Kennilworth Road - a fortress to behold in the Prem????????????

[southvillekiddy]

Kennilworth Road could become a fortress for Luton and therefore their sole(?) source of points and even contribute to survival for a short time?

I'll tell you why. Tuesday 27th august 1996/7 season .......... AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! ......A date seared in my memory

Went with my little boy who found it totally captivating that we had to go through some old dears back garden to get to the away end. Then all down the left side of the pitch ARE BEACH CHALETS!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!.

If that juxtaposition doesn't seriously send the away hard nuts away reeling and speechless, chattering amongst themselves and missing the game then what?

Next to say their fans are vile would be a kindness. Horrible animals.

They beat us 5 nil, yes that's right. Their goalie (cheeky ****er) even came up near the half way line to take a potshot!!

Cole Skuse was new to the team and made it obvious how p*** por he thought the others were playing

One of theirs was a penalty by that cretin Kevin Nicholls (next in line for the head of the Orcs) and didn't that ****er make the most of winding us up when it went in.

BUT 5 NIL WASN'T ENOUGH FOR THEM!!!!!!!!  That's why they are vile and to be feared??

On the way back to the station they were giving 2 fingers and other lovely salutations to a 6 year old boy and his dad

Edited June 1, 2023 by southvillekiddy

[22A]

It willbe a fortress, after all, most of the elite players in the Prem won'tbe used to playing competively in such a ground.

[Swede]

I think its great that they're in the Premier League with the state of that ground. It will be interesting to see how the likes of Arsenal & Chelsea cope with those "facilities" It will also underline the ridiculous disparity of wealth there is in football and how [like FIFA] its completely lost touch with reality in the real world. Football used to be known as a working man's game. I find it really hard to justify £100M for any player [& nothing against him] but here he will step forward onto the lovely Kenilworth Road pitch as an equal. Astonishing really.

[cidered abroad]

27 minutes ago, southvillekiddy said:

Kennilworth Road could become a fortress for Luton and therefore their sole(?) source of points and even contribute to survival for a short time?

I'll tell you why. Tuesday 27th august 1996/7 season .......... AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! ......A date seared in my memory

Went with my little boy who found it totally captivating that we had to go through some old dears back garden to get to the away end. Then all down the left side of the pitch ARE BEACH CHALETS!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!.

If that juxtaposition doesn't seriously send the away hard nuts away reeling and speechless, chattering amongst themselves and missing the game then what?

Next to say their fans are vile would be a kindness. Horrible animals.

They beat us 5 nil, yes that's right. Their goalie (cheeky ****er) even came up near the half way line to take a potshot!!

Cole Skuse was new to the team and made it obvious how p*** por he thought the others were playing

One of theirs was a penalty by that cretin Kevin Nicholls (next in line for the head of the Orcs) and didn't that ****er make the most of winding us up when it went in.

BUT 5 NIL WASN'T ENOUGH FOR THEM!!!!!!!!  That's why they are vile and to be feared??

On the way back to the station they were giving 2 fingers and other lovely salutations to a 6 year old boy and his dad

Very well described. Even the allotments on the way into Watford away end were much more interesting than the beach huts.

 

 

[Redtrojan]

Unfortunately I think it will not be any sort of a fortress and too predictably they will return to the championship likely bottom of the league .

If they’re sensible they will do a Burnley and not overspend in a futile attempt to stay up ,but with parachute payments be in a great financial position to compete  in the championship and possibly go up again with a stronger team that has more of a chance of survival.

 

[SecretSam]

I genuinely wish them well.

But Kenilworth Rd is an embarrassing dump. 

Makes you realise how lucky we are to have AG.

Hopefully, they will use the prem money to buy a new stadium.

[East Londoner]

36 minutes ago, Redtrojan said:

Unfortunately I think it will not be any sort of a fortress and too predictably they will return to the championship likely bottom of the league .

If they’re sensible they will do a Burnley and not overspend in a futile attempt to stay up ,but with parachute payments be in a great financial position to compete  in the championship and possibly go up again with a stronger team that has more of a chance of survival.

 

I work with a Luton season ticket holder who thinks they’re likely to bank as much as they can to go towards financing the new stadium

[Silvio Dante]

I genuinely don’t see it being a fortress.

The game has moved on from the nearest parallel of Wimbledon in the 80s. Players, particularly at premier level, are more protected and VAR makes it harder to get away with roughhousing or shithousing - and we know Luton play on the edge.

Players won’t be intimidated about playing in a small ground - how often do we see big clubs humbled at small grounds nowadays? Add in that the pitch isn’t small, it’s just enclosed, and I don’t think De Bruyne is really going to be that bothered that 8000 Luton fans are shouting at him.

Unless I’m mistaken, Luton won a lot of games 1-0. That isn’t happening next season. Every team has a striker (bar Everton) that can finish more clinically than our level, so they need more goals. Don’t see those coming.

If people genuinely think that premier league players will be a) intimidated and b) not protected then they’re mistaken.

Their best bet is going up and getting the money for long term sustainability. We’ve seen from Huddersfield for example how quickly that money can go though.

I’m firmly in the camp of them challenging Derbys lowest point record. The ground isn’t the factor people think it is and VAR/refereeing nature at the higher level is a huge part of that.

[Bristol Oil Services]

57 minutes ago, 22A said:

It willbe a fortress, after all, most of the elite players in the Prem won'tbe used to playing competively in such a ground.

They manage ok in the FA Cup, I think they'll pick up a few points there

[Davefevs]

25 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

I genuinely don’t see it being a fortress.

The game has moved on from the nearest parallel of Wimbledon in the 80s. Players, particularly at premier level, are more protected and VAR makes it harder to get away with roughhousing or shithousing - and we know Luton play on the edge.

Players won’t be intimidated about playing in a small ground - how often do we see big clubs humbled at small grounds nowadays? Add in that the pitch isn’t small, it’s just enclosed, and I don’t think De Bruyne is really going to be that bothered that 8000 Luton fans are shouting at him.

Unless I’m mistaken, Luton won a lot of games 1-0. That isn’t happening next season. Every team has a striker (bar Everton) that can finish more clinically than our level, so they need more goals. Don’t see those coming.

If people genuinely think that premier league players will be a) intimidated and b) not protected then they’re mistaken.

Their best bet is going up and getting the money for long term sustainability. We’ve seen from Huddersfield for example how quickly that money can go though.

I’m firmly in the camp of them challenging Derbys lowest point record. The ground isn’t the factor people think it is and VAR/refereeing nature at the higher level is a huge part of that.

Great post.

Someone like Lockyer is gonna have to adapt very quickly.  All those sly things he’s does off the ball and at set-pieces (at both ends) will get spotted and penalised.

And once a few teams have beat their press, they are gonna be in a bit of a dilemma about whether to stick to their style.

I don’t think they’ll get pumped every week, but teams have learned how to deal with the likes of Stoke over the last number of years.

[George Rs]

Think it can easily go one of two ways;

1. They manage some good results (most likely at home) early in the season and they stay up with their current style although I think it will be just barely.

2. They get demolished in their first couple of games by the likes of Man City/Newcastle etc who will quite obviously beat the press as they can’t really play defensively as they aren’t good enough to keep out prem teams. And most likely end up bottom by quite some way.

 

Nothing against Luton or the job they’ve done this season but that tactic only works when you have confidence and are playing people close to your skill level. The difference between them and the majority of prem teams is just to great imo and might just lead to a 14 point season for Luton.

[archie andrews]

1 hour ago, southvillekiddy said:

Kennilworth Road could become a fortress for Luton and therefore their sole(?) source of points and even contribute to survival for a short time?

I'll tell you why. Tuesday 27th august 1996/7 season .......... AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! ......A date seared in my memory

Went with my little boy who found it totally captivating that we had to go through some old dears back garden to get to the away end. Then all down the left side of the pitch ARE BEACH CHALETS!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!.

If that juxtaposition doesn't seriously send the away hard nuts away reeling and speechless, chattering amongst themselves and missing the game then what?

Next to say their fans are vile would be a kindness. Horrible animals.

They beat us 5 nil, yes that's right. Their goalie (cheeky ****er) even came up near the half way line to take a potshot!!

Cole Skuse was new to the team and made it obvious how p*** por he thought the others were playing

One of theirs was a penalty by that cretin Kevin Nicholls (next in line for the head of the Orcs) and didn't that ****er make the most of winding us up when it went in.

BUT 5 NIL WASN'T ENOUGH FOR THEM!!!!!!!!  That's why they are vile and to be feared??

On the way back to the station they were giving 2 fingers and other lovely salutations to a 6 year old boy and his dad

We beat luton 5 nil at home around late august that season goodridge on fire that night and jason cundy was playing for us on loan from spurs or chelsea.... Anyways 2004/2005 we lost 5 nil away i was there...... 

[pongo88]

Perhaps this logic is why Rovers are still playing at Horfield. They are planning to get to the Premier League and  it will be a fortress. It’s just the tiny detail of getting there that is the problem 

[Southport Red]

[Mayes86]

4 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

I genuinely don’t see it being a fortress.

The game has moved on from the nearest parallel of Wimbledon in the 80s. Players, particularly at premier level, are more protected and VAR makes it harder to get away with roughhousing or shithousing - and we know Luton play on the edge.

Players won’t be intimidated about playing in a small ground - how often do we see big clubs humbled at small grounds nowadays? Add in that the pitch isn’t small, it’s just enclosed, and I don’t think De Bruyne is really going to be that bothered that 8000 Luton fans are shouting at him.

Unless I’m mistaken, Luton won a lot of games 1-0. That isn’t happening next season. Every team has a striker (bar Everton) that can finish more clinically than our level, so they need more goals. Don’t see those coming.

If people genuinely think that premier league players will be a) intimidated and b) not protected then they’re mistaken.

Their best bet is going up and getting the money for long term sustainability. We’ve seen from Huddersfield for example how quickly that money can go though.

I’m firmly in the camp of them challenging Derbys lowest point record. The ground isn’t the factor people think it is and VAR/refereeing nature at the higher level is a huge part of that.

I also think they won’t be far away from Derby’s awful points record and I also think the record 9-0 defeat in the prem could be under threat when they’re away to the likes of Man City/Liverpool/Newcastle.

All this talk of the tight stadium helping them etc is all bull imo. One side of the stadium doesn’t even have fans in and the rest is what a grand total of about 9-10k home fans hardly like old tight stadiums like Selhurst park.

[pongo88]

10 minutes ago, Mayes86 said:

I also think they won’t be far away from Derby’s awful points record and I also think the record 9-0 defeat in the prem could be under threat when they’re away to the likes of Man City/Liverpool/Newcastle.

All this talk of the tight stadium helping them etc is all bull imo. One side of the stadium doesn’t even have fans in and the rest is what a grand total of about 9-10k home fans hardly like old tight stadiums like Selhurst park.

I think this is a more likely scenario. Top teams in the Premier League are used to playing away to the best teams in Europe with partisan crowds. In comparison, Luton is hardly likely to frighten them. Even the average / poor teams have to play away at clubs like Liverpool, Man Utd etc with 40k plus crowds and good players. Luton with average, at best, players and 9k home supporters will be an experience, but not an insurmountable one. 

[tin]

7 hours ago, southvillekiddy said:

Kennilworth Road could become a fortress for Luton and therefore their sole(?) source of points and even contribute to survival for a short time?

I'll tell you why. Tuesday 27th august 1996/7 season .......... AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! ......A date seared in my memory

Went with my little boy who found it totally captivating that we had to go through some old dears back garden to get to the away end. Then all down the left side of the pitch ARE BEACH CHALETS!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!.

If that juxtaposition doesn't seriously send the away hard nuts away reeling and speechless, chattering amongst themselves and missing the game then what?

Next to say their fans are vile would be a kindness. Horrible animals.

They beat us 5 nil, yes that's right. Their goalie (cheeky ****er) even came up near the half way line to take a potshot!!

Cole Skuse was new to the team and made it obvious how p*** por he thought the others were playing

One of theirs was a penalty by that cretin Kevin Nicholls (next in line for the head of the Orcs) and didn't that ****er make the most of winding us up when it went in.

BUT 5 NIL WASN'T ENOUGH FOR THEM!!!!!!!!  That's why they are vile and to be feared??

On the way back to the station they were giving 2 fingers and other lovely salutations to a 6 year old boy and his dad

I was at that game and had erased it from my memory. Considering Luton’s away form was better than their home form this year, I can’t see how it will be a fortress and I suspect Derby’s record low points total is at risk. We shall see.

[Greyrobbo]

8 hours ago, southvillekiddy said:

Kennilworth Road could become a fortress for Luton and therefore their sole(?) source of points and even contribute to survival for a short time?

I'll tell you why. Tuesday 27th august 1996/7 season .......... AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! ......A date seared in my memory

Went with my little boy who found it totally captivating that we had to go through some old dears back garden to get to the away end. Then all down the left side of the pitch ARE BEACH CHALETS!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!.

If that juxtaposition doesn't seriously send the away hard nuts away reeling and speechless, chattering amongst themselves and missing the game then what?

Next to say their fans are vile would be a kindness. Horrible animals.

They beat us 5 nil, yes that's right. Their goalie (cheeky ****er) even came up near the half way line to take a potshot!!

Cole Skuse was new to the team and made it obvious how p*** por he thought the others were playing

One of theirs was a penalty by that cretin Kevin Nicholls (next in line for the head of the Orcs) and didn't that ****er make the most of winding us up when it went in.

BUT 5 NIL WASN'T ENOUGH FOR THEM!!!!!!!!  That's why they are vile and to be feared??

On the way back to the station they were giving 2 fingers and other lovely salutations to a 6 year old boy and his dad

Brilliant, best post in a long time, I found this hilarious!!

[shelts]

Good luck to em . Gonna b a tough season. 

[northsomersetred]

Allen High School: 18,000 seats, $60M

Luton Town FC: 10,000 seats, 120 years old

[SecretSam]

Fortress Kenilworth? I don't think the likes of Haaland is going to be scared by a few thousand plastic Cockneys

[RedM]

17 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

I genuinely don’t see it being a fortress.

The game has moved on from the nearest parallel of Wimbledon in the 80s. Players, particularly at premier level, are more protected and VAR makes it harder to get away with roughhousing or shithousing - and we know Luton play on the edge.

Players won’t be intimidated about playing in a small ground - how often do we see big clubs humbled at small grounds nowadays? Add in that the pitch isn’t small, it’s just enclosed, and I don’t think De Bruyne is really going to be that bothered that 8000 Luton fans are shouting at him.

Unless I’m mistaken, Luton won a lot of games 1-0. That isn’t happening next season. Every team has a striker (bar Everton) that can finish more clinically than our level, so they need more goals. Don’t see those coming.

If people genuinely think that premier league players will be a) intimidated and b) not protected then they’re mistaken.

Their best bet is going up and getting the money for long term sustainability. We’ve seen from Huddersfield for example how quickly that money can go though.

I’m firmly in the camp of them challenging Derbys lowest point record. The ground isn’t the factor people think it is and VAR/refereeing nature at the higher level is a huge part of that.

I think you are right. I don't see many teams wanting to be the team that Luton beat!

[Simon bristol]

17 hours ago, SecretSam said:

I genuinely wish them well.

But Kenilworth Rd is an embarrassing dump. 

Makes you realise how lucky we are to have AG.

Hopefully, they will use the prem money to buy a new stadium.

Hopefully the prem sets them up for their new stadium, but the fact they got there with that dump is embarrassing for everyone else!!

[RedM]

They have had to spend £10m already on facillities for Sky/VAR etc. Existing camera points not good enough for the Premiership.

[chinapig]

36 minutes ago, RedM said:

They have had to spend £10m already on facillities for Sky/VAR etc. Existing camera points not good enough for the Premiership.

The floodlights have to be upgraded as well. Plus apparently they have to upgrade the car park to accommodate up to 4 (!) broadcast trucks.

[Super]

13 hours ago, Mayes86 said:

I also think they won’t be far away from Derby’s awful points record and I also think the record 9-0 defeat in the prem could be under threat when they’re away to the likes of Man City/Liverpool/Newcastle.

All this talk of the tight stadium helping them etc is all bull imo. One side of the stadium doesn’t even have fans in and the rest is what a grand total of about 9-10k home fans hardly like old tight stadiums like Selhurst park.

Based on what exactly? The 3 teams promoted last season all stayed up after being written off before the start of the season. 

[NOTBLUE]

Years ago teams might of feared going to the small,tight grounds,however with the improvement of the pitches that fear has all but subsided.I personally think they’ll come straight back down.

[phantom]

Kenilworth is slowly getting there

 

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

Pitch size certainly won't be a problem for PL teams. For example, Kenilworth Road is almost identical in size to Selhurst Park and is very marginally smaller than Stamford Bridge. 

[1960maaan]

I think it will depend on how they start, they will be full of confidence and a little bit of an unknown which mat help them. Away to Brighton then home to Burnley, all games are tough but it could have been much worse. 

I can see it being tough for some teams to go there, I don't see them being whipping boys like Derby but they will of course be massive favs to come back down.

On 01/06/2023 at 15:09, Davefevs said:

Someone like Lockyer is gonna have to adapt very quickly.  All those sly things he’s does off the ball and at set-pieces (at both ends) will get spotted and penalised.

 

I hope so, I really hope so.

[The Gasbuster]

37 minutes ago, phantom said:

Kenilworth is slowly getting there

 

Once a shithole, always a shithole.

[Iron Acton Red]

6 minutes ago, The Gasbuster said:

Once a shithole, always a shithole.

Still looks a lot nicer than the Mem though.

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

On 01/06/2023 at 15:09, Davefevs said:

Great post.

Someone like Lockyer is gonna have to adapt very quickly.  All those sly things he’s does off the ball and at set-pieces (at both ends) will get spotted and penalised.

And once a few teams have beat their press, they are gonna be in a bit of a dilemma about whether to stick to their style.

I don’t think they’ll get pumped every week, but teams have learned how to deal with the likes of Stoke over the last number of years.

They may get spotted but given the standards of refereeing and the idiots in the VAR booth I wouldn't guarantee they'd get penalised. 

[slartibartfast]

On 02/06/2023 at 08:07, RedM said:

They have had to spend £10m already on facillities for Sky/VAR etc. Existing camera points not good enough for the Premiership.

So they're going to a new ground but they've gotta spend mega bucks on revamping this one............................er, are they building a new South Stand, perchance ?

[Ska Junkie]

2 hours ago, phantom said:

Kenilworth is slowly getting there

 

Looks like they've done away with the boxes down one side then?

[Super]

A lot to do in 5/6 weeks!

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

They may get spotted but given the standards of refereeing and the idiots in the VAR booth I wouldn't guarantee they'd get penalised. 

True

[maxjak]

2/7 to go back down......which they will IMHO.

[Norn Iron]

As I've said before on other threads, I was a Luton Town fan from 1972-77. My parents were from Bristol but I was raised in Harpenden (home of Eric Morecambe) and 6 Miles from Luton.

We moved back to Bristol in time for the 77-78 season. It was easy for me to transfer my loyalties as my Dad was a die-hard City fan even though we would go to the Oak Rd week in, week out to support The Hatters.

I can only apologise to the 6 year old kid who suffered abuse that day. It is sooooo wrong.  I was a young teenager when City played at Kenilworth Rd and I too received all kinds of hand signals walking past the City coaches after the match. OK, I was wearing my scarf tied around my wrist (it was a thing in those days) and I was double his age but It doesn't make it right. 

I said Oak Rd. The home end in those days was the Oak Rd. The away end was Kenilworth Rd. In my day that was an open terrace. The Bobbers Stand (so named as it cost a bob to enter) was the small terrace running alongside the touchline. In my day it was a bank of seats. In the 80s, they replaced the seats with executive style boxes. 

Luton Town gave me a love for football. I was able to watch my childhood hero every Saturday - a certain John Aston. I can't remember the 66 World Cup final but I was in awe of the Man U v Benfica European Cup final a couple of years later in 1968. George Best? Pah. John Aston won it for them and that was who I wanted to be on the footy field....sadly not though when it came to playing the game.

I also had the privilege of watching Paul Futcher make his debut. Forget Ron (his twin who fortunately decided not to sign for us), Paul was an incredible player.

Even though I am City through and through now (and yesterday bought another return flight to watch BCFC in September),  LTFC will always be special to me. I still have my orange, blue and white scarf. I would still have my classic Admiral shirt had my mother not thrown it out deliberately it (due to a terrible divorce that made a national newspaper). 

I returned a couple of times to Kenilworth Rd to watch BCFC. My loyalties were no longer with Luton. My last visit was in the 93-94 season. The Oak Rd was now the away end but I was a guest and sitting in the Main Stand. I remember checking my emotions and it was the team from BS3 that I was there for.

So where is this epistle going? I don't really know except that whilst it is indeed a dump of a football ground, it is my childhood dump of a football ground. That dump can't be taken away from my memory and nor will I let it. 

See you at Ashton Gate in September.

COYR.....and yes, we are definitely going up this season.

[GrahamC]

From a distance it looks like them & Sheffield United are in a competition as to who finishes bottom.

Luton have signed a Barnsley defender & a Rotherham striker, good players in the Championship, but they aren’t now.

Sheffield United haven’t signed anyone & their manager admitted they released 2 players (Stevens & Sharp) he would have kept.

Spot on about Luton & VAR, Morris’ dives & Lockyer’s fouling will be spotted by it.

[phantom]

1 hour ago, Ska Junkie said:

Looks like they've done away with the boxes down one side then?

Correct 

2 hours ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

They may get spotted but given the standards of refereeing and the idiots in the VAR booth I wouldn't guarantee they'd get penalised. 

Do people honestly think these things don't go on at a higher level? 

 

They occur at all levels of the game right up to world Cup finals etc