. He is already proving to be one of the better players, and will probably be part of any League 1 side we have next year. Sone Aluko also looks good, but is already injured. Jack Cresswell joined from Kidderminster, and is already proving to be a mistaken signing. For some reason my scout reckoned he was of EPL potential. Of course I sign him, only to find he's of 'good League 2' potential. Nigel Quashie also joined, and may end up being the first player to play for both us and the hated Franchise FC. Paul Green, Gavin Hoyte and Mark Kennedy all joined on loans, and have slotted nicely in to the first team. My final signing was Chris Perry, an ex-Wimbledon player who is popular with the fans. He's 38 and looks a bit old for long term duty, but his decent mental and technical attributes are enough to earn him a chance, at least.

nice read this mate, will be following your progress.

February 2012

Morecambe 1 AFC Wimbledon 2 (Counago, Mendy) - League 29/46

Expected better, given Morecambe's league position. Due to a shortage of first team players, youngster Cherno Mendy, one of the higher rated reserves, ended up being given a chance. He did not disappoint, slotting away a debut goal with 3 minutes to go.

Charlton 2 AFC Wimbledon 2 (Crowe, Jolley) (Agg 2-3) - JPT South Final 2nd leg

Despite fairly awful defending at time, we somehow brought the match back after going 2-0 down. But, (AFC) Wimbledon will be (back) at Wembley! Anyone got Dave Beasant's number handy?

Cheltenham 0 AFC Wimbledon 1 (Counago) - League 30/46

A star performance from the usually average Christian Jolley probably won us this match.

AFC Wimbledon 3 (Counago, Crowe, Hatton) Rotherham 2 - League 31/46

Both strikers scored, but shocking defending allowed an equaliser after each goal. The second half was fairly poor from both sides, and I was preparing to give the team a bollocking for dropping points against a struggling side. Then Sam Hatton stepped up, and knocked in a freekick from around 20 yards out. Needless to say, I was relieved.

AFC Wimbledon 1 (John) Aldershot 0 - League 32/46

In his first start since his injury (he came on as a sub late against Rotherham), Stern John managed to score the only goal of yet another worryingly tight game.

Macclesfield 2 AFC Wimbledon 4 (Lancashire, Counago 2, Mendy) - League 33/46

Had it not been for Bouzanis, this game may well have been a crushing defeat - Macclesfield managed a shocking eight shots on target! Thankfully Dean's performance, combined with a poor performance by his opposite number, handed us the victory. On another day, though, this could have been a disaster.

Other news

The grand final in the JPT will be against Tranmere Rovers. Didn't Aldridge manage these guys for a while?

The league top three

1st AFC Wimbledon PLD 33 GD +35 PTS 79

2nd Shrewsbury PLD 33 GD +38 PTS 74

3rd Bristol Rovers PLD 33 GD +20 PTS 66

It's an old cliché, but it really was a game of two halves. We lacked passion and skill in the first half, and were lucky to go in 1-0 down. Yet again good old hairdryer treatment proved effective, and we were much better throughout the second half. Despite this, it took a penalty to beat their keeper, who was saving everything until that was awarded. We were the much better side in extra time, with Stern John's goal early on setting the stage. The own goal was one of the worst I've ever seen, with a cross that was hit nowhere near any Wimbledon players being bundled into the Tranmere goal. All I can assume is that the Rovers players had lost their motivation after the penalty.

But I don't care. We went to Wembley, and just like in 1988, we defied all odds to come back with a win!

Full March update soon.

Brilliant Final victory!

March 2012

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Green, Johnson) Torquay 1 - League 34/46

It's fairly safe to say we dominated this match, something which the scoreline fails to fairly reflect.

Hereford 2 AFC Wimbledon 3 (Townsend og, Hatton, John) - League 35/46

On a match which probably would feature on The Football League Show, we took the lead before going 2-1 down, both teams first goal coming from a Hereford player. Sam Hatton then scored another one of his nicely hit free kicks on the stroke of half time. The second half was much quieter, Stern John rounding a fine team move with a goal being the only real action. This was also the first match that Bouzanis was unavailable, the Australia Under 23s manager deciding that my first choice goalie needed to sit on the bench for Olympic Qualifiers.

AFC Wimbledon 1 (Crowe) Southend 0 - League 36/46

Another match with Seb Brown in goal, this time the backup keeper staked a serious claim for the number 1 spot, bagging man of the match for his excellent showing that prevented the Shrimpers from sharing the points.

Bradford 0 AFC Wimbledon 3 (Jolley, Djilali, Johnson) - League 37/46

Kieran Djilali was forced to play as a striker for this match, thanks to Crowe's injury and Cunago being on holiday (resting him for the JPT final). He did not disappoint, hitting the target along with winger Jolley and defender Johnson, but it was Sone Aluko who was deemed man of the match due to the number of chances created.

Tranmere 1 AFC Wimbledon 3 AET (Cunago pen, John, Beattie og) - JPT Final

See above post.

Swindon 3 AFC Wimbledon 0 - League 39/46

This performance can only be attributed to the team going on a bender after the cup victory. Unacceptable performance, and one that worries me that we're not going to enjoy League 1. I did rest two or three players, including Sam Hatton, so I suspect that had more that had a negative impact on the team.

AFC Wimbledon 3 (John, Stanton og, Aluko) Burton 1 - League 40/46

As I brought back the regulars, we massively improved. Burton's goal was an embarassing one, Bouzanis charging out like a headless chicken and ending up looking totally foolish as a Burton player easily netted a near post header. I'm not too disappointed that he's off for meaningless international duty again, as a result of this.

League table

1st AFC Wimbledon PLD 39 GD +40 PTS 94

2nd Shrewsbury PLD 40 GD +45 PTS 87

(Both guaranteed playoffs)

3rd Swindon PLD 40 GD +39 PTS 81

Great JPT win and should wrap up the league title.

A great first season for you there - a Wembley win and a likely league title

Keep going!

Great JPT win and should wrap up the league title.

I'm not so sure about the league. We have a silly schedule, where we play 3 games in 5 days, then the last few weeks where we only play on Saturdays. The end games should be alright, but I'm worried that my players won't have the legs to play 270+ minutes in a week.

April 2012

AFC Wimbledon 1 (Green) Crewe 1 - League 38/46

Postponed from March, we really struggled in this match, with our goal coming late on.

Oxford 0 AFC Wimbledon 3 (Djilali, Counago 2(1 pen)) - League 41/46

AFC Wimbledon 2 (Djilali, John) Accrington 1 - League 42/46

We signed a new keeper, Elliott Parish, on loan from Villa for the rest of the season. Defensive performance seemed to improve Parish's contract is nearly out, so I will be looking to make him a Dons player permanently.

Bristol Rovers 1 AFC Wimbledon 3 (Counago 3) - League 43/46

This game was enough to secure us the league title! Our best player, Counago, decided that he wanted to retire. Despite me being favoured personnel and the fact he's only 32, he won't stay.

AFC Wimbledon 1 (Crowe) Port Vale 0 - League 44/46

A poor performance, made worse by injuries to Stern John and Mark Kennedy. John's out for the remaining two games

Barnet 0 AFC Wimbledon 3 (Counago pen, Jolley, Crowe) - League 45/46

Pablo's penalty will be his last ever league goal, as a tackle from a Barnet player has put him out for three months - not that he'll be around by then. The performance was incredibly poor at times, considering that Barnet will no longer be part of the Football League come May.

Brilliant finish to the season!

Final Season Summary

League - Considering some of our poorer games, I think we did quite well. Let's hope I can get enough decent players to stay up

JPT - An amazing performance to join such greats as Bournemouth and Birmingham as winners of this dubious trophy. The performances give me some confidence about League 1, at least.

Good players

Counago, John, Djilali

Bad players

Bouzanis, Jolley

Goals completed?

Build squad capable of League 2 football - Yes

Finish at least 15th - Yes

Try to remain responsible with spending - Sort of. Good profit, but wage budget a little mad

Get a parent club from the EPL - No. Thanks to the chairman 'seeing no point'.

2012-13 preview coming once pre-season is complete.