Squad Numbers

Watching Luton Towns 2-3 defeat to Chelsea yesterday, the commentators continually mentioned the fact that despite the hatters being 0-3 down , they continued to show fight and spirit. This felt awfully patronising as Luton actually had the better of the game, having 51% possession of the ball, taking 15 shots to Chelsea’s 12 and restricting Chelsea’s creativity, as they only accrued 1.5 XG, suggesting that the scoreline actually flattered Chelsea. 

It is true that Luton showed resilience in this game, and have done in many of their other games so far this season, but that should not take away from the fact that they are a strong team, with a clear plan of how they are going to play and good individuals to supplement that. This season, Luton have attempted the most crosses of any team in the premier league, with 411 (21 per game). This works as they have Alfie Doughty and Andros Townsend, who are both excellent crossers of the ball and their delivery creates issues for the opponents, with 4 and 2 assists for them respectively this season. This is made even more effective by the fact that Elijah Adebayo’s presence up front is difficult to handle, standing at 6’3, Adebayo has scored 5 goals this season, 2 of which have been headers.

They are able to play out from long periods of pressure as well, this is largely down to the exceptional quality of Ross Barkley, and to an extent Albert Sambi-Lokonga. Barkley has been exceptional for Luton since joining the club on a FREE TRANSFER in the summer. It’s astonishing how a player of his quality hasn’t flourished in the past few years, and even more so that he was able to be signed for nothing in the summer, when his opposite number in that Chelsea game , who he outshone, Moises Caicedo was signed for £115 million in the same transfer window. Barkley has made 64 progressive passes for Luton this season, almost double the amount of the 3rd highest player in the squad for this metric (Amari Bell). Barkley has also completed the most switches and through balls of any Luton player this season.

Luton are not passive either, pressurising the opposition if they decide to play out from the back. The front line get tight to whoever they are marking as soon as the pass is played out to said player, not giving them time to breathe. This is why Kenilworth road is such a tough place to go, not because the ground is small and the fans are close to the pitch, but because the home team are aggressive, direct and technically sound. 

It’s time to stop the disrespect, Rob Edwards and the Luton town board should be given tremendous credit for building a capable, well drilled and technical team which can compete with any team in the league on their day, and are certainly good enough to stay in the premier league.