Danny "gutted" to miss out
Danny Kedwell has saluted the coaching qualities of Simon Bassey and says he is "gutted" to miss his testimonial on Saturday.
There is still time for you to feature in the match that Danny would love to have been a part of with AFC Wimbledon supporters having until 11:59pm tonight to bid for a place in the exhibition. Go to the online auction site by clicking on http://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/fundraising/auction.php.
The man who scored THAT penalty at Manchester last May to get us into the Football League took time out from his pre-season preparations with Gillingham to pay tribute to Bass. Danny says that Simon's contribution over the past 10 years has been crucial to AFC Wimbledon's success. "Simon is one of the best coaches I have ever worked with. I took to him straight away when I came to Wimbledon. He makes players feel welcome when they first come to a club. 'Bass' has great banter and he really helps team spirit. He is also a great coach though and that is sometimes underestimated with him. It is easy to see why he has been at the club so long. I will never forget Manchester last May and I remember him telling me to pull my shin-pads up before I took my penalty. Who knows, that might have made a difference!"
Danny is committed to playing for Gillingham in a pre-season friendly against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, otherwise he says he would have played. "I am really gutted as I would have loved to have played in it. If it would have been a week later I may have been able to play as we haven't got a game then."
Simon has 15 Wimbledon heroes, including himself, pencilled in for the exhibition match to mark his testimonial. It will be held before AFC Wimbledon versus a West Ham XI in a whole day of celebrations, which will also celebrate 10 years of the club.
Simon plans to use roll-on, roll-off substitutes, so that everyone gets a piece of the action. As well as featuring in the match, supporters get to keep the actual commemorative white strip that our players wore against Bristol Rovers in AFC Wimbledon's Football League debut.
Full list of players confirmed for exhibition match: Simon Bassey, Keith Ward, Rob Ursell, Jon Main, Sean Daly, Joe Sheerin, Noel Frankum, Matt Everard, Steve Butler, Martin Randall, Ryan Gray, Andy Little, Ben Thatcher, Chris Gell, Elliott Godfrey.