Crazy Gang (football)

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The Crazy Gang is a nickname coined by the English media in reference to the Wimbledon F.C. teams of the 1980s and '90s. The name, originally that of a well known group of British comedy entertainers popular in the late 1930s, became commonly associated with Wimbledon as a result of the often cheeky and boisterously macho behaviour of their players, who were in the habit of playing frequent and outrageous practical jokes on each other and on the club's managers Dave Bassett, Bobby Gould and Joe Kinnear, as well as many of their players' highly aggressive, physical style of play and reputation for a lack of discipline on the pitch.^[1]

Despite enjoying decent success as a fixture in the First Division and later Premier League at the time, their general approach to the game was often derided by others in the sport as unprofessional and simplistic in comparison to the style of football played by most of their top-flight contemporaries at the time; then England striker Gary Lineker once commented dismissively, "the best way to watch Wimbledon is on Ceefax", criticising the team's supposedly unsophisticated approach to football.^[2][1] Their physical style and aggressive reputation on the field often intimidated their supposedly more skilled opponents and helped the club to the most successful period in its history, as they won the 1988 FA Cup and also achieved regular finishes in the top half of the league.

The name originated in the immediate aftermath of Wimbledon's 1988 FA Cup final victory over Liverpool, when BBC commentator John Motson declared that "the crazy gang has beaten the culture club". Most closely associated with the team of that period, notable members included Vinnie Jones, Dennis Wise, Dave Beasant, John Fashanu and Lawrie Sanchez. Under the management of Dave Bassett, they climbed from the Fourth Division to the First Division in four seasons leading up to 1986 without ever changing their straightforward playing style.