Luton Town FC
V
Accrington Stanley
2016/17 Prediction League; Game 16 v Luton Town (away)
Luton Town FC – aka “The Hatters” – is owned by the Luton Town Football Club 2020 Ltd, which was formed by a group of people who had outstanding vision …………. Starter(s) for 10 this week; 1. Name me the Club’s current Manager? 2. And his Assistant Manager? 3. And how long have Luton been playing at Kenilworth Road?
The Club was formed on 11 April 1885, the product of a merger of the two leading local teams, Luton Town Wanderers and Excelsior. Initially based at Excelsior's ground, they began making payments to certain individual players in 1890, becoming the first fully professional club in southern England the following year. Luton Excelsior Wanderers (as I shall now always think of them) was a founder member of the Southern Football League in 1894, leaving to help form the United League before joining the Football League (then based mostly in northern and central England) for the 1897–98 season. However, poor attendances, high wages and the high travel and accommodation costs that resulted from Luton's distance from the northern heartlands of the FL crippled the club financially, so they returned to the Southern League for the 1900–01 season, eventually rejoining the Football League in 1920/21.
They remained in the Third Division South until 1936/37, when they finished top and were promoted to the Second Division, which at that time was the second tier of English football, unlike now, when League Two is really Division 4 (they can’t fool me!) During that promotion season, striker Joe Payne scored 55 goals in 39 games; during the previous season he’d scored 10 in one match against Bristol Rovers, which still remains a Football League record; he only ever played for England once – against Finland – and scored then, too ...........twice. They reached the top flight for the first time in 1955–56, and lost the FA Cup Final to Notts Forest in 1958–59 (2-1); however the club was relegated the following season and, by 1964–65, was playing in Division Four (now League Two). Subsequent teams including the likes of Bruce Rioch and Malcolm Macdonald, plus the interest of Eric Morecambe, saw them rise again, and they were back in the top division in 1973/74, going straight back down but coming back up; the 1982/83 season (the one which saw David Pleat’s “Dance of the Dying Duck”) saw them beat Man City on the last day to relegate City and save themselves)
Most recently, they were relegated to the Conference (after hefty points deductions for “financial irregularities”) in 2008/09; they contested the Play Off Final three times in the next four years, and finally won the Conference in 2013/14, managed then by John Still, rejoining the League for the 2014/15 season, finishing 8th that year (68 points and a +10 GD), and 11th last season (with 66 points from 46 games and a +2 GD). Last season we drew 1-1 at home and won 2-0 away (goals by Scott Brown and El Tel); in the previous year we drew 2-2 at home and lost 2-0 away; in 2008/09 – their relegation season – we drew 0-0 at home and won 2-1 at theirs .....................
Out went 12, initially, mostly to non-League (four of them went to the Daggers, including striker Paul Benson (now 37, and a veteran of Swindon, Charlton and Dagenham between 2005 and 2010), GK Elliott Justham, MF Matt Robinson (22) and FB Curtley Williams (Jerez, Chelmsford and Lowestoft); Welsh MF Alex Lawless (Forest Green, Torquay and York) moved to Yeovil; subsequently they also released def Magnus Okuonghae (ex Colchester, Crawley and Dagenham) and sold Cameron McJannett to Stoke) ........ in, in their place, came striker Danny Hylton (Aldershot and Rotherham) and CB Johnny Mullins (Mansfield, Stockport and Rotherham), both from Oxford, RofI u21 international Glen Rea from Brighton, def Alan Sheehan (30) – Leicester, Leeds, Notts County, Swindon – appeared from Bratfud, striker Jordan Cook arrived from Walsall, Cornish-born Isaac Cleveland Vassell (not a Russian spy, I can confirm) trudged from Truro, and Huddersfield’s Jack Senior was bought for £undisclosed.
They lie fourth at this moment; P15 W6 D6 L3 GF24 GA15 Pts24; their losses came at Stevenage (1-2), Crawley 0-2, and at home to Grimsby (1-2); their home record is W3 D3 L1; their leading goal scorers are Danny “One of the best in the League” Hylton, with 10 goals from 16 games, plus 8 yellow cards and one red, and Cameron McGeehan with 8 from 18; next best is striker Jack Marriott, with 3 ............ they’ve also converted six penalties (three each to Hylton and McG), and they’ve scored three times in the 96th minute of games, happily all of which were in August; three blanks, and three clean sheets ....... they beat Exeter 3-1 (away) in round One of the FA Cup last Saturday and now play Yeovil or Solihull Moors (there are no moors in Solihull, how many times ......!), made the knockout stages of the EFLTroffy despite losing 3-1 to Millwall in game 3, and dumped Villa out of the EFLCup 3-1 at home, before succumbing by the odd goal in one to Leeds ...........
Famous ex players include England defender Syd Owen, Bruce Rioch (the first English-born captain of Scotland, apparently), NI’s Billy Bingham, Malcolm “I got five against Cyprus” McDonald, John Aston (yes, that John Aston), The Futchers (aka Paul and Ron), Brian Stein, Raddy Antic and Danny Wilson (Chesterfield Manager); famous managers must include the very same Syd Owen, Sam Bartram, Alec Stock, Terry Mancini, Joe Kinnear and John Still ..............their record win in the League is the 12-0 thrashing of BrizzleRov in April 36 (where Jack – sorry, Joe – Payne got his ten goal haul (why is it always a “haul”?)) – in the cup it’s 15-0 against Great Yarmouth Town ...........their most expensive signing was Lars Elstrup (£850k from Odenske Boldklub, not to be confused with Odenske Timidklub) ...........oh, and their manager is Nathan Jones, his assistant is Paul Hart, and the Club moved to play at Kenilworth Road in 1905
Tell you what - I do wish we’d give over losing to the bottom team in League Two (Exeter and Newport to name but two); and Luton aren’t racing up the table either – their last six have comprised one win (Orient away) and five draws, four of them by 1-1 and one by goalless ......... so that, and our record at their place, means that this isn’t beyond us ................ unless they play as well as Wolves u21s, in which case they’ll murder us!
Good luck to everyone! .......... Keep the Faith! ...........And thanks for playing!
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