Luton – Unsung Heroes – John Dreyer

With news a little scarce, as we await the start of the 2021/2022 season, I thought I would add another player to our ongoing series.

The last player covered in the series was – darron-mcdonough.

Today I thought I would delve int the past and cover a defender who made more appearances for Luton Town than any other club he played for – John Dreyer.

John Brian Dreyer, to give him his full name, was born in Alnwick, Northumberland, on 11-June-1963.

His career started, like many, in non-league football with Wallingford Town before moving into the professional game with Oxford United, in January 1985.

Dreyer’s spell at Oxford was far from text-book stuff with the player going on loan twice, to Torquay United and Fulham, before finally establishing himself in the Oxford side.

His potential was recognised by the Hatters scouting staff and on 27-June-1988 he signed for Luton Town for a fee of £140,000.

While with Luton, Dreyer made 214 league games, scoring on 13 occasions.

A solid defender who was also able to drop into midfield if the need arose, Dreyer was also an accomplished penalty taker, as can be seen in the video clip below, in a league game against Arsenal on 08-Dec-1990, where he expertly beats David Seaman after Tony Adams had been penalised for a foul, an offence which saw the Arsenal skipper receive a red card.

Dreyer’s time at Kenilworth Road came to an end in July 1994 when he joined Stoke City, spells at Bolton Wanderers (loan), Bradford City, Cambridge United and Stevenage followed before he hung his boots up and headed into management territory.

Over the years, the Hatters have had some fantastic defenders and if given the opportunity to select an all-time Luton XI, I am not sure John Dreyer would feature in many XI’s, but he was as solid as they come and, in my opinion, definitely an unsung hero.

COYH’s

Previous article by Mad Hatter

Luton Defender Joins League One Club

Finally, with Mick Harford battling Prostate cancer, we are continuing in our efforts to raise money for research into this terrible disease.

Please follow the link and give generously – prostatecanceruk.org