Soccer AM

A football club is all about the people involved and I associate with AFC Wimbledon because of that.

John Scales
Quotes of the week

Original Crazy Gang member John Scales told us he is still frustrated by Wimbledon's decision to relocate to Milton Keynes.

Scales won the FA Cup with the famous Dons team of the late eighties and early nineties, but after falling on hard times the club controversially relocated to Milton Keynes in 2004.

Scales popped into the Soccer AM studio on Saturday morning and despite the presence of the MK Dons Fans of the Week, he said he was still disappointed by the move and preferred to associate himself with the breakaway AFC Wimbledon team.

He said: "Wimbledon was a great time because they were such a special club, playing in the 1988 FA Cup Final and everything.

"I don't think it was a good move for them to go to Milton Keynes. I was really disappointed and frustrated that a club with that heritage moved elsewhere.

"Maybe that heritage was short-term, we'd only been in the top flight for 15 years - but to suddenly see them leave the borough and move away as a franchise to Milton Keynes was a massive disappointment to me and I think for a lot of people around the club.

"For me it's a very different club now, it's not Wimbledon.

"They recognise that and it's great to see that they're doing well. It's a real hot bed of football, the fans are coming in numbers and it's good to see any club doing that.

"But I associate myself with AFC Wimbledon because they're local and I know a lot of the people involved in running the club

"A football club is all about the people involved and I associate with AFC Wimbledon because of that.

"I don't know the people in Milton Keynes, and while it's good to see them doing well, it's AFC that I follow - and they're doing well too."

Scales left Wimbledon in 1994 in a big-money move to Liverpool and he admitted he also has very fond memories of his spell at Anfield.

And he said it was a famous victory over Kevin Keegan's title-chasing Newcastle that really sticks in the mind.

"Another massive highlight for me was signing for Liverpool," he continued.

"In 1993 I thought I was going to sign under Graeme Souness and it didn't happen, so I carried on playing for Wimbledon.

"Roy Evans took over and luckily they were still interested and I eventually got there in September 1994.

"I spent two-and-a-half years there and I think the highlight was the Newcastle game when we won 4-3 with Stan Collymore scoring the winning goal in the final few seconds.

"Anfield's an amazing place with the atmosphere there, but that game really stood out and still brings the hairs on the back of your neck up."