AFC Wimbledon hope to avoid past mistakes with the signing of John-Joe O’Toole

Reflexes

• The permanent signing of O’Toole brings hope to AFC Wimbledon, unlike previous signings such as Gunter and Pearce.
• His impact during his loan spell, particularly in a makeshift back three, has won over fans and the team.
• O’Toole, unlike previous previous signings, has not slowed down the defensive line and brings a positive influence to the team.

AFC Wimbledon made a defensive addition last week, permanently signing John-Joe O’Toole from Mansfield Town.

The 35-year-old had previously been on loan at the Dons in 2023/24 and, during that time, won over many skeptics.

So now that he has signed with the club permanently, there is hope that he will not repeat the failures of Chris Gunter and Alex Pearce, who were of a similar age when they joined the Dons and failed to live up to their previous expectations.

O’Toole has joined Johnnie Jackson’s men permanently ahead of the 2024/25 season, signing a one-year deal with the south-west London-based club.

He was a fairly unexpected signing for many Dons fans, but makes a lot of sense considering the impact he had on the team during the second half of the 23/24 season.

He initially joined the Dons on deadline day of the January transfer window, their last signing in that period.

Upon joining the club he had expressed that he wanted to let his football do the talking, with some doubts over his seniority and the fact that he had failed to break into a Mansfield Town side that was experiencing great success in the automatic. places in League Two.

Speaking to the club in January, he said: “I haven’t played as many minutes as I would have liked and I’m trying to get back to where I need to be fit, but if I can get some minutes back and work harder in training I’m sure I’ll get there.” there in not too long.”

The Irishman certainly took his opportunity to gain more minutes and get into form at Wimbledon. His loan spell at the Dons saw him make 14 appearances in yellow and blue, and his performances in a makeshift back three also included Lee Brown and Kofi Balmer, helping him fall in love with Dons fans.

Some of his finest performances came against the likes of MK Dons, who, for all their attacking threat, never troubled the 35-year-old during the dramatic 1-0 win at Wimbledon in front of a home crowd at Plough Lane.

However, the former Northampton Town player’s career at Wimbledon had seemingly ended without a proper goodbye as he was sacked in the penultimate game of the season, against Tranmere Rovers. It seemed a bitter end to what had been a hugely successful loan spell that allowed Wimbledon’s youthful exuberance to mingle with experience and courage.

However, now that a permanent signing has been made at the club, it is time to show that, despite being 35 years old, age is just a number, and should not be an indicator of quality in football.

He will want to show that age is just a number and does not indicate quality, as two of Wimbledon’s most recent signings, who were around 35 years old, were far from successful.

Pearce may have been labeled rather harshly as a failure at the Dons in this article, but the fact remains that he was brought in as an experienced boss who would be a staple in the team for the two seasons he was contracted to the club . and yet it did not produce that.

Instead, he would spend most of his first season fighting with players like Paul Kalambayi and Ryley Towler for a starting spot, and when he found himself in the team, he would force tactics to change so the defensive line could deal with his lack of pace, which meant Wimbledon often operated a low block when playing, rather than the pressing game they had become accustomed to.

In his second season, he would not feature as much as in his first, spending a good part of the season injured and then very out of favor upon returning, being behind players such as Joe Lewis and Ryan Johnson, as well as the defensive trio mentioned above in the piece that became the backbone of Wimbledon in the second half of the season.

Gunter, on the other hand, was a complete failure as the Welshman, who is the country’s second most capped player with 109 caps, showed none of the talents he had in previous years.

He, like Pearce, was not as quick as before and often forced the defensive line to drop a bit when he appeared, and when Huseyin Biler and Isaac Ogundere emerged, he was kicked out of the team and forced to spend the rest of his final season in football making appearances off the bench when Wimbledon needed some on-field experience.

He was a very mediocre signing for Wimbledon fans, who had believed he would be a very decent signing, as he never performed any attacking heroics or helped much in defence.

O’Toole has, so far, proven to be the complete opposite of the two former Reading FC defenders mentioned above, as he has not forced the Dons’ defensive line to drop back to help deal with a lack of pace, which he has, similarly, not shown.

He has also been clearly inspiring in the dressing room, establishing himself as a character there who will help keep the team positive but help the younger members in more difficult times with his vast experience in the EFL.

For these reasons, then, Wimbledon fans and staff alike will feel very confident that, for once, an experienced signing will not prove to be an Achilles’ heel in the future.