FEATURE: Where is MK Dons' most recent Championship squad now?

Promotion to the Championship in 2015 had been the culmination of a long-term project at MK Dons.

The arrival of football to MK in the form of the old Wimbledon had been as a then-second tier club, but after the tumult of administration, the renaming, and a 2006 drop to the 4th tier, it took a while to make it back into the second tier.

After three failed play-off tilts in four seasons, the 2014/15 season proved to be the magic one, as MK Dons famously demolished Manchester United, scored over 100 goals and pipped Preston at the post to procure a Championship position.

As it was, however, the 2015/16 season was a major challenge. Key players in Dele Alli and Will Grigg left, but at one point, MK Dons looked on to stay in the second tier. Things went awry, however, when the team failed to win any of their last 11 games, culminating in relegation from the Championship.

Ten years down the line, we’re taking a look at the MK Dons squad who played in the final match of that season – a 2-1 home defeat by Nottingham Forest, if you were wondering – and ask the simple question of where are they now.

GK – Charlie Burns

With David Martin and Cody Cropper absent, this was the last of 5 first team appearances made by the-then 20 year old keeper. Burns’ high point was undoubtedly a clean sheet in a draw at Sheffield Wednesday, but he would leave MK Dons after not making any appearances in the 2016/17 campaign. Burns would move to Irish side Galway but after games with assorted non-league clubs, looks to have not played since before lockdown and instead moved into business.

RB – Jordan Spence

This would be Spence’s final appearance for the club, with the defender leaving after 2 1/2 years in Milton Keynes. The West Ham academy graduate would eventually join Ipswich and would also have a brief spell in the Netherlands with ADO Den Haag, but has not been seen in football since leaving the Dutch side in 2020. Since then, Spence’s likeliest place is in the performing arts, with Spence seen at a multitude of events alongside his wife, the Hollywood actress and singer Naomi Scott.

CB – Kevin Long

Very much a blink and you’ll miss it cameo, this one. The Irish centre back joined MK Dons in January on loan from Burnley, but the defender would only play in the final 2 games of the season. Long would be a regular back-up option at best with the Clarets, making less than 100 first team appearances for them in 13 years on their books. After spells with Birmingham City and MLS side Toronto, he’s now playing for Irish side Waterford.

CB – Joe Walsh

The Welsh defender would spend a lot of time in and out of the Dons team, not helped by an assortment of injuries. In all, he made 145 appearances in 5 years after joining from Crawley, with the following 2016/17 season being the one where he made the most appearances. Walsh left MK Dons in 2020, where he would spend 3 years at Lincoln City, though he has been without a club since leaving the Imps.

LB – Dean Lewington

MK Dons fans will be fully aware of this chap. Lewington made over 900 for MK Dons after the 2004 revamp, being there for seemingly every moment of the club’s history. This came a year on from his brace to win promotion against Yeovil, and he would still spend much of the following decade as a primary name on the teamsheet. Lewington retired in 2025, with the ex-captain now a part of the Dons coaching staff.

CDM – Darren Potter

Like Lewington, Potter now finds himself as part of the Dons’ coaching staff. Having spent time with Port Vale and Stoke on their coaching staff, Potter wound up being tapped up to join Paul Warne and former Dons coach Richie Barker when they moved to MK. In his playing days, Potter would make over 250 appearances in 6 years with the Dons before joining Rotherham under Warne’s tutelage in 2017.

CDM – Samir Carruthers

Midfielder Carruthers had been seen as a future star when he arrived in Milton Keynes, having impressed in an FA Youth Cup winning Aston Villa side, and the midfielder generally impressed in his time with the club. But things went awry at Sheffield United, whom he joined in 2017 but suffered the first in a series of injuries that kept getting in the way. The midfielder now plays for Isthmian League Premier Division outfit Dartford, and is beginning to work on his post-football life with work as a hairdresser.

RW – Carl Baker

Baker would be another player for whom this would be their final MK Dons appearance. After winning the club’s Player of the Year in 2014/15, Baker would remain a regular in this campaign but made an exit in the summer of 2016 after agreeing to sign for Portsmouth. After a spell in India, a return to Coventry City and stints for various non-league clubs, Baker has now retired, and has since worked as both a personal trainer and as a professional golf caddy.

CAM – Dean Bowditch

Bowditch would one of Karl Robinson’s trusted lieutenants in Milton Keynes, making over 225 appearances for the Dons, including being a regular in the Championship promotion win and in the second tier itself. He would leave to join Northampton in 2017, before ultimately having time in non-league after his time with the Cobblers. He has since transitioned into business, initially working in a commercial role for MK Dons before joining Marshall Amplification, as well as hosting matchday events with the Dons.

LW – Josh Murphy

This was something of a breakout season for Murphy, who would make over 45 appearances for the Dons on loan from Norwich City. He would be the Dons’ joint top scorer and highest assist maker. Murphy would impress back in Norfolk alongside his twin brother and current Newcastle star Jacob before moving to Cardiff in 2018 for a big money fee, making his debut as a substitute for future Don Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. After leaving Cardiff, Murphy bounced back with two solid seasons at Oxford, before joining Portsmouth in 2024, where he remains.

ST – Nicky Maynard

Signed in September 2015 after being released by Cardiff, Maynard would initially be MK Dons’ main striker, with the striker being the Dons’ joint top scorer in his first season. He initially rejected the chance to stay for 2016/17 before u-turning and signing a deal. His second season proved to be a struggle, however, and he left in 2017, before spending time with Aberdeen, Mansfield and Bury. He has since retired from the game.

Sub 1 – Ben Reeves

When fit, Reeves would be a regular first team player for the Dons, making over 130 appearances for the club. The Northern Irish international would ultimately leave in 2017 for Charlton, but returned for the 2019-20 campaign for a single season back in Milton Keynes. Reeves has now retired from playing, and works as an academy coach for Southampton, bringing him back to the academy where he started out.

Sub 2 – Alex Revell

Perhaps Revell’s most noteworthy moment in Milton Keynes had come a few weeks earlier, when he was forced to go in goal in a match at Preston after Cropper was sent off and duly saved a penalty. The striker had spent half a season with the Dons after joining from Cardiff, but he opted to leave upon expiry of contract for Northampton. He has since moved into management, having been Stevenage manager between February 2020 and April 2021, then re-taking the job in 2024 after serving as a coach. He is currently preparing to lead Stevenage into the League One play-offs.

Sub 3 – Oran Jackson

Jackson was initially seen as one for the future, getting the nod to make a first team debut at 16 years old as a late sub and being seen as one the Dons could develop. It wouldn’t quite fall into place for the defender, however, who would only make a smattering of cup appearances before leaving in 2019 to move to Iceland. He is now on the books of non-league side Stamford.

Unused subs – Kyle McFadzen, Darren Powell, David Kasumu, Connor Furlong

McFadzean would not play for the Dons again, with the defender handing in a transfer request to remain in the Championship and duly signing for Burton Albion when the Brewers were promoted to the second tier. After spells with Coventry and Blackburn, the now 39-year-old defender remains active, having played 41 times for Chesterfield this season and helping them finish in the play-offs.

Winger Powell was heralded as a tricky and unpredictable presence on the flanks for the Dons, and would be retained for another year before being one of several released by Robbie Neilson in his summer 2017 rebuild. He would join Northampton, followed by spells with Crewe and Barnet. He now works as a youth scout for Luton Town.

Young midfielder Kasumu would have to wait until the following season to make his first team debut and until the 2019/20 season before he began to make regular first team appearances. The midfielder would leave to join Huddersfield and remains with the Yorkshire club, with Kasumu making 38 appearances for them in their just-completed season.

Furlong would ultimately not make a senior appearance for MK Dons’ first team, with the midfielder released in 2018. He has since been on the non-league treadmill, with Furlong making appearances this season with Southern League Division One Central outfit Hertford Town.

Manager – Karl Robinson

This could have been Robinson’s last match as Dons boss, as he revealed he held an interview with Leeds United but failing to gel with their erratic then-owner Massimo Cellino. Robinson would leave MK Dons in October 2016, however, after the Dons made a poor start to the following season. He would have a brief stint with Charlton, a longer run with Oxford where he twice made the League 1 play-offs and a 4 game run as assistant to Sam Allardyce at Leeds. Since January 2024, he has managed Salford City, who are aiming to follow MK Dons’ promotion this year as they will be in the League 2 play-offs.