The Luton thread

[djs]

I don't know if Keifer Moore is off somewhere, but if not I can only see Collins as being a sub. I think that the reason he left was because he didn't like only being a sub with us now Adebayo had overtaken him in the pecking order, so that wouldn't go down well (although the bigger pay packet will help.)

 

[oakroader]

an "i was there" moment...
saw this and brought back memories ..any one else go?

George Best: How Man Utd legend left for Dunstable Town​

By Frank KeoghBBC Sport
Last updated on21 May 202121 May 2021.From the sectionFootball

Best - then aged 28 - had won the European Cup and the Ballon d'Or at Manchester United
"As you get older, you look back and think: how the hell did I pull that off?"
It was perhaps the most surprising move of all time, for one of the world's greatest players.
He was a football icon and still only 28. They were bottom of the Southern League Division One North.
George Best played on the biggest stages - against star-studded teams for Northern Ireland and Manchester United, scoring in a famous European Cup final triumph.
Barry Fry was the man who took him to Dunstable Town - a side who were getting crowds of 34 and 43.
On the day Best would have turned 75, this is the story of how a sporting legend left Old Trafford for Creasey Park, told by the man who made it happen.

"He was a genius on the field. A skinny kid, but he rode tackles like no-one else; a wizard at dribbling, with the heart of a lion. He was the best player I've ever seen."
Fry is reflecting on his friendship with Best. They were teenage team-mates at Manchester United's youth academy. One became a playing great, the other one of the game's most colourful managers.
Just as Fry had been mentored by Johnny Giles and Nobby Stiles as a youngster at Old Trafford, manager Sir Matt Busby wanted him to help Best settle in after he arrived from Belfast in 1961.
"I was asked to watch out for this young lad but he only lasted two or three days before he ran back home to his parents. He used to go all red, he was a very shy boy," remembers Fry.
"United talked to his parents, persuaded him to return and he never looked back. He was brilliant, he trained sensationally. He'd beat three or four blokes, then beat another three or four blokes."

Best, pictured here in August 1963, at 17. He died on 25 November 2005, aged just 59, his life and career cut short by an addiction to alcohol
Fry used to buy the two complimentary tickets Best received for each match. It gave his pal some cash and his own girlfriend's father the chance to see his favourite team. Fry thought nothing of it, but for Best it was very different - as Fry would later find out.
While Fry struggled with blood clots and called an early halt to his playing career, Best was changing the game after being fast-tracked from the A team to the first team.
Football had seen nothing like it. Pace, poise, balance, control and resilience - he danced around opponents in the glory, glory days for Manchester United.
Best thrived alongside team-mates Bobby Charlton and Denis Law as United won the First Division title twice before landing the coveted European Cup in 1968 - 10 years after the club had been devastated by the Munich air disaster.
He was named European Footballer of the Year, the press called him the fifth Beatle, but his career did not quite reach the same peaks again, albeit illuminated by beautiful cameos such as his six goals in one FA Cup tie against Northampton Town.

Best and manager Sir Matt Busby pose with the European Cup following United's 4-1 victory over Benfica at Wembley in 1968. Best scored the goal to put them 2-1 up, in extra time
Distractions off the field dominated, and an increasing reliance on alcohol changed him forever.
By 1974, he had fallen out with United boss Tommy Docherty and played his last game for the club after 178 goals in 466 matches.
"He didn't like Tommy Docherty, he hit the self-destruct button and ran away from it all. What a shame that he packed up at 28," says Fry.
Best retreated to his Manchester nightclub and it was in the Bootle Street venue called Slack Alice that Fry put a bold offer to his old pal.

The Dunstable job was the first of many for Fry
"I got the job as Dunstable manager. My first crowd was 34, and the next was 43 because I made all my family come from Bedford," laughs Fry, now aged 76 and director of football at Peterborough United.
"Attendances were so small, rather than announcing the team changes to the crowd, we'd announce the crowd changes to the team. We were about to finish at the bottom for the ninth year running, and I needed a gimmick."
That Sunday night in Slack Alice, Best agreed to turn out in two pre-season matches. The only issue was Docherty, who held the player's registration. Fry went to see him.
"Dunstable Town! What makes you think Bestie will play for 'Dunstabubble' when I can't get him to play for Man United?" boomed Docherty in his office at the The Cliff, where United trained.
The Scot was eventually persuaded and even agreed to send a United reserve team down as opposition, reportedly with the help of a sweetener from building magnate and Dunstable Town owner Keith Cheeseman.
Cheeseman had already helped to recruit ex-England striker Jeff Astle. There was much more to the new chairman than the odd shady business deal - as we will see later.
Report
Old Trafford, the Bernabeu. Wembley. Creasey Park.
"It's not very often that such a renowned footballer plays for your local team," observes Colin Tibbett, 80.
He was there with thousands of others - estimates vary from 3,500 to 10,000 - on the evening of Monday, 5 August 1974. The night George Best played for Dunstable.
"He had the touches, he was a really good ball player. He may have lost a bit of pace, but it was still Bestie," says Tibbett.
Temporary stands, a shed that doubled as a tea bar and hundreds crammed onto a mound overlooking the ground. Souvenir programmes were 5p. Being there was priceless.
"It was electric," remembers Fry.
"As a schoolboy, I played at Wembley in front of 90,000 people in an England v Scotland game and that was deafening.
"Believe you me, that night at Creasey Park, the reception Bestie got was out of this world."

The United team included George Graham, who went on to manage Arsenal and Spurs. Dunstable ran out 3-2 winners and the match featured on BBC News.
"Dunstable did brilliantly out of it. The place was packed to the rafters," Best wrote in his autobiography Blessed. "The crowd ran on to the pitch at the end and I was mobbed."
Fry said the players could barely believe who was in the dressing room alongside them.
"They wanted autographs, photographs. Bestie was just one of the lads with no airs and graces. I think we left Creasey Park at about 2am - they just enjoyed his company," he says.
"We'd had a full house inside and 5,000 outside. Dunstable had arrived."

Best's stint at Dunstable was the first of several short associations with various clubs around the world
A week later, Best was back at the sixth-tier club - this time facing Irish side Cork Celtic, managed by former Chelsea striker Bobby Tambling, after an eventful journey down south.
"His car broke down and he was at Knutsford services," says Fry.
"When I told everyone, they assumed he wouldn't turn up, but he got a taxi from there to Dunstable and arrived 20 minutes before the game."
Best had reportedly been paid £200 a week. He donated £25 so Dunstable could afford new nets for the goals.
The increased profile and ticket sales helped attract new players to the club. It heralded the start of a season where they were promoted after scoring 105 goals, including 34 for Astle.
"Bestie didn't do it for money. He had a nightclub and a boutique which were lucrative businesses at the time. He just did it as a favour," says Fry.
"Nobody had heard of Dunstable, but because of the publicity, I was able to bring in players and it was a dream come true when we got promotion.
"Financially, we were making half a crown a week but in our promotion year we had 18 crowds of more than 1,000."

Best is pictured here in between Fry (to his left) and Cheeseman (to his right, in dark glasses). Jeff Astle is in the back row, third from right
Dunstable was the first in a series of fleeting appearances Best made at clubs in the late 1970s and early 1980s - from Stockport County to Hong Kong Rangers, via Hibernian, Fulham and spells in the United States with the North American Soccer League.
It all helped fund a champagne lifestyle which spawned his famous quote about spending money on booze, women and fast cars: "The rest I just squandered."
His affairs became increasingly chaotic as alcoholism took hold. He eventually needed a liver transplant and died aged 59 in 2005.
"It was such a shame. He tried everything to stop him being an alcoholic, but it got the better of him," says Fry, who went on to manage Barnet, Maidstone, Southend United, Birmingham City and Peterborough United.
"He was a different man when he was drunk and became aggressive. It just wasn't him.
"As a person, one to one, he was a lovely, intelligent man with a dry sense of humour."
While Best's fortunes suffered, so did Dunstable's. Cheeseman had been a shady benefactor, with Astle suggesting in his biography that he gave Docherty £1,000 to ensure Dunstable faced United.
"About a year later, the chairman Keith got put inside for embezzlement - six years for embezzling nearly £300,000 - so the players weren't getting paid," says Fry.
Best turned out for a third, and final time, against neighbours Luton Town in a match which raised money for the players.
Cheeseman's dealings would leave Dunstable Town in liquidation. He later admitted involvement in a 1990 conspiracy to sell nearly £300m of bonds stolen at knifepoint in the world's biggest mugging.
Meanwhile, Best went on to guest at Astle's West Brom testimonial, repeated the trick for Fry when he managed Barnet and Maidstone, and was twice a guest speaker at Peterborough.
"He turned up for everything, which was a miracle in itself," says Fry, who was invited when Best was the subject of the This Is Your Life programme.
"I said to him: 'I can't believe you came to play for me at Dunstable.'
"He said: 'Baz, I'll never forget you, mate. I used to send my wages to my mum and dad. You helped me out with the money you gave me for the complimentary tickets.'
"Honestly, I had a lump in my throat. To be so loyal, to me - small fry - when he reached the top of the game.
"It's mind-blowing. He said to take it as a compliment - you helped me a lot, and didn't even know."

Creasey Park is now owned by the local council and used by both Dunstable Town and the separate AFC Dunstable team.
"The snack bar sells 'Bestie Burgers' and 'Barry's Fries'; in honour of George and Barry. I'm not sure how many people make the connection," says Dunstable Town chairman Andrew Madaras.
The club tried to cash in on Best's famous appearance for them in an all-white kit by adopting the same style before realising it cost too much to wash.
Efforts are being made for Dunstable Town, once home to England internationals Tony Currie and Kerry Dixon, to become a community benefit society - a not-for-profit organisation with mutual benefits for the local area.
It will be a new chapter in the story of a club which looks back fondly on its brief spell as George Best's home.
"There was an awful lot of people up there, a real buzz - even euphoria - around the place. I think it gave the players one hell of a boost," remembers Tibbett of watching the game against Manchester United.
Madaras adds: "There are a still couple of pictures from that night behind the bar at Creasey Park, which visiting clubs remark on."

Fry has been typically ebullient but pauses when I tell him that Best's 75th birthday is approaching - briefly lost for words, before continuing.
"George was a great entertainer. I don't think he realised how much pleasure he gave to other people who watched him perform," he says.
"He helped a lot of ex-players and was absolutely fabulous to me.
"I've been in the game for 60 years, and dreamed of being a manager. None of it would have come true if it wasn't for Bestie."

 

[Trapdoor]

Luton fans: what do you think of Sam Nombe?

 

[BelizeHatter]

He didnt do well for us. Was pubicly dressed down for a poor attitude. He never got a run or even a start? But he wasnt really good enough. I saw your Managers quotes on him and they sum him up. Pace and power that he hasnt realised yet. Wasnt ready for the Championship. Could do well with love and attention and the main man for you. He was way down the list for us.

 

[djs]

I think that there is a player in there somewhere, but he didn't really get any sort of first team chance, just the odd few minutes as sub. Nathan Jones commented several times that Nombe needed to show that he really wanted to play for Luton, but I guess that the manager didn't think that he did enough. Whether that was ability linked or attitude linked I don't know, but if it was attitude he runs the risk of throwing away his career. If it was a case of not enough ability to do well at Championship level then a start in league 2 may be just what he needs.

 

[djs]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1429395691076521991

Interesting look at the goals conceded v Birmingham by Andy Burgess. How professional footballers can train all week, and then perform like this beggars belief (well to me anyway). Presumably our ranks of coaches, video experts, etc can see the same things that Burgess saw.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Those goals are worse than what I remember. The third goal was the worst at the time, but some of the off the ball stuff was a horror show.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Similar type thread on the tactical issues too. Hopefully a one off but concerning we got it so wrong in so many areas.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1430163599905988623

 

[Super_horns]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1429395691076521991

Interesting look at the goals conceded v Birmingham by Andy Burgess. How professional footballers can train all week, and then perform like this beggars belief (well to me anyway). Presumably our ranks of coaches, video experts, etc can see the same things that Burgess saw.

Who knows if they take it all in?

I see coaches and managers on the touch line waving like mad when their team is defending a set play during games .

As if they hadn’t worked on the tactics beforehand .

Suppose things can change depending on personal.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Jones has an early season tactical howler in his locker every year. We got it out the way. Now lets go spank Sheff Utd.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Jones has an early season tactical howler in his locker every year. We got it out the way. Now lets go spank Sheff Utd.

This is a very important point. We looked absolutely terrible v Peterborough that day in August 2018 and look what happened there…

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Crawley away a few years ago, port vale away the year we got promoted from league 2 although that was a bit later in the season and that Peterborough game that’s been pointed out where all shockers

 

[Caitlyn]

Hi all, Luton fan here and new to this forum wondering if this thread is still alive or had died. Would be good to hear from any Hatters out there.

 

[oakroader]

Big fat joe been suffering from dementia for a long time…
Love him or hate him he was a real character at Luton…
I loved him managing my club

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Hi all, Luton fan here and new to this forum wondering if this thread is still alive or had died. Would be good to hear from any Hatters out there.

There’s a few of us who post fairly regularly about still. Unfortunately it’s a bit lacking in representation from other clubs, but you’ll find inane hatters talk from me certainly

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Big fat joe been suffering from dementia for a long time…
Love him or hate him he was a real character at Luton…
I loved him managing my club

At a late stage as well which doesn’t sound good. What a horrible thing to suffer from.

Like you say a huge character when managing here, always remember his forthright interviews, stoking a rivalry with Plymouth of all teams and “champagne tastes and Coca Cola money” line being thrown at Gurney.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Some revised plans for power court going to the council for approval. Main changes are that the river Lea isn’t going to be diverted any kind get and will actually run under the stadium. Also less retail and food/drink space and more residential space instead.

All a been a bit slow and steady since the original approval, hasn’t been exactly the best development environment since then really so a little frustrating so it’s good to see things are still going on behind the scenes.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Gotta be tough times to plan for tomorrow, let alone next 25yrs

 

[oakroader]

If NJ was approached by Cardiff could history repeat itself?

 

[Caitlyn]

If NJ was approached by Cardiff could history repeat itself?

He can't be that stupid..... Surely not? Another total crew up like Stoke and no one will want to touch him. Why go for a poison chalice of a team like Cardiff (currently) but then why would anyone want to go to Watford?

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

If NJ was approached by Cardiff could history repeat itself?

I think if offered he might go you know. He’s made comments in the media that he’s learned from the Stoke shenanigans etc but you can’t really trust anything he says!

I don’t think Cardiff would go in for him though. With how badly it went for him at Stoke he’s going to need to have some sustained success here for clubs looking to push toward the premier league to re-evaluate him I think

 

[BelizeHatter]

I noticed his in front of the fans chest thumping ego has started to appear again.......

 

[BelizeHatter]

Sorry....... but hes a wanker for that...... Just be a down to earth Manager and leave when the offer comes. Dont pretend to love us, when its you that you love.

 

[Super_horns]

It will be another job where expectations might be quite high and I don't know what type of football he plays but their fans will probably want to move away from the Warnock/McCarthy style of football.

 

[Kenneth E End]

I think if offered he might go you know. He’s made comments in the media that he’s learned from the Stoke shenanigans etc but you can’t really trust anything he says!

I don’t think Cardiff would go in for him though. With how badly it went for him at Stoke he’s going to need to have some sustained success here for clubs looking to push toward the premier league to re-evaluate him I think

It would be insane for him to leave Luton, a club genuinely on the up to go to Cardiff, a basket case with an owner not really caring.

 

[Caitlyn]

It would be insane for him to leave Luton, a club genuinely on the up to go to Cardiff, a basket case with an owner not really caring.

I tend to agree. I just don't feel he has reached any zenith with Luton yet and he can do better things.

 

[Caitlyn]

Sorry....... but hes a wanker for that...... Just be a down to earth Manager and leave when the offer comes. Dont pretend to love us, when its you that you love.

How do you know he masturbates... Have you seen him?

I don't think he'll go to Cardiff as it is another poison chalice of a club.

 

[oakroader]

nice to see KDH getting on the scoresheet for the foxs in the champions league...
hope he acknowledges the platform we gave him one day...

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

nice to see KDH getting on the scoresheet for the foxs in the champions league...
hope he acknowledges the platform we gave him one day...

Was nice to see that, you could see how good he was last season.

He came back for the Middlesbrough game to be fair to him and he quite often mentions us on social media. Whenever Leicester aren’t playing and we are he seems to watch going off his tweets etc.

 

[oakroader]

New Luton Town stadium moves closer after land sale​

Published6 hours ago
Share

IMAGE SOURCE, 2020 DEVELOPMENTS
Image caption,
The new 23,000-seat stadium will be built on the site of a former power station in the centre of Luton
A new 23,000-seat football stadium is a step closer after land was sold to finance the project.
Planning permission for Luton Town's new home at Power Court was granted by Luton Borough Council in 2019.
The club's development company, 2020 Developments, has agreed a deal for Newlands Park, a 37-acre site at Junction 10 of the M1.
Gary Sweet, chief executive of Luton Town Football Club, said it was an "important milestone deal for us".
The club said the deal, agreed in October, "will go a considerable way towards securing funding" for the new stadium.
An investment fund advised by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing (MSREI) and developer Wrenbridge will take over the land, the club said.
Mr Sweet said: "Selling this land now means that the planned delivery of our new stadium at Power Court continues, moving us closer to realising our dream of delivering a new home for our football club."

IMAGE SOURCE, PA MEDIA
Image caption,
Luton Town, currently in the Championship, play at the 10,000-capacity Kenilworth Road
Earlier this year revised plans for the Power Court stadium, which included more homes and less retail space, were approved.
A centrally located plaza and a "statement landmark" - a tall building which would allow fans to find their way to the stadium - will also be built.

• Club raises thousands to support ex-player
• Town centre stadium 'means everything' to Luton
• Luton Town - BBC Sport

The Newlands Park site was purchased by the club in 2015 as an "investment strategy to deliver a new stadium", chief operating officer at 2020 Developments, Mike Moran, said.
Current plans for the site include office, retail and business space.
Luton Town said MSREI, Wrenbridge and 2020 Developments were reviewing that plan to ensure it "meets the demands of modern occupiers and is deliverable".
The site's existing planning applications go before Luton Borough Council's development management committee meeting on 5 January.