It's difficult to feel sorry for the Hatters
It’s always slightly sad to see a team drop out of the Football League. Sometimes the manner is sadder than others - I am always sad to see a team which is the only one in its part of the country go. But I find it difficult to feel any sympathy for Luton Town. It’s got nothing to do with the fierce rivalry between the Hatters and Watford – the attachment to the Hornets is one by marriage, and everything to do with being the club who were once the most hated in England.
In the 1980′s, all football fans hated Luton for three reasons: their artificial pitch, their nasty Chairman David Evans (who became the Conservative MP for Welwyn Hatfield) and their ban on away fans (between 1985 and 1991). The ban didn’t actually work because a) it was pretty easy to register as a Luton fan and b) those who had registered as Luton fans were happy to share their registrations around fans of other clubs. All it did was prevent any chance of segregation and turn Luton Town FC into the hated class goody-goody and tell-tale.
In the end, Evans pulled his money out of the club, starting the financial troubles which have led to their demise. Several sets of directors and consortia along the line and it is financial woes and the punishment for them that have tipped Luton over the edge. But whilst it may seem unfair that the sins of the previous directors should be visited on their successors, it is also unfair for clubs to be able to gain any sort of advantage through administration or by failing to comply with League rules over CVAs. In this case, Luton have suffered the double whammy of money being taken out of the club by previous ‘investors’ and of triple relegation. It’s difficult to see that they have gained any advantage either on or off the pitch. But down they must go and sadly those of us with long memories won’t be shedding any tears.
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