Trust in Luton Newsletter

January 2009



Dear Supporter



As 2009 starts, we felt that this would be a good time to provide an update on TiL, our work and how we see things in general. Before we do, however, perhaps now is the appropriate moment to reflect on the past 12 months?



What a year it has been! Who would have predicted, just a couple of seasons ago, that Luton Town Football Club would find themselves rock bottom of the Football League and fighting for League survival at the end of 2008?



Well, the answer is probably a few but, if everyone had been aware of how our club was being run at the time, it would certainly have been a lot more. As fans, we tend to focus our attention on events on the pitch. All that has changed, however, and surely no one doubts now for a moment that our current predicament is a result of years of living beyond our means, by boards and individuals who built up huge debts and unpaid tax bills, whilst leaving the operational side of the club with no leadership or direction.



Our views on the punishments handed down by the FL and the FA are well known and no-one can deny that we have been made an example of and treated as scapegoats by people with no feeling for the game, no deep understanding of how we came to be in this situation and without the interests of the local football club and its fans at heart. We can’t change that, although we salute the work of those who still challenge the FA and the FL who continue to squirm under scrutiny and who, even recently, in the FA’s case, appear to have treated us differently to Southend in their interpretation of the laws governing the use of under-age players!



Thankfully, and here great credit goes to the new custodians of Luton Town, we have conducted ourselves with great dignity and behaved in a manner that is in keeping with a proud club with a great tradition. We have taken our punishments, paid our dues (and much more) and are doing everything possible to secure League status and, even more importantly, the future of LTFC. Let us not forget that the greatest achievement this year was to secure the future of this club which was on the verge of total obliteration. Through the tireless efforts of 2020 and many others, we can safely say that WE HAVE OUR CLUB BACK! What do we mean by that? Well, anyone who follows Luton home and away will know that the spirit and atmosphere is back, we feel proud of our club and a part of it. The communication is open and honest, the way we are treated as fans by the shop, the ticket office, the matchday staff, commercial department and security folk has improved beyond recognition, and TiL would like to say a massive THANK YOU to the entire staff of LTFC who have ‘toughed-out’ a terrible time before and during administration. Despite the past problems, they have emerged as a great team with a customer-first attitude. Clearly, there is still much to do after years of neglect but things are going in the right direction at last.



Behind the scenes, not always appreciated, the 2020 team have worked hard to overcome obstacles galore. They have stuck to the cornerstones of the 2020 Mission and are making real progress. Our wage bill has been significantly reduced and monthly losses are now at manageable levels. Players have had to be sold but the playing staff continues to be slowly strengthened with players of character. The youth set-up, which is our lifeblood, has had significant investment and focus and the greatest sight at Luton is a youth player, such as Jake Howells or Ed Asafu-Adjaye, stepping up to the first team and performing well. TiL would like to applaud 2020 and the investors who continue to dig deep for working tirelessly to turn around the tanker! At times it must seem like an impossible task!



On the pitch, starting at minus 30 points is a massive burden to the players and coaching staff. The team started pretty much from scratch at the beginning of the season with the majority of our signings made on the day before the season kicked off due to the lengthy process of administration. It is a good mix of youth and experience and appears committed to developing in every game. Obviously we would all have liked a few more wins by now, but despite being a little behind the run rate we have begun to string some excellent performances together. We have also been beset by injuries from day one which has made it difficult to field 11 players in their right positions consistently. We wish Mick and the lads all the best and thank them for their spirit, optimism and hard work. Not every player has the guts to join a club that they know will be bottom of the League for a considerable portion of the season. When we click we look very good and, with a little fortune with injuries, this squad is capable of going on the rhino-charge needed to haul in two clubs in the second half of the season. Mick’s is the hardest job in football right now but, hopefully, not the loneliest, as fans and club stand together.



We are constantly amazed at how surprised non-Luton fans are by our spirit and how impressed they are by the fact that our position has not dented our pride and passion. Luton Town is a special club and the fans are the club. So the last thank you must go to you, the fans?..it has never been easy to be a Luton Town fan! It will be tough for a while to come but there is a quiet revolution going on that will return better days. Football is in a sorry state, generally, and it is clubs like Luton, not foreign-owned businesses traded like commodities, that will show the way for others in the future.



We`ve been written off before and, although we have had to hit rock bottom, we are slowly moving back up the ladder. The difference now is that we will be the light for others to follow.



We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and let`s hope that 2009 is the year that brings the sunshine back to Kenilworth Road!

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Scotty: Those of you who have not subscribed to the trust please do. It is just £10 per annum and will enable the trust to do more to assist the club and community football and eventually buy a larger shareholding in the club and therby a greater influence on behalf of the supporters.