One of the most shocking results in the history of one of the oldest club competitions in the world, the FA Cup, took place on 14 May 1988, when Liverpool’s super team was defeated in the final by the surprising Wimbledon (0-1), in the old Wembley.
With a squad full of stars like Grobbelaar, Nicol, John Barnes, Molby, Aldridge or Peter Beardsley, the Reds dominated English football and were one of the most feared at the European level, but ended up failing in their mission to become the first English club to achieve a second double – Manchester United achieved that feat in 1995-96.
Blame it on a (now defunct) Wimbledon, led by Vinnie Jones, Wise or Fashanu and which was only competing for its second season among the elite, and was known as the Crazy Gang. The nickname, inspired by the name of a popular group of British comedians from the 1930s, was attributed due to the unsophisticated style of play and the irreverent, sexist and good-humoured behaviour of the club’s players and coaches.
On a sunny day in London, 98,203 people saw the club from the south of the city take the lead in the 37th minute, through an accurate header by Northern Irish midfielder Lawrie Sanchez, following a free kick taken from the left by Dennis Wise. Liverpool responded and created immense opportunities to equalize, including a penalty in which John Aldridge allowed the save of goalkeeper Dave Beasant, who that afternoon was both insurmountable and historic: he became the first goalkeeper to save a penalty in Wembley in an FA Cup final and the first goalkeeper captain to lift the trophy.
The Londoners resisted until the final whistle and won the only major title of their existence. Assured of triumph, BBC commentator John Motson proclaimed a phrase that is still remembered today when talking about this game: “Crazy Gang beat Culture Club.”
So What Happened Next to Wimbledon?
Wimbledon, who in the campaign to the final eliminated West Bromwich Albion, Mansfield Town, Newcastle, Watford and Luton Town, was prevented from participating in the Cup Winners’ Cup the following season, due to the ban imposed by UEFA on English teams in European competitions, after the actions of a group of Liverpool supporters that led to the Heysel debacle in 1984–85 European Cup Final.
The South London club, who finished 7th in England’s top tier in the Cup-winning season, remained among the elite until 1999-00, having been one of the founders of the Premier League in 1992. However, The Dons moved in September 2003 to Milton Keynes, 72 kilometres northwest of London, changing their name to Milton Keynes Dons FC (MK Dons) in June 2004.
The controversial change came as a result of the desire of a local economic group, the Milton Keynes Development Corporation, to establish a first-rate team in the city, offering it a new stadium to play in. Offers were made to Luton Town, Barnet, Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers, but Wimbledon ultimately accepted.
19 years later, MK Dons still hasn’t managed to reach the status that their predecessor had in the 1980s and 1990s… Meanwhile, AFC Wimbledon, born as a protest club from the ashes of Wimbledon in 2002 rose from the very bottom of the English Football Pyramid to League One (The 3rd Tier) whilst
MK Dons have mostly remained static since the name change in 2004, reaching the Championship just once in 2015 before going back down to the 3rd Tier – where they are as of the end of the 2022-2023 season (Finishing 21st) whilst AFC Wimbledon survived relegation from League Two (4th Tier) finishing, coincidently, 21st.