MK Dons began the new season with a 0-0 draw at home to Oldham Athletic after a game of few chances.
Neither side created a large deal of chances, with a combined total of just one shot on target created between the two sides, with the net result seeing both sides end the game without scoring.
The result means that the Dons have now played out four 0-0 draws in the five competitive games overseen by Paul Warne, who managed the final four games of last season but is now embarking on his first full campaign in charge of MK Dons.
After a big summer of spending and a lot of people naming the Dons as a potential promotion contender, the meeting with last season’s National League play-off winners Oldham represented the Dons’ first opportunity to try and get points on the board.
Four of the Dons’ summer signings were given debuts from the start, with Aaron Collins, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Gethin Jones getting full starts. Fellow recruits Callum Paterson and Will Collar began their first assignment with the Dons as substitutes.
On a summer’s afternoon at Stadium MK, both sides had a few early forays forward, although creation of strong chances was proving challenging.
The first tangible opportunity was created by Oldham, with space opening up for Kane Drummond, who saw a low shot skim wide.
Mendez-Laing has a strike blocked from outside the box, while the Dons had a few set-pieces and crosses blocked or cleared as they tried to find a way through.
Although Oldham also carried a threat on the counter, neither side had their shooting boots on, with the general misfiring summed up when Kane Thompson-Sommers planted a strike in the stands for the hosts.
A flash point then came in the final moments of the half. Alex Gilbey played through Aaron Collins, who charged into the box before being challenged by Oldham defender Donervon Daniels. Many of a Dons persuasion felt Daniels had fouled Collins, with the defender going through Collins to win the ball, but the referee opted to give a corner instead.
That corner would see a Jack Sanders header across goal blocked, while the second corner was cleared.
The Dons tried to up the tempo after the break, with Liam Kelly narrowly missing out on Collins’ pass while Luke Offord later missed the target with a header at a corner.
Warne introduced Paterson, signed earlier this week from Sheffield Wednesday, but the home side continued to find chance creation problematic.
Oldham then had a bright spell of their own but they were also found guilty of wasting good positions in the final third.
The Latics then had their own question on whether they should’ve got a penalty when substitute Luke Hannant met Josh Hawkes’ pass and went down when trying to get ahead of home goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray. The referee however ruled Hannant dived, giving the hosts a free-kick and booking the former Gateshead player.
MK Dons then nearly had an unorthodox breakthrough when Jonathan Leko’s low cross-shot took a huge deflection off Oldham’s Ryan Woods, requiring a second Oldham player to stop it from going into the back of the net.
The only shot on target in the entire match ultimately came in the 88th minute. Oldham broke after MK Dons lost the ball on the edge of the Latics’ box and they worked the ball through to Mike Fondop, who fired a strike that was straight at MacGillivray.
Injury time failed to provide what would’ve almost certainly been a winner, leaving the two sides to start their campaigns off with a point apiece. It was the first time in four years that the Dons have drawn their opening game of a season, with the team having a week to process what they learned from this game before next weekend’s match away at Barrow.
MK Dons: MacGillivray – Jones, Sanders, Offord, Tomlinson – Thompson-Sommers (Paterson 61), Kelly – Mendez-Laing (Collar 87), Gilbey, Hepburn-Murphy (Leko 73) – Collins
Subs not used: Trueman, Nemane, Lemonheigh-Evans, Waller
Booked: Sanders
Oldham: Hudson – Ogle, Daniels, Monthe, Leake (Hammond 84) – Morris (Hawkes 59), Woods, Conlon, Stevens (Hannant 68) – Drummond – Fondop
Subs not used: Donaghy, Sutton, Harratt, Waters
Booked: Hannant, Conlon, Fondop
An own goal by Ryan Johnson was the deciding factor as Luton beat AFC Wimbledon 1-0 on the opening day of the season.
In a Friday night game of few chances, Luton won the first EFL match of the 2025/26 season with a hard-thought victory over last season’s League 2 play-off winners.
Victory was the first time since 2021 that Luton have won their first match of a new season, with Matt Bloomfield’s side aiming for it to be the launchpad to begin a fightback after two successive relegations.
A new campaign saw Luton aiming to rebuild after back-to-back relegations from the Premier League and Championship.
On a day that saw Luton confirm the new signings of Cohen Bramall and Jerry Yates, albeit too late for either to feature, Bloomfield handed full debuts to four of the Hatters’ new signings, with Josh Keeley, George Saville, Nigel Lonwijk and Nahki Wells in from the start.
For the most part, however, AFC Wimbledon proved to be a roadblock, serving in some the defensive resistance that helped them win promotion from League Two last season.
Perhaps the closest to a major opportunity in the first half came in the 25th minute, when Wells had a shot blocked.
Wells put another shot wide just after half-time, but a chance of significance was finally created almost out of nothing just after the hour. Reuell Walters was first to a half-cleared corner and his strike was on target, only to be denied by a flying stop from visiting keeper Nathan Bishop.
The visitors continued to be a tough nut to crack for Luton, however, who continually tried but failed to land a breakthrough as the game entered the final stretch.
But a breakthrough would come their way with 85 minutes on the clock. A floated cross into the box by Wells had aimed to find home substitute Cauley Woodrow. Defender Johnson got their first, but his looping header ended up spiralling in via the crossbar.
Luton then duly kept the visitors at bay to confirm they would be starting off a new campaign with the three points. They will play their second match and first away game of the season next weekend, when they travel to play Peterborough United next Saturday (09/08).
Northampton Town have signed striker Ethan Wheatley on a season-long loan from Manchester United.
The 19-year-old is the Cobblers’ 13th new signing of the 2025 summer transfer window, with the news announced the night before Northampton’s season opening match against Wigan Athletic.
Wheatley spent time last season on loan in League 2 with Walsall, while he has also made 4 appearances for the Manchester United first team and scored for England at the under-19 Euros earlier this year.
Northampton boss Kevin Nolan voiced his delight to confirm the deal that brings Wheatley to Sixfields in remarks with the club’s official website.
He said, “We are delighted to get Ethan’s signing over the line.
“We have been speaking to Manchester United, Ethan, his Dad and his agent over the last few weeks to make sure everything is right and everyone is happy.
“He has played in the Premier League for Manchester United at the age of 18 and you don’t do that without having a lot of ability. I have seen enough of him to know what he is all about, what his attributes are and to believe that he can come in and be a good addition for us.
“He is tall, strong, powerful and quick and a really good athlete. We believe he fits in with what we are trying to do, how we want to play and what we need from our strikers. With his qualities and what he brings, we believe that he can be a good addition to what is already a sound squad.
Luton Town have confirmed the double signing of defender Cohen Bramall and striker Jerry Yates.
Bramall became Luton’s 9th summer signing after arriving on a free transfer following his departure from Championship side Portsmouth, before Yates became the Hatters’ 10th summer arrival after signing for an undisclosed fee from Swansea City.
Both have signed contracts of undisclosed length with the Bedfordshire club, although confirmation of both joining came too late for the two to feature in Luton’s opening match of the League One season against AFC Wimbledon today (01/08).
The arrival of 29-year-old Bramall was confirmed first, with the defender confirmed this afternoon.
Capable of playing as a left-back or left-sided centre-back, Bramall has made over 200 appearances for EFL clubs in his career, turning out for the likes of Birmingham, Colchester, Lincoln and Rotherham, as well as his stint with Portsmouth.
The defender had joined Portsmouth from Rotherham in January 2025 for an undisclosed fee before leaving upon expiry of his short-term contract at the end of the 2024/25 campaign. He made 12 appearances for the team from Fratton Park.
Luton boss Matt Bloomfield told the club’s official website that he was happy to recruit an additional option with League One experience.
He said, “Cohen’s been a real solid performer at this level and above for a number of years now.
“He’s very athletic, extremely quick and has a great left foot. He’ll get up and down the flank and give us really good options in the wide left positions.
“We believe his profile and experience in this league will mean he’ll play an important role in the squad. It’s an area of the pitch we knew we had to look at and in Cohen we have someone whose experience and know-how of the level – and athletic profile – will provide a good addition to our group.”
Striker Yates was then confirmed as a new signing in the final half-hour or so before kick-off in the Hatters’ season opener.
The 28-year-old scored 10 times in 42 league games for Derby on loan from Swansea last season, having scored 8 for the Swans in his first season in South Wales after joining from Blackpool in 2023.
Yates had previously spent 3 seasons with Blackpool, scoring 42 league goals, including 20 as the Seasiders won promotion in the 2020/21 campaign.
His career also saw him spend time with Rotherham, Harrogate, Carlisle and Swindon.
Bloomfield hailed the move as a big signing. He said, “This is a massive signing for us. Jerry is a seasoned pro and proven at Championship and at League One level.
“He had a desire to stay in the Championship but he’s brought into what we want to achieve, who we are as a football club and because we want him to spearhead our attack.
“He’s a real Luton-type player; someone who doesn’t stop running, doesn’t stop working, and plays with real energy and enthusiasm.
“He was a handful against us when playing for Derby at the back end of last season and when the opportunity arose to sign him we grabbed it with both hands.”
For the first time since their 2004 formation, MK Dons find themselves preparing for a third straight League Two season and the expectation is for this to be the one that ends in promotion.
This would if nothing else avenge each of the last two campaigns, when the Dons were talked up pre-season as contenders for promotion. For very different reasons, the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons failed to make that ambition, with the former being a wild ride that ended in play-off failure, while last season was just an unmitigated failure.
2025/26 therefore represents the Dons’ latest attempt to gain promotion and it would be safe to say that a first full summer with their new owners after last year’s takeover sees this aspiration backed by some serious cash.
Towards the end of last season’s disaster, MK Dons turned to Paul Warne as the pick for new manager. This was seen as a coup for a club that were on course to finish in the bottom 6 in League Two, given that they had just landed a manager whose CV includes 4 promotions from League One to the Championship.
Ahead of his first full season, Warne has duly been allowed to recruit, with several players that could do a job for League One and even Championship sides coming through the door into Stadium MK.
The headline signing is that of Aaron Collins, signed for a club record fee from Bolton Wanderers after being top scorer for the Trotters last season. It’s seen by many outside Milton Keynes as a coup to convince Collins to make such a leap of faith, and promising form and performances in pre-season certainly indicate he is likely to be a key presence towards determining the Dons’ fate.
Winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was also seen as something as coup, coming from Warne’s former club Derby, while plenty have been impressed by other signings such as Rushian Hepburn-Murphy from Crawley, former Stockport man Will Collar and Bolton’s Australian full-back Gethin Jones.
With Sheffield Wednesday’s Callum Paterson making for a surprise move from the Championship’s crisis club to MK Dons, it adds to a huge roster of attacking firepower for the Dons to have at their disposal, as well as hinting there could be elements of the Dons thinking beyond this season to have a base to work from in upper tiers assuming promotion is achieved.
Given the likes of Alex Gilbey, Dan Crowley, Scott Hogan, Callum Hendry, Jonathan Leko, Aaron Nemane, Conor Lemonheigh-Evans, Liam Kelly and others also remain as attacking options, it certainly hints the Dons could if they wanted to truly try for a “we’ll just outscore you” approach if they truly wanted.
While this isn’t necessarily the blueprint, Warne’s arrival looks set to facilitate a pivot for playing style.
The new Dons boss was one of several who spoke near the end of last season about seeking to move on from the MK Way and a lot of that was on display in the Dons’ pre-season commitments.
In the Dons’ friendlies, a pivot has been noteworthy. The formation looks to be a change from the back 3s that have dominated most of the last 8 years or so at Stadium MK in favour of a 4-2-3-1, though no doubt with the tactical versatility as required.
There was talk of trying to be a more direct team than relying on possession, an attempt to maximise set-pieces and use of a fluid front attacking unit with players that can rotate and play in multiple positions in a match. Hints of this were there in the friendlies, though it will naturally require the work to make sure this can be consistently laid down in proper competition.
One of the main things will certainly be about trying to create a change in atmosphere. The last 3 years have certainly brought about plenty of despair among Dons fans, whether in the entirely avoidable relegation in 2023, the late season collapse in 2024 and just utter misery between Christmas and Easter 2025. Creating a defiant atmosphere that can feel more resilient to shocks and make life hard for visitors and rivals is surely something that would stand Warne’s bunch in good stead if they can create these conditions.
An element that could be worth tracking with how well the Dons is in the defensive area. Last season, defending was a weak spot with the Dons conceding a load of rather avoidable goals and it probably hasn’t helped set-up the defensive side of the play that there have already been injury problems.
All of Jack Sanders, Laurence Maguire, Sam Sherring and Nathan Thompson missed parts of pre-season with injuries, while Luke Offord has had injury problems of his own at other stages of his career and indeed time in MK, with concerns also potentially there for full-back depth beyond new recruit right-back Jones and left-back Joe Tomlinson.
This will certainly be a different season with the defence in any case, with long-term captain Dean Lewington choosing to retire from the sport at the end of last season.
The defensive side of the game is certainly something to work on generally. With MK Dons’ last two seasons having been defined by defensive collapses, avoiding another round of this feels like an essential.
It will be natural to expect the competition to be fierce. Last season saw a fiercely competitive push for automatic promotion – even if it almost became last one standing with the top 5 all dropping points on multiple occasions in the run-in – and with this league traditionally being competitive, it makes sense it will be a fight once more.
MK Dons do find themselves keeping company as one of the promotion front-runners. The likes of Chesterfield, Salford, Walsall, Bristol Rovers, Swindon and Notts County are all possible contenders, with National League champions Barnet picked by some as a potential wild card, but there are many who see MK Dons as a name worth backing in the upcoming promotion fight.
This however makes this season one where MK Dons need to live up to this tag. The finance, the coaching staff renovation, the new signings and the vibe is there that this is the season MK Dons can return to League One, but that’s merely the gauge looking at MK Dons on paper.
We’ve seen from recent seasons that a team who look like promotion candidates on paper can often make that paper look like it came from a parallel universe to the one the team actually competed in. The Dons’ mission is therefore one where they need to live up to the billing they’ve earned, and we wait to see if they can do just that.
