The final day of the 2014/15 season is one that will live in MK Dons’ folklore.

At the end of a swashbuckling season that started with the famous 4-0 demolition of Manchester United at Stadium MK, the Dons had entered the final day hopeful that they could swipe automatic promotion.

This would something they duly did, as a 5-1 mauling of Yeovil Town combined with Preston suffering a 1-0 loss at Colchester had the effect of confirming promotion to the Championship for the team from Milton Keynes.

It is hard to believe that ten years have passed since that lively afternoon, and such is the passage of time, the players involved that day now find themselves in different places. Namely, they are now up to the following…

GK: David Martin

A fixture at Stadium MK for most of the 2010s, goalkeeper Martin made over 300 competitive appearances after returning to Milton Keynes following a spell with Liverpool. He would spend two more years with the Dons, winning Player of the Year in the following campaign, before moving on in 2017 after losing his place to Lee Nicholls. Martin is still active, having played Premier League football for West Ham and had a spell with Southend United before joining Ipswich as a player-coach last summer.

RB: Jordan Spence

Defender Spence had ended the season as first choice in a full-back role for the Dons, and would initially hold that in the following 2015-16 campaign before being losing his spot the second half of the campaign. Spence left MK Dons in 2016, and after spells with Ipswich and Dutch side ADO Den Haag, has since retired from the game, with his main prominence in recent years being seen at red carpet events with his movie star wife Naomi Scott.

CB: Kyle McFadzean

McFadzean would spend two years as a defensive fixture in Milton Keynes after arriving from Crawley Town in 2014, scoring against AFC Wimbledon in an early appearance and having a reputation as adding bite to a more attack-focused team. McFadzean left in slightly less harmonious fashion, handing in a transfer request after the Dons’ 2016 relegation. He would join Burton Albion, before spending 5 years as a mainstay at Coventry City. After a brief period with Blackburn, he now plays for Chesterfield.

CB: Antony Kay

A few weeks ago, it was reported that Kay had applied to be MK Dons boss, albeit unsuccessfully. The defender had a prior association with the Dons, making over 150 appearances for the club after arriving from Huddersfield in 2012. He would leave in 2016, joining Bury before a stint with Port Vale. He enjoyed his first spell as a manager with Runcorn Linnets, leaving the club in January.

LB: Dean Lewington

Next season will be a new era for MK Dons as it will be the first without Lewington as a player to call upon, with the now-40 year old deciding the time has come to stop playing. Lewington leaves after making over 900 appearances for the club, having been there for all the highs and lows of the journey since Wimbledon first moved to the city in 2003. This game ranks high on the memory banks, with Lewington having scored two and set up another two on their way to a romping win.

CM: Dele Alli

This game would mark Dele’s final appearance in MK Dons colours, with the midfielder having already signed for Spurs in January. It’s safe to say he hit the ground running in North London, becoming a first choice for the side under Mauricio Pochettino for a side that managed multiple top-four finishes. Things went sour the longer he stayed at Spurs, however, with Dele essentially allowed to join Everton on a free transfer. He now plays in Italy for Como, managed by former Arsenal & Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas.

CM: Darren Potter

A scorer in this game, Potter was usually renowned for the Dons in something akin to the Claude Makelele role as a deep-lying midfielder who would break up threatening situations. He left the Dons in 2017 after being swept away by Robbie Neilson’s scene change, and after spells with Rotherham and Tranmere, he has transitioned into coaching. Potter is now coming up to 4 years working in the academy set-up with Stoke City.

RW: Rob Hall

A late season arrival on loan, Hall enjoyed a breakout moment with a hat-trick against Leyton Orient a few weeks earlier. He would return to Milton Keynes the season after but made a controversial move to Oxford in 2016 despite receiving an offer to join MK Dons on a permanent deal. An injury sustained near the end of his time at MK Dons would prove to be the first of many injuries, however, but the now-31 year old winger remains active in football, last seen with Cheshunt in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

CAM: Samir Carruthers

Carruthers arrived in Milton Keynes with a high reputation after captaining Aston Villa at youth level, and he would be a regular for the Dons. He made over 100 appearances in all competitions before leaving for Sheffield United in 2017. Injuries checked his momentum in Sheffield, however, and after leaving Cambridge in 2020, he has since become a non-league regular, with Carruthers spending this season playing for Dartford.

LW: Carl Baker

Baker would be widely regarded as a catalyst figure for the Dons in this campaign, with the winger joining after his release by Coventry City and immediately establishing himself as a regular. His form saw him win the club’s Player of the Year award, and he would maintain a regular spot in the Championship. He left for Portsmouth in 2016 and after spells in India and in non-league, he has now retired. He now works as a personal trainer.

FW: Will Grigg

Having initially shared striker duties with fellow loanee Benik Afobe, Grigg would end the campaign as top scorer after scoring 22 goals. He continued this form at Wigan, leading to the famed “Will Grigg’s on fire” chant. Grigg then had a difficult spell with Sunderland, who sent him out on loan to Milton Keynes in 2021 and later another loan to Rotherham, before he had a single permanent season at MK Dons in 2022/23. He now plays for the Dons’ fellow League 2 outfit Chesterfield.

Sub 1: Dean Bowditch

Bowditch burst through by grabbing a hat-trick at Ipswich in 2004 and would be a fixture in his 6 years at MK Dons. He made over 225 appearances and would be a regular inclusion until being swept away by Neilson’s changes in 2017. After a spell at Northampton and in non-league, Bowditch retired and has transitioned into off-pitch roles, working in marketing for Milton Keynes-based music company Marshall.

Sub 2: Ben Reeves

Northern Irish international Reeves would be a regular when fit in Milton Keynes, with the midfielder also having a fair degree of joy in the second tier. He would leave like many other of the Dons’ 2015 promotion winners in 2017, joining ex-boss Karl Robinson at Charlton Athletic. After a brief one season return to MK in the 2019/20 season, and spells with Plymouth, Gillingham and Eastleigh, he now works in the under-21 set-up with Southampton, returning to the club whose academy he started out with.

Sub 3: Lee Hodson

Hodson had been signed as competition in the full-back roles but never quite managed to nail down a first team birth, making 50 appearances in three seasons at Stadium MK. He would leave on loan to Kilmarnock in January 2016 before making a permanent move to Rangers that summer. Having bounced around the English and Scottish game since, he now plays for Eastleigh.

Unused subs: Iain McLoughlin, Daniel Powell, Devante Cole, Lewis Baker

Irish goalkeeper McLoughlin struggled for game time in a time in Milton Keynes predominantly spent as Martin’s back-up, making less than 50 appearances. After a spell in Ireland with Waterford, he has moved away from football, with the now-33 year old running a gym in Ampthill.

After graduating from the Dons’ academy, Powell would be a regular pick in the Dons’ first team, making over 270 appearances from the club before leaving in 2017. He would enjoy spells with Northampton, Crewe and Barnet, but has now retired from playing and does youth team coaching and scouting work for Arsenal.

Cole’s time in Milton Keynes would be a brief one, making 14 appearances on loan from Manchester City as a replacement for mid-season departure Afobe. Spells with Bradford, Fleetwood, Wigan and Barnsley among others followed, before the son of former England and Manchester United star Andy Cole signed for Championship side West Brom in 2024.

Like Cole, Baker’s time in Milton Keynes would be brief, making 12 appearances after being a late season loan arrival from Chelsea. The Luton-born midfielder would have further loan spells with Vitesse Arnhem, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Reading and Fortuna Dusseldorf before joining Stoke in 2021, with the midfielder still getting Championship game time with the Potters.