Standing in the Way of Control
AFC Wimbledon Players as 00’s indie bands (part 2)
Back in the 00’s, the real joy wasn’t just in the NME cover stars. It was in the bands halfway down the V Festival poster. The ones who never quite cracked XFM playlists but gave you 40 minutes of chaos in a sticky-floored Camden dive. They weren’t the messiahs, but they kept the scene alive.
That’s where Wimbledon lives too. We’ve got our headline acts, sure. But the lifeblood of this squad is the hard-working stalwarts, the players who make everything tick. They’re the Doves, the Good Shoes, the Enemy. The mid-level brilliance you never forget, even if you don’t admit it out loud.
Nathan Asiimwe - Good Shoes
Raw South London energy. Quirky, sharp, and a loanee who still looks like he’s working on the debut album.
Steve Seddon - The View
Going forward, he’s electric. Defensively, he’s a man still playing Same Jeans for the fiftieth time.
Alistair Smith - Doves
Atmospheric, reliable, and understated. The type of midfielder you only miss when he’s gone.
Isaac Ogundere - Embrace
Solid, dependable, always there, occasionally producing a classic like Ashes. Never fashionable, but always reliable.
Antwoine Hackford - The Enemy
Moody, raw, and capable of one explosive single per game (or album) that makes you think he’s about to headline.
Craig Cope - Craig and the Copes
Tipped by NME in 2005, their debut single Transfer Whisperer had promise and prompted a UK tour of cities and towns including Birmingham, Cheltenham, and Nottingham. However the Copes couldn’t handle the front man’s ego and they fell apart. Now reformed as a one-man transfer committee, Cope’s the ultimate cult act. Currently in rehearsals for their next shows in January 2026.
What does the DTB have to say?
According to their latest statement , the DTB is considering whether they can form a new working group to decide if Doves are, in fact, a better metaphor for oversight than Pigeon Detectives.
Angus Fox is insisting on at least three “Meet the DTBs” to discuss whether Craig and the Copes should headline this year’s Dons Trust AGM. James Longhurst indicates he’s in favour but only if Craig plays critically acclaimed B-side Strategy Girl.
So there they are: the glue players. The ones who don’t get the hype, but without them the whole thing falls apart. The indie scene always needed its mid-bill grafters. So does Wimbledon. League One might not notice them, but we do.
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