Four takeaways from AFC Wimbledon’s final day defeat at Grimsby – Dons a club in crisis as a difficult summer awaits

BY DAVE HUNT-JACKSON

AFC Wimbledon ended the season with yet another defeat, this time at Grimsby’s Blundell Park on Bank Holiday Monday. 

It was a poor match in which neither side deserved to win, but the Dons never looked like responding after Issac Ogundere deflected a cross into his own net inside seven minutes. 

Despite a somewhat improved second-half display – with a couple of penalty appeals turned down – the South Londoners brought the curtain down on arguably their most disappointing season since reformation with yet another loss.

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

NO SIGNS OF PROGRESS

Manager Johnnie Jackson spoke after the game of a steep learning curve for himself and the club.

It was difficult to spot any signs in this performance or almost any performance this calendar year to suggest any lessons are being learned whatsoever – you don’t drop 40 points from leading positions if you are learning anything about game management and defending a lead. 

True, there was no blown lead this time, but only because without the injured Ali Al-Hamadi, the Dons never looked like getting themselves in front or level after they fell behind.

A goal behind and Jackson brought on Alfie Bendle for Diallang Jaiyesimi – a midfielder for an attacker. He then waited until the game was also over to make a late double change that never had time to make an impact. 

Indeed, it is hard to remember an occasion when Jackson has made a change that has delivered a positive outcome, often taking off the most effective player on the pitch. Of course, it’s hard to have a Plan B if you don’t have a Plan A, and it’s still hard to understand what AFC Wimbledon’s tactics are, a problem clearly shared by the players.

A CLUB IN CRISIS

Had the season started in January, Wimbledon would have been relegated. 

As it was, they finished just five points and two places above Hartlepool. That’s two wins and 14 points from half a season, 23 games – 14 points out of a possible 69. 

There surely cannot be another team in the EFL that would have persevered with a manager presiding over that level of failure, but the club’s PLC board chose the aftermath of the 1-5 humbling by Swindon Town to, in effect, write off the rest of the season and insist that the manager will be in charge again next term. 

Much was changing, the fans were told, although no detail as to what that change was, was offered. The board were optimistic for next season. It’s worth bearing in mind that there was talk of the play-offs this time around. A chance for the fans to grill the club’s chair Mick Buckley turned into a monologue followed by a repetition of the injury and January window excuses. The board may be optimistic for next year, but whether many Wimbledon fans, 367 who made the trip on Monday, share that optimism is doubtful. 

There appears to be a culture of excuses and blame, and thoughts of a return to League One have all too quickly turned to concerns about the club’s league status. There is an increasing disconnect between the manager, along with those running the club and the fans, which needs to be corrected if another season of failure is to be avoided.

ACADEMY CONTINUES TO DELIVER

If there is actually any cause for optimism going into a second season in League Two, it must be the continued success of the AFC Wimbledon academy. 

With a cool £2,000,000 in transfer fees for Jack Rudoni and Ayoub Assal boosting the Dons’ coffers, it seems the academy is vital both for providing young talent for the first team and supplying invaluable revenue, especially as season ticket sales and attendances start to suffer as a result of events on the pitch. All this income is even more vital still since the recent revelation that despite being fifth in the league for attendances – Wimbledon are just seventeenth in terms of budget. 

One lesson Jackson does seem to have learned is the need to expose the academy youngsters to the first-team environment. Gone are the days of picking less than seven substitutes in order to stress the extent of the team’s injuries. When Saikou Janneh was injured warming up on Monday, apart from underlining the club’s ongoing issues with keeping players healthy – maybe this is part of the post-season homework – it allowed Morgan Williams a first-team debut. 

The fact Williams was present is certainly a step in the right direction, and to his credit, Jackson gave the youngster a few minutes at the end. Having been on loan at Eastbourne Borough, it can only be hoped he will emulate Jack Currie and step up to being a first-team regular in the not-too-distant future.

A DIFFICULT SUMMER AWAITS

AFC Wimbledon go into the summer with a new head of football operations, a new chief scout and an inexperienced manager. The best that can be said of the latter two (and giving the considerable benefit of the doubt) is they remain unproven. 

Considerable improvement is necessary before August. Jackson needs to work out what his tactics are for next season, and players need to be recruited accordingly. This season he started by playing three centre-halves whilst having only four at his disposal, including Will Nightingale and Paul Kalambayi, who, as in all previous seasons, missed many games through injury. 

Any basic research would have revealed that this formation has not worked for Wimbledon in the past, and it was eventually abandoned even before injuries made it impracticable. That mistake must not be repeated.

Given the failings of this season, the decision to back Jackson and his staff is one that has raised many eyebrows amongst the Dons’ support and one that will be under scrutiny from day one of the new campaign. There need to be much improved performances, tactics, game management and the basics such as defending set pieces, must be instilled from day one. Without this, another long and painful season awaits in 2023/2024.

 Best Moment: A goal-line clearance from Aaron Pierre that kept the score at just 1-0.

Star Man: Aaron Pierre: Another dominant performance in a defence that were only thwarted by a cruel deflection.