Winds of change blowing for Marcus Gayle

The Dons lost 3-0 at Valley Parade in April 2000 - a result that sent the Crazy Gang hurtling towards relegationr - but they meet again tomorrow with both sides fretting about their Football League status.

Much has changed, of course, since that meeting, with Wimbledon being reborn as AFC and winning promotion five times following the original club's controversial move to Milton Keynes.

Cash-strapped Bradford have been relegated three times in the same period and are only four points clear of safety at the foot of League Two.

AFC, eight points better off in 15th place, host tomorrow's clash and among their number will be one man who had a part to play in that painful defeat at Valley Parade 12 years ago.

Reserve team boss Marcus Gayle felt the pain of relegation more than most and has revelled in their successes since. The 41-year-old, who only retired as a player at AFC in 2008, is stunned by the recent history of both clubs.

"The fact that these two teams are playing each other in League Two shows just how scary football can be," said Gayle, who came on as a substitute in that defeat at Valley Parade. "If things aren't run right then clubs will pay the price and fall through the leagues.

"I remember that loss to Bradford well - it was heartbreaking as it was a game we had targeted to get points to enhance our chances of staying in the Premier League.

"We were unlucky with certain pieces of defending where things didn't go our way but we didn't do enough up front to merit getting any goals or any points. Egil Olsen, the manager, was sacked after that but there were only two games of the season left so it was too late. Joe Kinnear had left before the season and it definitely felt like something had changed.

"The camp was split. There were three core groups: one wanted to get on with it no matter what; another was more rebellious; another really didn't give two hoots until it was way too late.

"We were in the top 10 but when the business end of the season came around we weren't getting any points. Even after we went down I thought we had more than enough to get back up - but players were sold and some went to further their own careers. Then a new era began."

AFC were formed in 2002 and Gayle never had any doubts about where his allegiances were. "I was a local boy and was always up to speed with what was going on," he added. "I remember the first time I went to play MK Dons with Watford and in the foyer there was a big picture of me playing against [Tottenham's] Stephen Carr.

"I thought, 'I was never part of this club, this isn't Wimbledon'. People's hearts were being bled dry by the authorities.

"AFC have grown over the last decade. No club have a divine right to be in the Football League and we have earned every point and every promotion and deserved every bit of success.

"We just want to continue that tomorrow. It's been a quick rise by us to where we are and a slow decline for Bradford. We have gone from the Premier League to League Two for very different reasons."