From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Jan 2027
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Milton Keynes Dons has to find a result from somewhere.
Match11 Jan 2027
Position 18 and 13 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market11 Jan 2027
The bid was some way short and Milton Keynes Dons did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Milton Keynes Dons may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market11 Jan 2027
Sídnei hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Milton Keynes Dons can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Iliya Gruev in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.83, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad11 Jan 2027
67 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Scott Hogan, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match2 Jan 2027
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Milton Keynes Dons are no longer polite ones.
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad4 Jan 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match2 Jan 2027
1‑3 to Birmingham, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kane Wilson, and the manager let it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday. The order of those three tells you everything about what a football club actually values.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
A mark of 5.33 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Marked 5.39, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Dec 2026
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Milton Keynes Dons has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Aaron Collins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match26 Dec 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
141% of the income goes out in wages at Milton Keynes Dons
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Liam Kelly, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Will Collar asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Dec 2026
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match19 Dec 2026
Bristol City left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Esapa Osong
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Milton Keynes Dons are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
A mark of 5.62 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
A mark of 5.66 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match14 Dec 2026
12 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match12 Dec 2026
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Iliya Gruev in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Charlie Setford, and the manager let it.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Ben Wiles runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match12 Dec 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Dec 2026
A 0‑3 beating by Fulham was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match5 Dec 2026
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Milton Keynes Dons has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The medical room confirms 16 days on the sidelines for Aaron Collins, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Iliya Gruev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Sídnei out for 112 days
The medical room confirms 112 days on the sidelines for Sídnei, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dan Crowley, and the manager let it.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Nobody left the Milton Keynes Dons dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Market7 Dec 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Milton Keynes Dons, another week without a signature from Dan Crowley.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Marked 5.30, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Nov 2026
Gethin Jones: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Milton Keynes Dons have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match28 Nov 2026
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Milton Keynes Dons has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Iliya Gruev in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match28 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Nov 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match21 Nov 2026
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Iliya Gruev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match21 Nov 2026
Leeds United left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ben Barclay commits to Milton Keynes Dons for another 3 years.
Squad23 Nov 2026
One booking too many, and Iliya Gruev sits out. Milton Keynes Dons lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Esapa Osong leaves them behind him
Shots: 6. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Market23 Nov 2026
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Ben Barclay arrives at Milton Keynes Dons with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Nov 2026
11 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Aaron Collins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match14 Nov 2026
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Kane Wilson
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A mark of 4.38 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Milton Keynes Dons, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match4 Nov 2026
Manchester City ended it 0‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad9 Nov 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Esapa Osong, and the manager let it.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A masterclass from Ben Wiles
Marked 8.62 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match7 Nov 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market9 Nov 2026
Tom Carroll arrives at 34 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Esapa Osong was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match31 Oct 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Esapa Osong’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Milton Keynes Dons.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A defender's afternoon for Jay Matete
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Scott Hogan, and the manager let it.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Ben Wiles runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Somebody is after Iliya Gruev’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Iliya Gruev suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Milton Keynes Dons have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
Iliya Gruev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Iliya Gruev has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Iliya Gruev keeps the shirt for now, at Milton Keynes Dons's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Oct 2026
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Milton Keynes Dons has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Iliya Gruev in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Iliya Gruev gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match17 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market19 Oct 2026
Fran Sánchez is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match10 Oct 2026
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Iliya Gruev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Nobody could get near Ben Wiles
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gethin Jones, and the manager let it.
Match10 Oct 2026
It needed Esapa Osong to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Cardiff City, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Kane Wilson asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match3 Oct 2026
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 26, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Esapa Osong was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Esapa Osong
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Nobody could get near Ben Wiles
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A defender's afternoon for Curtis Nelson
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A defender's afternoon for Jay Matete
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Sep 2026
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
21 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Callum Paterson, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
The afternoon belonged to Esapa Osong
A mark of 7.87, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Match26 Sep 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Huddersfield Town leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match16 Sep 2026
A 1‑1 win over Cardiff City, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match19 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑5 by Ipswich Town, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad21 Sep 2026
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Milton Keynes Dons may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match19 Sep 2026
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Milton Keynes Dons are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Aaron Collins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.73 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Will Collar, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match12 Sep 2026
Middlesbrough left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Callum Paterson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A mark of 5.63 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Iliya Gruev in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match5 Sep 2026
Queens Park Rangers left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Milton Keynes Dons will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Kane Wilson
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
The afternoon belonged to Scott Hogan
A mark of 7.75, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Match29 Aug 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market24 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Milton Keynes Dons, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.52 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Marvin Ekpiteta was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Callum Paterson
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match22 Aug 2026
A 1‑0 win over Birmingham, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Milton Keynes Dons have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match15 Aug 2026
Blackburn Rovers left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Charlie Setford
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A masterclass from Ben Wiles
Marked 8.03 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Market17 Aug 2026
He is 16, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Market17 Aug 2026
Liam Moore is 16, and Milton Keynes Dons have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Market17 Aug 2026
Samuel Hill is 16, and Milton Keynes Dons have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Market17 Aug 2026
He is 16, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad17 Aug 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Milton Keynes Dons have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Milton Keynes Dons this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Ben Wiles
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market10 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Jay Matete's contract
48 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Aaron Collins knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aaron Collins trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market10 Aug 2026
Charlie Waller is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Milton Keynes Dons has been clear about where Charlie Waller stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
Aaron Collins was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Curtis Nelson's contract
24 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Milton Keynes Dons, another week without a signature from Scott Hogan.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Aaron Collins knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Milton Keynes Dons, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market3 Aug 2026
Liam Kelly told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Liam Kelly has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Milton Keynes Dons.