Desperate Dons are plummeting fast. How have Milton Keynes fallen so far in a season?

Milton Keynes Dons are a team going through a turbulent period.

Three consecutive losses and without a win in over a month, their league position of 22nd looks bleak and the side are sinking without a trace.

Given the Dons’ fortune twelve months ago to the hapless displays of present, where has it all gone wrong?

Whilst currently having a medical room fuller than an A&E ward, this cannot be used as an excuse given the length of time Liam Sweeting s had to resolve the clear frailties.

Sweeting, the Dons’ Sporting Director, has gone from hero to zero in two transfer windows and arguably finds himself quite fortunate to still be in his position.

Following the success of last campaign where the Dons narrowly missed out on Promotion to the Championship, faltering at the final hurdles and losing in the Playoffs to Buckinghamshire rivals Wycombe Wanderers, the next eight months have been anything but a success.

Replacing players such as Scott Twine, Matt O’Riley and Harry Darling was always going to be a monumental task.

Given the high turnover of the squad required from the sales of such key assets, supporters at Stadium MK were never expecting another season amongst the title challengers, just a solid mid-table finish given the rebuild required.

The reason behind employing a Sporting Director is clear to see: they are left in charge of player transactions and it gives you the freedom to recruit the best head coach possible to get the most out of the playing squad assembled.

Having already axed Liam Manning in December after a run of terrible displays, Milton Keynes turned to Mark Jackson to take the reins. The Dons needed something to change and it very easily could have been Sweeting to carry then can instead of Manning.

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It is blatantly obvious that much of the blame lies at Sweeting’s door and it is remarkable how badly the squad has not only underperformed but also lacked clear options.

With just a handful of matches remaining and having shipped 13 goals in their last three matches, the fact that Jackson only has two centre backs to choose from is inexcusable.

Given their plight, it stood out like a sore thumb that Milton Keynes were missing a centre back, having struggled to replace Harry Darling. Jack Tucker was brought in from Gillingham but has been nothing short of inept.

Combining Tucker’s poor form with a key injury to Captain and stalwart Dean Lewington, they were crying out for reinforcements to arrive to the backline.

On January 14^th the problems escalated for Jackson further as their Warren O’Hora suffered a season-ending injury.

The Irishman was the Dons’ key centre back and his loss only increased the need for fresh faces and fast.

It then took Sweeting until Deadline Day, over two weeks and three matches to bring in anyone through the door, despite being in complete desperation for a body.

Finally one player arrived through the door, centre back Anthony Stewart. His arrival has, however, proved utterly fruitless as after only three training sessions and not a single minute played, the 30-year-old is now sidelined for the foreseeable future following a ‘freak’ injury in training.

To make matters worse, MK had also agreed a loan move for Reece Welch on Deadline day and the Evertonian defender was actually on his way down the M1 motorway to Stadium MK when the plug was pulled to focus all priorities on the recruitment of Stewart.

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The news kept getting better for Sweeting, Jackson and their supporters. Another long-term absentee, striker Joshua Kayode, was ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering an ailment that required surgery.

Part of his loan agreement was that his move could not be terminated, at MK’s insistence, a move which has come back to bite them in the biggest way imaginable.

Able to only start one league game all campaign, combined with just three substitute appearances and the season completed by September, the Irishmen would be a welcome incumbent into the frame as one of the Dons’ worst transfer dealings ever.

If they were to have signed both Welch and Stewart it would have given them six loanees, meaning one could not make the matchday squad when all are fit.

With Kayode returning to Rotherham United to manage his rehabilitation, it would have meant they could find a space for all loan options, yet now they are left with three.

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Something the Dons are trying to replicate is the perceived ideal model, that of Brighton or Brentford. Using Brentford as a prime example, ever since they were in League One twelve years ago under Uwe Rösler, they have chosen to operate with a specific style, only recruiting players who fit that specific mould.

Twelve years ago Brentford were utilising a 4-3-3 formation with a powerful forward occupying the front line and two wingers capable of adding flair as well as an effective crossing ability. In 2011 it was Saido Berahino and Antonio German either side of Clayton Donaldson.

This system has not been altered or tampered with an it has been a primary factor as to their continued rise up the football league pyramid. You can easily draw comparisons between Toney and Donaldson without racking the brains which a key to the success.

At no point are Brentford trying to shoehorn a player into their squad, something the Dons are having to do far too frequently. Arrivals such as Nathan Holland and Will Grigg do not meet the preferred tactic, meaning they are not as effective as hoped.

Choosing to play a fluid pass-and-move system, seeing their front three forward play an interchangeable, fluid position, so when they are operating on the flanks they play as an inverted winger.

Holland is an old-fashioned wide midfielder and Grigg is now effectively a poacher, given the fact he no longer has the legs to play in a relentless highly fluid formation.

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For the Dons to get anything out of the remainder of the campaign, they will need to find a way to cope with the desperate lack of strength in their squad and work out how best to use the square pegs that are fitting into round holes.

Despite all of this, their next four matches could very well define their season and confirm their fate. Facing four relegation rivals in March, if the Dons do not gain anything, the writing could be on the wall.

If they do survive the relegation, it will possibly go down as one of the most remarkable turnarounds imaginable midway through a season.