2014–15 Milton Keynes Dons F.C. season
Milton Keynes Dons 2014–15 football season
The 2014–15 season was Milton Keynes Dons ' eleventh season in their existence as a professional association football club, and their seventh consecutive season competing in Football League One .
As well as competing in League One, the club also participated in the FA Cup , League Cup and League Trophy .
The season covers the period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015.
Season review
With what turned out to be a successful summer transfer window, manager Karl Robinson signed forwards Benik Afobe [2] and Will Grigg [3] on loan from Arsenal and Brentford respectively, as well as former loanee Samir Carruthers from Aston Villa on a permanent deal.[2] Centre-back Kyle McFadzean was also brought in from Crawley Town .[4]
Following a 3–1 home victory over rivals AFC Wimbledon in the first round at the beginning of August,[5] the club were handed a lucrative second round League Cup draw at home to Manchester United . Against all odds, the Dons won the tie 4–0 through goals from Grigg and Afobe against a United team which included established Premier League players David de Gea , Javier Hernandez , Shinji Kagawa and Danny Welbeck .[6]
The result set the tone for the remainder of the season. The Dons spent the majority of the year in promotion contention and achieved several notable victories including a club record 7–0 home win over Oldham Athletic ,[7] a 6–0 home win over Colchester United [8] and 6–1 home wins over both Crewe Alexandra and Leyton Orient .[9] [10] At the end of the January 2015 transfer window, academy graduate Dele Alli was sold to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for a club record fee in the region of £5m plus add-on incentives and arrangements which included Alli being loaned back immediately for the remainder of the campaign.[11]
For the final few weeks of the season, the club were in competition with Preston North End and Swindon Town for second place (the final automatic promotion spot). With a considerable points gap to claw back, the Dons managed to obtain 25 points from a possible 27 to ensure the battle for promotion came down to the final day.
With Preston in second place on 89 points and MK Dons in third on 88, Preston faced relegation-threatened Colchester United and only needed to match or better the Dons' result against already relegated Yeovil Town to ensure promotion.[12] MK Dons went on to defeat Yeovil 5–1. With Preston losing away to Colchester, the Dons secured second place against the odds, achieving promotion to the second tier for the first time since their formation in 2004 along with a club record goal tally of 101 league goals.[13]
Competitions
League One
Final table
Source: Sky Sports
Matches
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Scorers
Attendance
Ref
9 August 2014 – 15:00
Gillingham
Home
4–2
Hause (o.g. ), Grigg , McFadzean , Legge (o.g.)
7,595
[14]
16 August 2014 – 15:00
Peterborough United
Away
2–3
Alli , Powell
7,115
[15]
19 August 2014 – 19:45
Chesterfield
Away
1–0
Afobe
5,811
[16]
23 August 2014 – 15:00
Coventry City
Home
0–0
10,600
[17]
30 August 2014 – 15:00
Crawley Town
Home
2–0
Alli, Afobe
7,148
[18]
13 September 2014 – 15:00
Barnsley
Away
5–3
Afobe, Carruthers , Alli, Grigg, Reeves
9,192
[19]
16 September 2014 – 19:45
Bradford City
Home
1–2
Lewington
7,139
[20]
20 September 2014 – 15:00
Crewe Alexandra
Home
6–1
Alli (3), Grigg, Afobe, Reeves
7,049
[9]
27 September 2014 – 15:00
Bristol City
Away
2–3
Bowditch , Afobe
13,119
[21]
4 October 2014 – 15:00
Yeovil Town
Away
2–0
Grigg, Powell
4,000
[22]
18 October 2014 – 15:00
Leyton Orient
Away
0–0
5,014
[23]
21 October 2014 – 19:45
Fleetwood Town
Home
2–1
McFadzean, Afobe
6,736
[24]
25 October 2014 – 15:00
Doncaster Rovers
Away
0–0
5,976
[25]
1 November 2014 – 15:00
Swindon Town
Home
2–1
Alli, Kay
9,494
[26]
22 November 2014 – 15:00
Port Vale
Home
1–0
C. Baker
12,007
[27]
25 November 2014 – 19:45
Rochdale
Home
2–2
Grigg, Green
6,720
[28]
29 November 2014 – 15:00
Colchester United
Home
6–0
Alli, Afobe (3), Reeves, Hodson
7,646
[8]
2 December 2014 – 19:45
Sheffield United
Away
1–0
Alli
17,030
[29]
13 December 2014 – 15:00
Preston North End
Away
1–1
C. Baker
9,856
[30]
20 December 2014 – 15:00
Oldham Athletic
Home
7–0
Grigg (2), Bowditch, Potter , Alli, Afobe, C. Baker
7,998
[7]
26 December 2014 – 15:00
Notts County
Away
1–0
Powell
5,897
[31]
28 December 2014 – 15:00
Walsall
Home
0–3
9,311
[32]
10 January 2015 – 15:00
Crawley Town
Away
2–2
Grigg, Alli
2,468
[33]
17 January 2015 – 15:00
Sheffield United
Home
1–0
C. Baker
9,633
[34]
24 January 2015 – 15:00
Barnsley
Home
2–0
Alli, Grigg
8,310
[35]
27 January 2015 – 19:45
Scunthorpe United
Away
1–1
McFadzean
3,005
[36]
31 January 2015 – 15:00
Crewe Alexandra
Away
5–0
Cole (2), Bowditch, C. Baker, Powell
4,319
[37]
7 February 2015 – 15:00
Bristol City
Home
0–0
15,642
[38]
9 February 2015 – 19:45
Bradford City
Away
1–2
Alli
11,948
[39]
14 February 2015 – 15:00
Gillingham
Away
2–4
Cole, Reeves
5,107
[40]
17 February 2015 – 19:45
Colchester United
Away
1–0
Alli
2,974
[41]
21 February 2015 – 15:00
Peterborough United
Home
3–0
Grigg, Reeves (2)
11,162
[42]
28 February 2015 – 15:00
Coventry City
Away
1–2
Powell
9,934
[43]
3 March 2015 – 15:00
Chesterfield
Home
1–2
L. Baker
7,335
[44]
7 March 2015 – 15:00
Preston North End
Home
0–2
10,618
[45]
14 March 2015 – 15:00
Walsall
Away
1–1
Grigg
3,887
[46]
17 March 2015 – 19:45
Oldham Athletic
Away
3–1
Bowditch, Powell, Grigg
2,445
21 March 2015 – 15:00
Notts County
Home
4–1
C. Baker, L. Baker, Grigg (2)
11,911
[47]
4 April 2015 – 12:15
Swindon Town
Away
3–0
Powell, Grigg (2)
10,087
[48]
7 April 2015 – 19:45
Scunthorpe United
Home
2–0
Grigg (2)
8,087
[49]
11 April 2015 – 15:00
Port Vale
Away
0–0
4,379
[50]
14 April 2015 – 19:45
Fleetwood Town
Away
3–0
L. Baker, Grigg, Alli
2,752
[51]
18 April 2015 – 15:00
Leyton Orient
Home
6–1
Bowditch, Hall (3), Grigg, Alli
10,137
[10]
21 April 2015 – 15:00
Doncaster Rovers
Home
3–0
Bowditch, C. Baker (2)
8,159
[52]
25 April 2015 – 15:00
Rochdale
Away
3–2
Carrthers , Bowditch, Powell
3,501
[12]
3 May 2015 – 15:00
Yeovil Town
Home
5–1
C. Baker, Lewington (2), Potter, Grigg
16,965
[13]
FA Cup
Matches
Date
Round
Opponent
Venue
Result
Scorers
Attendance
Ref
8 November 2014 – 15:00
First round
Port Vale
Away
4–3
Afobe (2), C. Baker , Green
4,120
[53]
6 December 2014 – 15:00
Second round
Chesterfield
Home
0–1[a]
5,591
[55]
2 January 2015 – 19:45
Second round
Chesterfield
Home
0–1
8,040
[56]
^ Due to Chesterfield fielding an ineligible player, the FA ruled the tie be replayed.[54]
League Cup
Matches
League Trophy
Matches
Player details
Note: Players' ages as of the club's opening fixture of the 2014–15 season.
Transfers
Transfers in
Transfers out
Loans in
Loans out
Awards
References
External links
History Home stadium Matches Rivalries See also
National teams
League competitions
Level 1 Levels 2–4 Levels 5–6 Levels 7–8 Levels 9–10
Combined Counties League (Premier , One )
East Midlands Counties League (level 10 only )
Eastern Counties League (Premier , One )
Essex Senior League (level 9 only )
Hellenic League (Premier , One East , One West )
Kent Invicta League (level 10 only )
Midland League (Premier , One )
North West Counties League (Premier , One )
Northern Counties East League (Premier , One )
Northern League (One , Two )
South West Peninsula League Premier Division (level 10 only )
Southern Counties East League (level 9 only )
Spartan South Midlands League (Premier , One )
Sussex County League (One , Two )
United Counties League (Premier , One )
Wessex League (Premier , One )
West Midlands (Regional) League (level 10 only )
Western League (Premier , One )
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups
Youth competitions
Women's competitions