EFL Young Player of the Month Award

[Franchisor]

September's award went to MK Dons' Callum Brittain, who was also called up to England U20 last month, one of only 3 non-Premier League players in the England U20 squad. He went on to get 3 assists in the two England games he played in.

Say what you like about our club, how much you hate us, how we're a franchise with no history etc.

But one thing you can't deny - we have an excellent academy that keeps on producing.

We've now won the EFL Young Player of the Month Award 4 times, which makes us joint top with Watford for most winners - more than established clubs with decades of history.

Our other winners were Dele Alli, Sam Baldock and Patrick Bamford. 3 out of our 4 winners are academy graduates. Other notable academy players include Sheyi Ojo, George Baldock (now at Sheff Utd), Brendan Galloway, Kevin Danso (Austria international) and several others playing at top clubs here and abroad.

Not bad considering we've only been around since 2004, achieving more with our academy than clubs decades older.

 

[hold'um Oldham]

Blah blah blah

 

[Bobbin']

It started in 2009 ffs. You already existed, hardly like you've played catch up.

Also, the irony of using this as an argument for your historic achievements.

 

[Franchisor]

It started in 2009 ffs. You already existed, hardly like you've played catch up.

Also, the irony of using this as an argument for your historic achievements.

No, but you'd expect more established clubs to do better than us with academies wouldn't you? Of course we were playing catch up in terms of running an academy. For a club only established in 2004 we've already had more academy grads play for England than numerous other FL clubs.

We finally do something to be proud of and still get chastised for it. If AFC Wimbledon had achieved similar, people would be letting us know about it and praising them for how much their academy has achieved in such a short space of time, guarantee it.

 

[hold'um Oldham]

Why bother acknowledging something a stolen club, a club you despise has done

 

[Franchisor]

Why bother acknowledging something a stolen club, a club you despise has done

I don't despise them as a football club, I can appreciate what they have achieved as well.

I just despise the way their media team and fans act in such a petulant way (e.g. not putting our badge/name on their programme), whereas we generally remain professional about it and aren't so petty. It's all a bit childish.

And 'stolen' is the buzz word people like to use, but the reality is nothing of the sort. No idea how someone legally taking ownership of a club equates to 'stolen', but there are a lot of stupid people who like the fairytale side to AFC Wimbledon and choose to believe the spin, most of which is either exaggerated, twisted or just downright lies.

 

[WilsdenBantam]

There's a young player of the month award?

 

[StevieEvansRedNWhiteArmy]

And you’re still a mediocre league one side who in their only foray into the Championship couldn’t fund a side to stay there.

Doesn’t matter though you’ve had a few decent 12 year olds.

 

[Franchisor]

And you’re still a mediocre league one side who in their only foray into the Championship couldn’t fund a side to stay there.

Doesn’t matter though you’ve had a few decent 12 year olds.

Says a Rotherham fan..

 

[SF_]

Where was the academy stolen from?

 

[Franchisor]

Where was the academy stolen from?

Nowhere actually. A new one was created from scratch in Milton Keynes. None of the academy players or infrastructure were brought up from Wimbledon. Yes a lot of Wimbledon academy players lost their places, but they would have anyway if the club had been wound up.

By the way sheep, the club itself wasn't stolen either, unless the definition of theft has changed recently.

 

[ThisTinpotLeague]

But one thing you can't deny - we have an excellent academy that keeps on producing.

I deny it.

But why are you getting wound up here? It's always gonna hang over MK and your best bet is to not rise to it. And you have the added benefit that everyone likes Wimbledon a little less every time they actually have to play them or talk to their fans on here.

 

[Franchisor]

I deny it.

But why are you getting wound up here? It's always gonna hang over MK and your best bet is to not rise to it. And you have the added benefit that everyone likes Wimbledon a little less every time they actually have to play them or talk to their fans on here.

Because by now I would have thought people would have seen through all the petty crap the media and AFCW put out there about us, yet so many who like the idea of the fairytale seem to lap it up and take everything as gospel.

I agree that more are starting to see the 'real' AFC Wimbledon that we and quite a few non-league clubs (not to mention Kingstonian) have seen regarding the behaviour of their fans and the way they act as a club, which the media and others ignore. The sense of entitlement they have is nauseating.

 

[Bobbin']

No, but you'd expect more established clubs to do better than us with academies wouldn't you? Of course we were playing catch up in terms of running an academy. For a club only established in 2004 we've already had more academy grads play for England than numerous other FL clubs.

We finally do something to be proud of and still get chastised for it. If AFC Wimbledon had achieved similar, people would be letting us know about it and praising them for how much their academy has achieved in such a short space of time, guarantee it.

I meant you're hardly playing catch up in terms of the amounts of awards when they only began in 2009.

To be perfectly Frank, other than Dele the others have just turned out to be run of the mill players knocking about in the Championship.

Just going to use us an example, we've only had one player win this award yet since 2009 we've sold on the likes of Shelvey, Jenkinson, Pope, Gomez, Lookman. Which has fetched over £20mil. One has gone on to represent the England first team and others have played/are playing in the Champions League. I would say that is a better indicator of how good an academy is. Interestingly, the only Charlton player to win this is Jordan Cousins, the only graduate we have sold in my memory that hasn't gone on to play in the PL which further backs up my point.

I would never criticise MK for their academy but when you've created a whole thread to gloat that an MK Dons player has won some meaningless award 4 times out of an approximate 72 months as a way to endorse your history, it needs pointing out that it's crap.

 

[Franchisor]

I meant you're hardly playing catch up in terms of the amounts of awards when they only began in 2009.

To be perfectly Frank, other than Dele the others have just turned out to be run of the mill players knocking about in the Championship.

Just going to use us an example, we've only had one player win this award yet since 2009 we've sold on the likes of Shelvey, Jenkinson, Pope, Gomez, Lookman. Which has fetched over £20mil. One has gone on to represent the England first team and others have played/are playing in the Champions League. I would say that is a better indicator of how good an academy is. Interestingly, the only Charlton player to win this is Jordan Cousins, the only graduate we have sold in my memory that hasn't gone on to play in the PL which further backs up my point.

I would never criticise MK for their academy but when you've created a whole thread to gloat that an MK Dons player has won some meaningless award 4 times out of an approximate 72 months as a way to endorse your history, it needs pointing out that it's crap.

I think you're wrong. Yes it's fairly meaningless as an award in itself, but when you see the calibre of players that have won it since 2009, and the fact 3 out of the 4 players that have won it for us are academy graduates, I don't think it's meaningless and certainly shows that we do something right and that's produce good young professionals, better than most clubs in the EFL especially outside of the Championship.

It was more the point that our tiny club that has only been around for 13 years has won the award the most times out of any EFL club.

Our club gets slated all the time, I don't think it's a bad thing to highlight something positive for us - obviously it will get taken the wrong way because of who we are.

You mentioned a lot of Charlton players and I also think your lot have a very good academy, probably the only one in this league better than ours (perhaps Wigan are up there too).

 

[Lance Stoe]

Wigan???

Leighton Baines?

Now I'm struggling to think of many more

 

[Franchisor]

Wigan???

Leighton Baines?

Now I'm struggling to think of many more

Yeah you're right - automatically assumed they had a half-decent set-up given they were in the Prem not long ago and have a half decent budget.

 

[Simpo]

I just try and ignore Milton Keynes as best I can. Apart from here, obviously.

 

[StevieEvansRedNWhiteArmy]

Says a Rotherham fan..

Yeah says a Rotherham fan.

We’re not claiming to have the English La Masia.

 

[RobboPOSH]

I think you're wrong. Yes it's fairly meaningless as an award in itself, but when you see the calibre of players that have won it since 2009, and the fact 3 out of the 4 players that have won it for us are academy graduates, I don't think it's meaningless and certainly shows that we do something right and that's produce good young professionals, better than most clubs in the EFL especially outside of the Championship.

It was more the point that our tiny club that has only been around for 13 years has won the award the most times out of any EFL club.

Our club gets slated all the time, I don't think it's a bad thing to highlight something positive for us - obviously it will get taken the wrong way because of who we are.

You mentioned a lot of Charlton players and I also think your lot have a very good academy, probably the only one in this league better than ours (perhaps Wigan are up there too).

Calibre? Some utterly pump players have won it, Jermaine Anderson was one of ours ffs.

 

[ThisTinpotLeague]

Because by now I would have thought people would have seen through all the petty crap the media and AFCW put out there about us, yet so many who like the idea of the fairytale seem to lap it up and take everything as gospel.

Looking for other fans to praise your club on here is the best way to guarantee everyone taking the piss out of you.

I have to admit, as a man who hasn't really considered it enough to know better, it's always struck me that the money that built your fancy stadium could easily have taken an existing MK team up through the pub leagues and gotten to L1 without any of this.

 

[Strawberry_Jam]

Looking for other fans to praise your club on here is the best way to guarantee everyone taking the piss out of you.

I have to admit, as a man who hasn't really considered it enough to know better, it's always struck me that the money that built your fancy stadium could easily have taken an existing MK team up through the pub leagues and gotten to L1 without any of this.

First time I've agreed with everything an Oxford fan has said.
THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE DONE MILTON KEYNES

 

[Franchisor]

Looking for other fans to praise your club on here is the best way to guarantee everyone taking the piss out of you.

I have to admit, as a man who hasn't really considered it enough to know better, it's always struck me that the money that built your fancy stadium could easily have taken an existing MK team up through the pub leagues and gotten to L1 without any of this.

That’s not how it works. Long story short, the agreement to fund and build the stadium only went ahead because of a property deal for the land around it involving IKEA, Asda etc.

There was never a pot of money we had, it was purely funded on that deal, it was never available to spend on anything the club wanted it had to be used on building a stadium.

Another myth/spin generated by the AFC media machine that people choose to believe a single it fits the picture of us being the villain.

 

[Franchisor]

Yeah says a Rotherham fan.

We’re not claiming to have the English La Masia.

Not talking about your academy, more the fact you brought up our single season stay in the Championship, yet Rotherham haven’t gone beyond the second tier in their entire 92 year history, mostly floating around the bottom 6 in recent years. So, a bit rich.

Think we’ll have the last laugh when Dele Alli is sold in the next few seasons - confirmed 18% sell on fee so potentially £15m+ who knows.

 

[RobboPOSH]

Not talking about your academy, more the fact you brought up our single season stay in the Championship, yet Rotherham haven’t gone beyond the second tier in their entire 92 year history, mostly floating around the bottom 6 in recent years. So, a bit rich.

Think we’ll have the last laugh when Dele Alli is sold in the next few seasons - confirmed 18% sell on fee so potentially £15m+ who knows.

With a shiny stadium and ridiculously good academy there'll be nothing to spend it on.

 

[ThisTinpotLeague]

Another myth/spin generated by the AFC media machine that people choose to believe a single it fits the picture of us being the villain.

I mean, it's not, is it? Because I said I hadn't read anything, and I certainly don't read anything Wimbledon fans write. It was just a common sense statement about a club with a big stadium and a history they'll never shake.

Crying conspiracy theory isn't gonna win many friends. To be honest, it's a moot point - let me reword my statement for your sensitive eyes:

I don't understand why a town the size of MK wouldn't just chance their luck at climbing the league ladder like every other club had to, thus avoiding this issue that will forever be a weight around your neck.

And finally, I can't emphasise enough: if you're waiting for us all to rub your belly and tell you what a special club you support then you would be disappointed no matter who you supported.

 

[RobboPOSH]

I mean, it's not, is it? Because I said I hadn't read anything, and I certainly don't read anything Wimbledon fans write. It was just a common sense statement about a club with a big stadium and a history they'll never shake.

Crying conspiracy theory isn't gonna win many friends. To be honest, it's a moot point - let me reword my statement for your sensitive eyes:

I don't understand why a town the size of MK wouldn't just chance their luck at climbing the league ladder like every other club had to, thus avoiding this issue that will forever be a weight around your neck.

And finally, I can't emphasise enough: if you're waiting for us all to rub your belly and tell you what a special club you support then you would be disappointed no matter who you supported.

At least they wouldn't have had to Google where Hyde is.

 

[ThisTinpotLeague]

With a shiny stadium and ridiculously good academy there'll be nothing to spend it on.

£15m could pay for 750 MK fans to post a year of propaganda on internet forums, with enough left over to sponsor the young player of the month award, so they'd put it to good use.

 

[Franchisor]

I mean, it's not, is it? Because I said I hadn't read anything, and I certainly don't read anything Wimbledon fans write. It was just a common sense statement.

Crying conspiracy theory isn't gonna win many friends. To be honest, it's a moot point - let me reword my statement for your sensitive eyes:

I don't understand why a town the size of MK wouldn't just chance their luck at climbing the league ladder like every other club had to, thus avoiding this issue that will forever be a weight around your neck.

MK supporters have become used to the ignorance of most football fans.

Think the fact MK is a new town, most support existed for other clubs nearby like Luton and Northampton, just don’t think there was an appetite for a club in MK, certainly not 20 to 30 years ago so no real encouragement to take a club through the leagues. That will change as more younger fans grow up around our club and the move is forgotten by more people.

We have a population similar to Southampton, our fan base will grow for sure over the next decade or two.

 

[ThisTinpotLeague]

MK supporters have become used to the ignorance of most football fans

Gosh, I thought most people didn't like you because of Wimbledon but this has been enlightening.

Frankly, I don't buy it on the rest of your post. Clubs increase their fan base all the time, they just have to work for it. If MK didn't want to earn a decent professional team then it doesn't deserve one.