Written by Max
Ground #59
Saturday 16th March 2024
EFL League 2
MK Dons 3-1 Crewe Alexandra
Attendance: 6,661
Entry: £24
Milton Keynes Dons are one of the most controversial clubs in English football following their relocation from Wimbledon to Milton Keynes in 2004. Owner Pete Winkleman moved the club from South London to Buckinghamshire changing the name and club colours to match the new location. The club initially played at the National Hockey Stadium before moving into their current purpose built home before the 2007/8 season. The chairman had big ambitions for the club to grow in their new town but this has yet to come to fruition with the club continuing to float between League 1 and 2.
Today we saw Milton Keynes take on Crewe Alexandra in a big game at the top of the division and we joined the away fans crammed into the top corner of the ground. Both teams went into the game level on points in the play off positions as they both look to gain promotion into the 3rd tier. The optimism in the away end was short lived though with the hosts taking the lead after just 5 minutes. A great move from MK ended in a scramble in the box which the Crewe defenders squabbled over before putting it on a plate for the forward to tap home.
Crewe were really struggling to get a foothold in the game and MK were playing some decent football. This was until the 19th minute when with their first real chance of the game Crewe broke forward and in form striker Elliott Nevitt equalised with a nice finish.
Before we had time to process being back on level terms, we weren’t, as just 3 minutes later the hosts were back in front. A couple of minutes later and they had a third! The Dons were playing some good football but Crewe were making it far too easy for the hosts who went into half time deservedly ahead.
Into the 2nd half we went and The Alex finally started to play. Throughout the half plenty of counter attacks came and went, but nothing stuck. Meanwhile the hosts, who had dropped down into first gear, were having a few chances of their own but the score remained respectable thanks to a few good saves from Tom Booth in the Crewe goal.
The game was petering out with MK happy to waste time and sit on their 2 goal lead while Crewe didn’t look like scoring. This made it even more confusing that manager Lee Bell decided not to make any changes until the 81st minute. By then it was too late to have any meaningful impact as the 3 points went the way of MK who go level on points with the automatic promotion places. For Crewe it’s 3 defeats in the last 4 and a change of form is needed if they are to remain in contention for promotion this season.
Now to rate our day at Stadium MK:
Location: 3/10
Stadium MK is located on a purpose built retail park around an hours walk from Milton Keynes train station. The large complex includes a variety of chain restaurants and fast food outlets aswell as a cinema so there’s plenty to keep you occupied before and after the game! On top of this there are also plenty of shops and a large ASDA. On one side of the stadium is Arena MK which is an indoor arena that hosts gigs and sporting events such as darts and snooker. There is also an onsite hotel meaning this venue really does have it all in one place!
As you’d expect for such a large site, there is plenty of parking but that comes at a price. Once you have worked out which area of the car park is for football fans it’ll cost you over a tenner the pleasure. There is no pub near the ground so the majority of away fans were having a pre match pint in the unusual surroundings of the nearby TGI Fridays.
Kit: 6/10
MK Dons play in an all white kit with red and black details. Although rather plain from afar, up close the shirt is quite smart and we liked how the Suzuki sponsorship fits in nicely with the colours of the kit.
Facilities: 5/10
The away fans are housed in one corner of the upper tier of the stadium. The concourse in this area is a good size with 2 separate kiosks for fans to buy food and drink from. It was a slightly strange set up with fans ushered into a pen which was patrolled by stewards. The view towards the pitch was blocked by white tarpaulin which made the area seem unfinished.
Look: 10/10
Stadium MK holds over 30,000 fans and by all accounts is a ground deserving a much higher standard of football than the 4th tier! It really wouldn’t look out of place in the premier league. The ground is also the only one we have ever been in where all the seats are padded. Fancy!
The lower tier and pitch are actually below ground level with entrance through the turnstiles getting you into large open concourse in between the 2 levels of seating. The ground looks really smart from the inside and out and the only negative is the fact that it is far too big for a club the size of MK Dons meaning the crowd was spread thinly between a seas of empty black seats. This meant that at times the game felt more like a pre season friendly rather than a promotion 6 pointer with the atmosphere as flat as a pancake!
Food and Drink: 5.5/10
When doing a lap of the stadium before the game we passed a huge variety of food outlets including Nandos, McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Express among others. Inside the ground itself there is even a Marco Pierre White steak house!
We were looking forward to tucking into a pre match sirloin but unfortunately once in the ground it was just the usual football league offerings when it came to food. We both went for a double cheeseburger which came with salsa and pickles. It reminded me of a microwave rustlers burger and they were both lukewarm at best.
On a positive note though, Stadium MK is the first at football league level to sell dark fruits so the bonus half point has been added!
TOTAL SCORE: 29.5/50
Sadly we couldn’t continue our 100% success rating watching Crewe this season as 5 wins from 5 becomes 5 from 6. Even if the performance wasn’t at the usual standard for this season, it was good to tick off another new stadium watching the Alex and Stadium MK is definitely one of the most impressive we have visited along the way. Who knows, with both teams looking likely to be in the play off places come the end of the season a return visit could be on the cards very soon!
If you want to see where this score puts Milton Keynes on our leaderboard you can check out the table here: Football League Leaderboard.
If you’d like to see our Leaderboard of Non-League Grounds click here: Non-League Leaderboard.
Emma’s Ground Guide 