2026-2027 [P1] The Boys in Red, White and Blue (+ a touch of Yellow) are back for another tense season in League One.

Current Squad & Last Season's Average Rating:

Here's the squad for the season

I am back to review the season as it goes on, I know this blog is changing slightly each year as I am keen to move away from just a match report each time. You can catch that on multiple different sites online I would guess the official site being the best option. This is really my views on how we are progressing along with the player rating each performance I get to see. The season appears to be a case of two halves with the first one being getting any result we can and the second of votes and finances coming into play with a wing and a pray that we are able to sign some players and make a real go of the second half of the campaign and have a positive outlook for the second half of a season for a change. No matter what lets try and keep the negative thoughts from my mind and look at this season with a shrug and go again after each negative and lets see where we end up. Buckle up this could be a bumpy ride.

  Episode 4 -

 Wimbledon 1  v Wigan Athletic 0

Kick-Off 3:00pm Plough Lane, Saturday 30th August 2026

We won a game and Aron Sasu started. Ok we never really started playing until he'd left the pitch but still a win is a win! [Right?]

Looking at the Sky Sports Stats they had 6 clear cut chances that they missed we had none and scored? No I cannot work that one out either but here I sit with the Dons a massive three points wealthier than they were this morning.

Now I have no idea if my sarcasm is shining through but this game reminded me of many of our games from last season. Dominating possession and creating chance after chance to see no benefit on the scoreboard then the away side goes and nicks a late goal to send us home pissed off again. This time it was the other way around. We should have had a man advantage as early as the third minute when the oppo goalkeeper pulled Stockley down when clear on goal with no-one between him and the open net. A fair tackle the referee said. He cleared someone else out later in the game and was roundly applauded by the referee. We got yellows for little things and they had to nearly decapitate one of our boys for the yellow to be produced but that had little baring on a game that the away side grabbed by the collars after the early Dons flourish.

The game was steadily drifting to an away win when substitutes from JJ meant we lost control of the centre of the pitch and lost possession many times but when we won it back we actually looked to attack and could and should have scored way before we actually did. The goal came from a McDonnell long hoof up the pitch a missed time challenge a weak offside appeal and a well taken Hippo shot passed the racing out keeper. With 88 minutes on the clock surely no time for an equaliser. The board goes up with 9 minutes added. Shit we could concede three in that time.

Well, we didn't and maybe a bit undeserved we escaped with three points and a hope and a pray that we may have actually kick-started our season. I crossing fingers and toes and hope Seddon and Tilley can cross some decent balls into the box soon as well. Here's the player ratings:

No Name Points

20 J. McDonnell 9

33 I. Ogundere 7

26 D. Sweeney 8

6 R. Johnson 7

7 J. Tilley 7

10 Z. Nelson 7

12 A. Smith 7

21 M. Hippolyte 8

3 S. Seddon 7

9 J. Stockley 7

29 A. Sasu 7

Subs:

1 N. Bishop Not Used

2 S. Sessegnon 8 (Subbed on 68 Mins)

5 O. Harrison 7 (Subbed on 67 Mins)

8 C. Maycock Not Used

17 A. Yiadom 7 (Subbed on 86 Mins)

19 D. McNeilly 7 (Subbed on 68 Mins)

30 J. Nkeng 8 (Subbed on 67 Mins)

Ref A Humphries 5

Officials 7

  Episode 3 -

 Fulham 3  v  Wimbledon 0

Kick-Off 8:00pm Craven Cottage, Thursday 27th August 2026

The day after the night before. Time to reflect and assess the game but as I have mentioned multiple times I am not just going to give a match report here as you can read that anywhere and with it being a cup game shown on sky you can watch more than 11 minutes of highlights on YouTube.  Unfortunately, what you won’t get is one highlight from the night the PA announcement of shouting Wimbledon and Humpth-im. Never got one clear Fulham through the speakers.

I will begin with the shocking team selection to begin with, followed by my thoughts and rationale being it. OK Bish returned in goal, and I do not have a big beef about that one as he was first choice last season but after a poor performance against Huddersfield has taken up residency on the Bench with McDonnell between the sticks. Claiming a clean sheet in his first outing. However, the potential of a rout was much greater and with a confidence keeper like Bishop this was a worry pre-kick off. More worrying was looking at the team and realising that Sasu was getting his own attacking role all by himself. Is it 63 games now without an assist or a goal? Going up against a Premier League (albeit a second string) defence. Sasu verses four defenders and my thoughts of an upset quickly disappeared. The general consensus was that we played with three centre backs two wingers that sat much deeper than planned four in midfield and Sasu up top.

Everyone was expecting the score-line above and pretty much we got what we expected. I have heard people moaning about Maycock, but I think he had nearly all of our goalscoring chances of the first half. Not bad for a midfielder. Bishop escaped pretty much unharmed and Sasu got most of the flak again.

For me the impressive thing was the number 5000 which was the number we took to the game. Fans and when in the away end we made some noise and we didn’t stop goal sing louder. Another goal, sing even louder. The fans were the most impressive thing and I salute you all. It made me proud to be in the middle of it all (well quite close to front in fact – but you get the point).

I have talked about the ugly and briefly the good. Now the bad, the season has not started with a bang, or even a jog it is moving at a snail’s pace, and I haven’t seen signs of improvement as yet. I guess this means that every game coming up is more and more important but if the plan is this rescue package in January, then we could be dead and buried by Christmas. I really hope not but so far, we are now five games into the season and not one victory inside 90 minutes. Yes, we won a game on penalties to set up the Fulham game, but that's it. We are now facing a Wigan Athletic team below us in the table and if that doesn’t set up a feeling of, we can actually do something in this game then nothing does. The boys need to take heart from last night get some rest and go into Sunday afternoon’s early kick off with a fire in their bellies as if they don’t this season could peters out without ever getting started.

Fingers crossed and well done the dons faithful last night. Here’s the players scores:

No Name Points

1 N. Bishop 7

3 S. Seddon 7

26 D. Sweeney 7

17 A. Yiadom 8

2 S. Sessegnon 7

7 J. Tilley 7

21 M. Hippolyte 7

12 A. Smith 7

5 O. Harrison 7

8 C. Maycock 8

29 A. Sasu 6

1 J. McDonnell Not Used

30 J. Nkeng 7 (Subbed on 80 Mins)

16 A. Hackford 7 (Subbed on 80 Mins)

34 H. Hedges Not Used

22 R. Horan Not Used

18 D. McCoy-Splatt 6 (Subbed on 86 Mins)

33 I. Ogundere Not Used

10 Z. Nelson 7 (Subbed on 67 Mins)

9 J. Stockley 7 (Subbed on 67 Mins)

Ref: A Shithouse Backhouse 8

Officials: 7

  Episode 2 -

 Wimbledon 0  v  Reading 0

Kick-Off 3:00pm Plough Lane, Saturday 22nd August 2026

For me the season is never really up and running until that first home league game and today was the day. Reading came to town after giving us 6 points last season and a defeat on the opening day just like ourselves there's was different in that they scored three goals where we couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo. Sadly that record continued today but lets get things in order and go one thing at a time. A new spectator who may add their version of today to this blog was taken on a tour of the ground. Then the game got going and first things first. Reading sort your away kit out. I don't know maybe its a grower but red and yellow hoops with black shorts did not do it for me.

Not afraid to put it about a bit Reading were a tough away side who was happy to push elbow and leave a mark on the home side. It seemed to leave the Dons shocked as they had began the game with tails up and looking positive. The bullying pushed the home team back into their shells. The home side seemed lost and forgot where the goal was. Meanwhile the away side grew into the game and you could argue bossed the next 30 minutes. The Dons didn't wake up until 5 minutes left in the first half by then Reading should potentially have been at least a goal to the good. They weren't and the second half awaited.

A much improved Womble team started the second half and for me they just appeared to have more fire in their belly. There was just more fight in them they even managed to string some passes together. Chances were being created and the game became very even. It could go either way. It didn't and finished 0-0. Probably a fair point and some desperate defending right at the end but a point is a point. We move on and try to gain more points elsewhere. Here's the players points:

No Name Points

20 J. McDonnell 7

6 R. Johnson 7

26 D. Sweeney 8

33 I. Ogundere 7

3 S. Seddon 7

21 M. Hippolyte 7

12 A. Smith 7

10 Z. Nelson 8

7 J. Tilley 8

9 J. Stockley 7

11 M. Browne 7

1 N. Bishop Not Used

16 A. Hackford Not Used

5 O. Harrison Not Used

17 A. Yiadom Not Used

8 C. Maycock 7 (Subbed on 75 Mins)

29 A. Sasu 7 (Subbed on 82 Mins)

2 S. Sessegnon 7 (Subbed on 91 Mins)

Ref M Barlow 6

Officials 8

My guest has written a report and probably deserves more than this blog but here it is -

A day out with the wombles.

I have been an armchair football fan for many years, having taken umbrage with the creation of the Premier League and the money being paid to footballers for just kicking a ball around a piece of grass and having difficulty trying to get it into net so big that even fishermen on the Cornish coast could use it for a decent day’s catch.

Today I saw a different side of football, one I very much enjoyed and represented football which, in my opinion, showed the real meaning of the sport I once loved.

I was invited by an AFC Wimbledon fan to attend their first home game of the season against Reading football club.

Now any football follower knows about AFC Wimbledon, the Dons or Wombles as they are known. What I leant was a great deal more about how football should belong to the fans and not the greedy, money grabbing companies that have overtaken our wonderful game for profit.

My day began with a lift to the ground. A journey of about an hour and half from my Berkshire town.

Now I am not one for driving on Motorways, I am more a plodder of round 40mph around town, so it was a bit of an eye opener for me to be driven at speeds that I only see used on the third lane on a motorway on Police chase programmes.

So, my journey to the ground felt more like I was on the xbox playing a car racing game than plodding my there on a leisurely Saturday afternoon drive.

  My host parked in a nearby industrial estate meaning a short 10-minute walk to the ground.

The location of the ground could well have been an SW18 (or SW19 depending on your viewpoint) secret as although I was standing right outside it all I could see was a block of flats.

I was then treated to a guided tour of AFC Wimbledon’s home pitch, The Cherry Red Stadium, commonly known as Plough Lane and what I found was so much more than a football club’s home ground. I found a whole community of fans of AFC Wimbledon.

Fans that have stood by ‘THEIR’ team through the bad times not just the good.

This is a football club owned by ‘THEIR’ fans and what an absolutely fantastic job they have all done for it.

The museum shows the clubs rise from nowhere to FA cup winners. Their despair when the original Plough Lane ground was closed. Their anger at the club being reformed into MK Dons and their determination to reclaim AFC Wimbledon back to them.

The amazing story on the gates of the old Plough Lane entrance said it all, ‘Womble Till I Die’.

That’s why football belongs to the fans and not greedy corrupt businessmen who want to drain the very ‘soul’ from the sport.

Well done Womble fans for making ‘YOUR’ club a huge part of the community it lives in.

Ps. You will notice I didn’t mention anything about the match, well it was a nil-nil draw and nothing much really happened.

Episode 1 -

The season is off and running, well before I get to see the Dons play this season. Unable or unwilling to see any of the friendlies I decided against the EFL cup tie at home in favour of another famous road trip. Which means I have heard all about the Dons facing Newport County in the EFL Cup and the opening game in the league away at Huddersfield Town. Glad I don't feel the urge to go back there but I might do random updates as I go. i.e. put one here so you can see the new lay out ahead of the first game I attend and I can finally say I am into the Dons new season (2026 - 2027).

Wimbledon 1 v Newport County 1

Wombles win 5-4 on penalties

Kick-Off 3:00pm Plough Lane, Saturday 8th August 2026

The season for the boys is up and running and I didn't attend so its not fair to share a report or my feelings as I didn't see it. I hear they missed a pen scored a worldie and then we equalise in the 97th minute to take it into penalties which I assume were all scored and they missed one. Hence we are in the hat for round 2 and move onto what appears to be a tough away trek to Huddersfield Town next week. I am going farther afield but I will not be going to listen to the Terriers abuse again this season. I am off on another footie travel tour to tick of one and cement another. See the other page of this blog.

 Huddersfield Town 3  v  Wimbledon 0

Kick-Off 3:00pm Accu Stadium, Saturday 15th August 2026

Whilst I was off in Yorkshire the Dons were in also in Yorkshire. Whilst I watched a five goal thriller as York came from behind to eventually beat Bristol Rovers 3-2 the Dons were slumping to a piss poor 3-0 away defeat. The worst result in the entire league meaning we are currently 24th out of 24. There are many reasons this feels worse, they had three shots on target and scored all of them. We had one and the keeper didn't have to make a save apparently. We were shite at both ends of the pitch not scoring and leaking goals and chances throughout. The real stinger comes in the fact that in the 29th minute they had a player sent off. We played for over an hour with a man advantage and still lost that section 1-0. As an opener for the season it doesn't bode very well at all. Our best winger is off to a Championship club so isn't playing but we can't get a replacement until we get the money in. We have a forward that has come through the youth system who hasn't scored or created an assist in over sixty appearances and he is starting up front. This pre-season feels like papering over the cracks until January when the money should come in to be able to afford players to get us out of the shit we'll find ourselves in. This is a very dangerous approach to keep our League 1 hopes alive. We could be done and dusted by then if we haven't kick started the league season by then. Time will tell and I hope the appearance of this one game is false and we see a marked improvement with our first home league game of the season. It will be reported in Episode 2.