| 2007–08 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Pete Winkelman | |||
| Manager | Paul Ince | |||
| Stadium | Stadium mk | |||
| League Two | 1st (promoted toLeague One) | |||
| FA Cup | First round | |||
| League Cup | Second round | |||
| League Trophy | Winners | |||
| Top goalscorer | League:Mark Wright (13) All: Mark Wright (15) | |||
| Highest home attendance | 17,250 (vsMorecambe) 3 May 2008, League Two | |||
| Lowest home attendance | 5,087 (vsPeterborough United) 9 October 2007, League Trophy R2 | |||
| Average home league attendance | 9,456[1] | |||
| Biggest win | 5–0 (vsAccrington Stanley) 8 December 2007, League Two | |||
| Biggest defeat | 0–2 (vsStockport County) 27 October 2007, League Two | |||
The2007–08 season was the fourth season of competitive association football in theFootball League played byMilton Keynes Dons Football Club, a professional football club based inMilton Keynes,Buckinghamshire, England. Their fourth-place finish in 2006–07 and loss toShrewsbury Town in theplay-offs meant it was their second successive season inLeague Two. After the closure of theNational Hockey Stadium this was the first season where the MK Dons played home fixtures atStadium mk. The season ran from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008.
Paul Ince, starting his first season asMilton Keynes Dons manager, made nine permanent summer signings. After the eighth round of League Two fixtures the MK Dons reached first place and occupied this spot in thirty-seven of the remaining thirty-eight game weeks; they ended the season as champions of the twenty-four-team2007–08 Football League Two. MK Dons also won their first national knockout competition, with a 2–0 victory overGrimsby Town atWembley Stadium in the2008 Football League Trophy Final. They lost in their opening round match in the2007–08 FA Cup, and were eliminated in the second round of theFootball League Cup.
Thirty-one players made at least one appearance in nationally organised first-team competition, and there were sixteen different goalscorers. DefenderDean Lewington missed only two of the fifty-five first-team matches over the season.Mark Wright finished as leading scorer with fifteen goals, of which thirteen came in league competition and two came in theFootball League Trophy.Keith Andrews won theFootball League Two Player of the Year Award.[2]
The 2006–07 season wasMartin Allen first season asmanager ofMilton Keynes Dons, afterDanny Wilson was sacked at the end of the 2005–06 season for failing to save the club from relegation toLeague Two. Having been second come the start of 2007, the team finished in fourth-place in the2006–07 Football League Two – one point below an automatic promotion place; this meant that the team participated in theLeague Two play-offs. MK Dons were beaten 2–1 on aggregate byShrewsbury Town in the play-off semi-final. In May 2007 Allen moved on to manageChampionship sideLeicester City after both clubs had negotiated a compensation package.[citation needed]
Ahead of 2007–08, MK Dons releasedAdolfo Baines,Lee Harper,Junior Lewis,Nick Rizzo,Jamie Smith and Oliver Thorne. Players sold werePaul Butler toChester City,Dominic Blizzard toStockport County,Gary Smith toBrentford,Izale McLeod toCharlton Athletic andClive Platt toColchester United. Milton Keynes Dons made nine summer signings, those beinggoalkeepersNathan Abbey fromBrentford andWilly Guéret fromSwansea City;defenderJude Stirling fromPeterborough United;midfieldersColin Cameron fromCoventry City,Luke Howell fromGillingham,Alan Navarro fromMacclesfield Town andMark Wright fromWalsall; andforwardsDrewe Broughton fromChester City andKevin Gallen fromQueens Park Rangers.[citation needed]

On 29 September 2007 Milton Keynes Dons reached first place and stayed there for the rest of the season except for one game week. The lowest position the club occupied was 19th after the first round of fixtures. For the first time in their history, the MK Dons had a better record away than at home in the league. The team won 18 matches, drew three and lost two away, compared to winning 11, drawing seven and losing five at home.Dean Lewington recorded the highest number of appearances during the season, appearing in 53 of the MK Dons' 55 matches.Mark Wright was the Dons' top scorer in the league and in all competitions, with 11 league goals and 15 in total. Three other players,Keith Andrews,Lloyd Dyer andAaron Wilbraham, reached double figures.
As a result of their promotion the Milton Keynes Dons returned toFootball League One after two seasons in League Two. Prior to the club's return to League One, the MK Dons releasedDrewe Broughton,Matt Carbon, Sam Collins,Liam Kelly,Jake Livermore andKieran Murphy, whileMustapha Carayol,Lloyd Dyer andGareth Edds left on their own accord forTorquay United,Leicester City andTranmere Rovers. New players to join were midfieldersFlavien Belson fromFC Metz,Peter Leven fromChesterfield andFlorian Sturm fromFC Vaduz.
Final table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milton Keynes Dons(C,P) | 46 | 29 | 10 | 7 | 82 | 37 | +45 | 97 |
| 2 | Peterborough United(P) | 46 | 28 | 8 | 10 | 84 | 43 | +41 | 92 |
| 3 | Hereford United(P) | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 72 | 41 | +31 | 88 |
| 4 | Stockport County(P) | 46 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 72 | 54 | +18 | 82 |
| 5 | Rochdale | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 77 | 54 | +23 | 80 |
Source:Sky Sports
Matches
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Position | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 August 2007 – 15:00 | Bury | Home | 1–2 | Andrews | 7,740 | 19 | [3] |
| 18 August 2007 – 15:00 | Macclesfield Town | Away | 3–3 | Andrews,Knight,Cameron | 2,257 | 17 | [4] |
| 25 August 2007 – 15:00 | Shrewsbury Town | Home | 3–0 | Knight,Wilbraham,Dyer | 7,380 | 10 | [5] |
| 1 September 2007 – 15:00 | Rochdale | Away | 2–3 | Gallen (2) | 2,743 | 12 | [6] |
| 7 September 2007 – 19:45 | Notts County | Home | 3–0 | Andrews,Swailes, Wilbraham | 7,977 | 8 | [7] |
| 15 September 2007 – 15:00 | Brentford | Away | 3–0 | Andrews (2),Johnson | 4,476 | 6 | [8] |
| 22 September 2007 – 15:00 | Darlington | Home | 1–0 | Diallo | 7,901 | 5 | [9] |
| 29 September 2007 – 15:00 | Morecambe | Away | 1–0 | Dyer | 2,688 | 1 | [10] |
| 2 October 2007 – 19:45 | Mansfield Town | Away | 2–1 | Stirling, Dyer | 1,984 | 1 | [11] |
| 6 October 2007 – 15:00 | Bradford City | Home | 2–1 | Andrews, Swailes | 7,903 | 1 | [12] |
| 14 October 2007 – 13:30 | Lincoln City | Home | 4–0 | Knight (2), Dyer, Wilbraham | 13,037 | 1 | [13] |
| 20 October 2007 – 15:00 | Hereford United | Away | 1–0 | Wright | 3,936 | 1 | [14] |
| 27 October 2007 – 15:00 | Stockport County | Home | 0–2 | 8,290 | 1 | [15] | |
| 3 November 2007 – 15:00 | Wycombe Wanderers | Away | 1–1 | Cameron | 5,929 | 1 | [16] |
| 6 November 2007 – 19:45 | Grimsby Town | Home | 2–0 | Wilbraham, Wright | 6,797 | 1 | [17] |
| 17 November 2007 – 15:00 | Chester City | Away | 2–0 | Wright, Johnson | 3,102 | 1 | [18] |
| 24 November 2007 – 15:00 | Chesterfield | Home | 1–2 | Wright | 9,638 | 1 | [19] |
| 4 December 2007 – 19:45 | Dagenham & Redbridge | Away | 1–0 | Diallo | 1,880 | 1 | [20] |
| 8 December 2007 – 15:00 | Accrington Stanley | Home | 5–0 | Andrews,Navarro, Cameron, Dyer (2) | 6,917 | 1 | [21] |
| 15 December 2007 – 15:00 | Peterborough United | Away | 2–1 | Gallen, Andrews | 10,351 | 1 | [22] |
| 21 December 2007 – 19:45 | Brentford | Home | 1–1 | Gallen | 8,445 | 1 | [23] |
| 26 December 2007 – 15:00 | Notts County | Away | 2–1 | Wright, Johnson | 5,106 | 1 | [24] |
| 29 December 2007 – 15:00 | Darlington | Away | 1–0 | Johnson | 5,304 | 1 | [25] |
| 1 January 2008 – 15:00 | Mansfield Town | Home | 1–0 | Andrews | 9,583 | 1 | [26] |
| 5 January 2008 – 15:00 | Rotherham United | Away | 1–0 | Wright | 5,421 | 1 | [27] |
| 12 January 2008 – 15:00 | Barnet | Home | 0–1 | 9,881 | 1 | [28] | |
| 19 January 2008 – 15:00 | Wrexham | Away | 0–1 | 4,319 | 1 | [29] | |
| 26 January 2008 – 15:00 | Rochdale | Home | 0–1 | 7,882 | 1 | [30] | |
| 29 January 2008 – 19:45 | Macclesfield Town | Home | 1–1 | O'Hanlon | 6,483 | 1 | [31] |
| 2 February 2008 – 15:00 | Bury | Away | 5–1 | Wright (3), Dyer, Gallen | 2,241 | 1 | [32] |
| 9 February 2008 – 15:00 | Rotherham United | Home | 1–1 | Gallen | 9,455 | 1 | [33] |
| 12 February 2008 – 19:45 | Shrewsbury Town | Away | 3–3 | Wright (2), Gallen | 5,474 | 1 | [34] |
| 23 February 2008 – 15:00 | Barnet | Away | 2–0 | Navarro, Dyer | 2,495 | 1 | [35] |
| 1 March 2008 – 15:00 | Chester City | Home | 1–0 | Swailes | 8,172 | 1 | [36] |
| 7 March 2008 – 19:45 | Grimsby Town | Away | 1–0 | O'Hanlon | 4,106 | 1 | [37] |
| 10 March 2008 – 19:45 | Chesterfield | Away | 2–1 | Andrews, Dyer | 3,834 | 1 | [38] |
| 15 March 2008 – 15:00 | Dagenham & Redbridge | Home | 4–0 | Wilbraham (2), Dyer, Gallen | 9,417 | 1 | [39] |
| 21 March 2008 – 15:00 | Peterborough United | Home | 1–1 | Wilbraham | 14,521 | 1 | [40] |
| 24 March 2008 – 15:00 | Accrington Stanley | Away | 1–0 | Wright | 1,559 | 1 | [41] |
| 4 April 2008 – 19:45 | Lincoln City | Away | 2–1 | Regan, Johnson | 3,896 | 2 | [42] |
| 8 April 2008 – 19:45 | Wrexham | Home | 4–1 | Swailes, Wilbraham (2), O'Hanlon | 8,646 | 1 | [43] |
| 12 April 2008 – 15:00 | Wycombe Wanderers | Home | 2–2 | Wilbraham, O'Hanlon | 12,747 | 1 | [44] |
| 15 April 2008 – 19:45 | Hereford United | Home | 0–0 | 11,428 | 1 | [45] | |
| 19 April 2008 – 15:00 | Stockport County | Away | 3–2 | Wright, Navarro, Andrews | 8,838 | 1 | [46] |
| 26 April 2008 – 15:00 | Bradford City | Away | 2–1 | Stirling, Dyer | 14,609 | 1 | [47] |
| 3 May 2008 – 15:00 | Morecambe | Home | 1–1 | Wilbraham | 17,250 | 1 | [48] |
Matches
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 November 2007 – 15:00 | First round | Crewe Alexandra | Away | 1–2 | Johnson | 3,049 | [49] |
Matches
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 August 2007 – 19:45 | First round | Ipswich Town | Home | 3–3[a] | Knight,Bruce (o.g.),Gallen | 7,496 | [50] |
| 28 August 2007 – 19:45 | Second round | Sheffield United | Home | 2–3[b] | Broughton,McGovern | 7,943 | [51] |
Matches
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 October 2007 – 19:45 | Second round | Peterborough United | Home | 3–1 | Wright (2),Cameron | 5,087 | [52] |
| 13 November 2007 – 19:45 | Quarter-final (South) | Bournemouth | Away | 2–0 | Andrews,Swailes | 3,247 | [53] |
| 8 January 2008 – 19:45 | Semi-final (South) | Gillingham | Away | 1–1[a] | Johnson | 3,717 | [54] |
| 19 February 2008 – 19:45 | Area final (South) 1st leg | Swansea City | Away | 1–0 | Johnson | 10,125 | [55] |
| 25 February 2008 – 19:45 | Area final (South) 2nd leg | Swansea City | Home | 0–1[b] | 9,757 | [56] | |
| 30 March 2008 – 13:15 | Final | Grimsby Town | Neutral | 2–0 | Andrews,O'Hanlon | 56,618 | [57] |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | League Two | FA Cup | League Cup | Other[a] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| GK | Ademola Bankole | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | DF | Jude Stirling | 41 | 2 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 3 | DF | Dean Lewington | 53 | 0 | 45 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 4 | MF | Keith Andrews | 45 | 14 | 41 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
| 5 | DF | Drissa Diallo | 35 | 2 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 6 | DF | Sean O'Hanlon | 51 | 5 | 43 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| MF | Jon-Paul McGovern | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 8 | FW | Kevin Gallen | 31 | 9 | 24 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
| FW | Felix Bastians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| FW | Leon Knight | 18 | 5 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 10 | FW | Colin Cameron | 35 | 4 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| 11 | FW | Lloyd Dyer | 50 | 11 | 45 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 12 | GK | Willy Guéret | 52 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 13 | MF | Gareth Edds | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 14 | FW | Mark Wright | 41 | 15 | 34 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | |
| 15 | FW | Drewe Broughton | 19 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
| 16 | FW | Aaron Wilbraham | 40 | 10 | 35 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 17 | DF | Kieran Murphy | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 18 | FW | John Miles | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| FW | Scott Taylor | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| FW | John Hastings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 19 | DF | Carl Regan | 9 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 20 | MF | Alan Navarro | 47 | 3 | 39 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 21 | MF | Luke Howell | 11 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| MF | Jake Livermore | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| MF | Bally Smart | 11 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 23 | FW | Jemal Johnson | 46 | 8 | 39 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | |
| 24 | DF | Matt Carbon | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 25 | DF | Danny Swailes | 47 | 5 | 40 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| DF | Sam Page | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 27 | DF | Sam Collins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 28 | MF | Liam Kelly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 29 | GK | Nathan Abbey | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 30 | MF | Mustapha Carayol | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 31 | GK | Laurie Walker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 32 | MF | Jordan Hadfield | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 35 | DF | Adam Chicksen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 36 | FW | Sam Baldock | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 July 2007 | FW | Free agent[a] | Free transfer | [58] | |
| 11 July 2007 | MF | Free agent[b] | |||
| 25 July 2007 | FW | Free agent[c] | [58] | ||
| 1 August 2007 | MF | Free agent[d] | [59] | ||
| 3 August 2007 | FW | Free agent[e] | [59] | ||
| 10 August 2007 | GK | Free agent[f] | [59] | ||
| MF | Free agent[g] | [59] | |||
| 11 August 2007 | GK | Free agent[h] | [59] | ||
| DF | Free agent[i] | [59] | |||
| 19 August 2007 | DF | Macclesfield Town | Undisclosed | [59] | |
| 31 August 2007 | FW | Wolverhampton Wanderers | [59] | ||
| 4 December 2007 | DF | Free agent[j] | Free transfer | ||
| 1 February 2008 | DF | Macclesfield Town | Undisclosed | [60] | |
| MF | Stevenage Borough | [60] |
| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2007 | MF | Released[k] | |||
| MF | Released[l] | ||||
| 3 July 2007 | FW | Colchester United | £300,000 | [58] | |
| 9 August 2007 | FW | Charlton Athletic | £1,100,000 | [59] | |
| 31 August 2007 | MF | Swindon Town | Undisclosed | [59] | |
| Start date | Position | Name | From | End date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 November 2007 | MF | Macclesfield Town | End of season[m] | [61] | |
| 25 January 2008 | FW | Accrington Stanley | End of season | [62] |
| Start date | Position | Name | To | End date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 September 2007 | MF | Ebbsfleet United | 18 October 2007 | [63] | |
| 28 September 2007 | FW | Kettering Town | Unknown | [63] | |
| 15 October 2007 | DF | Hendon | 15 December 2007 | [64] | |
| 18 October 2007 | FW | Rochdale | 18 November 2007 | [64] | |
| 26 October 2007 | FW | Crawley Town | End of season | [61] | |
| 16 November 2007 | DF | [61] | |||
| 20 November 2007 | MF | Maidenhead United | Unknown | [61] | |
| 22 November 2007 | FW | Hendon | [61] | ||
| 25 January 2008 | FW | April 2008 | [62] |