I realise, that the mere implication that AFC Wimbledon are anything less than whiter than white may be difficult for you to stomach, but bear with me here, because beneath the media-induced glorious surface lurks a club that have left a trail of destruction in their wake, the irony of a bigger club damaging a smaller one clearly lost on them. (This seems a reasonable juncture to point out that a dislike of AFC is not a tacit support of MK Dons. My feelings towards them are not new, nor different from the multitude previously expressed by many, and as such I won’t go over them again.) But the club have been far from perfect, especially in its dealings with my club, Kingstonian, of whom AFCW are landlords, and this coming week sees a move that is symbolic in the course of this relationship, the destruction of the Ks home (The Dons away) stand, The Kingston Road End, the re-building of which will see it replaced with seats.

We all know about the (re?)birth of AFCW, and despite the damage done by the Dons there remains something subversive and inspiring about a club refusing to die and fighting against the system in order to survive and eventually thrive. But the circumstances by which they ended up at Kingsmeadow have been less heralded.

Intrinsically linked to the birth of AFCW are the troubled events surrounding Kingstonian at the turn of the millennium. After a successful spell in the conference under Geoff Chapple that saw a 5th place finish nicely supported by two FA Trophy wins, things began to go downhill. As enjoyable as the era was, the golden period was built upon financial mismanagement, and despite being a matter of seconds away from an FA Cup fifth round tie that may have balanced the books, the demise of Ks was inevitable.

After lurching from one economic calamity to another, the club ended up in the hands of one Rajesh Khosla, who was, in essence, an asset stripper. To cut a long, messy story short, Kingstonian’s situation continued to deteriorate, and the selling of Kingsmeadow would not only save the club, but also line Khosla’s pockets quite nicely. It’s at this point that the recently re-formed Dons stepped in. The timing was perfect for the phoenix club, who were searching for a ground at the time KM became available. While it seems a perfect fit, surely AFC of all clubs should have avoided dealing with a man whose raison d’etre was individual gain, whether it destroyed a club at not.

Rob Tolfrey’s Decisive Shoot-Out Save In Front Of The KRE: FA Cup .v. Margate.

The historical balance is a delicate one. The sale ultimately saved the Ks, but the majority of the money was never seen by the club, a legacy that hurts the club to this day, as its total lack of assets has long-term implications. While it’s entirely possible that Kingstonian may no longer exist (in its current guise) were not it for the intervention of AFC, the loss of Kingsmeadow, and the way in which the scenario now plays leaves the Ks powerless. Not only is their future entirely dependent on decisions made by the Dons, but their lack of finances leave them powerless in any negotiations over the future of Kingsmeadow.

This is significant. Long-term, the future of Wimbledon does not lie at Kingsmeadow for the simple reason that for a club whose identity is so rooted in geography that surely they would drown in a bath of irony if their existence continued in Kingston. The end-game has to be a return to Merton (or somewhere a lot closer), in which case the future of Kingsmeadow hangs in the balance. (A side-issue, but key concern here is the future of Tooting and Mitcham. Their ground is far more ideally placed for Wimbledon, with plenty of room to expand, watch this space…) If Ks cannot afford to buy it off them, there’s a chance it could be taken over by the council and knocked down/turned into flats/turned into Tesco/turned into a shrine for AFC Wimbledon. This would leave Ks homeless, and perhaps hopeless.

But as I say, there’s balance here. Ks play rent-free at Kingsmeadow, the overheads are low, very low, and as such the continued existence is entirely down to AFC. However, this existence is at the expense of the chance of longer-term thriving. No money is made for Ks through the ground, and while this is an experience of many who share grounds, there is a bigger issue. As long as AFC exist in Kingston, the Ks crowds will suffer. Necessarily high prices amongst all the teams in the Ryman means the disparity between Ks and AFC ticket costs are not large enough to ensure new fans come to Ks. Your new or neutral fan in Kingston or the surrounding area will be drawn to AFC through a combination of a higher standard of football, and the chance to see the media darlings in the flesh.

For Ks, the possibility of getting new fans, in an area with so much choice of non-league teams (Met Police, Tooting, Sutton, Carshalton and Hampton are all crowd-stealingly-close-by.) A recent chat with a barman in a Thames Ditton pub was a prime example of this. A football nut, he is always looking for an excuse to go to a game, even stretching to take in a Met Police reserve fixture. But on a free Saturday his destination of choice is Kingsmeadow, to see Wimbledon. This is exactly the kind of fan Ks, and all non-league clubs, need to find to secure their future, but for Ks they are fighting a losing battle. Ks’ attendances are down by a third in recent years (they were higher in the Ryman South), this is entirely down to the continued existence of AFC. Those 150 or so fans that Ks have lost would mean very little to AFC, but for Ks, they mean everything. This ensures that the reach of Ks, both in terms of influence and league position is limited. The team that found themselves in the upper echelons of the non-league game 12 years ago now sit in the middle of the Ryman Premier, on a less-than-average budget for the division.

On a smaller scale there are other issues. It has never been made particularly public, but The Dons have made things difficult for Ks to arrange cup games in the past. A recent London Senior Cup tie was not allowed to be played on the desired date, despite it not clashing with any Dons fixture, with no firm reasoning ever given. It’s safe to assume that there were reasons, but this is typical of AFC, their concern is purely about themselves. This is seen in fixture planning (or blocking), the marketing in Kingston of the club, the removal of much of the Ks identity from Kingsmeadow and the destruction of the KRE (which was done with no consultation with Ks board). A microcosm of Wimbledon’s attitude is shown in the loss of the friendly between the two sides. This was agreed upon as part of the original deal, with Ks making money from it, however in recent years, as AFC’s profile has outgrown the need for such a goodwill gesture, the fixture has disappeared. Ultimately, AFC’s presence in Kingston means that the biggest losers from the MK Dons scandal are Kingstonian.

Perhaps you are thinking that this is entirely justified, surely any club’s priority should be themselves? But for Wimbledon, this is different, they embody more than a sodding club, they’re an idea, the last vestige of our heritage, a club whose existence was born out of a desire not to conform to the path football was taking. Because of this, it seems entirely reasonable to hold Wimbledon to a higher standard than the rest of the game. They ARE different, they are unique. Scrap that, they WERE different, they were unique.

They had the chance to restore localism to the game, but instead they’ve built a fanbase where perhaps a third have no connection to Wimbledon (old or new), their ideals have dissipated at the chance to make money and become fashionable, far from taking the game back to its roots, they’ve created a hipster club at the expense of the teams still rooted in their community that surround them.They’ve acted no differently than any other club in their situation would have, and that is exactly the problem.  Wimbledon are happy to be put on this pedestal by Sports Interactive, FourFourTwo and whoever else wants a piece of the action. Well, perhaps they need to justify their tag as the people’s clubs in their current actions, not just in their history. (Yes, yes, yes, they do things in the community, but MK Dons are streets ahead of them on that.) Until the pretence that Wimbledon are anything different to the rest of the game subsides it remains entirely justifiable to hold them to a loftier account than Carlisle or Northampton.

This isn’t a problem with AFC, this a problem with the monolith that football has turned into. Anything different, challenging, subversive is swallowed up and becomes part of the beast and turned into a marketing tool, just wait until Balotelli launches his own brand of PL-approved condoms. Football isn’t about community any more, it’s not about real hope, it’s not about anything real any more. It’s a pre-packaged escapism where you can buy the replica shirt on the way in and comply for 90 minutes, Wimbledon had the chance to do it differently, to re-imagine what that could look like. They had to chance to show concern for the wider game, to be something the game could rally around to dream again. Instead they conformed, they became part of the system. Their disregard for Ks history, home end and chance to thrive is telling. This week sees the death of a home end, but more than that, the death of AFC’s claims to offer anything different.

Jamie Cutteridge writes about Kingstonian, youth work and NFL and can be found on Twitter, here.

That odd yet glorious penalty shoot out in front of the KRE can be relived here.

OK folks, this season’s Real FA Cup is officially over. Curtains. The last non-league side is out … and few genuinely small clubs remain, in fact only Notts County really, if they still exist when you read this. We’ll keep an eye on the rest of the tournoi, and might even comment, but that is essentially it for us for this season so it’s time to find out who this year’s winners are and celebrate the season that was.

Winning is most definitely relative in our world, of course, but who are this year’s FA Cup winners? Well, we are, AHHHHH, as you good, good people have ‘hit’ us nearly 18,000 times since August! 400 of you even follow our additional ramblings on Twitter. And 1200 of you took the time to vote in our polls over the course of the season (yes, we’re surprised at that amount too), although in this round of voting most of you appear to have been Wealdstone or Ilkeston fans. Ah well, such is the problem with online Polls.

We wish we had some rosettes, a stage and a guest speaker for this bit. If we did, our rosettes would be blue, our stage would be at salubrious music venue the Borderline and our guest speaker would be Dartford’s Camp Café Host (see Darts/Clarets match report) LINK HERE

Best Player: This was a fairly well populated category, a number of players have caught our wandering and fickle eye. Sanchez Ming of Dulwich Hamlet was our MoM against Sevenoaks, although clearly not his manager’s as he only made the bench for the replay. Marcel Jones of Enfield 1894 impressed us against Broxbourne with his dancing feet. Jack King of Farnborough, Ryan Ashe of Wealdstone and Danny Forrest of Crawley all impressed with, respectively, their style, passing and energy. Actually, all of them could also get the nod for their shooting and reading of the game. Sam Duncum of Ilkeston deserves more than a mention for scaring the bejaysus out of Cambridge defenders, even when his team were second best for large chunks of the game.

For us, however, Danny Kedwell of AFC Wimbledon probably put in the best all round shift that we saw during the Cup run, rarely does one man’s performance and effort epitomise a team’s but his did. However, Danny only came third in the online poll while the winner garnered 52% of the vote to second place Sam Duncum’s 39%. The winner scored two cracking goals against then League 2 high flyers Rotherham and we’re overjoyed to announce that Wealdstone playmaker and all round good guy, Ryan Ashe, is the 2010 Real FA Cup Player Of The Season!

Best Game: This wouldn’t have been easy for us to choose because we saw quite a few good games, to be fair. Enfield and Broxbourne gave us some great passing that belied their status in the pyramid. Ashford Town (Middx) and Hendon served up a corking finale and penalty shoot out. Farnborough and Hastings was a great summery day out and quite a battle. Dartford and Chelmsford was a funny, drunken day out but with the added bonus of a cracking game, loads of goals and a ridiculous missed sitter. The aforementioned Danny Kedwell served up a treat at Kingsmeadow where Crawley should have been 2 goals to the good but then got humped by ten man AFC in the second half.

But the award goes to the team who managed to mobilise the most fans to vote, again, we said cynically but with tongue in cheek. It was a very decent game, it had a good atmosphere, it had as many fans as you are likely to see down the Vale, it had some cracking goals, a cameraman perched on the roof and a sublime chip from Real FA Cup interviewee and Player Of The Season, Ryan Ashe. What more could you want? A cupset would have been nice but let’s not be picky. 2010 Real FA Cup Game Of The Season is Wealdstone 2 Rotherham 3.

A few more esoteric awards before we go on. Best Ice Cream goes to Farnborough, so big we took a photo of it and it’s become our most linked-to photo via Google!?!? Best Miss goes to Rob Edmans of Chelmsford City, so bad we devoted a whole article to it. Best Burger was at Wembley FC, so cheap we thought it was wrong – and it was served by the oldest couple we’ve ever seen working a football tea bar. Fair play to you folks. Weirdest question goes to the hooded chav in Dartford who asked us if we were actors. Oddly, one of us is.

Best Ground: We have loved Dulwich Hamlet’s main stand and massive bar for a couple of years now, we enjoyed the ambience and tradition of Hampton & Richmond Borough’s quaint and homely patchwork stands (not to mention its local boozers) and we were intrigued by the big ideas of Farnborough’s electronic scoreboard and massive new stand. We were also baffled by Sevenoaks’ strange see through fence and overlooking hill that rendered paying entry almost pointless for anyone wanting to watch the game. We did pay, though. We foolishly left in an ‘other’ option on this vote and feared an influx of Wealdstone fans might swing this one too but, no, only the enthusiastic Ilkestonites chose to big up their New Manor Ground. But it wasn’t enough.

As a model of how to go about building a new non-league ground, it is our opinion that you cannot get much better than a ground that provides basic shelter for proles and toffs alike, has an iconic piece of artwork, a quote from Big Ron, a decent bar and a good view. The ground might have been built with a bit of money but the club and architects did not just go for size, they also made sure it packed in some enviro cred and some decent aesthetics for the whole crowd. The winner, of course, is the much vaunted Princes Park, home of Dartford FC. This would have been our choice too so congrats.

That’s three quarters of the Polls catered for, only one left. But there are a few other mentions we think are deserved. These are not necessarily teams who we’ve seen but teams who have been talking points in the wider football community over the course of the early FA Cup rounds. Firstly, we have to mention Paulton Rovers. They got a fair way in glorious fashion before serving themselves up as fodder for the Canary revival. Staines deserve a mention for running Millwall close and Northwich similarly for slaying Charlton. Both these teams provided some mid season cheer for fans and pundits alike. A final thought for Ashford Town of Middlesex who not only suffered the agony of FA Cup penalty defeat to Hendon but also suffering another shoot out defeat only a week later, grim!

There were also quite a few teams who went a long way, in relative terms. A few managed to play in 4 or 5 rounds of the FA Cup and, although there are a few teams who could better that in the continuing FA Cup, the odds on Leeds or Southampton getting to the semi finals are, we would have thought, fairly slim. The eventual winner of the FA Cup will have played in 6 rounds and it is well worthwhile putting the 6 round achievement in context. Two teams have already done that so, in all ways but lifting the actual cup or beating the best teams in the country, heh, two teams have already ‘won’ the Cup. Lowestoft Town started in the Preliminary Round and got to the 1^st Round proper for the first time in 32 years, where they only just lost to Wrexham. Belying the notion that the Cup is dead, Lowestoft’s attendances outmuscled their league attendances in every round except the Preliminary Round, a stage they’ve passed in 6 of the last 7 seasons so maybe the fans are getting a bit laissez faire about it. In the 3rd qualifying round they tripled their average attendance and it was around double for most of the run!

Actually, Lowestoft share this magnificent honour with another team who played in 6 rounds but this team played in more games and also have the distinction of being the last team to get knocked out who started right from the very start in the Extra Preliminary Round. This team didn’t really endear themselves to us early on – and indeed us to them. Firstly, we got them confused with the Mighty Ducks, our honest, careless, preview mistake. SORRY. Then we laughed at their central defender who had a hilariously bandaged head before the game had even started. During the game they were dogged but unconvincing and got out of jail with a barely deserved late equaliser. We then bottled traversing the Chilterns and the Aylesbury Vale to get to the replay, which we still regret.

Aylesbury started the FA Cup at the same time we did, at the very start, and got to the heady heights of the 4^th Qualifying round, so we now have a soft spot for them. They got further than any other team except Lowestoft and played 9 (Nine) games, which is unlikely to be beaten in this year’s Cup. As much as any team in this tournament will win the cup, Aylesbury can perhaps quantitatively say, they have already.

Most Helpful Club: This is perhaps a wishy washy award but also a qualitative counterpoint to the quantitative win of Aylesbury. Our winners here are a very lowly side but, before we get to them, a special mention must go to Howard Krais and Wealdstone, Andy Walker and Wembley and AFC Wimbledon. But, for amusingly pandering to our burgeoning ego by describing us as ‘media partners’, and for being encouraging, helpful and generous, this accolade goes specifically to Martyn Guest. and Richard Mann but more generally to BASILDON UNITED!

I am, myself, going to vomit as I tell you that all these teams, fans and players are WINNERS of this year’s real FA Cup. [wipes bile from lips] It’s true though, all of these things mean the Cup is great. They involve, largely, experiences we could not have had at Premier or Championship games, nor, most likely, at League 1, 2 or Blue Square Premier games. However, objectively, we have noted, you have voted and, overall, your team of the tournament winners are:

1. Wealdstone 53%
2. Aylesbury 27%
3. Lowestoft Town 7%
4. Forest Green Rovers 4%

That is more or less it from us on the FA Cup for this season, the ingrates of the top two tiers can have their version of the Cup, the one they think is devalued, the one they have devalued, yet the one they think they own. We say ‘they’ but it is also ‘their’ fans and the hacks who do it down. It’s also us and other fans. We all seem to moan about viewing unglamorous ties, yet fans don’t turn up when Premier Lge plays Premier Lge. Even when there is an upset these days (Reading over Liverpool, Leeds over Man Utd), the media emphasis is always on the failings of the higher team, it is very rare that the achievement of the underdog is celebrated. It MUST be the failure of the ‘better’ team.

As self-righteous and pompous as that most obviously is, without the teams from the top two tiers the Cup would arguably be nothing. They are the teams that the non-league teams strive to face. However, what THEY constantly forget is that without the little teams the FA Cup is just the Carling Cup – and THEY wouldn’t want that now, would THEY? Without the big boys the FA Cup is just the FA Trophy or FA Vase and the little guys wouldn’t want that, would they?

The Real FA Cup Awards 2010.

The Nominations Are: Click Link For All Polls

Best Player:
Sanchez Ming – Dulwich Hamlet
Marcel Jones – Enfield 1893
Ryan Ashe – Wealdstone
Jack King – Farnborough
Danny Forrest – Crawley
Danny Kedwell – AFC Wimbledon
Sam Duncum – Ilkeston

Best Game:
Broxbourne Borough V&E 1 Enfield 1893 4
Ashford Town (Mx) 2 Hendon 2 (9-8 on pens)
Farnborough 2 Hastings 1
Dartford 1 Chelmsford City 4
AFC Wimbledon 2 Crawley Town 1
Wealdstone 2 Rotherham 3

Best Ground: This one is not easy either.
Champion Hill – Dulwich Hamlet
Princes Park – Dartford
Beveree Stadium – Hampton & Richmond Borough

Most Helpful Club:
Wembley
Basildon United
Wealdstone
AFC Wimbledon
Sevenoaks

Team Of The Tournament:
Lowestoft Town
AFC Wimbledon
Tooting & Mitcham United
Aylesbury
Wealdstone
Enfield 1893
Forest Green

We’ve got our own ideas who should win but we want your suggestions too, we’ve been to lots of games but they are only a tiny fraction of games played.  So, leave comments here, email us at the address on the home page or Tweet us your opinion, we’ve already had a couple of suggestions …

Everton: Tweeter grandoldteam argued that the Toffees should win it “Because of our run last season (Liverpool, Villa, Man Utd en route…) only to fall at the last hurdle.” While we all would have fancied that being the actual result, it is still last season. Sorry, no.

Stoke City: Ilkeston Town fan @ilson_fan reasoned that the winners should be “Stoke. They beat York who beat Cambridge who beat the mighty Ilkeston so they must be REALLY good!”  That is compelling but we can’t have a Premier Lge team winning The Real FA Cup.

So what do we want you to bear in mind, who has been the nicest, most helpful club, who’s had the best team, scored the best goals, embodied the FA Cup spirit, had the best sense of humour, perhaps it was where you simply had the best day out, maybe it’s the team who has played the most games or got the furthest from where they started, or perhaps you think your local team should win?  Whichever of these is your reason, let us know and we’ll consider it.

Yes, we know that Forest Green are still in the Cup, we know there are some League 1 sides still in but they are going to have to go some to have the impact that some already have and, frankly, the mainstream coverage of the tournament is getting quite depressing. The Real has gone, hyperreal has arrived.  Obviously, we’re looking to our non-league followers to step up to the plate here but our short list is:

AFC Wimbledon | Aylesbury | Basildon Utd |Chelmsford City | Dartford | Lowestoft Town | Sutton Utd | Tooting & Mitcham | Wealdstone |

Who else should be on it – and why?

The streets that snake their way through the myriad estates and industry around the ground are lit by an array of progressively less illuminating lights, lending a sense of foreboding to the crisp night air in this South London suburb. Expecting to be able to “follow the crowds” by the time I got to within a mile or so of Millwall’s lair, I was surprised and not a little unnerved by the emptiness of the streets that I found myself on. It wasn’t really until I began to work my way through the literally pitch black underpasses beneath the railway lines that surround the ground that, fortunately, some other similarly hardy, overdressed souls joined me on my lonely trudge to the FA Cup First Round match that had been rescheduled to the Monday night for the viewing pleasure of the TV hordes, huddled up in their warm lounges ready to see if the new version of the Crazy Gang of old could claim a League One scalp and increase their profile yet further.

I took up my place in the unreserved and yet reserved (I had to sit – well, stand – in a particular block but it could be anywhere in that block) area of the Lower Tier with the AFC Wimbledon fans behind the goal at the North end of this identikit ground, wondering whether my decision to witness the game with the away fans when visiting a club with one of the more, err, ‘well-known’ reputations for violence was a good one.

It is hard to rid oneself of the automatic notion that “Millwall fans are thugs” for some reason, despite having met one at the Ashford/Hendon game a few weeks ago who could only realistically be described as “a top bloke” but there is a very real sense of intimidation from some modern-day Millwall fans who do the club no favours at all when it comes to their efforts to rid themselves of the unfortunate mantle of “The Hooligan Club”. A large section of their supporters in the upper tier gather near the North end in order to engage in banter and taunt the visiting fans, adopting the age old “come on then” pose whilst singing their far-too-often-sung song about how indifferent they are to their level of popularity.

The Blue Square Premier side brought more than 3000 fans who did their team proud, singing throughout most of the game, despite their somewhat limited repertoire of songs and they must have regarded themselves as slightly unlucky not go in at half time a goal in front after Danny Kedwell saw his shot from a square ball just pass the left hand post in what ended up being the only real chance of the opening 45 minutes. It wasn’t that it was a poor game- far from it – it was entertaining without producing any clear-cut chances on goal and the Wombles of Wimbledon more than held their own until the break.

The half time interval saw some vaguely amusing action at each end where two teams of small children took turns to run with the ball from the half-way line to try and beat their own keeper and score. Most succeeded, one or two spectacularly so, and the odd one employed the sort of celebration which can only have been learnt by watching football from a much higher level than this.

All AFC’s first half hard work was undone four minutes into the second half when Millwall took the lead through “The Legendary” (the stadium announcer’s words, not mine) Neil Harris who slammed home from close range when put through by Morison. The home fans claimed that their visiting counterparts “weren’t singing any more” which wasn’t quite the truth but the bubble had been slightly tarnished, if it hadn’t been burst. Yet.

Glancing around at the rows of empty seats around the stadium, the Dons fans sang “Your ground’s too big for you” – the Millwall supporters in the East Stand eventually came back with “Your ground’s in Milton Keynes” which was wittier than I’d expected, despite having taken some time to deliver.

James Pullen in the AFC goal had failed to impress us with his kicking in either of the 2 ties we’d seen him play in this season and he did nothing to change our minds this time. But his shot-stopping and reactions were second to none in the early stages after the opening goal, pulling off what would probably be termed the save of the season were it performed at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge, acrobatically tipping Abdou’s effort over the bar after it took a very substantial deflection to force it almost into the top corner. He could do nothing about Millwall’s second though, scored by substitute Jason Price after a succession of four corners and a free kick pummelled Wimbledon into submission.

A corner won for Wimbledon by Lewis Taylor saw him urge the hordes of fans to get behind their team which, to be fair to them, they already were but everyone understood his point. Wimbledon just needed that little extra and a bit of luck and the tie could be thrown back into the balance. Barely a few more minutes passed and it was Taylor himself that gave the fans something to really shout about, slotting in neatly after being put through by Kedwell. The surrounding fans felt that something could happen now and the noise was cranked up accordingly.

Something did happen, but sadly for AFC it was a 3rd and then a 4th Millwall goal. As the Dons pushed forward in search of a precious equaliser, Millwall’s Danny Schofield scored one within 5 minutes and created another for Price at the end to put pay to any chance of an upset and send the Lions fans home happy. It was, frankly, much more than Millwall deserved. AFC were thrashed 4-1 on their own ground at this stage last season by Wycombe Wanderers but they looked quite comfortable at this level tonight until the latter stages when Millwall’s class and fitness really told and 4-1 this season was a little harsh.

The route that is enforced on the away fans out of the imaginatively titled The New Den to South Bermondsey station is nothing if not imposing. A long, dark alleyway of steel fencing topped with metal spikes, which culminates with a junction at which the home fans join from another angle, watched over by several members of the local constabulary was not my idea of a comfortable way to leave the ground.

Several extremely drunk Millwall fans bellowing out the “Millwall Roar” as they shuffled up the station ramp reminded me that the FA Cup has almost left the friendly non-league clubs behind, replacing them with large police presences, segregation and bitterness between rival fans. I returned home cold and exhausted and wondering why clubs at the level of Millwall can’t provide the same level of comfort, friendliness and safety as the clubs from the non league without resorting to police and steel fences. AFC Wimbledon’s number one aim is to make it to the promised land of The League but there’s a part of me that thinks that they’d be better off where they are for a few more years.

If you’ve ever wondered what happened to old fashioned, exciting cup football, it’s been here all along. A breathless FA Cup tie at Kingsmeadow, witnessed by 2467 lucky souls, saw AFC Wimbledon defy a one man deficit for 45 minutes to achieve a trip across London in 10 days time to take on League One high flyers Millwall. therealfacup’s collective pens and cameras are still smoking, RSI all round from capturing notable incident.

Terry Brown named an unchanged side and, perhaps surprisingly, kept faith with Ricky Wellard in midfield after his rather dismal FAIL in the first game. Steve Evans made one forced change with the injured Rents giving way to Karl Broadhurst. therealfacup named a 2 Burger Brunch, Beef & Mash and a Mega Breakfast as pre-match meal and washed it down with some Deuchars in AFC’s well appointed bar.

Game On.

It started at breakneck speed, flowing from end to end like one of those executive toys where a set of balls on strings bounce endlessly off each other backwards and forwards. Tortured analogies aside, Crawley had not won away since the middle of August while the Wombles had lost their last two home games, both sides seemed hell bent on changing that and providing cup magic.

Pullen’s kicking was as bad as it was at the start of the previous game. His third kick hit the spot and was greeted with an ironic cheer from his own fans, his fourth got an even bigger one. The game carried on in the same vein but without clear chances, AFC provided the extra urgency their manager had requested. In the 14th minute the ball fell to Main about 25 yards out. He took a touch, picked his spot beyond the keeper and placed the ball into the left hand corner off the right hand post.

AFC Wimbledon 1 Crawley Town 0

Ricky Wellard was repaying his manager’s faith with an assured performance sprinkled with fine passes. Pinault and Forrest were doing the same for Crawley while both forward lines looked busy and sharp and both defences looked a bit shaky.

For the next 15-20 minutes it was bonkers. AFC thought they’d sprung the offside trap, the lino thought otherwise and saved Rayner’s blushes as he miskicked a clearance. Crawley scythed through the centre of AFC’s defence twice in quick succession but Pullen saw the danger and was off his line smartly to stifle the attacks. A bout of scrappy head tennis in the AFC box ended with a good Pullen save from a Forrest shot. A cross too shallow for the ‘keeper was expertly dealt with by Saturday’s scorer Sam Hatton.

Crawley were being direct and purposeful and started to edge the possession and threat. Forrest was switching sides and Duncan was booked for a clumsy tackle on him out wide. Forrest fired a warning shot, Pullen saved. The AFC centre backs then got dragged out of position and Forrest spotted the gap, played the ball inside the full back, who was caught in two minds, while Louis raced round the back and through on goal. He took a couple of touches, gave Pullen ‘the eyes’ and tucked the ball past him (left).

AFC Wimbledon 1 Crawley Town 1

We noticed that Haydon Womble was nowhere to be seen. No crowd pleasing touchline gimmicks this year? Where was the wheelie bin? No horns today.

Crawley were still in the ascendancy and the AFC fans saw it, “Get into ‘em, fuck ‘em up” came the rallying cry. Forrest’s movement was causing trouble on both flanks, Duncan dealing with him slightly the better of the two full backs. The spell of possession only harvested one real chance for Ben Smith who found himself in the area with just Pullen to beat. He did but also beat the post when he should have done better. Crawley need to find a striker, only 4 or 5 Blue Square sides have scored fewer.

AFC relieved the pressure and in the 3 or 4 minutes before half time, several crosses came in and were glanced away by a red head. Main shot at Rayner’s legs and the Red Devils’ fans sung for the keeper to give them a wave. Charged up to retain momentum, Duncan launched an ugly two footed challenge and got his second yellow. Disaster for AFC, down to ten men and a whole half to weather the inevitable storm. Main was sacrificed for Paul Lorraine and Kedwell was now the lone striker looking to add to his 12 goals this season. But it was half time and now Terry Brown had to pull his troops together.

HT AFC Wimbledon 1 Crawley Town 1

Pause for breath … … … … and continue.

The half started with Hatton blasting over from a Welland free kick and for five minutes the ball flew from end to end. No let up then? No. Gradually the man advantage started to tell, although it was the disadvantaged side doing the telling.

Kedwell must have been given some loopy juice at half time, he led the line brilliantly, harrassed defenders, chased everything, held the ball up and sprayed balls wide to the flanks. He was being supported well by the midfield and the 10 men were really giving it a go. Even on the break, as they were now having to play, Crawley were unconvincing. Only one team seemed to want to win it, or Crawley were waiting for AFC to tire.

Another out-ball was held up well by Kedwell on the right, he beat the fullback on the outside and whipped over a cross that was touched back to Luke Moore who tucked it in the corner. Moore headed for the touchline, sliding on his knees (left) towards the home fans. The crowd went mental and it was no less than they and the players deserved. Now, would they sit back or just carry on playing as they had been?

AFC Wimbledon 2 Crawley Town 1

It was the former. Crawley had been shocked into action, AFC sat back and, 10 minutes later, had barely seen the ball but had brilliantly repelled almost everything. What they missed Louis headed wide or had blocked on the line. The only downside was an awkward landing under pressure for Pullen that resulted in a twisted ankle. He carried on with a kicker but was on his line for the rest of the game.

In the 74th minute AFC finally relieved the pressure when Hatton raced on to a lofted Wellard pass but was tackled as he was about to shoot. Corner. Indeed three corners in succession, the final one saw the ball girl blast the ball into the box to the corner taker, much to the amusement of the crowd. She looked really bored, god knows why, the game was riveting. AFC regrouped and, oddly, it was largely down to Crawley switching to three at the back, which meant AFC had less defenders to hit with the out ball and Kedwell had to work less hard to retrieve them. Forrest had also been bafflingly withdrawn after about an hour. Tactical cock up from Steve Evans we thought.

The crowd responded to the pressure release and were now trying their best to see their boys through the last 15. “We’ve only got ten men” came regularly and “I can’t help falling in love with you” got cranked up. Crawley were getting sloppy, desperate and narked, Kedwell was getting leggy but still chasing everything.

Another AFC corner and this time the ball girl took a purposeful slow walk to the corner flag and neatly placed the ball in the quadrant. Someone had been giving her sarcasm lessons. The crowd cheered. The corners were cleared. Bar a looping header that bounced off the top of Pullen’s bar, the occasional Crawley foray produced little. With 90 minutes nearly up, AFC looked like they’d done it. They took the ball into the corner and, perhaps inadvisedly, crossed. Rayner came too far, fumbled, and Kedwell was there (left) to crown his MoM performance with the 3rd and final goal.

FT AFC Wimbledon 3 Crawley Town 1

One can only wonder what Terry Brown said at half time and where that performance came from but we’re glad we braved the Waterloo-Norbiton sardine tin on wheels. Without intending to get too political, this is the real Wimbledon. A fantastic game and a fantastic advert for the FA Cup. £13 for that fayre was fantastic value. FANTASTIC.

Our theory is that the league teams can sway a positive vote with a larger fan base so we’re trying to even it up for the non-league sides. This may not work so bare with us with this experiment – and please let us know what you think. And apologies if your club isn’t on the list, maybe next time.

[poll id="10"]

As the voting in our poll might have suggested, the AFC fans were up for this, their end packed to the rafters 10 minutes before kick off. The home stands were more sparse in comparison but Crawley had handed out some subtle air horns, replete with red and white patchwork Croatia colours, presumably to engender atmosphere. If atmosphere is several dozen kids annoying the world with the sound of sheep being tortured then there was indeed some atmosphere.

The game kicked off in a slight but miserable drizzle, the ground resplendent in red and with one more stand than Championship Blackpool. Of the 2,204 fans in the mostly covered ground, nearly half must have been AFC and they made the early noise.

Their team, however, didn’t. It took them about 20 minutes to really get in to the game, by which point Crawley had already had a few half chances. The best of these was a lovely move of quick, incisive passing and lay offs that carved open AFC but Pinault shot weakly past the post.

Then, Crawley deservedly took the lead after some scrappy play around the penalty box, the ball dropped to Forrest who took it almost to the byline before smiting the ball (left) with such force that Pullen’s hand could only deflect it further up into the net. Still, he shouldn’t have been beaten from there.

Crawley Town 1-0 AFC Wimbledon

The first real AFC penetration saw Kedwell slip past the full back down AFC’s left, the cross was too near the keeper but at least some questions were being asked of the at last. AFC’s touch was letting them down, they struggled to cope with the wet slippery pitch.

The game was very quiet around the middle part of the half, only Louis’ turn inside the right excited but Conroy recovered with a great tackle on the edge of the box before the follow up was blocked. This action was right in front of the sleeping AFC fans and a few songs started up again and the sun properly came out. This, ironically, brought a fairly audible “We forgot that you were here” from the Crawley end, to which the predictable “Who the fuckin’ hell are you” was batted back. This was more like it, a bit of banter tennis and the game was livening a little.

AFC had been building up a nice head of steam without really creating much of a chance until a corner and then cross were half cleared to the edge of the box where Sam Hatton picked as perfect a spot inside the post (left and below right) as you are likely to see. Simon Rayner in the Crawley goal appeared unsighted by the red statues parked in front of him.

Crawley Town 1-1 AFC Wimbledon

There was just about enough time left of the half for Ben Smith to exquisitely chip Rayner, after the whistle had gone. This earned him a predictable yellow card and a slightly harsh round of “Who are ya?” from the AFC fans stood but yards away.

Half time saw a keepy uppy competition featuring a fan from each side. The AFC youth was probably about 18 and ungainly but effective. The Crawley lad was about 10 but with eyebrow raising technique. He won, he was always going to but probably deserved it.

It’s very difficult for therealfacup to contextualise these games and performances, we’ve not seen most of these teams play and if we have it’s not often. That said, this Crawley side was much better than the one we saw capitulate here 12 months ago to Havant & Waterlooville. And, similarly, AFC were playing much worse than they did when we saw them at around the same time against Wycombe, even if the scoreline was a little unflattering back then.

The second half was largely about James Pullen in the AFC goal. In the opening exchanges of the half he kicked too long for his forwards to chase and berated himself heavily. That glimpse of honesty was picked up by the Crawley fans who spent a while teasing him with a slow chorus of “You’re shit, you’re shit”. A minute or two later, Forrest was played through the middle of AFC’s defence, shot low to Pullen’s left and the ‘keeper reacted brilliantly, arcing low to his left and tipping past the post. As good a save as you’ll see this season.

In the 54th minute everyone was caught on the hop when Louis held the ball up 30 yards out and surprisingly unleashed a rasping drive that missed Pullen’s right post by no more than a foot, with the keeper nowhere.

The Crawley fans now upped the banter ante with “Pullen takes it up the arse” but this coincided with a good period for AFC. Main hit the outside of the post after robbing the fullback while Luke Moore jinked past a few players without really threatening the goal with a shot of note.

On 67 a punt upfield was held up well by Louis, who touched square to Ben Smith. Smith took a weighted touch that shoved him knife-like through the AFC midfield and pushed a pass through to Forrest, who curled a perfectly weighted shot (left) first time but narrowly wide of Pullen’s left post.

It was really starting to look like someone would win this with 12 minutes to go. Sadly, almost nothing happened between then, the 72nd minute, and the 87th minute. The only attack of note in that time was when Main flicked the ball past Crawley skipper Quinn and Kedwell raced clear before firing disappointing high into the side netting.

However, James Pullen then decided to liven up the final 5 minutes by sparking a large melee. Pullen was clearly clattered (above right) claiming a cross but took exception with a downward push to the side of Forrest’s head. The usual bout of push/separate/shove/shrug/pointy finger action ensued but the only place it threatened to boil (left) over was the stand behind Pullen’s goal. Pullen’s goal received several of the airhorns that Crawley had been giving out prior to the game. Poor show from the Crawley fans, although fairly innocuous and slightly comedic, as can be seen from the photo below right. WTF? Nice rack though.

As this all happened down the end housing the Crawley fans and the AFC chaps couldn’t really see what was going on, except a rush of stewards forming a line behind Pullen’s goal. “Pikeys, Pikeys, Pikeys, Pikeys” was the first response, swiftly followed by “Crawley is a shit hole”. Pullen could not have complained if he’d got red but he was unfortunate to be the only player carded.

Final Score:

Crawley Town 1 AFC Wimbledon 1. MOM Forrest (Celebrating below).

A good bit of banter, a fair result and a half decent, if patchy, game, although the Crawley fans on the way out seemed to think they were the better side. A slightly rose tinted view if you ask us, it was more akin to their meeting a few weeks ago where the result was the same. AFC can obviously play better and are likely to win the replay to seal an away game against fellow Londoners Millwall. That should be fun, maybe we’ll go?

Cheers folks, 110 votes is the most we have had in one of our polls. Clearly, the vast majority were either Crawley or AFC Wimbledon fans which is, I guess, not entirely surprising as they have bigger followings than the vast majority of the other teams in the poll. 

So, anyway, thanks again to all who voted and if your team lost and you’re going to the game, maybe you can write a report for us.

Otherwise, we shall be kicking the party off at around midday at a bar to be decided …

We broke our vow instantly. Simon couldn’t make this for a worthy reason I won’t go in to. I was going to go with my Southend supporting cousin but he didn’t fancy it. Fortunately it was a draw so we could go to the replay. We did, however, complete the vow of going to an extra game.

Southend United 2 AFC Telford 0
Attendance 4,415
Price £10

This game wasn’t bad, though the icy chill coming down from Scandinavia was. Telford proved they were only in second gear against Hendon by bossing Southend for much of the first hour. Like in previous rounds though, the better team failed to capitalise on their chances. In the 5 minutes leading up to Southend’s first goal, Telford had 3 or 4 very good chances that they hacked wide or headed over when they should have done better. Southend broke away from the final of these efforts and got a corner, from which former filthy Blade Simon Francis converted. They swiftly added a second with a great goal. The ball was played down the left hand side to James Walker who turned inside, looked up and curled the ball round the keeper. This was not Southend’s first team though, they weren’t deliberately fielding a weakened side they just had lots of injuries and some important loanees were ineligible. As a result of this dearth of players, a 17 year old former Ipswich Town youth player, Stuart O’Keefe, made his debut in the last minute. What appeared to be his granddad and some other friends and relatives were sitting in front of us and were understandably well chuffed when he came on. Had some great fish and chips too. Haddock. Under a fiver.

AFC Wimbledon 1 Wycombe Wanderers 4
Attendance 4,528
Price £10

It was really hard to get a ticket for this, it was a sellout and this was just the type of game we hoped we would see. This was the romance, a decent, footballing non-league side, who had been raped by prospectors and the fans were rebuilding their club. They were poised, ready to stick one up the league side and the TV boys knew it, that’s why it was LIVE on telly on a Monday night.

Having built this game up to epic proportions in my head, it was the most tedious one so far. Surprising given the scoreline but the pragmatism of the unbeaten league side was such that they more or less sat there all game waiting for errors. AFC managed only about 5 or 6 errors but 4 were punished by clinical finishing. So, we were standing on a packed terrace among ‘real’ Wimbledon fans and feeling the buzz of a reborn side on the verge of big things. Nope. We were hunched double on a cold, drizzly night in an uncovered stand listening to one, occasional, dreary song next to the most annoying of drunken Sarf Lahndan pretend fans. Was the silence because they are a newish side and haven’t got their identity yet or was it the early opposition goal and subsequent bore tactics from Peter Taylor’s side? More likely it was the prepondernance of fans of other teams that semed to have latched on to AFC as their second team. Tonight the FA Cup lost some of its lustre, although I was cheered slightly by the Womble that walked up and down in front of the main stand pulling a wheelie bin and banging the lid shut to get the crowd going.