AFC Wimbledon might have Ronan Curtis 2.0 on their hands - hopefully his path doesn’t lead to Port Vale | OneFootball

The Dons seem to have finally got a like-for-like replacement for Ronan Curtis, they just have to hope it does not end the same way

Despite departing for Port Vale last summer, Ronan Curtis, in his short time at AFC Wimbledon, became a cult hero.

He scored some memorable and important goals as the Dons valiantly tried to keep in touch with the play-offs in 2023/24. However, that was to no avail.

Now, though, it seems the club have finally replaced the X-factor they have been missing since Curtis' move to Port Vale last summer, with Marcus Browne arriving in January, and there are now hopes that not only can he go one better than Curtis and get the Dons promoted, but also move on to bigger and better things, and not leave the club with a sideways move to another divisional rival.

Ronan Curtis' memorable Wimbledon spell

The Irishman's move to South West London came about after the club offered him the opportunity to find fitness while on his comeback from a nasty ACL injury that had kept him out for almost an entire year.

The Dons already had his former Portsmouth teammate, and good friend, Lee Brown in the squad, so while Craig Cope and the rest of Wimbledon's transfer team likely negotiated the intricacies of making a promising deal for the player, Curtis was probably more than tempted to link up with a player who he had partnered with for a few seasons on the South Coast and had a very successful time with.

He was signed before Ali Al-Hamadi had jumped at the opportunity to play for Ipswich Town in the Championship, but given how stellar the Iraqi international had been up until that point, many Dons fans felt that the skill and quality of Curtis was likely brought to the club to help patch the big hole that the eventually-departed Al-Hamadi would leave.

And in that respect, fans were not wrong, as Curtis certainly did bring the silky skill that had made him a feared man at Portsmouth, to Plough Lane right from the get-go.

Barely eight days after signing, he would net a dramatic winner against promotion-chasing Mansfield Town, sparking wild scenes in the stands and showing the EFL that he was still the same old player that had terrorised defences for years gone by.

Soon after that, he was awarded a start against another promotion chaser, this time in the form of Barrow, and once again showed that he was leagues above the level he was playing at. Known for their staunch defensive abilities during the 23/24 season, Barrow were practically embarrassed by Curtis as he ran rings around the backline, even sparking them into a mistake that saw the Croydon-born attacking midfielder net an audacious, but calculated lob over their despairing goalkeeper.

However, his crowning moment would come in a match that will likely live on in the memories of Wimbledon fans for years to come.

With Wimbledon locked in a goalless tie with bitter rivals MK Dons, Curtis would be introduced 10 minutes from full-time, and in the last few seconds of added time, he would be supplied by a cross from none other than Lee Brown, to slot home a calm finish to not only win the game for the boys in yellow and blue, but send Plough Lane into absolute bedlam.

He would finish out the season by adding a couple more goals in what would turn out to be meaningless results, as the Dons huffed and puffed to a 10th-placed finish, five points from the playoffs, but there was no denying that for the first time, in a long time, Wimbledon had made the right choice in the free agent market, and had managed to add that little extra flavour into what could have been a very bland end to the season.

Marcus Browne could become Ronan Curtis 2.0, and then go one step further

There was some worry when Johnnie Jackson and AFC Wimbledon started to trust the free agent market to plug the leak that was constant injury and fitness issues within the squad, as they were perhaps resting too much on the feeling that Curtis' impact could be repeated by others.

However, those concerns were soon put to bed when Marcus Browne was picked up to replace the outgoing Romaine Sawyers, who himself had not exactly grabbed the headlines.

Albeit, there were questions raised about the former West Ham academy graduate's injury history, but these were soon quashed when he was finally unleashed and showed exactly why he was once on the cusp of playing regular Premier League football.

On his home debut, he showed flashes of silky footwork, dogged determination in both attack and defence, and an overall quality that had been missing since Curtis' departure.

And while he is not quite on track to match Curtis' stats from his time at Plough Lane at this point in time, there is no doubting that with his superior quality in League Two, he will certainly match Curtis' impact. However, he could go one step further than the Irishman, and that is by carrying the Dons to promotion from League One.

There is no doubting that Ronan Curtis would have likely done the same in his time at the club, but with the squad this season easily better than that of 23/24, Browne now has the chance to usurp Curtis in hero status, by claiming an end-of-season achievement with Wimbledon, and not just a good league finish.

The only thing that Dons fans perhaps do pray for, besides helping them to promotion in this tough and tight fight to get out of League Two, is that Browne then does not take a similar sideways step and join a divisional rival.

While there were few complaints from many supporters that Curtis had joined a Port Vale side that were clearly paying him more money than Wimbledon could afford, there was the faint feeling that he could have stuck around at a place where he was an adored figure and someone who would have been a spearhead in Jackson's new-look system this season.

Browne could avoid doing that by either moving back on up to a Championship side, where his quality befits, if the Dons get promoted.

Or, if promotion does not happen for the club this season, by joining a top League One side that has the ability to fight at the top end of the table.

Either way, there is still a long way to go in the season for the club, and for Browne, but if history has told Wimbledon fans anything, it's that the best players do come from the most unexpected signings.