FOOTBALL.

The reasons for Wimbledon's ever more frustratingly topsy-turvy Premiership season were probably best described by Scotland manager Craig Brown as he named the Tartan Army squad for next month's World Cup extravaganza in France.

It was not a matter of bad defence but more a chronic failure to score goals. The ever shrewd Brown had to face a barrage of questions from the Scottish press about why he had selected Dons' Neil Sullivan for the third goalkeeping spot in his line-up - ignoring strong claims from a number of promising shot-stoppers north of the Border - after Wimbledon's worst ever performance in the English top flight.

Brown maintained: "Apart from two games Neil has the best defensive record in the Premiership. You cannot ignore that. He has won just two caps for Scotland but he has never let us down."

So thanks to a Scottish grandmother, Neil will be on his way to fight it out with the very best in the business as Scotland open the tournament against Brazil at the spectacular Stade de France in the Montpellier district of Paris on Wednesday June 10.

Sadly Sullivan will not be joined in the Scotland squad by fellow Don and pure `Jock' Brian McAllister.

For McAllister, born in Glasgow but brought up through Wimbledon's famous youth system, this could hardly have been a more frustrating season.

Early on he was featuring in the Brown blueprint for Scotland's squad for France. But a long lay-off through injury did not see enough top flight action to keep his international career alive - this time around.

For the rest of the Crazy Gang, major participants in the "Festival Francais" look to be Robbie Earle for Jamaica and Efan Ekoku for Nigeria - still in with an outside chance. At the same time home fans will remain totally bemused at the absence of Chris Perry from the England squad. What on earth has the young man done wrong to attract Glenn Hoddle's blind eye? Maybe he lacks a spiritual counsellor to guide him! But so far as Dons' manager Joe Kinnear is concerned the end of the season could not come quickly enough, and not a few fans will agree. Premiership survival was all a little too close for comfort.

Now the question has to be about how much longer Kinnear is going to put up with the thankless task and hard grind of keeping Wimbledon in the top flight with no home, a tiny support and next to no budget!

The old Joe gag about "buying at Woolworths and selling at Harrods" is now looking about as predictably long-running as the slash in Liz Hurley's latest frock.

Kinnear's continuing frustration was underlined as he pointed out that relegated Barnsley had probably spent more than the Dons on recruiting new players.

It is a point that must bring back the question that has been in Dons' supporters minds for so much of the season - whatever has happened to the £18m paid by Norwegian ship magnates Rokke and Gelstel when they seized overall control of the club from Sam Hammam earlier in the season? What was the point of the Viking invasion?

It is all very mystifying and frustrating for those of us who find a monthly bank statement baffling enough - never mind the financial machinations of a football club.

So what for the future? Already many must be fearing that the Dons have to be favourites for the drop next time around with all the sides coming up from Division One rich and big spenders.

Most certainly it will need all of Kinnear's undoubted managerial skill to keep the good ship Crazy Gang afloat.

"To finish level with Tottenham and Newcastle is a real achievement," Kinnear pleads.

But the 6-2 defeat at the hands of Spurs in the last home game of the season spells problems for the Dons at the start of the next campaign. The red card for ex-England Under 21 captain Ben Thatcher means he will miss the first four games when battle begins again in August.

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