Sluggish start for Hatters on Championship return - Oppo profile Monday, 26th Aug 2024 10:16 by Clive Whittingham It's been a strangely sluggish August, both on the pitch and in the transfer market, for Luton on their return to the Championship - we spoke to @LutonTownExile about how it's all going. How was last season? Would have been interested to see how you got on without all those injuries… Last season (our first in the Premier League) was an incredible rollercoaster, almost a microcosm of the ride that being a Town fan has been for the last 60 years, certainly the last 15. What people have to understand is that we went into that PL season having spent £25m and with a bottom third Championship budget. Ok, we lost our first five games but we adjusted quickly and actually completely changed our system and the way we played as the season was happening. We actually played really well for a long time and genuinely competed in most games. We controlled a lot of games and should have got about a dozen more points but didn’t due to a combination of some bad luck, errors, and, it has to be said, a gulf in quality at times. Ross Barkley was sensational for us. The extent of injuries we experienced really killed us though and if it hadn’t been for that I genuinely think we’d have survived even without Everton & Forest’s deductions. A fit Adebayo in the form he was in would have got 20 PL goals which is phenomenal. All in all we made a really good fist of it, made a lot of friends, impressed a lot of people, and really set down a springboard to get back and survive at that level. To go through what happened to Tom Lockyer at Bournemouth, to rally, reset, and come out fighting playing competitive football at the highest level in the world was genuinely staggering. People don’t realise what a massive hump that was to deal with and recover from. It made what we achieved last year all the more impressive. Luton so far… Thoughts on Rob Edwards? As a human being the bloke is very, very impressive. Positive, courteous, invested, ambitious, talented, intelligent, and emotionally connected. Had a lot to deal with last year and dealt with it very well. Positive and front footed as a coach. Brave. Changed everything up after half a dozen games last year. Very good eye for a player. Clearly has massive potential. Likes to play a possession based pressing game and is prepared (I think) to win games 5-3. I think we’ll see that this year. Attacking football where we try to score more than you. On the flip side, I don’t think he’s had a bad patch yet (ridiculous thing to say when we lost 24 of 38 PL games last year) but in some ways last year was a free hit. This is the big year and we’ll see how he deals with adversity if we go through some. I personally think he’ll get to the top of the coaching ladder in the next few years. The next couple of years are key to that though. I’d give him a 9 out of 10 for what he’s done in his 20 months with us so far, particularly in light of the budgetary restrictions he has to work under.
Transfer business done so far? Business done so far has been really limited. Ross Barkley, Sambi Lokonga, Gabe Osho, and Kabore have all gone together with three or four squad stalwarts. Tom Lockyer is unlikely to return. Those are big losses. We’ve taken Shandon Baptiste from Brentford and he looks to be a very decent player. We’ve also taken a young CB/WB from Arsenal. Great pedigree but no record of appearances at the level so a risk in that sense. Same applies to a centre half we’ve brought in from Reading. Potential but not proven. What’s still needed? That massively depends on who we lose between now and the end of the window. I think we could lose another 5 (looking glass half empty). If that happens we’ll need to replace them all plus we need at least one centre half, one CDM some more invention in midfield on top of that. We’ll need quality in to get back up. I’m hoping that Edwards has been given assurances by the club and the players likely to be sought that most will stay as part of the discussions which led to his new 4 year deal. If most do stay we can certainly get back up. McGuinness is a big money buy. Up until last Monday a lot of our fanbase have been in almost total meltdown about our lack of activity in the market. What a lot haven’t appreciated is that, Barkley, Osho and the PL loans apart, we’ve managed to hang on to our other five key players (which for me is massive). That could still change though (I think Doughty will definitely leave and possibly Mengi). If either or anyone else leaves we’ll need to replace them. If they stay, I think we need one more in. Either a creative midfielder or another attacking midfielder option. Townsend looks likely to leave and he’d probably need replacing. All a bit late in the day, so who knows? McGuinness looks like a very good addition and he fits our recruitment mould. Also brings some in pitch leadership which we probably lack. Baptiste is a good addition. Reuell Walters has been very impressive and has a massive future. Liam Walsh coming in is, again, typical Luton. I think he could be a really important player for us if he can stay fit. Ins >>> Mark McGuinness, 23, CB, Cardiff, £10m >>> Reuell Walters, 19, RB, Arsenal, Loan >>> Shandon Baptiste, 26, CM, Brentford, Free >>> Liam Walsh, 26, CM, Swansea, Free >>> Tom Kraub, 23, CM, Mainz, Loan Outs >>> Ross Barkley, 30, CM, Villa, £5m >>> Ryan Giles, 24, LB, Hull, £5m >>> John McAtee, 25, ST, Bolton, Undisclosed >>> Gabriel Osho, 25, CB, Auxerre, Free >>> Luke Berry, 31, CM, Charlton, Free >>> Jack Walton, 26, GK, Dundee Utd, Loan >>> Dion Pereira, 25, LW, Dagenham, Loan >>> Dan Potts, 30, CB, Released >>> Fred Onyedinma, 27, AM, Released >>> Admiral Muskwe, 25, CF, Permanent Shore Leave >>> Elliott Thorpe, 23, CM, Released One point from two games, probably not the start Luton were hoping for/expected - how's it gone so far? Bit of a strange start really. After having a flat pre-season in terms of a lack of wins, we were well beaten by Burnley. No excuses but we didn’t perform on the night. They’re a very good side particularly defensively and we couldn’t really trouble them. We were also short of numbers and had three teenagers making their full debuts. We didn’t perform though. End of. Second game away at Portsmouth was a little bit of a farce due to our keeper being sent off after half an hour. We should have been two up by then to be fair but taking a point was probably a very good outcome in the circumstances. I’d expected (glass half full) four points after two games, so a single point is disappointing in that sense. Revised expectations for the season? I think we can get back up automatically if we can be more clinical in front of goal and keep our first choice players fit. Both are big asks, though, so I think we’ll finish in the okay off places. After that it’s a complete lottery. Really looking forward to locking horns with you twice in the next couple of weeks. QPR have always been, for me, a big rival in a number of ways. Watford are our really big rivals but Rangers are probably next in line. Weird, but there you are. Links >>> Luton Town official website >>> Hatters News — Blog >>> Luton Outlaws — Message Board >>> Supporters Trust >>> Oak Road Hatter —Blog The Twitter, @LutonTownExile, @loftforwords Pictures — Action Images Pictures - Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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