Match Day Thread Luton Town v Preston North End Kenilworth Road 14/3/2020

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LAST TIME OUT
WIGAN ATHLETIC 0 LUTON TOWN O

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A good point for the Hatters against fellow strugglers the Pies.
PRESTON NORTH END 1 QUEENS PARK RANGERS 3

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LUTON WIKI

Luton Town Football Club (/ˈluːtən/) is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknamed 'the Hatters' and affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association. The team plays its home matches at Kenilworth Road, where it has been based since 1905. The club's history includes major trophy wins, several financial crises, numerous promotions and relegations, and some spells of sustained success. It was perhaps most prominent between 1982 and 1992, when it was a member of English football's top division, at that time the First Division; the team won its only major honour, the Football League Cup, in 1988.

The club was the first in southern England to turn professional, making payments to players as early as 1890 and turning fully professional a year later. It joined the Football League before the 1897–98 season, left in 1900 because of financial problems, and rejoined in 1920. Luton reached the First Division in 1955–56 and contested a major final for the first time when playing Nottingham Forest in the 1959 FA Cup Final. The team was then relegated from the top division in 1959–60, and demoted twice more in the following five years, playing in the Fourth Division from the 1965–66 season. However, it was promoted back to the top level by 1974–75.

Luton Town's most recent successful period began in 1981–82, when the club won the Second Division, and thereby gained promotion to the First. Luton defeated Arsenal 3–2 in the 1988 Football League Cup Final and remained in the First Division until relegation at the end of the 1991–92 season. Between 2007 and 2009, financial difficulties caused the club to fall from the second tier of English football to the fifth in successive seasons. The last of these relegations came during the 2008–09 season, when 30 points were docked from Luton's record for various financial irregularities. Luton thereafter spent five seasons in non-League football before winning the Conference Premier in 2013–14, securing promotion back into the Football League.

LUTON HISTORY THE PLACE NOT THE TEAM

Luton (/ˈluːtən/ (

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listen))[7] is a large town, borough and unitary authority area of Bedfordshire, situated in the south east of England, but in the East of England region for administrative purposes. It has a population of 214,109 (mid-2018 est.)[5][8] and is one of the most populous towns without city status in the United Kingdom. The town is situated on the River Lea, about 30 miles (50 km) northwest of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon outpost on the River Lea, from which Luton derives its name. Luton is recorded in the Domesday Book as Loitone and Lintone[9] and one of the largest churches in Bedfordshire, St Mary's Church, was built in the 12th century.[10] There are local museums which explore Luton's history in Wardown Park[11] and Stockwood Park.[12]

Luton was for many years famous for hatmaking, and also had a large Vauxhall Motors factory. Car production at the plant began in 1905 and continued until the plant's closure in 2002.[13] Production of commercial vehicles continues, and the head office of Vauxhall Motors is still in the town.[14] London Luton Airport opened in 1938, and is now one of Britain's major airports,[15] with three railway stations also in the town. The University of Bedfordshire was created from a merger with the University of Luton,[16] and two of its campuses are in Luton.[17]

Luton Town Football Club, nicknamed "the Hatters" due to the town's connection to hatmaking, has had several spells in the top flight of the English league as well as a Football League Cup triumph in 1988. They play at Kenilworth Road, their home since 1905, and planning permission for a new larger stadium was approved in 2019.[18] Luton International Carnival, the largest one-day carnival in Europe, is held on the day before the last Monday in May,[19][n 1] and the Saint Patrick's festival is held on the weekend nearest to Saint Patrick's Day[20] as there is a large Irish community in Luton. The town also has a large Pakistani community, which along with the Irish were attracted to employment at the Vauxhall car plant.[21][22] Luton Hoo is an English country house, estate and Grade I listed building designed by Scottish architect Robert Adam.

FORM GUIDE MAX 25
LUTON 11 PNE 6

Looking forward to visiting Kenilworth Road for the first time, although get the sinking feeling that I won't be paying my first visit on Saturday, the ground hasn't changed since about 1985 when Millwall arrived and completely rearranged it

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Was looking forward to the unique entrance to an away end via Mrs Patel's on Oak Road but due to this frigging virus suspect the Football League are going to do completely the wrong thing and play the game behind closed doors.

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Luton have been scrapping for their survival in recent weeks and have had an upturn in form, still think it will be touch and go whether they stay up under manager Graeme Jones.
Keeper Simon Sluga record signing has had a bit of an up and down season some major blunders but pulled off a worldie on Saturday to earn them a point at Wigan.
News from us Pearson appears to be fit which is a bonus, no gimme this but still sixth even though we have been trying to lose that position in recent weeks.

Match Officials: Luton Town Away

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The referee appointed to take charge of Saturday’s clash with Luton Town will be refereeing the Lilywhites for the first time in a league
Matthew Donohue will be the man with the whistle for the game and whilst it is his first match in the EFL Championship, he did referee our 4-0 win at Bradford City back in August in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

In 2018/19 the match official took charge of 37 games, issuing 135 cautions and seven red cards and this season he has officiated 26 games, issuing 106 cautions and four red cards – his last game being Fleetwood Town’s 1-0 win over Portsmouth on 22nd February.
This will also be the referee’s first Hatters game of the season and in fact his first game refereeing Graeme Jones’ men in any game in his two years on the EFL lists.
This season he has primarily refereed Championship games, having been promoted to the Select Group Two list, the most recent being West Brom’s 2-1 win at Reading last month.

The other members of the third team involved in Saturday’s game see Matt Foley and Mark Jones as the assistants and Craig Hicks taking fourth official responsibilities.

 

I think Pep Guadiola is right: cancel games not play in empty grounds. Start a fund from the richer clubs to support smaller clubs who will lose out. Time for pigs to test their wings!

 

All off until 3/4/2020 at least more than likely August

 

You are probably right, especially seeing the UK government seem to be acting like rabbits caught in cars' headlights. Karen Brady is asking for the 2019/20 season to be cancelled - West Ham are on the verge of being relegated and we all think the Hammers should be in the Premiership. So she thinks!

 

Bloody hell, a match thread to contemplate, well there would be if I hadn't had written this one three months ago, what has changed in the main time in relation to this game, Town have re appointed Welsh man Nathan Jones as manager replacing Graeme Jones who had in turn taken over fro Nathan Jones. You can guess what the surname of their next manager will be!!!

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A different Nathan Jones

The referee has changed as well it is now John Brooks, also the match will now be played behind closed doors, I was going but will now be watching by I player.

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Other changes five substitutes can be used and match day squads will be bigger and the team will have to travel using two coaches, it will be football but not as we know it.
No idea how this will play out suspect it wll depend on fitness and use of the substitutes, truly odd times but come three o'clock on Saturday will look forward to remembering those heady times when Fisher wins a cheap free kick by the corner flag.

 

Match Officials: Luton Town Away

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For this Saturday’s resumption of Championship action, we have a referee taking charge of his fourth Preston North End game of the season and his second away from Deepdale.

The match official for the trip to Kenilworth Road, as we take on what is now Nathan Jones’ Luton Town, is John Brooks, now in his second season on the Select Group Two list of referees.

The Leicestershire ref was in charge of North End’s 3-2 home win over Millwall in December 2018 and the 3-1 home victory over Stoke City in front of the Sky Sports cameras back in August 2019, as well as the New Year’s Day clash with Middlesbrough in PR1.
In the month before the pausing of the division, he also refereed the Lilywhites’ victory over Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium, when Tom Barkhuizen and Alan Browne were the scorers.
His 26 games so far this season, before the lockdown began, have produced just 92 cautions and just one red card, his last game being Derby County’s 3-0 home win over Blackburn Rovers on 8th March.

He will be assisted by Tim Wood and Adam Crysell, whilst the fourth official will be Tom Nield.

 

Listened to a bit of the Man City against the Gunners. It was eerie. Sterling's goal and it was all over. It will eerie at Kenilworth Road. Hope you got your i-thingy free, Mac.

 

Yep can watch on the puter also got money back on ticket

 

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Two points dropped against poor opposition whose only shot on target went in, deserved lead through Sinclair, have to say I player only started working halfway through the first half.
The substitutions played a part their's actual made them better than they were and ours made us look worse, getting close behind anyone of 7 can get the last place

 

Luton Town 1 McManaman Preston North End 1Sinclair

Substitute Callum McManaman's fine late strike earned struggling Luton Town a draw with play-off hopefuls Preston North End in Nathan Jones' first game back in charge at Kenilworth Road.

Former Wigan winger McManaman found the top corner with a unstoppable shot from the edge of the box with the home side's first effort on target.

Up until then Preston had been the better team on the return of Championship football behind closed doors, deservedly going ahead when Tom Barkhuizen got the better of Martin Cranie and fed Scott Sinclair, who was allowed to move inside and sidefoot into the far corner.

But it was Luton who looked most likely to find a stoppage-time winner, Ryan Tunnicliffe curling just over Declan Rudd's goal from long range.

Sean Maguire twice went close for the visitors in a scrappy first half, denied by the sprawling Simon Sluga after the Irishman saw a low effort deflect wide.

Luton could have fallen further behind before their leveller, Paul Gallagher's free-kick palmed away by Sluga and Ben Pearson's fierce drive flying just over.

On this performance - despite claiming a late point - Jones has a lot of work to do if Luton are to escape from the relegation zone.

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McManaman's wonderstrike was their only effort on goal as they looked understandably off the pace after the league's three-month suspension because of coronavirus.

Neil will be frustrated that his side were unable to see out a win that would have given his side a three-point buffer over the play-off chasing pack.

While Preston were not at their best the likes of Maguire, Gallagher and Ben Pearson looked relatively sharp given the lack of recent match action.

 

Luton boss Nathan Jones told BBC Three Counties Radio:

"If we'd have nicked it possibly it would have been harsh on Preston because they're a very good side."As long as we're still in the mix, and right now we're a point closer to safety than we were when we started, if we can do that over nine games then eventually we'll be out of there."At the minute we're not at the levels we need to be because we've had three weeks work with them, we're not miracle workers."

Preston manager Alex Neil told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"I'm not satisfied with a point today, that's me being brutally honest, it would be easy to wash over it and say it's the first game and I'm quite happy.

"As a squad I'm not happy we haven't won the game, because we deserved to.

"We lacked a bit of concentration for that big moment and it has cost us."