Saturday the
3rd December 2016
FA Cup Round
Two
Charlton
Athletic 0 Milton Keynes Dons 0
It was
trains, planes and automobiles yesterday on the Road to Wembley from Scotland
This is how
the day panned out.
Pre Match Communications: After 7 weeks with the Dons from Milton Keynes I am now beginning to feel very much at
home on their facebook forums. I have had a lot of fascinating stuff from the
contributors to both the MK Dons FC and MK Dons Worldwide platforms. Over the
last week when Robbie Neilson moved from my beloved Hearts to the Dons I would
like to think I have reciprocated in terms of interesting stuff going in the
other direction. It was great to meet the administrators of both of these sites yesterday at The Valley.
More about that later in this report.
 |
| Colin Butler and Nick Hedges yesterday: Administrators of the MK Dons FC facebook page |
Charlton
Athletic fans too have been very generous in helping me understand more about
their club and their current plight. The Charlton Athletic FC (Unofficial and
Uncensored) fb page has provided me with a lot of the background as to why the
current campaign against the owner Roland Duchatelet is necessary. The
contributors to the page have also provided me with some fascinating detail
about their past links with Scotland
Pre Match Pint: I was informed by Andy Phillips that the
nearest pub to the Valley is the
Anitigallican opposite the station. So that is where I headed for my pre match
pint.
 |
| The Antigallican: A good old fashioned boozer |
As I was
not driving on this day out the pre match pint turned into pre match 4 pints.
Well, you are only middle-aged once! The first two were consumed in the
Antigallican. This is where I bumped in to Steven Manning and John Farnan of the
MK Dons Worldwided facebook page.
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| John Farnan and Steven Manning (Administrator of the MK Dons Worldwide fb page) |
It was
fascinating chatting with John about the short history of the club. He was keen
to point out that AFC Wimbeldon were actually formed before the Wimbeldon FC
‘franchise’ move to MK and this was often mis-reported. John reckons that the
angst shown by some AFC Wimbeldon supporters towards the MK Dons is almost a
guilt thing in that they had allowed their club to reach a stage where they
were effectively bankrupt and the only way they could survive (according to
their own Chairman at the time Charles Koppel) was to relocate to Milton
Keynes. John considers that the arrival of the MK Dons in Milton
Keynes has been a very positive thing for the town and for
football in general. John himself was an Arsenal supporter who has changed
allegiances. As a traditionalist I did a double take here and he must have
guessed my thoughts as I gave him the quizzical look and he said “who can
criticise someone for supporting their local team?” Who indeed? Later I met MK
Dons fans Dave and Will Garret while I was having my fourth pint inside the
ground and they revealed they were ex-Leicester fans who were now avid
supporters of their local team.
 |
| Father and son Dave and Will Garrett and Chris Donkin lookalike John Fitzgerald |
The third
pint was consumed after I left The Antigallican and before I went in to the
ground. I popped in to the Charlton Liberal Club where a large sign outside the
door said “No Away fans”. I reckoned this would be a good place to see what the
Charlton Athletic fans made of all the turmoil that was going on at their club.
As I tried to breeze past a couple of bouncers they asked ‘are you an away
fan?’ and I assured them I was a Hearts fan so I was allowed in. For the last
couple of weeks I have been struggling with one comment that my Addicks twitter
pal Andy Phillips had made. He reckoned that currently all Charlton supporters who are disillusioned with the current regime were either protesters or boycotters. After reading a lot on social media
I sensed that there might be a third camp. Those who may not be entirely pro the current regime but just wanted to go to the
matches, support their team and mostly ignore the politics surrounding the club. I
felt that inside the Liberal Club I could maybe meet some fans who were
possibly in the third camp. At the bar I got chatting with a guy who was going
to the match and has not protested. I asked him what he thought of Roland: “the
sooner he fucks off mate – the better”. Based on this statistically
insignificant polling sample I conclude that it would seem that even those who
still go to the games and don’t protest have no time for Roland. Let’s hope
that Taxi for Roland is filling up with petrol as I write.
 |
| Inside the Charlton Liberal Club before the match yesterday |
This
section has previously been reporting the quality of the beer consumed. In
truth none of my four pints was any good but the bar-room conversations were
fascinating and memorable so … 8/10
Programme: The match day magazine was priced
at £2.00. It was a fairly standard and relatively unimaginative publication for
a club of Charlton’s size and history. After getting the early morning train to
London
There was a
long interview with new boss, ex MK Dons manager Karl Robinson. This was
interesting but there was no mention of the ‘elephant in the room’ - the current
disgruntlement among the Charlton Athletic support and how he might deal with
that. As a consequence the interview was a bit superficial. 4/10
Ground: The Valley is a fabulous all seater football
stadium. Good facilities inside the ground and modern enough to luck fresh but
old enough to let you sense the tradition and history. With over 27000 seats it
is pretty big too. 8/10
Atmosphere: The atmosphere in the away end was fantastic.
The 639 hardy souls who had made their way from MK to South
London sung their hearts out. The
atmosphere in the other parts of the ground must have been a bit surreal. A
vast cavernous ground with less than 5000 fans in attendance.
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| Is there a match on? The cavernous Valley was not very well filled yesterday |
I am
tempted to make the old joke about there being more atmosphere on the moon.
Oops I just did. 6/10
Scottishness: Both MK Dons and Charlton Athletic have
ex-players who are Scots who have served their clubs with distinction (see
earlier posts). However the only Scot who was named yesterday was young Scots
loanee centre back Jack Hendry who was listed a as an MK Dons sub and did not
take part in any of the action. It could have been that the Scots connection to
this match would be tenuous but of course the Dons appointed Paisley
born Robbie Neilson as their new boss on Friday.
 |
| Robbie and his assistant Stevie Crawford look on at The Valley |
Robbie has
been tempted away from my beloved Hearts and I wish him every success at
Stadium MK. Yesterday he took a ‘watching brief’ from the main stand at The
Valley as caretaker manager Richie Barker took control of team affairs for the
last time. Robbie was given a warm reception by the travelling MK Dons fans who
feel that they are lucky to have landed him. By my watch it took only six
minutes before I heard the first chorus of “Robbie Neilson’s MK Army” … now
that might well catch on! 8/10
Entertainment:
For a 0-0
draw this was a decent match played in a good spirit. Both teams looked
comfortable on the ball and both sides looked to play an attractive passing
game. My abiding memory of the match on the train back into central London
 |
| MK Dons defending a corner during the first half yesterday |
McGennis
and Lookman both went close with good efforts for Charlton. Reeves, Baldock and
Bowditch all tested the Charlton custodian’s goalkeeping skills with attempts
on target. Maybe not so tippy tappy after all but I do feel sure that Robbie
Neilson will make sure that the MK Dons create good chances more regularly in
future games.
The MK Dons
were definitely the better side and probably deserved to win. They had more
possession, more shots off target, more shots on target and more corners. They
nearly did win when in the 70th minute they had the ball in the net
only for it to be ruled offside. By heck it was close! Following a cross from
the left Dons frontman Kieran Agard put the ball in the net with a fine
glancing header, from what looked like an onside position to the naked eye.
However the flag went up immediately.
 |
| Sian Massey-Ellis one of the best assistant referees in English football raises the flag yesterday |
The lino
who ruled it out was Sian Massey-Ellis the female assistant referee who was
central to Sky Sports Richard Keys and Andy Gray controversy that ended with
the two dinosaur broadcasters losing their jobs at Sky. In January 2011 Sky
were covering a match between Liverpool and Wolves and the linesperson, then
only 26 years old, Sian-Massey-Ellis made a tight offside call that was
subsequently proven to be correct. Keys and Gray were not having it. Off air
but in a dialogue that found its way into the public domain the politically
incorrect Keys spluttered: “somebody better get down there and explain the
offside rule to her”. Gray responded: “Can you believe that? A female linseperson.
Women don’t know the offside rule”. Fast-forward nearly six years to The Valley
yesterday.
 |
| Agard is offside: By about 3 or 4 inches ! |
In the
above picture Kieran Agard is the central of the three most forward MK Dons
players. The pic is taken at the exact moment the pass is struck. It is so
tight and me and my son Brian have looked at this for ages and concluded that
Agard is just offside – by a whisker! Sian Ellis-Massey certainly does know the
offside rule and has also got keen eyesight and the bottle to make big calls.
Shame for the Dons though that it was chalked off, but every cloud has a silver
lining and I now have a replay at Stadium MK to look forward to.
Full time:
Addicks 0 Dons 0 7/10
Match Day Catering: The pies on offer inside The Valley were
chicken, vegetarian and steak pies. My steak pie was great but £4 for a pie is
just ridiculous. 6/10
Value for Money: The admission price of £10 was very reasonable
for an important FA Cup tie in good surroundings. I note from the programme
that league match prices start at £17 so well played to Charlton Athletic for
making the match more accessible. Just a shame that so few turned up. 7/10
The je ne sais quoi factor: Two things were notable about this
match. The friendliness of the MK Dons fans and the over-the-top policing of
the fixture.
Over the
last seven weeks I have been in dialogue with a whole load of MK Dons fans on
social media. Through the ether I have found them to be helpful, friendly and
disarmingly self-effacing. These are not personality traits that are often
attributed to a group of fans from a relatively big club. They have learned to
live with the bad publicity that goes with them being labelled as the
‘franchise club’. In the immediate aftermath of Robbie Neilson being appointed
manager someone posted on their fb site a pic of William Wallace looking
uncannily like Robbie with the caption ‘they can take our lives but they cant
take away our franchise’. Brilliant. They are a new club and what they lose in
tradition they have more than made up with in warmth and a family atmosphere in
the supporter base. Lots of women and children among the travelling support
yesterday.
 |
| Robbie's MK Army: Lots of women and children among the foot soldiers |
They have
this business with AFC Wimbledon to cope with but other than that they seem to
have a very positive view of the wider footballing community. I noted on facebook
earlier today that in sympathy with Charlton supporters plight it was noted
that ‘.. its a shame to see
yet another great old club apparently going down the gurgler’. I wish the MK
Dons well and with Robbie Neilson now at the helm I will continue to take
interest in their progress long after they are knocked out of the FA Cup
The other
notable aspect from yesterday was the over-the-top police presence. As noted
above the MK Dons fans are just about the most friendly fans in football. Also
the ‘crowd’ yesterday was a measly 4902. So it is hard to understand why the
Metropolitan Police thought that they needed such a prominent presence inside
the ground, outside the ground and at the railway station.
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| Is this really necessary: Five police horses head towards the ground to maintain order |
Let
me end on a toast to the good people of Milton Keynes
and award the highest possible rating for the ‘je ne sais quoi factor. 10/10
Overall Road to Wembley from Scotland
At this
point I usually have to say goodbye to new friends who I have met from the
vanquished team. However, because the match was drawn I am simply saying au
revoir to my pals from Milton Keynes and
Charlton. Au revoir is so much better than goodbye and I look forward with
great anticipation to the replay at Stadium MK on Tuesday the 13th
December.
Miles on the clock for this match by road, rail
and car 925
Total Miles on the Road to Wembley from Scotland
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