More Hatter Troubles

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008 ... wofootball

Not looking good for ol' Luton, HD.

 

Ouch. Sorry to see this.

 

I find the second 15 point penalty harsh. That's 30 points deducted in a calendar year and not many clubs at any level could survive that.

 

More on the Hatter troubles with a good article. Besides HD's interest, I find the 'falls from grace' in English football (Leeds, Oxford, Wimbledon, etc.) to be interesting stories because nothing in the U.S. sports system compares.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/ ... h_pri.html

 

Part of what I like about Fulham is the local club feeling. It reminds me of going to Bosse Field as a kid to watch our Triple-A Detroit Tiger affiliate the Evansville Triplets play. Bosse Field is a great old stadium. It is currently the third oldest stadium in the US being used regularly and I watched some great players come through this town. Mark Fidrych was a big attraction and if my memory serves me correctly Kirk Gibson, Jack Morris, Lance Parrish and few others had stints with the Triplets. It seemed like the place was always sold out and it was always a great time when my dad and I went to the ballpark.

Alas, like many other things over the years the almighty dollar took my Triplets away at the end of the 1984 season. The park was not nostalgic it was just old and would cost too much to renovate. The sell-outs were not enough because the stadium did not have enough seats. It became financially impossible for the team to stay so the Triplets were sold and moved to Nashville to become the Sounds.

After the Triplets moved Bosse Field fell into disrepair. The local School Corporation invested some funds into maintaining the field and I played some of my high school ball there. The players loved playing on a field that one-time major league wannabes played on and I grew to love it even more than I did as a child. Even with the school corporations help it was feared for a time that the stadium would be closed down due to the costs of renovation that the stadium required just to keep it going. We got lucky as a city and the producers of "A League of Their Own" decided to shoot the movie at Bosse Field. The old place was given a face-lift and I can now say the Tom Hanks and I have shared a dugout.

Why am I rambling on and reminiscing about an old baseball field on a thread about Luton? Because all I have left of my Triplets are memories and the same was nearly true about the stadium I grew to know and love. What I wrote is my memory of a time and place that I cannot ever fully return to. I am lucky in that today I can once again go and watch independent league baseball at Bosse Field but if the FA continue to take such a hard line all the Luton fans and other future clubs that fall to these deductions and fines will have is memories. In the end it is the fans that pay the price and are left with nothing but fragile memories of a team or club they once dearly loved.

 

To kind of piggy back on to what Barry said, I'd be crushed if the Crew left or MLS went belly under. Which, sadly, worries me more and more these days. They are starting to lose sight of the plot and are rushing things.

Sorry to hear about the hatters, Don. I love a local team as much as the next real sports fan not from NY or Cali.

 

Ouch, I have nothing in my past anything near this.

 

The only thing that even comes close for me is when the Giants almost moved to St. Petersburg Florida. I cried when the team was saved.

Don, mucho condolences. I hope this, somehow, someway is worked out by some kind of small miracle.

 

This is horrible news. If, somehow, LTFC2020 gets the team out of administration prior to the coming season, they are still down 30 points?

 

Luton Town fail in points appeal

No real surprise here, but disheartening nonetheless.

Don, with all the converts you've pulled into the LTFC fold, I'm beginning to think you've missed your calling.

 

It reminds me of Wolves, Sheffield United, or even Fulham back in the 1980s and 1990s. The difference is that none of those clubs had to face starting a season at -30. Almost as if the league are sacrificing Luton as a warning to the rest of the clubs. If they wanted to go there, then they should've started with West Ham in 2007.

It will be a test of loyalty for the new owners and the core of the Luton fanbase who will follow the club through thick and thin. Fulham had Jimmy Hill and others to save it at the right place at the right time. I'm hoping these new owners are like that for Luton.

They say Kenilworth Road isn't financially viable. But with the emphasis at this point being on survival, I wonder if that ground should become the rallying point and foundation of that survival. I've had the good fortune of catching a few FA Cup matches on FSC involving Kenilworth and I think it is a great ground for fan atmosphere. It kind of reminds me of Cameron Indoor with Duke basketball because of how close the fans are to the match action.

 

Every time I see a bump in this thread I wince.

 

Wow. That stinks, Don.
Seems disproportionate to the infractions. HDL rightly points out the slap on the hand the Hammers received.
Just demote them now (a la Juve) and get it over with.

 

If the information some of the Luton fans are receiving from the owners is on target, then the Luton Town supporters are taking this as a challenge. Season ticket sales are going well for them so far.

The fans are the essential element here. If they can support Luton through this tough season and the next one to follow, then the club will be well-positioned to thrive in the years to come.

 

Think about what Juve did to get relegated (and rightly so).

The 30-point penalty essentially dooms Luton to that same fate over a two-yr stretch (prolonging the agony, I think). Seems a bit harsh.

I just might have to become a Luton fan...

 

HatterDon, how solid do you think the Council is behind finding Luton a new stadium site?

I hope they aren't like Barnet or, using an earlier example, Charlton authorities: putting up roadblocks to Luton finding a new site.

Still think living within the confines of Kenilworth Road may be the best course of action to take right now. But if the Council own the ground, then that might not be a choice Luton have right now.