AFC Wimbledon: Omar Bugiel and co can be Crazy Gang 2.0 | OneFootball

Having conquered promotion chasing Doncaster Rovers, the Dons seem to be evolving themselves into a new version of a legendary era

AFC Wimbledon's early Christmas present to their fans was beating Doncaster Rovers 1-0 in a well-fought contest that showed both sides' qualities.

And while it has been a few days since the Dons beat the Yorkshire-based side, there is something brewing that cannot be ignored.

Johnnie Jackson, whether he has meant it or not, has put together a squad that is now competing well within their league and looks set for some sort of success, and have the cohesion of a certain era of the Wimbledon of old, the Crazy Gang.

What has the victory over Doncaster Rovers shown to Wimbledon's League Two rivals

While the victory was by no means perfect, with Wimbledon conceding two early chances that should have been put away by Donny, it was certainly a result that has opened eyes and given the squad a goal they know they can now achieve.

It has placed Wimbledon among the sides battling not just for a play-off place but for the three automatic promotion spots and shown that there is quality within the squad, even with a good number of key players out with injuries, highlighting the strength in depth available to Jackson.

In short, it has made Wimbledon finally appear as strong promotion contenders and a side that play with no fear of the opposition anymore.

It is probably a relief that this development has come this season, as the league is finally of a quality level where every team is beatable, and every game is not a closed-book result with nothing else expected. Plenty of goals looked likely in the Doncaster contest but the match bucked that trend and instead served up a showing of how one moment from both teams, in a split second, can separate a game.

The Dons seem to have finally got back into the habit of making Plough Lane a fortress and a place where opposition teams hate to come. While the season started with a long unbeaten run at home, that form tailed off in November and is only really picking itself up again now.

That could be put down to Jackson switching up formations to cope with injury issues but it also shows that as long as action is taken on the pitch to combat problems and overcome adversity, off the pitch and in the stands, loyal supporters will stand by and make sure that the stadium is a feared turf by opposition teams.

Some may say it is reminiscent of the days of Kingsmeadow, where many teams came to play 'Little Old Wimbledon' and were promptly turned over and embarrassed but there is also the argument that the new Plough Lane, and its current residents are living up to a certain nickname that was given to the former residents of the old Plough Lane.

How is Crazy Gang 2.0 being created at modern-day AFC Wimbledon

Yes, the 2024/25 version of Wimbledon is slowly starting to resemble the Wimbledon FC squads that collectively became known as the 'Crazy Gang' or the 'Crazy Gang Years'.

While there will be a multitude of differences between the two sides for supporters of an age to remember the Crazy Gang days well, in terms of quality and success, there are signs of a similar passion on the pitch.

That passion is no better embodied than by a striker who could well go down in AFC Wimbledon history as one of their greatest and possibly the best free-agent signings that could have been made by a side in League Two this season.

Omar Bugiel and Sam Hutchinson are becoming this team's embodiments of John Fashanu and Vinnie Jones, and nowhere was that better exemplified than on the pitch against Doncaster.

While Bugiel was strutting his usual stuff on the pitch, winning headers, holding the ball up and, overall, being a brute of a forward, Hutchinson was impressing fans with something that has been lacking in the Wimbledon midfield for a long time; a tough tackler.

He did pick up a very early yellow card for a poorly timed tackle, but apart from that, he flew from one side of the midfield to the other, pressing opponents into mistakes, coaching the young players through the game, and overall proving that his experience of playing higher up is going to be worth every penny to Wimbledon during his short time at the club.

Having that added experience of more senior pros is what is making this current squad like that Crazy Gang squad of the past so alike too, as it gives the team a togetherness and 'brother-in-arms' ethos, something which the Crazy Gang teammates had in abundance.

It also gives the younger players platforms and targets to set themselves to try and reach, instead of dreaming about getting to that potential elsewhere, and makes Wimbledon as a whole a club that is slowly becoming very attractive to play for, but only for those that buy into that way of thinking.

While it may be a wild comparison to consider and this side will want to cut out their own path, the passion and team cohesion building at Wimbledon – led by the likes of Bugiel – suggests this group can establish their own place in Dons folklore by embodying some of what made the Crazy Gang great.