Wimbledon F.C.

The kit worn in the 1988 FA Cup Final

The club's nickname was the Dons, though the club were also often referred to in the media as the Wombles from the mid-1970s onwards. Following the FA Cup victory in 1988, the term Crazy Gang also started to be applied; originally to the players, though over time to the club as a whole.[25] The club introduced a character mascot in 2000, a Womble named Wandle the Womble. However, following the relocation of the club in 2003, the owners of the Wombles brand refused to renew the licensing agreement in protest at the move. Three years later, a deal was agreed that saw a similar character named Haydon the Womble appear at AFC Wimbledon.[26]

The colours most associated with the club were blue and yellow.[25] The club's first colours were navy blue and white,[25] though the kit changed several times soon after the club's foundation, between combinations of: brown and blue striped shirts with navy blue shorts; green and white striped shirts with navy blue shorts; green shirts and black shorts; white shirts with navy blue shorts, and finally green and black striped shirts with black shorts.[25] Royal blue shirts with navy blue shorts and socks were finally settled upon in 1918, initially bearing a "W" (for Wimbledon) in the centre of the chest.[25] Wimbledon players then regularly wore royal blue shirts with black shorts and socks until a shift in the 1950s saw the shorts change from black to white.[25] A combination of blue shirts, blue shorts and white socks was introduced in 1966,[25] before being abandoned a year later in favour of an all-blue outfit.[25] The white socks returned in 1970.[25] A blue and yellow combination was first used in 1975,[25] but was replaced after a year with an all-white outfit trimmed with blue,[25] and this was the kit in which the club played its first season in the Football League. In 1978, Yellow shirts, blue shorts and yellow socks were adopted,[25] before the club made the change to an all-blue strip with yellow markings in 1981.[25] The kit underwent only minor changes until 1993,[25] when a darker, deep navy blue replaced the royal blue shade that had been used for the previous twelve years.[25] Wimbledon wore these colours for the remainder of their history. As for change colours, a red kit, with black trim, was a frequent choice in the 1990s. The club had a green away kit for the 2000–01 season.[25]

Wimbledon's final proposed logo, adopted before the 2003–04 season but not used on playing kit[27]

The first crest the club wore was the emblem of the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon. This emblem appeared on Wimbledon shirts from the late 1920s until the mid-1950s, when no badge was worn.[25] The coat of arms returned in the early 1970s,[25] before the club adopted its own badge on election to The Football League in 1977.[25] The crest was very similar to the badge most commonly associated with the club – the difference being the inclusion of white rather than yellow. Yellow replaced white in 1981, and this logo was used until 2003.[25] After the club's relocation to Milton Keynes was confirmed in May 2002, the College of Arms informed the club in August 2002 that its continued use of the Borough arms was illegal. A replacement, given the go-ahead on 12 April 2003, featured a stylised eagle's head – an element from the Wimbledon arms – drawn in navy blue and yellow outline, the yellow forming a stylized rendering of the letters "MK" (for Milton Keynes).[27] Despite being officially adopted in April 2003, the logo's use was inconsistent: the club officially announced that it would be used "on all club kit, merchandise and literature from the start of [the 2003–04] season",[27] including on a new white away kit and on an amended version of the previous season's home outfit,[28] but this did not occur; both the home and away colours from 2002–03 were retained for the following year with the municipal arms still present. Moreover, the old crest continued to appear on official club statements towards the end of the 2003–04 season, making the status of the new badge ambiguous.[29][30]

From 2000 to June 2003, the original Wimbledon F.C. had used a Womble mascot named "Wandle", named after the local River Wandle, as a club mascot. However, in light of the controversy over the moving of the club to Milton Keynes, the licence to use the character was withdrawn by the Wombles' creator, Elisabeth Beresford as a protest.[31]

[25]

Plough Lane's South Stand, pictured in 2000

Wimbledon originally played on Wimbledon Common, using the Fox and Grapes public house in Camp Road as the team's headquarters and changing room. The club moved to Plough Lane in September 1912. During the 1930s and 1940s, crowds of between 7,000 and 10,000 were not uncommon at the ground. Wimbledon's highest attendance at the ground came on 2 March 1935, when 18,080 people were attracted to an FA Amateur Cup tie against HMS Victory. Floodlights were first used on 3 October 1960 in a London Charity Cup match against Arsenal.

The Plough Lane ground remained comparatively basic, and by the time the club had risen to the First Division the stadium had not changed greatly from Wimbledon's recent non-league days. At the time of the club's acceptance into The Football League in 1977, applicants had only to meet minimal stadium criteria, and once in the League these same criteria sufficed regardless of whether the club subsequently found itself in the Fourth or First Division. However, following the Hillsborough disaster and the subsequent Taylor Report, the football authorities introduced far stricter safety rules, which gave top-flight clubs specific deadlines by which to redevelop terraced grounds or to build new all-seater stadiums. The board of the club decided that Plough Lane could not be made to comply with these new requirements economically and, in 1990, they announced plans to temporarily groundshare with Crystal Palace at their Selhurst Park stadium.

Given the location of the Plough Lane ground, at the junction of two major roads and beside the River Wandle, major redevelopment of the site as a modern all-seater stadium might have been difficult, though not impossible. The club's board of directors maintained that it had "searched exhaustively with Merton Council" for a site in or around Merton on which to build a new stadium, looking at "14 different sites over a period of five years", in addition to commissioning feasibility studies for redeveloping both Plough Lane and the neighbouring site at Wimbledon Stadium. Despite this, nothing ever became of the board's continual promises to redevelop the site or to build a new ground within the borough, and the club remained as tenants at Selhurst Park for twelve years.[32]

Wimbledon's first match at the National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes was played on 27 September 2003.[22] The club remained there for the rest of its final season, and the ground became the first home of Milton Keynes Dons.

Average home league attendances from joining The Football League in 1977 to 2004
First vertical line (from left) – move to Selhurst Park (1991)
Second – confirmation of move to Milton Keynes (2002)
Third – Move to Milton Keynes (2003)

Due to Plough Lane's modest capacity and Wimbledon's unprecedented rise from non-League football to the First Division in under ten years, the club had a much lower level of support than its top-flight rivals. During Wimbledon's first season in The Football League, Wimbledon's average attendance was only 3,135 – however, by the club's appearance in the top flight nine years later the average attendance had risen by 149% to 7,811. Attendances did not immediately change much following the move to Selhurst Park in 1991 – however, the larger capacity gradually started to be used. Average crowds peaked at 18,235 in 1998–99, and during the next season, the team's final year in the FA Premier League, home crowds averaged 17,157. With relegation, attendances dropped to an average of only 7,897 during 2000–01 as organized supporter boycotts of matches in protest at the proposed relocation took effect. Wimbledon averaged 6,961 during the final season before the club's relocation to Milton Keynes was confirmed.[33]

Following the sanctioning of the move, most of the team's support left, in specific protest at the club's relocation, to follow AFC Wimbledon,[2][3] the new club founded by Wimbledon supporters.[2][3] During the 2002–03 season, AFC Wimbledon's first and Wimbledon's last full season in south London, average crowds at the new club were actually higher than those at the original club.[33] Attendances during the 2003–04 season, Wimbledon's last, were higher than those at AFC Wimbledon: Wimbledon averaged 4,751 at the National Hockey Stadium, compared to AFC Wimbledon's 2,606.[33]

The club had two main supporters organisations– the long established official Wimbledon F.C. Supporters Club, which was tied to the club, and the more radical Wimbledon Independent Supporters Association (WISA) which was founded in 1995.[34] The WISA was instrumental in the organisation of the supporter boycotts at Selhurst Park, and in the formation of The Dons Trust in March 2002.[34] This trust, created in part to oppose the relocation to Milton Keynes,[35] helped the WISA to found AFC Wimbledon months after its own establishment.[34][35] Both the WISA and The Dons Trust from this point became affiliated to AFC Wimbledon, while the official Wimbledon F.C Supporters Club became defunct following the relocation.[34][35]

During much of Wimbledon's amateur and later semi-professional history, a strong local rivalry existed with neighbouring Tooting & Mitcham United F.C.

From the mid 1980s, the club's main rivals were considered by fans to be fellow south London club Crystal Palace (who were their landlord from 1991 to 2003) and west London-based Chelsea; however, neither of these rivalries was seriously reciprocated. Wimbledon were in the same division as Palace for a total of 11 seasons between 1984 and 2004, and in the same division as Chelsea for all but one season between 1986 and 2000.[36]

Wimbledon's progress through the English football league system from 1920 to 2004
Horizontal black lines represent (from top):
1 (post-1992) – Premier League
2–4 (1–4 pre-1992) – The Football League
4–6 – Southern Football League
6 – Athenian League; Isthmian League

The record for most appearances for Wimbledon was held by Roy Law, who turned out for the club 644 times between 1958 and 1972;[37] Law's 433 league appearances was also a record.[37] Wimbledon's all-time top goalscorer was Eddie Reynolds, who scored 340 goals in 329 matches between 1957 and 1966.[38] The closest to Reynolds's record was Ian Cooke, who notched 297 between 1964 and 1977;[39] Cooke also made the second highest total number of appearances for the team, having appeared 615 times in a Wimbledon shirt.[39]

The records for most appearances and goals for Wimbledon in The Football League were both held by Alan Cork. Cork scored 145 league goals for the club in 430 matches.[40] Cork also held the record for most Football League goals in a season, with 29 during 1983–84.[40] Wimbledon's most capped player was Kenny Cunningham, who was capped 16 times for the Republic of Ireland during his time at the club.[41] Wimbledon's most expensive signing was John Hartson, for whom the club paid West Ham United £7.5 million on 15 January 1999.[41][42] The highest fee that the club received was the £7 million Newcastle United parted with to sign Carl Cort on 6 July 2000.[41][43]

Wimbledon's best win was a 6–0 league victory over Newport County on 3 September 1983,[41] while the worst defeat was an 8–0 League Cup defeat at Everton on 29 August 1978.[41] Wimbledon's longest unbeaten league run was 22 matches between 15 January and 14 May 1984;[44] the longest league run without a win, 14, was set between 19 March and 28 August 2000.[44] Wimbledon's longest run of league wins was seven, set between 9 April and 7 May 1983 and matched from 4 September to 19 October 1996.[44] Wimbledon's longest run of league defeats was the eleven matches lost in a row from 10 January to 27 March 2004.[44]

Wimbledon's highest attendance, 30,115, was set on 9 May 1993 for the FA Premier League match against Manchester United at Selhurst Park but their official home attendance record is 18,080 vs HMS Victory in an FA Amateur Cup tie on 9 March 1935 at Plough Lane due to Selhurst Park being borrowed from Crystal Palace FC.[41]

European record

See also: 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away
1995	Intertoto Cup	Group Stage	Bursaspor	0–41
			Košice		1–1
			Beitar Jerusalem	0–01
			Charleroi		0–3

¹Both home matches in this competition were played at Brighton and Hove Albion's Goldstone Ground, as Selhurst Park was unavailable.[45]

Joe Kinnear managed the club from 1992 to 1999.

Prior to the appointment of H. R. Watts as first team manager in 1930, a committee would deal with first team affairs, such as choosing the team on a matchday.[47] Doc Dowden was appointed manager in 1946,[48] and stayed in the position until leaving at the end of the 1954–55 season.[49] Les Henley arrived in his place as first team coach,[49] and stayed at the club for sixteen years in which the club progressed immensely, winning the FA Amateur Cup as well as three Isthmian League championships before turning professional and moving to the Southern League.[50][51] However, in 1971 Henley was replaced by Mike Everitt, who arrived as player-manager. After two seasons, Everitt left to manage Brentford and Dick Graham arrived as a replacement. Graham remained until March 1974, and a replacement was not appointed until July of that year, when Allen Batsford was made manager. Batsford led Wimbledon to The Football League, but resigned only halfway through the first League season.[51] Dario Gradi was made manager three days later,[51] but after three seasons he too resigned.[52] His replacement was Dave Bassett, who took Wimbledon to sixth in the First Division before moving to Watford.[52] Bobby Gould spent three years as manager before being replaced by Ray Harford, who spent just over a season with Wimbledon. After Harford, Peter Withe had a spell as manager lasting only three months. Joe Kinnear was brought in during January 1992, and managed the club until leaving in 1999 due to ill health. A season was spent under Egil Olsen in which the team was relegated from the FA Premier League before Terry Burton was made manager.[13] Burton's Wimbledon narrowly missed the play-offs twice in a row before he was sacked. Stuart Murdoch managed Wimbledon for the club's final two seasons.[19][53]

Statistics apply to competitive league and cup matches only. Wartime matches excluded.

Name	Nationality	From	To	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Notes
H.R. Watts	English	1930	1946						[47][48]
Doc Dowden	English	1946	August 1955	375	186	64	126	49.6	[48][49]
Les Henley	English	August 1955	5 April 1971	869	468	156	235	53.9	[49][51]
Mike Everitt	English	5 April 1971	6 August 1973	120	49	26	45	40.8	[51]
Dick Graham	English	18 August 1973	16 March 1974	45	16	14	15	35.6	[51]
Allen Batsford	English	July 1974	2 January 1978	231	131	51	49	56.7	[51]
Dario Gradi	English	5 January 1978	24 January 1981	171	63	47	61	36.8	[51]
Dave Bassett	English	31 January 1981	17 June 1987	303	144	74	85	47.5
Bobby Gould	English	26 June 1987	18 June 1990	142	57	43	42	40.1
Ray Harford	English	18 June 1990	7 October 1991	56	20	17	19	35.7
Peter Withe	English	7 October 1991	19 January 1992	17	1	9	6	5.9
Joe Kinnear	Irish	19 January 1992	9 June 1999	364	130	109	125	35.7
Egil Olsen	Norwegian	9 June 1999	1 May 2000	43	11	12	20	25.6	[13]
Terry Burton	English	1 May 2000	25 April 2002	108	39	39	30	36.1	[13]
Stuart Murdoch	English	25 June 2002	7 August 2004	101	30	17	54	29.7	[19][n 3]

Wimbledon were a successful club even before election to The Football League, winning eight Isthmian League titles (including three in a row from 1962 to 1964) and three successive Southern League titles (from 1975 to 1977). Having also won the FA Amateur Cup in 1963, the run of Southern League titles prompted Football League election in 1977.[4]

Even at the higher level, Wimbledon continued to collect honours; the most notable being the FA Cup victory in 1988, which made Wimbledon only the third club to have won both the FA Cup and its amateur equivalent. Despite swift success in The Football League, the club's rapid ascent combined with short spells in the Second and Third Divisions meant that the team only won a solitary divisional championship within the League – the Fourth Division title of 1982–83.[4]

Footnotes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wimbledon F.C..

• The official website of AFC Wimbledon
• The official website of Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
• Wimbledon at the Football Club History Database
• The History of Wimbledon F.C.