Francomb spurred on by second chance at Wembley

GEORGE FRANCOMB has a double incentive to shine against Tottenham at Wembley today as the heirs to the Crazy Gang return to the ground where Wimbledon won the FA Cup in 1988.

The midfielder missed out on a trip to the stadium when AFC Wimbledon won the League Two play-off final in 2016. Tottenham fan Francomb, 26, who trained with Harry Kane as a Spurs schoolboy, was injured then and thought his chance of playing at football’s iconic venue had passed.

But with Spurs playing at Wembley while White Hart Lane is redeveloped, Wimbledon, who have risen from the Combined Counties League, the ninth tier of league football, since the FA allowed the original club to move to Milton Keynes in 2002, will enjoy another day out at the stadium where they have a 100 per cent record.

‘Two years ago when we got to the play-off final, I did my knee just before and I missed out playing at Wembley so that was a bit of a low point for me,’ said Francomb. ‘After that passed I thought I might not get the chance to play at Wembley. So when the draw came out I was buzzing.

‘It will be like redemption for me to get out there and play at Wembley. That’s bigger for me, even than playing against Spurs, to right that wrong.’

Francomb, from Hoxton in east London, was a Spurs trainee and remains a fan though he never got to play for the club. While at Norwich he did play with Kane, who was on loan there. ‘He’s the best finisher I’ve ever seen,’ Francomb said. ‘Both footed, left and right. When I trained with him he was nowhere near his peak but I thought, “Yeah, he can finish!”

‘Obviously going against the team I played for as a schoolboy and I supported all my life, that’s the dream for me.’

Neither Wimbledon club have ever lost at Wembley, winning the FA Amateur Cup in 1963, the FA Cup in 1988 and the 2016 League Two play-off final. And this Wembley day out is the latest instalment of their extraordinary renaissance after fans formed the club from scratch.

Most people regard AFC Wimbledon as the true heirs of the Crazy Gang team, which rose through the divisions from the Southern League to the Premier League. Francomb said: ‘It’s a unique little club.’