The Trip to Kingston

Just a couple of points from me in the run up to the trip to Kingston.

First of all, while I completely understand the many reasons why a lot of our usual away travellers will be giving this one a miss, I’d urge you to think again.  Not going to a match is a difficult choice to make, and I know it won’t have been made without a lot of thought, but I would ask you to consider it once more.

Recent announcements by those supposedly in positions of responsibility within that club, combined with the disgraceful way that Robbo was treated there recently give a clue to the level of hostility that we as fans are likely to be met with by members of their staff. If there’s anyone left in the football world who still believes the myth that they are some sort of family friendly club, and club that acts in a way that others should aspire to, well it’s safe to say that these events should have put paid to it once and for all.
In any organisation, you will find individuals who are bad eggs, and football is no different.  What shows the character of any organisation is how they respond to their own bad eggs, and the Kingston lot have repeatedly shown that they are fully supportive of, and even proud of, the people in their fold who act in ways that would be considered abhorrent in any normal civilised environment.  The fact that our fans and club representatives have to enter the ground under police protection to provide protection from their fans shows just how out of control they are as a club, and they should be ashamed of themselves.

We’ve seen enough to know that they will feel no shame though, as they have managed to reach a point where they believe that any behaviour towards us is acceptable.  Sorry Kingston, but that makes you nothing more than a bunch of thugs, and you’re everything that’s wrong with the game.

So why am I asking those of you who have chosen not to attend to reconsider?  Purely because I’d love to see as close to our usual away crowd attending as possible – our genuinely family friendly crowd, who’ve been there and seen it all, who aren’t likely to rise to any provocation from Kingston staff on the day.  I’d love there to be laughter, and piss-taking and pride in everything that we’ve done together over the years, and the less of you who attend, the less representative the crowd on the night will be.

So do me a favour – if you’re currently in the ‘no’ camp, then give it another thought.

My second point concerns those who are going.  

My guess is that we’ll face a pretty hostile reception from both fans and staff.  Fans we expect to be hostile, and we’re used to it.  Staff we don’t expect to be hostile (and shouldn’t have to) and we’re not used to it, so it could be odd to say the least.  I would encourage you to shrug off any attempts to provoke you into some form of response, laugh at them and get on with supporting the Dons.  I would suggest that if possible, you capture any attempts by their stewards or other staff to provoke a reaction on camera, but don’t rise to it.  This game means everything to them, and in the wider scheme of things, nothing to us.
It’s a nothing game, with a nothing club, who are desperate to turn it into something, because without us, they’re nothing. 

Don’t give them the satisfaction.

Come on you Dons.