Football Season Guide

Wimbledon are coming from another decent season, as they managed to stay up and secure their third consecutive season in League One, with their survival being made sweeter by the fact that their arch-rivals Milton Keynes Dons were relegated to League Two. The Dons have done superbly well to climb up the division since being formed following Wimbledon's infamous relocation to Milton Keynes, but Neal Ardley has been adamant for a while that it was unrealistic to keep his side moving up the divisions, as they simply cannot compete financially with the majority of clubs in League One. His words have been proved prophetic, as the Dons lost several regular players over the summer. The biggest miss will certainly be top scorer Lyle Taylor, who has joined South London rivals Charlton, while the other important players to have left are Dean Parrett, Darius Charles, George Francomb and skipper Barry Fuller. Three familiar League One names have been signed in James Hanson, Scott Wagstaff and Anthony Wordsworth, but the Dons otherwise went for stabs in the dark, bringing in Tennai Watson and Thomas King on loan, as well as Mitch Pinnock from non-league side Dover. Unless their new signings step up considerably, it seems that Wimbledon will be weaker than they were last season. Replacing Taylor is a particularly major worry - summer signing Hanson is a striker of similar frame, but can hardly be expected to replace Taylor's goal output, having failed to net a single goal while on loan at Bury last season.