AFC Wimbledon must axe 2023/24 transfer flop - he was Craig Cope's first failure | OneFootball

Josh Kelly's time at AFC Wimbledon is possibly up and he will now likely go down as one of the poorer signings by Director of Football Craig Cope

Life at AFC Wimbledon for Josh Kelly has not gone as he, or all Wimbledon fans, would have wanted.

From failing to score in his first campaign with the Dons until the penultimate game of that season, to picking up a measly total of goals as he saw his place in the team slip away with new signings replacing him, it has just never truly worked out.

And so, with a week remaining in the transfer window, it has come to the point where the Dons do need to cut their losses and move the 26-year-old, who will likely go down in the books as Craig Cope's first poor signing for the club as Director of Football.

Josh Kelly has failed to live up to expectations at AFC Wimbledon

It would be unrealistic to say that the weight of the world was placed upon Josh Kelly when he signed for the Dons on transfer deadline day of the 23/24 January transfer window, but he did come with some expectations from fans.

The club had lost the talismanic figure of Ali Al-Hamadi (pictured below) during the window, and while Kelly was not signed to be a direct replacement, he was certainly bought in with the eye of helping fill the hole left by the Iraqi international.

But despite a promising debut where some better composure could have seen a brace secured in his first goals in yellow and blue, there was never a true feeling that he had helped replace any of Al-Hamadi's impact on the side by the time his first half season was complete.

He had shown that he could be a quick and speedy threat to any opposition backline, but he seriously lacked the link-up with Omar Bugiel, who had excellently partnered with Al-Hamadi, and without that, the Dons' attack often felt disjointed and left Kelly with no real service, as at the time, the plan was always to go long to Bugiel and hope that Kelly would collect any knockdowns.

And even when, in the 24/25 campaign, he showed glimpses of the quality that many felt was there waiting to be unleashed, he was very often usurped by the likes of Matty Stevens, who was his direct competitor and like-for-like replacement for his spot in the team, as well as an aging Joe Pigott, who came off the bench much more regularly than he did throughout the campaign.

Wimbledon, Jackson and Cope are now at a point where they have added the forwards to the attack that they were wanting this summer, in the form of Danilo Orsi and Antwoine Hackford, both of whom carry a similar profile to that of Kelly, and so now it will be about facing up the fact that despite it being only a year and half since signing, Cope's first failure will have to be moved on.

Josh Kelly is Craig Cope's first Wimbledon disappointment - fans will hope it is his last

It is a shame that Josh Kelly is likely to go down as Craig Cope's first transfer flop, especially as the former Solihull Moors director of football has overseen so many successful signings.

Excluding loan signings, there has not been one permanent transfer that has underperformed and not lived up to expectations set in the unveilings to the fans since Cope arrived following the summer window in 22/23.

From his early days, when he bought the aforementioned Al-Hamadi, to more recent windows, where he has played a big part in shaping the strength of Jackson's teams by heading up the overhauls of the last two summers, his appointment as director of football has correlated exactly with the upwards trajectory that the Dons currently find themselves on, even today, as of writing, with the club currently sitting high up the League One table, having defied many critics with positive results and fantastic performances.

However, despite all the plaudits he rightfully deserves, one of his transfers was always going to be a miss, unfortunately. There can be countless hours spent going over data and watching scouting footage, but at the end of the day, if the proof does not end up on the paper and in the stats, then that transfer will have to go down as a flop, but fans will hope it is Cope's last.

Considering how well he shaped both the promotion-winning squad last season, as well as the one that is currently keeping them sitting in their lofty position this campaign, fans will not want Cope to slip up too many more times as the Dons do find themselves in a higher pressure environment being a league up and competing against tougher, and richer, opposition.

But in the here and now, JKelly's name will unfortunately be chalked up as the first flop of the Cope era. Despite this, though, there will be plenty of well-wishers to the former Maidenhead United striker upon any future transfer away from the club, as he ultimately did his best to make an impact and adjust, but due to forever-changing tactics and failure to ultimately score the goals required of him, his time at the Dons is soon to come to an end.