One Game at a Time: Difficult Second Season
Luton Buc’Kinnears (H) Friday September 27th (and it’s live!!!!!)
In a week where, for a change, we could all talk about the weather as well as the fortunes of our teams, and then the consequences of hiring a Montenegrin striker who doesn’t quite understand the anglophile nuances of “adding some bite to the attack”, Argyle fans will be left pondering when a defeat is a good result?
From a personal perspective, as someone who frequently ends up following fixtures through the medium of the Internet, (and not the way that involves the adoption of a new nationality every week) the worst score line is the one you are guaranteed to begin with, the goalless draw.
In effect you could argue that the league table starts with every side on 46 points as every game starts in that barren stalemate that would deliver a point. Then the kick off happens, and it is simply a nail-biting waiting game to see who can ruin the other teams’ fans afternoon/evening, or, as Sky march kick of times into places most fans have no desire to go, mornings.
This is especially true for teams playing in games where they are anticipated to be the losers, and despite having despatched the previous weeks leaders (Sunderland, who had regained that status by the time kick off at the Hawthorns was signalled) Argyle went into the Albion fixture as firm underdogs.
At least of you are at the game or able to observe you can see the outcome in an unfiltered way. Those of us who for reasons of location or unavailability who take their information from Sky, the BBC or Pasoti see the game in the most stressful way imaginable. Hence as the game progressed with no goals scored the pressure mounts. The longer the game remained deadlocked the more optimistic the remote supporter becomes. Then the doubts creep in. Every minute elapsed, whilst taking you closer to the desired outcome also leaves less time to recover from…..and there it is Josh Maja after 62 minutes. Thanks for nothing Sky.
Now the vidiprinter watching reverses polarity….instead of wanting no goals to be announced you are watching hoping that the screen will change, and that the away side will be the highlighted one. As we know, this was not to be, and the end of the ninety plus whatever minutes ended in, yes disappointment, but also it seems, encouragement. WRPA are a work in progress, that is for sure, but the emphasis here in on the progress.
Not everyone in this brutally competitive division can say the same. Cardiff joined the list of those who pulled the trigger on Bulut. Guess who bounced straight to the top two of their replacements managerial favourite list? Mind you Neil Warnock also features and having commendably been at the ground for the tributes paid to the tragically early death of Sol Bamba, may have jumped to the front of the interview queue. Saves a fare after all, even on a senior railcard.
Meanwhile the weekend, now extended to include Friday through Sunday and sometimes Monday, started with the latest ex-Stoke head coach in waiting burning through his honeymoon phase by half time and gifting the previously winless Tim Walter a comfortable first victory with Hull City.
Also seemingly floundering, are the anointed Champions of the first weekend, who for the second match running scored a late Bannon cracker before capitulating to upcoming opponents Loo-town. The reaction amongst the fanbase was, commendably, focussed on the inadequacy of the handball rule application, which was apparently too severe on their defender (the dismissed Bernard) and too lenient of the recipient, brace snatching Callum Morris who appeared to cradle the ball en route to the winner. The Wendies roll seems to have stalled, as does yet to win at home in the League QPR, another side whose wunderkind foreign manager failed to overcome the full English style of Millwall.
If Argyle fans were ultimately disappointed by their failure to hold onto a goalless draw, the East Lancs derby provided a fine example of the genre that was anything but toothless. Surprise package so far this season, Blackburn, failed to score against their local rivals, even after North End were reduced to ten men. The real drama came at the end where, after Owen Beck was red carded for a foul on Duane Holmes, causing Milutan Osmajic to apparently channel his inner Suarez/Hannibal Lector, and with an FA investigation announced North End are two strikers down for the foreseeable fixtures. Expect the pre match directors’ lunch for the return to include fava beans and a nice chianti.
Argyle get an early chance to continue their improvement, with back-to-back fixtures against parachute wearing Luton Town and Burnley. Of the two Luton, the least likely promotion winner of recent seasons, seem to have fared the worst from their brief moments in the Premier League sunlit uplands.
With six wins in their single season visit, Luton were comfortably adrift of the points deducted pair of Everton and Forest as well as surprisingly low-down Brentford. The trend of clubs yo-yoing back and forth continued (sorry Leeds readers, including their CEO Angus Kinnear, who is apparently a Hatter) although Luton’s stumbling start to the season has meant they look the least likely of the trio to challenge for an immediate return.
Of course, the creation of the Premier League disguises to many the fact the Luton have graced the topflight before. In fact, they were one of the sides relegated the season before the new dawn for football arrived. Then owner David Kohler, who arrived seeking to relocate the club to a new stadium, based on the design of the Pontiac Silverdome, and dubbed the “Kohlerdome” and who had removed the blanket ban on away fans that existed at the club was forced out, the final straw being a petrol bomb and matches posted through his letterbox. Kohler, with whom I had business dealings when he sought to market a weekly DVD of goal highlights (an idea somewhat scuppered by the arrival of mobile phones and the interweb) said in one of our meetings, ”You have two good days owning a football club. The day you buy and the day you sell”.
Nobody tell Simon and Jane.
Luton’s fall from grace and subsequent recovery is an object lesson in how fortunes fluctuate. In an example of be careful what you wish for, the receivership and sale from the Kohler days resulted ultimately in the arrival at the club of John Gurney, who, as owner, ended the Joe Kinnear era. With attempts to merge the club with Wimbledon or Milton Keynes, the idea of a Luton/London side was bandied about, whilst financially the club was staggering from crisis to crisis, kept afloat by occasional player sales.
It was during the Kinnear phase that Argyle and Luton enjoyed (if that is the right word) a brief rivalry, engendered by the “Luton Lip” and his disparaging remarks about Plymouth and the club. Both were promoted together tht season, albeit Argyle with their record setting 102 points as Champions. Like most rivalries borne of competition they fade as the clubs go their separate ways. A two one away win saw Argyle fans serenade the departing home supporters with “We’ll never play you again”. Shades of “We’ll meet again” at St James Park, but Luton were in a financial spiral and ultimately went out of the league for several seasons before clambering back in.
The history of the club’s ownership travails bears a closer examination. Frustrated by owners whose interest in the club was peripheral to their interest in making money from the sale of Kenilworth Road (something Kohler cheerfully admitted to me, saying every Football club is a property play) fans set up a “Trust in Luton” to intervene. Rather than take on the owners directly, the Trust set about acquiring shares in the club’s biggest creditor, Hatters Holdings, an offshore company, and between the Trust and prominent local fan Gary Sweet, now their CEO, they managed to take control of Hatters Holdings and used their position to force the club into administrative receivership. This had the effect of removing Gurney, who had acquired the club for the princely sum of £4 (quiet at the back all those saying he was ripped off), and the Trust took a place on the board with the new owners, chaired by Bill Tomlin.
All fine and dandy. The Trust sold their shares in Hatters Holdings and the new owners set about rebuilding the cub. Unfortunately, an investigation by the FA showed that they did so by making illegal payments to agents of incoming players. Tomlin resigned, and the Trust were powerless to stop the sale of the club to ex racing driver David Pinkney, who set about, you guessed it, trying to get planning permission for a 50,000 seat stadium near the M1.
The investigation of the financial irregularities led to the club re-entering administration, and the club was then sold to the Trust, fronted by TV presenter and lifelong fan Nick Owen. Sadly, the club was relegated, and then a further thirty-point deduction resulted in the club being relegated out of the League and into the Conference. Luton have always complained that their punishment was much harsher than other regular financial offenders, like Portsmouth.
Whilst painful, the club had at least been recovered by its supporters, and the Trust, which eventually merged with the Luton Town Supporters Club has revealed it has an irrevocable lock on any decisions to do with the club’s identity, colours, nickname, name and even it’s mascot. Happy Harry, the boater wearing mascot, with the links to the town’s long association with millinery, already has a degree of notoriety after his brutal fat shaming of a watching QPR fan a couple of seasons ago.
Owen himself, whilst having been a big part of the saving of the club he had supported his whole life, suffered the ignominy of being turned away by a bouncer from the club’s lounge at one home game. Whilst that is bad enough, the lounge is actually named after him!
Town arrive on the back of two straight wins against sides in and around the relegation battle in Millwall and the Wendies, results that have eased the growing pressure on erstwhile promotion hero Rob Edwards as Head Coach.
Argyle will be hoping to build on their recent home victory over the Mackems, against a side who figure as one of the better sides in Argyles playing history, both at home and away. Although it is five games since Argyle claimed victory over the Hatters, courtesy of a late goal by Ryan Brunt in the days of purple away kits, the match has a previous history on Sky as well, when a Dom Blizzard goal snatched all three points at Kenilworth Road.
Wayne could have Tijani back in contention, although Freddie Issaka is injured after international duties. Will that leave a gap on the bench for current youth scoring sensation Joe Hatch? After all, our leader is no stranger to goal scoring youngsters having been one himself. Time will tell, but Friday Night Lights beckon at Fortress HP once again.
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Luton Buc’Kinnears (H) Friday September 27th (and it’s live!!!!!)
In a week where, for a change, we could all talk about the weather as well as the fortunes of our teams, and then the consequences of hiring a Montenegrin striker who doesn’t quite understand the anglophile nuances of “adding some bite to the attack”, Argyle fans will be left pondering when a defeat is a good result?
From a personal perspective, as someone who frequently ends up following fixtures through the medium of the Internet, (and not the way that involves the adoption of a new nationality every week) the worst score line is the one you are guaranteed to begin with, the goalless draw.
In effect you could argue that the league table starts with every side on 46 points as every game starts in that barren stalemate that would deliver a point. Then the kick off happens, and it is simply a nail-biting waiting game to see who can ruin the other teams’ fans afternoon/evening, or, as Sky march kick of times into places most fans have no desire to go, mornings.
This is especially true for teams playing in games where they are anticipated to be the losers, and despite having despatched the previous weeks leaders (Sunderland, who had regained that status by the time kick off at the Hawthorns was signalled) Argyle went into the Albion fixture as firm underdogs.
At least of you are at the game or able to observe you can see the outcome in an unfiltered way. Those of us who for reasons of location or unavailability who take their information from Sky, the BBC or Pasoti see the game in the most stressful way imaginable. Hence as the game progressed with no goals scored the pressure mounts. The longer the game remained deadlocked the more optimistic the remote supporter becomes. Then the doubts creep in. Every minute elapsed, whilst taking you closer to the desired outcome also leaves less time to recover from…..and there it is Josh Maja after 62 minutes. Thanks for nothing Sky.
Now the vidiprinter watching reverses polarity….instead of wanting no goals to be announced you are watching hoping that the screen will change, and that the away side will be the highlighted one. As we know, this was not to be, and the end of the ninety plus whatever minutes ended in, yes disappointment, but also it seems, encouragement. WRPA are a work in progress, that is for sure, but the emphasis here in on the progress.
Not everyone in this brutally competitive division can say the same. Cardiff joined the list of those who pulled the trigger on Bulut. Guess who bounced straight to the top two of their replacements managerial favourite list? Mind you Neil Warnock also features and having commendably been at the ground for the tributes paid to the tragically early death of Sol Bamba, may have jumped to the front of the interview queue. Saves a fare after all, even on a senior railcard.
Meanwhile the weekend, now extended to include Friday through Sunday and sometimes Monday, started with the latest ex-Stoke head coach in waiting burning through his honeymoon phase by half time and gifting the previously winless Tim Walter a comfortable first victory with Hull City.
Also seemingly floundering, are the anointed Champions of the first weekend, who for the second match running scored a late Bannon cracker before capitulating to upcoming opponents Loo-town. The reaction amongst the fanbase was, commendably, focussed on the inadequacy of the handball rule application, which was apparently too severe on their defender (the dismissed Bernard) and too lenient of the recipient, brace snatching Callum Morris who appeared to cradle the ball en route to the winner. The Wendies roll seems to have stalled, as does yet to win at home in the League QPR, another side whose wunderkind foreign manager failed to overcome the full English style of Millwall.
If Argyle fans were ultimately disappointed by their failure to hold onto a goalless draw, the East Lancs derby provided a fine example of the genre that was anything but toothless. Surprise package so far this season, Blackburn, failed to score against their local rivals, even after North End were reduced to ten men. The real drama came at the end where, after Owen Beck was red carded for a foul on Duane Holmes, causing Milutan Osmajic to apparently channel his inner Suarez/Hannibal Lector, and with an FA investigation announced North End are two strikers down for the foreseeable fixtures. Expect the pre match directors’ lunch for the return to include fava beans and a nice chianti.
Argyle get an early chance to continue their improvement, with back-to-back fixtures against parachute wearing Luton Town and Burnley. Of the two Luton, the least likely promotion winner of recent seasons, seem to have fared the worst from their brief moments in the Premier League sunlit uplands.
With six wins in their single season visit, Luton were comfortably adrift of the points deducted pair of Everton and Forest as well as surprisingly low-down Brentford. The trend of clubs yo-yoing back and forth continued (sorry Leeds readers, including their CEO Angus Kinnear, who is apparently a Hatter) although Luton’s stumbling start to the season has meant they look the least likely of the trio to challenge for an immediate return.
Of course, the creation of the Premier League disguises to many the fact the Luton have graced the topflight before. In fact, they were one of the sides relegated the season before the new dawn for football arrived. Then owner David Kohler, who arrived seeking to relocate the club to a new stadium, based on the design of the Pontiac Silverdome, and dubbed the “Kohlerdome” and who had removed the blanket ban on away fans that existed at the club was forced out, the final straw being a petrol bomb and matches posted through his letterbox. Kohler, with whom I had business dealings when he sought to market a weekly DVD of goal highlights (an idea somewhat scuppered by the arrival of mobile phones and the interweb) said in one of our meetings, ”You have two good days owning a football club. The day you buy and the day you sell”.
Nobody tell Simon and Jane.
Luton’s fall from grace and subsequent recovery is an object lesson in how fortunes fluctuate. In an example of be careful what you wish for, the receivership and sale from the Kohler days resulted ultimately in the arrival at the club of John Gurney, who, as owner, ended the Joe Kinnear era. With attempts to merge the club with Wimbledon or Milton Keynes, the idea of a Luton/London side was bandied about, whilst financially the club was staggering from crisis to crisis, kept afloat by occasional player sales.
It was during the Kinnear phase that Argyle and Luton enjoyed (if that is the right word) a brief rivalry, engendered by the “Luton Lip” and his disparaging remarks about Plymouth and the club. Both were promoted together tht season, albeit Argyle with their record setting 102 points as Champions. Like most rivalries borne of competition they fade as the clubs go their separate ways. A two one away win saw Argyle fans serenade the departing home supporters with “We’ll never play you again”. Shades of “We’ll meet again” at St James Park, but Luton were in a financial spiral and ultimately went out of the league for several seasons before clambering back in.
The history of the club’s ownership travails bears a closer examination. Frustrated by owners whose interest in the club was peripheral to their interest in making money from the sale of Kenilworth Road (something Kohler cheerfully admitted to me, saying every Football club is a property play) fans set up a “Trust in Luton” to intervene. Rather than take on the owners directly, the Trust set about acquiring shares in the club’s biggest creditor, Hatters Holdings, an offshore company, and between the Trust and prominent local fan Gary Sweet, now their CEO, they managed to take control of Hatters Holdings and used their position to force the club into administrative receivership. This had the effect of removing Gurney, who had acquired the club for the princely sum of £4 (quiet at the back all those saying he was ripped off), and the Trust took a place on the board with the new owners, chaired by Bill Tomlin.
All fine and dandy. The Trust sold their shares in Hatters Holdings and the new owners set about rebuilding the cub. Unfortunately, an investigation by the FA showed that they did so by making illegal payments to agents of incoming players. Tomlin resigned, and the Trust were powerless to stop the sale of the club to ex racing driver David Pinkney, who set about, you guessed it, trying to get planning permission for a 50,000 seat stadium near the M1.
The investigation of the financial irregularities led to the club re-entering administration, and the club was then sold to the Trust, fronted by TV presenter and lifelong fan Nick Owen. Sadly, the club was relegated, and then a further thirty-point deduction resulted in the club being relegated out of the League and into the Conference. Luton have always complained that their punishment was much harsher than other regular financial offenders, like Portsmouth.
Whilst painful, the club had at least been recovered by its supporters, and the Trust, which eventually merged with the Luton Town Supporters Club has revealed it has an irrevocable lock on any decisions to do with the club’s identity, colours, nickname, name and even it’s mascot. Happy Harry, the boater wearing mascot, with the links to the town’s long association with millinery, already has a degree of notoriety after his brutal fat shaming of a watching QPR fan a couple of seasons ago.
Owen himself, whilst having been a big part of the saving of the club he had supported his whole life, suffered the ignominy of being turned away by a bouncer from the club’s lounge at one home game. Whilst that is bad enough, the lounge is actually named after him!
Town arrive on the back of two straight wins against sides in and around the relegation battle in Millwall and the Wendies, results that have eased the growing pressure on erstwhile promotion hero Rob Edwards as Head Coach.
Argyle will be hoping to build on their recent home victory over the Mackems, against a side who figure as one of the better sides in Argyles playing history, both at home and away. Although it is five games since Argyle claimed victory over the Hatters, courtesy of a late goal by Ryan Brunt in the days of purple away kits, the match has a previous history on Sky as well, when a Dom Blizzard goal snatched all three points at Kenilworth Road.
Wayne could have Tijani back in contention, although Freddie Issaka is injured after international duties. Will that leave a gap on the bench for current youth scoring sensation Joe Hatch? After all, our leader is no stranger to goal scoring youngsters having been one himself. Time will tell, but Friday Night Lights beckon at Fortress HP once again.
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
