Who Are Ya? - Milton Keynes Dons (Q&A)

The last time The Imps faced today’s opponents Milton Keynes Dons away from home was on Saturday 19th September 2020. City won 2-1 that day, thanks to goals scored by Jorge Grant (11′ PEN) and Tom Hopper (78′). The goalscorer for the hosts was Joe Mason (59′).

Ahead of today’s match, we have done a Q&A with a Milton Keynes Dons supporter, so thank you to Steve for answering our questions!

If you would like to get involved with the conversation on 100% Imps, you can join our Milton Keynes Dons v Lincoln City Match Thread! Every page view helps raise money for Lincoln City Football Club!

How long have you supported Milton Keynes Dons?

I’ve supported MK Dons, or more importantly before that Wimbledon F.C. – not to be confused with that phoenix club now playing in Merton Borough – since the 2002-03 season.

Where did you finish last season?

13th in League One.

What do you think of your manager?

Liam Manning – my manager – is by far one of the brightest coaches outside of the Premier League! When he took over he didn’t need to make many adjustments to the club’s philosophy of possession-based football. He rid us of the sideways passing of the Martin-era though, and added the attacking impetus you clearly see in our play now. Liam is adored by the supporters here, he gets the club and its ethos, and we get his.

What are your hopes and expectations for the 2021/22 season?

Personally, I’d like to see this club maintain its current push for promotion from League One, ideally via the automatic places – for the first time in a long while that wouldn’t be beyond MK Don’s capability. I would be perfectly content to see us finish in the play-offs though, as we are a match for anyone on our day.

One(s) to watch?

Where do I start? You saw how prolific Scott Twine was at the LNER Stadium earlier this season, I would add Kaine Kesler-Hayden to the conversation, Troy Parrott, and Theo Corbeanu have impressed during their loan spells at the club. Definitely, the one(s) to watch in my opinion.

Which teams do you think will finish in the top six in League One?

You’ve probably had the usual suspects as the answer here for a while. But, in my opinion, you can’t look past these six:

Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic, Sunderland (if they find some form), MK Dons, Oxford United, and Sheffield Wednesday.

Which teams do you think will finish in the bottom four in League One?

That’s an easy one for me to answer here: AFC Wimbledon, Doncaster Rovers, Crewe Alexandra, and Gillingham.

What are your thoughts on Lincoln City?

I am very surprised to see The Imps so far down the league table after the stellar season you had in the 2020/21 campaign. The Squad you have now though after the January window should have enough about them to secure a higher-finish come the end of the campaign.

What do you think the score will be?

I’m going for a 3-1 home win for MK Dons, Scott Twine with at least one of our goals.

Random fact about your Club?

MK Don’s first piece of silverware was won in a pre-season tournament overseas in 2004. The club’s inaugural squad overcame Maritimo in the semi-final 1-0, and Boavista in the Final by a 2-1 scoreline.

If you could steal one Lincoln City player for your own team, who would it be and why?

Anthony Scully – looking at his goals and assists tally, in a struggling Imps side he looks like a very useful striker who could adapt to our style of play very easily.

What are your proudest and most embarrassing moments as a Milton Keynes Dons supporter?

My Proudest moment as an MK Dons supporter would be seeing my team thrash a star-studded Manchester United side 4-0 at Stadium MK in a televised League Cup 2nd Round tie. Unforgettable.

Embarrassing moments are too few to mention, I’m sure others would digress with suggestions of their own, but I have none.

Who would you say is your most underrated player?

Mo Eisa – easily the most underrated player by a section of our supporters, he quietly goes about his business on the pitch – doesn’t score every time he pulls on the shirt, but he has provided a few assists for his teammates this season. Mo had lacked decent service prior to the January window, however, with the new recruits to Liam Manning’s squad this should improve going forwards.

Do you have a Supporters Trust and what role do they play at the Club?

We do not have a Supporters Trust although at the very start of MK’s existence it was something that was explored. Our supporters are represented by two Supporters Associations though – The MKDSA – who have been around since 2004 – they act as the main link between the club and its supporters, most recently they managed to secure a Home Supporters Only Bar – L3wington’s situated above gate 5. And we also have “Dons Action” who were formed by a group of young supporters 3 years ago, they have made it their mission to create some atmosphere at matches, both at home (in Block 11 of the Cowshed End) and on the road at away fixtures.

Which was your favourite match involving Milton Keynes Dons?

It would have to be the game against Yeovil Town at home, we beat them 5-1 to clinch promotion to the Championship for the first time under the MK Dons name. Lewington found his goal-scoring mojo with a rare double, the overriding memory was when we heard through the grapevine, that Colchester United had scored against Preston – and the instant roar that went up all around the Stadium, still makes my hair stand up on the back of my neck to this day.

Which was your least favourite match involving Milton Keynes Dons?

That’s a very good question, the last really bad performance that I can name would be from the early years. An away game at Rochdale in the 2006/07 season under Martin Allen – Beaten 5-0 by Dale at Spotland. MK were flying high in League Two and fighting for the title at the time. All of them years later and it still sticks in my mind.

Do you have a Former Players Association at Milton Keynes Dons?

The club doesn’t have an official FPA, but it used to do lots of things in the matchday programme to recognise them. The club also occasionally invite these guys back for fan days, etc.

Do you think if you removed the term ‘Dons’ from your name it would make any difference to the still existing animosity over the take over from Wimbledon nearly twenty years ago?

Personally, I don’t think it would make a difference, it really wouldn’t, that animosity would still be there if we had adopted MK City’s name.

Is there any analysis of where your fan base now live and thus to what extent locals and youngsters have become fans over the years?

As you know, I created a forum back in 2015 designed for ex-pat supporters living abroad. We have members in Australia, Turkey, Spain, India, New Zealand, The USA, the Republic of Ireland, France, Germany, Norway, Ukraine, and Canada…

Literally too many nations to list here. The tide of support has gathered pace a lot mainly down to the work our forums and Supporters Associations have done alongside the Football Club to promote the club amongst its community. You can walk through any estate in Milton Keynes on a regular basis and see more and more youngsters wearing The Dons shirts and merchandise, the next generation is there ready and able to take over the baton from their elders.

Part of stadium ‘monopolised’ snooker during lock-down, is it now time to encourage sharing the pitch with hockey again?

You’re talking about Barry Hearn’s Matchroom using the Marshall Arena, which helped greatly at the height of the pandemic. I truly think that boat has sailed to be fair – MK is a Hockey Town, only these days the only Hockey people talk about here is the Ice Hockey Club’s Thunder, and Lightning.

Will the so-called ‘driverless’ cars be bombing around the car park on matchdays?

Erm, no…