Daily Diary (DD) - Day 119 of 2024

0901hrs:

Got up at 0630hrs this morning even though I woke just before 0500hrs. I had gone to sleep at c. 0100hrs.

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I'm really worried about Luton Town Football Club's prospects for staying in the English Premier League beyond this season. A few weeks ago when they had 6 games to go (a possible 18 points) I assessed that they needed a minimum of 10 points to survive. With 3 games to go after yesterday they have accumulated zero points from those 3 games so far while damaging their goal difference by a further 9 goals. They now have a possible 9 points to get and their flaws in defence are being pounced on by other teams, almost at will. Their midfield is also not performing as it has been doing for most of the season, which puts extra pressure on their defence. Most of the players seem exhausted from the season so far and there is much to reflect on in retrospect. What could they have done differently over the season in terms of tactics as well as management of manpower (bringing in other players during all available transfer windows over the past year).

After that win against Bournemouth AFC at home a few weeks ago they were competing with 4 other teams to avoid relegation (namely Crystal Palace, Brentford, Everton & Nottingham Forest). Since then, bar Nottingham Forest all the other teams have had a winning streak and even Burnley - below Luton - have made a late dash to avoid relegation. While there were 5 teams competing to avoid 1 relegation spot a few weeks ago, now it seems there are just 3 teams trying to avoid 2 relegation spots. A lot has changed and Luton have a real uphill task. Something that they are not unfamiliar with, which they could still use to their advantage, at this very late stage of the season.

It's a pity that the local Asian community (with tens of thousands of 'Kashmiris' & 'Bengalis') have not made any inroads into the club despite over 4 decades of living in the club's midst. I suspect that would be more of a fault to be attributed to the local Asian community rather than the club itself, which doesn't discriminate with anybody from anywhere in the world. The local Asian community's participation could have provided much needed finance as well as manpower to a team that deserves to remain in the top flight; for its grit, determination and guile if not anything else.    

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