Luton Town's Noble Premier League Debut by Paul Rance

Luton Town's Noble Premier League Debut
By Paul Rance

AND, for older Hatters fans... Luton Town FC in the 1970s by Paul Rance; an extract from the 1970-71 season

...and for anyone interested in Luton's history Made in Luton page on paulrance.com; Extracts from Paul Rance's book, Made in Luton

Though Luton Town's debut Premier League season has ended with relegation, much of it will live long in the memory. There were pre-season doom merchants who thought that the Hatters would even eclipse Derby County's infamous season of 2007-08. In that season the Rams picked up just 11 points and won just one of their 38 Premier League games.

An Experienced Trio

Luton's acquisitions, however, for their first season in the Premier League turned out to be shrewd. A combination of experienced and young players was recruited. Former England internationals Ross Barkley and Andros Townsend were among those signed.

Hatters fans could barely believe the Ross Barkley signing in particular, having a decade earlier been arguably the most promising English talent of his generation. While Townsend had had bad luck with injuries, and he must have wondered if his days of top flight football were over. Vastly experienced goalkeeper Tim Krul, the 2014 World Cup quarter-final penalty saving hero for the Netherlands, also joined Luton. All three would begin the season on the subs bench, which seemed incredible when remembering Luton had been in the Conference just over a decade earlier.

The Young, Bright Newcomers

Two youngsters that were signed would have notable seasons for the Hatters; defender Teden Mengi (from Manchester United) and wide attacker Tahith Chong (from Birmingham City). Mengi would be capped at England under-21 level before the season was out. While, one of the most exciting signings for Luton was Chiedozie Ogbene from Rotherham United. His pace terrified even Premier League defenders, and he was equally at home playing on the right in defence or further up the field.

Loan signings of young players, the right-sided defender Issa Kaboré (from Manchester City) and central midfielder Sambi Lokonga (from Arsenal), would also prove to be good acquisitions. Lokonga's absence through injury, though, for much of the second half of the season would turn out to be a significant blow for the Hatters.

An Unlucky Trio

Thomas Kaminski, signed from Blackburn Rovers, would be Luton's number one, and, after a shaky start, improved to such an extent that he won his first cap for Belgium. Scotland international forward Jacob Brown started brightly after coming from Stoke City and versatile Danish defender Mads Andersen arrived from Barnsley. Both would have their seasons curtailed very early by injury. The same fate would befall midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, a star of Luton's promotion campaign, who had been signed permanently from Aston Villa.

Pelly's Historic Moment and a Tough Beginning

In Luton's first-ever Premier League game at Brighton, the Hatters' long-serving midfielder Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu created history. He became the first player to play in every division from the Conference to the Premier League for the same club.

Luton Town's debut Premier League season began with convincing defeats at Brighton and Chelsea. No doubt, smug pundits were nodding sagely thinking this was going to be a recurring story for the Hatters. Ryan Giles, a £5 million signing from Wolves, began as the Town's left wing-back and struggled. Alfie Doughty would replace him and be highly impressive as a creative force in the first half of the season.

If the video above doesn't play, please click on this link to see highlights of Luton's first Premier League Season | 23/24 Season Recap (Luton Town FC official - youtube.com)

Early Victories

It was at Goodison Park that the Hatters gained their first victory. Two stalwarts of the promotion campaign, Tom Lockyer and Carlton Morris, were the goalscorers in a 2-1 win. Luton Town's debut Premier League season was expected to see the Town pick up the vast majority of their points at home. Luton's first Premier League point did indeed come at home against Wolves, thanks to a fortunate penalty decision in the Hatters' favour. Crystal Palace would be Luton's first victims at the Kenny, as Jacob Brown scored a late winner in another 2-1 win. A wonder goal by Michael Olise had threatened to rescue a point for the Eagles after Teden Mengi's opener for the Hatters.

Premier League Giants Tested

Slowly but surely Luton started to get to grips with the Premier League. They led against Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool at Kenilworth Road. But the ruthless nature of the top Premier league sides was in evidence too. City came back to win, as did Arsenal right at the death. While Liverpool rescued a point with a late equaliser from an emotional Luis Díaz, who dedicated the goal to his father who had recently been kidnapped.

Near Tragedy at Bournemouth

Luton was rapidly improving, when a bombshell hit the club just before Christmas. Tom Lockyer, the Hatters' inspirational captain, collapsed on the pitch at Bournemouth. He had effectively been, in Tom's own words, "technically dead" on the pitch for over two minutes. But he was saved by the heroic medical teams from both clubs, and the quick thinking of Bournemouth player, Philip Billing. Thankfully, Tom would survive and live to see the arrival of his baby daughter. With a different heart-related issue, Tom had also collapsed at the Wembley Championship play-off final against Coventry City in May. It was clear that Luton would have to navigate the rest of their season without Tom Lockyer.

An Emotional Win

An emotional 1-0 home win against Newcastle saw goalscorer Andros Townsend hold up a Luton shirt with Tom Lockyer's name and number on it. The support for Tom from the Newcastle fans was also deeply appreciated by Luton fans.

A Good Start to 2024

Luton beat Brighton 4-0 at home in late January, thanks to a hat-trick from Town striker Elijah Adebayo. Adebayo was to be one of Luton's players of the season, and in the Brighton game Luton went 2-0 ahead inside the first three minutes. A few days later Luton were 4-2 up at Newcastle, and Hatters fans could be forgiven for thinking that things wouldn't get much better than this. They would be right. The Magpies came back to draw 4-4 in one of the Premier League games of the season.

Disappointing Defeats as Injuries Bite

Ross Barkley had been magnificent up to this point. Playing in a deeper role than he had been used to in his career he galvanised Luton's attacking play with both his skilful, driving runs and doing a football impression of an NFL quarterback with his passing. There were calls for him to be called up by England, and even some elderly Hatters fans were saying that he was the best player they had ever seen in a Luton shirt. It's fair to say that not since midfielder Ricky Hill in the 1980s, had the Hatters had such a talented footballer in their ranks.

But fate would prove not to be kind again in Luton Town's debut Premier League season. A wave of injuries derailed the team, and a 3-1 defeat at home to eventual bottom club Sheffield United was particularly hard to take for Hatters fans. While a 4-3 defeat in the replayed game at Bournemouth, after Luton had been 3-0 up, seemed like it could be a blow that the Hatters wouldn't be able to recover from. But fighting spirit was not something Luton would be short of, as last gasp equalisers, in-between the Bournemouth game, against Palace and Nottingham Forest* proved. Carlton Morris also scored a late winner in a 2-1 win at home to Bournemouth in early April, and the new skipper seemed overcome at the end.

Heavy Defeats

Points deductions for Forest and Everton over Financial Fair Play had helped Luton's relegation fight, but Luton couldn't capitalise with such a weakened team. Successive 5-1 defeats against Manchester City (who had won 6-2 at Kenilworth Road in the FA Cup, thanks to five goals from Erling Haaland) and Brentford, and an inability to win games, was leading to an inevitable conclusion to Luton's season.

Luton's penultimate game of the campaign was at West Ham - at the stadium of legends of the 2012 Olympics. Luton went ahead through Sambi Lokonga's first goal for the Hatters. But Luton had developed a bad habit of leading in games, then falling away. They had led against Liverpool at Anfield and at Tottenham at half-time, but came away with nothing. Against West Ham Luton led at the break, but slumped to a costly 3-1 defeat to remain third from bottom. Fourth from bottom Forest would also lose later in the day.

Hoping for a Miracle

So, with a twelve goal swing needed for Luton to stay up, relegation was virtually certain going into the final game of the season, at home to Fulham. Injuries again left Luton depleted and Fulham ruthlessly cashed in to win 4-2. Forest also won at Burnley anyway.

A Bright Future

Though the Hatters had a disappointing end to their first Premier League season, Luton Town's reputation as a club has been enhanced - the boringly predictable swipes at the Kenilworth Road stadium notwithstanding. Yes, a lot of fans of Premier League clubs are pampered little snobs. From here, with a strong squad for the Championship and a new stadium round the corner, it's a case of onwards and upwards for Luton Town.

Sources

2007–08 Derby County F.C. season - Wikipedia

Premier League Football Scores, Results & Season Archives - premierleague.com

Tom Lockyer putting family before football after cardiac arrest - BBC News

* Luke Berry's equaliser in this game made him the first Luton player to score in the top four divisions for the club.

Luton Town FC-Related Websites

Luton Town Football Club Official Website

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Luton Town Supporters' Trust – Non-profit organisation for the fans of Luton Town Football Club

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