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Preview: MK Dons v Grimsby

By: The Fishy Team
Date: 05/04/2007

OUT of form Town head to The National Hockey Stadium to take on one of the most despised teams in the Football League, MK Dons, who currently lie in fourth place.

Home > 2006-2007 Season > Previews > MK Dons (a)


The Opposition

Overview
Mk Dons have the shortest history of professional football in England. Created in 2004 from Wimbledon FC the franchises controversial move to the home of the plastic cows is one of the most hotly debated topics in English Football. The clubs main reasons for the move been to find Milton Keynes a league team, as well as upping attendances for The Dons and to offer a solution to Wimbledon’s never ending quest, for a place to call home since leaving Plough Lane in 1991. The 70 mile move north of London has yet to help considerably in an upsurge in fans and all hope rests on a move to a 22,000 stadium next season to help draw in the crowds for the copied Americanised franchise.

MK Dons have found some stability since their creation three years ago, with continued relegations from the Championship to League Two seeming all too familiar for us. MK Dons manager Martin (don't call me Mad Dog) Allen has to be congratulated on turning the cow around. The former Brentford manager has created a team which has had an upturn in performance and results. Consequently the favourites for promotion at the start of the season sit in fourth place a point behind automatic promotion chasing Swindon.

The Team
Milton Keynes have an impressive array of strikers on hand this season with two of them in the League Two’s top scorers list for the season so far in Izale Mcleod and a previous player on Grimsby’s shortlist Clive Platt (left). The duo have helped The Dons consistently through the season with their striking prowess and have been able to get the Dons out of quite a few tight spots since August.

Martin Allen had been able to count on a team whose robust nature had added an impressive away form to the side’s frighteningly good home form, unfortunately for Allen this has all but evaporated with the clubs away form now sporadic at best with heavy defeats to both Peterborough, 4-0 and Rochdale, 5-0 since Christmas. The team seem to have overcome their latest demoralising 4-0 defeat to on form Peterborough a month ago though with four games without defeat. At Home it’s a different story The Dons can boast an impressive record of seven games without defeat and that been to promotion rivals Swindon in a tight 1-0 game back on New Years Day.

MK Dons have ex-Stockport midfielder Aaron Wilbraham out for the rest of the season due to an ankle injury which is needing surgery and will keep the Dons third leading goal scorer out for at least three months. Watford loanee Albert Jarrett has joined The Dons till the end of the season from Vicarage Road after previously gracing struggling Boston.

Key Player
Izale Mcleod (left) is League Two’s leading scorer with 20 goals and a share of 32% of Milton Keynes goals this season. The role his strike partner Clive Platt plays to the hotshot is imperative to the strikers success and the two have formed the best strike force the league has seen in many years with both totalling up 38 goals this season so far. The only problem McLeod has is his temperament with 7 yellows and 3 red cards this season it may be worth following in the footsteps of Materazzi. The former Derby trainee has impressed consistently since joining the Dons in 2004 with 18 goals in both of the last two seasons. With such a high goal count even during relegation battles its hardly surprising the Birmingham born striker has generated interest from clubs up and down the country, fortunately for the fans of MK Dons the striker has consistently turned down offers from several clubs citing he wants to play at a higher level, but with a possible transfer to Manchester City still a possibility it may prove hard for the striker to turn down at the end of the season.

Recent Form

TownMK Dons
LNotts Co(a)0-2
LPeterborough(h)0-2
WSwindon(h)1-0
WHereford(a)1-0
WBury(h)2-0
Currently 17th in League Two.
DHereford(a)0-0
DWalsall(h)1-1
WWrexham(h)2-1
WMacclesfield(h)3-0
LPeterborough(a)0-4
Currently 4th in League Two.

Top Scorers

TownMK Dons
Peter Bore8
Ciaran Toner8
McLeod20
Platt15

Team News

TownMK Dons

  • There is a doubt over centre-back Nick Fenton who has an ongoing knee problem.

  • Alan Buckley again has to decide between 4-4-2 and 4-5-1, with the latter more likely.

  • Danny North may return to the starting line up after being rested last week.

  • Alan Buckley may also be tempted to try one or more youngsters such as Andy Taylor.
  • Full Back Jamie Smith misses out with an ankle injury.

  • Midfielder Aaron Wilbraham is out for the rest of the season needing ankle surgery.
  • Probable Teams

    TownMK Dons
    1Phil Barnes
    2John McDermott
    3Tom Newey
    5Nick Fenton
    6Justin Whittle
    17Peter Till
    25James Hunt
    16Danny Boshell
    8Paul Bolland
    10Ciaran Toner
    22Danny North
    1Lee Harper
    12Jude Stirling
    6Sean O'Hanlon
    4Drissa Diallo
    3Dean Lewington
    14Gareth Edds
    13Keith Andrews
    5Dominic Blizzard
    7Jon-Paul McGovern
    10Izale McLeod
    9Clive Platt

    Subs

    TownMK Dons
    13Robert Murray
    20Gary Croft
    20Matt Bloomer
    18Peter Bore
    19Gary Jones
    24Adam Watts
    31Adolfo Baines
    16Leon Knight
    21Jonathan Hayes
    23Lloyd Dyer

    Head to Head

    Town have only played MK Dons once before, the match at Blundell Park earlier this season. However, Town have played MK Dons in their previous incarnation Wimbledon, against whom they just have the edge.

    P 19 W 7 D 7 L 5 F 36 A 32

    MK Dons Head-to-Head (25th on The Opposition Ladder)

    Last Meeting

    In a game they were easily on top of Grimsby thew away 2-0 and then 3-2 leads against Wimbledon at Selhurst Park, and had to hang on for a point in a game they should have got three. The Mariners went on to get relegated that season, a outcome which looked increasingly likely that January day in front of just over 1000 people - a record low for the Championship that season and probably since.

    11-Jan-2003
    MK Dons3 - 3Grimsby
    Agyemang 67
    Darlington 69
    Francis 73
     Boulding 35
    Andersen 52 (og)
    Campbell 72

    Grimsby Team: Mildenhall, Cohen, Newey, Futcher, Croft; Toner, Bolland (Barwick 82), Woodhouse, Goodfellow (Parkinson 78); Reddy, Mendes Subs (not used): Downey, North, Murray

    MK Dons Team: Pilkington; Wilson, Baudet, Martin (Long 78); Pipe, Edwards, Crooks, Needham (Scoffham 69), Palmer; Dadi, DeBolla
    Subs (not used): Marshall, O'Callaghan, Ullathorne

    Attendance: 1,336  Report

    Prediction

    MK Dons 1-1 Town

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