Thursday, October 6, 2011

Glenn Moore: To loos le trek but Dons rise without spending a penny


One of the many oddities of Wimbledon's old Plough Lane ground was that visiting supporters could continue to watch the match while using the toilet facilities parked on the top of the away terrace. A different lavatorial issue now occupies the board of the Dons' successors, AFC Wimbledon. This is how to provide facilities for home fans in Kingsmeadow's John Smith's Stand which are currently so far away that spending a penny can entail missing a significant chunk of the match.
Until this year, supporters used the same facilities as the away fans who share that side of the ground. Promotion to the Football League has, however, meant strict segregation, so they are now out of bounds. The solution would be to build a new block, but there is, ironically, an access issue involving the adjacent sewage works.
It sounds mundane and it is, but that is the reality of joining the big league. AFC Wimbledon's first match in the Football League was a glamorous affair with Sky TV cameras, dancing girls, fireworks and a former FA Cup-winning club legend in Dave Beasant. Two months on, the showbiz has gone. Gillingham are more storied opposition than Forest Green Rovers, whom the Dons were playing a year ago this weekend, but only just. Now the club is engaged in the hard grind of winning points and completing the paperwork and budgeting needed to meet the requirements of being a designated stadium.
As Saturday's 3-1 win over the Gills in front of a full house underlined, it is so far so good. This third victory on the bounce moved Wimbledon into fourth place in League Two, two points off the lead. "People will be talking play-offs, or better," said the local hack to manager Terry Brown. His face fell. "That's absolute rubbish. The first results I look for are the ones at the bottom, I want to be safe. There's no point in going through nine years of toil [from AFC's formation] to blow it in the first year."
Later Brown, reflecting on the step up, said: "The points tally is far in excess of what I envisaged which takes a bit of pressure off. No matter how often you say 'we're as good as these' you can't coach the confidence that winning brings." A lifelong non-League veteran, he added: "I'm still being surprised by the quality of play. All the forwards are better, they cause more problems, and our midfielders are still getting used to it. But defences are the same format as in the Conference, most centre-halves are big, win their aerial battles but are not the best on the ground. That suits us as we have real pace up front."
It did for Gillingham, whose defence fits that description. Christian Jolley, a 23-year-old who was playing parks football two years ago, and Jack Midson, one of the few summer signings, put Wimbledon three goals up in 27 minutes.
The other promoted side, Crawley, also won to go second They look an even better bet to emulate Stevenage in going straight from Conference to League One. Of the last 16 clubs to have been promoted, only Chester, amid financial collapse, have left the League. Meanwhile in the Conference, last season's relegated duo, Lincoln and Stockport, languish. New blood clearly raises standards and while the League resisted three-up, three-down when it was discussed this summer it should be only a matter of time.
Kingsmeadow still looks like a Conference ground but upgrading – much of it required under league regulations – is on the way. The current ground, said chairman Erik Samuelson, should take them to League One. Progress after that will be dependent on a new ground, ideally in Wimbledon.
In the meantime the club tread carefully. The annual wage bill doubled this season (in part because players are now paid 52 weeks a year, not 44) but remains less than Carlos Tevez receives in a month. The club are budgeting for £120,000 profit this year but as that includes transfer income, and TV windfall will be £100,000 less next year, there is no room for profligacy. The plight of Plymouth and Bradford shows the danger of over-reaching.

AFC Wimbledon 3 - 1 Gillingham


AFC Wimbledon moved up to fourth in League Two with a comfortable victory over Gillingham.
Christian Jolley put the hosts in front with a tidy finish after a slip by Gills defender Matt Lawrence and he added a second with a thumping header from Sam Hatton's centre.
Jack Midson made it 3-0 with a simple finish after more poor defending from the visitors.
Charlie Lee's 25-yarder was scant consolation for Gillingham.

AFC Wimbledon boss Terry Brown told BBC London 94.9:
"I expect my midfield to contribute some goals now, and need goals from other areas, but it was a great win, a big win for the club and playing in front of a sell-out crowd shows how far this club has come in nine years.
"I still ask for the Plymouth and Hereford scores, only until we are safe can we look further up the table."
Gillingham's new loan striker Jo Kuffour told BBC Radio Kent:
"It was a tough game. We knew it was going to be tough. I've played against them already this season for Bristol Rovers and they pass the ball well.
"I thought we were sloppy at the start of the game - gifted them two early goals. I thought we bounced back well in the second half and showed a lot of character.
"We could have maybe got back into it - their keeper pulled off a couple of good saves, and a few flashed across the box but it didn't seem like it was going to go in for us today."

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

US Open 2011: Venus Williams Vs Sabine Lisicki

Venus Williams and Sabine Lisicki will battle it out in the second round of the US Open 2011, which is scheduled to be played later today. Both these players walk into the second round of the competition. Continoue Reading…..

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Friday, August 26, 2011

Andy Roddick to face John Isner in Winston Salem Open semis

Andy Roddick and John Isner would be playing in the semi finals of the Winston Salem Open. Andy defeated Juan Monaco 6-1 6-4 en route to the semi-finals and John Isner defeated Baghdatis 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi finals. Continoue Reading….

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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Draw for US Open announced

The draw for the US Open was announced at the Billy Jean King Tennis Center at New York. Nadal and Andy Murray are on the same side of the draw, so they might clash in the semi-finals. It could be the same with Federer and Djokovic too. Continoue Reading…

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Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki top seeds for US Open 2011

Novak Djokovic and Caroline Wozniacki have been declared as top seeds of the US Open in the men's and women's singles, respectively. People have high expectations from the last Grand Slam of the year. Continoue Reading….

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Saturday, July 2, 2011

Maria Sharapova aims for her second Wimbledon 2011 title

THE FINAL of ladies singles, Wimbledon 2011, is set for an intriguing match between the eighth seeded Czech player, Petra Kvitova and the fifth seeded Russian player Maria Sharapova. Maria won her semi finals match against Lisicki in straight sets. The score read 6-4 and 6-3. Petra Kvitova also beat her opponent, Victoria Azarenka in 3 sets, 6-1, 3-6 and 6-2. Continoue Reading…..

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