Wimbledon F.C.

I started my career at the Arsenal playing 14 league games.

I left the Gunners and signed for Wimbledon, went on loan to Middlesbrough before signing for Sunderland and appearing in 199 league matches.

I then had a loan spell at Shrewsbury Town before moving to Preston North End and finally ending my professional career with Scarborough.

Who am I? Just do you know who this is?

I started my career at the Arsenal.

playing 14 league games.

I left the Gunners for Wimbledon, went on loan to Middlesbrough before signing for Sunderland and appearing in 199 league matches.

I then had a loan spell at Shrewsbury Town before moving to Preston North End and finally ending my professional career with Scarborough.

you know what? I remember it was at Hearsome Park.

We played Wimbledon the first year of the Premier League.

And I've sort of cut in for the left-hand side.

And I've got a chippy keeper.

We've talked a lot about that transformation and there's one club undergoing seismic change and that ended in the Fairytale FA Cup final.

To rule them all is of course Wimbledon.

And I'm joined by Mark Jones, who was there, I think, every step of the way in that particular campaign and now works for ASC Wimbledon.

So there is a labour of love.

Welcome to Ness and Tom and Mark, hope you're well.

Oh, my pleasure.

This will obviously come to the FA Cup final in a minute, a few minutes, actually.

But Wimbledon's... story is it really is one of the more important ones i think of um of the time there have been a lot of kind of shots a lot of cup successes for you know luton and oxford that we've already covered um but this really kind of comes from nowhere, right? So this is the 11th, 87-88, it's the 11th season in the Football League.

I think some of our listeners will too.

What is your view towards AFC Wimbledon? Obviously, they have resentment against Milton Keynes, rightly so in my opinion, because I don't agree with what happened.

But why is it a two sided hatred from sort of a Milton Keynes side to Wimbledon as well? Why is it that, you know, is it just because they hate you that you hate the back or is there some sort of animosity there from your side towards them?

I think there's a mix in the fan base.

I think there's definitely a core group of people that don't like him.

Obviously, you know, that probably stems from, I personally know, and I was on Saturday, people that have supported Wimbledon and in their eyes still support Wimbledon.

And I, you know, that's just their opinion.

And they've been following the club and some of them, I live in, I live fairly close to the AFC stadium, for example.

My first memory of it, it really only came in in the late 80s.

And the first team that I remember doing it was Wimbledon.

So you'd turn up, and I remember putting Everton in, sort of very... and then they walk in bang bang some bass hammer and it's not my style of music at all but it's not that I dislike it it's just not my style of music and I'm just thinking and we're just sitting in quietly you know having a team talk and all we're hearing is party party party party that's good psychology that's really good psychology it hits saying we don't care we're going to batter you and the big big big thing was you know going back to such a long time this was the dawn of the walk man And I was the only player wearing headphones and listening to stuff.

Nobody else was.

Gale.

No, that's Wimbledon.

No, the black striker for Charlton back in the day.

Was it what, Jason Newell? Marcus Bartlett.

Charlton Athletic striker, the black one.

Jason Newell.

Jason Newell's Wimbledon team.

And Charlton.

Hopefully that's it

... funnily enough, when, you know, I- if there was to be a club anthem, it should have been when it was the Fulham Park Rangers or the Wimbledon merger, something that bounds the fans together.

There was not one.

So therefore-