When it comes to discussing Wimbledon as a football club, it is fair to say that there can be some confusion. The team that was known as Wimbledon and won the likes of the FA Cup in 1988 moved to Milton Keynes in 2003, which eventually led to the club being dissolved when the MK Dons were formed. The people of Wimbledon didn’t want to lose their football club altogether, however, so AFC Wimbledon was formed on the back of the Football Association’s approval of the move to Milton Keynes. In other words, there is no club that can be said to officially hold the trophies that were won by the original Wimbledon.
AFC Wimbledon have enjoyed some success over the years, but it is a much lower level of success than the side that it became a phoenix club for had managed. Of course, a side that began life in the ninth tier of English football and crept through the division is always likely to pick up a few bits of silverware along the way and AFC Wimbledon have been no exception. In fact, between the February of 2003 and the December of 2004 the club went unbeaten, setting the longest record of going unbeaten in the league in English football. They also became the first club formed in the 21st century to play in the Football League.
League Titles
It is probably not much of a surprise to learn that AFC Wimbledon have not won the Premier League. That would’ve been true if they had been able to carry over the trophies of the original Wimbledon and is definitely true of the phoenix club. As is often the case with clubs that make their way up through the divisions, they have often managed to do so without even winning titles, with the likes of the club’s League Two success coming courtesy of a play-off win in 2016. That wasn’t the only time that they enjoyed a league promotion thanks to a play-off win either, managing it in the Isthmian League in 2008, for example.
Conference South
Some teams, like Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal, are always likely to call the top-flight their home. Others, however, will often never make it to the glittery heights of the Premier League. As a result, the divisions that they play their football in have to be looked at for their own merit, with the Conference South being the perfect example.
No, it isn’t the Championship, nor does it offer Champions League football or the like, but it is a ladder that teams need to climb up in order to progress. That is exactly what AFC Wimbledon managed at the end of the 2008-2009 season, with the following being how they did it:
| Season | Points | Second Place | Second Place Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-2009 | 88 | Hampton & Richmond Borough | 85 |
Isthmian League Division One
In order to play in the Conference South you first have to make it out of the Isthmian League, which AFC Wimbledon managed by winning the play-offs in 2008. The Dons first won the Isthmian League Division One three years earlier, with the following being what that look like:
| Season | Points | Second Place | Second Place Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-2005 | 97 | Walton & Hersham | 88 |
Combined Counties Football League
AFC Wimbledon would go on to make it out of the Conference South by just three points, following on the back of their promotion out of the Isthmian League Division One with a nine point margin. Before all of that, though, they had to make it out of the Combined Counties Football League, which featured 24 teams.
They did so without losing a game, scoring 180 goals along the way. Here is what the top of the table looked like at the end of the campaign, with the Dons boasting their clearest points margin to second place:
| Season | Points | Second Place | Second Place Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-2004 | 130 | AFC Wallingford | 103 |
Cups & Trophies
Just as teams lower down the English Football League pyramid are never likely to make it to the dizzying heights of the Premier League, so too is it unlikely that they make it into the final stages of the likes of the FA Cup. Such a lack of top-end success doesn’t mean that the supporters never have anything to scream and shout about, however. In the case of AFC Wimbledon, it is obviously true that they have not won the FA Cup in the same manner that the team that they were created to replace managed in 1988, when the Crazy Boys beat the Culture Club with a 1-0 win over Liverpool.
They have won some cups over the years, though, with the following being a look at their cup success. It is, perhaps, a sign of life in the lower divisions that information on their opponents isn’t available for the trophies that they took part in. That being said, it doesn’t make the trophies any less valid when you consider that the club’s supporters still got to enjoy a day out and the players still got to lift some silverware. Here are the trophies that the club have won to date:
| Season / Year | Competition |
|---|---|
| 2003-2004 | Combined Counties League Premier Challenge Cup |
| 2004-2005 | Surrey Senior Cup |
| 2007-2008 | Lanes Cup |
| 2009-2010 | Isle of Man Tournament |
| 2011-2012 | Lanes Cup |
| 2013-2014 | London Senior Cup |