Luton have lost three in a row, and have been beaten in their last nine consecutive away games conceding 25 goals in the process, so does Rob Edwards maintain the faith of a board directing much of its Premier League parachute towards a new stadium build – thoughts via @LutonTownExile.

How's the season been so far for Luton?

On the pitch - massively disappointing, frustrating and unexpectedly poor. Off the pitch - football club life changing. Rich beyond wildest dreams after the Premier League year. Academy Two status all but in place. New in-town stadium received full detailed planning consent and work starts in next few months. We can almost fully fund a new 25k seater home thereby effectively guaranteeing the club's existence for the next 50 years. We were 30 minutes from extinction 15 years ago.

Luton so far…
Luton 1-4 Burnley Chong 55 – Brownhill 6, Odobert 37, O’Shea 72, Vitinho 80
Portsmouth 0-0 Luton
Preston 1-0 Luton Keane 39
Luton 1-2 QPR Dunne og 18 – Madsen 59, Frey 62
Millwall 0-1 Luton Mengi 10
Luton 2-1 Sheff Wed Morris pen 77, 88 – Bannan 52
Plymouth 3-1 Luton Al Haji 8, Cissoko 69, 90 – Moses 70
Luton 2-2 Oxford Clark 10, Krauss 37 – Goodrham 45, Rodrigues 54
Sheff Utd 2-0 Luton Rak-Sakyi 12, 52
Luton 3-0 Watford Clark 11, Morris 47, Brown 90
Luton 1-2 Sunderland Adebayo 63 – Rigg 55, Mundle 66
Coventry 3-2 Luton Simms 59, Torp 76, Wright 90 – Morris pen 15, Adebayo 37
Luton 1-1 West Brom Chong 60 – Maja 45
Luton 1-0 Cardiff Brown 57
Boro 5-1 Luton Burgzorg 30, 54, Latte Lath 42, Azaz 51, 87 – Clark 77
Luton 1-0 Hull McGuinness 33
Leeds 3-0 Luton Byram 10, Piroe 45, James 81
Norwich 4-2 Luton Crnac 25, 33, Marcondes 81, Sainz 86 – Adebayo 20, Brown 48
Luton 1-1 Swansea Adebayo 17 – Grimes 64
Luton 2-1 Stoke Morris 24, Adebayo 90 – Cannon 6
Blackburn 2-0 Luton Cozier-Duberry 32, Beck 40
Luton 2-1 Derby Holmes 89, Morris 90 – Jackson 58
Bristol City 1-0 Luton Twine 47
Swansea 2-1 Luton Franco 38, Peart-Harris 90 – Morris 5
Luton 0-1 Norwich Nunez 73

I really fancied you guys this year but it hasn't materialised - Premier League hangover? Squad disharmony? Recruitment? What's gone wrong?

Partly a hangover, possibly, but there are other bigger factors. We lost Tom Lockyer on and off the pitch. Massive loss. He was/is that massive leader that any successful (or wanting to be successful) side needs. Not quick but an outstanding defender and organiser on the pitch. Not replaced. We lost, in my opinion, one of the best central midfield pivots in world football in Ross Barkley. Best player I've ever seen in an LTFC shirt. Absolutely different class on and off the pitch. 100% professional - dragged the rest of our squad to levels they'd never been to before and haven't got back to since he went. He really was that good - carried us in the Prem. Also lost Lokonga, Osho, Ogbene, and Townsend. None of them replaced like for like on the pitch. Pace lost front and back with Ogbene & Osho leaving. Not replaced. Townsend's nous & professionalism (together with Barkley's) really helped us. Not replaced at all.

On top of that we've been battered by injuries this year - again. Injuries were the reason we went down last year. Appreciate 'blaming' injuries can be seen as being a bit lame but with us its true and has undoubtedly affected us. Partly self-inflicted because we buy quality injury prone players 'cheap' & hope we can get 20 games out of them. One way we can compete financially. Our pressing game doesn't help. On top of all that, the club's board (correctly in my opinion) refuses to spend/waste/gamble with any of the £150m PL windfall precisely because we are building/funding the new stadium & thereby securing the long term future of the club.

Squad disharmony? Don't think this has been a massive issue. A couple of our more senior players have lost their rags on the pitch on occasions with some of the errors the team are making particularly at the back but I'm not sure the squad is at loggerheads. Someone like Liam Walsh is going to get pelters (rightly) for getting sent off twice ten minutes after coming on in games we were competing in but that's more than normal. The loss of Lockyer and Barkley has hit the squad hardest on and off the pitch.

Recruitment? This has been an issue but, in my opinion, for more than understandable reasons. We can't afford to replace Barkley, Lokonga, Townsend, Osho with like for like and such players aren't going to drop down a league unless we pay them Barry Bannan's £40k a week. Not going to happen. On top of that, the board won't spend any of the PL windfall on the squad because they have a stadium to build. Sensible? Definitely. The players we have brought in are either young (£6m on a 23-year-old centre half from Cardiff; we've just signed two 20-year-olds from Europe; loaned a young German midfielder; signed a 21 year old Arsenal U23 player), at the end of their careers and just want to play (Moses), or are free & injury prone (Walsh). Back to the tried & tested LTFC recruitment process. It's what we are at the moment.

What's gone wrong? All of the above, plus a growing lack of belief in the manager & his assistants. When we went up in 2023 our run was based on keeping clean sheets, pressing and being defensively sound (down in no small part to Tom Lockyer). We are not that side anymore. Let in far too many goals. Not helped by the fact we've had one out of six squad registered centre halves available for a lot of this season so far. Add to that the fact that we still don't take a high enough percentage of our chances (a problem we've had for four years) and the player who dragged us into the PL (Marvelous Nakamba) has had two serious injuries and is now (unfortunately for him) 50% the player he was for us in 2023.

How much blame goes on Rob Edwards? How much longer has he got do you think?

How much blame goes on Rob Edwards? A very good question. Certainly some. He persists with a back five because that is what his philosophy is. No problem with that, but he probably needs to go with a four more often than he does, in my view. He is a bit too conservative/safe at times and could be a bit more gung ho. To me, we are too conscious of what the opponent might do from minute one as opposed to imposing ourselves on teams (accepting the risks). Again, that's who he is. He leaves in game changes too late at times (a lot of managers do). He won't play certain players unless he's forced to (through injuries to others). Mpanzu and young Joe Taylor hardly get a look in and I don't understand why. He's not big but Taylor scored best part of 30 goals on loan at two clubs last year (in L2 then L1). For me, he offers something different and should have been given a run. In Edwards' defence, he has suffered with squad injuries and the board will have told him that we can't afford the players he wants to buy. So, he has been a bit hamstrung. I'd say 20% of the blame is on him.

How much longer has he got? My view is that I don't think the club will sack him this season, even if we get relegated. He is working under largely board-instigated restrictions/conditions (very low transfer budgets/injury prone players). I think the board appreciate he can't do his job as he'd like to because of the board's absolute desire to pay for and build the new stadium almost 'regardless' of what happens on the pitch. I believe Edwards is here for the long term.

Particular problems away from home, eight straight defeats, any particular reason for this?

Not really. I just think it’s one of those runs. Our squad is a mid-table squad and lower when it’s decimated by injuries and impacted by stupid and continuous on field errors. My point above about 'obsessing' a bit too much about what the opponent might do certainly applies to us away from home. We should be a bit more aggressive.

What needs doing in January? Any rumours/links, early business?

For me, we need a central midfielder who can get hold of the ball, take it, dictate games for us and lead the side by example. A cheap poor man's Ross Barkley. Yes, I know they don't exist on our budget. We probably need another option up front and some defensive reinforcements.

We've signed a 20-year-old centre half from Europe and a 20-year-old central midfielder from Europe. Both highly thought of but ready for the Championship? Who knows? We're being linked with Kone the Wycombe striker and we have an interest in Poku at Peterborough. Nothing else though at the moment. No rumours about any of our players leaving though if I was a lower half PL side I'd be trying to get Alfie Doughty as cheaply as I could. Fans certainly expect three or four incomings in January and three or four sales/loans out.

Summer Ins >>> Mark McGuinness, 23, CB, Cardiff, £10m >>> Lamine Fanne, 20, DM, AIK, £4m >>> Reuell Walters, 19, RB, Arsenal, Free >>> Shandon Baptiste, 26, CM, Brentford, Free >>> Liam Walsh, 26, CM, Swansea, Free >>> Victor Moses, 33, RW, Unattached, Free >>> Tom Kraub, 23, CM, Mainz, Loan

Winter Outs >>> None

Stand out players in the team?

Not that many so far this year. Kaminski (the keeper) has been our best player this year. Made many top saves. Not over the top to say we'd be deep in the bottom three now without his saves. Before his injury, Alfie Doughty has been our stand out on field player.

Weak links? Lack of concentration/errors at the back. Lack of pace at the back. Playing players out of position. Failure to convert chances. Failure to have a pop from distance often enough. Reckless ill-discipline at times.

Expectations for the second half of the season?

I expect us to improve on what we've done to date on the pitch. I believe we have good enough players already to do that easily, and I expect us to get a few in in January which will make us stronger, quicker, hungrier. I also expect the off-field fan unrest/meltdown to continue and not to die down anytime soon. It’s as toxic in that respect now as it’s been for ten years. Not nice to see but these days it comes with the territory.

Links >>> Luton Town official website >>> Hatters News — Blog >>> Luton Outlaws — Message Board >>> Supporters Trust >>> Oak Road Hatter —Blog

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Pictures - Reuters Connect

TacticalR added 19:14 - Jan 6 Thanks to LutonTownExile. It sounds like a lot of bad stuff (injuries, losing players, not spending money) has come all at once, so it's understandable that you are not blaming on the manager.
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