AFC Wimbledon going home

[womble76]

Yes you did and not being rude but it was falling down. It was not well kept. The work we have had to do has been massive. I'm not talking the building either I'm talking the leaks, electrics , plumbing, basic care was not being carried out. 300 could not upkeep the ground without significant financial help from a backer.

 

[JaredSUFC]

You maintain the stadium you own. Well, that's just about a given.

If we, say 300 hard-core fans & that's being generous, started donating since the day you first moved in we wouldn't have enough money to even start to rival any kind of bid you require or what you paid in the first place.

Furthermore, pot/kettle? Or did this exact logic not apply to you when Wimbledon moved to MK?

Serious point, what have K's done in the last 12 years to prepare for the day when Wimbledon would move. It's obvious that day that Wimbledon were going to move was always going to come. So what have Kingstonian FC done in the last 12 years to get ready for that day? Or did they believe that Wimbledon (with a new stadium to pay for) would let Kingstonian FC have a ground that cost £2 million to purchase in 2003, and in the meantime has had significant and expensive work done to bring it up to FL grading (ironically one of the things that nearly drove Kingstonian to financial ruin in 2001), for nothing. Seriously guys, did you not even plan for anything? Or did you think if you hoped for the best, the best would happen?

I think Kingstonian have majorly shot themselves in the foot here.

 

[Wombletom]

We've made it onto the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34996861

 

[Kiwi Womble]

I'm sure you don't mean to paddy but you are coming across like you expect everything to be given to you

In the same breath you say The club probably would have been wrapped up if we hadn't bought kingsmeadow and yet we haven't helped K's at all... It doesn't make sense

You'd rather the club had been wrapped up back then?

 

[The Paranoid Pineapple]

Of course there's sympathy and empathy for Ks. They were in a no-win situation in 2002/3 - in administration, effectively on the brink of extinction, then the club's administrator allowed separation of ground and club to the asset-stripping Khoslas. Don't forget, good ol' Uncle Ron (Noades) was sniffing around for Brentford at the time as well, ready to make a bid. Our compensation offer has been described by one of Ks' own co-chairman as 'exceptionally generous', way beyond any legal obligation. Without it, we (Dons Trust members/owners of AFCW) would never have agreed the sale of KM to Chelsea. I can understand the bitterness of Ks fans but to suggest they've been sold down the river is disingenuous. There's loads of stuff about the situation online for any interested neutrals but, as an example, here's an old piece from a Ks fan on 200% http://twohundredpercent.net/?p=9392

I genuinely do appreciate the sentiment but unfortunately I can't help but feel we are being sold down the river. The two parties involved in the sale of the ground are leaving happy, while the club who built and owned the ground prior to Wimbledon arriving on the scene are being ejected, face an uncertain future and, I imagine, a rather nomadic existence.

I voted in favour, all the research I did said Kings were getting a substantial fee to help the secure their future somewhere which seemed fair.

Questions for K's fans, would you rather we'd not bought the ground and it was potentially sold to a developer like plough lane was? Who else was interested, genuine question as its a bit hard to keep track on local news all the way in NZ. Also, if your fan base is 300 odd, even if we gave you the ground could you afford to maintain it?

I guess id always thought of it as we'd bought K's 13 years to secure their own destiny either at kingsmeadow or elsewhere, very sorry to hear how dissatisfied some fans are

It seems fair in theory, but in reality the likelihood of us being able to identify, purchase and develop a plot of land in the town seems somewhere between slim and none. I would absolutely love to be proven wrong on this front, but I think the vast majority of Ks feel similarly pessimistic.

It's very difficult to know how the situation would have played out had AFC not arrived on the scene. There are certainly occasions where I think it might have been better had we gone bankrupt and resurrected ourselves as a phoenix club - no guarantees that that would have worked out of course, but not having Wimbledon on our turf and retaining ownership of Kingsmeadow might have been better for us in the long-run.

I think we could. It's a decent non-league football ground which has always served us well and, certainly prior to the "improvement" work, was pretty in keeping with what other south London clubs of a vaguely similar stature possess - Sutton, Carshalton, Dulwich, Bromley etc.

To be honest I really feel sorry for the Ks fans here, I really don't understand why the billionaires Chelsea are unwilling to allow Kingstonian to play at Kingsmeadow.

I'm unhappy about what's happening to the Ks, but this is NOT our fault. During our time at Kingsmeadow we have done everything we can to help the Ks, whilst keeping the goal of returning to Merton as realistic as possible.

To be entirely fair to Chelsea we don't know for a fact that they are unwilling to let Ks continue to play at Kingsmeadow. Certainly, the murmurings suggest that this is the case but I don't think there have been any direct discussions. Perhaps it would be completely unviable for Ks to remain at Kingsmeadow (perhaps they wouldn't want us or the rent would be astronomical etc, etc) but I think it's imperative that this possibility is explored as far as possible because the alternative could be far worse.

Without wishing to sound like a bit of a dick I'm fairly intrigued as to what Wimbledon think they've done to help Ks. I don't think you've been rotten landlords or anything but so far as I can see, all Wimbledon have done is honour a negotiated agreement (which is pretty much exactly what you'd expect them to do). Ultimately Wimbledon bought the ground from an asset stripper and are now flogging it for £££££s. Whatever way you look at it, they've done extremely well out of the arrangement. Ks? Well, who knows...

Serious point, what have K's done in the last 12 years to prepare for the day when Wimbledon would move. It's obvious that day that Wimbledon were going to move was always going to come. So what have Kingstonian FC done in the last 12 years to get ready for that day? Or did they believe that Wimbledon (with a new stadium to pay for) would let Kingstonian FC have a ground that cost £2 million to purchase in 2003, and in the meantime has had significant and expensive work done to bring it up to FL grading (ironically one of the things that nearly drove Kingstonian to financial ruin in 2001), for nothing. Seriously guys, did you not even plan for anything? Or did you think if you hoped for the best, the best would happen?

I think Kingstonian have majorly shot themselves in the foot here.

Of course you do - it's precisely what you want to think. I'm sure Sutton would have had a masterplan in place for such an eventuality though!

What would you have liked Ks to have done in the past 12 years? What do you think Ks should have done? We can all pose a bunch of fairly meaningless questions. So far as I can see there's not very much at all the fans could have been doing. The board should have been preparing for such an eventuality, sure, be it engaging in discussions with interested parties or looking out for potential new sites, but there's nothing to suggest they haven't been doing any of these things. Ultimately, if you're asset-less, if you didn't actually receive any money from the sale of the asset you did possess then your destiny is scarcely in your own hands.

 

[Kiwi Womble]

Very well written message

I think the more I read the more it boils down to this, if the K's fans are powerless to secure their future at kingsmeadow then you have to think it's too big.

I would also like to think we'd all have been stoked if someone had enabled us to keep playing at plough lane for another 13 odd years, hard to know but in hind sight it seems a better option than what we went through

 

[JaredSUFC]

I genuinely do appreciate the sentiment but unfortunately I can't help but feel we are being sold down the river. The two parties involved in the sale of the ground are leaving happy, while the club who built and owned the ground prior to Wimbledon arriving on the scene are being ejected, face an uncertain future and, I imagine, a rather nomadic existence.



It seems fair in theory, but in reality the likelihood of us being able to identify, purchase and develop a plot of land in the town seems somewhere between slim and none. I would absolutely love to be proven wrong on this front, but I think the vast majority of Ks feel similarly pessimistic.

It's very difficult to know how the situation would have played out had AFC not arrived on the scene. There are certainly occasions where I think it might have been better had we gone bankrupt and resurrected ourselves as a phoenix club - no guarantees that that would have worked out of course, but not having Wimbledon on our turf and retaining ownership of Kingsmeadow might have been better for us in the long-run.

I think we could. It's a decent non-league football ground which has always served us well and, certainly prior to the "improvement" work, was pretty in keeping with what other south London clubs of a vaguely similar stature possess - Sutton, Carshalton, Dulwich, Bromley etc.



To be entirely fair to Chelsea we don't know for a fact that they are unwilling to let Ks continue to play at Kingsmeadow. Certainly, the murmurings suggest that this is the case but I don't think there have been any direct discussions. Perhaps it would be completely unviable for Ks to remain at Kingsmeadow (perhaps they wouldn't want us or the rent would be astronomical etc, etc) but I think it's imperative that this possibility is explored as far as possible because the alternative could be far worse.

Without wishing to sound like a bit of a dick I'm fairly intrigued as to what Wimbledon think they've done to help Ks. I don't think you've been rotten landlords or anything but so far as I can see, all Wimbledon have done is honour a negotiated agreement (which is pretty much exactly what you'd expect them to do). Ultimately Wimbledon bought the ground from an asset stripper and are now flogging it for £££££s. Whatever way you look at it, they've done extremely well out of the arrangement. Ks? Well, who knows...



Of course you do - it's precisely what you want to think. I'm sure Sutton would have had a masterplan in place for such an eventuality though!

What would you have liked Ks to have done in the past 12 years? What do you think Ks should have done? We can all pose a bunch of fairly meaningless questions. So far as I can see there's not very much at all the fans could have been doing. The board should have been preparing for such an eventuality, sure, be it engaging in discussions with interested parties or looking out for potential new sites, but there's nothing to suggest they haven't been doing any of these things. Ultimately, if you're asset-less, if you didn't actually receive any money from the sale of the asset you did possess then your destiny is scarcely in your own hands.

Are you seriously suggesting that in the decade since Kholsha left there is nothing Kingstonian FC or it's supporters could have done for a day when Wimbledon needed to sell Kingsmeadow (and they're going to need to sell Kingsmeadow)? Could you not have main red a strong trust with a ground fund or something?

Of course there is a great deal of sympathy for the ordinary K's supporter, but the die seems to have been cast before Kholsha took over.

Out of interest how much rent do Wimbledon charge?

 

[Womble98]

Are you seriously suggesting that in the decade since Kholsha left there is nothing Kingstonian FC or it's supporters could have done for a day when Wimbledon needed to sell Kingsmeadow (and they're going to need to sell Kingsmeadow)? Could you not have main red a strong trust with a ground fund or something?

Of course there is a great deal of sympathy for the ordinary K's supporter, but the die seems to have been cast before Kholsha took over.

Out of interest how much rent do Wimbledon charge?

None. They get it free and all they do is moan.

 

[Meadow]

We charge no rent.

Originally it was covered by the proceeds of a PSF. Then as part of the agreement for the perimeter lease, K's were allowed to play rent-free for x number of years.

I feel awful about this, but we (may) have a £20m stadium to build. The land is being made available but we have to fund the building ourselves. Sponsorship, and possibly a contribution from Galliards will cover some of it. The sale of Kingsmeadow will cover more but we'll still have to raise another £3-7m.

Lady Womble (if she's who I think she is) will confirm that a number of people expressed concern as to what would happen to K's and also asked why they couldn't remain at KM. Chelsea want the ground to themselves, and K's board have made it clear that the ground is no longer suitable.

Interview with one of K's directors which persuaded a number of Dons which way to vote

 

[Bar Carousel]

Has the idea of Kingstonian playing at Wimbledons new ground been considered?

 

[Womble98]

Has the idea of Kingstonian playing at Wimbledons new ground been considered?

They wouldn't want that.

 

[Paddy]

I'm sure you don't mean to paddy but you are coming across like you expect everything to be given to you

In the same breath you say The club probably would have been wrapped up if we hadn't bought kingsmeadow and yet we haven't helped K's at all... It doesn't make sense

You'd rather the club had been wrapped up back then?

PP is taking the mantle on from here it seems so I'm gona be a good little sheeple & end involvement in this discussion. However just to point out as a direct reply to the bolded paragraph that you read what I said completely wrong. I said Kholsa was more likely to pull the plug AFTER he sold KM to you (to add for clarity: as he had no more assets to strip from us)

 

[mnb089mnb]

There's a real danger that if Ks go and share with Corinthian Casuals that they may end up doing what Dons did to Ks by dwarfing the original holders of the ground.

This day was inevitable at some point, just wish Wimbledon and Kingstonian had some foresight in deciding what would happen when it eventually came.

 

[JonnyWomble]

Really if the Ks end up going to Corinthian Casuals then it will probably ruin the club, which is awful. Having reffed at CC a few times I can say that the transport links are awful. Due to parking across the A3 and the maximum capacity carpark around 20 ish cars, you will probably see around 300 max in the ground everyweek.

 

[Wombling Kiwi]

Has the idea of Kingstonian playing at Wimbledons new ground been considered?

Wimbledon want to play in Wimbledon and Kingstonian want to play in Kingston.
I do agree that there should have been something in the contract between the 2 clubs as to what happens when Wimbledon move, as this was always going to happen.

 

[Wombletom]

Today is the day that Merton council decide.

 

[Meadow]

Nervous as hell.

 

[Wombletom]

#bringthedonshome

 

[JaredSUFC]

Good luck Wombles. Fingers and toes crossed for you.

 

[oakroader]

eyes crossed !!

 

[Wombletom]

http://www.merton.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/198525

Live on the web

 

[JonnyWomble]

Planning permission granted - unanimous decision we're coming home

 

[Wombletom]

Unanimous decision. We're going home #bringthedonshome

 

[DarkSithLord]

Congratulations Wombles!

 

[Wombletom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35066622

We're going home. #bringthedonshome

 

[Dazza]

Congratulations.

 

[The Paranoid Pineapple]

No mention of the elephant in the room as usual.

 

[Leewilson]

Excellent news for Wimbledon. Back to Plough Lane you go. Hopefully we'll still be in the same league when you relocate as I'd love to be able to say I've been to watch Daggers play at Plough Lane, even if it's not the original ground.

 

[Grecian O'Grecian]

Congratulations, Wimbledon.

The plans look great!

 

[JaredSUFC]

Congratulations Wombles! Really returning home