Opposing views: Milton Keynes (A)
We have the views of NINE (yes, nine!) Milton Keynes supporters ahead of their match against Port Vale.
About the fans
sausage2 -I am a club red voyeur, which means I sit up behind the benches.
SheffieldDonRob – Hi,I’m Robert Miller from Sheffield and have supported MK Dons since day one and Wimbledon from 1992. I used to go a lot with my dad as a young ‘un in the Womble era and love, sleep and eat away days.
cornerdon26 – I’ve been a season ticket holder ever since the move to MK. Initially my parents took me and my brother as we were kids at the time, but they both have a season ticket too. I am away at Uni now so games are limited.
BristolDon – I used to watch at the NHS (National Hockey Stadium) with my Grandad, then I went to stadium:mk to watch MK Dons beat Blackpool 4-3 in the League Cup with my mate (must have been 2011), loved it, and got a season ticket after that.
keyser soze – Tempted to write something flippant. But here is the embarrassing and self-indulgent truth: http://www.concreteroundabout.co.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=11507&start=8
Bacchus – Copy and paste it from the last one.
Scumarmy – My name is Scumarmy and I’m a soccerholic.
Young Alby -I am 19 and have supported MK Dons since I was 12, they were local and it just seemed fun. The level of football seemed interesting too in oppose to following all the typical United, Arsenal type followers at school .
warwickdons -Was a Wimbledon follower from 1980, moved to Midlands in 2001 – rest is history.
christhedon – Dad took me along to a couple of games in our first season at Stadiummk. Got a season ticket the next season and been going home and away ever since.
How do you expect your team to do this season?
Top six and the play-off finals are the minimum expectation…
sausage2 -Play-offs. We have good players this season but we’re not sure how good the team is, and anyway, fixture congestion will stop us for automatics.
SheffieldDonRob – At worse play-offs with a bit of optimism, borderline auto promo.
cornerdon26 – I want second place, but it will be a tough one. Anything but the play-offs will be a disappointment consider the quality of players.
BristolDon – If we can stay injury free, top two. Top six and the play-off finals are the minimum expectation.
keyser soze – Promotion. Second spot.
Bacchus -At least the play-offs, providing we keep the squad together in January and hang onto Afobe then I’d go as far as saying automatic promotion the way we’re going so far.
Scumarmy – 1st.
Young Alby -Play-offs minimum. We could get automatics, we are as good on paper as a lot of teams in the division. But I don’t think we have that quality all over the side to progress to automatic promotion.
warwickdons -Top two if main players stay fit.
christhedon – Play-offs minimum.
Who should we watch out for?
sausage2 -You’ve seen Afobe. If Powell is on his game then him as well.
SheffieldDonRob – Alli, Afobe and Green
cornerdon26 – Dele Alli is one heck of a talent. I’ve been waiting for Carruthers to hit some form and if it is against you I would be worried for your defence.
BristolDon – Alli; you must have heard his name mentioned by now. Powell; inconsistent, but on his day can dribble past anyone. Lewington; he’s really ginger
keyser soze – Afobe. Alli. Reeves if he regains his form.
Bacchus -Benik Afobe and Dele Alli, who will play this time. Carl Baker might be a threat too if his form of late continues.
Scumarmy – Afobe, Alli, Reeves, Powell, Bowditch, Green, Potter.
Young Alby -Afobe, Powell, Alli, Green.
warwickdons -Alli, Afobe-in fact most tbf.
christhedon – You know Afobe from the other week. Reeves on his day is unplayable, as is Powell. I’m sure you know all about Alli as well.
What are your thoughts on your manager?
Robinson is brilliant in my eyes. He’s a bit too passionate at times, but sticks to his philosophy and loves the club…
sausage2 -Good Manager. He was an idealist for non-stop passing but that only got us mid-table obscurity. So this season he’s mixed it up with more no-nonsense and we’re doing better.
SheffieldDonRob – Great young manager, good signings and loanees
cornerdon26 – Robinson is brilliant in my eyes. He’s a bit too passionate at times, but sticks to his philosophy and loves the club. Signings exceeded my expectations. Addressed key areas where we needed signings and brought in some class acts.
BristolDon – Great philosophy if a bit stubborn. He comes across as a bit of a c**t, but he’s our c**t so I love him. Great signings this season, we finally have depth across the team.
keyser soze – I’m not a huge fan of his. But he does seem to be learning and he has assembled an excellent squad.
Bacchus -Inconsistent in the past despite a good philosophy, but he seems to be correcting his past failings this time round. Signing-wise he’s made some brilliant discoveries this year, none of his signings have failed to live up to expectations.
Scumarmy – Bestest manager in the league.
Young Alby -He’s an absolute idiot. If he wasn’t our manager I’d probably hate him. But the fact he is ours is lovable. A bit like a United fan with Roy Keane, Liverpool with Suarez etc. He’s such a mong it’s brilliant. He’s always learning too, and you can see that on the field which is refreshing. You have a link to his learning and he is getting time in oppose to noticing and expecting the same thing with a manager every week.
warwickdons -Plays it the right way, but I think he’s got the squad to take us up-maybe needs to?
christhedon – Love him. Like proper man love. This season he’s assembled his best squad since he’s been manager.
What are your thoughts on your board?
Despite the negative portrayal of the club by some, the board are trying to run a financially sustainable club and have a great community spirit…
sausage2 -They run the club well and do a lot for the community.
SheffieldDonRob – Fine!
cornerdon26 – Impressive. Despite the negative portrayal of the club by some, the board are trying to run a financially sustainable club and have a great community spirit.
BristolDon – A great board with the club’s best interests at heart. After so long improving the infrastructure we’re now starting to see the benefits with our youth team.
keyser soze – A really good community club. Lots of youth and disabled activity.
Bacchus –The board are really behind the club and involved in daily life, which is refreshing to see compared to what supporters of other clubs like Leeds, Orient and Blackpool are having to suffer. Off-field things are good, although I’m concerned discussion about our proposed new training ground has gone very quiet and with David Oldfield’s unexpected departure to Burton we’re in an unwanted position of instability with our academy’s leadership at the moment. The latter potentially something deeply worrying after the years of progress and stability we had under Dan Micciche that produced players like Dele Alli, Brendan Galloway, Seyi Ojo, Danny Collinge and George Williams.
Scumarmy – Out of sight, out of mind.
Young Alby -Winkelman is an utter utter p*nis in the media. But he has done well for the club so that’s fair enough.
warwickdons – The club is run in the right way, people have moaned in the past, but one word- Pompey!
christhedon – Pete is a fantastic chairman, no matter what people say. Fantastic work in the community too.
Which one Vale player, past or present, would you take?
sausage2 -Robbie Earle, obviously
SheffieldDonRob – Tom Pope
cornerdon26 – Ian Taylor would fit in nicely in central midfield.
BristolDon – Ray ‘Glenn Hoddle’ Walker sounds alright
keyser soze – Mark Chamberlain at his prime
Bacchus -Dany N’Guessan looked like a decent striker to add as a rotation option. I’d happily take Lines back too to give our midfield some quality depth.
Scumarmy – Tom Pope.
Young Alby – Louis Dodds, signed him on FIFA and was my captain.
warwickdons -Tom Pope, always seems to score for fun.
christhedon – Dany N’Guessan seemed to cause us a few problems the other week.
How do you expect Vale to do this season?
I think the competition for the play-offs is very high and Vale will not be one of them…
sausage2 – Mid-table.
SheffieldDonRob – Borderline top ten.
cornerdon26 -High mid-table. I think the competition for the play-offs is very high and Vale will not be one of them.
BristolDon – You gave us a hell of a game earlier, so based on that I would say top-half. Would tenth be a good finish for you guys?
keyser soze – Sixth to tenth. I think you’re due a bit of a run.
Bacchus -Lower mid-table. Doesn’t seem to have gone too well for you this season after a decent one last time, having Pope out for a while won’t help things much either.
Scumarmy – Just about stay up which would be a good season for you.
Young Alby -I don’t know your side that well, but results seem to have picked up and there is a bit more spirit since Adams left. Fifteenth would be a decent position given the circumstances but you do have good players.
warwickdons – Mid-table, I’m probably sitting on the fence though!
christhedon – Mid-table.
Most memorable game against Vale?
sausage2 -You must have got relegated when we came back up, because I’d never seen you play until last season. I didn’t think you really existed.
SheffieldDonRob – 4-3 in the a cup recently.
cornerdon26 – Unfortunately I’ve never seen our side beat you, but listening to the radio for the cup game was very entertaining!
BristolDon – The earlier one this season. I have a really bad memory.
keyser soze – The cup game the other week. Great fun.
Bacchus – Probably last weekend, that was one of the most entertaining matches I’ve seen in the past year or so.
Scumarmy – 3-4 win the other week.
Young Alby -Mine personally was our defeat 1-0 last season, purely because I was having a bad time personally at the time and it was a good time to get drunk with some friends. Other than that there hasn’t been a stand out fixture.
warwickdons -This year’s cup game, all other visits are losses.
christhedon – 3-4 the other week.
A score prediction?
sausage2 -0-0
SheffieldDonRob – 3-1 Dons with Afobe and Grigg on the scoresheet.
cornerdon26 – Dons 2-0 Vale. I think after conceding three in the last game we will tighten things at the back. Hoping for a Carruthers goal.
BristolDon – Your form has been okay recently, but we’re on fire at the moment, so I’m going to say 2-0 to the Dons, Green and Kay from set pieces.
keyser soze – 3-1 to us. Reeves for one of them.
Bacchus – 5-2 to us. Despite plenty of good attacking quality from Vale, we dominated last weekend with a heavily rotated squad. I’d fear for you that with the addition of Alli, Potter, Powell and an even fitter Green playing that fixture again we’ll put you to the sword. You’ll score several against us though again I think. Several from Afobe with Powell and Alli to score at least one each and N’Guessan to score at least one of Vale’s goals.
Scumarmy – 4-0 Afobe hat-trick and Reeves.
Young Alby -3-0, Afobe, Alli and Afobe again.
warwickdons -I think MK Dons 4 Vale 1. Sorry!
christhedon – 2-0, Afobe and Alli.