PLAYS OFF DONE-KINDER VERY HAPPY

AFC Wimbledon play within hearing distance of my daughter's home in Kingston-upon-Thames and it is exciting that they are going to be one step up in the pyramid next year.  I may make an excuse to head south, visit her and her family, just to take in a game at Kingsmeadow; the present ground.

Following their collapse from the Football League after being First Division members and famous underdog FA Cup winners in 1988, the club has had a confused history.

AFC Wimbledon found themselves in the Combined Counties League in 2002, 9th Tier with trials on Wimbledon Common before they had a squad. In 2004 they were promoted to the Isthmian League Premier and stayed high in the table until 2008 when they joined the Conference South and won a play off to the Conference Premier in 2009 and rising to the Football League in 2011 beating Luton in the Conference Play Off at the Etihad.

AFC met MKDons in the FA Cup in 2012 for the first tme since the "parting of the ways" and by 2016 (today) the Wombles are promoted to the FL League One, beating Plymouth Argyle today 2-0 at Wembley. A phoenix rising from the ashes.

Are (is) those (that) on the badge a Phoenix? Nope they are (it is) an eagle (s).

Congratulations to Ivor Heller who has led the rise through the leagues. Why him? It was the smell of the liniment, bovril, the '" lights of the stadium" that made him fall in love with the club. Watch out for another football film, this one planned to show the rise of AFC Wimbledon through the pyramid, written by John Green, an American author, who calls this the "greatest underdog story".

GOOD NEWS is that before the Play Off today the Cleves' School, Wimbledon played the Samuel Barlow Primary, representing Mansfield Town, in a Sky Bet League 2 Kinder+Sport Cup Final on the famous pitch. Along with Ferrero's Kinder, the scheme promotes better healthier lifestyles through an educational trust along with support from the Football League. 72 schools started out the competitons, representing their "home club" and the winners of each tournament got to play at the national stadium before the finals.

There is also a U13 Girls Cup, Futsal for U16s and a Challenge Cup for U18s. Mitre help with the sponsorship.
On top of this the club has FA Chartered Community Status and the Prime Minister's Big Society's award for services to the public.

Next season the Wombles closest opponents will be Southend, Charlton, Millwall and MK Dons.The beauty is that on day one of the new season AFCWimbledon will find themselves above MK Dons in the table-on alphabetical order!

Congratulations to Barnsley who worked their way back to the Championship beating Millwall in their Play Off  Final. Millwall can stay where they are and keep their crowd mayhem in League One.