The Cherry Red Records Stadium
AFC Wimbledon v Accrington Stanley, 19th November 2024
There is something mythical about Plough Lane. It feels emblematic of real football.
AFC Wimbledon, after all, are a club whose soul was sold out from underneath its fans but somehow fought to keep its identity. Their ground says something contrarian about the fad for new, identikit stadia and football’s rampant consumerism post-1992; it might be a very new stadium, but there is something fun and distinctive about the coloured seats and the way the stands nestle amid the flats of its urban setting. The Cherry Red Records Stadium might well have a sponsor, but it is a throwback to football as it was meant to be.
The modern ground actually sits approximately 200m to the east of the original stadium. Old Plough Lane, always sponsor-less, was the home of Wimbledon FC from 1912 until it was sold in 1998; ironically, to a supermarket chain that also no longer exists in the form it did then (Safeway).
Wimbledon FC, the Dons or the “Crazy Gang,” had stopped using the ground in 1991, as a result of the recommendations contained in the post-Hillsborough Taylor Report, which required all first and second division clubs to be all-seater by August 1994; this was not deemed viable by the club’s board. That version of Wimbledon had been very successful since election to the Football League in 1977, but had always been dogged by financial problems, never following through, for example, with a plan to build a 20,000-seater ground in Merton, for which permission was granted in 1988.
The “temporary” groundshare with Crystal Palace that began in 1991-92 – an amazing year for English football – dragged on into the 2000s. Old Plough Lane was used for reserve team games by both Wimbledon and Palace, until it was sold. There are now flats on the site, with blocks named for former Wimbledon players, managers and a chairman, after lobbying by fans.
Wimbledon FC were finally relegated from the top flight in 2000, after fourteen seasons; financial woes ensued and in August 2001 the club announced its plan to relocate to Milton Keynes, seventy miles away. Fans objected vociferously, as did the FA and EFL initially, although approval was granted in May 2002 after a 2-1 vote by an independent FA commission. Disaffected supporters immediately founded AFC Wimbledon and by the summer of 2004, Wimbledon FC had been rebranded as Milton Keynes Dons. They were not allowed to maintain their claim to the 1988 FA Cup won by their forerunner – a statue of Dave Beasant lifting the trophy is now outside the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
“New” Wimbledon – now AFC Wimbledon – started life in the Combined Counties League (tier nine), ironically, now also sponsored by Cherry Red Records, but had been promoted back to the Football League by 2011. They played at Kingsmeadow until their new Plough Lane ground was opened in November 2020 (albeit with a short ground share with QPR whilst construction work was completed).
The new ground is shared with rugby league side London Broncos and sits on the site of the former Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, which closed in 2017. Cherry Red Records have been sponsors since 2022.
When the ground opened, on 3rd November 2020, there was no crowd in attendance to watch AFC’s 2-2 draw with Doncaster because of Covid restrictions. With a capacity of just over 9,000, the highest attendance was 8,623 for a league game with Walsall in April. Attendances are up this season compared to last, with an average of over 7,800.
The club have only been back in League Two since relegation at the end of 2021-22. They went into tonight’s fixture three points outside the play-offs, in tenth, but with three games in hand on sixth-placed Grimsby Town. Visitors Accrington Stanley, meanwhile – probably still most famous for that 1980s milk advertisement – have clawed their way out of the League Two relegation spots in recent weeks.
Accrington were reformed in 1968 after the collapse of the original Accrington Stanley, which had competed in the Football League between 1921 and 1962. They (re-)entered the Football League in 2006 and, like AFC Wimbledon, have spent time in League One, before returning to their current division in 2023.
Generally, I find it hard to get to midweek EFL games because unlike the Championship, Leagues One and Two fixtures are nearly always on Tuesdays; last night I had to come without my daughter (who was doing a bleep test at football training). I’m clearly not the only one; not only was the attendance well below Wimbledon’s season average at 7,020 but there were lots of empty seats, despite it looking much busier when I booked, from what I remember. I suspect the weather didn’t help; it was a brutally cold evening – probably the chilliest of the autumn so far – and the lights were extra crisp and glary in the thin air.
Plough Lane itself (the B235) looks to have been completely rebuilt in recent years with the ground sited amid modern flats, car dealerships and opposite a Lidl. As already noted, the stadium is smart and colourful, without being garish, although I was disconcerted on my approach not to be able to see floodlights to orient myself by; those that are above the level of the stands are obscured from a distance by apartment blocks.
Once inside, there was nothing Cherry Red about the stadium – apart from Accrington’s kit. I was impressed by the array of food options – wood-fired pizza, loaded fries – on the open concourse and the stewards were very helpful considering there was no gate number on my e-ticket. My seat was in the Ry Stand, which moved a little when the crowd got excited.
When the attendance was announced towards the end of the evening, it was noted that there were 77 away supporters, all of whom had presumably travelled much further than I had. There was a fairly relaxed family atmosphere, with plenty of kids around – one of them joined the mascot at one point to bang his bin lid and be answered with the cry “Wombles!” from the main end to my left.
The match though was typically rugged, scrappy League Two fare. At half-time, despite Wimbledon’s dominance, it was 0-0 and I was somewhat regretting my decision to come at all. But the second half was a dramatic improvement, lit up by two excellent goals.
Against the run of play, Accrington took the lead with a sublime strike into the top corner by Nelson Khumbeni. The players in red ran to celebrate en masse with their tiny fanbase in the corner by the goal at the furthest end from where I was sat. Wimbledon tried to rally, but the crowd were becoming increasingly irritated by misplaced passes and Accrington were in raptures when Dara Costelloe doubled their lead on 75’.
That looked to be that and slowly the dribble of people leaving become greater and greater. I was anxious to start the walk back to Wimbledon Park myself, but I have strong feelings about never leaving a match early after witnessing Leeds’ epic 4-3 comeback win at Southampton on the same day in 2005. You just never know what you might miss…
Wimbledon huffed and puffed ineffectually and the crowd got on the back of the referee for some niggly decisions that went the way of the away side. Time and hope was running out when on 89’ Accrington’s keeper made the strange decision to punch rather than catch the ball and it eventually fell to Alistair Smith to give the home crowd something to cheer about it. One of the Accrington defenders went down to delay the restart and it was well past the five minutes added on when James Tilley’s lovely drive from well outside the box gave Wimbledon a share of the points.
I left in a hurry at the end and missed the Accrington red card (for Farrend Rawson) after the final whistle; but heard the celebratory roar from the home end as I headed back along Plough Lane towards the Tube back to Paddington.
Wimbledon are now up to seventh, whilst Accrington are sixteenth, six points clear of Carlisle in the relegation places.