Luton Town FC
Kenilworth Road
1 Maple Road
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU4 8AW
Ground: 82
Date: Saturday 27th July 2019
Luton Town 1-5 Norwich City
Pre-Season Friendly
Attendance: 4,218 (official)
Attendance: 4,218 (official)
Luton Town FC - 10 Facts
1) Luton Town were founded in 1885 and became the first fully professional club in southern England in 1891. The club became a founder member of the Southern League in 1894, finishing as runners-up for two seasons before moving to the United League. After one season in that league, the club joined the Football League but only remained there for four seasons before rejoining the Southern League due to financial difficulties.
2) The club moved into their current ground in 1905 and remained in the Southern League's top tier until suffering relegation to its 2nd Division at the end of the 1911/12 season. The club won promotion again two seasons later, before most competitive football was suspended because of World War 1.
3) After the war, the club rejoined the Football League in 1920 and joined the 3rd Division South. The club remained in this division until winning promotion to the 2nd Division at the end of the 1936/37 season. The club remained in this division until World War 2 broke out, and after the war remained there until earning promotion to the top flight for the first time in 1955.
4)In the 1958/59 season, the club reached the FA Cup final for the first time, losing 2-1 to Nottingham Forest. The following season saw the club relegated back to the 2nd Division and eventually dropped back down to the fourth tier by 1965. By 1974, they had worked their way back up to the 1st Division, but again only stayed there for a season before suffering relegation.
5) The club again returned to the top flight in 1982, but this time survived for a second season (albeit only on the last day). The club then finished its highest-ever position (7th) in the 1986/87 season, before winning the League Cup the following season (beating Arsenal 3-2 in the final). The club reached the final again the following season,, but this time lost 3-1 to Nottingham Forest.
6) In the 1991/92 season (just one season before the formation of the Premier League), the club were relegated from the 1st Division, before dropping down to the third tier four years later. In the first season of the new millennium, the club were relegated to the fourth tier.
7) Under the management of Joe Kinnear, the club won promotion back to the third tier at the first attempt. In 2003, controversial owner John Gurney sacked Kinnear upon his arrival, replacing him with Mike Newell. In the 2004/05 season, the club won League 1 to earn promotion to the Championship. After one decent season at Championship level, financial problems began to plague the club and they were relegated back to League 1 at the end of the 2006/07 season.
8) In the 2007/08 season, the club entered administration - prompting Gurney to depart the club - and suffered a 10-point deduction as they were relegated to League 2. The following season saw the club start on -30 points due to their financial issues, inevitably suffering relegation out of the Football League as a result. However, the club also won the Football League Trophy, beating Scunthorpe United 3-2.
9) After dropping into non-league, the club were able to stabilise, competing in the promotion play-offs in three of their first four seasons and being unsuccessful each time. In the 2013/14 season, the club won the Conference Premier to secure their return to the Football League.
10) The club spent four seasons in League 2 and reached the play-offs in the 2016/17 season, losing to Blackpool in the semi-finals. The 2017/18 season saw the club go one better, finishing as runners-up to earn automatic promotion to League 1. The following season saw the club win the League 1 title to secure back-to-back promotions to the Championship.
My Visit
Originally, I had planned for my first groundhop of the 2019/20 season to happen while I was in Edinburgh on holiday, as I was eager to watch a match and visit a ground outside of England for the first time. However, a combination of factors changed this plan at the start of the month: first, I realised that without a car (we went to Edinburgh on the train) it would be difficult to get anywhere for football due to inconvenient public transport links; second, Norwich announced their pre-season schedule and my dad mentioned an interest in this game.
After a short period of deliberation, I decided to scrap the Edinburgh plan in favour of this game, as it was a cheap opportunity to tick off another of the 92 while also seeing Norwich play in the flesh for the first time since April last year. So, when the tickets went on sale, my dad ordered them, and it was then just a matter of waiting for the day of the game to come around.
On the day of the game, it was raining rather heavily in the morning, so when I went to get some cash out I naturally got soaked, learning in the process that my light raincoat was no longer fully waterproof (as my left shoulder got extremely wet despite being covered). Once I got back from that, I got changed into different trousers, borrowed another light raincoat and waited for my dad to pick me up.
He arrived to do so just after midday, and after a brief chat in the house we headed off. I kept Google Maps open to guide us into Luton and to the car park we were going to use, but this went slightly wrong once we got into Luton, as Maps took us to the train station rather than to the car park next to it.
In any event, we arrived in Luton around 1:30pm and, after paying for the car park, we began the 20 minute walk to the ground, with Google Maps guiding us through a rather rough housing estate followed by the grim town centre before we finally found the ground.
After I got a photo of the unusual away entrance to the ground, we headed in through the narrow turnstiles and up the steps into the ground. After finding some seats at the very back, we sat down for a bit before grabbing some pre-match food. We then remained in our seats until just before kick-off, at which point we decided to stand up instead for the duration of the match.
2) The club moved into their current ground in 1905 and remained in the Southern League's top tier until suffering relegation to its 2nd Division at the end of the 1911/12 season. The club won promotion again two seasons later, before most competitive football was suspended because of World War 1.
3) After the war, the club rejoined the Football League in 1920 and joined the 3rd Division South. The club remained in this division until winning promotion to the 2nd Division at the end of the 1936/37 season. The club remained in this division until World War 2 broke out, and after the war remained there until earning promotion to the top flight for the first time in 1955.
4)In the 1958/59 season, the club reached the FA Cup final for the first time, losing 2-1 to Nottingham Forest. The following season saw the club relegated back to the 2nd Division and eventually dropped back down to the fourth tier by 1965. By 1974, they had worked their way back up to the 1st Division, but again only stayed there for a season before suffering relegation.
5) The club again returned to the top flight in 1982, but this time survived for a second season (albeit only on the last day). The club then finished its highest-ever position (7th) in the 1986/87 season, before winning the League Cup the following season (beating Arsenal 3-2 in the final). The club reached the final again the following season,, but this time lost 3-1 to Nottingham Forest.
6) In the 1991/92 season (just one season before the formation of the Premier League), the club were relegated from the 1st Division, before dropping down to the third tier four years later. In the first season of the new millennium, the club were relegated to the fourth tier.
7) Under the management of Joe Kinnear, the club won promotion back to the third tier at the first attempt. In 2003, controversial owner John Gurney sacked Kinnear upon his arrival, replacing him with Mike Newell. In the 2004/05 season, the club won League 1 to earn promotion to the Championship. After one decent season at Championship level, financial problems began to plague the club and they were relegated back to League 1 at the end of the 2006/07 season.
8) In the 2007/08 season, the club entered administration - prompting Gurney to depart the club - and suffered a 10-point deduction as they were relegated to League 2. The following season saw the club start on -30 points due to their financial issues, inevitably suffering relegation out of the Football League as a result. However, the club also won the Football League Trophy, beating Scunthorpe United 3-2.
9) After dropping into non-league, the club were able to stabilise, competing in the promotion play-offs in three of their first four seasons and being unsuccessful each time. In the 2013/14 season, the club won the Conference Premier to secure their return to the Football League.
10) The club spent four seasons in League 2 and reached the play-offs in the 2016/17 season, losing to Blackpool in the semi-finals. The 2017/18 season saw the club go one better, finishing as runners-up to earn automatic promotion to League 1. The following season saw the club win the League 1 title to secure back-to-back promotions to the Championship.
My Visit
Originally, I had planned for my first groundhop of the 2019/20 season to happen while I was in Edinburgh on holiday, as I was eager to watch a match and visit a ground outside of England for the first time. However, a combination of factors changed this plan at the start of the month: first, I realised that without a car (we went to Edinburgh on the train) it would be difficult to get anywhere for football due to inconvenient public transport links; second, Norwich announced their pre-season schedule and my dad mentioned an interest in this game.
After a short period of deliberation, I decided to scrap the Edinburgh plan in favour of this game, as it was a cheap opportunity to tick off another of the 92 while also seeing Norwich play in the flesh for the first time since April last year. So, when the tickets went on sale, my dad ordered them, and it was then just a matter of waiting for the day of the game to come around.
On the day of the game, it was raining rather heavily in the morning, so when I went to get some cash out I naturally got soaked, learning in the process that my light raincoat was no longer fully waterproof (as my left shoulder got extremely wet despite being covered). Once I got back from that, I got changed into different trousers, borrowed another light raincoat and waited for my dad to pick me up.
He arrived to do so just after midday, and after a brief chat in the house we headed off. I kept Google Maps open to guide us into Luton and to the car park we were going to use, but this went slightly wrong once we got into Luton, as Maps took us to the train station rather than to the car park next to it.
In any event, we arrived in Luton around 1:30pm and, after paying for the car park, we began the 20 minute walk to the ground, with Google Maps guiding us through a rather rough housing estate followed by the grim town centre before we finally found the ground.
After I got a photo of the unusual away entrance to the ground, we headed in through the narrow turnstiles and up the steps into the ground. After finding some seats at the very back, we sat down for a bit before grabbing some pre-match food. We then remained in our seats until just before kick-off, at which point we decided to stand up instead for the duration of the match.
With this being a pre-season friendly, I didn't really know what to expect in terms of performance or effort from either side, but I imagined at least that the home side would be a week ahead in their preparations, with their league campaign starting this Friday (a full week earlier than Norwich's). Whether this would compensate for the gap in quality between Premier League and Championship, though, I really wasn't sure.
As is usual for games involving Football League sides, I didn't feel like writing my own match report (even more so given that it was a pre-season game), so here's one taken from the Norwich City club website:
A Josip Drmic hat-trick helped Norwich City on their way to an impressive 5-1 victory over Sky Bet Championship side Luton Town on Saturday afternoon.
City ran riot in the first-half and led 4-1 at the break. Three goals came inside the first 15 minutes, courtesy of Marco Stiepermann and Drmic (2). Luton responded through Dan Potts on 34 minutes but City quickly fired back when Drmic completed his hat-trick.
A sensational Patrick Roberts strike in the second-half made it five as City eased to victory.
Stiepermann got the ball rolling inside four minutes. Roberts’ in-swinging corner was met by McLean and with his header going wide, Stiepermann was on hand to tap home at the back post.
It was two shortly after. Max Aarons played a one-two with Todd Cantwell on the right before cutting back to Drmic who steered the ball home from close range.
City continued their dominance and deservedly made it three on 14 minutes. Roberts picked out Cantwell breaching the Luton defensive line with a pinpoint lofted pass and although his strike was saved well by Simon Sluga, Drmic was on hand to fire home for his second of the game.
Luton managed to find some respite midway through the first 45 but continued to look vulnerable every time City adventured into their half. On 28 minutes, Jamal Lewis was allowed too much time on the left to cut inside but his low strike was smothered by Sluga.
Luton got a goal back shortly after Ryan Tunnicliffe’s low cross just evaded Elliott Lee in the six-yard area. A free-kick wasn’t dealt with by City and Potts tapped home the loose ball to reduce the arrears on 34 minutes.
However, City’s three-goal cushion was restored within minutes. Roberts whipped the corner in again and it was met by a leaping Drmic. He guided the ball superbly into the far corner beyond the reach of Sluga.
City began the second-half on the frontfoot but it was Luton who went closest to scoring in the early stages when Ryan Tunnicliffe took aim and just missed the top corner from range.
At the other end, Roberts showed his Luton counterpart how to do it moments later. He picked the ball up, 25 yards from goal, and fizzed an unstoppable effort into the far corner.
City were relatively comfortable in the second-half and had chances to make the scoreline more handsome, with substitute Sam Byram firing over on 65 minutes after a lay-off from Roberts.
Late on, Onel Hernandez, another second-half sub, rounded the goalkeeper but couldn't get his effort on target.
After the match finished, we left promptly and made our way back to the car park, taking a slightly different route back that avoided most of the aforementioned rough housing estate. While on the way back, we also agreed that we were glad to have come for a Saturday game rather than a midweek one, and that we weren't especially keen on coming back anytime soon. We made it back to the car park at around 5:15pm and headed back, with me arriving home at around 6:30pm.
As for upcoming plans, I had originally planned to head to Whittlesey yesterday (hence why this was delayed until today), but the weather and apparently minimal cover at the ground put me off this time. So, instead, these are my groundhopping plans through to the end of August:
Saturday the 3rd: Soham Town Rangers vs Yaxley (PSF)
Saturday the 10th: Either Desborough Town vs Histon or Holbeach United vs Fakenham Town (FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round)
Tuesday the 20th: St. Neots Town vs Yaxley (League)
Saturday the 24th: Biggleswade or Mildenhall Town vs Yaxley (FA Cup Preliminary Round)
Saturday the 31st: Didcot Town vs Yaxley (League)
Afer that, I'll be aiming to do at least one more groundhop before I return to Guildford ahead of my final year of University.
The Ground
Kenilworth Road is an old ground with over 100 years of history, and it certainly shows. The 10,356 capacity ground is full of character, such as the away turnstiles going between people's houses, and is certainly unique compared to a lot of more modern builds.
However, age and character often come with various practical issues, such as the complete lack of leg room in the away end, the supporting pillars blocking the view and all sorts else. The ground is also very small by Championship standards, and it surprising to consider that this and Charlton's ground are in the same division.
The club have wanted to leave the ground since 1955, but have only just gotten planning permission for a new 17,000 capacity ground in the last 12 months.
Photos
