🎶 Stand up if you love the Dons….

Our new Managing Director (MD) completed his self imposed 100 day introduction to the club to find out as much as he could before he started looking at a strategy for us to increase our income streams and structure the role, as it is the first MD we have had at the club. I think its safe to say that his first 100 days have been as challenging it could have been for  someone new to the club and he has had to get his hands dirty early on with some real issues on match-days. 

 

The club have another informal Q&A session at the ground tomorrow and I am really looking forward to going as a fan and simply getting a seat and enjoying the evening. No live streaming or recording this time and this is something I really enjoy as I can just be a fan for the evening and simply talk to my mates and some fans I haven’t spoken to for a while. 

 

I am sure our new MD has an idea of what topics will be mentioned and I have a feeling it could take over the session as there are probably more questions around the background of the club rather than what is happening on the pitch. Johnnie Jackson (JJ) to his credit has settled into the role well and we sit safety in mid table and in no real danger of relegation which has constantly been a battle for our previous managers at this stage of the season. 

 

Off the top of my head, our MD has had to deal with:-

 

- Stewarding (After Leyton Orient)

- Turnstile issues

- Queues at half time for drink and food

- PA system failing for Newport on Boxing Day

- Fan songs

- Power Surge for Carlisle 

 

I am hearing many comments about the atmosphere at Plough Lane (PL) recently, or more importantly, the lack of it. There is no doubt that JJ has reverted to a more direct game since the home defeat against Sutton back in mid-October, when he was coming under serious pressure from the home fans and the atmosphere at the end of that games was non-stop boos. The more direct style is heavily defensive with us hitting teams on the break which means we are tighter at the back and Nik Tzanev’s 13^th clean sheet of the season at home to Carlisle demonstrates that, however I am not alone in saying its not exciting but I am also relieved that we are likely to have our first manager complete a full season without being sacked and benefit from a third transfer window to continue to make his squad look more like the squad he is an owner of.

 

From a personal point of view I haven’t noticed a significant difference in the sound levels at PL, however I am now the proud owner of some very good hearing aids, so I would argue that the atmosphere for me is a lot louder and clearer!!!!

 

I have many friends who are in the South Stand which is a designated safe-standing stand which encourages fans to congregate behind the goal and stand again as we were allowed to at KM, albeit in a stand that comfortably houses up to a 1k fans. The benefits of this stand means the atmosphere generated from the stand should be electric, loud and have the ability to suck the ball into the net. 

 

Recently Danny has been vocal on some of the songs being sung in that stand mainly and that they are not suited to the image and direction the club wants to go down. 

 

The article from 13^th January says 

 

Our Managing Director Danny Macklin said: “As a family club that is proud of its fan-owned status, we strive to create a great inclusive experience for all supporters. A key part of our strategy as a club is to attract new fans and we want their first matchday experiences to be extremely positive, so that they attend regularly.

“The vast majority of our supporters reflect the values that AFC Wimbledon prides itself on, providing fantastic and vital vocal backing to create a great atmosphere at the Cherry Red Records Stadium. However, there have been occasions when behaviour has crossed the line in terms of acceptability. The repeated use of chants that are not family friendly will prevent us from attracting new fans and to retain them for the future, along with our existing fanbase.”

Whilst I fully understand and agree, I also know how stubborn our fan base are with being told what to do or say. Our fan base are different to many club as they are owners and whilst we won’t admit it publicly, many of us feel entitled and will say as owners, they can do what they want and will not listen to authority. The amount of times I have heard from fans that ‘we own this club’ is regular throughout the season and I can imagine that is challenging for anyone at the club or staff on matchdays as its true, but fans can only control or demand so much. 

 

I also remember saying to many of my mates the concern I had with newer fans and how they would integrate with our fan base. If you look at average attendances from Kingsmeadow (KM), it’s probably safe to say we have attracted at least 3k additional fans to PL and these are the ones we want to keep and I full appreciate we need to look after them and more importantly get them to return. Energy needs to be spent on them and it clearly is, but just as much energy needs to be spent on the older fan base who are already adapting to PL as many of them may have only experienced KM and they are feeling ‘new’ to the place also. 

 

Danny did an excellent job at Leyton Orient and many Orient fans said he is like marmite and judging by the first 100 days, I can see exactly why that was the opinion. I have no doubt that Danny is excellent for this club and I am so pleased he was appointed as I have every confidence that he is going to maximise the income opportunities that we have missed, or not had the experience to exploit previously, however I also feel that the move from a CEO to having a experienced MD has been so drastic that some of the fans are just not ready for it. Social Media can be a challenging place to be after a match, yet Danny tackles it head on and interacts, yet doesn’t blow smoke up peoples backside and challenges, saying no if need be, again us fans are not used to this and it rattles cages. 

 

Some cages need to be rattled, but I can’t help think that on some occasions different angles to rattle cages could have been taken. Sometimes things can be lost in translation, especially with written word vs listening to the words as that can’t carry tone, emotion and shade. I read the article on the 13^th January and winced and knew it would rattle cages and not in a good way. Like clockwork the two main songs that were more than likely to be the issue were sung more often and louder. Yes the club maybe expected this and felt the sting of the message may get less as the weeks passed. 

 

With the issues around the PA and the power surge, the fans were unhappy, especially that they had no beer at halftime and with Danny being so visible and how he owns things, he is now marmite amongst our fans already. Nobody can control a power surge and for it to happen with minutes to go before kick off, you can’t help that someone has walked in a lot of shit on the way to PL recently. 

 

My point is that Danny’s excellent way of taking ownership and being accountable for things in a way are going against him due to the other issues that are legacy issues and nothing new. Our newer fans and probably existing fans will see before them a excellent stadium with new seats, executive boxes and a fabulous pitch – well at least until December – and they can’t get their heads around why our PA fails. We have to remember that in December 2019, we were £11m behind what we needed to be and whilst we were able to raise most of this through Plough Lane Bonds and corporate loans, we have still not got a fully functioning stadium and some of the infrastructure was done on a budget and that means you will encounter those issues down the stretch. 

 

The reason I did this blog today before the Q&A at the ground tomorrow was that I didn’t feel I could ask the question or provide context in one question without sounding that I was criticising the effort the club had done, especially knowing the challenges they face. Our MD was in the South Stand on Saturday for the second half and I did laugh to myself when the fans confiscated the ball from the Hartlepool goalkeeper and then threw it back on when the replacement football was placed for the goal kick. I called it from my seat as this is typical old-school shithousery from the fans, but I then wondered if that is something we should be doing now and if this is family friendly. I am not trying to be sarcastic, but things we maybe did years ago are not acceptable now and if not, do we find out from a article on the OS. 

 

I have a son approaching 5 years old that I want to join the Wimbledon family but also know that he is going to encounter language that he will only hear in a football stadium and must stay in the football stadium when he leaves, but I also appreciate that I can’t stop people singing songs that have many swear words and are just wrong.  As his dad I can choose where he sits/stands and what access he has to these things, but I can also deal with it in-house and if someone around me is swearing constantly etc, I can have a polite word and make them realise I have a youngster with me. That is on the basis that I have done everything I can to ensure he encounters this language or hearing certain songs. I have self-managed myself and some of my mates over the years if we are standing/siting near some younger fans who don’t need to hear us swearing just for effect and making it an unpleasant situation for the parents of those kids. 

 

I think the song issue could have been something dealt with by fans themselves and not have the club try to dictate in such a formal way. This type of message could have been better received in a fans forum maybe on a Sunday or before a match. That way fans could have challenged it to club representatives at the time and the message of why it was being tackled be discussed. 

 

Recently other things such as flags, drums etc have been mentioned that could help improve the matchday atmosphere. I am getting old now, but I have always been someone who likes new things and for football to evolve. I was all for the 5 substitutes, yet I have many friends my age who hated the idea and still do. 

 

I think we should have a build up to kick off that includes videos on the big screen along with loud PA that builds up until the players walk out onto the pitch. I thought about this on Saturday as the team just started walking out and it was like there was a sudden surprise around me. That was mainly down to us finishing our pre-match show a bit earlier and we had more time to wait than normal, however it got me thinking that surely they should come out to a pumped up crowd ready for the game. This doesn’t mean I want the light show that every top league team has now as that just looks stupid, but it doesn’t mean we should look at an alternative. 

 

I like the big flags that are used at Bolton where a fan runs along the stand waving the flag. It might not be for everyone but I also think for my son now and what would keep him interested or even looking forward to a goal. Does that include music after a goal or some mad graphics on our digital advertising boards, as long as they are not too bright. 

 

I think the club has taken massive steps this season on the pitch and off it and I am excited we now have the two new people in place, MD and Head of Football Operations and can start to have and see a longer term plan. Equally just as much as Danny did his 100 days with us fans, I think the fans might need another 100 days to get used to the quick and decisive action he takes, but he is going to be an important person to move us forward as a club and I hope as many fans get down to the ground tomorrow to ask questions and allow Danny and other understand and appreciate how we take information in and what topics are more difficult to take and need different ways of delivering and enforcing the actions.   

Add your comments if you have an opinion on any of this - i suspect you will 🤓