Wimbledon

Wimbledon were founder members of the Premier League and although they are probably best 
remembered, if not fondly, for the antics that earned them their ‘Crazy Gang’ nickname, they 
nevertheless had a pretty decent team that enjoyed three ‘top ten’ finishes in the first five 
seasons of the new elite. Just 10 years after their first-ever game in the Football League they 
were FA Cup winners and four years later they were kicking off in the Premiership.

Warren Barton had the honour of scoring The Dons’ first Premier League goal, on 15 August 
1992, but it was game number seven before they tasted victory for the first time and, in true 
‘Crazy Gang’ style it was Arsenal who were vanquished. The points elevated Wimbledon to 19th 
but most of the first campaign was spent just above the relegation zone. But a run of four 
consecutive victories took the team up to 13th before defeats by Aston Villa and Southampton 
hindered further progress. But Wimbledon were learning fast and only lost three games in the last 
11 to finish 12th, with a great deal of help from Dean Holdsworth’s 10 goals in eight of those 
games.

Acclimatisation successfully completed Wimbledon set about making their mark in the second 
season and only lost once in the first nine games reaching a high of sixth, following three 
successive wins but erratic form into spring only saw consecutive victories once, until the team 
opened March with back-to-back wins and even though two consecutive defeats followed 11th 
place was a worthy slot to occupy. Then John Fashanu and Dean Holdworth hit form and nine 
unbeaten games, including a run of seven consecutive wins, with victories over Blackburn and 
Manchester United thrown in for good measure, claimed a finish in sixth place, which proved to 
be their best ever in the top flight.

Despite the lowest crowds in the Premiership the fervour, not to mention money, of owner Sam 
Hammam, seemed to reflect Wimbledon’s spirit, on the pitch, off it. But after the dizzy heights of 
top six it was pretty much downhill from there on in. Ninth then 14th, in the two following 
seasons, although the team was third, twice, in 1995–96, showed how hard top flight life had 
become.

For much of 1996–97 Wimbledon threatened to shake the established power-bloc in the Premier 
League and after they lost the first three games, without scoring, Joe Kinnear cajoled seven 
consecutive victories that kicked off a superb 14 game unbeaten run which elevated The Dons 
to second in the table, behind Arsenal. Was the unthinkable likely to happen, the title or, at 
worse, Europe? Even the most die-hard fan thought the only way that would happen would be 
if war were declared.

Unfortunately Wimbledon’s form declined and by February 1997 only one win in six games saw 
the team down to sixth, before a Vinnie Jones goal beat Arsenal. That was Wimbledon’s last win 
for eight games and although they lost only two of their last six matches a heavy cup 
involvement, they reached the semi-finals of both domestic competitions, was the main factor in 
The Dons finishing eighth.

By the start of the following season Sam Hammam had relinquished control and things began to 
fall apart at the seams. Carl Cort was top scorer with four goals. So was Efan Ekoku, Jason Euell, 
Michael Hughes and Carl Leaburn, and scoring proved a major contributory factor to finishing 15th.

The following campaign saw an alarming slump in form after Joe Kinnear was taken ill with heart 
trouble. Wimbledon never won again that season, in 11 games, and finished 16th.

Joe Kinnear left and Egil Olsen was brought in by the club’s new owners. The team started 
1999–2000 with a win but the next one never came until October, after the team plunged to 
17th.They got back to 13th by February but after a win over Leicester the team suffered nine 
defeats in the last 10 games, eight of them in a row and were relegated.

Throughout their eight-year Premiership adventure Wimbledon retained their ‘Sunday League’ 
outlook, never taking themselves too seriously, even when they were serious contenders for a 
place in Europe. But all that changed when ownership of the club, and it’s soul, passed from the 
care of Sam Hammam and Joe Kinnear to a bunch of anonymous Norwegian businessmen. So 
anonymous that few Dons’ supporters could name even one just a few years later after their 
‘top flight’ adventure turned sour and ended up a million miles away from Plough Lane, in Milton 
Keynes and Division Two.

What many afficienados tend to forget is that at times the Wimbledon team contained a number 
of internationals, like Robbie Earle, Oyvind Leonardsen, Vinnie jones, Hans Segers and John 
Fashanu. And, on reflection, the Premier League needed Wimbledon because they reminded the 
entire football world that the football pyramid was something that could be climbed, to the very 
top.

Managers

Joe Kinnear          1992–1999

Egil Olsen          1999–2000