Notts County, Crystal Palace the latest clubs to benefit from AFC Wimbledon cult figure | OneFootball

Ashley Bayes is a cult hero at AFC Wimbledon, thanks to his brilliant coaching of goalkeepers, but the Dons aren't the only club to have benefitted

Ashley Bayes is certainly a cult hero, legend, and an all-round well-loved figure at AFC Wimbledon.

That is mainly down to just how brilliant he has been at developing goalkeepers ever since he joined the Dons back in 2013.

From Kelle Roos to Aaron Ramsdale and now Crystal Palace loanee Owen Goodman, many keepers, and clubs, have Bayzo, as he is affectionately known, to thank for developing their men in between the sticks into who they are today.

Ashley Bayes has helped plenty of goalkeepers at AFC Wimbledon

It has been almost 12 years since Bayes joined the Dons, and it's probably fair to say that not many could have, or would have, expected the non-league journeyman to have such a big impact on goalkeeping at the League Two club.

Having arrived in a player-coach role from Basingstoke Town, after a 20+ year playing career, spent mainly in the lower professional leagues and non-league, there was probably not too much excitement around Bayzo when he linked up Neal Ardley's backroom staff in June 2013.

However, the Dons had just survived relegation from League Two on the final day and so were in need of some major changes ahead of Ardley's first full season in charge.

And change is exactly what Bayzo bought, with the former Brentford apprentice going on to help bring in the highly-praised Ross Worner, who can be credited as being the first success off of the Ashley Bayes coaching conveyor belt.

The now 35-year-old was bought in as a relative unknown, but thanks to his nomadic coaching style, he would impress enough to earn nominations for a player-of-the-month award from the EFL during the 2013/14 season, as well as the Junior Don's Player of the Year award at the end of the season, an awarded decided on by Dons Trust members under the age of 16.

In the next few seasons, the likes of James Shea, Roos, George Long, and Tom King all came to the Dons, whether permanently or on loan, and all used Bazyo's teachings to help develop themselves ahead of long careers in the EFL as well as help the club by performing well.

Then perhaps the cherry on top of the cake came with the 2019 arrival of Aaron Ramsdale on loan from Bournemouth. Bayes took the England international from a little-known prospect coming through the academy of a Premier League side, to a player who was beginning to look like he would one day deputise for Jordan Pickford.

The combination of Ramsdale and Bayzo saw Wimbledon complete their great escape in the 18/19 season, beat West Ham in the FA Cup, and helped Ramsdale establish himself firmly within the Bournemouth first-team setup upon his return, solidifying the fact that Bayes is up there with some of the best goalkeeping coaches this country has seen.

Crystal Palace, Notts County are the latest to reap the benefits of Bayes' brilliance

Even to this day, Bayes is still helping develop fantastic goalkeeping talent at Wimbledon.

He has recently helped the likes of Spike Brits and Charlie Wilson-Papps develop into England youth internationals, and two of this country's brightest goalkeeping prospects, with Brits firmly on the way to a first-team spot at Manchester City, and Wilson-Papps in one of the most productive youth systems at Brighton and Hove Albion.

However, in terms of first-team talent, the current top two for clean sheets in League Two both have Bayzo to thank for their standings.

Goodman, who leads the way, is Wimbledon's current number one and has been mighty in their efforts to achieve promotion this year. He will return to his parent club Crystal Palace in the summer, and, thanks to the efforts of Bayes, who has helped him begin to shine recently, he will likely be given a chance to compete for a spot in the first team for the Eagles over pre-season.

Meanwhile, Alex Bass sits second on that list and, having spent last year on loan at the Dons developing under the watchful eye of Bayes, he now finds himself as first choice at Notts County, who are promotion-chasing rivals for the Dons, and likely to be a keeper that will go on to form a very solid career in the EFL and possibly further afield.

Bayes' impact has reached far beyond Wimbledon already, with Notts and Palace the two latest clubs to benefit, but he is a figure that should not be taken for granted at Plough Lane as his record with young shot-stoppers may soon start to turn heads.