Milton Keynes Dons F.C.

This article is about the club from Milton Keynes, formed under this name in 2004. For its origins, see Wimbledon F.C. and Relocation of Wimbledon F.C. to Milton Keynes.

Milton Keynes Dons

MK Dons badge
Full name	Milton Keynes Dons Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Dons
Short name	MK Dons
Founded	2004
Ground	Stadium:mk
Ground Capacity	30,500
Chairman	Pete Winkelman
Manager	Karl Robinson
League	The Championship
2014–15	League One, 2nd (promoted)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (/ˌmɪltən ˈkiːnz ˈdɒnz/; usually abbreviated to MK Dons) is an English football club based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, about 56 miles (90 km) north of London. The result of Wimbledon F.C.'s relocation to Milton Keynes from south London in September 2003, the club officially considers itself to have been founded in 2004, when it adopted its present name, badge and home colours. As of the 2015–16 season its first team plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football.

Initially based at the National Hockey Stadium, the club competed as MK Dons from the start of the 2004–05 season. After two years in League One it was relegated to the fourth-tier League Two The club then missed out on promotion in the play offs, before moving to the newly built Stadium MK for the 2007–08 season and won the League Two title under the management of Paul Ince. MK Dons also won the Football League Trophy that year. The team remained in League One until the 2014–15 season when it won promotion to the Championship under the management of Karl Robinson. MK Dons have built a strong reputation for youth development—between 2004 and 2014 the club gave first team debuts to 14 local academy graduates.

Origins

Main article: Relocation of Wimbledon F.C. to Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes

Plough Lane

Selhurst Park

Locations of Plough Lane, Selhurst Park and Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes, about 56 miles (90 km) north of London in Buckinghamshire, was established as a new town in 1967. In the absence of a professional football club representing the town—none of the local non-League teams progressed significantly through the English football league system or "pyramid" over the following decades—it was occasionally suggested that a Football League club might relocate there. There was no precedent in English League football for such a move between conurbations and the football authorities and most fans expressed strong opposition to the idea. Charlton Athletic briefly mooted re-basing in "a progressive Midlands borough" during a planning dispute with their local council in 1973, and the relocation of nearby Luton Town to Milton Keynes was repeatedly suggested from the 1980s onwards. Another team linked with the new town was Wimbledon Football Club.

Wimbledon, established in south London in 1889 and nicknamed "the Dons", were elected to the Football League in 1977. They thereafter went through a "fairytale" rise from obscurity and by the end of the 1980s were established in the top division of English football. Despite Wimbledon's new prominence, the club's modest home stadium at Plough Lane remained largely unchanged from its non-League days. The club's then-owner Ron Noades identified this as a problem as early as 1979, extending his dissatisfaction to the ground's very location. Interested in the stadium site designated by the Milton Keynes Development Corporation, Noades briefly planned to move Wimbledon there by merging with a non-League club in Milton Keynes, and to this end purchased debt-ridden Milton Keynes City. However he then decided that the club would not get higher crowds in Milton Keynes and abandoned the idea.

In 1991, after the Taylor Report was published recommending the redevelopment of English football grounds, Wimbledon left Plough Lane to groundshare at Crystal Palace's ground, Selhurst Park, about 6 miles (9.7 km) away. Sam Hammam, who now owned Wimbledon, said the club could not afford to redevelop Plough Lane and that the groundshare was a temporary arrangement while a new ground was sourced in south-west London. A new stadium for Wimbledon proved hard to arrange. Frustrated by what he perceived as a lack of support from Merton Council, Hammam began to look further afield and by 1996 was pursuing a move to Dublin, an idea that most Wimbledon fans strongly opposed. Hammam sold the club to two Norwegian businessmen, Kjell Inge Røkke and Bjørn Rune Gjelsten, in 1997, and a year later sold Plough Lane to Safeway supermarkets. Wimbledon were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 1999–2000 season.

Pete Winkelman, in 2011

Starting in 2000, a consortium led by music promoter Pete Winkelman and supported by Asda (a Walmart subsidiary) and IKEA proposed a large retail development in Milton Keynes including a Football League-standard stadium. The consortium proposed that an established League club move to use this site; it approached Luton, Wimbledon, Crystal Palace, Barnet and Queens Park Rangers. In 2001 Røkke and Gjelsten appointed a new chairman, Charles Koppel, who was in favour of this idea, saying it was necessary to stop the club going out of business. To the fury of most Wimbledon fans, Koppel announced on 2 August 2001 that the club intended to relocate to Milton Keynes. After the Football League refused permission, Wimbledon launched an appeal, leading to a Football Association arbitration hearing and subsequently the appointment of a three-man independent commission to make a final and binding verdict. The League and FA stated opposition but the commissioners ruled in favour, two to one, on 28 May 2002.

Having campaigned against the move, a group of disaffected Wimbledon fans reacted to this in June 2002 by forming their own non-League club, AFC Wimbledon, to which most of the original team's support defected. AFC Wimbledon entered a groundshare agreement with Kingstonian in the borough of Kingston upon Thames, adjacent to Merton. The original Wimbledon intended to move to Milton Keynes immediately but were unable to do so until a temporary home in the town meeting Football League criteria could be found. The club remained at Selhurst Park in the meantime and in June 2003 went into administration. With the move threatened and the club facing liquidation, Winkelman decided to buy it himself. He secured funding for the administrators to keep the team operating with the goal of getting it to Milton Keynes as soon as possible. The club arranged the temporary use of the National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes and played its first match there in September 2003. Nine months later Winkelman's Inter MK Group bought the club out of administration and announced changes to its name, badge and colours—the team was renamed Milton Keynes Dons Football Club.

History

See also: List of Milton Keynes Dons F.C. seasons

2004–05, Stuart Murdoch

MK Dons (in white) take on Blackpool at the former England National Hockey Stadium during the 2004–05 season

The first season for the club as MK Dons was the 2004–05 season. Stuart Murdoch, who had managed Wimbledon F.C. since 2002, remained at his post. The club's first official match was a home game against Barnsley on the opening day of the season, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

2005–06, Danny Wilson

Half-way through the 2004/05 campaign Murdoch was sacked after a long run of bad results and replaced by Danny Wilson. Under their new manager, MK Dons managed to stay in League One on the final day of the season — but only because of Wrexham's 10-point deduction that had been their penalty for going into administration. The following season, MK Dons struggled all year, and were relegated to League Two. Wilson, as a result, was sacked.

2006–07, Martin Allen

Wilson's successor for 2006–07 was Martin Allen, who had just taken Brentford to the brink of a place in the Football League Championship. With a new manager taking charge of a team in a new division, MK Dons looked more consistent than they had done in either of the previous two seasons. They were in contention for automatic promotion right up to the last game, but eventually finished fourth and had to settle for a play-off place. They then suffered a defeat to Shrewsbury Town in the play-off semi-finals. During the 2007 summer break, Allen left MK Dons to take over at Leicester City.

2007–08, Paul Ince

For the 2007–08 season, former England captain Paul Ince took over as manager. MK Dons reached the final of the Football League Trophy, while topping the table for most of the season. The final was played on 30 March against Grimsby Town — Milton Keynes Dons won 2–0 at Wembley to bring the first professional trophy to Milton Keynes. The club capped the trophy win with the League Two championship, and the subsequent promotion to League One for the 2008–09 season. Following his successes, Ince left at the end of the season to manage Blackburn Rovers.

2008–09, Roberto Di Matteo

Ince's replacement was Roberto Di Matteo. In the 2008–09 season, MK Dons missed out to an automatic promotion spot by two points, finishing third behind Peterborough United and Leicester City. They were knocked out of the play-offs by Scunthorpe United, who defeated MK Dons by penalty shootout at stadium mk. Di Matteo left at the season's end for West Bromwich Albion.

2009–10, Paul Ince again

A year after leaving, Paul Ince returned to manage the Dons in place of Di Matteo, for the 2009–10 season. Ince resigned from the club on 16 April 2010, but remained manager until the end of the season.

2010–present, Karl Robinson

On 10 May 2010, Karl Robinson was appointed as the club's new manager, with former England coach John Gorman as his assistant. At 29 years of age, Robinson was then the youngest manager in the Football League. In his first season in the club MK Dons finished 5th in 2010–11 Football League One. They faced Peterborough United in the play-off semifinals. Although they won the first leg 3–2, a 2–0 defeat at London Road meant they missed out on the play-off final.

The 2011–12 season brought similar results to the previous season with the Dons finishing 5th in 2011–12 Football League One facing Huddersfield in the play-offs. Losing the first leg 2–0 followed by winning 2–1 at The Galpharm saw MK Dons lose 3–2 on aggregate against the eventual play-off winners. The away leg was John Gorman's last match in football after announcing his retirement a few weeks beforehand. Gorman's replacement was announced on 18 May 2012 as being ex-Luton manager Mick Harford along with new part-time coach Ian Wright.

Chart showing the progress of MK Dons' league finishes since the 2004–05 season

MK Dons experienced their best ever FA Cup campaign in the 2012–13 season by beating a spirited Cambridge City (0–0 and 6–1), League Two fierce rivals AFC Wimbledon (2–1), Championship Sheffield Wednesday (0–0 and 2–0) and Premier League Queens Park Rangers (4–2) to reach the Fifth Round of the competition for the first time ever in their footballing history. Their record-breaking run ended in the Fifth Round at stadium:mk on 16 February 2013, losing 3–1 to Championship side Barnsley.

Following a disappointing end to the 2013-14 Football League One season (10th, after being in the top five for much of the season), Karl Robinson made some shrewd summer signings to take the football club forward in 2014–15, including Danny Green, Kyle McFadzean, Benik Afobe (on loan from Arsenal), Samir Carruthers, Jordan Spence on a free transfer and Will Grigg (on loan from Brentford).

The 2014–15 season began well. The highlight event of the season's first month was being drawn against Manchester United in the League Cup second round (having dispatched A.F.C Wimbledon in the first). The Dons recorded a stunning 4–0 victory over United in front of a sell out crowd at stadium:mk. After the game, MK Dons Manager Karl Robinson stated: "I'm a little in shock. It's the stuff dreams are made of." A few weeks later, the Dons recorded their record win, a 6–0 thrashing of Colchester United at home. That record did not last long as it was broken once again with a 7–0 demolition of Oldham Athletic on 20 December 2014. Just over a month later, on 31 January 2015, the Dons recorded a joint record 5–0 away win against Crewe Alexandra, earning a short-lived top spot. On 3 May the club secured promotion to the Football League Championship for the first time, beating Yeovil Town 5–1 and leapfrogging Preston North End (who lost 1–0 at Colchester United) on the final day of the season.

Stadium

stadium mk's East Stand in 2007

Main articles: National Hockey Stadium (Milton Keynes) and stadium mk

The club's first stadium was the National Hockey Stadium, which was temporarily converted for football for the duration of the club's stay. Their lease on this ground ended in May 2007.

On 18 July 2007, the club's new 22,000 seater, stadium mk in Denbigh hosted its first game, a restricted entrance event against a young Chelsea XI. The stadium was officially opened on 29 November 2007 by Queen Elizabeth II. The stadium features an open concourse at the top of the lower tier, an integrated hotel with rooms looking over the pitch and conference facilities

The complex was to include a 3,000 seat indoor arena, where the MK Lions (now London Lions) basketball team would be based. The completion of this arena was delayed due to deferral of proposed commercial developments around the site, leaving the Lions to find a new home away from Milton Keynes.

In May 2009, the stadium was named as one of 15 stadia put forward as potential hosts for the unsuccessful England 2018 FIFA World Cup bid. Plans were announced to extend the capacity to 44,000.

In May 2013, the organisers of the Rugby World Cup 2015 announced that they had selected this stadium to be one of thirteen to host the tournament.

Supporters

Cowshed

The South stand of Stadium mk is known as the Cowshed by Dons' fans, as Milton Keynes is known for its Concrete Cows. This nickname was also used for the home end at the Dons' previous ground in Milton Keynes, the National Hockey Stadium, now demolished. This is the stand preferred by club's more ardent fans.

Rivalries

MK Dons biggest rivals are considered to be Peterborough United: they have vied for promotion to the Championship, the rivalry between the two exists in other sports (e.g., there is also a MK Lightning-Peterborough Phantoms rivalry in ice hockey which pre-dates the rivalry in football), and they are both (substantially) New Towns. Wycombe Wanderers are the only other professional team in Buckinghamshire, and therefore contest the Bucks Derby. Northampton Town, Stevenage F.C. and Luton Town are also considered rivals due to geographic proximity, though those rivals have rarely been in the same League as the Dons.

vs AFC Wimbledon

MK Dons fans have a rivalry with AFC Wimbledon, who they pejoratively call AFC Kingston, due to the fact the new team has not played in Wimbledon since its inception but in Kingston upon Thames. Although it is a fierce rivalry the fans do not consider them as their number one rivals. Most MK Dons fans regard their club as a renamed Wimbledon F.C.. The chairman, Winkelman was unequivocal when answering readers' questions in FourFourTwo magazine in November 2004: "MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon share the same heritage, but we're the real child of Wimbledon", he wrote. One reader asked if Winkelman agreed that, in light of his "renaming and thorough rebranding of the relocated club", AFC Wimbledon now carried "the true spirit of Wimbledon"; Winkelman replied that AFC Wimbledon's founders had betrayed their club, and had "left their team before their team left them". In another answer, he poured scorn on suggestions that he might give Wimbledon F.C.'s trophy replicas to AFC Wimbledon, writing that the fans had "abdicated their right to it when they all walked away." "The fans who have continued to support us from London—they're the ones who've had to put up with this shit for so long", he concluded.

The first fixture between the two sides took place in the second round of the 2012–13 FA Cup, where they were drawn to play each other at stadium:MK. MK Dons won the match, held on 2 December 2012, by two goals to one, with a winner scored in injury time, scored by Jon Otsemobor and dubbed by the MK Dons fans as "The Heel of God" (a spoof of the Hand of God). In the second game when Kyle McFadzean scored the opening goal with his heel it was immediately dubbed "The Heel of God II".

MK Dons v AFC Wimbledon

2 December 2012 (2012-12-02) FA Cup R2	MK Dons	2–1	AFC Wimbledon	Milton Keynes
12:30 GMT (UTC)	Gleeson  45' Otsemobor  90+2'	Report	Midson  59'	Stadium: Stadium:MK Attendance: 16,459 Referee: Scott Mathieson

MK Dons v AFC Wimbledon

12 August 2014 (2014-08-12) League Cup R1	MK Dons	3–1	AFC Wimbledon	Milton Keynes
19:45 BST (UTC+1)	McFadzean  19' Powell  49' Afobe  76'	Report	Tubbs  90+4' (pen.)	Stadium: Stadium:MK Attendance: 7,174 Referee: Dean Whitestone

MK Dons v AFC Wimbledon

7 October 2014 (2014-10-07) FL Trophy R2 South	MK Dons	2–3	AFC Wimbledon	Milton Keynes
19:45 BST (UTC+1)	Powell  2' Afobe  40'	Report	Azeez  26' Rigg  68' Akinfenwa  76'	Stadium: Stadium:MK Attendance: 4,407 Referee: Tim Robinson

Chants

The most popular chants include "Can't Help Falling in Love", "No one likes us, we don't care", "When The Dons Go Marching In", "We're the real Wimbledon", "We're the Dons", "Hoist up the MK flag", "We all follow the MK", "Wimbledon!", "MK Army", "Allez Allez A-O" and Don't Take Me Home. Most chants are footballer specific, and almost the entire squad has a chant attributed to each player sung to popular tunes, for example club hero Dean Lewington has a song named "We love you Lewie" to the tune of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You".

Supporters' club recognition

On 4 June 2005, at the 2005 Football Supporters' Federation "Fans' Parliament" (AGM), the FSF refused the MK Dons Supporters' Club membership of the FSF in a debate that, among other arguments, questioned why the Football League had yet to introduce any new rules to prevent the "franchising" of other football clubs in the future. In addition, the FSF membership agreed with the Wimbledon Independent Supporters' Association that the Milton Keynes Dons Supporters' Association should not be entitled to join the FSF until they give up all claim to the history and honours of Wimbledon FC. With this in mind, the FSF began discussions aimed at returning Wimbledon FC's honours to the London Borough of Merton.

Shortly afterwards, following heavy criticism for allowing the move, the Football League announced new tighter rules on club relocation.

At its AGM on 5 June 2006, the FSF again considered a motion proposed by the FSF Council to allow MK Dons Supporters Association membership if the honours and trophies of Wimbledon FC were given to the London Borough of Merton. In October 2006, agreement was reached between the club, the MK Dons Supporters Association, the Wimbledon Independent Supporters' Association and the Football Supporters Federation. The replica of the FA Cup plus all club patrimony gathered under the name of Wimbledon F.C. would be returned to the London Borough of Merton. Ownership of trademarks and website domain names related to Wimbledon F.C. would also be transferred to the Borough. The Borough subsequently transferred all trademarks to AFC Wimbledon. As part of the same deal it was agreed that any reference made to Milton Keynes Dons FC should refer only to events subsequent to 7 August 2004 (the date of the first League game of Milton Keynes Dons FC). As a result of this deal, the FSF announced that the supporters of Milton Keynes Dons FC would be permitted to become members of the federation, and that it would no longer appeal to the supporters of other clubs to boycott MK Dons matches. On 2 August 2007, MK Dons transferred the replica trophies and all Wimbledon FC memorabilia to the London Borough of Merton.

Famous supporters

The Dons' most famous non-football related supporter was Jim Marshall, the founder of Marshall Amplification, who were one of the earliest shirt sponsors. Dan Wheldon and his family was also reported to be keeping fingers crossed for the Dons before his tragic death, after which a minute's silence was held in a game against Scunthorpe in his honour. June Whitfield was a Wimbledon F.C. supporter and continues to support the MK as well as AFC. Former cricketer and talkSport radio presenter Darren Gough, despite being a Barnsley F.C. fan attends Dons games from time to time, as he lives nearby, and also frequently speaks fondly of the Dons when presenting on the radio.

Other notable fans who are either Dons fans or regularly attend games are: Gabi Downs, a London 2012 Paralympic Fencer; Andrew Baggaley, table tennis Commonwealth Games double Gold Medallist; Gail Emms, Badminton World Champion; Frank Bruno, Boxing World Champion; James Hildreth and James Foster both England cricketers; Mark Lancaster, Member of Parliament and Government Minister in 2012; Craig Pickering, 100m sprinter – Bronze Medal at World Championship in 2007; Craig Gibbons, London 2012 Olympic 100 metre swimmer; Mikey Burrows, Sky Sports Radio Presenter; and the late musician and Radio Broadcaster George Webley.

Community

Through the work of MK Dons SET (Sport and Educational Trust), the club works locally (Milton Keynes and the neighbouring towns) in the fields of education, social inclusion, participation and football development. It works with schools, has 14 disability teams playing in regional or national competitions, works with BME (black and minority ethnic) community groups and runs many activities for women and girls. MK Dons also supports the "Football v Homophobia" initiative (one of only 25 premiership and football league clubs supporting the programme in 2012 and only 30 in 2013).

MK Dons' work in the community was recognised by the award of Football League Awards Community Club of the Year for London and the South East for 2012, and in the award of an honorary doctorate to chairman Pete Winkelman by the Open University in June 2013.

Thanks to the co-operation with the University of Bedfordshire (which is partly based in Milton Keynes), Dons match highlights are shown free of charge on YouTube.

Youth Academy

In recent years MK Dons are gaining a growing reputation for their youth academy, partially due to former head of coaching Dan Micciche.

Striker Sam Baldock was the first notable academy graduate who, after making 102 appearances, moved on to West Ham for a 6 figure sum. Since then he became captain of Bristol City and now plays for Brighton. As of February 2015, Daniel Powell, Tom Flanagan and George Baldock, brother of Sam, all play regularly for the MK Dons first team.

On 2 February 2015, MK Dons academy graduate and first team midfielder Dele Alli was sold to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for a fee in the region of £5 million.

Other notable youth graduates who have gone on to play at a higher level include George Williams, Brendan Galloway, Scotland international Liam Kelly and Sheyi Ojo.

Players

As of 8 January 2016

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK David Martin 2 DF Lee Hodson 3 DF Dean Lewington (captain) 4 DF Matthew Upson 5 DF Kyle McFadzean 6 DF Antony Kay 7 MF Carl Baker 8 MF Darren Potter (vice-captain) 9 FW Dean Bowditch 10 MF Ben Reeves 11 FW Simon Church 12 DF Jordan Spence 14 MF Samir Carruthers 15 MF Mark Randall 16 DF Joe Walsh

No. Position Player 17 MF Daniel Powell 18 MF Sergio Aguza 19 FW Tom Hitchcock 20 MF Giorgio Rasulo 21 MF Dale Jennings 22 GK Cody Cropper 24 DF Ben Tilney 25 DF Harry Hickford 27 FW Kabongo Tshimanga 28 FW Nicky Maynard 29 GK Charlie Burns 30 FW Callum Brittain 31 FW Josh Murphy (on loan from Norwich City) 38 FW Rob Hall (on loan from Bolton Wanderers) 44 MF Jake Forster-Caskey (on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player - DF George Baldock (on loan to Oxford United until 30 June 2016)

Former players

For a list of all Milton Keynes Dons players, past or present, see Category:Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players.

Notable players

Dean Lewington, the present captain of MK Dons, has played more matches for the team than any other player. Pictured in 2011, he is also one of only two former Wimbledon players left in the club's squad.

This list contains players who have made 100 or more league appearances. Appearances and goals apply to league matches only; substitute appearances are included. Names in bold denote current MK Dons players.

Statistics are correct as of 15 April 2015.

Name	Nationality	Position	MK Dons career	Apps	Goals	Notes
Sam Baldock	England	Forward	2006–11	102	33
Luke Chadwick	England	Midfielder	2008–2014	210	17
Gareth Edds	Australia	Midfielder	2004–08	122	10
Willy Guéret	France	Goalkeeper	2007–11	135	0
Stephen Gleeson	Ireland	Midfielder	2009–2014	174	16
Dean Lewington	England	Defender	2004–	554	18
Peter Leven	Scotland	Midfielder	2008–11	113	22
Izale McLeod	England	Forward	2004–07 2013–2014	165	62
Sean O'Hanlon	England	Defender	2006–11	157	15
Clive Platt	England	Forward	2005–07	102	27
Aaron Wilbraham	England	Forward	2005–11	178	50
David Martin	England	Goalkeeper	2004–06 2010–	252	0
Mathias Kouo-Doumbé	France	Defender	2009–2013	121	11
Daniel Powell	England	Forward	2008–	218	41
Shaun Williams	Ireland	Defender	2011–2014	108	19
Darren Potter	Ireland	Midfielder	2011–	183	9
Dean Bowditch	England	Winger	2011–	150	35
Antony Kay	England	Defender	2012–	124	4

Other notable players

There have been many other notable players at the club, who have either gained fame elsewhere or for other reasons before joining the Dons, or have been remembered at the club for notable appearances.

Mark Wright finished the 2007/08 season as the club's top goalscorer, helping the Dons win both the League Two title and the Football League Trophy. Jon Otsemobor, although only made 44 appearances for the club, had gained almost cult-hero status for his winning goal in the first match against arch-rivals AFC Wimbledon scored with his heel, which was later dubbed the "Heel of God".

The MK Dons were former Premiership player's Jimmy Bullard's last club before his retirement from football, making only 3 appearances for the club, similarly Dietmar Hamman made 12 appearances as a player-coach before retiring and going onto becoming a coach at Leicester City.

Like many other clubs in the league the club relies heavily on loan players from bigger clubs, most notable of which were strikers Patrick Bamford, scoring 18 goals in 37 games, Benik Afobe, becoming league's top scorer in just 6 months, and fans favourite for Ángelo Balanta whose loan spell lasted 3 years. Former Ireland international Clinton Morrison and former Premiership players Paul Rachubka and James Tavernier also noted short loan spells.

Alan Smith, most known for his time at Leeds and Manchester United came on a loan signing from Newcastle before making the move permanent totalling 67 appearances for the Dons. Other international players who have worn the Dons shirt include Tore André Flo, Ali Gerba, Michel Pensée and Richard Pacquette.

Technical staff

Karl Robinson		First-team manager
Richie Barker		Head of Coaching
Paul Heald		Goalkeeping coach
Damien Doyle		Fitness coach
Simon Crampton		Head of sports medicine
Tony Hawkins		Kit manager
Mike Dove		Director of youth/Under-18s manager
Dan Micciche		Assistant academy manager
Karim Suleman		Head academy physiotherapist
Joe Aylett		Head groundsman
Dr Martin Cave		Club doctor
Dr Turab A Syed		Academy doctor
Dr Gary D Jackson		Chiropractor

Managers

Paul Ince, pictured in 2006, managed the club over two spells between 2007 and 2010.

The first manager of Milton Keynes Dons was Stuart Murdoch, who had previously been manager of Wimbledon. Murdoch only lasted three months before being sacked — his assistant, Jimmy Gilligan, managed the club for a month before Murdoch's replacement was revealed to be Danny Wilson. Wilson managed to keep the team up during the inaugural 2004–05 season, but failed to repeat this feat during the next season. Following relegation, Wilson was shown the door and replaced with Martin Allen. After Allen's team fell at the play-offs, he left to manage Leicester City. Paul Ince was appointed manager for the 2007–08 season, and proved to be a shrewd appointment as MK Dons won the League Two championship as well as the Football League Trophy. Ince too left after only a season, to become manager of Blackburn Rovers.

Former Chelsea player Roberto di Matteo was then appointed in July 2008, his personal first ever managerial position and left after a season to manage West Bromwich Albion. Ince was reappointed in his stead on 3 July 2009. Paul Ince resigned as Manager on 16 April 2010, stating "a reduction in funds for next season was the reason behind his decision to leave", although he will remain with the club until the end of the 2009–10 season.

Karl Robinson was appointed manager of League One team Milton Keynes Dons on 10 May 2010, having previously been the club's assistant manager under previous boss Paul Ince. At 30 years of age, he was the youngest manager in the Football League and former England coach John Gorman was named his number two. He was also the youngest person to ever acquire a UEFA Pro Licence at the age of 29. At the end of the 2011–12 season Gorman retired and was replaced by former Luton player/manager Mick Harford. At the same time, ex-Arsenal and former England international Ian Wright was also enlisted in a part-time role to provide assistance with coaching duties.

In January 2013, Robinson turned down an offer to manage Blackpool FC, a well established Championship and former Premier League team, in favour of his continuing commitment and loyalty towards MK Dons, something which has endeared him to the fans of MK Dons. Robinson has also been linked to other former Premier League clubs including Birmingham City, Sheffield United and Leeds United

Statistics are correct as of 15 April 2015.

Name	Nationality	From	To	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Notes
Stuart Murdoch	England	7 August 2004	8 November 2004	21	5	5	11	23.8
Jimmy Gilligan	England	8 November 2004	7 December 2004	4	2	0	2	50.0	Caretaker
Danny Wilson	Northern Ireland	7 December 2004	21 June 2006	81	25	32	24	30.9
Martin Allen	England	21 June 2006	25 May 2007	46	25	9	12	54.3
Paul Ince	England	25 June 2007	21 June 2008	55	35	11	9	63.6
Roberto di Matteo	Italy	3 July 2008	30 June 2009	40	22	7	12	55.0
Paul Ince	England	3 July 2009	10 May 2010	44	22	4	18	50
Karl Robinson	England	10 May 2010	Present	275	129	62	84	46.9

Notable Coaches

Although the MK Dons are a lower league team, the club has attracted many famous coaches, some who previously had gained fame as players. Most notable former coaches include Robbie Fowler, former German international Dietmar Hamann and Arsenal legend Ian Wright.

Former Manchester United and England international Alan Smith was signed as a player, however was often assisting manager Karl Robinson during matches and would manager the reserve side on occasion, and went to take on a player-coach role at Notts County in May 2014. Similarly Alex Rae, former top-flight player, joined the Dons in July 2009 on a temporary basis with a view to a permanent deal, as first team coach working under his former Wolves team-mate Paul Ince, however he did make 3 appearances as a player for the Dons. Rae left 29 October 2010, following Paul Ince to Notts County, as an assistant manager, a role which he fulfilled until 3 April 2011 when he left the club following the departure of manager Ince.

Honours

• Football League One:

2014–15 Runners-Up

• Football League Two:

2007–08 Champions

• Football League Trophy:

2007–08 Winners

Club records and achievements

See also: Milton Keynes Dons F.C. league record by opponent

Attendance

Record Home Attendance: 26 969 vs. Manchester United, Football League Cup 2nd Round, 26 August 2014 (stadium:mk)
Record Home League Attendance: 20 516 vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers, League One, 29 March 2014 (stadium:mk)
Record Away Attendance: 3 155 vs. Queen's Park Rangers, FA Cup 4th Round, 26 January 2013 (Loftus Road)
Record Away League Attendance: 2 005 vs. Peterborough United, League One (play-off semi-final), 19 May 2011 (London Road)
Record Neutral Venue Attendance: 33 000 (out of a total of 56 618) vs Grimsby Town, Football League Trophy Final, 30 March 2008 (Wembley Stadium)

Managerial

Youngest League Manager at the time of hiring: Karl Robinson (b. 13 September 1980) May 2010 – Present
Current 3rd longest serving manager in top 4 tiers

League

Highest finishing position: 2nd League One, 2014–15
Records points: 97, League Two, 2007–08
Most wins in season: 29, League Two, 2007–08
Longest unbeaten run: 18 games – 29 January to 3 May 2008
Longest winning run: 8 games – 7 September to 27 October 2007
Highest scoring season: 101, League One, 2014–15
Record home win: 7–0 Oldham Athletic, 20 December 2014 (stadium:mk)
Record away win: Hartlepool United 0–5, 16 January 2010 (Victoria Park); Crewe Alexandra 0–5, 31 January 2015 (Gresty Road)
Most goals scored in one game: 7–0 Oldham Athletic, 20 December 2014 (stadium:mk)

Cup

Best FA Cup progression: Fifth Round, 2013 (lost 3–1 to Barnsley on 16 February 2013 at stadium:mk)
Best League Cup progression: Fourth round, 2014 (lost 2–1 to Sheffield United on 28 October 2014 at stadium:mk)
Best Football League Trophy progression: Winners, 2008 (won 2–0 against Grimsby Town on 30 March 2008 at Wembley Stadium)
Record FA Cup win: 6–0 Nantwich Town, 12 November 2011 (stadium:mk)
Record League Cup win: 4–0 Manchester United, 26 August 2014 (stadium:mk)
Record Football League Trophy win: Hereford United 1–4 MK Dons, 15 December 2009 (Edgar Street)
Most goals scored in game: 6–0 Nantwich Town, 12 November 2011 (stadium:mk); 6–1 Cambridge City 13 November 2012 (stadium:mk)

Players

Most appearances: Dean Lewington – 430
Most goals: Izale McLeod −62
Youngest player: Giorgio Rasulo – 15 years and 10 months
Youngest Goal Scorer: George Williams – 16 years and 2 months (12 November 2011 at stadium:mk vs. Nantwich Town)
Oldest player: Alex Rae – 40 years and 10 months
Oldest Goal Scorer: Colin Cameron – 35 years and 1 month

Transfers

Record transfer fee received: Dele Alli – £5,000,000 to Tottenham Hotspur, February 2015

Kit history

Only seasons played by Milton Keynes Dons under that name are given here. For a kit history of Wimbledon F.C., see Wimbledon F.C.#Kit history.

Season	Kit Manufacturer	Sponsor
2004–2005	A-line	Marshall Amplification
2005–2006
2006–2007	Surridge Sports
2007–2008	Nike
2008–2009
2009–2010		DoubleTree by Hilton
2010–2011	ISC
2011–2012
2012–2013	Vandanel	Case Security
2013–2014	Sondico
2014–2015		Suzuki
2015–2016	Errea

See also

• Relocation of professional sports teams in the United Kingdom
• International Sports Clothing

External links

• Official website
• Official Supporters Association website
• MK Dons news on MKWeb