Is this Luton's year to escape the Conference?

Luton Town would have been promoted if the top 3 were alloweed to be promoted.
After all, all teams should be promoted based on their form over a 42 game season. Not have their hopes dashed on a stupid one off game - a lottery in fact. One slip by a defender, over the bar from 2 yards - promotion denied.
The team that finished second 18 points ahead of the seventh team will enjoy another year in the same division, because of a slip up. They are having a larf.
Perhaps the play-off games are just a revenue gathering exercise.

There has never been 3 promotion places, so that first sentence is irrelevant. Of course the play-offs are a money-making exercise, but teams start the season knowing what they are facing, so they have to deal with it. If you want to go up, win the league and stop making excuses or questioning the criteria just because you haven't been good enough.
As for the alleged injustice of the points deduction alluded to in the opening article, many would imagine, after being found guilty of making dodgy payments and going into administration 3 times in 10 years, that for once justice has been served.

Thanks for saying all that Sean - as a York fan it may not have looked as good if I'd posted it.

I do wonder what York ever did to be disliked by Luton. We had no issue with them until the coin chucking incident which was hardly provoked. Being promoted at their expense was very satisfying after all that happened.

Sean of the Shed - even Pompy & Leeds who used Administration as a cynical method to wipe out debt and then buy back a debt free club weren't hit with 30 points in one season. The football authorities knew that giving a club such a large points deduction in one-season would pretty much relegate them into the Conference before a ball was kicked. Yet at the same time they allow the Kate Bates of this world to run rings around them, that is the injustice.

Grimmer - I think you'll find that the vast majority of Luton fans believe that we are disliked by York far more than the other way round. This was blatantly obvious when you tried to get us fined for that FA Cup game that was abandoned by the ref!

Sean of the Shed - spoken like a true Premier League "supporter". I suppose you also believe that the footballing authorities have got it in for your club after the way they picked on your delightful non-racist captain.

I'd also suggest that you might have more of a point if your club could, hand on heart, claim to have been fully in accordance with the FA's rules at all times.

There's more than one Shed. Hover over his shirt before you assume...

Yeah. Fuckin' smartarse.

madmickyf wrote:


I did say it was the one occasion that justice had been served. I share your disappointment that the FA did not see fit to dole out similar punishments to the likes of Portsmouth and Leeds.

York fans have good reason to despise Luton after the appaling violence meted out by their fans after the play-off semi, followed by their refusal to accept any responsibility for it. I've no wish to tar all Luton fans with the same brush, but I think the EDL links to some of your support, the dummy-spitting managers you had before Buckle, and the belief by some of your fans that you are too good for this division when results have plainly shown you not to be means you are generally despised right across the board. The fact that most fans celebrated Stevenage beating you to the title in your first season despite them being managed by the obnoxious Graham Westley bears this out.

"York fans have good reason to despise Luton after the appaling violence meted out by their fans after the play-off semi, followed by their refusal to accept any responsibility for it"

On the contrary Sean, the club did not try to dodge responsibilty for the actions of the small minority of Luton supporters who were involved in the violence. They co-operated fully with the FA investigation and issued bans to those who were found guilty of participating.

As for your other reasons for hating Luton I guess we all have to have some reason for hating the clubs that we don't like. The reasons you quote I've heard before from other supporters and I can't argue with some of them, however don't confuse us wanting to get out of this league with thinking we're too good for it.

madmickyf wrote:


I'll agree that that wasn't York's greatest moment in recent years but that was the club rather than the York fans.

The coin incident was significant enough on its own for most city fans. To be fair, these things are always down to a minority and York have their own proportion of idiots but this was the type of thing a club doesn't quickly forget.

Brabin's arrest at our spot was another low point. It was a very public kerfuffle that hardly endeared Luton.

In the long run I hope you make it back but when it comes down to the wire if promotion is between Luton and, say, Wrexham I'd find it hard not to cheer on the other guy. There's just a lack of baggage in our relationship with other clubs (then again games against Grimsby have also been unsavoury).

Fair enough Grimmer, just so long as you know if it comes down to York or Rotherham for the play offs we'll all be cheering for the Millers despite them having that Evans bloke in charge!

As for the Brabin incident I think you'll find it was your overzealous stewards who instigated that one. Whatever gave them the impression that they were employed to physically and violently remove an opposition manager from the touchline I'll never know!

madmickyf wrote:

Christ, we've really got to go up automatically. We've been here for far too long.

To be clear about the 30 points - 20 were for the multiple administrations and failure to agree a CVA. Fair enough, perhaps. The other 10 were for breaches of the rules on paying agents, but the FA found they weren't bungs and they didn't give Luton any advantage. 10 points was a ridiculous amount - Man Utd would never have got a penalty like that for a similar misdemeanour.

As for York, what happened at Kenilworth Road was indefensible and I can understand York fans' attitude towards Luton. I'd feel the same if I'd been pelted like them. What has angered Luton fans is the pettiness of the club itself in pursuing various grievances.

Oh, and the winning goal in the playoff final was blatantly offside.

There is no way I could claim that goal wasn't offside.

It ruined nothing.

Brabin was eventually convicted of a Public Order Offence wasn't he?

Don't know Grimmer, the story went cold after Brabin was sacked as our manager. However I do know it was lucky for those stewards that Mick Harford wasn't still our manager otherwise they would've both ended up in intensive care!

I see Sean's still waiting for his apology.