Five of the Town’s last 12 fixtures have been in the cups.
But while there has been virtue in The Vertu and the FA Challenge Cup’s had its challenges, it’s time to lock back into League One.
Sitting in seventh in the third tier, the Town now enter their busiest schedule of the season with seven games in the next 27 days, starting tonight at Leyton Orient.
Right. Shall we begin?
The inconsistency principle
It’s a curious division, is League One. There is no runaway leader and Burton, two places above the relegation zone, are six points off the play-offs. Hope for everyone.
The Hatters, who have yet to hit top gear this season, are a point off the top six and go into tonight’s game three points above Leyton Orient.
The Town and Orient have played 36 games between them this season and only six of them have been drawn. For the O’s, their last 15 games: seven wins, seven defeats and one draw in all competitions. You never quite know what you’re going to get. There’s a famous film quote in there somewhere.
It’s also worth noting that they’ve scored 29 (only Cardiff and Huddersfield have scored more) and conceded 29 (only Plymouth have conceded more).
The O’s, under manager Richie Wellens, are still smarting from a 4-0 thumping at Salford in the FA Cup on Friday night. It was live on the telly, too, so there was no hiding place, and you can be sure they’ll be up for this tonight.
Haven’t we met before?
So there’s this website. Hatters Heritage. You might have heard of it. Got information and line-ups of every single game we’ve ever played. Scans of every programme and photos of every player, too. Unreal work from a team of Hatters heroes.
If you want to know our record against Leyton Orient (and Clapton Orient and plain old Orient as they were also once just known. No really, simply ‘Orient’.) just check it out here.
As you’ll note if you’d clicked the link, tonight will be our first meeting since April 2017 when goals from Danny Hylton and Isaac Vassell earned us a point in a 2-2 draw at Kenilworth Road, and we’ve won on our last two visits to Brisbane Road, too.
Recent history – not that this has any bearing on tonight – is well and truly with the Town. In the past 21 meetings since March 1979, we’ve lost just twice, winning 15 of those.
And midweek trips to East London are at the forefront of our memory, including the time Jean Louis Valois curled in a beauty into the top corner on a Tuesday night with 2,500 Hatters in attendance back in 2001.
Played for both
There’s been a few. Some names in here!
Les Sealey, Scott Cuthbert, Adam Newton, Alex Lawless, Matthew Spring, Tony Grealish, Luke Guttridge, Scott Houghton, Vic Halom, Scott Oakes, Harry Cornick, Lee Angol, Nathan Abbey, Dean Brill, Marek Stech, Tyreeq Bakinson, Aaron Connolly, Barry Fry, Carl Griffiths, Alan McCormack, George Moncur, Ollie Palmer, Sam Parkin, Joe Pigott, Jayden Stockley, Soloman Taiwo and Andros Townsend.
Oh, and don’t forget Josh Keeley. The Town goalkeeper makes his return to Brisbane Road tonight after a successful loan spell last season. He even scored for the O’s and walked off with all of their end-of-season awards come the campaign’s end.
In charge
Darren Drysdale’s the man in the middle tonight. 14 games, 43 yellows and three reds so far this term for an experienced whistler, who first took charge of a Hatters game back in January 2005. A sergeant in the RAF, Mr Drysdale has also been a UEFA linesman and ran the line in the 2000 FA Cup final.
117 years of hurt
“Remember, remember the 9th of December” – says absolutely nobody. Again, what we’re about to type will not directly affect what happens on a pitch in East London this evening, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.
This day in history is a horrible one for the Town with just one win in 17 games on 9th December. The only win on this day? Back in 1908 against Southend in the FA Cup. Just 42,733 days ago. It’s been a miserable run since – four draws and nine defeats. Ouch.
Town team news
Jake Wilshere is likely to ring the changes after back-to-back cup ties in the past week. Goalkeeper Josh Keeley could be in contention for a return to his former club while Jerry Yates could return to the starting XI after scoring having come on at Fleetwood on Saturday.
Sing up, Luton!
From a long one on Saturday to a short one tonight. It’s a sell-out in the away end so please don’t travel to Brisbane Road if you don’t have a ticket because you’re not going to get in.
An old fashioned ground on a cold December night under the lights has all the ingredients of a good time, so bring your voices and give the team a cheer for those that can’t.
Tune in, turn on.
Simon Pitts will have his binoculars out in one of England’s highest and widest press boxes to describe to you the action as it happens from Brisbane Road, providing he’s brave enough to peer over the edge. More subscriber info right here, but it’s just £10 for a match pass.
You can also follow our social media channels for live updates as they happen, plus photos and behind-the-scenes content during the 90 minutes. Stay on lutontown.co.uk post-match for a full report, post-match reaction and the all-important highlights.
And finally...don’t be THAT fan.
A reminder to all supporters, no matter who you are, how old or who you’re supporting on the day, to go about your day with respect. We continue to support the Love Football, Protect the Game campaign.
Luton Town Football Club has committed in its customer charter to providing safe match-day experiences for all supporters regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation, and this applies equally to home and away fixtures.
In the event that any Luton supporters do make discriminatory chants, the Club will work with the police and football authorities to help identify such individuals. Any such fans would then face the strictest club sanctions, including football banning orders that would prevent them attending any matches, in addition to any criminal charges.
Furthermore, we would like to warn against pitch incursions and the use of pyrotechnics or missiles – which could lead to potential prosecution.
The Club can also be held responsible for the behaviour of its supporters, which could lead to substantial fines being imposed.
As a diverse and inclusive football club, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow EFL clubs in supporting the FA’s ‘Love Football. Protect the Game’ campaign and call on all fans to enjoy the game in a positive spirit.
If you are offended by any discriminatory abuse of any kind at any of our games, you can report it by clicking HERE, or by contacting your nearest steward immediately.
Alternatively, email [email protected] or report the incident via Kick it Out's free, confidential reporting app on the App Store and Google Play.
We're all Luton. UTT.
This week we're mostly liking...
It might not have been the end result we wanted, and fair play to Fleetwood, but Teden Mengi’s injury-time equaliser to force extra-time was a beauty on Saturday. And, in the pouring rain, it made for some excellent photographs, including this one.
