The story of the nine-year journey which took AFC
Wimbledon from the very depths of nonleague football
back to their rightful place in the Football
LeagueCollecting more than 100 stories from the key
figures involved in the club, this is a chronicle of the
ups and downs, the controversies, and the final
redemption as the Dons reclaimed their place in the
Football League in 2011. Far more than a simple football
tale, this is a story of romance and hard work, mostly
by those forgotten heroes of modern sports--the fans,
who, when the club they loved was torn away from them,
rolled up their sleeves and refused to lie down. After
the sale of Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes, an
unprecedented and unwelcome scenario in English
football, the club reformed under a new name and began
again in the lower leagues. With no stadium, players,
money, manager, backroom staff, or kit, the fans were
all that remained, and the club became a democratic,
supporter-run business. What happened next demonstrates
that modern football is about so much more than
television money and overpaid superstars. Dozens of
heroes made the AFC journey possible, from the players
that donned the yellow and blue and the fans who gave up
their time to operate the turnstiles on matchdays to the
fundraisers, stewards, elected Dons Trust Board members,
program sellers, scouts, and fundraisers. With little
more than their history to build on, they reclaimed
their club, and this book traces exactly how it was
done, through the eyes of all those that made it
happen. |
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