IT WAS nice of Gary Lineker to acknowledge that the formation of MK Dons was “controversial” during coverage of their FA Cup thumping by Chelsea.

It was also rather nice of Chelsea to put in a performance that was men against boys at Stadium mk.

Those AFC Wimbledon fans who didn’t refuse to watch will surely have enjoyed seeing their nemesis made to look rather silly in what was effectively their cup final.

It was certainly rather more enjoyable than seeing Milton Keynes hog the headlines for all the right reasons after beating Manchester United Reserves 3-0 last season.

Because nearly as galling as the fact they stole a club - yes that’s pretty controversial, Gary -is the fact MK Dons have got an awful lot right, particularly since relegation in 2006, however much it may stick in the throat.

Their academy, for example, has certainly done its job. Dele Alli’s performances for Tottenham have been a joy to behold and he is possibly the most exciting young talent England has right now.

Rather than the ‘hire and fire’ of many other clubs, they have put their faith in a string of young managers, Karl Robinson being the latest, which have generally put the club on an upwardly mobile curve.

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They play an attractive brand of football. Even since promotion to the Championship they dominate possession more often than not, without having the kind of cutting edge to make it count.

And they are fiercely ambitious.In terms of solving that problem they have just landed forwards Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Alex Revell, two of the more eye-catching deals of an otherwise sleepy transfer deadline day.

Chairman Pete Winkelman will see all this as justification for his determination to take senior football to Milton Keynes, rather than investing in MK City who, lest we forget, are as long gone as the original Wimbledon Football Club.

For the rest of us though, there will be few tears shed if they end up being as out of their depth in the Championship this season as they were against Chelsea.

For all his magnanimous comments about AFC Wimbledon now, Winkelman was more than happy to destroy the club.

For that reason alone, MK Dons deserve to remain the great unloved.