The latest from Erik on a new manager and a return to Wimbledon
Erik Samuelson has confirmed that AFC Wimbledon plan to appoint a new manager by next week and have the chosen candidate in place for our home match against Cheltenham on Saturday, 13 October.
Speaking to Dons Player, our chief executive said that he is today contacting the three candidates chosen to come for a second interview on Monday.
“We had a board meeting today in which we reviewed the proposed shortlist of candidates for a second interview and signed them off,” Erik said. “Harry Bassett and I recommended some candidates for a second interview and the board went through the process of how we evaluated all the candidates, the successful ones, and those who did not make it. We agreed why those chosen were the right people to be shortlisted. I will be contacting those people to invite them to come to an interview on Monday. As it happens, Monday night is the Dons Trust Board meeting and they will hopefully ratify our selected candidate. So by early next week we should be able to invite the person to accept the job and hopefully they will be in place for the Cheltenham match. We started off with a list of 40 candidates and whittled them down to half a dozen, who were all of high quality. It was terribly difficult to refine it further as Harry and I spent quite a lot of time agreeing the people who should be chosen.”
Erik also made clear the club’s position on us moving to a new ground at Plough Lane in light of Merton Council receiving a proposal from the GRA, who owns Plough Lane Greyhound Stadium, which details plans for a 10,000-15,000 capacity football stadium.
“It is important to understand what this is first of all,” added Erik. “This is something which has been published on the London borough of Merton’s website. It is a public submission in response to what I refer to as ‘a call for sites’. That is when Merton asks anybody who is thinking of doing some development in the borough to report on what they want to do and submit it formally. Once that is done it becomes a public document and what has been put up is therefore a proposal or an idea – a bit like we did in the summer – for what might happen on that site.
“It is not a planning application, that is some way down the line, and it is just an indication of what we want to do. We are not surprised by it and it is really exciting that there are people talking about showing a picture of how the stadium would look on the site. But there is a long way to go and discussions to be had that are better done away from the camera so that we get what we want and that is a big, brand new stadium in Wimbledon. We should not get overly excited, but we are heading in the right direction. We are having talks and discussions with various interested parties and we will continue to do that and hopefully in a few months’ time we can say exactly what is happening.”
for more information and how to access the site.Dons PlayerTo watch the full video interview with Erik visit our Dons Player site. Supporters can take advantage of a 14-day free Dons Player trial during any period up until 5 November. In the last two days we have featured interviews with Jack Midson, Mark Robinson, Simon Bassey, Jim Fenlon and Erik Samuelson. Along with match highlights and behind-the-scenes interviews, the premium service also offers WDON coverage and our commentary team will be in place for Saturday’s marathon trip to Plymouth. Click on