Luton Town V Liverpool,
EPL, Sunday Nov 5th, 4.30pm, Kenilworth Rd
Nice process boys ...
Referee: Andy
Madley.
Assistants: Harry Lennard, Nick Hopton.
Fourth official: Anthony
Taylor.
VAR: Craig
Pawson.
Assistant VAR: Simon Long.
Luton Town FC, cool kit, shoe string budget, smart manager, good plan, great heart, on the up (for now).
The Past:
Including the 4-1 loss to Luton in the league in 1986 Liverpool have met Luton 18 times in all competitions since. We’ve won 7, ( twice at their place), drawn 7 and lost 4. My memories of playing away at Kenilworth Road are pure Groundhog Day. 4 plastic pitch drubbings in '86, '87, '88 and '92. Tiny Nets, tiny pitch, tiny stadium, bouncing ball and big bloody centre forwards. Mike Newell, Ian Dowie (Natasha Dowie’s Dad ?), Mick Harford. We never managed to win there. It was always mid winter too.
Over those years they specialised in breaking our balls frankly.
Of the more recent games the standout was FA Cup third round, January 2006, a 5-3 win there, on grass. Stevie G with a belter only to be bettered by Xavi Alonso who got one from so far inside our half that the ball is still rolling into the net. At one stage we were 3-1 down, having missed a penalty, to the then struggling, lower league, Luton side.
To some Luton Town FC are a bit of a novelty, a joke even. Premier League virgins with their small, weirdly shaped stadium, jammed up against rows of houses, backyard’s, chimneys. A complete hotch-potch of make do and mend stands and terraces. For decades they have been a long, long way from our kind of limelight. UEFA’s anthem isn’t often heard down Luton way on a midweek night. But that’s not the whole story. They are an integral part of the web that used to beguile. They’ve been up, they’ve been down and basically they’ve been all around. Mostly in the background but a club with a heck of a story and many meaningful moments. Part of the fabric of football.
Way back when (late’60’s) I was just starting out on a curiosity affair with English leagues, Luton Town were a yo-yo club, up and down the 4 divisions. (They still are actually). Some of the football men (and men) associated with the club in those (my) early days were Bruce Rioch, Malcolm Macdonald, Mick Harford, David Pleat and comedian, Eric Morecambe, (a director).
Pleat was a ground breaking manager. In the ’80’s his Luton team was notable at the time for the number of black players it included. In an era when many English squads were almost entirely white, Luton often fielded a mostly black team. I remember talented players such as Ricky Hill and Brian Stein to this day.
On the last day of the 1982–83 season, the club's first back in the top tier, they narrowly escaped relegation: playing Manchester City at Maine Road, Luton needed to win to stay up, while City could escape with a draw. A late winner by Yugoslavian substitute Raddy Antić saved the team and prompted Pleat to dance across the pitch performing a "jig of joy”. Classic football moment. Authentic City too, blowing it like only they could do.
Luton achieved their highest ever league position, seventh, under John Moore in 1986–87, and, managed by Ray Harford, won the Football League Cup a year later with a 3–2 win over Arsenal. They managed to get to the final again the following season but lost.
Luton then nose-dived down to the 4th rung of the EFL, bouncing around, even going into administration a couple of times. Indeed the club had a total of 30 points docked from its 2008–09 record by the Football Association and the Football League for financial irregularities dating back several years. Interesting. (I’d “shout Hooray” if that happened again, to you know who.)
They finally bowed out of EFL in 2010 and went into the Conference Premier. After failing 3 times in the play-offs they managed to get out in 2014 and over the next 9 seasons slowly and steadily clawed their way back up the leagues. Promoted once again last season Luton won their first ever Premier League game on 30 September 2023, beating Everton 2–1 away at Goodison Park. Bless ‘em.
The Present:
Ryan Giles. 5.85 M is their record signing, I never heard of him. Don’t think he’s played yet for them. Other big moves this summer, in a record transfer outlay for Luton, include:
Tahith Chong 4.7 M
Mads Anderson 3.5 M
Jacob Brown 2.9 M
Marvelous Nakemba 2.9 M
Thomas Kaminski 2.9 M
Ross Barkley Free
Chiedozie Ogbene Free
Plus loans and other free transfers (see Andros Townsend below) ….
So there you go…. A grand total of 23 Million or so, or one and a half Endo’s.
They have actually accumulated 5 points already, 60% thanks to Everton. They started the season alternating between a 5-3-2 and a 3-4-3 formation. Of late it’s 4-4-2. They are a huge team. Of the 14 players who have participated in most their games so far, 3 are over 190cm, and only 3 are below 180cm.
They pass long, from back to front, with midfielders and wing-backs supporting and competing for second balls (good old Jack Charlton, put them under pressure). The direct speed of their attacks was the fastest in the Championship last season. They are aggressive, strong in the air, and hardworking. Dead balls, long passes or crosses, they throw everything into the box. Think Wimbledon, Stoke or old school Burnley on speed.
They have 9 goals scored (with 20 conceded) although there is only ever a goal in it apart from the first 2 (and last) League games. Nearly all their games have been tight affairs. It is something to be aware of. They score from dead ball situations (5) and crosses (3) with a brilliant Villa own goal last weekend.
I watched the highlights of that Villa game (3-1). It was a combination of attacking space, quickness of movement and thought which brought Villa their first couple of goals. Playing in the spaces between the left centre back and the wing/full back repeatedly brought joy to Villa and skewered Luton. Another observation was that Villa would have been probably the best team (taking out a 10-man Spurs) they have faced until now and Luton looked well outclassed, only scoring from a comical own goal. Going on those highlights they didn’t have much of a threat bar the inevitable dead ball / free kick situation. Maybe Ogbene looked good going forward, big, fast and direct. Ex-Palace and blue Andros Townsend was playing for them which was news to me.
I am sure that Jurgan and the backroom staff will have various plans for these. However going on the Villa game surely Trent, Szobo, Mo & Co will be rubbing their hands at the thought of exploiting their left side.
The Game:
Well the aerial bombardment of last night will be good practise for what's likely to come on Sunday (If we allow it). It could be a dogfight and particularly so if we do our (early) season defining “let’s give the opposition a goal start” trick again. This is really the biggest game of the season for Luton, nothing is expected from them, nothing to lose and they will be well rested and ready for this. Some big team may well come a cropper at Kenilworth Road this season. However, If we show up, work hard, keep the tempo up, be clinical, then we should win comfortably, (like murder them).
As ever 3 points are what matters to us so I’m happy with a 1-0, but, I think if we get a couple in front it could one of those evenings. As long as we score first. And damn that plastic pitch. We still owe them.
