# 2017–18 Milton Keynes Dons F.C. season

The 2017–18 season was Milton Keynes Dons' 14th season in their existence, and their second consecutive season in League One, the third tier of English football. Along with competing in League One, the club also competed in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy.
The season covers the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.

## Competitions
### League One

Final table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 20 | Rochdale | 46 | 11 | 18 | 17 | 49 | 57 | –8 | 51 |
| 21 | Oldham Athletic (R) | 46 | 11 | 17 | 18 | 58 | 75 | –17 | 50 |
| 22 | Northampton Town (R) | 46 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 43 | 77 | –34 | 47 |
| 23 | Milton Keynes Dons (R) | 46 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 43 | 69 | –26 | 45 |
| 24 | Bury (R) | 46 | 8 | 12 | 26 | 41 | 71 | –30 | 36 |
Source: Sky Sports
Matches
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 5 August 2017 – 15:00 | Wigan Athletic | Home | 0–1 | | 9,164 |
| 12 August 2017 – 15:00 | Blackpool | Away | 0–1 | | 3,412 |
| 19 August 2017 – 15:00 | Gillingham | Home | 1–0 | Sow | 7,901 |
| 26 August 2017 – 15:00 | Blackburn Rovers | Away | 1–4 | Upson | 10,111 |
| 2 September 2017 – 15:00 | Oxford United | Home | 1–1 | Brittain | 10,746 |
| 9 September 2017 – 15:00 | Plymouth Argyle | Away | 1–0 | Nesbitt | 8,566 |
| 12 September 2017 – 19:45 | Peterborough United | Away | 0–2 | | 6,465 |
| 16 September 2017 – 15:00 | Rochdale | Home | 3–2 | Ariyibi (2), Seager | 7,670 |
| 22 September 2017 – 19:45 | AFC Wimbledon | Away | 2–0 | Francomb (o.g.), Ariyibi | 3,973 |
| 26 September 2017 – 19:45 | Northampton Town | Home | 0–0 | | 11,340 |
| 30 September 2017 – 15:00 | Bury | Away | 2–0 | Sow, Ebanks-Landell | 3,165 |
| 7 October 2017 – 15:00 | Bradford City | Home | 1–4 | Ebanks-Landell | 9,106 |
| 14 October 2017 – 15:00 | Portsmouth | Away | 0–2 | | 17,608 |
| 17 October 2017 – 19:45 | Walsall | Home | 1–1 | Aneke | 7,258 |
| 21 October 2017 – 15:00 | Oldham Athletic | Home | 4–4 | Gilbey, Upson (2), Nesbitt | 9,312 |
| 28 October 2017 – 15:00 | Bristol Rovers | Away | 0–2 | | 9,312 |
| 11 November 2017 – 15:00 | Fleetwood Town | Home | 1–0 | Aneke | 7,827 |
| 18 November 2017 – 15:00 | Charlton Athletic | Away | 2–2 | Agard (2) | 10,577 |
| 21 November 2017 – 19:45 | Southend United | Home | 1–1 | Agard | 7,521 |
| 25 November 2017 – 15:00 | Doncaster Rovers | Away | 1–2 | Aneke | 7,743 |
| 9 December 2017 – 15:00 | Shrewsbury Town | Home | 1–1 | Pawlett | 8,355 |
| 16 December 2017 – 15:00 | Scunthorpe United | Away | 2–2 | Agard, Aneke | 3,569 |
| 23 December 2017 – 15:00 | Rotherham United | Away | 1–2 | Aneke | 8,333 |
| 26 December 2017 – 15:00 | Plymouth Argyle | Home | 0–1 | | 9,268 |
| 30 December 2017 – 15:00 | Peterborough United | Home | 1–0 | Aneke | 10,304 |
| 1 January 2018 – 15:00 | Oxford United | Away | 1–3 | Gilbey | 7,628 |
| 13 January 2018 – 15:00 | AFC Wimbledon | Home | 0–0 | | 9,504 |
| 20 January 2018 – 15:00 | Northampton Town | Away | 1–2 | Gilbey | 7,231 |
| 3 February 2018 – 15:00 | Walsall | Away | 0–1 | | 4,009 |
| 10 February 2018 – 15:00 | Portsmouth | Home | 1–2 | Ugbo | 14,762 |
| 13 February 2018 – 19:45 | Oldham Athletic | Away | 0–1 | | 3,381 |
| 17 February 2018 – 15:00 | Charlton Athletic | Home | 1–2 | Agard | 8,961 |
| 21 February 2018 – 19:45 | Rochdale | Away | 0–0 | | 2,273 |
| 24 February 2018 – 15:00 | Fleetwood Town | Away | 1–1 | Muirhead | 2,773 |
| 3 March 2018 – 15:00 | Bristol Rovers | Home | 0–1 | | 8,240 |
| 13 March 2018 – 19:45 | Rotherham United | Home | 3–2 | Muirhead (2), Pawlett | 7,327 |
| 17 March 2018 – 15:00 | Bury | Home | 2–1 | Aneke (2) | 9,247 |
| 24 March 2018 – 15:00 | Blackpool | Home | 0–0 | | 8,094 |
| 29 March 2018 – 15:00 | Gillingham | Away | 2–1 | Aneke, Williams | 5,540 |
| 2 April 2018 – 15:00 | Blackburn Rovers | Home | 1–2 | Pawlett | 11,215 |
| 7 April 2018 – 15:00 | Wigan Athletic | Away | 1–5 | Brittain | 8,404 |
| 14 April 2018 – 15:00 | Doncaster Rovers | Home | 1–2 | Ugbo | 8,954 |
| 21 April 2018 – 15:00 | Southend United | Away | 0–4 | | 7,546 |
| 24 April 2018 – 19:45 | Bradford City | Away | 0–2 | | 19,192 |
| 28 April 2018 – 15:00 | Scunthorpe United | Home | 0–2 | | 9,578 |
| 5 May 2018 – 15:00 | Shrewsbury Town | Away | 1–0 | Agard | 6,516 |

### FA Cup

Matches
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 3 November 2017 – 19:55 | First round | Hyde United | Away | 4–0 | Nesbitt, Aneke, Ebanks-Landell, Upson | 3,126 |
| 2 December 2017 – 15:00 | Second round | Maidstone United | Home | 4–1 | Nesbitt, Agard (2), Pawlett | 4,804 |
| 6 January 2018 – 15:00 | Third round | Queens Park Rangers | Away | 1–0 | Cissé | 6,314 |
| 27 January 2018 – 15:00 | Fourth round | Coventry City | Home | 0–1 | | 14,925 |

### EFL Cup

Matches
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance | Ref |
| 8 August 2017 – 19:45 | First round | Forest Green Rovers | Away | 1–0 | Ariyibi | 1,608 | |
| 22 August 2017 – 19:45 | Second round | Swansea City | Home | 1–4 | Seager | 5,162 | |

### EFL Trophy

Southern Group G Table
| Pos | Div | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | L1 | Milton Keynes Dons (Q) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 8 | Second round |
| 2 | L1 | Oxford United (Q) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 8 | +3 | 4 | Second round |
| 3 | L2 | Stevenage (E) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | –2 | 4 | |
| 4 | ACA | Brighton & Hove Albion U21 (E) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | –4 | 2 | |
Matches
| Win | Draw | Loss |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| 29 August 2017 – 19:45 | Group stage | Brighton & Hove Albion U21 | Home | 2–0 | Ariyibi, Tshibola | 1,541 |
| 3 October 2017 – 19:45 | Group stage | Stevenage | Home | 0–0 | | 1,793 |
| 7 November 2017 – 19:45 | Group stage | Oxford United | Away | 4–3 | Thomas-Asante, Ariyibi (2), Seager | 1,182 |
| 6 December 2017 – 19:45 | Second round | Chelsea U23 | Home | 0–4 | | 1,308 |
* ↑ After 90 minutes. Milton Keynes Dons gained an extra point with a 5–4 win on penalties.

## Player details

    Note: Players' ages as of the club's opening fixture of the 2017–18 season.
| # | Name | Position | Date of birth (age) | Signed from | Signed in | Transfer fee | Notes |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 1 | Lee Nicholls | GK | (1992-10-05)5 October 1992 (aged 24) | Free agent | 2016 | Free | |
| 13 | Wieger Sietsma | GK | (1995-07-11)11 July 1995 (aged 22) | Free agent | 2017 | Free | |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 2 | George Williams | RB | (1993-04-14)14 April 1993 (aged 24) | Barnsley | 2016 | Free | |
| 3 | Dean Lewington | LB | (1984-05-18)18 May 1984 (aged 33) | Wimbledon | 2004 | Free | Club Captain |
| 4 | Joe Walsh | CB | (1992-05-13)13 May 1992 (aged 25) | Crawley Town | 2015 | Undisclosed | |
| 5 | Scott Wootton | CB | (1991-09-12)12 September 1991 (aged 25) | Free agent | 2016 | Free | |
| 12 | Scott Golbourne | LB | (1988-02-29)29 February 1988 (aged 29) | Bristol City | 2017 | Loan | |
| 15 | Elliott Ward | CB | (1985-01-19)19 January 1985 (aged 32) | Blackburn Rovers | 2018 | Loan | |
| 19 | Ethan Ebanks-Landell | CB | (1992-12-16)16 December 1992 (aged 24) | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2017 | Loan | |
| 20 | Josh Tymon | LB | (1999-05-22)22 May 1999 (aged 18) | Stoke city | 2018 | Loan | |
| 23 | Ben Tilney | LB | (1997-02-28)28 February 1997 (aged 20) | Academy | 2014 | Trainee | |
| 25 | Callum Brittain | RB | (1998-03-12)12 March 1998 (aged 19) | Academy | 2016 | Trainee | |
| 29 | Oran Jackson | CB | (1998-10-16)16 October 1998 (aged 18) | Academy | 2016 | Trainee | |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 6 | Ed Upson | CM | (1989-11-21)21 November 1989 (aged 27) | Millwall | 2016 | Free | |
| 7 | Nigel Reo-Coker | DM | (1984-05-14)14 May 1984 (aged 33) | Free agent | 2018 | Free | |
| 8 | Ousseynou Cissé | DM | (1991-04-07)7 April 1991 (aged 26) | Tours | 2017 | Free | |
| 17 | Marcus Tavernier | LM | (1999-03-22)22 March 1999 (aged 18) | Middlesbrough | 2018 | Loan | |
| 18 | Conor McGrandles | CM | (1999-10-21)21 October 1999 (aged 17) | Norwich City | 2017 | Free | |
| 21 | Aidan Nesbitt | AM | (1997-02-05)5 February 1997 (aged 20) | Celtic | 2017 | Undisclosed | |
| 22 | Giorgio Rasulo | CM | (1997-01-23)23 January 1997 (aged 20) | Academy | 2012 | Trainee | |
| 24 | Connor Furlong | CM | (1998-02-07)7 February 1998 (aged 19) | Academy | 2016 | Trainee | |
| 26 | Alex Gilbey | CM | (1994-12-09)9 December 1994 (aged 22) | Wigan Athletic | 2017 | Undisclosed | |
| 28 | Hugo Logan | AM | (1998-09-21)21 September 1998 (aged 18) | Academy | 2017 | Trainee | |
| 35 | David Kasumu | CM | (1999-10-05)5 October 1999 (aged 17) | Academy | 2017 | Trainee | |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 9 | Osman Sow | CF | (1990-04-22)22 April 1990 (aged 27) | Free agent | 2017 | Free | |
| 10 | Chuks Aneke | CF | (1993-07-03)3 July 1993 (aged 24) | Zulte Waregem | 2016 | Free | |
| 11 | Peter Pawlett | LW | (1991-02-03)3 February 1991 (aged 26) | Aberdeen | 2017 | Free | |
| 14 | Kieran Agard | RW | (1989-10-10)10 October 1989 (aged 27) | Bristol City | 2016 | Undisclosed | |
| 16 | Robbie Muirhead | CF | (1996-03-08)8 March 1996 (aged 21) | Hears | 2017 | Undisclosed | |
| 27 | Ike Ugbo | CF | (1998-09-21)21 September 1998 (aged 18) | Chelsea | 2018 | Loan | |
| 30 | Sam Nombe | CF | (1998-10-22)22 October 1998 (aged 18) | Academy | 2017 | Trainee | |
| 31 | Brandon Thomas-Asante | LW | (1998-12-29)29 December 1998 (aged 18) | Academy | 2016 | Trainee | |
| 37 | Dylan Asonganyi | CF | (2000-10-10)10 October 2000 (aged 16) | Academy | 2017 | Trainee | |
| Out on loan ||||||||
| Left club during season ||||||||
| 7 | Gboly Ariyibi | RW | (1995-01-18)18 January 1995 (aged 22) | Nottingham Forest | 2017 | Loan | |
| 15 | Ryan Seager | CF | (1996-02-05)5 February 1996 (aged 21) | Southampton | 2017 | Loan | |
| 17 | Paul Downing | CB | (1991-10-26)26 October 1991 (aged 25) | Walsall | 2016 | Free | |
| 17 | Aaron Tshibola | CM | (1995-02-02)2 February 1995 (aged 22) | Aston Villa | 2017 | Loan | |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2017 | MF | Ousseynou Cissé | Tours | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2017 | MF | Conor McGrandles | Norwich City | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2017 | MF | Peter Pawlett | Aberdeen | Free transfer |
| 7 July 2017 | GK | Wieger Sietsma | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 14 August 2017 | FW | Osman Sow | Henan Jianye | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2017 | MF | Alex Gilbey | Wigan Athletic | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2017 | MF | Aidan Nesbitt | Celtic | Undisclosed |
| 22 March 2018 | MF | Nigel Reo-Coker | Free agent | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2017 | DF | George Baldock | Sheffield United | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | FW | Dean Bowditch | Northampton Town | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2017 | FW | Nicky Maynard | Released | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | GK | David Martin | Released | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | MF | Darren Potter | Rotherham United | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2017 | MF | Ben Reeves | Released | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | FW | Daniel Powell | Northampton Town | Free transfer |
| 8 January 2018 | DF | Paul Downing | Blackburn Rovers | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| Start date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| 14 July 2017 | DF | Ethan Ebanks-Landell | Wolverhampton Wanderers | End of season |
| 17 July 2017 | FW | Gboly Ariyibi | Nottingham Forest | January 2018 |
| 21 July 2017 | FW | Ryan Seager | Southampton | 26 January 2018 |
| 27 July 2017 | MF | Aaron Tshibola | Aston Villa | 9 November 2017 |
| 31 August 2017 | DF | Scott Golbourne | Bristol City | January 2018 |
| 4 January 2018 | FW | Ike Ugbo | Chelsea | End of season |
| 17 January 2018 | FW | Marcus Tavernier | Middlesbrough | End of season |
| 30 January 2018 | DF | Josh Tymon | Stoke City | End of season |
| 30 January 2018 | DF | Elliott Ward | Blackburn Rovers | End of season |
| 31 January 2018 | DF | Scott Golbourne | Bristol City | End of season |

### Loans out

| Start date | Position | Name | To | End date | Ref. |
| 31 August 2017 | DF | Paul Downing | Blackburn Rovers | 8 January 2018 | |
* ↑ Previous club: SC Heerenveen.
* ↑ Previous club: IK Start.
* ↑ Joined Aberdeen on 7 July 2017.
* ↑ Joined Millwall on 1 September 2017.
* ↑ Declined new contract offer. Joined Charlton Athletic on 3 August 2017.
* ↑ Recalled. Originally until end of season.
* ↑ Recalled. Originally until end of season.
* ↑ Recalled. Originally until end of season.
* ↑ Signed permanently for Blackburn Rovers on 8 January 2018. Originally until end of season.

## Awards

* EFL Young Player of the Month (September): Callum Brittain