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Another relegation battle? Luton Town on the verge of second relegation in two years

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Another relegation battle? Luton Town on the verge of second relegation in two years
Another relegation battle? Luton Town on the verge of second relegation in two years

New Delhi: Roll back the clock to just under two years ago, Luton Town was basking in the glory of an incredible rise to the Premier League. The club’s journey from non-league football to England’s top tier was nothing short of a fairytale, a story that captivated neutrals and inspired smaller clubs across the country. However, life comes at you fast when you’re at the top and that dream has turned into a nightmare for the Hatters.

With just 12 games remaining in the Championship season, the Hatters are staring at the very real possibility of back-to-back relegations which could see them go down to League one again. Their 2-0 defeat to Watford on Sunday was not just another loss but was a damning confirmation of how far Luton has fallen. Bottom of the table, five points adrift of safety, and without a league win in 12 matches, the team is in freefall. From the highs of competing against English football’s elite to the looming specter of League One, how did it all go so wrong?

From Premier League Dream to Championship Disaster

Former manager Rob Edwards had done the unthinkable for the Hatters during the 2022/23 season, guiding them to Premier League for the first time in the history of the club. Edwards had only joined the Hatters in November of that season and guided them to the English top flight by helping the club win the promotion play-offs final against Coventry City, scripting his name into the club’s history.

Luton’s return to the top flight last season was nothing short of miraculous. A team operating on a fraction of the budget of their Premier League rivals, they battled hard, with their home form and attacking mindset giving them hope of survival. However, their first season in the Premier League was an extremely difficult one for the side given the difference in quality between themselves and the rest of the league but they did have their shining moments.

Their stunning 4-0 victory over Brighton in January 2024, fueled by an Elijah Adebayo hat-trick, briefly lifted them out of the relegation zone and raised optimism that they could beat the odds. After that resounding victory, Edwards spoke passionately about their aggressive approach, stating, “We have to keep our foot down. We can’t afford to stop because we’re not good enough to do that.”

Those words proved ominous for his side as what followed was an alarming collapse. The club managed just one win in their final 17 matches, a disastrous run that saw them slide back into the Championship. The fight and belief that had defined their promotion campaign evaporated, and despite Edwards’ best efforts, Luton finished 18th, and their Premier League adventure lasted just one season.

Edwards remained optimistic about Luton’s chances of bouncing straight back, but the start of the 2024/25 season suggested otherwise. A poor opening run of just one point from four games set the tone, and by January, the club had seen enough. Four consecutive defeats left them just two places above the relegation zone, and Edwards was dismissed. The club’s historic manager who survived the entire relegation campaign was let go with the club sitting 20th in the league and two points above relegation.

The Bloomfield Gamble: A Risk That Hasn’t Paid Off

Luton decided to part ways with Edwards and took the decision of appointing Matt Bloomfield as Edwards’ successor, something that was always going to be a gamble. The former Wycombe Wanderers and Colchester United boss had limited experience at this level, yet was handed a three-and-a-half-year contract to steer the club through its most difficult period in recent history. He had never managed a Championship club and was given a huge task in his very first role as a Championship side manager.

Bloomfield’s arrival brought an injection of fresh blood, with several young players brought in to revitalize the squad in the January window. He brought in fellow recruits from League one as Thelo Aasgaard joined from Wigan and Millenic Alli from Exeter City with Middlesborough’s Isaiah Jones being the only recruit from a Championship side but after eight games, he remains without a win, and frustration is boiling over among fans.

Some fans have blasted the appointment of the former Wycombe manager, even going as far as calling his appointment from the club as a ‘mistake’ stating that the manager is ‘out of his depth’. The fans aren’t hopeful about their chances even in League One if they are to get relegated but not all of them are blaming the manager with some of them also criticizing the club’s recruitment strategy.

Some have defended Bloomfield, arguing that the club’s deeper issues such as lack of quality signings, poor recruitment in January, and a fragile squad, all of which would have plagued any manager. One fan pointed out that managerial changes don’t guarantee success, citing Stoke City’s struggles despite hiring three different bosses this season. Better recruitment from the manager would’ve helped win the fans over but it seems like that is another battle that Bloomfield is losing.

The Numbers Behind Luton’s Collapse

Luton’s decline has not been an accident but has been a product of repeated failures across the board. Their attacking output has been dismal, with just 31 goals in 34 league games, making them the lowest scorers in the division with clubs that have played a game less than them also outscoring them currently. At the other end of the pitch, they have conceded 55 times, which is the third most number of goals conceded this season, ahead of only Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth.

And if those weren’t enough to produce a telling picture, Luton has lost 20 league matches this season, more than any other team in the division. Their away form has been particularly horrendous as the Hatters have taken just one point from their last 14 away matches and have suffered 11 consecutive defeats on the road. Their last away league win came against Sheffield United over a year ago.

Under Edwards, Luton was averaging 0.96 points per game which was already a relegation-threatened pace but since Bloomfield’s arrival, that figure has dropped even further to 0.82. If they maintain that trajectory, they will likely finish with just 38 points, far below the survival threshold. Over the past decade, the lowest points total to survive relegation was 41, and last season, Plymouth Argyle needed 51 to stay up. Luton, at their current rate, are nowhere near that mark.

Can They Escape the Drop?

The club have 12 games remaining this season but those fixtures don’t offer much hope to the Hatters. Of their 12 games left, five are against teams currently sitting no higher than 17th in the table. However, four of those games are away from home, where they have struggled massively. Their home fixture against Portsmouth, currently 17th, could be pivotal, but beyond that, they face an uphill battle.

The daunting reality is that Luton must face Championship leaders Leeds United at home and travel to Burnley, a team with the best defensive record in English professional football. Even if they manage to pick up points against the struggling sides, they’ll need a monumental effort against playoff contenders Bristol City, Coventry City, and West Bromwich Albion in their final three fixtures.

Given their form, their fixtures, and the mood around the club, it is difficult to see how Luton pulls off a great escape. They have shown little sign of turning things around, and with morale at an all-time low, their trajectory is pointing firmly towards League One. Their best hope is to somehow grind out results against the teams around them, but even that seems unlikely given their struggles to win games. If they do go down, it will be a bitter end to what was once a dream journey.

Should they be relegated again, it could have major consequences for the club. Financially, the drop to League One would be damaging, despite parachute payments, and there are serious concerns about their ability to rebuild a squad capable of bouncing back. For now, the focus remains on survival, but time is running out. The club is in freefall, and unless something drastic changes in the next few weeks, Luton Town’s brief adventure in the top tiers of English football could soon feel like a distant memory.

 Championship side Luton Town’s free fall looks to get even worse this season as they are staring at the face of a second relegation in as many years, but where did it go wrong for them and can they survive?  Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today

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