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League Two Table

  PGDPts
1Port Vale16+833
2Walsall15+1330
3Doncaster17+429

4Notts County17+828
5Crewe15+628
6MK Dons16+827
7Chesterfield17+1025

8Grimsby17-725
9AFC Wimbledon15+923
10Bradford16+423
11Gillingham16+323
12Barrow17+122
13Fleetwood Town14+521
14Cheltenham17-321
15Salford16-321
16Newport County17-721
17Harrogate Town17-721
18Accrington Stanley16-418
19Colchester16-317
20Tranmere15-817
21Bromley15-216
22Swindon17-813

23Morecambe17-1213
24Carlisle17-1513

Full League Two Table
Prem|Champ|L1|L2|NL|NLN|NLS
SPL|SC|S1|S2

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First Win?!
First Win?!

Grimsby v Luton Preview

By: Alex Green
Date: 21/10/2008

THE game we love would never be as gripping without the poetic irony it uses week in week out and as Mike Newell prepares to welcome the very team which he made his name with, one can't help but think maybe this will be the game which starts our season

Home > 2008-2009 Season > Previews > Luton (h)


The Opposition

Overview

God where do we start? A few seasons back Luton were seen as a beacon for smaller clubs such as ourselves to follow. A club with a less then attractive stigma attached to it were suddenly uprooting trees throughout the leagues rising to the Championship under the guidance of our very own Mr Newell. Luton were fast becoming a team of outstanding young talent pushing and vying with the big wannabes for a place in the Premiership. Alas as all things football it didn't last but none would ever have envisaged such a chaotic destruction. Sure Bradford, Oxford, Rotherham and ourselves have all crashed through the leagues like the stock markets on the way to a global recession but none can compare to Luton’s situation now. Though Oxford are sat in the Blue Square league they have yet to hit administration nor have they got to look upon a crumbling stadium, which is nothing but soul destroying. The utterly mind boggling 27 point deduction turned this league into nothing more then a farcical year when a team like ourselves who have been nothing but the worse team in the entire football league can sit happily 23 points clear of the bottom place. Nonetheless Luton fans were preparing themselves for a screw them all attitude reminiscent of Leeds last season but the revolution has hardly been sweeping and more of a stuttering learner yet to master hill starts. Those three wins would be nothing but a godsend to us right now but for a club like Luton in their predicament it needed to be better, a lot better. To the credit of the Luton fans they have been nothing but brilliant with their support to The Hatters, averaging just over 6,500. The team can boast the third best following in the league and though it seems relegation is still at hand that glimmer of hope will keep them fighting till it's impossible.

The Team
What a time to be the door man at Kenilworth Road. From the start of the season 25 players have come and gone come again and some have even watered the flowers. 6 Players have left permanently, 3 have been loaned out, 8 have been loaned in and 8 have been signed permanently. With such movement a team needs to settle, gel and find their car parking spaces before thinking of league results so it's hardly surprising the Hatters haven't leapt out of the box. Manager Mick Harford has yet to complete a full season with any team since his start in a managerial capacity back in 2004. With 5 game at QPR and 6 at Forest the longest period was at Rotherham where 30 games resulted in 5 wins and 16 draws. Hardly a glittering CV for a man that a team who are on the brink of annihilation would want to reverse the balance. Still those fans are still optimistic: the 2020 group have put a balanced book to the table and after problems with previous owners a strong financial position is the most vital of things. As such Luton boast the youngest average aged squad in the division. With such financial restraints its hardly surprising Luton have 6 loan players on their books and 3 of their very own distributed across the country ,two of which would be counted as some of their better players. Dean Morgan has been loaned to League One strugglers Leyton Orient, while midfielder and last season's top scorer Matthew Springs is currently plying his trade at Bramwell Lane.


One to Watch
Sam Parkin. Though times are tough and the squad looks nothing more then a rag and bone collection they can still count on some serious quality a trainee once at Chelsea Sam Parkin has been on a brilliant run this season 3 goals in 7 games and he has proved its not just a flash in a pan during the 120 games he played for the red of Swindon Parkin managed 67 goals in the league. Last season Parkin managed 5 goals in 12 during his league starts, signed for £34,000 the 27 year old from Roehampton could be the answer to Luton’s salvation.

Recent Form

TownLuton
DExeter(a)0-0
DWycombe(h)1-1
LScunthorpe (JPT),(a)1-2
LRotherham(a)1-4
LBarnet(h)0-1
Currently 21st in League Two.
LAccrington(h)1-2
LDarlington(h)1-2
DBrentford(h)2-2
DBradford(a)1-1
DChester(h)1-1
Currently 24th in League Two.

Top Scorers

TownLuton
North2
Till2
Hegarty2
Hall4
Martin3
Parker3

Team News

TownLuton

  • Danny Boshell is still unavailable with a hamstring injury.

  • Danny Boshell and James Hunt and both doubts after Saturday's game.

  • Defender Richard Hope (groin) is available again but Paul Bolland (knee) is still out injured.
  • Luton's Claude Gnakpa returns from suspension and will replace Garreth O'Connor in the heart of midfield.

  • Ryan Charles, Drew Talbot and Kevin Nicholls are out, but teenager Jordan Patrick has been given the day off school to travel with the squad.
  • Squads

    TownLuton
    1GKPhil Barnes
    2DFRobbie Stockdale
    3DFTom Newey
    4DFRyan Bennett
    5DFMatthew Heywood (c)
    6DFRichard Hope
    7MFPeter Till
    8MFPaul Bolland
    10MFChris Llewellyn
    11MFDanny Boshell
    12DFJamie Clarke
    13GKGary Montgomery
    14MFJames Hunt
    15DFMatthew Bird
    16DFJavan Vidal
    17MFNick Hegarty
    18MFPeter Bore
    19FWDanny North
    20FWAndy Taylor
    21MFSimon Heslop
    22FWNathan Jarman
    23MFGrant Normington
    24MFLiam Trotter
    25MFMalvin Kamara
    26FWTomi Ameobi
    27GKLeigh Overton
    1GKDean Brill
    2DFClaude Gnakpa
    3DFSol Davis
    4MFKeith Keane
    5DFIan Roper
    6DFGeorge Pilkington
    7MFGarreth O'Connor
    8MFKevin Nicholls (captain)
    9FWSam Parkin
    10FWRyan Charles
    11MFLewis Emanuel
    12DFHarry Worley (on loan from Leicester City)
    14MFAsa Hall
    15DFEd Asafu-Adjaye
    16MFRossi Jarvis
    17MFKevin Watson
    18FWChris Martin (on loan from Norwich City)
    19FWDrew Talbot
    20DFMichael Spillane (on loan from Norwich City)
    21GKConrad Logan (on loan from Leicester City)
    23FWWayne Andrews
    24FWTom Craddock (on loan from Middlesbrough)
    28FWPaul McVeigh
    33DFJake Howells
    36GKAaron Fletcher
    40FWScott Sinclair

    Head to Head

    Town boast a good record over Luton, especially in the last 20 years. Grimsby even managed a double over the Hatters in their 2003-2004 relegation season in League One when the pair last met.

    P 39 W 15 D 12 L 12 F 72 A 61

    Luton Head-to-Head (35th on The Opposition Ladder)

    Last Meeting

    Grimsby 3 Luton 2 (Tue 24th February 2004)

    Town came from behind with talisman Phil Jevons instrumental in a morale-boosting win.

    Report

    Prediction

    Who wants to play at Grimsby on a cold Tuesday night?

    Grimsby Town 3-1 Luton

    Reader's POMs

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