LONG-TIME members and contributors reflect back on forty years of WDSA and its enduring publication Wombles Downunder. So many memories — bitter and sweet — all faithfully chronicled and which has produced the resilient mouthpiece of the Wimbledon Downunder Supporters’ Association.
After I’d visited Plough Lane in 1985, the great man Eric Willcocks put me in touch with Rob Smith and in October that year, WDSA newsletter #1 arrived in my mail box. Long before the internet, email and mobile phones, Rob produced a small but important lifeline on the goings on of our dynamic club by cobbling bits of information from all sources. The growth of Wimbledon FC and AFCW has been completely different to any other club and Rob has been on hand to capture this in a lively, fresh and topical way. Erik Samuelson said it best that he has a well-honed professional art of finding out stories. One such example was the Boris Becker recollections from prison in the excellent Gary Elkins interview. I’ve met some fantastic people and had great experiences following the Dons through WDSA. I sometimes assume the role of the Wombles Downunder unofficial “Cultural Ambassador” now (perhaps due to a demeanour resembling Sir Les Patterson) and it’s a responsibility that I undertake with gusto. Well played Rob on forty years. — DAVID KENWERY.
Flicking through a few old copies of Dons Outlook and one or two Wimbledon fanzines that followed, I realised that for years names like Rob Smith, Dave Kenwery and others were following the fortunes of Wimbledon and later AFC Wimbledon in the pre-internet and touch-of-a-button social media age and how difficult it must have been to stay in touch. Proud to call them both good mates now and yet the WDSA (and its invaluable newsletter) has not only endured but flourished, to the extent that I often find out nuggets of information and exclusives contained therein that I didn’t previously know from sources here. So those early days of typing, printing and posting them don’t do justice to the thousands of hours of hard ‘yakka’ put in by Rob in particular over the years to establish Wimbledon Downunder Supporters Association should be celebrated long and loud! — RAY ARMFIELD.
It was back in 2002 that a certain journalist reached about me writing a piece for bunch of antipodean Wimbledon fans. Who knew there were enough Dons fans there to warrant publishing a periodical every two months. Here I am 23 years later still contributing and hoping my contributions make interesting reading. One of the strengths of WDSA is the variety of topics it covers. It’s been a joy to see it develop to include regular pieces on the academy and women’s teams, and it’s not afraid to tackle difficult topics involving the Dons Trust and PLC boards. The journalist who contacted me back then is now considered a friend who I meet for a beer or two whenever our paths cross. His modesty at keeping WDSA going all these years belies the effort involved. He’ll say it is down to the contributors, but we know the truth of the matter. Congratulations to Rob and everyone involved. Here’s to the next 40. — COLUM McANDREW
Congratulations to Rob on the 40th anniversary of WDSA. Such longevity, achieved through incredible commitment, is an amazing achievement, especially considering all the changes in Wimbledon’s fortunes over that period. Wombles Downunder, in my view, is the most comprehensive collection of news and views on the Dons’ that you will see anywhere: not bad when it’s all brought together from the other side of the world. I’m proud to have been able to contribute to the newsletter for, I think, about 19 years now – which I’ve just realised is scarily almost half of WDSA’s existence. I’ve loved doing it and it’s really encouraged me to branch into putting out other Dons’ content. It’s great that Rob’s been able to get to Plough Lane and some away games over the last couple of years and to enjoy a winning Dons’ team – a deserved reward for all the graft over the years. — TIM HANSON.
Congratulations Rob on a magnificent achievement! 40 years is such a long time that Wombles Downunder is even well known here in Yorkshire, having been part of a high profile exhibition on the history of football fanzines in Leeds this summer. My first Wimbledon game was back in 1976 so I’m now in my 50th year following the Dons. It’s difficult to remember being a supporter without Wombles Downunder. I’m a newbie contributor, having only written for you for four years. I love doing so, and my wife does too, as I can now air my thoughts in print rather than giving her the benefit of my opinions on my latest trip to Bradford, Barrow, Bolton… (insert glamorous northern venue here). Really well done Rob. Here’s to the next 40. — TIM SMITH.
Wow …… WDSA 40 years old. I think I joined up a few issues in when the Dons were about to gear up for that monumental FA cup winning season. Shortly after I met my now great friend and fellow WDSAer, Liam Nolan, in a bar in Adelaide (my home town) after he rang me after chatting to Rob Smith on whether there were any Dons fans in Adelaide. That’s the magic of WDSA, Liam and I instantly hit it off and became friends for life. I later got to know Rob very well with many catch ups in Adelaide during the test matches when he was still working and also David Kenwery and many others. It is another great part of the Wimbledon family and great story. And it has been all down to one man. Robert Smith…… I remember having dinner one time in Adelaide just after AFC Wimbledon was born, (Rob had made the call to keep going with WDSA despite all the dramas) and asked me in desperation whether he was crazy continuing a fanzine for a Combined Counties League team from Australia. According to Rob I said he should but in any case Rob would never have given in. And look what we have today. Thanks Rob for everything you have done to keep this group and its fantastic professional publication going over the years.— PAUL RUSSELL.
I find it incredible that it is over 15 years since Rob first asked me to write an article for the WDSA newsletter. Being more of a ‘numbers guy’ my writing style was awful back then and is probably only marginally better now – just facts with a few opinions thrown in! But Rob kept asking, so my wafflings must have been of interest to some. I soon impetuously asked whether I could initiate a ‘spoof’ awards ceremony related to the annual Pundit’s Poll. Rob agreed and the “Ivors” will celebrate their 15th anniversary this season! The newsletter is always an interesting read, with some great opinion pieces at its heart. Regular articles on the charitable works, the ladies’ team and the London Broncos probably didn’t feature much in 1985, but it shows how much the club has changed in 40 years (apart from the obvious, of course). Here’s to the half century, Rob! — JOHN MARTIN (Windlesham Don).
I first became aware of the WDSA many years ago, when Rob wrote articles for the ‘Dons Outlook’ and ‘Grapevine’ fanzines. Once the Wombles Downunder magazine became available to download, I became an avid reader. The mag is always enjoyable (despite my ramblings) and well-informed. My personal highlights have been the many in-depth interviews over the years, but also the more recent forensic deep-dives into the Dons’ finances. For Rob to have been able to put the magazine together for so long has been quite some feat. It’s been good to meet up with him on several occasions over the years; he’s a lovely fella and always good for a chat. Forty years makes Wombles Downunder the longest-running WFC/AFCW publication by a very long way. It’s also the best. Here’s to many more years with Rob at the helm. — STEVE DOWSE.
I can’t now remember when Rob first got in touch to ask me to give him a few hundred words on the latest in the world of the Wombles – I think it was post-AFC but I couldn’t swear to it. I think he’d seen a post on the old guestbook and realised I could spell okay, and so got in touch. Anyway, it’s been an absolute pleasure to be talk about all things Dons, and a good outlet when my family make very clear that they have no contribution to make, or interest in, whether we should go with Bugiel or Browne up front! So it’s been an absolute pleasure to talk about subjects like the Dons Trust’s role in the sudden departure of Terry Eames; the demise of the original Marc Jones-run guestbook; the fall out from the Jermaine Darlington debacle; and also plenty of non-AFCW content like the England football and cricket teams and Gary Lineker’s latest social media mishap. Even in these media-soaked times, it can be difficult to get content on the Dons that tells us exactly how the new centre-back is doing, or why we keep giving leads away, so I’m as much of a reader as a contributor. So I’m sure I say on behalf of everyone who is reading, a massive thank you to Rob for giving us the gift of the newsletter; it’s read around the world and may it continue to be so for another 40 years! — TREVOR PEARCE.
Happy 40th Birthday, and a huge thanks to you Rob, for making the effort to unite Wimbledon fans through a lengthy period with many highs and lows for our club! There was no internet in 1985, of course, but despite the plethora of online content these days, it is only at WDSA that we can read articles from real fans, reporting club activities and results from the terrace’s viewpoint. Your newsletter has always contained updates on the key issues of the day and was invaluable in providing insight into the early days of AFC Wimbledon’s formation and progress through the football league’s basement. I suspect your only regret was not being able to unfurl the WDSA banner at opening day of the new ground. I doubt we will see fresh interest in Wimbledon in Australia until another promotion is achieved, but I’m sure you will be there to cover it. — GARY WALKER.
WDSA’s strength is its uniqueness, made by fans, for fans, covering a fan-owned club reborn. Reaching forty years is significant for any publication, especially an independent in the social media age, whereby sports “content” is engineered to be disposable. It is reassuring to think there will always be places like WDSA that serve as a home for diverse and analytical long form writing that informs, entertains and inspires. The aspect of the publication I admire most is the open-minded approach to identifying content. It was such an approach from Rob a couple of years ago that saw me submit my first piece on London Broncos’ travails, a club now firmly linked with the Dons and long may that continue. I am immensely grateful to Rob for his support and encouragement, congratulations to him and all those involved with WDSA over the decades for reaching such an impressive milestone. — IAN WHITE.
I remember contacting Rob through British Soccer Weekly in October 1996. The magazine was an Australian publication on English football that was released every Wednesday during the season. There was a classified section with the contact details of football clubs for Aussie fans. Amongst the Liverpool, Arsenal and Man Utd clubs, there was Rob’s contact details for Wimbledon supporters. I had just listened to Wimbledon thrash Chelsea on the radio, watched the Premier League highlights of the game and had an obsession to know more about Wimbledon. Rob sent me the latest edition of Wombles Downunder and I’ve been a proud page sponsor of WDSA for 29 years. I don’t think I would have supported the club as much as I do without WDSA. Living 17,000 kilometres from London WDSA is such a close and intimate connection to the club. Best memory is now. Flying high in League One and looking forward to the next edition where every WDSA contributor is pleasantly surprised at our progress, despite our grim forecasts at the start of season. Here’s to another 40 years. — PAUL HARMAN.
Congratulations to Rob and his regular contributors for providing the premier insight into our club. I can’t actually remember when I signed up to WDSA; all I know is that while spending several years living and working in South Carolina, USA, the arrival of the Wombles Downunder magazine in my inbox felt like a homecoming. When I finally returned to the UK, top of the ‘to do’ list was to pay my first visit to Plough Lane. (Fleetwood Town, August Bank Holiday 2024 — a satisfying 1-0 victory if I recall correctly.) The icing on the cake that day was meeting several WDSA pundits, and not least, our editor-in-chief, who proved to be a most amenable guide. My grateful thanks therefore to everyone involved in the production of the fanzine and the connection it provides to all AFC Wimbledon supporters. Long may WDSA continue! — ANDY POWELL.
