Luton Town, the new Derby County?
It’s a huge statement, and one that needs clarifying early on. In recent seasons, being the next derby would suggest that I believe Luton are destined for a financial downfall, but it is not this iteration of Derby that I am comparing Luton to. No, for this comparison we have to go back 15 years to the 2007-2008 newly promoted Derby team. August 2007, Sean Kingston is making upbeat thinly veiled threats in his song Beautiful girls, and Optimism is in the air for the over achieving play off winners Derby County. Unless you were speaking to Captain Matt Oakley who set the tone of the season in an interview early on claiming ‘“Players aren’t going to leave clubs and sign for one they think is going to go down. They’re going to wait a year and see how Derby fares.” while the statement may have elements of truth to it, it may come under the category of things that are better left unsaid by the captain of the football club.
It’s worth mentioning some of the back story behind the Derby county campaign, that ultimately finished with a meagre 11 points (an all time low in premier league history). Just like Luton this year, Derby had achieved more than what was expected of them and managed to pull off a huge playoff victory on the last day of the season. But often a byproduct of being ahead of schedule is that you are behind in other areas of your planning. A squad built using players from the lower leagues, with minimal top flight experience and an average age of almost 30, the Rams would need to find the right combination of youth and experience to help give them a chance of staying up. Having identified the issue, movements were made with them bringing in Robert Earnshaw and Kenny Miller respectively, but they didn’t offer enough to return anything close to a successful campaign, despite Miller finishing as Derbys top scorer on 4 league goals.
There are some key differences between the two sides though. This Luton side on average are considerably younger (by about 5 years), whether or not that is a positive or a negative will be interesting to find out. However one thing that is a positive is Lutons stability in comparison. Derby had finished the play off final on a high, however there was an immediate grey cloud with Manager Billy Davies claiming not to know whether or not he would be at the club for the new season (he has since claimed this was due to an impending takeover, and not because he wanted to move on). No such rumours cloud Luton boss Rob Edwards who seems to be revelling in his brief but passionate love affair with the Play off champions. Having started the season with arch rivals Watford, before he was sacked relatively early on, after being assured he was hired to build a project at the club. It’s not unthinkable that his time at Watford may have served as a teaching moment for the ever impressive young manager, one that has helped grow the connection between him and the hatters faithful.
Early signs indicate they will be looking for bargains within the lower leagues which has proved relatively underwhelming amongst the Luton faithful so far however the rumoured upcoming medical of Chong from Birmingham could prove to be a savvy signing, having been Birmingham’s best player over the last two years. Admittedly there hasn’t been much competition for that title but if Luton can pick up some bargains nearer the end August, preferably from top flight clubs so that they can mix the right blend of hungry players from the lower leagues, with tried and tested players who have had experience playing with and against the best players.
Ultimately, although many will be considering Lutons survival chances as being slim, the Hatters faithful have enjoyed a decade climb from non league to the top flight and as such are no strangers to beating the odds. But it will take more than good vibes and stability to make sure they are up to Premier League standards for next season, and sensible but smart investment is required to make sure the feel good story of the championship last season hasn’t had their best chapter already written.
