Moving back to Plough Lane is “vital” and would feel like “a dream coming true” according to our Crazy Gang legends.
Everyone is talking about our incredible crowdfunding campaign and the new stadium we’re building back at our spiritual home in Plough Lane.
Going back has always been our ultimate goal but we wanted to know what the players who turned Plough Lane into a household name - and a feared venue for every top flight club - felt about the move.
Turns out they’re just as excited as we are! “It’s a fantastic thing and the sooner the club is able to get there, the sooner the club can push on,” said Harry Bassett, our manager for six years in the 80s. And goalkeeping hero Dave Beasant added: “To get back to our spiritual home in Plough Lane is just what we’re all about.
“It shows the progression this football club has made and the way it’s going. Plough Lane is the way forward.”
Construction work has already started on the new site but we still need you, our loyal fans, to give us a final push to get us there. That’s why we’ve launched our unique crowdfunding campaign, which gives you the chance to buy shares in our future - and get your name on our new stadium in return.
“We haven’t had a proper home since we were forced out of Plough Lane,” said Harry. “We all want a stadium where we can say: ‘This is Wimbledon. This is where our history belongs’.”
Like all of us, Harry and Dave were devastated when the club was stripped of its home, its name and had to start all over again in the Combined Counties League. Even in those dark days, however, the determination to get back to Plough Lane remained a driving force behind our rebirth.
“Returning home after all the turbulent years of going out of the league, and coming back up through the divisions, will be an enormous step and it’s vital for the club,” added Harry. “Wimbledon created a story that remains unparalleled and it’s given a lot of hope to a lot of clubs that you can build - and you can dream.
“Dreams do come true.”
Dave, who heroically saved THAT penalty against Liverpool to help us win the 1988 FA Cup Final, believes our current players have a huge role to play, too. “They have to have a certain mentality, a certain understanding of the way the football club is and where it’s come from, and that everyone is in it for each other and it’s not all about one person,” he said.
“Wimbledon has always been about the team.
“People will make comparisons with what we achieved all those years ago - but for the present team to get to where it is now is very similar to what we did.”
Both legends believe moving back to Plough Lane would send a clear message that AFC Wimbledon is still on the way up and, like the Crazy Gang, hasn’t stopped defying the odds.
“The Championship and the Premier League may still seem like dreams but I know the heights and the standards this club are looking to and they’ll be trying to get there, that’s for sure,” added Dave.
For more information and the latest news about the New Stadium development CLICK HERE