Wally Downes call gave AFC Wimbledon a glimpse of Johnnie Jackson future: View | OneFootball

Back in 2019, Wally Downes was saving AFC Wimbledon's season, and coincidentally, introducing fans to a similar style of football to that of now

Wally Downes, despite his rather unceremonious departure, will always remain an AFC Wimbledon and Wimbledon FC legend.

The former defender, turned manager, made quite an impression on Dons fans during his ten-month stint as boss of AFC Wimbledon, keeping the club up after it looked as though a strong squad was doomed for relegation.

He did so by, most importantly, getting the closeness between the squad and the fans back to the levels he knew from Wimbledon FC days in the past, but tactically, on the pitch, he played a brand of football that fans were not too familiar with.

And in doing just that, he gave fans of that time a glimpse into the future of now, and opened their eyes to a style of football that is now proving to be very fruitful.

Wally Downes' tactical introduction to fans was the catalyst for survival in 18/19

When Downes arrived, the Dons were languishing just six points from safety, having endured Neal Ardley's repetitive 4-4-2, or similar, style of football, with route one and direct passing usually the favoured way of attacking the opposition.

While this had taken the Dons to a surprise promotion back in 2016, League One had evolved by 2018, and was proving a tough nut to crack for a squad that was packed with talent in 18/19.

With the likes of Anthony Wordsworth, Mitch Pinnock, Joe Piggot, Kwesi Appiah, Scott Wagstaff, Deji Oshilaja and Toby Sibbick just being some of the names in that squad, there was no reason for the Dons to be struggling as badly as they were. However, that was the reality, and the fact was that Ardley's football had long become outdated.

So when Downes arrived, many hoped it would be a breath of fresh air, and an opportunity to see some new football. However, that turned out to not be the case.

Between Downes arriving in December 2018 and March of 2019, the Dons slipped from their six point barrier above the relegation zone, to nine points from safety and were not succeeding as many would have hoped.

However, on a cold, wet Tuesday night in Walsall, a solitary Steve Seddon goal finally bore fruit for the Wally Downes regime, and showed off his tactics in true style.

Utilising a five-man defence, with an attack reliant on support from the wing-backs, the Dons adopted a counter-attacking style where they would attempt to play through the middle of the park, work the ball to the wing-back and let them bring the ball forward to either break into the box and try and score, or set up a fellow attacker.

And that Steve Seddon goal was the epitome of that, and was the catalyst for a fantastic run of form which saw the club gain 21 points from 12 games and secure safety on the final day of the season away at Bradford City.

However, it would also have a knock-on effect a few more years later down the line.

Johnnie Jackson's tactics are reminiscent of Wally Downes', but evolved

That's correct, the current tactics deployed by Jackson share similarities with those used by Downes, and having become accustomed to them under the former Wimbledon FC player, Dons fans did not throw their hands up in disgust and protest about Jackson's new system that he has favoured this season.

The former Tottenham Hotspur player had begun using a five-at-the-back formation toward the back end of last season during a small injury crisis for the Dons, and that is where the similarities begun to show, with a heavy focus on soaking up the pressure and launching counter-attacks.

However, this season, the Dons seem a lot more composed on the ball, want to pass it through midfield a lot more and are switching it up from going direct, keeping the ball on the ground more and playing it into the feet of the strikers, whether they be holding up play, or darting in behind.

This has seen the Dons complete their best ever start to a season in the league, and leaves them fifth at the time of writing, showing that what was once used as a system to get a team out of certain trouble by keeping it tight and hoping to nick a result has changed and updated to the modern day, which sees the same system used to gain wins outright with impressive football and positive scorelines the two big focuses.

While there is no direct correlation between the two, Jackson and Downes can at least share in the similarities that their football philosophies have transformed the club during their time there. And while Downes' was particularly shorter than Jackson's current tenure, there is still the obvious success that means his tactics and style of football were still the correct approach for the time, even if they have since been heavily changed from the perspective of a Wimbledon fan.