MK Dons have signed the midfielder Jay Williams from League One side Crawley Town.
The 24-year-old midfielder is the Dons’ first signing of the January transfer window and moves to Stadium MK in a move that reunites him with Scott Lindsey, who managed him at Crawley last season, as well as his former Crawley team-mates Liam Kelly and Laurence Maguire. Williams has signed a contract of undisclosed length at Stadium MK.
Williams, who can play in defence or in midfield, joined Crawley in 2023 from Brackley Town, making the move to Sussex only a few weeks after joining Brackley from their local rivals Banbury. Before then, the player had represented home town club Northampton, Kettering Town, Harrogate Town and AFC Rushden & Diamonds.
In his time at Crawley, Williams helped the Red Devils achieve promotion from League Two via the play-offs, including scoring in both legs as Crawley beat MK Dons in them last season.
Speaking to the MK Dons website, Williams said he was looking forward to getting started with his new employer.
He said, “There’s proper quality at this club right now, and I’m happy enough to do the dirty work and let them get on with scoring the goals!
“I’m a pivot. I’m quite an aggressive presence in the middle of the park. But as much as I like a tackle, I enjoy opening up other teams and playing through the lines!”
Lindsey voiced his own delight at being reunited with his former Crawley player.
He said, “Jay is a fantastic addition. I’ve worked with him before. He’s a midfield general who will organise the team, bark at people, make tackles, get us up the pitch and press well – the stuff most players don’t like doing! He trains and prepares like a demon. He’s a leader and still very young. I think he’ll be a great signing for MK Dons.”
An iPhone that was accidentally frozen for two months under a temporary ice rink in Milton Keynes has been successfully recovered.
A video went viral on social media in early November when an unidentified workman unintentionally left an iPhone belonging to his daughter in place before water and ice were layered over the top of the structure at a the Willen On Ice temporary rink at Willen Lake in Milton Keynes, with the phone’s bright pink case becoming visible through the ice when the rink was finished.
The phone was kept in place over the 8 weeks that the Willen facility was in place, with the organisers saying attempts to recover it prematurely could affect the structure of the whole rink.
With the rink taken down this week, the device was retrieved, dried, and – against all odds – fully revived.
The phone was extracted from its position, dried in rice, and placed in a warm room before being plugged in late last night (Monday 6 January). When the phone was charged up, the charging symbol appeared, followed by the Apple logo, and finally the phone powered on.
“My daughter was over the moon when I handed her phone back in full working order,” said the relieved father.
“I’d promised to replace it if it didn’t survive, but I honestly didn’t expect this outcome. It’s a Christmas miracle – or maybe just incredible engineering!”
The story of the ‘frozen phone’ was documented in a clip that has since been seen over 10 million times on TikTok, with the story picked up by other social media platforms and national news media.
“This just adds another layer to the memories made at Willen On Ice this season,” said Rob Cook, Director at Ice Leisure.
“We’ve seen laughter, celebrations, and now an ice-entombed phone make a full comeback. We’re thrilled for the family – and perhaps a little surprised ourselves!”
Willen On Ice closed its rink on Sunday 5 January, with the organisers confirming the popular regional destination will return for the festive season this year – with workers being more vigilant when setting the ice.
MK Dons boss Scott Lindsey felt moments in both boxes went against his side in their defeat by Salford City.
A 1-0 loss to former MK Dons boss Karl Robinson and his in-form Salford side condemned the Dons to a fourth defeat in six matches.
Reflecting after the contest, Lindsey said he felt that the team got close but not close enough, with his side’s profligacy a particular factor.
He said, “Games are won in both boxes, that’s where games are won. We didn’t defend one action well enough and we didn’t take our chances at the other end well enough. I thought we set off really well and thought we controlled the first period of the first half, then obviously we go a goal behind and we start to play out of control football, boot it forward for no reason and it then it kind of looks a bit scruffy from there on in.”
Lindsey said that he felt the side’s problem wasn’t so much chance creation as it was being able to take them.
He said, “We still create chances in the second half but don’t take them. We probably created enough chances to win two football matches today but didn’t take them. We got through the initial press really well but were probably too anxious to shoot too soon.
“I remember two or three chances where we’ve shot from a distance we probably could’ve carried it forward more and made it a better opportunity to score. But the game was won and lost in both boxes.”
One element that Lindsey felt they needed to do better at was retaining control and focus in the face of setbacks such as falling behind.
He said, “We’ve got to have a better mentality to keep playing and stop changing. We were fine in that first 25 minutes, we had control and looked the dominant team, possession stats were good, we created, but we just seemed to change the minute the ball went in the net. We’ve got to be braver to keep playing.”
Lindsey also added, “We wasn’t as good today as we were in the Gillingham game. We became out of control in the second half and looked like a League Two team just out there trying to score a goal. We want to play with more dominance and control and have got to stop just booting the ball forward. We’re not going to score that way.”
Luton endured yet more away day misery as a 2-1 loss at QPR condemned them to a tenth straight away reverse in the league.
Michael Frey’s goal for QPR had been cancelled out by Mark McGuinness, but Luton fell behind in unfortunate circumstances when Morgan Fox’s deflection on an Ilias Chair shot that was going wide wrong-footed Thomas Kaminski and crept in.
Defeat in West London means Luton have now lost ten away games in a row, with the Hatters having picked up just 4 points on their travels so far this season. The result also means that Luton have lost 4 straight games, having lost their last home game, with the Hatters having slumped to 20th place in the table and two points above the relegation zone.
Having begun 2025 with a New Year’s Day defeat at home to Norwich, Luton were seeking for better times on the road after ending 2024 by losing nine consecutive games away from Kenilworth Road.
A reshuffled squad included a debut for 20-year-old midfielder Lamine Fanne, who had joined in August but spent the first half of the season on loan in Sweden.
QPR began the contest on the front foot, with Frey heading over at an early chance before Kaminski made a flying stop to keep out Jimmy Dunne and the defender missed the target with the rebound.
In the 23rd minute, the Hoops forced their way in front. From a cross from the QPR right, Frey initially couldn’t get a header past Reuell Walters but a second strike found its way beyond Kaminski. TV replays hinted that Frey had used an arm in controlling the ball, but the officials didn’t spot it and the goal stood.
Shortly after falling behind, Luton missed their best chances of the game when Amari’i Bell’s shot induced a goalmouth scramble, with Zac Nelson, Carlton Morris and Liam Walsh all having attempts blocked.
QPR dominated possession and seemed to be keeping Luton at arms length, but in first half stoppage time, the Hatters equalised. McGuiness made space for a free header and the former Cardiff defender’s header from Nelson’s corner hit the back of the net.
Luton had a few half-chances after the break but couldn’t take any of them, and then there was further misery for the visitors when they conceded an unfortunate goal just after the hour.
A short free-kick was played for Chair, whose shot seemed to have been going wide. However, the strike hit Fox, with the heavy deflection off his left foot sending the shot back on target and seeing it trickle past the wrong-footed Kaminski.
Paul Nardi in the QPR goal denied Morris a quick equaliser, before the hosts missed a chance for third as substitute Alfie Lloyd saw a strike hit the post.
A great chance to grab a second equaliser came for Luton in stoppage time at the end of the second half, only for McGuinness to head over the top at a corner, and despite eight minutes of stoppage time, there was no way back for the travelsick visitors.
The Hatters now have a distraction from their league grind in the form of an FA Cup tie away at Premier League high-fliers Nottingham Forest, before they host Preston in their next league assignment on January 18th.
Milton Keynes Theatre have announced that their 2025 panto will be Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Following the conclusion of their 2024/25 panto Peter Pan, MK Theatre confirmed a magical circus-themed take on Goldilocks and the Three Bears will be held at the theatre from Saturday 6th Dececember 2025 through to Sunday 11th January 2026.
Comedian, TV and musical theatre star Brian Conley has been confirmed as the first star of this latest panto, marking his return to the MK Theatre panto.
In a career spanning nearly five decades, Brian has previously appeared in award-winning West End musicals and television sitcoms, presented his own chat show, recorded five albums and completed numerous sell out tours of the UK, as well as appearing a record eight times on The Royal Variety Performance and starring in over 35 pantomimes.
Brian last visited Milton Keynes Theatre in 2023 for pantomime and the arrival will see him make a quick return.
Emma Sullivan, Theatre Director at Milton Keynes Theatre said, “We are thrilled to be welcoming Brian Conley back to the theatre for Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the end of this year. The feedback from Milton Keynes audiences for Brian’s last trip here in 2023 was spectacular, and we know that he’ll bring back the laughter and magic of panto when he returns. We can’t wait for the season to start and look forward to seeing you all there.”
For five weeks, the theatre will be transformed into a circus, where everything is possible, and anything could (and will) happen.
MK Theatre said, “This festive extravaganza will be packed with riotous comedy, extraordinary special effects, hair-raising stunts, and awe-inspiring circus acts!
“Goldilocks’ circus is under threat from an evil rival circus owner and, with the help of their circus friends, they’re battling to rescue their Big Top from ruin. Will they succeed? All seems lost, until three brilliant bears join the gang…”
Anyone looking to get early tickets can book their tickets today at ATGTICKETS.COM/MiltonKeynes.
