The Wimbledon/Kingsmeadow shambles
Oh, come on, this is ridiculous. Not only did Wimbledon ensure their existence but they ensured Kingstonian's existence at Kingsmeadow. Do you realise how many clubs would want to be bought off asset-stripping chairmen by another club with a decent set of principles and prepared to give Kingstonian the most favourable terms possible?
For all your talk about 300 supporters nor being able to buy the ground, again, I have sympathy but, unfortunately, Kingsmeadow has always been much too big for Kingstonian. No-one's blaming you for that but that is the circumstances and you can't expect Wimbledon to do much more than they are.
What people are suggesting on here is "Wimbledon shouldn't buy of an asset stripper, Wimbledon shouldn't sell to an oligarch, they should stay where they are, possibly atrophying their own livelihood, because Kingstonian are part of a fucked up situation that Wimbledon have been one of the few positive actors in that story.
I don't go along with this "Many AFC fans just don't realise what the reality is like for a small club" business either. Yes, they are an outlier in non-league football but to suggest that they have no conception of what it is to be non-league club is plainly ridiculous. It reminds me of supporters moaning while Wimbledon went up the leagues but were still quite happy for the revenue that their supporters brought when they visited. Kingstonian are doing much the same. Wimbledon are - hopefully - a one-off phenomenon for the last 12 years and there are a fair few positives to come from that - revenue from visiting supporters, a template and higher profile of community-owned clubs - and their purchase of Kingstonian has got to be seen as that. To suggest that it would have been better for the Khoslas to sell to other asset strippers (as, let's face it, K's supporters were in less of a position to buy than now) and the club to go bust is 20:20 hindsight. It's partly because of Wimbledon and their story that many phoenix clubs such as recently Hereford are much more sussed as to the possibilities. Wimbledon do hold themselves to higher principles but that doesn't mean the supporters of other clubs can point the finger at them when they fail while doing something with the best intentions - especially when they haven't made the situation worse just possibly delayed the inevitable.
Bollocks. Quite simply.
they didn't have to buy the ground from an asset stripper in the first place.
For all your talk about 300 supporters nor being able to buy the ground, again, I have sympathy but, unfortunately, Kingsmeadow has always been much too big for Kingstonian. No-one's blaming you for that but that is the circumstances and you can't expect Wimbledon to do much more than they are.
What people are suggesting on here is "Wimbledon shouldn't buy of an asset stripper, Wimbledon shouldn't sell to an oligarch, they should stay where they are, possibly atrophying their own livelihood, because Kingstonian are part of a fucked up situation that Wimbledon have been one of the few positive actors in that story.
I don't go along with this "Many AFC fans just don't realise what the reality is like for a small club" business either. Yes, they are an outlier in non-league football but to suggest that they have no conception of what it is to be non-league club is plainly ridiculous. It reminds me of supporters moaning while Wimbledon went up the leagues but were still quite happy for the revenue that their supporters brought when they visited. Kingstonian are doing much the same. Wimbledon are - hopefully - a one-off phenomenon for the last 12 years and there are a fair few positives to come from that - revenue from visiting supporters, a template and higher profile of community-owned clubs - and their purchase of Kingstonian has got to be seen as that. To suggest that it would have been better for the Khoslas to sell to other asset strippers (as, let's face it, K's supporters were in less of a position to buy than now) and the club to go bust is 20:20 hindsight. It's partly because of Wimbledon and their story that many phoenix clubs such as recently Hereford are much more sussed as to the possibilities. Wimbledon do hold themselves to higher principles but that doesn't mean the supporters of other clubs can point the finger at them when they fail while doing something with the best intentions - especially when they haven't made the situation worse just possibly delayed the inevitable.
Wimbledon have a moral duty to restore Kingstonian to a suitable home. If they don't, they're shitting on their few remaining principles
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