Grays Athletic (Home) (FA Cup)

SO THE FA Cup was here and we were in the 4th Qualifying Round! A home draw with Grays Athletic and I have to be honest it did not fill me with the excitement the league fixtures have done so far this season. In all honesty, part of me thinks that although a good cup run in this competition would be great for fans and players alike, it would it distract us from the league. I mean I would rather go up this year than get to the Third Round of the FA Cup and get beaten by some Championship team.

The Matchday Programme (priced at £3.00)

I had stayed at James’ the night before the match so had loads of time to get to the ground and soak up some FA Cup magic!

We arrived in Luton at about half one and went to the “Whitehouse” for a few pre-match drinks. Literally as soon as we headed to the bar my initial thoughts were, “God its quiet in here”. I put this down to the fact that for many fans the result of this game was not so important and maybe they would just go straight to the match rather than soak up some pre-match atmosphere.

We headed to the ground at about half two. At this point I had only just remembered that we would not be sitting in our usual seats. Instead, we would be in the ‘Kenilworth Road’ end behind the goal. I was quite excited about this as bizarrely I have never sat in this stand in all of the Luton Town matches I’ve ever been to (Don’t really know why, just pot luck I guess). We arrived at the ground and did our usual routine of getting the programmes and then some food. It might just be me but after the debacle of the mouldy burger bun earlier in the season, the burgers seem to have improved greatly. I was impressed (small things please small minds!).

With about 5 mins to kick-off, we realised that our initial fears of the attendance being very low were going to become a reality. It was quite disheartening to see such a small crowd.

I was pleasantly surprised at the team Alan Neilson and Kevin Watson had put out, although Pilks in the centre of midfield was a surprise.

We took the lead courtesy of a scrambled Shane Blackett effort from a corner and doubled our advantage through an own goal shortly before the break. A comfortable win was sealed in the second-half thanks to a strike from the edge of the area by Asa Hall. We also saw the debut of young winger Taylor Nathaniel in the second-half – hopefully another talented player to emerge through the Kenilworth Road ranks.

The 3-0 result was very impressive, especially with so many first-team players out. Asa Hall was particularly impressive, as was Jake Howells. With four wins and one draw in Neilson and Watson’s five games in charge, it has been a very good turn around from 5 weeks ago.

I do believe that the recent results have given 2020 a big headache. If a new manager comes in and doesn’t start well then we will all ask why Neilson and Watson were not given a chance. Likewise, if Neilson and Watson are given the job and start their permanent reign badly, fans are likely to moan that we should have bought in someone with more experience. So whoever comes in has to hit the ground running in my opinion.

So a First Round tie against Rochdale at Kenilworth Road awaits and to be honest I am not too sure what to expect. We basically have the same team from last year and if we were in the league above I feel we would be expected to beat them. But, alas, we are in the Conference and are the “Under Dogs” so it should be a good game.

Anyway, back to the league on Saturday with Rushden & Diamonds at home. Hopefully another three points, whoever is in charge, and we can slowly start clawing back some points on the top two.

COME ON YOU HATTERS!

Batesy

York City (Home)

THE visit of York City was always going to be a tight affair and so it proved as we were unable to defeat the Minstermen and take advantage of our game in hand over leaders Oxford United.

A disappointing 1-1 home draw on a rainy Tuesday night under the Kenilworth Road floodlights was perhaps a fair result over the 90 minutes, but meant we dropped the chance to potentially claw back another 2 points on the U’s, as well as make up ground on Stevenage Borough, who only drew 0-0 at home to Wrexham.

The Matchday Programme (priced at £3.00)

My dad joined us again for this fixture – the second game in a row – and we arrived in Luton at 6.30pm, parking at the train station and making the short walk to “The Whitehouse” for some pre-match beverages.  After a quick pint, we decided to go somewhere else for a change and I suggested going upstairs in the “Galaxy Centre” to see what the bar at the bowling alley was like up there.  We had a couple of beers, but don’t think we will be going back up there again!  Still, made a change.

We arrived at the ground at about 7.35pm after a walk in the rain up Kenilworth Road.  My dad bought a pie and Batesy and I bought a burger and we then took our seats in the ‘David Preece Family Stand’ (the “New Stand’) for the evening’s action.

We made our first groan before a ball had even been kicked due to the players changing ends, meaning we were kicking towards the ‘Kenilworth Road’ end in the first-half, as opposed to the second-half, as we usually do.  We prefer it when we attack the goal down our end second-half, but oh well, c’est la vie.

Luton Town Fans in the 'Kenilworth Road' end

The first-half was a very poor affair as we seemed to revert back to our long ball tactics, which we hate to see and never gets us anywhere.  We had two great chances to take the lead as Tom Craddock beat three players before firing wide from inside the box and Adam Newton also missed a glorious opportunity when he blazed over the bar from inside the box when he surely had to hit he target;  A very bad miss.

Unsurprisingly, York took the lead through Neil Barrett and we were chasing the game.  Alan Neilson and Kevin Watson responded by taking off on-loan Ben Wright before the interval and replacing him in attack with young Ryan Charles, who has been looking a threat lately.  They stated afterwards they felt we were playing the ball long to Wright too much, which was bread and butter for their central defenders.  Charles looked good again, showing a willingness to run at the defence.  He looks a good prospect.

The second-half saw an improved performance and we levelled on 65 minutes when the referee did well to play an advantage on the edge of the area, rather than give us a free-kick and Asa Hall thumped an unstoppable drive into the top corner from 20-yards out for his third goal of the season.  It made a change to see some good refereeing in this league.

The 257 York City Fans in the 'Oak Road' end

We pushed for a winner without ever really looking likely to net it and with the very last kick of the game the visitors could have snatched the win as a left-wing cross when just inches away from their sliding forward in the six-yard box.  We were very lucky to escape that one, and as soon as the ball went out of play the referee blew for full-time.

Overall, a mediocre performance against a solid side who will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.  When the campaign has come to a close, it could well turn out to be a valuable point for us, but of course if you want to win this league then you have to win your home games.  For me, the worry is that our forwards are just not getting enough goals.  I feel we need a new striker or two and we will then be a real force.

The Sides in Action

Next up is the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round home match with Grays Athletic and due to our stand being shut for this game, Batesy and I will be sitting in the ‘Kenilworth Road’ end.  Of course, we are expecting us to progress to the First Round proper.  A good FA Cup run this season would go down a treat, so we can hopefully get some half decent grounds to go to!

We remain unbeaten since Neilson and Watson took over in their caretaker roles and I think any Luton Town fan would have taken the 10 points out of the 12 available we have gathered since Mick Harford was sacked.

If the rumours are true, a new manager will be appointed next week, with director Stephen Browne confirming we had over 60 creditable applications and interviews now having taken place.

If Neilson and Watson can keep producing the goods, then who knows what will happen?

COME ON YOU HATTERS!

James

The Matchday Programme (priced at £3.00)

Luton Town Fans in the ‘Kenilworth Road’ end

Luton Town Fans in the ‘Main Stand’

The 257 York City Fans in the ‘Oak Road’ end

The Sides in Action

Altrincham (Away)

THREE successive away wins and Alan Neilson and Kevin Watson are doing themselves no harm if they want to take on the job of managing the mighty Hatters full-time.

At a ground that was the worst we have attended this season, we produced a fine second-half performance to claim another vital three points on the road.

The Matchday Programme (priced at £2.00)

With my dad joining Batesy and I for the trip to Manchester, we left Stevenage at 9.15am for the drive to Altrincham and reminisced about how we used to go up to Manchester to see the Hatters at Old Trafford against Manchester United, and not Altrincham for a non-league match. Instead of us visiting “The Theatre of Dreams”, it would be Bolton Wanderers going to Old Trafford and we talked about how not so long ago we were higher in the leagues than Bolton.  Oh how the mighty have fallen!

The "Old Market Tavern" Pub

We arrived in Altrincham at 1pm via a stop-off at a service station, and we parked in a multi-storey car park right next to the train station.  We walked up to a pub called the “Old Market Tavern” and it wasn’t particularly great, it was very quiet.  We headed next door to another pub called the “Orange Tree”, where we briefly met our mate Ben.  It was a small pub and was showing the football (Aston Villa v Chelsea) so we watched the end of the first-half, had a beer and headed over the road into the town centre to the third and final pre-match pub, “The Bricklayers Arms”.  The football was showing again in this pub on a large screen, so we enjoyed watching Chelsea losing and had another couple of pints before heading to the ground.

The ground was further than we had realised so it took us about 10/15 minutes to walk to the ground along Moss Lane.  The first thing we noticed was that hardly anyone was walking down the street so we knew the attendance was going to be very poor.  We normally see the opposition’s fans in the pubs pre-match too, you see people wearing their shirts, but we’d not seen a single Altrincham shirt anywhere!

James and Dave Outside "The Orange Tree"

The game was pay on the day, so we headed into the ground and a young lad asked us how many programmes we wanted.  “Four please mate” I said.  I’ve explained before in other blogs why I am buying so many so won’t go into it again!  “They’re £2.00 each.”  “OK,” I replied.  “So that’s £10 please mate,” he said.  “No it’s not.”  “Yeah, it is.”  At this point I laughed and said, “What is 2 x 4?” and he said, “8″ and his fellow young programme seller laughed and said, “So he means it is £8 bruv” and laughed.  Ah, the youth of today!  The programme was very small and looked cheaply made – definitely the worst away programme so far this season.

Dave Posing Outside "The Bricklayers Arms"

After our pre-match amber nectar, my dad and I both needed the toilet.  When we walked into the toilets we were amazed!  It wasn’t even a toilet, you just basically urinated up a wall.  There were no cubicles and no sinks.  The worst “toilets” ever!  Batesy said when he went later on that a bloke in there laughed and said, “There’s not even any drainage system!”

My dad got a pie and we made our way onto the terracing behind the goal.  The first impressions were that we had brought a decent following, as always, and that there were hardly any home fans – and I mean hardly any!  To our left as a small ‘Main Stand’ that was quite strange as directly next to it was a separate tiny stand that had only a hundred or so seats and was referred to as “The Family Stand”.  Opposite this, was a covered terraced area that was sparse (although they later opened this and a few people went in).  Behind the other goal was a small covered terraced area, where most of the small contingent of Altrincham fans were situated.  Our end was uncovered, but with the sun shining we were thankful we hadn’t come on a rainy afternoon in January!

Luton Town Fans

We started the first-half very poorly and it looked back to the dark days of early season when our football was woeful and we launch the ball long.  Ben Wright was struggling to make an impact up front, and our most dangerous player again looked like Claude Gnakpa, who at last was deservedly given a start on the right-wing after his recent splendid substitute appearances.

A drab first-half saw little entertainment and perhaps the highlight for us was that at the back of the terracing where we stood there was a big hole.  We were easily able to climb through this when we needed to urinate.  This made us chuckle and was great as it meant we didn’t have to keep going all the way over to the other side of the terracing, trying to get through all the Hatters fans to go to the toilet.  We just climbed through the hole at the back of the stand, went down to the bottom of this mini hill and did the deed.  During the first-half alone, I think I went about three times and my dad twice, more for the fact that we could and it was a novelty than nature actually calling.  It was very bizarre and something I’ve not seen before in the 20+ years I have been going to watch Luton Town.  Before anyone thinks we are disgusting, we weren’t the only ones doing it and it wasn’t on a public place, so it wasn’t anti-social behaviour or anything!

The "Wee Hole"

The second-half performance was much better, as it has been in the last two away games.  I am not sure why we cannot perform like this for the full 90 minutes, but there you go.  It could have been daylight robbery though as Altrincham were awarded a penalty for a foul by Kevin Nicholls, but Mark Tyler brilliantly saved it in front of the home end.  This prompted two rather over excited and (probably) inebriated Hatters fans to jump onto the pitch, run around a bit in front of the goal and then jump back onto the terracing.  I don’t think they even got caught by the stewards!  Think they may have gotten away with it!

Altrincham Fans

A couple of minutes later, we were awarded a penalty for a foul on Ryan Charles and Tom Craddock duly despatched it to put us in front.

From that moment onwards, there was only ever going to be one winner and we were unfortunate not to win by a more convincing margin. We looked far sharper and fitter than Altrincham in the last 20 minutes and only their goalkeeper, Stuart Coburn, prevented us from making it an emphatic score line.

Altrincham Supporters

All in all, a good away win at a poor ground against mediocre opposition for this level. On the way out we saw Ben again and I moaned at the poor ground, to which he said, “Come on lads, it is great – this is what you are going to all these grounds for this season”.  A very good point well made mate!

The journey home seemed to take an eternity and we arrived back in Stevenage at 9.15pm via stop-off at a service station – and poor old Batesy still had an hour’s drive back to Chelmsford before his day was over.

Bring on York City!

James

 

The “Old Market Tavern” Pub

James and Dave Outside “The Orange Tree”

Dave Posing Outside “The Bricklayers Arms”

The Matchday Programme (priced at £2.00)

Luton Town Fans

The “Wee Hole”

Altrincham Fans

Altrincham Supporters

Altrincham Fans

Kidderminster Harriers (Away)

THEY say that lightening doesn’t strike twice but the win at Kidderminster Harriers bore striking resemblances to the heroics at Cambridge United on our last away trip.

Reduced to ten men and trailing at the interval, we fought back to secure a dramatic win and claim three vital points in the quest for promotion.

The Matchday Programme (priced at £2.50)

Batesy and I left Stevenage at about 11am for the drive and arrived, via a short stop-off, at Kidderminster at about 2pm. The traffic on the way was really bad, so we had to change the sat nav to take us an alternative route and it took us through some villages and up some lanes to our destination. We headed for a really quick pint at the “Severn Valley Railway Station”, and whilst I was getting them in, Batesy said he was chatting to a bouncer who seemed like a decent bloke, a rarity me thinks!

We had parked at the train station (priced £3.00) and the pub was attached to the railway station, which was extremely old fashioned, as too were the trains, which were the old steam trains! The ground could be seen from the train station and the bouncer informed Batesy that it was only a 10-minute walk.

After just one quick drink, we headed for the ground and got some programmes. The programmes were priced at £2.50 each and weren’t bad, but I have seen better on away trips this season.

I had been looking forward to sampling one of the cottage pies the club served, which I had heard very good reviews about. I’d been told the food at the ground was particularly impressive and was looking forward to it even more when I saw a big sign that said, “The best food in football”. When I got to the refreshment kiosk, the cottage pies – and indeed all of the pies – had totally sold out. Disappointed, we therefore purchased cheeseburgers (£3.50 each) and made our way up to the terracing.

We were situated behind the goal on a small covered terracing area and we headed straight for the back of this in order to get some height and depth and a decent view of the game. Hatters fans were also located to the right of us in a nice covered all-seated stand that was easily the most impressive in the ground. The stand was shared between home fans and Luton Town supporters and is the newest in the stadium. Opposite this impressive stand is another covered and all-seated stand, which was older but still pretty decent compared to some of the places we have been this season already. Behind the other goal was a small covered terracing area that was identical to the end we were in. Overall, the ground was pretty decent for this level of football and I would probably rank it 3rd behind Oxford United and Wrexham for the grounds we have visited so far, just ahead of Cambridge United, although I preferred the actual stand we were in at Cambridge.

Hatters Fans on the Terracing

And so onto the most important part of the day – the football. We looked very slow and disorganised in the first-half and back to the poor football we have served up for most of the campaign. The midfield looked pretty weak and out-of-sorts and we were being outplayed by the hosts. Unsurprisingly, we went behind to a goal from Matthew Barnes-Homer, who took advantage of a bad mistake by Alan White to control and fire past Mark Tyler. The goal was simply a long ball forward and White allowed it to go over his head and Barnes-Homer had the opportunity to give the home side the lead, which he took superbly.

Kidderminster Harriers Fans

By this time, the Hatters fans were moaning and groaning a lot, and rightly so, and not even the inflatable ‘Spider-Man’ that was bouncing around in the away end and kitted out in an old Luton Town shirt, could raise our spirits.

Kidderminster Fans on the Terracing

Barnes-Homer had by now become the centre of attention, being given a lot of stick from us Hatters fans after he kept pushing Ed Asafu-Adjaye whilst waiting for a Kiddy corner, and he then turned and gave a big cheeky grin at the Hatters fans in an effort to wind us up. He obviously then got more stick from the travelling Luton fans.

Rossi Jarvis then cleared an effort off the line and Mark Tyler produced an absolutely wonderful save to deny the home side. At this point, we were really under the cosh and his save produced chants of, “We’ve only got one player, got one player…”. Then came a big turning point in the match. Right on the by-line, Rossi Jarvis dived in and the Kidderminster player went down like he had been pole axed. Our initial thoughts were that it wasn’t even a foul, let alone a booking, but to our amazement the referee ran over and immediately produced a red card. We were shocked. I’ve since heard some people say it was a bad tackle, so I am not sure now without seeing it again, but from what we saw it was a bizarre decision by the referee.

Chants of “Sunday league referee” then followed and moments later, right on the stroke of half-time, the referee seemed to even it up by dismissing Kidderminster striker Robbie Matthews. Matthews chased a ball through and Mark Tyler slid out and gathered the ball at the striker’s feet. Matthews skipped over the Hatters stopper and looked for a second like he was going to deliberately leave his foot trailing to hit the keeper. However, to be fair he did appear to pull out of doing this. However, the angry Hatters fans, still incensed at the dismissal of Jarvis, went mad and began shouting, “Off, off, off”. At this point, Tyler, who didn’t look like he was going to react initially, suddenly jumped up and ran, shouting, at the referee. The referee, obviously looking to even up the game to make up for his earlier mistake, showed Matthews a straight red card.

Kidderminster Fans

Trailing at the interval, but with both sides now down to ten men, we hoped we could pull off another dramatic second-half comeback. Upon hearing that Oxford United and Stevenage Borough were both convincingly winning at half-time, it was all the more important we took something from the game.

As at Cambridge, we emerged like a different side and started passing the ball on the floor more than hoofing it as we had done in the first-half. Alan Neilson and Kevin Watson then made two inspired substitutions, replacing Ed Asafu-Adjaye with Claude Gnakpa and Ben Wright with Ryan Charles.

Gnakpa caused Kidderminster all sorts of problems, his pace and willingness to run at the full-back a joy to watch (again) and they simply could not cope with him. After numerous chances, most of which came from Gnakpa’s runs and crosses down the right, we finally equalised. Fred Murray, who impressed in the second-half, especially going forward, put in a cross from the left, the ball was headed out and Adam Newton met it with a thumping volley, the ball crashing in via the underside of the bar. It was a great finish and the players and fans celebrated wildly.

Credit must also go to Kevin Nicholls, who controlled the midfield in the second period and was spreading the play fantastically to both wings. The commentator on the local radio station said after the game that Nicholls gave “A demonstration of how to control a midfield at this level” and he was absolutely right. He looked like the Nicholls of old and far too good for this league. Hopefully, he can maintain this type of form.

Luton Town Fans

At the death, an injured Murray was replaced by Jake Howells, and the youngster did brilliantly to win the ball back in the centre of the field after it had been lost. The ball ended up on the right with Gnakpa, who laid the ball back to Asa Hall. His cross from the right was met brilliantly by substitute Ryan Charles, who somehow managed to flick the ball, which had been whipped in at pace, past goalkeeper Coleman and into the top far corner right at the death. It sent the players and the fans absolutely mad and Charles was booked for over celebrating.

Yet again, we had come back from the dead to win an away match. A fantastic second-half performance and the last two away games have been incredibly exciting! After the game Batesy and I headed straight home to Stevenage, arriving back at about 8.20pm via a quick stop-off, and Batesy then had the drive back to Chelmsford. It was all well worth it though!

Next stop Altrincham!

COME ON YOU HATTERS!

James

The Matchday Programme (priced at £2.50)

Hatters Fans on the Terracing

Luton Town Fans

Kidderminster Fans on the Terracing

Kidderminster Harriers Fans

Kidderminster Fans

Tamworth (Home)

FOLLOWING the departure of manager Mick Harford – and I was gutted it didn’t work out for him – we had Alan Neilson and Kevin Watson in charge for a home clash with Tamworth, who rather depressingly began the game ahead of us in the table.

Both Batesy and I had high hopes for the match as the new management duo stated they would be changing the way we played, the tactics and possibly some of the personnel. Given the recent very poor performances, we were pleased to hear that we would be adopting a different approach to the game.

I went into Stevenage old town at about 12.30pm and had a couple of pints whilst I waited for Batesy. During this time I won two £70 jackpots on “Deal Or No Deal?” fruit machines in two different pubs – result! We left Stevenage at about 1.30pm, arriving in Luton at 2pm and heading straight for the “Whitehouse”, where we had a quick beer, and then went to “Ladbrokes” to put on an accumulator or two.

Luton Town Fans in the 'Kenilworth Road' end

We headed for the ground and on arriving inside, we saw a little stall where the club were trying to get rid of some old stock. Batesy is being a bit of a geek and collecting Luton shirts (you have probably noticed his vast array of shirts from years gone by on this blog, he wears them to matches) so I gave him a fiver out of my winnings to get one of the shirts that he didn’t already have. Now aren’t I a good friend?

After purchasing some “Golden Gamble” tickets and some burgers, we made our way up to our seats. We’ve also noticed that the team don’t seem to run out to any music anymore? Does anyone know if they do? If they do indeed come out to music, then maybe we just cannot hear it properly in the “David Preece Family Stand”? Anyway, seems a shame if we don’t. I’d quite like to see us come out to “Bring Me Sunshine” as it means something to the club or maybe something like “Gonna Fly Now” from the ‘Rocky’ films or the “Superman” theme as I think they are quite dramatical and would be good for geeing the players up! But then, what do I know (not a lot)? I noticed they seem to play, “Right Here, Right Now” before the game every week, is this supposed to be the song we run out to? If so, I don’t like it! And if it is, you can’t hear it properly anyway when the players come out! I always used to like it when the players came out to “Let Me Entertain You” and “Gimme Some Lovin” and “Town Called Malice” as you knew Saturday football had arrived! Whenever I hear those songs now, I always think of Luton Town and being at Kenilworth Road! So, I have decided to add a poll to the bottom of this blog to allow you to have your say on what song you think we should run out to! I’ll forward the results onto 2020! I know there are people who don’t care what song we run out to, so before you say, “who cares”, just don’t vote, simplessss!

The match itself was a game of two halves. The first-half was good and we played pretty well. We didn’t look amazing by any stretch of the imagination, but we certainly looked better than we have done in recent weeks (although that isn’t difficult). Liam Hatch and our new loan signing from Peterborough United, Ben Wright, were causing plenty of problems for the Tamworth defence, and we took the lead courtesy of Asa Hall’s second goal of the season. It was quickly 2-0 to the Hatters as Wright saw his shot blocked, but the ball bounced back to the on-loan forward and he produced a fine finish, curling the ball into the top corner past the despairing Lambs goalkeeper. Neilson and Watson, as they had promised, made changes, dropping Tom Craddock, who has been poor this season, to the bench. They also rather surprisingly did not recall Claude Gnakpa to the side after he impressed again when coming off the bench in the home loss to Stevenage Borough.

The 270 Tamworth Fans

Luton Town Fans in the 'Main Stand'

2-0 up at the interval, we came out for the second period slow, lethargic and like we weren’t actually that bothered. Typically, Tamworth scored from a set-piece, a free-kick headed home by Rodman, who was totally unmarked, and the comeback for the visitors looked for a while like it could be on. Craddock came off the bench and missed a couple of glorious opportunities. I am positive last season he would have converted them, but he looks very short of confidence this season, possibly due to being played on the left-wing for most it.

Claude Gnakpa also came on and impressed again. He looks a real threat going forward and he is at least always willing to run at the full-backs. He is fast and has a purpose about him. I definitely prefer him on the right-wing to playing at right-back. We look much more threatening going forward when he comes on. For me, he has to start on the right-wing at Kidderminster Harriers in the next game.

In the end, disappointingly, we were clinging on to earn three points at home to Tamworth. Earlier in the day, my dad had said to me, “Luton should win today. Although having said that, Tamworth aren’t a bad side.” He then gasped and said, “God I can’t believe we are saying Tamworth are coming here to Luton and aren’t a bad side, it really has gone *expletive* these last few years.” Unfortunately, he is right.

Let’s hope that a new manager will bring about a change in fortunes. We are also sixth in the table going into the Kidderminster game on Saturday, but we really need to start picking up some points away from home. I just hope we can follow up our sensational win at Cambridge on our last away trip with another three points on Saturday.

COME ON YOU HATTERS!

James

Hatters Fans in the ‘David Preece Family Stand’

Luton Town Fans in the ‘Main Stand’

The 270 Tamworth Fans

Luton Town Fans in the ‘Kenilworth Road’ end

Please vote for the run out song below…

Mick Harford Leaves – Who Should His Replacement Be?

Mick lifts the trophy at Wembley

SO MICK HARFORD has left the club and it is indeed a sad day for everyone connected with Luton Town.  As fans, we wanted nothing more than for Mick to succeed (at least I know Batesy and I were desperate for him to do well and everyone else I spoke to).

Unfortunately, the football has been very poor to watch and we have not done as well as the supporters and anyone else at the club had hoped for.  With the squad we have, the playing budget and the fanbase, we certainly should be higher than eighth in the Blue Square Premier table after 13 matches.

On behalf of myself personally, and I am sure every Luton Town supporter out there, I would like to wish Mick Harford the very best for the future and I hope he is back in football soon. He is a true Luton Town legend and we cannot thank him enough for what he has done over the years for the Hatters.

You are a true gentleman, Mick, and have been a great ambassador for the club. You were a our greatest-ever player, a hero to us all, and you deserved more England caps than you two you were given. I am so sorry it didn’t work out for you as a manager – you were very unfortunate with injuries and had no luck at all this season. Unfortunately, the players just did not perform for you this season, but we will always have the memories of Wembley last year.

Thank you for everything Mick – a true Luton Town hero.

I thought it would be more interesting to look to the future and who I think would be good options for consideration for the new manager, as well as those likely to be in the frame for the job.  With Nick Owen stating on the radio that he doesn’t want a former Luton Town player as the next manager, I have not included the likes of John Dreyer, Iain Dowie, Gary Waddock and David Bayliss in the candidates (all names I heard mentioned by Hatters fans on the radio).

My candidates are, made up entirely of those I think would be good choices, and those likely to be mentioned…

David Pleat at Luton Town in the 1980s

David Pleat
An absolute Luton Town legend in every sense of the word. Took the club into the top flight in the 1980s and kept us there for a number of years before leaving for Tottenham Hotspur. Did well at White Hart Lane too, before being sacked for off-the-field reasons. A tactical genius as he proved again on his return to Kenilworth Road when he took a struggling side, playing in what is now the Championship and was full of youngsters, to the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley in 1994. Highly respected and with a great number of contacts in the game, he is now working in a consultancy role at Nottingham Forest. I’m sure the fans would love to see him back in Bedfordshire. Unlikely to happen I would imagine, but I’d be delighted if we were able to bring him back. I’m sure he would get us out of this dreadful league. Yes, he did play for Luton Town, but it was his managerial stint at the club that made him so popular and is what he is known for, so I am assuming Nick Owen would not be including when he stated he did not want a former Luton Town player.

Steve Coppell
A great track record and currently out of a job.  Worked wonders at Crystal Palace when the club went into administration and he was left with a team full of kids.  The Eagles were largely expected to get relegated from what is now known as the Championship, but not only did he keep them up, they finished mid-table.  His next job, at Brentford, was equally as impressive, taking the Bees, relegation favourites at the start of the season, to the play-off places on a shoestring budget, and only missing out on automatic promotion on the final day of the season.  His next challenge, at Reading, saw him take the Royals to the Premier League, before he left after failing to get them back at the first attempt following relegation.  Likely to be expensive and it is debatable as to whether he would be willing to drop down to this level of football.  Would be a great appointment if 2020 could pull it off.  

Joe Kinnear during his time at Luton Town

Joe Kinnear

Another very popular former Luton Town boss, who got us promotion from what is now League Two in 2001-02 and signed some great players for bargain fees and on free transfers – the likes of Kevin Nicholls, Steve Howard, Chris Coyne and Jean-Louis Valois to name but a few.  A very experienced and astute manager, it was arguably his side that he had built that Mike Newell took into the Championship two years after Kinnear left.  A real wheeler dealer, which we may need at this level of football.  Very unlikely to return to the club considering he is very close friends with Mick Harford – I really cannot see him replacing his close friend in a job.  Would probably be very expensive to get him back, even if he was interested, and his recent health problems after suffering a heart attack make him returning seem a long shot to say the least.

Mark Cooper
A good up-and-coming young manager who has done very well at Kettering Town.  He took them to the play-offs last year on a limited budget and they currently sit second in the table.  Has unearthed some real gems at Rockingham Road like giant central defender Exodus Geohaghan and he may be able to tempt this type of player to Kenilworth Road.  Knows the league like the back of his hand.

Gary Brabin
The bookies’ favourite for the job at 7/1.  Performed well at Cambridge United last season, picking up the ‘Conference Manager of the Year’ award in the process.  Currently without a club after leaving the U’s in the summer following a rift with their chairman.  Is also being linked with the vacant Chester City managerial job.  Knows this league and what it takes to succeed, although he did fail to get Cambridge United promoted.

Gary Brabin

Paul Tisdale
Has done a superb job at Exeter City, taking the Grecians from the Blue Square Premier to League One in successive seasons.  His side plays attractive football and his success has been achieved with no money to spend on new players.  A young manager with a big reputation, it is questionable whether we could persuade him to drop two Divisions to join.  However, we are undoubtedly a bigger club with a larger fanbase, so who knows?

John Still

John Still
An experienced manager who has worked wonders at Dagenham & Redbridge, taking the Essex side from the Blue Square Premier as Champions into the Football League.  Now, with no money for transfer fees and small crowds, he has taken the Daggers to the promotion places in League Two, despite losing three key out-of-contract players in the summer to Brentford.  Recently turned down an approach from Colchester United apparently, but maybe we could tempt him down a level as we are definitely a bigger club than Colchester.

Jim Harvey
Northern Irish former Morecambe and Forest Green Rovers boss.  He led Morecambe to the Blue Square Premier in 1996 and lifted the Conference League Cup in 1998.  In 2003, he led Morecambe to 2nd place in the Blue Square Premier, but they lost in the play-offs.  In 2005, he suffered a heart attack, and when he returned in 2006, he was sacked.  He moved on to Forest Green Rovers and led the club to their highest-ever finish of 8th in the Blue Square Premier in 2008, as well as the final of the Setanta Shield.  He was sacked this summer for allegedly applying for the Cambridge United manager’s job.  He would, like Brabin, probably be a cheap option considering his is currently without a job.

Steve Fallon
The Histon manager. He’s led a village team up the non-league pyramid and earned them a Blue Square Premier play-off place last season – a remarkable achievement. Has taken them from the Eastern Counties League to the Blue Square Premier. He knows the non-league scene, knows the non-league players and knows what is needed to achieve promotion.

Paul Fairclough

Paul Fairclough
He did well at Stevenage Borough and at Barnet, storming to the Blue Square Premier title a couple of seasons ago. Barnet struggled last season and ‘moved upstairs’ to a consultancy role, but Barnet are arguably one of the hardest, if not the hardest, teams to manage in the Football League with their resources. He’s never been able to attract any decent players with their very small budget, fan base and resources, but he’s still signed some great players from non-league football, like Albert Adomah from Harrow Borough, who is now said to be worth £1 million. He’s the manager of the England non-league side (England ‘C’), he knows the non-league scene like the back of his hand and he could well be able to sign some of the best non-league players around – something he wasn’t able to do at Barnet. I think given the chance to manage a ‘big’ club like Luton – we’re certainly big by non-league standards – he’d deliver. Worth a shout I think. Arguably knows non-league football and non-league players better than anyone else due to his involvement with England ‘C’, watching matches, assessing players etc. 

Paul Buckle

Paul Buckle
Won promotion last season from the Blue Square Premier with Torquay United and did extremely well at Exeter City before that. I think he’d leave Torquay for Luton, we’re certainly bigger.  He also hails from Luton and is said to be a Hatters fan.

Steve Cotterill
Took Cheltenham Town into the Football League a few years back. Currently out of a job and was linked with us when Mike Newell got the job under John Gurney’s ‘Pop Idol’ shenanigans.

Leroy Rosenior
Did a great job at Torquay United a few years back, taking them into League One when they’d struggled at the foot of League Two for a good few years. Did, however, have a less successful spell after as boss of Brentford.  Currently out of a job.

So who do you want to see as the next manager?  Cast your vote below and I plan to submit the results to 2020 as the views of a section of the Luton Town supporters.  My personal preference would be David Pleat or Steve Coppell, but both of those are unlikely to come.  Therefore, if we are looking at managers who know the non-league scene well, I’d go with either Mark Cooper of Kettering Town or Paul Fairclough.

Please cast your vote below…

James