[Lord Snooty]

Huddersfield Town v Luton Town
The Sky Bet Championship Play Off semi finals
Friday 13th and Monday 16th May 19:45 ko

Huddersfield Town travel to Luton to Kenilworth Road on Friday night for the first leg of the Play Offs semis and then they come up to ours on Monday night for the 2nd leg.

Head Coach Carlos Corberán rested a few players for the final match at home to Bristol City. There was a slight niggle for Lewis O'Brien, which shouldn't be a problem. Sorba Thomas has said he's fit and ready to go, but ex Luton defender Matty Pearson, won't be ready for this one. Duane Holmes took a knock on Saturday and played on for half an hour because Carlos had already made his three substitutions and he is now a doubt for Friday night.

Luton manager, Nathan Jones, has been whining on for weeks about the size of his injury list, but when they're all added together, he has fewer injuries than we do. He's just a whiny, snivelling little git.

If Luton win the Play Offs this season, they will be the first team to win promotion from the National League to the Premier League. And that will be at the same time as Oldham Athletic become the first team to have played in the Premier League to be relegated down to the National League.



A brief history of Luton Town: formed in 1885, they turned professional in 1890 and entered the Football League in 1897. However, as they were based in the south and most of their opponents were based in the north, they decided to leave the FL and went back to the Southern League in 1900. They played at Dunstable Road then, but in 1905 they moved to Kenilworth Road. They returned to the Football League in 1920 when the new Division Three (South) was formed and finished that first season in mid table.

They won Div 3(S) in 1936/37 and so were promoted to the 2nd Division. They scored 103 goals in the league but one match against Bristol Rovers in the previous season produced a league record that still stands today and is very unlikely to ever be beaten. They beat Bristol Rovers 12-0, but that wasn't the record. The remarkable thing was Joe Payne, who started the season at half back, was brought in to play centre forward because of injuries to Jack Ball and Bill Boyd. He only went and scored ten goals in the match! So they kept him in that position and the next season, when they won the title, he banged home 55 goals, a club record. He scored 83 goals in his 72 matches for Luton.

Joe Payne

They stayed in the 2nd division up to and after the war and in 52/53 they almost got promoted, finishing 3rd behind Sheffield Utd and Huddersfield Town, when only the top two went up. They did manage it though in 54/55 when they finished second as Birmingham City won the title and Rotherham just failed as the three teams all ended up on 54 points and Luton were promoted with a better Goal Average. This was the era when Gordon Turner played for them, who went on to be their all time record goalscorer with 276 in a 15 year career. He scored 32 in the promotion season.

A creditable finish of tenth in their first season in the top flight was followed by 16th, 8th and 17th. But then in 1959 they reached the FA Cup Final for their one and only time. They met Nottingham Forest, but got beaten 1-2. Goals from Roy Dwight (cousin of Elton John) and Tommy Wilson gave Forest an early lead, but then Dwight broke his leg after 33 minutes and had to go off. There were no subs in those days, so Forest had to battle on with ten men. In the second half Dave Pacey scored for his home town club, but Forest held on for the win.

Did the Wembley appearance lead to further success? No. They were relegated in the next season along with Leeds Utd. They finished 13th in the 2nd division, but then in the next season, they were relegated again and were back in the 3rd division for the first time in 26 years. It got worse. They had a mid table finish but then in 64/65 they were relegated to the 4th division for the first time, just six years after being runners up in the FA Cup.

Better days were just around the corner though. They won the 4th division title in 67/68 and almost made it back to back promotions, but finished 3rd when it was still just the top two promoted. But then in 69/70 they did go up and it was the goals of future Town manager Malcolm Macdonald that fired them to a second placed position. Supermac was sold to Newcastle and the team did fairly well in the league, but then in 73/74, just 9 years after being relegated to the 4th division, they won promotion back to the First Division, finishing as runners up to Middlesbrough, with Carlisle United taking advantage of the new three promoted clubs rule behind them.

It was just a one year stay. They were relegated alongside Chelsea and Carlisle. Better times weren't far away again though and in 1977 they appointed David Pleat as manager, who had played for them in those 4th division days. He got them promoted in 81/82 as Champions of Division Two, eight points ahead of runners up Watford. Pleat's most famous day was on the last day of 82/83 when Luton had to win at Maine Road to stay up. Their win, thanks to a Raddy Antić goal, had Pleat dancing for joy on the pitch on hearing the final whistle, which not only became an iconic image, but also saw Man City relegated.

They stayed up for a few years and achieved their highest ever league finish in 86/87 when they ended the season in 7th place. Pleat had been poached by Tottenham Hotspur by then, so it was John Moore, a former 4th division team mate of Pleat's and his assistant manager, who managed the club to this position. He only stayed in the job for one season though. He didn't like being the boss and so went back to being just a coach and Ray Harford took over. Harford had immediate success by winning the League Cup in 1988.

It wasn't their first visit to Wembley that season though, as they had been to the final of the Full Members Cup a month earlier when they lost 1-4 to Reading. This time they were up against Arsenal, the cup holders and strong favourites. Luton took an early lead though through Brian Stein when the famous Arsenal defence failed to clear a set piece. So one nil to Luton at half time, it wasn't until the 71st minute when the next goal arrived. It was an equaliser for the Gunners from substitute Martin Hayes. And just three minutes later, they were ahead through dreary voiced Sky pundit Alan Smith. Arsenal could have scored again and again, but for great saves from Andy Dibble, who had been on loan at Town earlier in the season and was only playing because of an injury to first choice keeper Les Sealey. Arsenal then got a penalty. Nigel Winterburn took it and Dibble saved it. There's your turning point. Not long after, Luton equalised through Danny Wilson and with the game heading to extra time, Tony Adams fouled Stein on the edge of the area. He scored from the resulting free kick, in the last minute of the game and Luton Town had it's one and only major trophy.

They did reach the final again in the next season, but in a repeat of the 1959 FA Cup Final, they lost to Nottingham Forest. Mick Harford scored the opening goal in this one, but two goals from Nigel Clough and one from Neil Webb gave Brian Clough the third of his four League Cup triumphs as Forest manager.

Luton flirted with relegation in the next couple of seasons until 91/92 when they went down alongside Notts County and West Ham, thus missing out on the first season of the Premier League. And then in 95/96, they got relegated again to the 3rd division.

They made it to the Play Offs for the first time in that first season in what was now called League One, but failed at the semi final stage, being beaten on aggregate by Crewe Alexandra. Another couple of mid table finishes, then the slump continued and they were back down in the basement league following relegation in 2000/01.

It was just a one year stay there though as they bounced back by finishing as runners up to Plymouth Argyle. That was under the management of Joe Kinnear, but he was sacked and replaced by Mike Newell. It took him a couple of years but he got them up to the Championship by winning League One in 04/05. They won it in style as well, finishing twelve points ahead of runners up Hull City.

Newell led them to 10th in the Championship, but disagreements with the board caused him to leave and he was replaced by Kevin Blackwell, which sparked off a disastrous chain of events that saw them go into administration, get points deducted and get relegated from the Championship, League One and League Two, ending up in the Conference for the start of the 2009/10 season.

Before that relegation to non league though, they went and won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, beating Scunthorpe Utd 3-2 at Wembley with goals from Chris Martin (on loan from Norwich), Tom Craddock and in extra time, Claude Gnakpa came up with the winner.

They were a force in the Conference, but just couldn't get out of it. Their first three seasons saw them reach the Play offs. The first one they lost on aggregate to York City. The second one, they reached the Final at the Etihad Stadium but lost on penalties to AFC Wimbledon. They reached the Final again in 2012, this time at Wembley, but despite a goal in the 2nd minute from Andre Gray, they were beaten 1-2 by York City, again.

They missed out in the following season, but then in 13/14, they were back. They won the Conference at a canter, clocking up 101 points, that was 19 above runners up Cambridge Utd. They then reached the League Two Play Offs in 16/17 but lost on aggregate to Blackpool. But that didn't deter them as they then won back to back promotions, finishing as runners up to Accrington Stanley and then winning the League One title in 2018/19.

Head to Head



Luton lead the head to head with 12 wins to Town's 10, with 6 draws.

The most recent games have been played in the last three seasons when Town got relegated from the Premier League and Luton came up from League One. They did the double over us in 19/20, beating us 2-1 at theirs, with Karlan Grant scoring for us. That put us 1-0 up just after half time, but they came back with a penalty scored by James Collins, before Andrew Shinnie won it for them.

The game at our place was played in July during the Covid crisis and it was a rotten game which we lost 2-0. Their goals came from Sonny Bradley and Elliot Lee.

We had two more behind closed doors games last season and they both ended 1-1. At home first, Carel Eiting scored for us, nodding home his first Town goal. This was an equaliser after George Moncur had scored for the Hatters.

The return match at theirs had Collins on target again before Naby Sarr scored for us. Then in injury time, Harry Toffolo was harshly given a red card.

Fans were back in this season as we played out a goal less draw at Kenilworth Road in October. But then Town took the three points and a psychological advantage for the Play Offs, by beating Luton at the John Smith's in April. A Monday night game with a special goal from Jon Russell and then big Naby again nodded home from a corner in the last minute of normal time. In between the two Town goals, Elijah Adebayo missed a penalty.

Previous Play Offs:

The play-offs were first introduced to the English Football League in 1987 and have been staged at the conclusion of every season since. The first three play-off seasons saw the finals also being conducted over two legs, on a home-and-away basis. Since 1990 the winners of each division's play-off competition have been determined in a one-off final.

Luton Town: have entered the Play Offs five times previously and never won promotion. Hopefully they will become the first team to fail in the Play Offs at four different league levels.

1996/97: 3rd tier; semi final, lost to Crewe Alexandra 3-4 on aggregate (away 1-2, home 2-2).

2009/10: 5th tier; semi final, lost to York City 0-2 on aggregate (away 0-1, home 0-1).

2010/11: 5th tier; semi final, beat Wrexham 5-1 on aggregate (away 3-0, home 2-1)
Final at Etihad Stadium, lost to AFC Wimbledon 4-3 on penalties after 0-0

2011/12: 5th tier, semi final, beat Wrexham 3-2 on aggregate (home 2-0, away 1-2).
Final at Wembley, lost to York City 1-2

2016/17: 4th tier; semi final, lost to Blackpool 5-6 on aggregate (away 2-3, home 3-3)


Huddersfield Town: have entered the Play Offs nine times, winning promotion four times. Only Blackpool with 6 promotions have a better record.

1991/92: 3rd tier; semi final, lost to Peterborough United 3-4 on aggregate (away 2-2, home 1-2).

1994-95: 3rd tier; semi final, beat Brentford 4-3 on penalties after 2-2 on aggregate (home 1-1, away 1-1).
Final at Wembley, beat Bristol Rovers 2-1.

2001/02: 3rd tier; semi final, lost to Brentford 1-2 on aggregate (home 0-0, away 1-2)

2003/04: 4th tier; semi final, beat Lincoln City 4-3 on aggregate (away 2-1, home 2-2).
Final at Millennium Stadium, beat Mansfield Town 4-1 on penalties after 0-0.

2005/06: 3rd tier; semi final, lost to Barnsley 2-3 on aggregate (away 1-0, home 1-3).

2009/10: 3rd tier; semi final, lost to Millwall 0-2 on aggregate (home 0-0, away 0-2).

2010/11: 3rd tier; semi final, beat AFC Bournemouth 4-2 on penalties after 4-4 on aggregate (away 1-1, home 3-3).
Final at Old Trafford, lost to Peterborough United 0-3.

2011/12: 3rd tier; semi final, beat Milton Keynes Dons 3-2 on aggregate (away 2-0, home 1-2).
Final at Wembley, beat Sheffield United 8-7 on penalties after 0-0.

2016/17: 2nd tier; beat Sheffield Wednesday 4-3 on penalties after 1-1 on aggregate (home 0-0, away 1-1).
Final at Wembley, beat Reading 4-3 on penalties after 0-0.

Luton's last line up at home to Reading:

27 Matt Ingram - 28 year old keeper, on loan from Hull.
16 Reece Burke - Defender signed from Hull last summer.
5 Sonny Bradley - 30 year old centre back, was born in Hull.
4 Kal Naismith - 30 year old centre back, no connection to Hull at all.
23 Henri Lansbury - Won Play Offs with Villa in 2019.
2 James Bree - Didn't win Play Offs with Villa because he was on loan at Ipswich.
22 Allan Campbell - Scottish midfielder signed from Motherwell last summer.
18 Jordan Clark - Barnsley lad, signed from Accrington Stanley.
29 Amari'i Bell - Burton born Jamaican international.
35 Cameron Jerome - 35 year old Huddersfield born striker.
7 Harry Cornick - 27 year old striker who has risen through the leagues with Luton.

Subs:
3 Dan Potts - 28 year old defender who survived leukemia as a kid.
9 Danny Hylton - 33 year old striker who has risen through the leagues with Luton.
12 Robert Snodgrass - Ex Livingston and Stirling Albion winger.
14 Carlos Mendes Gomes - Senegal born winger, signed from Morecambe last summer.
15 Tom Lockyer - Welsh international centre back.
21 Harry Isted - Reserve keeper, 25 years old but has only 2 EFL appearances.
26 Admiral Muskwe - Zimbabwe international striker, signed from Leicester last summer.

Recent form - last 6 matches:
Town 2-0 Bristol City
Coventry 1-2 Town
Town 2-1 Barnsley
M'boro 0-2 Town
Town 2-2 QPR
Town 2-0 Luton

Luton 1-0 Reading
Fulham 7-0 Luton
Luton 1-1 Blackpool
Cardiff 0-1 Luton
Luton 1-0 Forest
Town 2-0 Luton


Final table standings: Town finished 3rd with 82 points. Luton finished the season in 6th with 75.

Leading scorers:
Terriers:
Danny Ward (14)
Harry Toffolo (6)
Danel Sinani (6)
Duane Holmes (6)

Hatters:
Elijah Adebayo (17)
Harry Cornick (13)
Luke Berry (7)

May the 13th down the ages: How did we get on in previous matches played on this date?

1922: Leeds United (Valley Parade) West Riding Cup, WON 1-0 (Ernie Islip)
1963: Portsmouth (h) Division 2, lost 1-3 (Len White)
1967: Cardiff City (h) Division 2, WON 3-1 (Kevin McHale, Colin Dobson pen, Brian Clark)
1985: Sheffield United (h) Division 2, drew 2-2 (Dale Tempest, Liam Robinson)
1989: Wigan Athletic (h) Division 3, drew 1-1 (Craig Maskell)

May the 16th down the ages: How did we get on in previous matches played on this date?

1942: Bradford Park Avenue (h) Wartime League, drew 2-2 (Billy Price 2)
1969: Leeds United (Park Avenue) West Riding Cup, lost 1-2 (Roy Ellam)


Play Offs Anagrams: All these are related to Huddersfield Town in the Play Offs.

1. Patrick Blush 
   
2. Crude Bankroll 
   
3. Mo Steel 
   
4. Palestine 
   
5. Edmonton Skylines 
   
6. Rosanne Refortified 
   
7. Ravaged Wind 
   
8. Illuminant Dummies 
   
9. Sven Semitones 
   
10. Toby Honda 
    

[ritchiebaby]

Might as well nip in quick with Andy Booth as No10. Be back later to read the thread.

[theo_luddite]

That 12-10 lead for the Mad Hatters is only because of 2 FA Cup wins back when football was played in black and white, if it was actually ever played at all. VAR would have trouble proving it unless film evidence of both games still exists. In real (League) terms (according to me) it's 10-10.

---

PS if 9 isn't Steve Simonsen I'm going to kick my football and spit my dummy into outer lunar orbit, to join his penalty kick.

---

Ravaged Wind has to be David Wagner - I'm now forever going to see him eating a bowl of baked beans for breakfast. It shouldn't be.

[ritchiebaby]

3 is Tom Lees and 6 is everyone's favourite cheat player, Fernando Forestieri.

[theo_luddite]

12 Robert Snodgrass - Ex Livingston and Stirling Albion winger.

I'm sure was also on the books at West Brom for a while, and maybe Hull and West Ham

Can't think where else he might have turned up. Too many to mention really.

[WakeyTerrier]

A quick question, which i will go in search of the answer when I've typed this. The Goalkeeper Matt Ingram was only on a 7 day emergency loan. So can that be extended? Can we object?

[theo_luddite]

Yes, 7 days at a time - reviewed each time.

[Lord Snooty]

The EFL have decided not to use VAR for the semi finals, despite reports that they were.

They remain undecided about the final though.

[talkSAFT]

VAR: What bolloc*s!!

British Rail will clap their hands if EFL decided to leave it to Match Officials.
EFL must completely mistrust Refs/Assistants. Otherwise, so what if they make a mistake because a player's dick is 6" nearer the goal line? Fans miss their trains due to this nonsense............and The Game belongs to the fans.

[theo_luddite]

I was wondering where you were going with that talkSAFT for a minute.

I do agree that it seems the few Prima Donna League games that kick off at 3pm on Saturday take longer to finish than the EFL games, but even those are extended due to longer half-time breaks and mysterious Fergie time minutes added on as afters mean you never get back to the car in time after a home match to catch James Alexander-Gordon start to read out the full time scores on Sports Report after this ..... .

When was the last time you got back to the car and heard that after the game?

Oh, hang on, it's Charlotte Greene now (I think), but you know what I mean.

More fave Sports themes here for your enjoyment - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/that-1...t-football

I wouldn't be surprised if the EFL were quoted a fortune to put it into 4 stadiums at the last minute and they baulked at it. Funny, but football railed against Sky having cameras all over the place that caught all this stuff WAAAAAYYYYYY before VAR was ever introduced. They didn't like the refs and lino's being shown up as incompetent. They still don't, but too many still are.