MK Dons’ trip to face Carlisle United tomorrow (11/01) has been postponed due to a frozen pitch.

The Dons had been due to face League 2’s bottom side at 3pm tomorrow, in a game that would’ve seen them take on former boss Mike Williamson for the first time since he left MK Dons to take charge at Carlisle in September.

However, following a week of freezing conditions in England, Carlisle confirmed the pitch at their Brunton Park stadium failed an inspection held by a qualified match official this morning (10/01), and with further freezing conditions expected overnight, the decision was made to postpone the contest.

The game is the third in as many months that MK Dons have seen postponed due to weather-related issues. The Dons’ matches at Fleetwood in November and Barrow in December were both postponed due to stormy weather, although unlike those two games, the decision was made to postpone the Carlisle contest the day before rather than the day of the match.

MK Dons have said, “All ticket and rearranged fixture details will be confirmed in due course.”

MK Dons have signed the midfielder Jay Williams from League One side Crawley Town.

The 24-year-old midfielder is the Dons’ first signing of the January transfer window and moves to Stadium MK in a move that reunites him with Scott Lindsey, who managed him at Crawley last season, as well as his former Crawley team-mates Liam Kelly and Laurence Maguire. Williams has signed a contract of undisclosed length at Stadium MK.

Williams, who can play in defence or in midfield, joined Crawley in 2023 from Brackley Town, making the move to Sussex only a few weeks after joining Brackley from their local rivals Banbury. Before then, the player had represented home town club Northampton, Kettering Town, Harrogate Town and AFC Rushden & Diamonds.

In his time at Crawley, Williams helped the Red Devils achieve promotion from League Two via the play-offs, including scoring in both legs as Crawley beat MK Dons in them last season.

Speaking to the MK Dons website, Williams said he was looking forward to getting started with his new employer.

He said, “There’s proper quality at this club right now, and I’m happy enough to do the dirty work and let them get on with scoring the goals!

“I’m a pivot. I’m quite an aggressive presence in the middle of the park. But as much as I like a tackle, I enjoy opening up other teams and playing through the lines!”

Lindsey voiced his own delight at being reunited with his former Crawley player.

He said, “Jay is a fantastic addition. I’ve worked with him before. He’s a midfield general who will organise the team, bark at people, make tackles, get us up the pitch and press well – the stuff most players don’t like doing! He trains and prepares like a demon. He’s a leader and still very young. I think he’ll be a great signing for MK Dons.”

Luton Town have confirmed that manager Rob Edwards has left by mutual agreement.

The 42-year-old leaves Kenilworth Road after 2 years and 2 months in charge, in which time he took Luton Town to the Premier League but leaves after a run of 4 defeats in a row that has put the Hatters just above the Championship’s relegation zone.

Luton have confirmed that Paul Trollope and Richie Kyle, aided by Mick Harford, will take charge of their meeting with Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup this weekend while the quest to find a permanent replacement continues.

Edwards took over at Luton in November 2022 as a replacement for Nathan Jones, who left the club for a brief and ill-fated stint managing Southampton. In his first part, he took Luton from 10th position in the Championship during the 2022 World Cup break to finish third, before winning in the play-offs to take Luton to the top flight of English football for the first time since the 1991/92 season.

In the Premier League, Luton earned acclaim for their battling football but were unable to stay up, as the Hatters went on a run of just one win from their last 17 Premier League fixtures, ultimately finishing six points behind Forest.

The Hatters have hit further difficulties in the Championship, with the side from Bedfordshire in 20th position after 26 games of the season, having lost 10 straight away games and their last four overall. They currently sit just two points above the relegation zone.

Luton Town CEO Gary Sweet praised Edwards for his impact at the club despite coming to the decision the club have had to change manager.

He said, “As with all decisions to part company with a manager, this has been a tough decision to arrive at, together with Rob, who has conducted himself with great professionalism and dignity throughout his two years at the Club, and again this week as we have genuinely come to a mutual conclusion.

“Rob has given us some of our greatest days to celebrate as Hatters. Those two barnstorming derby victories at Kenilworth Road, the play-off final at Wembley and our season in the Premier League will live with us forever and in doing so Rob has earned himself a legendary status.

“Results this season, especially away from home, have clearly not been acceptable and while we have supported Rob and his team in every possible way, we all felt that action was required to rectify this with 20 league matches still to play.

“It is typical of Rob’s humility that he also recognised this himself and leaves not just as a former manager, but as a trusted friend who has left his mark on every player and member of staff.

“Rob and his family will always be welcome visitors to Kenilworth Road. The door is always open. On behalf of the board, I would like to give him our heartfelt thanks for two years of tireless work and so many memories, wishing him every success for his future career.”

An iPhone that was accidentally frozen for two months under a temporary ice rink in Milton Keynes has been successfully recovered.

A video went viral on social media in early November when an unidentified workman unintentionally left an iPhone belonging to his daughter in place before water and ice were layered over the top of the structure at a the Willen On Ice temporary rink at Willen Lake in Milton Keynes, with the phone’s bright pink case becoming visible through the ice when the rink was finished.

The phone was kept in place over the 8 weeks that the Willen facility was in place, with the organisers saying attempts to recover it prematurely could affect the structure of the whole rink.

With the rink taken down this week, the device was retrieved, dried, and – against all odds – fully revived.

The phone was extracted from its position, dried in rice, and placed in a warm room before being plugged in late last night (Monday 6 January). When the phone was charged up, the charging symbol appeared, followed by the Apple logo, and finally the phone powered on.

“My daughter was over the moon when I handed her phone back in full working order,” said the relieved father.

“I’d promised to replace it if it didn’t survive, but I honestly didn’t expect this outcome. It’s a Christmas miracle – or maybe just incredible engineering!”

The story of the ‘frozen phone’ was documented in a clip that has since been seen over 10 million times on TikTok, with the story picked up by other social media platforms and national news media.

“This just adds another layer to the memories made at Willen On Ice this season,” said Rob Cook, Director at Ice Leisure.

“We’ve seen laughter, celebrations, and now an ice-entombed phone make a full comeback. We’re thrilled for the family – and perhaps a little surprised ourselves!”

Willen On Ice closed its rink on Sunday 5 January, with the organisers confirming the popular regional destination will return for the festive season this year – with workers being more vigilant when setting the ice.