The Lounge

[MacWomble]

It’s gobsmacking that Wally would throw away a paying job for the sake of offences (mainly historic) that only amounted to a 28 day ban. Coaching Wimbledon ought to be a high water mark for many a coach, and you just can’t see Wally reaching these heights again. How daft! Football is full of muppets. Like old tic-tac Willie Thorne in the snooker circles, the self-destruct button gets pushed. Here is hoping that the new temporary gaffer sees this as a great opportunity. The fans expect better than this nonsense.

[Windlesham Don]

It’s been an interesting few days that’s for sure!

Starting with Saturday and a classic ‘smash and grab’ three points. Pompey dominated large parts of the game without creating many clear cut chances. We hung in there, defended resolutely and had the luck when needed. Fine performances from Trott, Delaney and Thomas at the back. Wagstaff and Osew gave us energy on the flanks, and Wordsworth and Sanders exerted some control in the centre. Pigott worked tirelessly up front without getting much joy from the Pompey man mountain centre backs and Forss once again looked sharp when given a chance. The only poor performance was Pinnock, who looked like a little boy lost when up against decent opposition.

Most of us would have happily taken a point as the clock ran down, but a superb delivery from Sanders and a clinical header from Thomas brought mayhem to the Wimbledon fans and finally silenced the pesky Pompey bell!

The inevitable ‘club statement’ regarding Wally Downes arrived at 21:00 on Sunday – dubious timing to say the least!

For me, once Wally had been found guilty of placing illegal bets then he was always going to be relieved of his duties. The following extract from the club statement seemed to muddy the waters and was misleading and unnecessary in my opinion:

“While Wally’s FA disciplinary process concluded last week, the boards believe that a change of first-team manager is the best option to help the club maintain its recent upturn in performances.”

The implication was that the turn around in form of the team had an influence on the FCB’s decision. This should not have been mentioned – when Wally was offered the job and the ‘Twittergate’ issue arose the board must have asked for assurances that there were no other skeletons in Wally’s cupboard. Illegal betting is most definitely a ‘skeleton’ and in my view a parting of the ways was inevitable.

Fans griping about the board backing Ardley through bad runs, but not backing Wally are missing the point, and have only been led down that path by the misleading club statement. Talk of the ‘Wimbledon way’ and ‘backing one of our own’ is also wrong in this context – the Wimbledon way is everyone pulling together, from the board to manager to players and to fans. But Wally alienated the board by letting them down and he had also lost the changing room. He will remain a legend, but he had to go for the good of the club…

Monday brought the excitement of the FA Cup first round draw, excitement which died when Doncaster came out of the hat against us. To me there is nothing so deflating as a cup draw against a club in the same division, especially one that is liable to beat you…

Tonight is a trip to Burton. Many of us still have scars from our last meeting with them, when a very skilful Brewers team were given the freedom of the park at Kingsmeadow and cruised to a 2-0 victory without even breaking sweat!

Hopefully Glyn and his coaching team will have learnt from that experience and will ensure that the players are in the faces of the opposition from minute one. If not then I can see another comfortable evening for the home side. If we hassle and harry them, maintain our shape and take the chances that Burton are liable to offer us, then we could nick something…

COYD!!

[Singapore Don]

Delighted that Glyn has said yes to the job. I was really impressed when talking to him at a club do earlier this year: intelligent, articulate and inspirational. Neal and Wally, both still club legends, ended up unfortunately each in their turn dividing the fan base. Glyn feels like a unifying figure, someone who can bridge the divisions that have sadly and corrosively taken root amongst us fans in the past year. I hope he will have that healing effect and lead us back to Plough Lane not just stronger as a club but critically united for our exciting next chapter. Good luck Glyn! 💙💛

[onyadon]

Three days after the late night sacking of Wally Downes, the club, as expected, offered the full-time manager’s job to his assistant and fellow Dons great Glyn Hodges. He readily accepted the offer and is now the gaffer in his own right. While Wally was suspended on FA betting charges, the Dons won three league games and a cup game. Hodges was the obvious candidate given the disruption it would have caused by advertising the vacancy. Whatever your feelings over the messy handling of Wally’s ‘mutually agreed’ exit — the principle reasoning that a change is “the best option to help the club maintain its recent upturn in performances” — the decision to upgrade Hodges was widely welcomed. He said the right things in the official announcement.

It’s something I couldn’t turn down. I’m absolutely delighted and I can’t wait to get started. I’ve enjoyed the last month, it’s been fantastic. I will be giving it my all. We just have to keep producing, keep believing, and take this club forward.
To have been at Wimbledon as a young apprentice at 16 years of age, then to return and actually get the job, and now to have an opportunity to take the club back to Plough Lane, is what dreams are made of.
It feels fantastic, but I’ve got to pay tribute to Wally, as we go back a long way. I’m an old team-mate of his, he has coached me, and obviously I’ve been in the management team here with him. It’s over 10 years together in total and I’ve enjoyed my time with him. I’ve got to thank him for bringing me here to take this opportunity. I wish him all the best in everything he does. It’s a special place for him and I hope he comes down soon.

There are a couple of issues I believe need sorting over the next little while. Hodges has limited managerial experience. He had two small stints as caretaker manager at Barnsley and was coaching Stoke City Under 23s when he was contacted by Wally Downes to join him at Wimbledon last December. He does need some solid Football League experience to bounce ideas. Another ex-Dons Vaughan Ryan, co-opted by Downes – is not that man. Mark Robinson is one who could be promoted given his knowledge and experience with the Dons youth academy, but for the Dons to prosper someone with FL nous is needed on the training pitch and in the dugout.

Interesting to see now Glyn Hodges has the reins, what he does with his coaching staff. Mark Robinson has much to offer, but will GH also look to bolster his back room staff with some FL experience, fascinating to see how this all plays out.

— wombles downunder (@WDownunder) October 23, 2019

The other thing that was apparent during the turmoil of Wally’s betting probe was the part played by some of the players. Under-achieving big-earner Kwesi Appiah earned ire among the pro-Wally contingent with this cryptic tweet as the Wally announcement was made.

⏳…. 👀

— Kwesi Appiah (@kwes1appiah) October 20, 2019

It was liked by team-mates Joe Pigott and Anthony Wordsworth at the time, but both subsequently removed. No doubt Glyn Hodges won’t please everybody in his squad. It remains to be seen what other subversive acts some disgruntled players get up to if they don’t get their own way. It will be how Hodges handles this, which dogged previous managers Neal Ardley and Downes, that may define his time in the dug out.
Glyn Hodges has made a promising start to his managerial career at Wimbledon – the trick will be sustaining it over the course of the season as the Dons continue to occupy the relegation places.

[Windlesham Don]

I’m liking the Nick Daws appointment as assistant manager. He has the League 1 experience Hodges is lacking, as well as a decent coaching background.

Also happy that Robbo is going to continue working with the first team. Not sure what Ryan contributes, but Hodges is happy with him staying on.

Ten days for this group to work with the squad and also to get some of the injured players back – we need Nightingale, Folivi and Reilly back and pressing for a starting spot.

Lincoln at home should be winnable, followed by an important FA Cup match against Doncaster.

Glyn is now in charge and all of us fans need to get behind him as the club attempts to move away from the relegation zone and progress in the cup.

[onyadon]

Glyn Hodges went in house to quickly name former Scunthorpe United manager Nick Daws as his No.2 following his ratification as the Dons full-time manager. Daws, who was appointed Head of Recruitment by Wally Downes last January, was Assistant Manager and Manager between January 2016 and August 2018 at Scunthorpe and also had coaching roles at Barnsley, Rotherham, and QPR, where he previously worked with Hodges. Given Hodges’ past association with Daws it was an obvious choice. Daws is keen to get back on the training pitch and work with the players.

I’ve been working at the club since January, which helps because I know everybody at the training ground. Although I’ve not worked directly with the players on the pitch, I’ve got to know them here. I also have a good feeling for the club. I’ve grown to appreciate the history of AFC Wimbledon. I have an affinity with the club’s rise through non league because I came from a semi-professional background, having been at Altrincham as a player.

Daws also spoke of his coaching principles…

Fundamentally, I’m a coach – I have 15 years’ worth of experience since I finished playing and a lot of recent experience in League One – so I think I’ve got a lot to offer Glyn, the other coaches, the squad, and the club. In terms of how me and Glyn think, it’s very like-minded. I’ve always wanted my team, whether I’ve been coaching or managing, to be on the front foot, to be aggressive in their play, with and without the ball, and look to score goals, as that’s what the supporters want.

Hodges is keeping Mark Robinson and Vaughan Ryan on his coaching team and gave a particularly strong vote of confidence in Robbo.

Robbo has this season been concentrating on working with the Under-23s and heading up the loans for young players. He will still be involved in that, but I want him closer to the first-team. He is really positive with the way he goes about things, he sees things differently to me and he is a good foil. He will go to all of the first-team games and continue to be hands-on. Hopefully, he grows into the role and we get that strong bond, which can have a really positive effect on the team.

Must say the signs are promising under Glyn Hodges after the messy exit of Wally Downes. Plenty of bridge building needed with a large core of fans, angry with the way the Downes issue was handled by the club.

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