Just nine years ago AFC Wimbledon were advertising for players to turn up for trials on Wimbledon Common following their formation - and today they were marvelling at their first fixture in the npower Football League at home to Bristol Rovers.
Manager Terry Brown wasn't overstating the fact when he said today: "It's phenomenal. And a delight for me that we start against a famous club like Rovers."
Brown, the fourth manager in the Dons' remarkable rise, added: "I was with Aldershot when the news first came out about Wimbledon reforming and I remember them playing a local side, Sandhurst, in the Combined Counties League. It's gone on from there for Wimbledon with the club's first three managers putting in so much hard work to get them started on the long road to League football.
"We couldn't have had a tougher start in the npower League, with our first three games against sides that were in League One last season."
