retired_destiny1124

Wicks Walks
AFC Wimbledon surprisingly announced the sale of last season's inspirational leader- veteran defender Matthew Wickes. Wickes, though happy to move up in play, was also a bit sorry to be leaving. "Every player aspires to make a difference. It isn't often that you can clearly see the impact you have had on a club. Keeping AFC up ranks as one of the highlights of my career." Wickes was purchased by Division 2 AFC Bournemouth for his rated amount of 110K. AFC Wimbledon Manager Dave Colley stated that he was, "Sorry to see Matthew go- but happy for the recognition that last season's contributions earned him."

DC- It was a tough call to accept the transfer deal for Matthew. Even harder will be the fact that we now need to find some veteran leadership for what will be an even younger club this season. The amount offered was too good to turn down- offers like that don't grow on trees for clubs at our level.

***

DC- The law of unintended consequences is now clear. Though I managed to pare our roster quite nicely- now no established players are interested in coming here. They see AFC Wimbledon as a 'no hoper' for this season and even fair wage offers won't sway them. All I can do about it is to try and find some younger players who want a chance- and then try to develop them. It may well make this season another long and trying one- too soon to tell now though.

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DC- Lots of new additions to report- in keeping with our only being able to interest unattached young players (most of whom come to us from established club's youth programs, but were subsequently released by the parent club- beggars can't be choosers in our current situation...)

Matt Cooper 20 yr old MR- arrives from Reading on free transfer. Scouts liked him, but I think he will end up as reserve material- still decent cover for right wing.
Stephen Green 21 yr old DC- Also from Reading youth, but they released him. I have higher hopes for him than Cooper, though may have to be patient and let him develop some first
David Woozley 30 yr old DLC- One of the few veterans to accept our offers, Doncaster let him go on free to us and I hope he provides leadership to replace that lost with Matthew Wickes departure
Mark Kennedy 17 yr old DRC- released by Manchester United and promptly signed by us. Scouts like him, but he looks like a project at this point
Alan Charlton 17 yr old AMRL- released by Tottenham. He could help us at depth on either wing this season- can absolutely fly pace-wise which is something I like on the wings
Dave Watts 17 yr old SC- released by Tottenham. Scouts like this tall, willowy forward and I think he could help us up front this season
Andrew Holt 15 yr old MRLC- bought for 1K from fellow Conference side Telford. I want to keep him, so that means not featuring him too much until 17, but he should help provide cover in the midfield for us this season
Steve Murphy 20 yr old DL- released by Stockport. He will be in the mix for starting leftback, as I am not sure how much trust I can place in Matt Lockwood's aging legs
Mark Vaughan 17 yr old SC- released by Arsenal. He has capped at schoolboy level and appears to be a very promsing forward- should get some serious playing time
Steve Morris 17 yr old MR- released by Blackburn. One reason Cooper is more cover was the signing of promising Morris. He will be 2nd choice to Corbett on rightwing (and Corbett already is proving to be a bit injury prone)
Wayne Harrison 21 yr old SC- purchased from Billericay for 3K. Originally out of the Portsmouth youth program and appears to have solid physical attributes, but needs polishing on the skills
Darren Trumball 15 yr old DMRC- purchased from Leigh RMI for 1K. I hope to keep him as well, which means working him in occasionally- will provide cover for Tony Shields in midfield

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DC- Not even to our first friendly and the bad news is here. Mark Peers tore his groin muscle and will miss the next 4 months because I decided we needed to try and take care of this once and for all. His loss will hurt us, but Anthony Hogg will benefit from the playing time as I move him back to his more natural wing position this season.

***

DC- More bad news as keeper Steve Croudson will miss the next two months with a torn groin. With only Fettis on hand, I will be forced to try youngster Lee Brough on the senior side for the rest of the friendlies- to see if the 17 yr old is ready. If not, then I may have to explore the transfer market to fill in for Croudson.

***

DC- Brough showed good signs- but injured his calf muscle and is also out 3 weeks. With Fettis as my only healthy keeper on the roster I am forced to sign another youngster off the free list to provide some cover to start the season.

***

DC- On the eve of our last friendly, it was surprising to receive a phone call from the Michael Harford, Chairman of Luton. It was even more surprising to have him offer me the job of managing the Division 2 side. In good conscience, I turned down the opportunity.

***

DC- Some additional cover as we finish out our friendlies. We added:
Kevin Chambers 17 yr old GK- released by Leicester. We had to have another body to play keeper behind Fettis and Chambers at least had a little promise according to my scouts
John Edwards 20 yr old D/DMC- released by Bournemouth. Signing him as cover for Shields means that we can afford to hide Trumball out a bit until he turns 17

***

DC- It shouldn't surprise me by now- Corbett injured his shoulder and will miss 2 weeks. So far my favored tandem of Peers and Corbett have played exactly 1 match together. We added another very raw player:
Chris Reid 21 yr old DC purchased for 1K from Salisbury. He has the physical abilities to succeed, but is very raw skill-wise

retired_destiny1124

4.8.11
AFC Wimbledon (6) Ipswich (1)
AFC Wimbledon surprised visiting Division 1 Ipswich in their final friendly as they took full advantage of their scoring chances.

DC- I warned the boys that this win meant nothing, but did tell them I was very happy with their execution in the match.

***

2010-11 Conference Preseason Odds
7-4 Barnet
2-1 Scarborough
2-1 Enfield
5-2 Oxford
5-2 Margate
3-1 Nuneaton Borough
200-1 AFC Wimbledon

DC- Obviously the friendly win over Ipswich did little to sway the oddsmakers...

***

[i]DC- As we finally ready for the start of the season- three more additions to the AFC lineup:
Richard Neville 21 yr old AMC purchased from Wycombe for 35K. I really like Neville and think he will do well in a starting midfield role for us
Mark Kerr 21 yr old MR purchased from Cambridge for 12K. Though we have loads of rightwingers, I couldn't pass up the chance to land what looks to be a solid player
Peter Wilkinson 15 yr old AMR purchased from Chester for 5K. Another youngster I hope to hang on to. My scouts really liked him and the fact that he is leftfooted may make for an eventual move to leftwing- where there are more spaces on our club

***

DC- In a last minute sale before the season starts- Paul O'Donoghue has been relocated to Harrogate Town for 7K. I had come to the conclusion (helped by watching friendlies) that Paul would never thrive in our system of play- so because of that I was trying to move his significant salary onwards.

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14.8.10
AFC Wimbledon (1) Shrewsbury (2)
AFC- A.Hogg 26
Shrewsbury- G.McCarthy 16 S.Tillen 30
MOM- Trevor Wilkinson, Shrewsbury

In an all too familiar repeat of last season's problems, AFC Wimbledon's poor finishing and inattentive backline play led to another close loss. David Woozley's poor pass was picked up by Kevin Street. Street made a superb pass that allowed Mark Rasmussen to run onto it. Rasmussen's cross picked out Ger McCarthy- unmarked by either Stephen Green or Paul Liddle and he looped his header over a slow reacting Alan Fettis. AFC evened the match when Anthony Hogg blistered a 30 yard free kick past Scott Wilkins. Shrewsbury moved back ahead when AFC blew their coverage on a corner and Sam Tillen deflected Street's corner past Fettis. The entire second half saw AFC apply pressure- get chances- and then miss good shots. Gary Hardy barely missed the far post with a nice chance and Dave Watts is certain to be kicking himself as he missed no less than four good chances to score on Wilkins. AFC came up short when Wilkins- ably supported by defender Trevor Wilkinson- blunted their last crosses in extra time leaving AFC on the wrong end of a 2-1 score.

DC- We wasted too many chances. We outshot them 14-4 and could have had a much better result from the match. It was a disappointing way to start the season, but we just have to pick up and get better in our execution.

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17.8.10
Bradford PA (2) AFC Wimbledon (3)
Bradford- G.Porter 14,54
AFC- A.Charlton 26 G.Hardy 38,63
MOM- Gary Hardy, AFC Wimbledon

Just like that AFC Wimbledon righted themselves and though their showing was spotty- they played well enough to edge Bradford PA 3-2 at Horsfall Stadium. It didn't start out that way as it looked like more of the same old by AFC. Danny Campbell sent a sensational through ball past Steve Harvey and that put Graeme Porter away. Porter whistled a rising shot past Alan Fettis to give the home side the lead. AFC answered that goal when Alan Charlton scored in his debut. Richard Neville made a strong effort and his chip pass went to the edge of the six yard box. Charlton retrieved it and fired past Chris Watson on a sharp angle for his first AFC goal. AFC then took the halftime lead as Wayne Harrison took the ball away from Mike Day on a throw in and motored down the right side of the pitch. As he made his way into the area he crossed and found Gary Hardy with John Townsend a step slow in covering. That was all the room Hardy needed as he made a quick move to his right and drilled a shot past Watson inside the near right post. Bradford evened the match early in the second half. Justin Georcelin rifled a shot from the edge of the area. Fettis blocked it away, only to see Porter pounce on the rebound and fire it past him for his 2nd goal of the match to make it 2-2. AFC struck for the eventual match winner as John Edwards dumped a pass in for Andrew Holt. Holt, subbed on for a tiring Neville, slipped a pass that found Hardy free inside the six yard box. Hardy slashed a shot past Watson inside the right post to put AFC ahead 3-2. Bradford tried to rally, but Fettis finally made a couple good saves to preserve the close win.

DC- Fettis played badly on the first two goals, but saved us the win when it counted. It was a good effort for the side that we fielded today.

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21.8.10
Macclesfield (1) AFC Wimbledon (0)
Macclesfield- R.Hogg 27
AFC- None
MOM- James Ball, Macclesfield

It was another match of missed opportunities for AFC Wimbledon as they fell to Macclesfield in a closely contested 1-0 loss. The lone goal of the match came when Alan Fettis botched handling Richard Hogg's header on a cross from Danny Prior and it dropped into the net behind him. AFC had many chances to even the match, but their decision making in the area was very poor and their shooting was atrocious. Mark Vaughan had two great chances in the first half, but both his shots were well off the mark. Gary Hardy's hard shot trickled past James Ball, but rolled just past the post. Hardy made a great play in the closing moments of the match to send Alan Charlton around Ball, but Charlton missed the wide open net to the great frustration of all the AFC side.

DC- We just didn't have it around the net today- very frustrating to see us waste chances like this.

***

DC- I pulled the trigger and purchased 22 yr old DR Paul Dunn from Colchester for 12K. Lord knows we didn't need another right back- but Paul reminds me a lot of Lee Sims from Orient, and I could tell he is head and shoulders above the others we have there- so I grabbed him and he will move directly into the starting lineup for us.

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28.8.10
AFC Wimbledon (2) Morecambe (0)
AFC- G.Hardy 29,67
Morecambe- None
MOM- Gary Hardy, AFC Wimbledon

AFC Wimbledon managed to pull themselves out of the problems they had the last two matches thanks to their young skipper Gary Hardy. Hardy, continuing to prove he is a class striker and an excellent club leader, gave them the first half lead when he finished off an excellent passing play that was started by Paul Dunn. Dunn, who had a stellar debut at rightback, skimmed a hard pass in that Wayne Harrison just pushed to the right. Hardy ran on to the ball and slipped it past a diving Joe Rogers. In the second half, Matt Lockwood sent a pass in that neither Hardy nor defender Neil Parker could corral. Rogers was caught off guard when the ball went past both of them and was caught flat footed in net. Hardy was quickest to the loose ball and fired a sharp angled shot past Rogers for his 2nd goal of the match. AFC then strung together some good work in supporting 17 yr old Lee Brough to get a clean sheet in his debut.

DC- A lot of encouraging happenings. Dunn really played excellent and Brough was steady in net. Hardy is just a good scorer, but I desperately need to find another forward to pair with him. Harrison was ok today- but the chemistry is wrong between him and Hardy. Our other young forwards (Dave Watts and Mark Vaughan) haven't looked ready yet. Pagguy Zunda gets a last shot at the spot for now, but he hasn't played well since we signed him

***

DC- We landed a veteran keeper I could live with- finally. Dean Delaney, a 29 yr old who has kicked around several clubs, was transfer listed at Tranmere and more than willing to come to us for a chance to play (salary demands were fine too). It cost us 20K to land him, but that seems an equitable purchase price to me.

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4.9.10
Hereford (0) AFC Wimbledon (1)
Hereford- None
AFC- A.Hogg 90
MOM- Anthony Hogg, AFC Wimbledon

AFC Wimbledon had given a determined effort, but it certainly appeared that the scoreless draw was inevitable as time wound down. Instead Anthony Hogg used his quickness to beat two defenders down the left side and broke in to slide a dramatic match winning goal underneath Sam Wright as AFC pulled out a 1-0 win. Up to Hogg's goal it was another match of missed opportunities for AFC. Mark Vaughan, who had come in for ineffective Pagguy Zunda, missed two excellent scoring chances- one set up by Richard Neville and the other by Hogg- as he missed the net badly both times when all alone in front. Gary Hardy had also fired one off the crossbar in the first half. Hereford also had a tale of woe, as Dean Delaney had a stellar debut for AFC and stymied them on some good scoring chances in both halves.

DC- All the hard work by Anthony Hogg finally paid off and he really earned that goal- using that burst when I knew he was dead tired. The match highlighted the fact we don't seem to have a fit partner up front for Hardy.

retired_betrbody22

good story iam enjoying it :thup: