AFC Wimbledon is proving the old saying “It never rains but it pours” to be true. They are still investigating the reason and damage to their pitch and ground by the past weekend’s bad weather, only to be handed a charge by the FA for misconduct at the end of their goalless draw at Bradford City last Saturday.
The charge, to which both clubs have until Thursday to respond, followed a hefty challenge by Bantams captain Richie Smallwood on the Dons Myles Hippolyte. This resulted in a big confrontation between the two sides’ players. The two players involved saw yellow cards issued to them.
https://t.co/J6xpJCMwP4 pic.twitter.com/Z8pypj7kCI
— Bradford City Latam (@BCAFC_Latam) September 21, 2024
Now though the FA have slapped a charge on both teams as they saw that the players “did not behave in an improper and/or provocative way” One Wimbledon fan took to social media platform X to display his frustration at the charge:
Dear FA, we’re a bit busy at the moment.
Could this wait a while do you think? 🤦🏻♂️ https://t.co/rYoBu7lJos— Ray Armfield (@KentWomble) September 24, 2024
In the meantime BBC Sport has reported that over 100,000 litres of water has been pumped clear of the Dons’ Plough Lane home, the equivalent of leaving a tap running for a week. With the ground floor areas of the stadium under water, as well as huge damage to one corner of the pitch – with no idea at this stage how extensive the pitch repairs will be.
Managing Director, James Woodruff, described the scene as a “natural disaster”, but in true Wimbledon spirit, it has been a case of rolling their sleeves up and dealing with another obstacle in the club’s fascinating history.
“I woke up to images from my stadium team. I thought it was AI [artificial intelligence]. The entire stadium, the concourse and ground floor, was under water. It was horrendous. The pitch has significant damage. We filled four tankers, which house 27,000 litres each – over 100,000 litres.”
This evening’s Carabao Cup third-round match against Premier League Newcastle United was immediately postponed and subsequently switched to St. James’ Park next Tuesday evening. This also means a home League Two match against Crewe Alexandra next Tuesday has also been put on ice.
The club is still hoping to fulfil their league game against Accrington Stanley this weekend but will have to be played at an alternative South London venue. Following this the club do have a fortnight to see if they can make the repairs to the pitch before the scheduled visit of Carlisle United on October 12.
The damage was caused when the nearby River Wandle broke its banks, the first time this has happened since the late 1960’s. Woodruff said that diggers are expected to start work on Wednesday, and then the extent of the damage will be fully known, and how long repairs could take.
With Wimbledon in fine form, sitting three points off the top spot with a game in hand, this disruption couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Wombles fan Graham Stacey set up a JustGiving page in the hope of raising funds to help the club repair the damage, with a target of £100,000. Former players and club directors have donated to a fund that has topped £55,000 currently. Amongst those contributing was Newcastle themselves, who chipped in with a large £15,000.
“We are really thankful for all the support,” Woodroof added. “It typifies the spirit of this football club, this relentless resilience and community spirit is extraordinary.
“Time after time this football club has defied naysayers. We have another obstacle in our path and I’ve no doubt we’ll be back and I’m hopeful it’s sooner rather than later.”
Writers View
AFC Wimbledon has always fought against the tide, and this stretch of water – with added FA charge thrown in – will have put them off course. However, if you put any type of barrier up against the South West London club, they will rise and set sail through their enormous community spirit.
The FA charge couldn’t have come at a worse time, with the club already on a shoestring budget, and now facing a potential loss in revenue as well as a huge repair bill. Against all the odds though, you wouldn’t bet against the club coming out of this high and dry.
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