presence in the top flight of English football.

The 2-0 defeat at the hands of Southampton, coupled with Bradford's 1-0 win over Liverpool, capped a season of misery for the Dons' fans and players.

The brief return of the old fighting spirit against Aston Villa, prompted by the

departure of Egil Olsen, had gone absent without leave on Sunday as the players failed to lift themselves for what was undoubtedly the most important fixture in the club's

history.

The Dons started reasonably well, but when the news came through of Bradford's fourteenth minute goal against Liverpool, instead of galvanising the Crazy Gang into action, it stunned them into submission.

There were chances at both ends during the first half, but Wimbledon's finishing was woefull with Marcus Gayle, Carl Cort and Jason Euell all missing chances.

When Wayne Bridges' 25-yard free-kick beat Neil Sullivan in the 57th minute any fight left in the Wimbledon side all but evaporated.

The desperate substitutions of Walid Badir for Marcus Gayle and Andreas Lund for Alan Kimble did nothing for the Dons.

When Marian Pahars scored a superb goal on the break in the 79th minute it became clear to everyone in the ground that Wimbledon were doomed to relegation.

In the emotional scenes following the final whistle it was, surprisingly, the players that are most likely to leave that seemed the most distrought.

Jason Euell sank to the ground, his face in his hands while Neil Sullivan went to the travelling Wimbledon fans and hurled his goalkeeping jersey into the crowd, a gesture surely indicating that he had played his last game for the club.

Indeed, that is the most important question that faces the Wimbledon fans at the moment: Who will be leaving this sum-mer?

While there can be no doubt that, under the right management, the existing playing staff will certainly be capable of mounting a serious challenge to return straight to the Premiership, an immediate return to the top flight will be a

much more difficult proposition without the likes of John Hartson, Jason Euell and Carl Cort.

Whatever happens over the Summer, Wimbledon will need all the support from the fans they can get next season, so dig deep and order those season tickets as soon as possible.