onyadon

These are fraught times in football as this piece with Glyn Hodges quoted shows….

Dons may have to release all their out-of-contract players depending on finances

Wimbledon released 11 players the day after learning the season had been officially curtailed, among them some high earners and home produced youngsters..

Wimbledon’s released player list

Sobering reality dawning with the release of so many players, among them high earners/our own youngsters leaving a massive task ahead for Glyn/staff to shore up a competitive squad for next season (whenever and what form that takes). Plough Lane return the shining beacon.

— wombles downunder (@WDownunder) June 11, 2020

Some good…[Read more]

In the end the vote was clear: 18 clubs to end the season, four clubs to play on and one club could not get its virtual vote through. So Wimbledon will be staying up for another season in League One when the next campaign gets underway (who knows when as yet!) and probably at Plough Lane. The EFL ended weeks of dithering to decide that Coventry…[Read more]

Given the likelihood of fans not getting the opportunity to farewell Kingsmeadow before the much-anticipated move to Plough Lane, the club has produced a fine tribute to the Meadow of Kings and its memories… take the time to savour this video.

Fitting farewell to Kingsmeadow, no opportunity for the fans to say a proper goodbye given the current situation. The ground served its purpose in the growth and evolution of the fans club. Well done to all involved in the video production.https://t.co/X25zkZNtJe

— wombles downunder (@WDownunder) June 2, 2020

Meanwhile, the dithering goes on with the fate of this season…

EFL calls a meeting for 8th June to decide changes to its framework. Any alternative proposals must be submitted by Tues 2nd June. This is essentially for L1 clubs. Championship indicated will play on while L2 have agreed but EFL will want some sort of consistency across its Divs

— Ian Dennis (@Iandennisbbc) May 29, 2020

Some big and welcome news on the Plough Lane Stadium….

Take outs from #PloughLane stadium announcement:
– Final construction contract has been signed, ground scheduled for completion by October 25.
– New minority shareholder Wimbledon resident Nick Robertson taking 10% stake and invested on terms that leave the Dons Trust in control

— wombles downunder (@WDownunder) May 29, 2020

– Dons Trust remain the majority shareholder (over 75%)
– Robertson's shareholding will come from allocating some more of the shares that were approved but not used in the Seedrs issue.
– A General Meeting of AFCW PLC to approve the allocation of shares will be announced soon.

— wombles downunder (@WDownunder) May 29, 2020

Stadium announcement

On the 18th anniversary of that three-man commission suggesting ‘resurrecting the club from its ashes is… not in the wider interests of football’ The Wider Interests Of Football Limited enters a construction contract for our new stadium in Wimbledon.
We’re going home, folks! pic.twitter.com/EYhPhMRtwI

— The Dons Trust (@TheDonsTrust) May 28, 2020

Joe Palmer – "This really is a historic moment for our club. Without doubt, it's thanks to our incredible fans that we're in this position. The Seedrs crowdfunding and #PloughLaneBond were the game changers."https://t.co/UDEyXu1URO

— wombles downunder (@WDownunder) May 29, 2020

Joe Palmer talks with the BBC..

The view I’m getting from clubs is that we want to see the end of the season.

We as a club don’t want to do anything that is going to put us in a worse off situation and if playing out the rest of the season does that we would be against it.

Given what we’ve learned in recent days in terms of the financial…

[Read more]

AFC Wimbledon released a club statement on Friday saying they will be voting to curtail the season when the vote is taken by clubs expected next week.

AFC Wimbledon statement

A statement of firm, principled intent, removing doubt/innuendo/motives, congratulations to the fans-owned club for its stance on the Covid season imbroglio..

"Of course, our priority has to be to protect the health of everyone involved with the club – players, fans & staff.

— wombles downunder (@WDownunder) May 22, 2020

Shrewsbury Town put out a statement on the same day along the same lines as Wimbledon with some interesting…[Read more]

SEASON UPDATE:
The EFL board has (finally) drafted a framework to complete the 2019-20 season.

– Preference to finish season
– In event of early curtailment – UNWEIGHTED points per game
– Promotion and relegation retained
– Playoffs played but not extended

The EFL’s possible options for deciding the League One season

The BBC…[Read more]

League One sides face further talks after failing to come to an agreement on Friday on the remainder of this season and are now set to meet again on Monday in an attempt to find a resolution.
Here are a couple of reports/views…

League One play-offs could be extended to include more clubs

League Two clubs vote to end season, but League One…[Read more]

Rochdale chief executive David Bottomley said the campaign had to be stopped now and decided on a points-per-game basis.

Our view now is that you have to end the season… how can football possibly, from a moral point of view, even consider returning to training and playing right now when we’re still not adequately testing people who have got m…

[Read more]

Peterborough among SIX clubs determined to finish League One season… litigation on the horizon?

Six clubs ‘collective in goal’ to complete League One season

League One and Two to be called off next week with EFL clubs facing uncertain future amid coronavirus nightmare.
The vast majority of L1/2 clubs believe there is no chance of reaching the finishing line and want to focus on planning for next season.
Clubs must then decide how to calculate the final tables to determine promotion and relegation…[Read more]

League One and League Two could be abandoned next week (Thursday 14/5) with planned EFL vote.

The 23 clubs in League One and 24 in League Two will be told to cast their votes at next week’s meeting with the EFL having already spent the last few days informally canvassed opinion which appears to show there is an overwhelming desire not to carry o…[Read more]

English Football League chairman Rick Parry says the current season needs to be concluded before 31 July and clubs face a “£200m hole” by September.

Our end date realistically is 31 July because of the situation with contracts. We can’t go beyond July.

Players and staff have been furloughed and to expect clubs to bring them back in now, to…

[Read more]

A year ago today …

May the Force 💙💛 pic.twitter.com/yJHasjkqHJ

— wombles downunder (@WDownunder) May 4, 2020

EFL players below Championship [i.e. League One] told it is likely season will NOT be finished with too many coronavirus tests needed to resume action..

EFL players below Championship told it is likely season will NOT be finished

Amid the misery, loneliness, anxiety of the coronavirus lockdown, the community work of the Dons Local Action Group has been inspiring..
Cormac van der Hoeven talks about his work with other Dons volunteers in the community.

We’re adding another great chapter to what fans can achieve

FIFA’s medical chief Michel D’Hooghe believes there should be no football until the start of next season with concerns over a “second attack” of the coronavirus.

FIFA medical chief calls for all leagues to be cancelled

The French league closes down for the season..

Ligue 1 season over, no sport in France before September