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The Manager.
Dave Bassett
Birth Date:
04.09.1944
Playing Position:
Manager
Clubs:
International Honours:
Former England amateur international, Dave ‘Harry’ Bassett joined the Dons from Walton and Hersham in 1974 and was instrumental in club’s rise to the Football League as a competitive central defender.
However, he is best remembered as the manager who created the Crazy Gang spirit which helped lift the Dons from Division Four to Division One in just four seasons.
Harry’s took over as boss from Dario Gradi midway through the 1980-81 season and the Dons lost just once in four months to secure promotion back to Division Three.
Although the following season ended in the heartbreak of relegation, the foundations were laid for a successful side and within five years the Dons were a force to be reckoned with.
After finishing sixth in an incredible first season, which included victories at Old Trafford and Anfield over Manchester United and Liverpool as well as wins against Chelsea and Spurs, Harry left the club to take over at Watford.
His spell at Vicarage Road was not the happiest and he was sacked midway through his first season.
Undeterred, Harry showed all the characteristics of a true Don by bouncing back with Sheffield United. Although he couldn’t keep the Blades in Division Two, he turned the Bramall Lane side around and successive promotions saw them break into the Premiership.
Bassett then moved to Crystal Palace where once more he secured promotion for the seventh time in his career before repeating the feat once more with Nottingham Forest in 1998.
After leaving Forest he returned to South Yorkshire with Barnsley where he took the Tykes to the brink of the Premiership but lost out in the play-off final to Ipswich.
Harry left Barnsley the following season and was given the manager's job at Leicester City following the exit of Peter Taylor. But Bassett's midas touch deserted him and the Foxes were relegated with Micky Adams taking over the managerial duties in the summer and Harry moving upstairs to become Director of Football.
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Vinnie Jones (1992 - 1998)
Birth Date:
05.01.1965
Playing Position:
Midfielder
Clubs:
Leeds United
Sheffield United
Chelsea
Wimbledon
International Honours:
Wales - 9 Caps
ONE of the most colourful and controversial players ever to play the game, Vinnie Jones enjoyed two very successful spells with club in a chequered career spanning 12 years.
Vinnie did not make the most auspicious start to his his league debut against Nottingham Forest at Plough Lane in 1986 after signing from non-league Wealdstone, giving away a penalty in a 3-2 defeat by Brian Clough’s side.
However he made amends the following Saturday when he headed home the winner in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United and a star was born.
Often on the back pages for the wrong reasons, Jones was sent off no fewer than five times in his Dons career, and often he never received the credit he deserved as the midfield Kingpin in the FA Cup winning side.
Left the Dons a year after the Wembley triumph to join then Second Division Leeds where he helped them to promotion to the First Division before linking up with former boss Dave Bassett at Sheffield United in 1990.
Vinnie ended his sojourn in the north by returning to London to sign for Chelsea where he enjoyed two seasons at Stamford Bridge before returning ‘home’ in October 1992.
Jones played a hugely influential role in Joe Kinnear’s team who in the mid ‘90s enjoyed finishes of sixth, ninth and eighth from 1994-97 – the Dons most successful spell since entering the top flight.
Vinnie moved on once more in 1998 when he made the short journey to West London to take over as player-coach at Queens Park Rangers but departed Loftus Road after being overlooked for the manager’s job and retired from the game in 1999 to take up a film career.
Now a big star in Hollywood after appearing in box office hits Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, Vinnie has certainly come a long way since his debut as a raw 21-year-old shaven headed tough tackling midfielder.
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Robbie Earle.
Birth Date:
27.01.1965
Playing Position:
Attacking Midfielder
Clubs:
Port Vale
Wimbledon
International Honours:
Jamaica - 2 caps, 1 goal
A bargain £775,000 transfer from Port Vale in 1991, Robbie Earle became one of the most influential midfielders in the country and was cruelly overlooked by a succession of England managers despite being one of the best goalscoring midfielders in the Premiership.
Strong in a tackle, tremendous in the air and possessing an eye for goal, Robbie quickly became a fans'’favourite after scoring on his debut against Chelsea and finished the 1991-92 season with 15 goals.
A vital member of the side which enjoyed such great success in the mid ‘90s, ‘The Duke’ picked up an unerring habit of scoring vital goals.
His most memorable came at Old Trafford in 1997 in an FA Cup fourth round tie. Champions Manchester United took the lead in a tough struggle with the Dons in the 89th minute but with just seconds remaining Robbie ghosted into the United box to head home an Alan Kimble free-kick to earn a replay.
The Dons won the replay at Selhurst Park 1-0 in a game which ranks as one of the most incredible nights in the club’s history.
Robbie finally received international recognition in 1998 where he represented Jamaica in the World Cup finals where he scored his adopted country’s first ever goal in a major competition when he headed them in front against Croatia.
Sadly Robbie’s career was cut short last year when a horrific kick in the stomach sustained in a reserve match, forced him to quit.
Enjoyed a spell as reserve team manager before carving himself a career in the media.
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Allen Batsford
Birth Date:
Playing Position:
Manager
Clubs:
International Honours:
ALLEN BATSFORD joined the Dons as manager at the start of 1974/75 season and played a major role in putting the club on the map.
Batsford had no League experience when he took over the reins from Dick Graham but had led Walton and Hersham to victory in the FA Amateur Cup in 1973 and to a 4-0 FA Cup hammering over a Brighton side managed by a certain Brian Clough.
When Batsford arrived at Plough Lane he brought with him no fewer than five of his Walton and Hersham side with him including Dave Bassett.
Batsford’s team lost their first game under his reign, but it proved to be a minor hiccup as they embarked on a run of 22 successive victories as they led the Southern League from almost start to finish.
While the Sourthen League title was always the club’s main priority, it was their exploits in the FA Cup which made people nationwide sit up and take notice.
The Dons had never gone beyond the second round of the Cup but this season after masterminding the side to victories over Kettering and Dover, Batsford’s side met First Division Burnley at Turf Moor.
The Dons duly won the game 1-0 becoming the first non-league side in over 50 years to win a Cup tie over a First Division side away from home.
The fourth round paired the Dons with mighty Leeds United and once more they made headlines holding the champions to a 0-0 draw at Elland Road before losing 1-0 in a replay at Selhurst Park.
Success in the Southern League was the Dons aim that season and they clinched the title in May. It was to be the first of three successive triumphs which led to the club finally winning election into the Football League in 1977.
Batsford led the Dons into their first season as a League status, but quit midway through the season allowing Dario Gradi to take over.
Allen returned to the Non-League scene managing Hillingdon Borough before ending his career at Millwall where he spent six years as the club’s Chief Scout.
Was recently honoured by Wimbledon supporters at a celebration dinner to commemorate his achievements.
www.randomchelseafan.freeservers.com
Lawrie Sanchez (1987 - 1994)
Birth Date:
22.10.1959
Playing Position:
Midfielder
Clubs:
Reading
Wimbledon
Swindon Town
International Honours:
Northern Ireland - 3 Caps
Scorer of arguably the two most important goals in the club’s history, Lawrie Sanchez joined the Dons from Reading in a £29,000 deal in December 1984.
A graduate from Loughborough University where he attained a BSc in Management Science, Sanchez had the background untypical of many of his teammates.
Despite not being a main protaganist in the Crazy Gang school of stunts and pranks, Sanchez was a very influential member of the dressing room and the Dons midfield.
A hard-working rather than spectacular player, Sanchez, or the Mexican as he was known by his teammates, scored the goal in the 1-0 win at Huddersfield that earned the Dons promotion to the First Division in 1986.
Two years later he wrote his name into Dons history and English football folklore when he headed home the goal that saw the Bobby Gould’s side lift the FA Cup in the amazing 1-0 victory over champions Liverpool.
Born to a mother from Belfast, Sanchez qualified for Northern Ireland where he won nine caps before leaving the Dons after 317 games having scored 35 goals to link up with Swindon where he finished his career.
Moved to Ireland to manage Sligo Rovers in the FAI League who he took to the European Cup Winners Cup, but was enticed back to Wimbledon by Joe Kinnear to take over as reserve team manager in 1997.
In 1999 he left the club to manage relegation-threatened Wycombe Wanderers and against the odds he kept them in Division Two and last season he came back to haunt the Dons when his side knocked them out of the FA Cup fifth round on penalties at Selhurst Park.
That victory was eclipsed by the Chairboys 2-1 win over Leicester at Flibert Street in the quarter-finals.
However, in the semi-finals where Sanchez’s side met Liverpool he was unable to repeat his achievement of 1988 as Wycombe went down 2-1.
A popular figure in his time at Wimbeldon, Lawrie is now one of the most promising young managers in the game.
maynardswinegums2.4t.com
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John Fashanu (1986 - 1994)
Birth Date:
18.09.1963
Playing Position:
Attacker
Clubs:
Norwich City
Lincoln City
Millwall
Wimbledon
Aston Villa
International Honours:
England - 2 Caps
JOINED the Dons for a then club record fee of £125,000 in March 1986 as Dave Bassett looked to bolster his strikeforce in the Dons promotion push for Division One.
Fashanu began his career with Norwich City, where his elder brother Justin made his name as one of the best young strikers in the country.
John failed to make the grade at Carrow Road, and learnt his trade at Lincoln City before his move to the Den where his aggressive style made him a crowd favourite with the hostile supporters in South East London.
Fashanu’s signing proved to be a masterstroke by Bassett as the Dons earned themselves a place in the top flight for the first time with his new signing scoring four goals in the nine games he was involved in.
In the Dons first season in Division One Fashanu top scored with a respectable 13 goals but as a striker he went from strength to strength and became one of the most feared target men in the country with his physical style a constant menace to defences nationwide.
Fash played a major role in the FA Cup triumph in 1988 and a year later he made history by becoming the club’s first full England international when he played against Scotland in a 2-0 win at Hampden Park followed by a 0-0 draw with Chile at Wembley.
As the Dons continued to more than hold their own in Division One and then the Premiership, Fashanu was a consistent goalscorer hitting the 20 mark on no fewer than three occasions in effective partnerships with Alan Cork, Terry Gibson and Dean Holdsworth.
A controversial figure, never afraid to make his opinions known, Fash’s presence at the club raised the profile of the Dons but often Fash’s actions got him onto the back pages for all the wrong reasons.
In 1995 after 321 appearance and over 120 goals for Wimbledon, Fashanu severed his ties with the club when he moved to Aston Villa in a £1.2million deal.
He was unable to repeat his success with the Dons at Villa Park and after an injury-plagued two years in the West Midlands he retired from the game having scored nine goals.
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Alan Cork (1978 - 1992)
Birth Date:
04.03.1959
Playing Position:
Clubs:
Derby County
Wimbledon
Sheffield United
Fulham
International Honours:
One of the few players in the history of the game to score goals in every division of English football, Alan Cork is the club’s record scorer in the Football League with 149 goals in 413 appearances.
Signed on a free transfer from Derby midway through the Dons first season League season, ‘Corky’ scored four goals in 17 appearances in the side that finished mid-table in the fourth division.
However, in the following campaign he bagged an impressive 22 goals in 41 appearances as the Dons won promotion to the Third Division.
Although the Dons slipped back to the lower tier of the professional game the following season, with Cork again top scoring with only 12 goals, he played a vital role in the rise to the First Division in the 1985/86 campaign with 77 goals in four and half injury- plagued seasons.
By the time the Dons reached the top flight, ‘Corky’ was very much in the veteran stage of his career, but he still proved he had an eye for goal by hitting the net on a regular basis scoring 32 goals in five seasons – mostly as a bit-part player.
Corky’s name will of course go down in Dons folklore as a member of the 1988 FA Cup winning side, and after a spell with Dave Bassett at Sheffield United who he joined in 1992, Cork, went into coaching and is now the manager of Second Division Cardiff City.
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