Which game have you enjoyed the most to date and why?
So far this season there have been games of real quality such as the 1-1 draw with Sunderland, 2-2 draw with Charlton and 3-2 defeat to Barnsley where Luton have come across teams who can knock the ball about as well as them. All these results weren’t great but it has been a learning curve and spurred Luton on since, giving the fans some great games to watch. None more so than Luton’s 5-1 demolition of Plymouth Argyle in front of a packed Kenilworth Road.
The football on show from Luton was scintillating and it feels strange to say but the half time scoreline of 4-0 didn’t do Luton justice. This was the most goals Luton had scored in a game since Boxing Day 2017 in a 5-0 away win over Swindon and it felt like last season again where everything just clicked for Luton. Although the second half only provided 1 Luton goal it was enjoyable to watch them toying with a Plymouth Argyle side, who in fairness weren’t the worst team I’ve seen Luton play this season (I’m talking about you Bristol Rovers).
A video of Luton’s 3rd goal scored by James Justin went viral on Twitter and drew praise from EFL on Quest pundits Colin Murray and Ian Holloway, the latter comparing it to Manchester City. With 16 passes in the build-up, after a combination of Andrew Shinnie and James Collins won the ball high up the field, every player except the ‘keeper touched the ball before a slide rule pass from the man who started the move found Cornick who put it on a plate for the Left Back of all people to score. With Danny Hylton back from suspension and Harry Cornick gaining more of an eye for goal I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a game later on this season that actually betters it.
What has been the lowest point of your season so far?
In a season where Luton are either over-performing in the eyes of some fans, or are just about where they should be in the eyes of others there have been few low points on the pitch, other than a woeful 45 minutes a Peterborough where nothing seemed to click and the referee had a shocker and O’Kane’s unfortunate injury.
The only low point has come off the pitch and that was the false accusations of racism during the 4-1 dismantling of Accrington Stanley. Despite the best efforts of two BBC journalists trying to tarnish Luton as a football club all accusations were false and no evidence was found to suggest anything otherwise after it was investigated by the Club, the police and various independent bodies. Fortunately for Luton this hasn’t affected anything that’s happened on the pitch and since then Luton have been on a meteoric rise, and Accrington have been on a pretty steep decline.
How do you think the second half of the season will go for you?
With Luton seemingly the team to watch at this moment in time one would hope that they carry this momentum and level of performance into the second half of the season. As we have found out in previous years, the second half of the season always tends to be harder as the teams at the wrong end of the table fight for their lives and pull off shock results.
Luton showed a different side to normal in the FA cup tie against Bury, having to dig in, defend and counter. The fact that Luton can defend well coupled with lethal streak on the break, combined with their ability to play teams off the park suggest that the second half of the season will be as good as the first. If Luton can make it through a tough start to 2019 with games against Barnsley, Portsmouth, Sunderland and Peterborough as well as a few tricky away ties at Southend and Shrewsbury, and remain in touching distance of the automatic positions and open up a gap over 7th place then anything is possible.
It’s an exciting time to be a Luton Town fan.
What will you be hoping to see happen at your club in the transfer window?
Jones always states that he doesn’t look to add numbers to the squad for numbers sake. He stresses that a player must be better than what they already have at their disposal to bring him in to the squad. Former Derby County forward Simon Dawkins was on trial with the club in the summer but he was deemed not be better than what Luton already had in Lee, Shinnie, Grant and Berry meaning that signing was never made.
It’s obvious Luton could do with strengthening the defensive midfield position in January as the fitness of Alan McCormack could be an issue after the midpoint of the season and with Championship clubs bound to be circling Pelly like vultures a good addition is vital. The fact that Jones was able to convince O’Kane to join Luton suggests that Luton are an appealing club and with a chance at going up they should be able to attract a good pedigree of players for the next level.
When it comes to selling players however I’d like to see Luton get a good amount for any player they sell. Jones said that no one is in a hurry to leave the club and that’s the best thing a fan can hear. However, the good performances at this level are obviously going to attract bigger clubs in a higher division, but with in-demand players such as James Justin and Dan Potts tied down to longer term deals Luton could expect to be asking for a few million in transfer fees over the next month or so.
Which other League 1 players would you like to see your side sign?
As previously mentioned I think Luton need another defensive midfielder. My dream signing in that position would be Max Power. Although Power has a poor disciplinary record so far this season, when he played at Kenilworth Road I thought he was a class above. He showed so much composure on the ball and a real aggressive streak which wouldn’t go amiss in the current Luton squad. Unfortunately this is completely unrealistic as Sunderland wouldn’t be looking to offload a player of this quality if they have serious ambitions of returning to, and consolidating in, the Championship. Another League One player I’d like to see Luton sign is George Dobson from Walsall who again had a good game at Kenilworth Road, despite this it’s unlikely he would leave Walsall and he has no experience of the Championship.
There a few strikers in League One who I wouldn’t mind Luton having a look at. With Elliot Lee expected to attract a lot of attention in January and the recent injury record of Danny Hylton, Luton could arguably do with another striker to push the current crop forward. At this level Tom Eaves wouldn’t be a bad signing. The divisions top scorer would jump at the chance to move to a team at the right end of the table but there would be massive question marks over whether he has the sort of quality Jones is looking for.
One strange signing would be Jason Cummings. I’ve seen a lot of speculation suggesting that Posh may send him back to Forest in January and if they’re willing to give up a striker of that quality then Luton should grasp the opportunity to bring him in. A player who scored 20+ goals in each of his seasons at Hibernian, and had 4 Championship goals and 6 Rangers goals to his name last season would fit the mould of high-end League One striker who has the potential to cut it at the level above. He scored 6 goals in as many games for Peterborough but after a video of his off-the-pitch antics went viral he seems to have fallen out of form and favour, but his quality is undeniable and all us Luton fans witnessed that first hand when he scored twice for Peterborough in our 3-1 loss there at the beginning of the season.
Those would be my picks from League One, but hopefully Jones is looking at players from a higher level to really add to the squad he has at his disposal.
Any other comments you’d like to make about your team or the season?
This season has been brilliant so far and it’s important to just sit back and enjoy the ride. The club are in a fantastic place at the moment on and off the pitch and I think following the last decade or so we know that this won’t last forever. It’s refreshing to be mixing with the big boys like Portsmouth, Sunderland, Charlton and Barnsley again and I for one will be making the most of this season and if all goes well myself and 9,000 other Luton fans will all be celebrating promotion or play-off qualification come May.
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