In September 1980 17-year-old Glyn Hodges made his debut for Wimbledon as a substitute at Halifax Town in the old Fourth Division. In September 1986, Hodges scored the Wimbledon goal at Watford that left them top of the First Division, the top flight.
Hodges has strong memories of two 1-0 away wins and of the rise of the ultimate underdog club.
Those results bookended six years in which Wimbledon earned four promotions, suffered one relegation and went from obscure outsiders to be first of the 92 clubs across the four divisions.
Wimbledon celebrate going top of Division One in 1986: (from left) Carlton Fairweather, John Fashanu, Nigel Winterburn, Glyn Hodges, Steve Galliers, Andy Thorn, Dennis Wise, Lawrie Sanchez, Kevin Gage, Mick Smith, John Kay, Dave Hubbick, Dave Beasant
Hodges, 55, is now back at the club as coach and the sense of travelling full circle will continue when Wimbledon are soon re-housed at the old greyhound track adjacent to Plough Lane. That was where the Dons of the 80s ripped up script upon script.
'The Wimbledon story is fantastic,' Hodges says. 'We felt invincible, didn't really respect anyone, no matter who they were.
'We were quite disdainful — when teams came to Plough Lane with a reputation we wanted them to work to prove they were worth it. We were labelled long-ball but there was a bit more to it. Yes, we had a system but we were individually good players.'
Wimbledon and Chelsea players fight on the pitch during a game in 1986
HALIFAX: John Kilner, Clive Nattress, Ken Burton, Steve Ward, Dave Harris, Chris Dunleavy, Franny Firth, Paul Hendrie, Vernon Allatt, Kevin Johnson, Tommy O'Neil.
Manager: George Kirby.
WIMBLEDON: Dave Beasant, Peter Brown, Steve Perkins, Steve Galliers, Mick Smith, Tommy Cunningham, Roy Davies, Wally Downes, John Leslie, Alan Cork, Dave Hubbick (Glyn Hodges).
Scorer: Leslie 73.
Manager: Dario Gradi.
Attendance: 1,407.
Born in Merton, south London, Hodges was a local boy with a big choice as a teenager: Chelsea or Wimbledon. He chose the Dons because 'there were opportunities — I
