FA says yes to franchised football
It was announced today that the FA commission has decided to allow Wimbledon's owners to shut down the club in London and open up a franchise in Milton Keynes. What a disgraceful decision.
Wimbledon's supporters have simply had their club taken away from them. Milton Keynes, meanwhile, is buying a place in the First Division, instead of having to go to the trouble of using the pyramid system like everyone else. That's the bottom line, and don't be fooled into thinking otherwise.
And don't let anyone tell you this is a one-off either. Unscrupulous people will use this as an example in future, and their lawyers will make a precedent of it. Now no club going through a difficult time is safe. Anyone fancy getting into the League without all that bothersome qualification nonsense? Simply find a struggling club, buy it and move it. Welcome to franchising. What a bloody sad day for football.
Those are my views, but this is nothing I haven't said before. I made clear back in August my support for the Football League's decision, now overturned, that this move was not good for Wimbledon, and not good for football. But what about football supporters living in Milton Keynes? You might expect them to be looking forward to football on their doorstep, no? You might think that MK-based Clarets, for example, would be happy at the prospect of seeing their team coming to play in their town once a season? Don't believe it for a minute. Below is what one Milton Keynes based member of the London Clarets thinks.
Firmo
Although this means that Burnley will be coming to a stadium only a couple of miles from my front door, I'm against this move for a whole host of reasons.
Chief of these is the fact that this ruling now opens the door for all Football League clubs to up sticks and relocate to any part of the country they want to... and bollocks to the fans who have been funding and supporting the club for years.
Wimbledon boss Koppel reckons it's necessary for the club to survive, but how can it flourish when it's been ripped from its roots? There will be very little support in Milton Keynes. Most people in the town
support the usual suspects, and support for 'local' teams Luton and Northampton is scarce.
It's all a farce as far as I'm concerned, and will be the death of Wimbledon FC. I wouldn't be surprised if they call it something like the Wimbledon - Milton Keynes United... eventually dropping the Wimbledon bit when they can argue that they have no connection with that part of the world at all.
It's all very sad and very ominous.
Brandon Cook
Milton Keynes
May 2002
As with all articles on the site, the
views expressed in the comments section are those of the individual contributor, and do
not necessarily reflect the view of the Burnley FC London Supporters Club
