As Dave Beasant led his AFC Wimbledon side to their 29th win of the season after a 2-1 win over Northampton Town, Newcastle United manager Mark Hughes sat in the stands, watching one of Beasant's young guns.

Steve Cobb was the subject of Hughes' visit, who sat with The Toon's Chief Scout and former Northampton player Graham Carr at Sixfields Stadium.

Having to wait 4217 minutes since his last goal for Wimbledon suggests the right-back is hardly a goalscorer, but the 20-year-old has emerged as one of Beasant's wonderkids in the Moatside-based academy.

Looking at Squawka stats, Cobb has averaged just over three tackles every game this season, with a 78% pass succession rate to go with it.

TransferMarkt.com has the youngster valued at just £1,100,000, but the AFC Wimbledon board are hardly short of change at the moment thanks to Paul Huntington and Damian Reeves' departures in July last year, totalling the transfer fees up to £500,000 just from that pair and so it would take a hefty fee to take away Cobb from Kingsmeadow.

Gaffer Dave Beasant classed his full-back as 'indispensable' in a recent pre-match interview staged just before The Dons' clash with Morecambe in March.

"Steve made his first few appearances for the first-team towards the end of last season, before we won promotion from League One so he's had time to settle in, and now he's slowly become one of our most prized assets and you can see that just from the rumours. Everyone rates Steve." Beasant told The Football League Paper.

If Cobb was to complete a deal with the Geordie team, he would have to leapfrog the likes of Kieran Trippier and Allan Nyom in the Newcastle team to become Hughes' first-choice right-back, a role that he has complete control of at Kingsmeadow - but the Premier League money could be a persuasion for the young full-back.

Down with that sort of thing!

The final day of the season ended in tears for Preston North End, and will probably end in a hangover for AFC Wimbledon fans tomorrow morning as Beasant's boys won the title to guide them into the Championship.

As Kingsmeadow Stadium said it's farewell to AFC Wimbledon, it was the most perfect goodbye imaginable for The Dons, with the fan-owned side in raptures as the referee called time on the 4-0 win for AFC Wimbledon, calling time on just a one-year stay in the third tier of English football.

Nathan Doyle returned to his former club's stadium to be sent down into League Two on the final day of the season.

It was Dominic Poleon who opened the scoring on the 5-minute mark for Wimbledon as the youngster latched onto a distant cross into the box from teammate Laste Dombaxe, heading it low and straight down the middle for his 48th goal of the season in all competitions, and his 29th in the league.

Adam Campbell wasted no time in doubling the lead for his team in the thirteenth minute of the game. It was Dominic Poleon who set up his partner-in-crime up top, with the former Notts County striker striking a sensational volley from the edge of the box, going just underneath the helpless Preston goalkeeper.

It was centre-back and vice-captain Mathieu Baudry who added a third goal for the Kingston-upon-Thames side, as he got on the end of a Sam Morsy corner to send a looping header into the far corner of the net midway through the second half.

Angolan winger Laste Dombaxe finished off the scoring for AFC Wimbledon in the 83rd minute as Adam Campbell set him down the wing before unleashing a ferocious shot into the near post, whizzing past Preston 'keeper Holmes.

Blackpool were the only team that could challenge Wimbledon by the time of the final day, they won 2-0 away from home against Birmingham City, finishing on the exact same points as us at 97 points. As a result of the final day, Preston were succumbed to relegation alongside Coventry City, Oldham Athletic and Queens Park Rangers.

The title-winning party ended emotionally as the AFC Wimbledon faithful said goodbye to their home since their establishment as a new club way back in 2002, but will be welcomed back to their true home in June as they arrive back at Plough Lane for the new Championship season - the location they left in 1984 due to safety reasons.

The arrival in the Championship will also see AFC Wimbledon face the team that destroyed them almost 15 years ago. MK Dons finished 16th place this season in the Championship and the Wimbledon fans will be pining for a victory against 'that' team.

The championship now, Not likely in reality

2015-09-21 18:35#220097 tango602 : The championship now, Not likely in reality

If only

It was a joyous day for fans of AFC Wimbledon, as their beloved Dons returned home to Plough Lane - the place they left 33 years ago for Selhurst Park.

Wimbledon chiefs have manager Dave Beasant to thank for their clubs uprise into the second tier of English football, initiating the funds to buy the ground back into Wimbledon hands for the first time since 1984.

The leasehold on the disused swampland at the corner of Plough Lane and Haydons Road was purchased by Wimbledon Football Club in 1912.

A stand holding 500 spectators was erected, and Wimbledon played their first match at the ground on 7 September 1912, a friendly match against Carshalton Athletic which was drawn 2–2.

Improvements continued to be made to the ground during the First World War, and Plough Lane soon became the pride of the club.

The ground's freehold was purchased from Merton Borough Council by chairman Sydney Black for £8,250 in November 1959, and then donated to the club. Due to inflation, the price paid by Black for the stadium would have been equal to £143,097 in 2009 - this became significant as one of the conditions of the sale of the ground was the insertion of a preemption clause stating that if the site was ever to be used for any purpose other than sport

Despite election to the Football League in 1977 and subsequent success, the club was still plagued by financial trouble. To try and ease the strain on the club, in April 1983 Wimbledon bought out the preemption clause inserted back in 1959 for £100,000. A year later, they sold the ground to Sam Hammam for £3 million.

Following the publication of the Taylor Report in 1990, which introduced new safety measures for stadia including the regulation that they be all-seater by August 1994, the board of the club decided that Plough Lane could not be economically redeveloped to meet the new standards. The work required to modernise Plough Lane would have been difficult and expensive, but not impossible as the board claimed.

A supposedly temporary groundshare with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park was announced the same year, to begin for the start of 1991–92. Wimbledon's final first team match at Plough Lane came on 4 May 1991, ironically against new landlords Crystal Palace. 10,002 spectators saw Crystal Palace beat Wimbledon 3–0, before swarming onto the pitch to bid farewell to the ground. As many know, the rest is history.

But now AFC Wimbledon become the new tenants of the old Wimbledon Greyhound Track, developed into New Plough Lane - just a ten minute walk from where the old Plough Lane once stood.

Dave Beasant is said to be 'delighted' to have returned what he calls 'home', meanwhile chairman Erik Samuelson has declared this is a huge step forward for the club.

The club now promise to provide friendly matches against some of the worlds' biggest teams for the grand opening of the new 11,000-seater stadium.

As is the case with any grand opening, you always need the headliners to cap it all off. It is now the case with AFC Wimbledon's New Plough Lane as they welcome nine new signings to the club.

The first to come through the new door at Wimbledon was the £5,000 signing of Yaxley's Alassane Bebou. The 18-year-old signed up for The Dons on a four-year deal until 2021, earning £210 per week at New Plough Lane.

The central-midfielder spent last season on loan at Hampshire-based Renhold United, making nine appearances for the amateur side. Manager Dave Beasant has high hopes for his new low-league signing who joined from ChromaSport United Counties Premier League side Yaxley early on in June.

Yaxley superfan Peter Burgess filled in Wimbledon fans on their new signing, commending the central midfielder on his controlled aggression and impeccable workrate. The signing didn't hurt Wimbledon finances too much so even if Bebou turns out playing for Halifax by the time he's 25 years old, it won't affect Beasant's reputation much.

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The second signing through the AFC Wimbledon door is actually the clubs' only signing so far this summer over the age of 21 years old. This man goes by the name of Will Buckley. The single-capped Irish international let his Sunderland contract run out early in July after The Black Cats were succumbed to relegation to the Championship.

The winger played twelve times in his Sunderland career, which lasted a whole three years after his £2.5 million move from Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2015. The winger will now hope to reignite his career at New Plough Lane as he signs a two-year deal until July 2019, earning just under £2,000 per week.

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After three years and no first-team action in the Manchester United team, Josh Doughty left Old Trafford to pursue a chance of first-team football elsewhere. His chosen destination? New Plough Lane.

The Canadian striker received rave reviews from United legends like Paul Scholes and Dwight Yorke, but never managed a first-team appearance in any competition for Louis Van Gaal's side - now led by Ian Holloway shockingly. The 20-year-old now hopes to show his true potential at newly-promoted Wimbledon in the Championship.

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The club have now delved into the South American market for probably the first time in The Dons' history, signing Ecuadorian 16-year-old Luis Lara, who has never signed for a professional football club in his life. He is new to the professional footballing world after he decided Patria was not the place to continue his development, and so his agent offered around for his client.

Dave Beasant took on the youngster, totally unknown to the world of football, on £80 per week - a youth contract. The 58-year-old believed he saw glimpses of quality in a recent trial spell at the club, and by the looks of it, it was worth a gamble for the former England international.

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Marcus Lee seems to be the signing of the summer for Beasant, with the 20-year-old American centre-back agreeing a three-year deal with the club. Lee made 58 appearances in the past two seasons for former club FC Dallas in the MLS. He shone in the American top-flight, with fans raving about the players' burst of pace and agility being key to his success as a defender.

This signing provides new competition for existing club defenders Hutchinson, Baudry and Osborne. The named trio seem to welcome the challenge of bright star Lee, admitting it was time the club injected more youth into the spine of the team.

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Spice Sacer looks set to compete for a first-team spot at the back with Marcus Lee, though, as signing a 21-year-old Croatian centre-back on over £1,000 per week hardly says a player set to go out on loan. It adds more to that argument when you add the fact Sacer played 29 first-team games for highly-rated Croatian side Hajduk Split last season.

Sacer has made 14 appearances for the Croatian Under-21 team and looks set to be the future of Croatia's defending needs in the future if he comes good for Wimbledon, which under the leadership of Dave Beasant, he should do.

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The other three signings by Wimbledon are released Juventus midfielder Mattia Vitale, Bayern Munich graduate Maximilian Witt and American midfielder Brooks Lennon, released from Liverpool this summer.

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With a team promoted, there are always going to be mounds of players reaching that drop-off point where their ability no longer matches the required standard of the new league they go into. This is the case with a few of our players this summer, who have had to be released from the first-team and more from our youth team and development team. The first-teamers released by us this summer are Kyel Reid (now at Fleetwood), Jake Larkins (now at Newport County), Mike Jones and Warren Bentley (now at Swindon). Raphael Calvet was sold for a fee to Ligue 2 side Havre. The development players released are: Richard O'Sullivan, Kirk Carruthers, Nathan Roderick, Carl Crawford, James McDonnell, Dan Myers and Iain McDonald.

As Beasant's Dons move into New Plough Lane, they host Manchester United in the first ever fixture held at the new stadium, with the game hopefully attracting over 10,000 fans to the stadium, as well as other fixtures against top clubs.

The club have branded this set of fixtures as 'the clubs greatest preseason ever', as Ian Holloway's Manchester United land at Kingston-upon-Thames on 10th July.

The fixture looks set to give new big-money signing Eduardo Salvio his debut for The Red Devils as Holloway chases the Premier League title for the first time since 2013 when Sir Alex Ferguson lifted the top-flight trophy in his final season as Manchester United since arriving in 1986.

Wimbledon are also keen to give debuts to their new signings Will Buckley and Spice Sacer and a host of their youth players, which Beasant is desperate to bring through this season.

The big teams don't stop there though, as Wimbledon are host to Argentinian side Boca Juniors, Belgian high-flyers Charleroi and Belgian giants Anderlecht later in the month. All of those games will be held at New Plough Lane.

The clubs first adventure away from home is to Scotland as The Dons visit Cowdenbeath's Central Park, before returning home to play Anderlecht.

The Anderlecht game is then followed closely by an away trip over to Dover as Beasant's boys visit Crabble Athletic Ground. The first trip overseas is one to Ireland, as Beasant takes his team to play Bohemians - runners up in last years Irish Premier League.

The only flight outside of the British isles will be Wimbledon's visit of Italian side Latina before returning back to New Plough Lane to complete their preseason with a friendly against Bayern Munich II - nine days before their first ever Championship tie at Portman Road as Wimbledon take on Ipswich away from home.

The Capital One Cup have also drawn Wimbledon against Luton Town, who The Dons left behind in League One last season. It will be the first competitive match of the 2017/18 season to be held at New Plough Lane.

The likes of Alex Davey and Daniel Akindayini both had bright starts at AFC Wimbledon upon their arrival thanks to trial spells at the club. Now they find themselves both leaving the club, just like three others at a similar age.

Daniel Akindayini signed for Wimbledon in the summer of 2015 after England Trial Day took place and Wimbledon recruited several youngsters, eyeing up a potential stay for certain players.

Akindayini was one of them and he made nineteen appearances in all competitions, returning eight goals and one assist. The season later, he spent the entirety on loan at Conference National side Forest Green Rovers, mainly as a winger.

His form at FGR has now led him to a £70,000 move to League One side Rotherham United, with Wimbledon picking up 25% of any fee Rotherham receive for him in the future - a very tidy piece of business on Beasant's part.

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De'Jaune Taylor-Crossdale was Dave Beasant's third signing as AFC Wimbledon manager, joining just three hours after the arrival of David October, and two days after the first signing of Ian Vicars.

The striker had a lesser-successful spell at Wimbledon, bagging just one goal in the eleven appearances handed to him before spending the remainder of the season on loan to Gateshead - bagging 18 goals in 28 appearances for the Conference National side.



He spent the next two corresponding seasons on loan at Tranmere Rovers, scoring 37 goals in 74 appearances over two seasons and guiding The Rovers to Conference National promotion and now start the season in League Two.

However, Taylor-Crossdale does not sign for Tranmere permanently, despite becoming a fan favourite at Prenton Park. Instead, Birmingham City have swooped in for the 21-year-old - purchasing the striker for £75,000.

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The next transfer commanded the biggest transfer fee out of the five players, as Manchester City graduate George Glendon agreed a £210,000 move to Sheffield United in the Championship.

Like Taylor-Crossdale, Glendon spent two consecutive seasons on loan at Tranmere Rovers. Glendon made 62 appearances for The Rovers over the two seasons he spent there and also helped Tranmere to promotion last season.

However, Glendon only managed one first-team appearance for AFC Wimbledon in his whole time under contract there. He wasn't given the chance to help Wimbledon more - not that they needed it at that point!

The 22-year-old agrees a three-year deal at Bramall Lane, signing for £210,000.

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Alex Davey was another who had a very bright start to his career at Kingsmeadow, earning 24 appearances in his first season at the club after arriving following his release from Chelsea.

He aided a push to promotion from League Two, but his second season under contract at Kingsmeadow was unpleasant as he was placed in the development team after the arrivals of Mathieu Baudry and Shaun Hutchinson from Leyton Orient and Fulham respectively.



He was loaned out in the summer of 2016 to fellow fan-owned club Ebbsfleet in Conference National. Despite a successful season at Stonebridge Road, Davey would have much preferred to stay at Kingsmeadow in League One. He made 26 appearances for Ebbsfleet last season, scoring two goals, assisting three and winning two Man of the Match awards.

After realising his days were numbered at New Plough Lane, Davey's agent offered his client to clubs around England, and the centre-back linked up with Daniel Akindayini at Rotherham for a fee of £145,000.

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This is a transfer for a player AFC Wimbledon fans didn't even know they owned, as Danny Whitehall made no appearances for the club in his time under contract at Wimbledon.

His initial £5000 deal which brought him from Evo-Stik Division One North side Prescot Cables, it involved the clause that activated an immediate loan back to Prescot until the end of the season. He did well on his return to Prescot, scoring 19 goals in 35 appearances.

His return to his parent club Wimbledon was very short-lived, with Ebbsfleet coming in with another loan offer for the striker. The striker joined Ebbsfleet for a season-long loan and he appeared 39 times for the Conference National side, scoring 13 goals.

On his return to Wimbledon, it was once again, a very, very short-lived stay as Bristol Rovers gave him a season-long stay on loan at the club in the Conference National again. In this spell, he scored 14 goals in 34 games for The Gas.

He now joins League Two side Exeter for an initial fee of £25,000. This fee could potentially rise up to £50,000 depending on clauses inside the transfer deal that brought the 21-year-old to St. James' Park.