Good evening, everyone and a very warm welcome to Kenilworth Road for this League One clash against Northampton Town.
The Cobblers are having a difficult season, but we all know that has little relevance to tonight’s game because even with the slimmest chance they’ll be fighting for their lives.
We wish them well whatever the outcome this season. They have had a taste of life at the top in the past having been promoted to the old First Division in 1965, but it was brief as they were relegated at the end of that season.
More players than I thought have played for both clubs and many of them will be remembered by you as being influential during their time with us. These include the likes of Nathan Abbey, Alan Sheehan, Terry Branston, John Moore, Michael Harriman, Leon Barnett, Dean Beckwith, Clarke Carlisle, Peter Kioso, Hakeem Odoffin, Greg Taylor, Alan McCormack, Lawson D’Ath, Luke Guttridge, Matt Taylor, Bob Hatton, James Collins, Steve Howard, Dean Crowe, Sam Parkin, Danny Hylton, John Moore, Alan Starling and Cameron McGeehan, who will be in visiting squad this evening
That’s quite a list and apologies if I’ve left anyone out. I’m privileged that I have seen them all in a Luton shirt. I’m sure that a lot of you will have special memories of many. It doesn’t seem fair to single out any, but personally I must mention Terry Branston, who captained us to my first promotion as a fan in 1967/68 and a further one two years later. That was after taking Northampton from the fourth to the first tier in successive seasons in the early 60s. An astonishing achievement for a no-nonsense tough tackling centre half.
It’s been a real Luton season, hasn’t it? Huge expectations and massive disappointments with frustration overflowing. Since we became custodians in 2008, we have only had nothing to play for at the end of the season a couple of times. Otherwise, we have been fighting relegation, reaching the play-offs or being promoted. We have been to Wembley twice in the EFL Trophy and twice in play-offs having been forced to play at the Etihad when Wembley was closed.
The general consensus was that the season had been decided a while ago and yet some consistent results and massively improved performances find us at Wembley and with some hope of reaching the play-offs again this year.
There can be no other club that has been through the divisions like us. When I first came to the Kenny, we were third in the top-flight. Over the next 10 years we slipped to the lower echelons of Division Four and then climbed to the top again by 1975.
That’s three times all the way to the top and bottom since my first game in September 1958. It’s in our DNA and it makes us who we are warts and all. Personally, I relish the challenges good and bad.
As I get back to writing this on Monday morning, we find ourselves with another trophy. What a magnificent performance and wonderful day it was on Sunday. Now we must hope that, like the last time, but for different reasons, we are unable to defend the trophy next season.
Although it’s often denigrated as a competition, there is something special about it. It is more intimate. Some would say more real and the football more exciting and unpredictable. It is an opportunity for teams, their players and fans, who otherwise may never get the chance to experience the home of football and fulfil some of their dreams. It was wonderful on Sunday to see so many families, young children and new supporters of ours having a fun and affordable afternoon. It is so sad to see so many priced out of being able to attend real live football as it was meant to be enjoyed. You really cannot replicate the live experience on a screen. When I first visited Kenilworth Road, you could close your eyes and know where you were. The sounds and the smells were so evocative.
Winning the EFL Trophy in 2009 was particularly special for us because we had suffered point deductions, including the 30 we lost that relegated us to non-league. Mick Harford was our manager, and we had 42,000 fans in the stadium. It was another dramatic game of football. Sunday provided an opportunity for a reunion with most of the team that played that day 17 years ago.
Goalscorers Chris Martin, Tom Craddock and Claude Gnakpa were joined by Asa Hall, George Pilkington, Keith Keane, Rossi Jarvis, Michael Spillane, Ed Asafu-Adjaye and Jake Howells as well as Alan Neilson and it was great to see them looking well and enjoying the day.
The same could be said of several other Hatters heroes including Tom Lockyer, David Pleat and John Still. Jack now of course joins those two legendary managers to have silverware on their CVs while at Kenilworth Road.
Those of us who have been around a while know that football, like life itself, is a game of cycles, momentum, luck and uncertainty. This has been particularly true for us this year. Our players have had it tough at times and one of my highlights on Sunday was to see their genuine joy and togetherness when they received the trophy. It was very well-deserved and with that kind of camaraderie you can achieve anything.
The next three weeks are going to be a little tense, but we are Luton and never make things easy for ourselves. We all want the same thing and it’s possible. So good luck to everyone.
It was great to see young Kayden lead the team out as mascot with Kal. His family have been through a lot with his diagnosis. The social media clips of him with the lads at the Peterborough game were genuinely heart-warming. Noah Campbell was at that game against Posh but sadly passed away later that evening. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. It was an emotional moment when all those inside Wembley rose to remember him in the 13th minute. Rest in peace, Noah.
Thank you for your magnificent backing at Wembley and here’s to a rollercoaster final five games of the season.
“In union there is strength.” Aesop
Enjoy the game.
COYH!
David
