View from Kingsmeadow, Volume 42: League Two, Here We Come!

It has been a long season for the boys of AFC Wimbledon, but they are back. With a vengeance.

Manager Terry Brown was upbeat heading into the Wombles's blockbuster showdown with the Hatters of Luton Town FC.

"Saturday's play off final seems a perfect time to reflect upon the four seasons since Stuart and I arrived at AFC Wimbledon. The first year for any manager is a difficult one," Brown told reporters heading into the match. Entering the Ryman League managing the team with the biggest name and biggest gates is certainly a pressure environment.

"Thankfully, Stuart and I had both experienced this before with Aldershot and this allowed us to be slightly calmer than most of the fan base, who had suffered two back-to-back promotion play off defeats."

Brown did not hide anything from the press when talking about the demand required from the coaches as a member on the Dons first team.

"The mentality required from players to play for a team such as AFC Wimbledon has to be a very strong one. We therefore brought in players such as Jason Goodliffe, Jake Leberl, Rob Quinn and, of course, Marcus Gayle, in addition to the young and talented players I inherited from Dave Anderson," Brown said.

"We were pitched up against a very strong Chelmsford side that year, who deservedly won the title and it left us, as most of you will remember, with a tricky away play off final at Staines.

"My recollection of the final is probably similar to your own, as I watched a pretty painful 80 minutes and a wonderful, majestic 10 minutes to finish. The substitutes helped to win it on the day and, as always, a little bit of Lady Luck was required. A year of frustrated football tasted a lot sweeter after those magical 10 minutes."

A last-gasp free kick from Mark DeBolla helped AFC Wimbledon get promoted to the Football Conference South a few years ago.

"The calibre and mindset of players required to get you out of the Ryman League is different to those players required to win the Blue Square South," Brown said. "A promising preseason with several new faces took us into our first game of the season at Newport, and I can't ever remember one game that single-handedly shaped our season as much as that one.

"I went there as a manager thinking this will be one of the most difficult games of the season and came away thinking 'we could win this title.' I know it sounds ridiculous to place so much emphasis on one game, but that was just how I felt.

"Some of the football we played that year, with fantastic contributions by Jon Main and Tony Finn, was as good as I could ever have hoped for. Some of the early games in particular, with late winners against Bognor and Thurrock, still stay with me today. The club's highlights package, put together by Charlie Kemp, is still regular viewing in my household."

AFC Wimbledon only spent one season in the Football Conference South, running away with the title by the end of the penultimate game of the regular season—a road win against Hampton & Richmond Borough.

"The midseason arrival of Danny Kedwell, after a scouting mission by Erik Samuelson and me (editor's note - this is the type of flattery that Terry uses every time he wants to sign a new player), bolstered the squad and allowed us those memorable scenes away to Hampton and at home to St. Alban's," Brown said.

"Promotion into the Blue Square Premier would always mean a change of personnel. After discussions as to a longer term plan towards building a side capable of competing in the Football League, the policy was always going to be to play football but to bring in younger players we would be able to mould into the kind of side we were looking for.

"Our first year in the Conference National was better than we really expected, and although we knew at the time we were punching above our weight I had hoped that with addition of two or three loan players, we could have kicked on into the playoffs.

"The loans proved to be unsuccessful as far as that season was concerned; however, we had started to build the nucleus of a young and talented side that would stand us in good stead the following year."

In the first season in the Conference National, AFC Wimbledon finished a respectable eighth.

"After another cull in the summer, the start of the season saw the promotion and recruitment of more young players," Brown went on, "including Christian Jolley, Ryan Jackson, Fraser Franks and Ed Harris, all of whom played a major part in our good start, and the establishment of Seb Brown as our regular first-team goalkeeper with Jack Turner, who was promoted to be Seb's understudy.

"A good FA Cup run coupled with several injuries allowed me to bend Erik's ear to recruit a senior warrior in Jamie Stuart, whose first game I can remember, with him almost single-handedly beating off Darlington on a freezing, unplayable pitch.

"Shortly afterwards we brought in Gareth Gwillim on loan to replace Chris Bush, who had done so well for us that Brentford recalled him. These two signings have allowed two very experienced players to come in and support our very young back four.

"We also recruited James Mulley, who added pace, grit and goals to our midfield. We needed to strengthen the team as, after a successful first part of the season, Sammy Moore and Fraser Franks succumbed to long-term injuries that would see them miss the remainder of the season.

"New additions later in the year included Drewe Broughton and Kirk Hudson, the latter of whom never really achieved full fitness. We also benefited from the re-emergence of the fit again Lee Minshull, who has brought strength, height and power into midfield, and Ricky Wellard who was rejuvenated by his 11-game stint at Cambridge and brought a calm assurance to midfield."

The Dons were riding a nine-game unbeaten streak after a 3-1 road defeat to eventual league champions Crawley Town on March 18, 2011.

"After the Crawley fixture, where I thought we underperformed on the evening, we sat down with the team to explain exactly what was required for promotion. We had 10 games left, of which we would aim to win all 10," Brown said.

"As with all targets set, the first step can be the most difficult to take and a very unconvincing scrappy win over Rushden and Diamonds at home led us into the run which we are now in.

"Our final throw of the dice was the recruitment of Kaid Mohamed who had really impressed in the 2-2 draw at Bath City. Fine wins against Barrow and Cambridge allowed us to dream of that special day in Manchester.

"Winning teams tend to be those which aren't changed too often and we were able to pick a fairly settled side from there on in. We went into the Fleetwood semis full of confidence, which showed itself in a very professional away win at Highbury."

Wimbledon came into the match with Luton on a scoring tear, destroying Fleetwood Town 8-1 on aggregate.

"The most nervous times of any playoffs are in between the two semifinal legs, regardless of the outcome of the first game," Brown explained. "If we were going to show any fear or freeze on the night then it would have been at home in the second leg.

"Thankfully, I needn't have worried as the players approached the game at a fantastic tempo, which saw us secure the tie within 28 minutes and allowed us the breathing space to play our football for the remainder of the game.

"When we played Luton at the start of the season at Kenilworth Road we had a very young and talented side that would benefit from the experience of a 3-0 defeat.

"We go into Saturday's playoff final with the benefit of several quality signings added to that young side and if the training I've witnessed this week is anything to go by, we go into Saturday's game full of confidence and knowing we are in the best form of our lives...the boys can't wait to get to Manchester."

Wimbledon chairman Erik Samuelson does not feel the pressure that Luton has in making the move up to League Two.

"It would be a dreadful blow not to win," said Samuelson, "but we are in it for the long haul. We are a stable club, financially sound. While it would wreck the summer, it won't change the bigger picture of where we are going.

"We will get promoted [at some stage] and right the wrong done to us."

“Regaining League status actually, that’s what we’re doing,” said assistant manager Simon Bassey to the Telegraph's Jim White. “The feeling around our club is that we had our place stolen from us. The fans still feel it.

"The way to get in the Football League is to earn your place, like we are doing: hard work, man hours, willpower. Not stealing someone else’s place, like Milton Keynes did.

"If you talk to people involved, in and around the club it’s incredible. You feel the love and the drive and even back then, in them leagues, you knew it must succeed. We knew even then we’d get to where we are now.”

The fear of falling short was felt by the players heading into today's match, most notably captain Danny Kedwell.

"Being captain of Wimbledon is special, but it is also a position that makes me feel sick if we don't achieve promotion," Kedwell told the Sun. "I love this club and it would be great to be remembered in years to come as the person who captained Wimbledon into the Football League.

"The fans want to be back in the league, and that is where this club belongs. We are aware of the history and what promotion would mean to this club.

"There is no danger of us going into the game thinking it will be easy. We have played Luton twice this year and know they are a tough side. All the players are buzzing. Yes, we are going into the biggest game of our lives, but we are the form team."

After 120 minutes, Danny Kedwall scored the winning spot kick to return to the Football League. While the season is indeed a wash for Luton Town, it is sheer enthusiasm and elation for the Wombles, who are back!

The View from Kingsmeadow proudly adjourns for the year and will resume with Volume 43, scheduled for August 2011.