Four takeaways from AFC Wimbledon’s 2-1 defeat at Barrow – another bleak afternoon as wretched form continues

A much-depleted AFC Wimbledon contrived to blow yet another lead, as their winless run reached 11 matches after a very ordinary Barrow side grabbed all three points at the SO Legal Stadium on Saturday.

Luke Jenkins had a debut to remember as he fired the visitors into a fifth- minute lead but by the time he hobbled off injured with 15 minutes left, Niall Canavan had scored with an unchallenged header from a corner and Josh Gordon, after a goalmouth scramble, had put the home side in control.

It was harsh on Jenkins, who had looked composed on his first league start, and also, to an extent, on this young makeshift side, but the failings seem to be the same regardless of the personnel. On this showing – and most of the others in a run that has seen seven leads thrown away and just four points from 33 – then relegation to the National League would be a genuine possibility, without an 11-point gap over 23rd-placed Hartlepool. It really is that bad.

Here are Dave Hunt-Jackson’s takeaways from the match.

A REAL SENSE OF DEJA VU

 Yet again, having taken a lead AFC Wimbledon simply handed the initiative and ultimately all three points to their opposition, a side who are in freefall and who, up until the equaliser, looked as out-of-sorts as Wimbledon have done for much of the last dozen or so matches.

The sad fact is that even allowing for the many changes forced on the Dons by injuries and international call-ups, this was simply not good enough. Make no mistake, Barrow (like Crawley and Doncaster before them) were a poor side in terrible form and yet Wimbledon have come out of those three fixtures with zero points. If nothing changes and Hartlepool continue to pick up points, there will be some very nervous Dons fans over the remaining eight games of the season.

Last season with seven games left (and having just given him a vote of confidence) the powers that be at AFC Wimbledon parted company with head coach Mark Robinson, leaving Mark Bowen insufficient time to turn things round. It seems they are in the process of repeating this mistake.

Last season Robinson had his only proven goalscorer sold for a fraction of the cost of relegation and his team were performing no worse in a higher league than this year’s team. While Johnnie Jackson is very quick to bemoan the departures of Riley Towler and Ayoud Assal, he fails to mention the arrival of the prolific Ali Al-Hamadi… what might Robinson have given for such a signing. If four points from a possible 33 is considered acceptable then it’s an indication of how far backwards the club has travelled in recent times.

Regardless of the fact that Wimbledon in all likelihood will stay up, the impact of ending the season without a massive upturn in performances should not be underestimated. Fans deciding whether to renew their season tickets will be looking for something to persuade them next season will be different. They are not getting that at the moment.

MOVING THE GOALPOSTS

All the talk in pre-season was of a swift return to League One and a manager who said his ambition matched that of the club.

After Saturday’s game he talked to the club website about “getting it over the line”. It still isn’t Easter yet and the target has been revised to staying above the bottom two.

It’s worth noting here that AFC Wimbledon’s average gate is seventh highest in Europe amongst teams in the fourth tier of domestic football. They are fifth highest in League Two, with only Swindon (11th) outside at least the play-off places amongst teams above them. You pay your money and take your choice, but either debt from the new stadium is crippling the playing budget or the team are underperforming significantly. Either way, a lot needs to change both before and during the summer transfer window.

ACADEMY COMES UP TRUMPS AGAIN

Six of Wimbledon’s seven substitutes on Saturday were academy graduates – as were starters Luke Jenkins, Will Nightingale, Issac Ogundere, and Jack Currie. While many of these lads, Jenkins included, would still be out on loan if the Dons were at full strength, the fact that this many are either already good enough or nearly good enough for first-team action speaks volumes for AFC Wimbledon’s academy. Indeed the club has also benefited to the tune of around £2million this season alone from the sale of two academy graduates Jack Rudoni and Ayoub Assal.

 To put this into context, Barrow (who average half the Dons home attendances) were only allowed to field six substitutes on Saturday because they do not have an academy.

This means that Wimbledon can produce players with skill levels beyond their budget to buy, while also keeping their wagebill lower than teams either without an academy, like their opponents on Saturday, or one less effective than the South Londoners’ set-up, which must be the envy of many teams from higher up the pyramid than League Two.

 This season Currie, Ogundere and Huseyin Biler have all played regularly and now Luke Jenkins has stepped up, offering encouragement that the production line will continue to provide much needed talent and revenue for seasons to come.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN TRAINING?

Jackson has spoken about signing players who are more robust for next season. In effect he is blaming the players for getting injured. You would hope that someone at the club might be asking why so many of the players are getting injured in training. Are they indeed not robust enough or is it an issue with the training programme itself? Only those inside the club can answer that, but it is a question that surely must be asked.

What clearly isn’t going on in training is anything to improve the woeful defending at set-pieces, with both goals resulting from Barrow corners.

Regardless of how many players you have missing, defending a corner is basic and the continued failure to do is really inexcusable.

It was especially costly on Saturday as Barrow offered no threat whatsoever from open play and even after not turning up in the first half, there was not the typical reaction at the start of the second. The only thing that breathed life into the Cumbrians was the gift of the goals. Barrow had four corners in the match and scored from two of them.

PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD