Football Season Guide

AFC Wimbledon’s triumphant return to Plough Lane continues to be mirrored by their stagnation on the pitch. The financial implications of returning home were always going to be a significant challenge and it will be again as they start another season in League Two. Clubs that continue to sell their best players end up paying the price in the end but it came early for the Dons in a disastrous 2021/22 season. Johnnie Jackson has overseen the two seasons since then and both times has seen his best player sold from under him in January. This time it was striker Ali Al-Hamadi, who notched an impressive number of goals and left for Ipswich Town for seven figures. Some of those funds are required to repay the costs of building Plough Lane; however Jackson doesn’t have a great record of spending money in the transfer market himself. Whilst the capture of Al-Hamadi on a free was a great decision, spending a significant fee on striker Josh Davison from Charlton Athletic, was the opposite. The Dons decided to cut their losses this summer and have allowed him to leave for Tranmere Rovers. Whilst his departure is no loss, those of goalkeeper Alex Bass, full-back Jack Currie and midfielder Armani Little certainly are. Whilst a significant fee was received for Currie, it illustrates the cycle continues to repeat. Jackson has addressed the loss of Al-Hamadi with the signings of striker Joe Pigott and Matt Stevens. They add experience to supplement Omar Bugiel, who was the focal point of the Dons attack last season. There are question marks over new goalkeepers Lewis Ward and Owen Goodman and where the creativity will come from but perhaps the biggest remain over Jackson himself.