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What a season it has been for Luton Town, from scraping survival in the Championship last season to finishing in the top half of the league this time around.
Nathan Jones has repaired his relationship with the fans through several excellent performances, he has taken a team with a woeful defensive record and turned them into one of the toughest teams to beat, whilst not completely sacrificing the attacking output that saw the Hatters survive last year. It’s been a great season for Luton, let’s have a look back at some of the key moments.
Five Key Games
Barnsley 0 – 1 Luton Town
The Luton Town of 2019/20 did not keep many clean sheets.
They would score goals but were incredibly easy to score past. In the Championship last year, their first game saw them draw 3-3 with a Middlesbrough team that flattered to deceive in the Championship.
Their opening fixture this time around was against a Barnsley team that had been wildly impressive under Gerhard Struber and not only did Luton manage to score, but they managed to defend excellently to keep out one of the most intensely attacking teams in the division.
Less possession, fewer shots and fewer passes and yet the Hatters held on. It was the first we had seen of this new, aggressive, tough Luton team.
Luton Town 3 – 1 Norwich City
One of the few games in the EFL this season to take place with fans, and it was a great advertisement of what a loud Kenilworth Road can do to a visiting team.
Norwich ran away with the Championship this year and yet were blown away by the power of the 1000 Luton fans and the overwhelming counter-attacking ability of Nathan Jones’ Luton.
A much-changed team allowed Norwich possession and shots but hit hard and fast on the counter, winning set-pieces high up the pitch and making them count.
A startling victory, and one which perfectly summed up the positive feeling around the Luton camp at the time.
Luton Town 3 – 0 Preston North End
It should not be a shock that two games out of the five selected were the only games with fans in the stadium. This time there were 2000 of them and the result was even more convincing.
A full-strength lineup this time and a James Collins hat-trick settled the game easily.
Preston tried to dominate but offered little threat whilst Luton recorded 19 shots.
It could have been four or five, but there wouldn’t have been anyone left complaining at the end of the night.
James Collins has been a spectacular player for the club over the last few years and it will be interesting to see how Luton adapt to life without their reliable striker, now that he is heading to Cardiff City.
Luton Town 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday
One criticism that was (fairly) levied on the Bedfordshire team last season, under the stewardship of Graeme Jones, was that they lacked backbone and would roll over at the first sight of difficulty.
Here, they conceded twice in the first half to Josh Windass’ goals and fought their way back into the lead spectacularly to take the three points.
Elijah Adebayo’s 80th-minute winner tied things up and thus the message was repeated. Luton will not go quietly, not anymore.
Luton Town 1 – 0 Watford
This one had to go in. It has been years and years since this derby was played at the “Kenny” and Luton walked away with one of their more deserved victories of the season.
Luton carried the greater threat throughout but it looked as though poor finishing would be their downfall, with efforts from Luke Berry, Sonny Bradley and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall all failing to overly trouble Watford ‘keeper Daniel Bachmann.
It took James Collins’ penalty to beat the Hornets with twelve minutes of the game remaining. The memories of this game became even fonder for Luton fans when former Hatters striker, Andre Gray thought he had equalised and celebrated excessively, only for the goal to be disallowed.
A famous victory against an exceptional Championship team ensured that Luton headed into the last weeks of the season in a buoyant mood.
Transfers and their impact
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
His first game for Luton saw fans on Twitter exclaim that he was a player of Premier League quality and calibre. He ran games for his team, again and again, playing all across the midfield.
He turned players inside out with the ball at his feet, he notched up six league assists and a goal or two to boot. KDH is a massive reason for Luton’s success this year and, after returning to Leicester City, it will be a massive job to replace him. The 22-year-old collected the Supporters Player of the Season award for his performances.
Kal Naismith
An unbelievable free transfer. Rhys Norrington-Davies had been the LB up until January but was recalled and sent to Stoke at the halfway point of the season and so Nathan Jones was scrambling to find a suitable replacement.
He instead found one of the most effective utility-men that the Championship has seen. Left-back, centre-back, central midfield, left midfield, Naismith played everywhere and performed everywhere. An exceptionally reliable player and one who should take a lot of credit for his side’s defensive performances in the second half of the season.
Elijah Adebayo
A January deadline day signing from Walsall that got everyone excited. A massive aerial threat, endless reserves of energy and a nightmare for opposing defenders. He got started at the club in excellent fashion with a number of vital goals, including the winner against Sheffield Wednesday.
He will go a long way to filling the void left by the departing James Collins and has a very high ceiling at only 23 years old. His five goals and two assists in 18 appearances are enough to make Luton supporters keen to see the striker in person next season.
Key player
Matty Pearson
It could have been Dewsbury-Hall or James Collins, but their importance has been praised enough and this is a player that doesn’t always get the necessary respect.
One of the mainstays of this team for years and years, a commanding centre-half who gave his all every time he was on the pitch this season. Luton have the best points-per-game when Pearson is on the pitch and that is no mistake.
He didn’t always play under Graeme Jones last year but has been nearly undroppable this season, even playing at right-back when it was asked of him. Pearson proved a very key player in improving this season’s defensive record and he will be another key player that will need replacing with a move to Huddersfield having been confirmed upon the expiry of his contract. A huge player and a modern-day Luton Town legend.
Season verdict
Many would say that they overachieved on expectations this year after the performances of last season, but there is a very positive feeling around Kenilworth Road when Nathan Jones is sat in the driving seat and possibly the Championship’s most passionate manager would have been targeting a mid-table finish this time around.
They certainly had the talent in the squad for it and have hit their mark with impressive accuracy. It has been a massive year of improvement for this family club from the south, and there is a suggestion that this could be the start of a genuinely exciting journey.
Hopes for next season
Luton’s objectives could well depend entirely on how effective the club are in the transfer market. James Collins, Matty Pearson, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and a few others all need replacing and, though Mick Harford has shown himself to be an exceptional recruiter in the past, he hasn’t faced a summer with the importance of this one before.
The signing of Fred Onyedinma is an excellent start though, and if things go well, the target will be hovering around those play-off places. There is never any guarantees in the transfer market and so another mid-table finish could be crucial as the club ambitiously eye up a promotion run in the next few seasons.
A big window for Luton, but there are reasons to be excited.
Article by Theo Hewson Betts
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