By Rob Cornell
It's now three years since Jack Midson left, but the striker has kept a close eye on AFC Wimbledon's progress and he's proud to have played a part in establishing the Dons as a league club.
Jack recently got the call from Leatherhead FC to join his former Dons team-mate Sammy Moore, who has been installed as Player-Manager at Fetcham Grove, and we caught up with the man whose penalty kept us in the Football League in 2013.
"Wimbledon can now attract players who maybe they couldn't get in the past," said Jack. "To see the club push up to where it is now, it makes you proud to have played a part in the history. It is brilliant to have played a part. Obviously, the penalty on the last day of the season that helped us stay up is one that sticks in your mind. It set me in good stead for my career as well. It's been brought up quite a few times, especially now I've seen the videos and comments from fans, and that's a good thing. With the MK goal, that has popped up quite a lot, which I always enjoy watching. Like Sammy has said, that relationship with Wimbledon is very important, it is very close. It was a big part of our careers."
At the age of 33 and having developed the M & M Football Academy with close friend Sammy, Jack felt the time was right to play part-time football and he believes that Ryman Premier League club Leatherhead are in good shape to progress.
"We need to concentrate on winning games and that will help the club to grow," added Jack. "If we can get that buzz around the football club, it can spiral with wins. We have experience now as well as youth and hopefully we are going to have a good squad. I spoke to a few people from Eastleigh (Jack's former club) about Leatherhead and they knew about the history of the club. I've also done a lot of research about Leatherhead and it's more established than I thought.
"Probably for both of us, part-time football has come that bit sooner than we committed to or realised, but I think it has come at a good time. Our company is thriving and it allows us to keep in with football and get young talent coming through. There may be some young players at Wimbledon who are not necessarily ready for first-team football and I am sure that Sammy would welcome them over here. That would help us and help them to develop at the same time."
Click on the link below if you missed a video interview with Jack and Sammy. An extensive 18-minute interview with the pair featured on our new iFollow channel.