Luton, what can we anticipate after our previous gathering was 31 years ago?
For our last competitive encounter with Luton Town, you must travel back to March 1992 to a scoreless draw at Kenilworth Road in the previous First Division.
When the Premier League debuted the following season, 1992/93, Luton was relegated from the league and lost out on the revolution in English football. They stayed outside of the top division until Rob Edwards led them to promotion via the play-offs and a victory over Coventry City in the Wembley final on penalties in May.
What can we anticipate from Saturday’s early kickoff at a revamped Kenilworth Road, 31 years after our previous encounter?
Michael Dawson, a renowned former captain who is currently a club ambassador, a podcast host, and a well-liked analyst on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, takes a look at the Hatters in a “opposition view” special. Dawson covered the team’s away Premier League encounter against Brighton back in August.
Michael: “They’ve won one and drawn one out of seven so far. I covered their first match of the season at Brighton and I’ve watched them a few times.
Brighton dominated that day, 27 shots, scored four goals. Luton are very direct, very physical. Look at the goals against Everton, then the goal against Burnley on Tuesday night, where Reece Burke wins the first contact and heads down for Elijah Adebayo to score.
That’s their biggest threat. They play to their strengths, and Spurs will have to deal with that. One thing they have got is spirit, in abundance. They won’t change. However, Spurs will dominate the ball, even at Kenilworth Road, and I’d expect us to have the quality on the ball to win this one.”
First of all, Carlton Morris, a guy I truly like and who has performed well this season, is up front. He scored a fantastic free-kick goal that helped them defeat Everton last weekend.
They play for set pieces, and he will frequently get his head on them. He is a real handful. I like Ryan Giles since he has a lot of Championship experience. Ross Barkley, who has a wealth of knowledge and talent, has also been added, but he is injured.
Supervisor: Rob Edwards
He deserves a lot of credit for promoting Luton last season, says Michael. He strikes me as a gentleman. He was successful at Forest Green, but things didn’t work out at Watford.
He waited for another chance, and when Luton presented itself, he successfully guided them into the Premier League for the first time. He did a fantastic job.
Previously, we met
It’s reasonable to say that our last competitive encounter, which took place on March 11, 1992, more than 31 years ago, won’t be long remembered. At Kenilworth Road, there were no goals scored. Gordon Durie came the closest to breaking the tie for us, while Ceri Hughes and Brian Stein gave Luton their best shot but were stopped by Erik Thorstvedt. Before the Premier League debuted in 1992–1993, Luton was demoted during the last season of the previous First Division. We came in fifteenth. Since then, we’ve played a friendly match at Luton, drawing 1-1 on August 7, 2001, with a goal from Sergei Rebrov.
