Football Season Guide

Milton Keynes Dons are back into League One after a one-year stay at the Championship, with a combination of departures of key players such as Dele Alli and their own softness proving too much for them to overcome. Karl Robinson has stuck to his playing principles in the second tier, meaning that he wanted his men to play the ball from the back, and this approach, while effective at times, was also the cause of the Dons' downfall on many occasions, as they conceded a number of goals after losing the ball inside their own half of the pitch. However, it has been clear for years now that Robinson has no intention of changing his footballing philosophy and, in the season that is ahead, we can once again expect the Dons to play the "purest" football in the division, but whether or not that will field the desired results is a different matter entirely. They have not lost any truly key players, with regular central defender Kyle McFadzean being the most important player to leave, but one underwhelming thing about their summer transfer activity is that they have failed to sign a striker, while they currently do not seem to have a number nine capable of scoring 20 goals per season or more, providing that Nicky Maynard suddenly does not come back to his best. All in all, what we can expect of the Dons is the same that we saw them do in the third tier for years - play some eye-catching football and drop points in many games that they dominated, while it seems that they will need to bring in at least a player or two if they are to even contemplate direct promotion.