Many thanks to Podcaster James Mappin from the popular “Wednesday till I die” podcast who has answered our questions this week ahead of our game on Tuesday night. We are a bit surprised he doesn’t know any of our players though, hopefully by about 10pm he will be better acquainted.
1 – We are about a quarter of the way through the season, so how is it looking for your team so far?
If you look at the league table, not too bad. Listen to the fans, absolutely terrible. There’s no getting away from the fact that our expectation this season was to go up automatic. That’s the players expectations as well as the fans. However, the performances of late haven’t been great. Lack of not only goals but chances and too many mistakes leading to dropped points. Boos at half time full time show that we’re frustrated, and we want things to change.
2 – We are noticing that some clubs are struggling with attendances, are you back anywhere near to your pre-Covid attendances?
Yes. We’ve had +20k for each home game this season which is pretty much where we were before we we’re hit with COVID.
3- We note that many clubs are going across to digital tickets and cashless stadiums and this has caused major problems for fans, is this something that has affected you as a fan, home or away?
We still have manned turnstiles. Old school. But I know what you mean. We’ve gone cashless inside the ground, and it is a bit of a pain. For me I’m all 21st century with Apple Pay but it does seem to slow things down. I put that down to the staff though, not the technology.
4 – Every club has played about half the teams in League 1, who do you think is the best and the worst team you have played so far?
Best – Plymouth. Organised. Bullish. Only team to have ‘beaten’ us and did so emphatically 3-0 at their place. We had no answer.
Worst – I can’t answer that. We’ve allowed every team to play their style of football which has been our downfall. Morecambe weren’t brilliant but then again, they beat us 1-0. We hammered them all game and they beat us with a fortuitous own goal.
5 – In our forthcoming game what sort of style can we expect to see from your team?
Direct…… But when I say direct, I don’t mean long ball. We tend to change our style of play though to suit the opposition which is one of the things that we’ve been calling for to stop. We’re yet to find our own identity which has frustrated much of the fanbase.
6 – Is there any current MK Dons player that you would like to see playing for your team?
I’ll be honest. I don’t know any of your players. Have you got a striker that can score goals? If so, we’ll have him. We need one of those.
7 – Every lower league club fear that the big boys are monitoring their players, is there anybody in your team that is attracting unwanted attention, and might be lured away in January?
No attention that I’m aware of but I’d be wary of the likes of Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Dennis Adeniran leaving. They’re probably the only two that have shone so far this season.
8 – Is there anyone in your team that we should really fear as a potential game changer?
I can’t answer this question and not say Barry Bannan. He’s by far the best player in our squad and in the league. But apart from him I’d have to say Dele-Bashiru. He’s raw but has bags of talent. He’s got his chance in the side and he’s took it with both hands. Scored his first goal at Cambridge too and is oozing with confidence.
9 – Can you predict where you think your club will finish at the end of the season, and where the MK Dons will finish?
I’d like to think we’d finish the season in the top 6. Things aren’t too great now but when players are back from injury, I think we’ll have what it takes to climb up the league. Windass and Luongo are big players to be missing with both out at the moment.
10 – Many thanks for taking part, all we need now is your prediction for the game?
We’ve not scored more than 2 goals in any game this season. And I don’t think this will change anytime soon.
It’ll be a low scoring affair, 1-0 win for the Owls.
Photo Credit – YouTube
