Wellington Albert has signed up for another year.

Just read a post elsewhere. Toulouse are throwing everything at 2023, so unless we go full time, it's going to be a very long season of pointless games (Unless IMG pull us up by our bootstraps).
Talk of the french spending what they need to and being prepared to buy a SL squad in June for 2024.....whilst talk is cheap, it is indicative of 2023 being all about one side

2 up non down in 2023. Leigh will be secure next year so can build, then it looks like Fev (if they don't go bust) and TO. Hughes clearly isn't interested in SL anymore. Just an afternoon out watching second rate RL

If that proves to be the case, then it will only continue the decline of RL. Beyond me why these planks learn nothing.

He will have more people in the Gold lounge, than in the actual stands if he goes down this path. Although I guess you could pipe crowd noise out of the speakers, and have one man click a button to craete a cheer sound every time a London try is scored.

That bloke is not likely to be overworked with our team.

Ulberg signed as well. Both he and Albert, if fit, are assets. Did get me thinking though about how badly we mishandled our retention policy in 2021.
I assume Pelligra will be one we don’t retain as he lost his place in the team post Sheffield game at Ebbsfleet. Latu as well appears surplus to requirements.Was he on a 2? Thomas didn’t play much but he seemed to be at most matches in some capacity so I wonder if he’s staying. Ferreira’s loan is over. I’m not well placed to assess his on field performances but he did seem to have a good positive attitude and desire to get on and learn so I hope it goes well for him. Cant have been easy as 18th man but he showed class by thanking the club and fans I thought.
I forgot Ramsey. With Coleman gone he seemed to fade completely from the picture didn’t even see him picking up a game at Skolars. Unless injured it appears no place for him in team either.

I assume we’ll try and sign Davis. I would have thought when a club farm you out on loan then it’s a sign that they’ll let you go. Maybe they’ll have 2nd thought though as I think he’s been good. One we should have retained in 2021 unless he couldn’t face it: he wasn’t wrong was he!

Alex Walker re-signed now. All three signings this week I fully approve of.

Agree.....positive steps being taken, but we need a few bringing in if we're going to fare any better in 23.
I see our hosts haven't set L2 ablaze this year..

Brock Pelligra has signed to play for the Toulouse Olympique Elite 1 side.

Post Sheffield game wasn’t getting a run out so makes sense. Frees up some funds for new signings or print run on 2023 match day programme.

AFC Wimbledon are at a point where there is a lot of debate about whether fan ownership, or at least how fan ownership is being run, is the way forward. It worked to get the team from the bottom of non-league back into the league in 9 years. But is it sustainable at the professional level.

Transfer fees (and compensation fees) in the summer were well in excess of 1 million pounds, but there are struggles on and off the pitch. No MD or Head of Football have yet been appointed despite the CEO resigning in February. The interim chair who is effectively covering all three of those roles is part time. The team have lost four matches in a row. That only happened once last year and the manager was sacked after the fifth. The next match is away to arguably the best team in the division (Bradford). The booing at the end of the last match was worse than anything last season.

Not sure any of this makes much difference to the arrangement with the Broncos; complaints about the pitch can't start until February/March by the football side at least! A more competitive London team will hopefully help attendance, but to get anything sizeable needs work on the general match day experience.

Hope the Dons turn it around.....

Any feeling Smithers99 why those roles have not been filled? You would have thought with fans that have voting rights, the leadership such as it is would be under constant pressure to sort that out.

Of course if that were Broncos, none of us would be surprised & even with a CEO we are still in a mess.

Thanks for the AFC update. It strikes me that AFC are in a tight spot, because they really do need a CEO who can make decisions without having to get committee approval and I don't see that being manageable with the current ownership model.
It's not dissimilar to the Broncos except we are owned by one enthusiastic amateur, whilst the footballers have thousands


In terms of 2023 for both clubs, I really see this as being the last chance saloon to prove the "partnership" works and the onus has to be on The Broncos organising matchday staff NOW and not leaving it until March. Simple things like either sorting out someone to play buck and dusty, getting dusty in a Broncos Ladies shirt, sorting out a facepainter, getting in touch with a local cheerleading squad, liaising with food trucks, maybe sourcing a "club band" for at least half the home games, getting the AFC v Broncos Quiz as well as maybe golf tournament sorted, interacting with local businesses NOW through the local chamber of commerce, signing up a new kit supplier and getting the home kit on sale before Christmas, arranging pre-season fixtures as soon as possible......all of this stuff should have been in place this time last year and patently wasn't, thus proving that failing to prepare is preparing to fail and FAIL is what they assuredly did in 2022.
If this is too much like hard work for Loubser & Kemp, then I am at a loss as to what it is they actually do for their wages.
Lastly, there are calendars of "world days" available. How hard would it be to start outline planning for 13 tied in Events next year? Just outline planning (spitballing) what themes the club could use to promote and sell 13 EVENTS.....because it's a sad indictment, but in 2022 they just stuck posts in the ground and expected people to turn up with predictable results.

Something really has to be done to improve the match day experience.
As far as the Buck and Dusty Mascot outfits are concerned, apparently they are in a container somewhere. The Club have been asked to get at least one but preferably both out for home games.
They said that they will do something about it. Nothing has happened, no surprise there.
I have a suggestion for the club regarding Buck and Dusty. I am sure that there are people out there that have being the mascot at a sporting event on their bucket list. Broncos, make their wish come true.
Find the bloody suits, and get this offer out there on Social Media and other media. You would get some some good publicity from it, the bucket lister will probably bring their mates to the game and who knows what could lead from that.
Doubt under the current regime that they will act on this idea, but it would not involve massive cost and could be a bit of a winner for the club.
Another thought, let us put Dusty in the ladies kit.

Genius........



I like the idea about the bucket lister, but it is fraught with danger. Stag do's etc.....anyone else remember a piddled Aussie taking a swing at Buck in Griffin Park.



The thing with the mascot is even if you have to pay someone, there are THOUSANDS of out of work actors who would do the job. None of the matchday experience needs to cost an arm and a leg, but it is far more to do with making an effort than spending cash.

Cheerleading is all the rage when you tune into "Britains got nothing better to do".....my Daughter was in a squad for a few years and they loved nothing more than to perform at events. The Cowgirls were fantastic. Never "too racy" just good clean fun and were part of the match day experience......there are plenty of Cheerleading groups in SW London. Maybe run a competition through the season?

Chris Warren was employed by the club in a multi-pronged role, including the half time competitions....bring that back.....half time performance from the cheeleaders followed by kicking comp for a club shirt....and matchday sponsor awarded framed shirt on the pitch at half time.

Let a kid run the ball out at the start for £50?

When I first attended a game I was lucky enough to be with a mate who knew what was going on, but I remember there being volunteers at the forecourt in GP helping out. 40-20 had access to the club port-a-cabin to sell merch, there were buckets of VB available to those who couldn't get into stripes, even an online PDF programme would be better than what's on offer now.

I have a 2005 Team poster......did the club produce such an item of late?

And I'll say it again. STOP charging for the after match presentations......open them up to everyone and get the "club" feeling back. It is telling that there is no photographic evidence of how well or poorly the 'one club" event was attended.

2023 is it guys. If they can't push it out to 1,500 average I can't see the point in Hughes continuing to bankroll it for no growth or return. The Kids and Reserves got hammered most weeks in 22, the crowds were poorer that 2018 and the only positive was the Ladies who the club pretty much ignored until prompted by fans. They've discounted the commercial offering and standard match day tickets to the extent they've damaged the value of both beyond repair (who will pay full price now??) and it is increasingly obvious that we are maybe one more hissy fit from Hughes away from the knackers yard.
I'd expect this off season to be the busiest in terms of activity and communications that we ever seen...........More important than a couple of grand (if that) in shirt and player sponsorships, the club need to address the #1 source of reliable repeatable income other than Hughes and that's the fans. If they can get £20 a pop from 1,500 fans a game over 13 games, then that's £390,000. Sod the gimmicky lounge and the contra Hull trains logo bull.....because by my maths (never 100% reliable) they would have ben lucky to take £140,000 this year on the door/lounge entrance and that's shocking.

Dalton Grant and Sam Davis also back onboard.

They had the Supporters Action Group when you first started attending games who used to help the club with the match day experiance.

Kwazi spelt incorrectly the prop who went to fax is coming back

Good news. To my untrained eye us letting Davis go last year was a sign that all was not well with our management’s thinking and ability to get buy in from players. More eagle eyed posters will have spotted a plethora of other tells. We seem to have gone the long way around and wasted a year but I’m beginning to get a little bit hopeful about next season. Pending a move to the Isle of Dogs obviously.

With Jordan Williams signing I think we are a centre short of already having a reasonable starting 13. The article on Williams is the first (I think) to refer to any of the two year contracted players. I'm assuming all those players (on two year contracts) will indeed return. Would mean currently this team:

Walker
Ulberg
Grant
TBA
Macani
Leyland
Horsman
Albert
Davis
Bienek
Williams
Lovell
Parata

I guess moving Lovell to centre and Blakemore as a forward, we could technically put out a full 13. Unbalanced but feasible.

If new signings arrive that are clear "starter" level then I think the team should be competing for a play-off spot.

I'm waiting to see what quality of new signings we get (remember getting them into London is always a problem), before thinking we would get close to 6th, however at least we should have a squad strong enough to be away from the bottom 4 at least....

Agreed Crash, let's hope for an upgrade at halfback & kicker.