MK Dons v Luton Town is a League One game that carries more history than the two clubs’ league records suggest. The sides meet at Stadium MK on Saturday (12:30 BST). It is the first time Luton have visited Milton Keynes since November 2004, when MK Dons played at the old National Hockey Stadium.
The clubs are only 20 miles apart. Different promotions and relegations kept them out of the same division for years.
This is not a rivalry on the level of Luton and Watford. Still, the feeling among some Hatters is real. Many are angry about Wimbledon’s controversial move to Milton Keynes in 2003. They saw it as a club being torn away from its community.
“I don’t dislike Milton Keynes, I dislike what they stand for,” said Luton fan Mike Fanning. He called MK Dons a franchise and said football is a working men’s game that is built on a club and its community.
Luton’s own near miss
There is an odd twist. Luton almost made the same move in the 1980s. The club was in financial trouble, and there were serious plans to relocate and become “MK Hatters”. The Football League first approved the idea in 1983. Then-chairman Denis Mortimer thought it could bring in new supporters.
Fans pushed back hard. They marched, boycotted games and signed a petition with thousands of names. The plan was dropped. John Pyper, who sat on the action committee, said the club could have been lost. Fanning, who was still at school then, said many of those protesters still go to games, so the feeling is “raw”.
The view from MK
MK Dons fans know the anger well. Supporter Jon Scudamore said the club has faced it for 22 years and has “grown hard” because of it. He added that he respects Luton and what they have been through.
Manager Paul Warne recently gave his players a presentation on the club’s story, because some of them did not know it. He does not think events from more than 20 years ago involve his squad. He does like the idea of a big away following, since home fans will sing back and lift the atmosphere.
One supporters’ group first asked Luton fans to boycott the match. More than 6,000 will still travel. Kevin Rouse of the Loyal Luton Supporters group said the committee will not attend and will not recognise MK Dons. He said the choice is down to each fan, and that “there is no right or wrong in this”. Many of those going have said they will not spend any money inside the ground.
Source: BBC Sport
