Going Down?: Luton Town

Last updated : 25 March 2007 By Hatters News
What's gone wrong this season for your team?
It's hard to put a finger on any one thing in particular. Selling our best players obviously doesn't help, but after selling Howard and Nichols in the summer we were playing well and in the play-offs as recently as October.
Selling Vine in January was probably the biggest loss, as he was scoring the goals that were keeping us comfortably in mid-table.
We've had quite a few injuries to key players, but then every team goes through a spell of missing players so that's no excuse. The stroke suffered by Sol Davis was a big shock to everyone, and probably accounted for the result at Ipswich, but that's all.
There's the usual spin and false promises regarding a new stadium and investment from the boardroom which probably doesn't help, but then that never changes at Luton Town.

Are you behind the manager? Or is it all his fault?
Up until a few weeks ago most fans were still behind Newell, but I think the poor results and one outburst too many and enough was enough.
Some fans still don't agree with the sacking, but I think the pressure was beginning to tell as Newell was making some strange selection choices, including playing a centre back up front in one game when we had three strikers on the bench.
Not having much money to spend on new signings, and having to sell your best players has always been the way at Luton, so I don't know why Newell expected anything else! The players still appeared to be behind Newell before his sacking, but I think we need a new man with new ideas to give them the kick up the backside they need.

Which will be the key games in your run-in?
They are all key now with games (and points!) running out, but obviously the games against the other teams around us are important (Burnley, QPR, Southend).

Predict how many points you'll finish on. Will that be enough to stay up?
They way we are playing at the moment, without any confidence, it's hard to see where the next point will come from. I can't see us picking many more points between now and the end of the season, so no, not enough to stay up.

Do you think Hull City will survive the drop?
Hull will almost certainly survive the drop, mainly because of the many appalling teams below them.

Which three teams are going down?
Southend, Leeds, Luton. Definitely think Leeds and Luton will go down, as they don't appear to be able to put enough of a run together and are running out of games. I've gone for Southend but it could be any one of five teams for that final spot.

Will you bounce straight back up?
We've certainly got the quality in the squad to bounce back up, just as long as we find the right manager for the job who can motivate and unlock that potential that is and always has been there.

Luton's form this season:


Courtesy of HattersNews