Today was a sad day for football with Luton Town completing the formality of relegation from the Football League. I don't know the ins and outs of what they did or didn't do, but I do know that the 30 point pre-season points deduction was absurd, destroying all sense of competition in the division. If the crime really was that severe, why not deduct the club 10 points for three consecutive seasons and at least retain some sense of matters being decided on the football field. Give Luton back those 30 points and they would be safely mid table; their relegation is a travesty of footballing justice and defies logic.
What the League seem to have forgotten is that Luton Town represent a community, and that the fan base of the club have done nothing to deserve this. It would have been punishment enough to destroy any hope of promotion from the division; to damn the club to relegation from the Football League before a ball was kicked was too cruel on the fans.
Every true supporter, outside perhaps of Watford, must surely share my sense of injustice. It is a shame more was not done to organise a protest across the Premiership and Football League against bureaucrats and lawyers deciding promotion and relegation rather than players. This wasn't just the thin end of the wedge, it was the whole wedge all in one go!
This Hammer sincerely hopes that Luton Town bounce back up and begin a steady climb back to where they belong. Who can forget Pleat kerb crawling down the touchline when they avoided relegation or the controversy over that plastic pitch? Luton are a team with a history and that history was ignored when the faceless bureaucrats sliced off 30 points before they had even been secured. Shame on the League and shame on every other club for not making this more of an issue before it was too late!
16 comments:
I agree with you 100% there. Luton town fans deserve better han that.
DCFC
i don't like that they've been relegated, but you ruined your article and all credibility with the line:
"I don't know the ins and outs of what they did or didn't do"
First rule of journalism (and well, I know thanks to my journalism degree) is to do your research.
You could re-write this and make the same points, but actually putting what they did might be a start.
The powers that be in the FA, Football League and Premier League continue to mismanage the game at all levels. What was done to Luton was indeed a disgrace and in viewing their relegation many fans will fail to see the herculean effort they put in to defy overwhelming odds.
From the time Liverpool players refused to waive their match fees Luton were on the slippery slope to non-league football. At least in their new owners they have ensured that they will continue to exist as a football club.
Rather than simply punishing these clubs the FA must work with them to avoid such problems in the first place.
A mandatory set of add on clauses for any player who graduates from a clubs academy would be a start.
Too many young players are being tempted to the likes of Arsenal, Spurs or Chelski at 16 or 17 and the clubs who worked with them from the age of 10 or 11 are left with nothing.
Any Premiership club drawn against a team for a league lower than the championship should be made to waive their match fees and TV money for away cup ties.
A levy should be placed on all players salaries of 1% to help establish a fund to pay players from clubs who are struggling to stay afloat provided that the club didnt get into trouble through financial irregularites or blatant mismanagement. One of the biggest factors in putting clubs into administration is their inability to meet their wage bill.
If a club finds itself in that position its players should be allowed to leave on loan to any club that will pick up their wage bill regardless of the transfer window until such time as the club can afford to pay their wages again.
These measure would mean we would never see proud football clubs with loyal fans like Luton Town.
I only hope they bounce straight back and begin climbing their way back up the leagues.
Some excellent recommendations Celtic, I would back all of those!
Thanks for the journalistic advice Anon. My point is, what the club did is irrelevant. The fans were not responsible and the fans are being punished.
I'll agree with that. I hated Luton when they were in our league, one of those pesky clubs that seemed to always trip us up. However, this punishment is clearly a farce and I hope they rebound quickly. Taking 40,000 to wembley was a good sign for the future. The Football League can't seem to stoop any lower can they?
ok, yes the fans weren't responsible and they're being punished...that doesn't work as an argument. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't.
If a club does something wrong, it has to be punished. It might be a harsh one, but it's always going to be the fans that come off worst.
How can you have it any other way? Think about what you're saying. The fans are (almost) never responsible, as they have nothing to do with the running of the club, and they don't play on the pitch.
What the club did isn't irrelevant at all. How could it be? What the club does directly affects the fans, it cannot happen any other way. If the club does something wrong, the fans will be punished as well.
I'm sorry, but I just don't see your argument at all.
Punish the club by all means but not to the point where the club cannot avoid relegation even before a ball is kicked. The 40,000 who went to Wembley did not deserve that and the fact that the club made it to Wembley shows that they do not deserve to be relegated. 30 point deduction spread over 3 seasons, what would have been wrong with that?
40,000 fans to Wembley proves nothing other than they have a big and loyal fanbase. How could it mean they don't deserve to be relegated? Seriously, think that through again.
Just because a club has a large following doesn't automatically mean they should be exempt from relegation. That would never make sense, at all.
The facts are, they broke financial rules and we handed the correct punishment. A harsh one, yes, but the correct one according to the rules.
They could have spread the points deductions over 3 seasons like you say...but why? To save a club with a long history from relegation? No. It just doesn't, and should't, work like that.
Your arguments here just don't make sense. Also, the fact you used no research in your original article and just said "they don't deserve to be relegated...regardless of what they've done" has lost you all credibility when it comes to a reasoned debate about the club and it's current plight.
Oh, and added to that.
The club did briliiantly well to reach Wembley, but it could be argued they wouldn't have done if it wasn't for the punishment in the league.
Playing with the freedom in the cup competitions allowed the players to take their minds off the league for a while, and probably gave them a lift.
Yes, they won the Johnstone's Paint. It was great for the club, but that would never mean they're exempt from relegation in the league.
By your standards...if a team reaches Wembley in a cup competition, they do not deserve to be relegated in the league.
How would that ever make sense? Ever? League and cup form are two completely different things and doing well in the cups shouldn't mean you don't deserve to be relegated, it just means you have done well in a totally seperate comp.
Anon (20.34) no one is saying that any club who makes a final should be exempt from relegation.
That is a trite explanation and shows a complete misunderstanding of what was posted.
However the double standards applied to smaller clubs by the FA is laughable.
The turn a complete blind eye to the fact Man United are closing in on £1Billion pounds of debt. A debt that they will never ever pay off and simplly roll over ever 18months and then service the interest.
Liverpool have half a billion pounds of debt which they can not find a bank to take on. Their bankers refused to take on the debt for another term and merely roled it over till the end of june to allow them find a new lender, something to day which they have not managed to do. In fact the only way they will get the loan is to sign over Anfield as security.
Arsenal thought their redevelopment of the old Highbury ground would pay for the cost of the new stadium. It hasnt and only some creative book keeping has stopped them racking up 3/4 of a billion in debt.
Chelski owe Ambravoich over a billion quid.
In fact a report by Delloite early in the season said that if Premier League clubs were judge by the standards of ordinary businesses that only WestHam and Hull would be declared solvent. The rest would be put into the hands of liquidators.
So before you vilify Luton or impose draconian punishment on them try looking at the other end of the league. If those big clubs didnt comtribute so much cash to the FA they would be called to account over their suicidal business practices.
Celtic, start donating some main articles mate. I like your style!
You say no one is saying a club who makes a final should be exempt from relegation, but what about this quote from the author:
"the fact that the club made it to Wembley shows that they do not deserve to be relegated"
Yes, probably said with a bit of sarcasm or humour, but still.
in regards to the financial side of things...i completely agree, that the biggest clubs are making a mockery of it.
I never said the rules were correct, in fact, I completely agree with you, the double standards are awful, and I hope for change to these regulations. Especially when it comes to docking teams points and ruining their seasons.
However, the point I make is still valid...the rules are there for a reason (even if they are stupid) and have to be followed. Luton broke these rules, and suffered the consequences.
Horrible for the club, horrible for the fans, but correct by the rules in place. All clubs agree each year to these rules, and as such, signed contracts meaning if they break them, will be punished.
Anon, the quality of mercy is not strained, it droppeth as the rain from heaven. Away with you Shylock!
A good article by real football fans! Didn't read the stuff about it was 'all their fault'. You really have to understand the story of LTFC over the last 8-10 years before really being able to comment that we got what was deserved! No team should have to go through what we have. Sh*t Ground, plastic pitch, ban on away fans...yep but just tells the story of poor management for years. Now the fans own the club...we'll be back...
So pleased last week, so gutted this, how cruel is football...
LTFC est 1885
Good luck to your club mate!
Second what Hammersfan said, all the best mate.
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