Luton – The Legends Series – David Preece

For the second in our Legends series, following on from our article related to John Moore, I’ve selected David Preece.

Preece, a midfielder, joined the Hatters, from Walsall, in December 1984. He was to become a loyal servant of the club for eleven years and played a key part in the magnificent 1988 League Cup Final, when Arsenal were beaten in what just has to be one of the most dramatic games the old stadium was to witness.

During his circa 400 games for Luton Town, Preece, with his all-action style and silky skills quickly became a fans favourite. Small in physical nature, David had the ability to ghost past players and never shirked a tackle, creating numerous scoring opportunities for his team mates.

David spent the best part of his career with Luton Town and was granted a testimonial, against Manchester United, in 1995.

The biggest gripe I have with his time at Kenilworth Road is that he only received an England B cap, surely his talents were deserved of more!

After leaving Luton, in August 1995, David went on to play for several other clubs, as can be seen from the fact file in this article. But he never hit similar heights to that he achieved at Luton.

Sadly, Preece was to die, at the young age of 44, after being in remission from throat cancer, he died on 20-July-2007, after a short illness.

The club, in his honour, named the family stand, the newest section of our quaint old ground, the David Preece Stand in his honour, a fitting tribute to one of our legends.

Looking through the numerous You Tube clips, available to the public domain, is there a more poignant one than this one I stumbled upon?

In my opinion, David ranks as one of the best signings made by David Pleat, do you concur or do you disagree?

David Preece Mini Fact File

Full Name – David William Preece

Date of Birth – 28-May-1963

Place of Birth – Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England

Height – 5 feet 5 inches

Position – Midfielder

Youth Career – Walsall

Career – Walsall, Luton Town, Derby County, Birmingham City (loan), Swindon Town (loan), Cambridge United, Torquay United, Enfield, Stevenage Borough, Enfield,

International Career – England B

Please feel free to remind us all of your favourite David Preece moment, in a Luton shirt, the more memories the better, simply drop your thoughts into the comment facility beneath this article.

If you can think of anyone who deserves nominating for coverage in this ongoing series, please drop their name into the comment facility beneath this article.

My thanks go to those who have already nominated faces from the past, they will all be covered, in time.

Next up in the series will be – Mal Donaghy, suggested by Chris Winter.

COYH’s

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Luton – Time To Decide Whether This Transfer Window Fulfilled Its Purpose