MK Dons lose at home and Karl Robinson stands down: Moors draw in Derbyshire as countdown to the big match continues

Less than two weeks to go now until the ninth stop on the Road to Wembley from Scotland when Milton Keynes Dons host Spennymoor Town on Saturday 5^th November. Yesterday both of the protagonists were in league action as the build up to the big FA Cup tie continues. The two teams had very differing fortunes with The Moors extending their long unbeaten record with a 2-2 draw at Buxton and The Dons slumping to a 0-3 home defeat versus Southend.

Spennymoor have had to so a lot of travelling over the last 8 days. They followed up their FA Cup win against Lincoln with a midweek trip back to Lincolnshire to draw 3-3 with Grantham Town in the Evostik League. Yesterday they travelled to Derbyshire to cross swords with Buxton. Another high scoring draw with the rivals sharing four goals. The Moors took the lead when Jamie Chandler scored from close range. The home side equalised shortly before half time and went ahead with only 15 minutes left on the clock. Spennymoor were not to be denied and that man Chandler who equalised shortly before full time. Jamie Chadler is one of a number of summer signings for The Moors and has been inspirational over recent weeks. He has a great pedigree having played over 100 Conference games for Gateshead  and he started his career as a reserve team player with Sunderland. One to look out for on the 5^th November although unfortunately the man from South Shields has no known Scottish connections. The Moors have now gone 8 games undefeated in all competitions and are in a rich vein of form

Jamie Chandler - in great form for The Moors and scorer of a brace yesterday

The MK Dons have not won a home league match all season and yesterday they were beaten three goals to nil by Southend United. Reports suggest they were lucky to get nil! This defeat has sent the Dons tumbling further down the league and they are now just one point above the relegation places. As I have been typing this post the news has just come through that the manager Karl Robinson has left the club by mutual consent. Quite clearly the recent poor run of results has cost him his job. Football supporters have never been more impatient than they are in the modern era and I did note on the MK Dons facebook page that some fans wanted him to leave even before the disastrous result yesterday. In season 2014-15 Robinson masterminded the Dons to promotion to the Championship and on a memorable night at Stadium MK in August 2014 his team defeated Man United 4-0 in the League Cup. After the game yesterday Robinson publicly criticised his team saying: “Certain players are too weak. Mentally and physically too weak”. Ouch. With the team in trouble he needed a rottweiler and his dogs of war turned out to be poodles. I wish him well. He has the reputation of being one of the best young managers in the game and I am sure that he won’t be out of football for long.

Karl Robinson: Pictured in happier times at Stadium MK

 So with the big match two weeks away it seems likely that MK Dons will have a new gaffer in the dug out for the FA Cup tie on November the 5^th. Will it be a Scots manager? There are a good few of them between jobs at the moment. That would make things interesting on the Road to Wembley from Scotland … but … please … don’t let it be Steve Evans.