Good afternoon, everyone, and a very warm welcome to Kenilworth Road for another huge occasion in which we are going to need every single Luton Town voice to be heard, loud and proud.
We welcome our visitors from Middlesbrough, who have become regular opponents in recent years since our first game back in the Championship on that balmy early August evening here in 2019.
The noise generated when Sonny Bradley crashed home that emphatic volley for our first second tier goal in 12 years literally made the Main Stand shake – and we want this current squad and our opponents to have “the full Kenny experience”, as Jordan Clark so brilliantly put it in his post-match interview on Tuesday night.
Jordan was speaking with the passion and the character we have come to expect from a man who had just scored a stunning volley of his own at Cardiff, adding to his collection of iconic goals in a Luton Town shirt. He knows from first-hand experience on so many occasions exactly how good it feels to have more than 10,000 of us Lutonians roaring the team on at home, and what an impact we all can have on their performance.
It is a real pleasure to be able to write these notes after a well-deserved and rare away win. Huge credit must go to the squad for the way they fought back from going behind, with Thelo Aasgaard netting the winner to cap a wonderful day for him personally having been called up to the senior Norway squad for the first time. Congratulations, Thelo.
That’s two wins in the last three games, six points from nine on offer, and it could well have been more if vital decisions hadn’t gone against us at crucial times in both the Watford and Burnley games.
Matt’s game plans are definitely coming to fruition and we have been able to establish more control, even in the Sheffield United and Plymouth games when we didn’t get our rewards, but have been disrupted by frustratingly harsh or plain wrong decisions by officials.
The penalty for Watford was given in the 11th minute and changed the game completely. It is hardly surprising that when a team is on a poor run and low in confidence are knocked by a bad decision so early it spoils the whole game. It is to the players’ credit that heads didn’t drop although clearly plans had to be altered.
In the Burnley game, Kal Naismith’s red card was in the 19th minute. We thought at the time that it was harsh, and it probably contributed to their first goal. There were other questionable decisions, which may or may not have affected the result, but would almost certainly have affected the final score. Goals matter if you’re in a dogfight at the bottom of the table.
If we in the stands are aghast by certain decisions, how must that affect those on the pitch? My brother, who was an international rugby player, would have seen some of the tackles and holding that takes place in the penalty area at Twickenham. I remember a time when it used to be “if in doubt favour the attacker”. When did that change?
These instances demonstrate how important it is for us to be loud and proud for our team. Those of you who went all the way to south Wales on a chilly Tuesday night were magnificent and were able to be heard by the players on the pitch and us from the other side of the ground. The connection from the 400-plus Hatters in the stand to the players and staff on the pitch was tangible, and we want to feel that again.
Currently, and in this position, it is so important that we be the 12th man. We generated an electric atmosphere here when we beat Sunderland in the second leg of the Championship play-off semi-final. It was that support that helped us to win a game that Sunderland already thought was done and dusted. We know that we have a squad capable of beating anyone in this division when they are at it, so let’s make it easier for them to be at their best for the next nine games.
When we are all nervous, we can feel it. The last 15 minutes on Tuesday felt like a lifetime to me and the relief was palpable. You are the best supporters there are, and we know you are disappointed that we are in this position, but we can do this with your help. We owe Middlesbrough one for earlier in the season, so let’s make this afternoon ours.
Elsewhere on the football side we continue to be encouraged by the performances of our academy teams and players on loan at other clubs.
Our Under-21s made it through to the knockout stage of the Premier League Cup for the first time, but despite a good performance went down 2-0 to Nottingham Forest. Several of us went to the game at Loughborough University and were encouraged by the display.
On Tuesday our Under-17s reached the final of the PDL Cup after beating Bolton Wanderers 5-0. Our academy has had trouble keeping up with our progress at senior level, and of course in our Conference years we lost most of our talented players to bigger clubs for little or no reward. However, as we’ve climbed the leagues, we have been able to attract better quality players, and the evidence is now showing in results and performances.
We are also hearing good reports on our players out on loan, in particular Oli Lynch at Hemel, Bim Pepple at Chesterfield and Jayden Luker at Grimsby. It feels as though our future is in good hands with so many young players vying for their places in the first team squad over the next few years.
“Surround yourself with positive people who will support you when it rains, not just when it shines.” – Anon.
Enjoy today’s game and please get behind Matt and the team from minute one, then we can give them the kind of full-time lap of appreciation that so many of our new boys have commented on since the Pompey win. We are stronger together!
COYH
David
