Luton Town Football Club
As I'm currently attempting to do the 92 (currently on 82), I'm finding myself attending football grounds and watching football teams that I don't usually tend to give second thoughts about. On my travels I've been meaning to do the odd blog about which grounds I've been to, what I've made of the grounds and the games I've watched. I haven't got around to it until today, and I've found, surprisingly, my team of interest is actually a team I first visited nearly 8 years ago in 2007 when they beat my own team 1-0 in the FA Cup second round.
There is of course a slight history between Forest and Luton, however this history goes back way before I was born. I was unfortunately born into an era of Gary Megson, Junior Agogo and losing to Accrington Stanley on a Tuesday evening, not the glory days of beating Luton in cup finals at Wembley or indeed winning two European Cups. Despite this, coming from the family that I have, I was well informed as a child about our history and I now proud myself on a bank of knowledge which will get me nowhere in life, but may help me in a pub quiz sports round [thanks Dad].
(Admittedly me complaining about the above circumstances that Forest have found themselves in over the past decade are probably laughable to your average Luton fan).
The background info:
Luton Town dipped up and down the leagues throughout their history, but more recently have found themselves with more problems than in previous time. Relegation from the second tier of English football during the 2006-2007 season was met with a string of financial trouble from which the club have struggled to recover from. The first season in League One saw them hit with a 10 point deduction in November from the football league. The money trouble forced them to sell players which had only been bought in the previous summer and what originally began as a challenging season turned into a disaster for the Hatters. They were hit with a saving grace after beating Nottingham Forest (no comment) in the FA cup which resulted in a tie at home to Liverpool; this providing them with a much needed income. A well-fought tie at home won them a replay at Anfield, but this was the highlight of the season, as in April 2008 relegation to the bottom tier of the Football league was confirmed.
The background info:
Luton Town dipped up and down the leagues throughout their history, but more recently have found themselves with more problems than in previous time. Relegation from the second tier of English football during the 2006-2007 season was met with a string of financial trouble from which the club have struggled to recover from. The first season in League One saw them hit with a 10 point deduction in November from the football league. The money trouble forced them to sell players which had only been bought in the previous summer and what originally began as a challenging season turned into a disaster for the Hatters. They were hit with a saving grace after beating Nottingham Forest (no comment) in the FA cup which resulted in a tie at home to Liverpool; this providing them with a much needed income. A well-fought tie at home won them a replay at Anfield, but this was the highlight of the season, as in April 2008 relegation to the bottom tier of the Football league was confirmed.
A 15 point deduction for disagreement over a CVA, 10 point deduction for financial irregularities and a further 5 point deduction due to Luton entering administration for the 3rd time in a decade (because 25 deducted points wasn't enough) ensured Luton were set to wallow at the bottom of League 2. Despite winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley they were eventually relegated to non-league football at the end end of the 08-09 season on Easter weekend.
Beginning with the 2009-2010 season, Luton were destined to spend 5 years in the conference premier challenging to find their place back in the football league once again. The first season saw them finish second, but lose to York in the play off semi-finals. The following season AFC Wimbledon beat them on penalties at the City of Manchester Stadium in the play off Final; and the following year's play off final saw them lose once again to York, this time at Wembley Stadium. The 2012-2013 season was the worst season for Luton Town who finished in 7th place, but the following year they managed to finish top of the table and finally on the fifth time of asking won promotion back to the football league.
And now:
After an 8th place finish last season for the Hatters, I'm pretty sure their fans are expecting a challenge for the play offs once again this season.
My first Luton game this season was against Cambridge, visiting due to it being a new ground for me. I was sat in the Luton end (I attended with a Luton fan) and as the game progressed my impressions changed. My overall thoughts were that Luton played very well, despite some defensive errors and some silly balls being given away. The first goal was brilliant. The first half was undesirable and a typical league 2 "kick the crap out of each other" game, made more so with the fact that Luton and Cambridge don't particularly appreciate each other. The officiating was horrendous (as a Forest fan, I am used to bad refereeing, but oh my good god- I've never seen anything quite like it). There was no consistency. Bad tackles were waved on, stone wall red cards were given as a yellow and the actual sending off for Cambridge was ridiculous in comparison to what had been happening on the pitch the whole game. The Cambridge players were slyly kicking the ball away and there were frustrated actions in retaliation from the Luton players, all which could've been avoided if the referee had controlled the game from the off. He didn't- but any football fan reading this can relate to shit officiating.
The second half started slowly, but as Cambridge went down to 10 men, there was only ever going to be one winner. Luton scored straight from the sending off and they played some beautiful passing football. The game finished 3-1 to Luton, earning them the first win of the campaign. Sat in the stand as a neutral supporter I can honestly say I was impressed with the standard for a League 2 team and I could see where the Luton fans were coming from regarding a possible play off challenge this season.
Then I ruined this impression by attending the Notts County game.
I have been to Meadow Lane with Forest in pre-season friendlies and earlier this season attended Notts vs Mansfield. This game was purely because I lacked company to attend QPR with Forest. Again, I sat in the Luton end with a friend and the first half started just as Luton had finished off at Cambridge, quick pin point passing, battling for challenges- quite simply, Notts couldn't get the ball.
But when they did get the ball, they made Luton pay for terrible defending. Until that point Luton had dominated but momentary lapses of concentration again and again saw Notts County take the lead on the half hour mark. It was all downhill from there. Luton were chasing shadows and from dominating most of the first half an hour, the Hatters went into the changing room at half time 1-0 down.
In the second half, Notts immediately came out and doubled their lead; Luton not picking up form again until around the 65th minute, eventually beginning their come back on the 71st minute. The come back continued 5 minuted later when Luton equalised after some brilliant passing to bring the score to 2-2. Around the 85th minute after an onslaught of attack towards the opposition, Luton once again found themselves on the back foot and on the 90th minute had Cuthbert sent off for a professional foul. I turned to my friend at this point and stated the famous last words "Notts are quite good at taking free-kicks you know".
I am now blamed for the winning goal, but in truth there was no stopping Nobles rocket into the top right hand corner of the net.
The game finished 3-2, Notts County the worthy winners on this occasion. I left Meadow Lane that day wondering where the team I saw against Cambridge had gone, because apart from two 10-15 minute spells, Luton looked lost.
So, from a Forest fan:
Honestly, I am confused as to what I think based on the two games I've seen. It is clear from an outsiders perspective that Luton have some serious talent and if that talent was tapped in to they could be an unstoppable force in League Two. However, I don't know if the talent is being used to its best ability, and certainly during the Notts game where despite dominating, poor defending started a downward spiral. I praise the resilience of the players to bring it back to 2-2, but far too many times did the Notts players run circles around the midfield and the defenders. But, again, in the Cambridge game, Luton looked outstanding. It's a hard one to judge from only seeing two games, but the signing of Mackail-Smith is a huge statement for a league two club to make and it shows the intent of the club. He certainly showed how valuable he is going to be to Luton in the two games I've watched him play.
Luton Town are the/one of the biggest clubs in league two based on history and the size of the fan base. I've been in two Luton away ends which have had over 1300 fans in, impressive for where the club are. In fact it's impressive in comparison to some away teams that have visited the City Ground in recent years and those teams are in the Championship. Far too many teams are being hit with financial troubles at the moment, including Luton's fellow League 2 team Portsmouth.
I feel for the fans of the clubs that have experienced such troubles and I personally hope that the likes of Luton and Portsmouth eventually return to where they come from and begin to challenge again. I've never been Luton's biggest fan but from where I've stood, I'm impressed with what I've seen.
All the best this season hatters fans.
Beginning with the 2009-2010 season, Luton were destined to spend 5 years in the conference premier challenging to find their place back in the football league once again. The first season saw them finish second, but lose to York in the play off semi-finals. The following season AFC Wimbledon beat them on penalties at the City of Manchester Stadium in the play off Final; and the following year's play off final saw them lose once again to York, this time at Wembley Stadium. The 2012-2013 season was the worst season for Luton Town who finished in 7th place, but the following year they managed to finish top of the table and finally on the fifth time of asking won promotion back to the football league.
And now:
After an 8th place finish last season for the Hatters, I'm pretty sure their fans are expecting a challenge for the play offs once again this season.
My first Luton game this season was against Cambridge, visiting due to it being a new ground for me. I was sat in the Luton end (I attended with a Luton fan) and as the game progressed my impressions changed. My overall thoughts were that Luton played very well, despite some defensive errors and some silly balls being given away. The first goal was brilliant. The first half was undesirable and a typical league 2 "kick the crap out of each other" game, made more so with the fact that Luton and Cambridge don't particularly appreciate each other. The officiating was horrendous (as a Forest fan, I am used to bad refereeing, but oh my good god- I've never seen anything quite like it). There was no consistency. Bad tackles were waved on, stone wall red cards were given as a yellow and the actual sending off for Cambridge was ridiculous in comparison to what had been happening on the pitch the whole game. The Cambridge players were slyly kicking the ball away and there were frustrated actions in retaliation from the Luton players, all which could've been avoided if the referee had controlled the game from the off. He didn't- but any football fan reading this can relate to shit officiating.
The second half started slowly, but as Cambridge went down to 10 men, there was only ever going to be one winner. Luton scored straight from the sending off and they played some beautiful passing football. The game finished 3-1 to Luton, earning them the first win of the campaign. Sat in the stand as a neutral supporter I can honestly say I was impressed with the standard for a League 2 team and I could see where the Luton fans were coming from regarding a possible play off challenge this season.
Then I ruined this impression by attending the Notts County game.
I have been to Meadow Lane with Forest in pre-season friendlies and earlier this season attended Notts vs Mansfield. This game was purely because I lacked company to attend QPR with Forest. Again, I sat in the Luton end with a friend and the first half started just as Luton had finished off at Cambridge, quick pin point passing, battling for challenges- quite simply, Notts couldn't get the ball.
But when they did get the ball, they made Luton pay for terrible defending. Until that point Luton had dominated but momentary lapses of concentration again and again saw Notts County take the lead on the half hour mark. It was all downhill from there. Luton were chasing shadows and from dominating most of the first half an hour, the Hatters went into the changing room at half time 1-0 down.
In the second half, Notts immediately came out and doubled their lead; Luton not picking up form again until around the 65th minute, eventually beginning their come back on the 71st minute. The come back continued 5 minuted later when Luton equalised after some brilliant passing to bring the score to 2-2. Around the 85th minute after an onslaught of attack towards the opposition, Luton once again found themselves on the back foot and on the 90th minute had Cuthbert sent off for a professional foul. I turned to my friend at this point and stated the famous last words "Notts are quite good at taking free-kicks you know".
I am now blamed for the winning goal, but in truth there was no stopping Nobles rocket into the top right hand corner of the net.
The game finished 3-2, Notts County the worthy winners on this occasion. I left Meadow Lane that day wondering where the team I saw against Cambridge had gone, because apart from two 10-15 minute spells, Luton looked lost.
So, from a Forest fan:
Honestly, I am confused as to what I think based on the two games I've seen. It is clear from an outsiders perspective that Luton have some serious talent and if that talent was tapped in to they could be an unstoppable force in League Two. However, I don't know if the talent is being used to its best ability, and certainly during the Notts game where despite dominating, poor defending started a downward spiral. I praise the resilience of the players to bring it back to 2-2, but far too many times did the Notts players run circles around the midfield and the defenders. But, again, in the Cambridge game, Luton looked outstanding. It's a hard one to judge from only seeing two games, but the signing of Mackail-Smith is a huge statement for a league two club to make and it shows the intent of the club. He certainly showed how valuable he is going to be to Luton in the two games I've watched him play.
Luton Town are the/one of the biggest clubs in league two based on history and the size of the fan base. I've been in two Luton away ends which have had over 1300 fans in, impressive for where the club are. In fact it's impressive in comparison to some away teams that have visited the City Ground in recent years and those teams are in the Championship. Far too many teams are being hit with financial troubles at the moment, including Luton's fellow League 2 team Portsmouth.
I feel for the fans of the clubs that have experienced such troubles and I personally hope that the likes of Luton and Portsmouth eventually return to where they come from and begin to challenge again. I've never been Luton's biggest fan but from where I've stood, I'm impressed with what I've seen.
All the best this season hatters fans.
Comments
Post a Comment