+ AND FINALLY: Luton Town Premier League programme

Announced 09:00 Thursday 15 June.  The new season kicks Friday 11 August on Sky TV.  All the matches are subject to change due to TV. The first Luton home game is the weekend 19 August.  The first game is Brighton away. Your editor in  chief will be at sea.   www.premierleague.com

As a Luton Town season ticket holder for over 50 years on 27 May TNU's Editor-in-Chief watched the football club's ascendancy into the Premier League at Wembley. Do read his COMMENT at the end of this review, and add.

Luton was once the home of millinery, but is now more famous for Vauxhall Vans, easyJet, and now its soccer team which next season will play in the most watched football league in the world.

In 1988 Luton beat Arsenal at Wembley with a team put together by David Pleat, then for a year former club Captain John Moore in charge, and managed by the late Ray Harford.  Luton's chance of playing in Europe the next season were thwarted when English clubs were banned following the Heysel Stadium disaster where 39 people lost their lives, the blame put on Liverpool fans. A genial Scotsman John Moore (79) to this day has a lounge named after him at Kenilworth Road, and his fondest wish is to have it moved to the club's yet to be built new stadium, Power Court, by Luton's main line station.

It really was a question of turkeys voting for Christmas when in 1992 Luton were relegated from the old First Division in its final season after ten years and supporting the Premier League concept.  This nearly happened in 1983, saved by the Raddy Antic goal at Manchester City Maine Road, with David Pleat celebrating.

In 2009 Town were relegated to the Conference after a deduction in total of 30 points (20 + 10) for what, by today’s standards, were minor misdemeanours by the previous management. They went down with flying colours winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy with Team Manager Mick Harford (who was to manage the 2019 League One championship winning team also) with 42,000 Luton fans in attendance at Wembley.

In the Conference Luton Town secured a memorable FA Cup away win at Premier League Norwich City 1-0 January 2013 which at the time secured easyJet sponsorship. It has been a long road traipsing to places such as Greys, Gateshead and Histon.  I never made Barrow, but plenty did.

With only a single club guaranteed promotion (a second team advances via a play-off) it took five years to regain Football League status, 2014, under John Still’s management.  Progress has been fast since then, with the only near hiccup, second time around manager Nathan Jones saving the club from Championship relegation on the final day 2020 season.

In October 1972 the fellow sitting next to me suggested I take his sister-in-law on a blind date, he having a spare ticket for a film launch.  The Eric Morecambe Lounge at Kenilworth Road has been booked for a Golden Wedding party next December.  Will it clash with a Premier League match?

As Manager Rob Edwards won the English Football League Two (EFL2) for Forest Green Rovers 2022, and was quickly snapped up by Watford helping to set a world record 19 managers in the last ten years.  Sacked in September 2022, he returned to management in November 2022 with Nathan Jones leaving Luton for supposed Premier League glory.  Edwards follows Neil Warnock who won promotion with Huddersfield in 1995 and Plymouth in 1996, two different clubs, but not to The Premiership.  Hendon-born Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu is expected next season to become the first player from Conference to the Premier League with the same club. As an 18-year-old he started his career with local club Boreham Wood in 2011, then at West Ham, and in 2013 as an initial loan to Luton.

Chief Executive Gary Sweet held a press conference on Tuesday (23 May) where he discussed the future. For the Premier League he did indicate that if the Bobbers Stand were to have extra accommodation it would "add a few hundred" making Bournemouth the smallest ground in the Premier League for next season. If for various reasons clubs have not had their grounds "fit for purpose" at the start of a reason, Coventry for example, the solution is a simple rescheduling of matches.  

With the promotion Luton Airport, which is already the busiest for private jets in the country, will benefit too.  With the new DART link (opened with the assistance of Mick Harford, as tested by King Charles, with TNU in attendance on the Royal ride) and the Busway it is possible to get to Kenilworth Road in 20 minutes from Passport Control, ideal for Newcastle, Scottish and Continental football supporters. The airport is owned by the appropriately named "Luton Rising", part of Luton Borough Council.

Power Court and the future is another story but before closing I must mention Mike Watson-Challis (and wife Sheila), a true fan and Chairman of the club 2000-2003, who sold the M1/J10 site to the club, paving the way for the new stadium.  Gary Sweet at the press conference was very positive regarding the 23,000 capacity ground.  The 25/26 season seems plausible.

On Bank Holiday Monday 29 May the BBC News global network covered Luton celebrations in St George Square in the centre of the town live for several hours. In a speech in front of a huge crowd Mr Sweet summed up the Saturday win.  "It was not just a victory for the football club, but the whole diverse town."

Malcolm Ginsberg
Editor-in-Chief Travel News Update
www.ginsberg.co.uk  
malcolm@ginsberg.co.uk  
07973 210631

Of all the many, many tributes to the team and club this is a very neat summary

"BBC - Have I got news for you".  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDbb1yz7GUo

Updated AM 3 June 2023

Luton are a mid table team (as of 27 May 2023)

Daughter Jackie Kramer notes having supported Luton since the 80s: "I took my son, Alex, to his first Luton game aged four days old v Brentford on 30 April 2005, Luton winning the game 4-2 and being presented with the League One trophy.  With my dad, Malcolm, we have seen the highs and lows with my late grandfather, uncles and cousins and now have an extended Luton family, through meeting wonderful people who sit around us. Our group of 21 enjoyed the game yesterday and we look forward to trips to the greats of Manchester City and Spurs, having visited Histon, Gateshead and Tamworth over the years!

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READERS' COMMENT

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 200 words maximum

Les Miller, United Kingdom

@ Simon Grigor - I assume from your comment that you are a Harrow Borough fan. There are a few links between the clubs over the years in addition to James Shea with Rocky Baptiste, Daryl Murphy and Steve Claridge having played for both. Also, Hakan Hayrettin played for Harrow and was first team coach at Luton under John Still when we eventually escaped from the Conference. Harrow Borough is one of the 252 (a number that I hope to add to this season) grounds on which I have seen Luton play having been there many years ago for a pre-season friendly

Simon Grigor, United Kingdom

I scrolled down today's TNU in the near-certainty that you wouldn't have been able to resist a Luton Town mention! But you've really done them proud with this article! Well done. And there'll be two former Harrow Borough goalkeepers in the Premier League next season - Nick Pope at Newcastle and James Shea (i know he's second-choice right now) at Luton, and I'm very proud of that.

Malcolm Ginsberg, Edgware

Les makes a good point about the play offs, but you might as well spin a coin. And the ticket office problems can be resolved with all registered fans using their status, club code, and then automatically on a first come booking basis, noting the seat grade required. It’s all hands free. Replays are much fairer, and Wembley can handle games on consecutive days. As noted it was done in the past. Fankaty Dabo will never live down his £170m mistake. We all feel sorry for him (but will not cry).

Les Miller, United Kingdom

As the person who arranged coach travel to the game for 792 Luton fans, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to go through all of that work again for a replay. The logistics of selling match and travel tickets would be a nightmare. The club's fantastic ticket office staff were working up to twenty hours a day dealing with the first match. There would also be the problem of finding a suitable date for the replay. This year, three of the four play-offs went to penalties and the fourth was only seconds away when the winner was scored. It would be impossible to fit them all in again within a realistic timescale. The play-off teams already finish three weeks after the other teams in the EFL so adding a further week or more to their season would create even more problems putting the losers at a massive disadvantage for the following season as they can't start signing players until they know which division they will be in. More to the point, penalties are great entertainment for neutrals so the TV companies who rule the game are not going to agree to a change and miss out on the drama. Anyway, we won so, on this occasion, they were great. COYH !

Malcolm Ginsberg, United Kingdom

I am not a fan of penalty shoot outs in big matches. It’s unfair. It would not be difficult for Wembley to organise another (lucrative) date. Having not been able to get tickets for the first match my father, brother and I (all supporting Spurs in those days) were all spectators to witness Ricky Villa’s wonderful ‘Goal of the Century’ at the 100th Cup Final Thursday 14 May 1981. Far, far better, and a fair result.