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Full Record of Spurs -v- Luton

Premier         Pl   W   D   L   For-Ag  Pts
Home             0   0   0   0     0-0    0
Away             1   1   0   0     1-0    3
============================================
Total (Prem)     1   1   0   0     1-0    3   3 Pts per game
============================================
Lge Div 1 
Home            16  11   4   1    35-16  32
Away            16   4   8   4    19-18  18
============================================
Total (Div 1)   32  15  12   5    54-34  50
============================================
Lge Div 2
Home             7   4   1   2     9-4    9
Away             7   2   4   1    12-8    8
============================================
Total (Div 2)   14   6   5   3    21-12  17
============================================
Total (Prem)     1   1   0   0     1-0    3
Total (Div 1)   32  15  12   5    54-34  50
Total (Div 2)   14   6   5   3    21-12  17
============================================
Grand Total     47  22  17   8    76-46  70   1.49 Pts per game
============================================

Last Six Premier League results:-

Spurs       -     DWLWWL
           
Everton    2-2    Spurs
Spurs      2-1    Brighton
Spurs      1-2    Wolves
Spurs      3-1    C. Palace
A. Villa   0-4    Spurs
Fulham     3-0    Spurs

Luton       -     LLLDLD

Luton      1-2    Man Utd
Liverpool  4-1    Luton
Luton      2-3    A. Villa
C. Palace  1-1    Luton
B'mouth    4-3    Luton
Luton      1-1    Nottm Fst

Pos         P  W  D  L   F-A   GD  Pts
 5. Spurs  28 16  5  7  59-42  17   53
17. Luton  29  5  7 17  42-60 -18   22

The run-in begins

Easter is here and it seems an age since our last game two weeks ago before the final International break of the season. Maybe I need to remind you that our last game was a horrible 3-0 defeat to mid-table Fulham. We have our work cut out to claim one of this season's Champions League places and with games still to come against the three sides battling for the Premier League title, we need to make the most of home games against teams such as Luton.

However, Luton have offered plenty of fight and romance this season, making victory hard for most teams, including Spurs in our 1-0 away win in October when Micky van de Ven scored his first club goal. I am writing this before the announcement of team news, but we must hope Micky is fit for tomorrow's game which kicks off at 3pm. We must also hope that all our International players return fit for action, although Wales captain Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson will be depressed after their penalty shoot-out Euro 24 play-off exit on Tuesday night.

Luton were given a boost two weeks ago when relegation rivals Nottingham Forest were docked four points for a breach of profit & sustainability rules, but with an appeal pending, Luton boss Rob Edwards knows that his men have to fight for every available point.

Incidentally, we play Forest next weekend and that game has been switched to a 6pm Sunday kick-off due to rail and tube strikes on Monday 8th when the game had been scheduled.

When Luton lost 4-3 in their re-arranged game at Bournemouth earlier this month they became only the third team in Premier League history to surrender a three-goal half-time lead. One of the other two teams was Spurs, who famously surrendered a 3-0 lead to Manchester United in 2001. Incidentally, the other team was Leicester who lost 4-3 to Wolves in October 2003 afteer Les Ferdinand had scored two of "The Foxes" three first half goals. "Sir Les" scored 10 more Premier League goals in his one season with Leicester, one of which came in their 4-4 away draw at Tottenham!

Luton's game at Bournemouth had been originally abandoned after captain Tom Lockyer's collapse in December. Lockyer attended this month's game and was warmly applauded by both sets of fans. A Bournemouth supporters' trust raised more than £2,000 to put on four coaches for Luton fans to make a second 240 mile round trip to see the game.

Lockyer had appeared before his own fans on January 30th before his team beat Brighton 4-0. "The Hatters" scored two goals in the first three minutes, which was the best start made by any Premier League team this century! Adebayo became the first Luton player to score a top-flight hat trick since Lars Elstrup at Carrow Road in September 1990. This was Luton's last win. Adebayo is Luton's top scorer with 9 league goals, but hasn't played since mid-February due to a hamstring injury.

Luton have other absentees such as midfielder Marvelous Nakamba and most recently Chiedozie Ogbene who was injured on international duty playing for The Republic of Ireland against Belgium.

After our game at Kenilworth Road Luton took advantage of the fact former Spur Andros Townsend was out of contract (his last club was Everton) and signed him initially till January when his deal was extended for the rest of the season. Andros has appeared in 20 games for "The Hatters", and we can expect to see him at some stage tomorrow.

Luton's very first season in the top flight was in 1955/56. 21,143 were in their Kenilworth Road Stadium for their first home game, when they beat Spurs 2-1. That was "The Hatters"' first top flight win. The Spurs side included the likes of Ditchburn, Blanchflower, Marchi and Baily. We got our revenge in the return fixture played on Christmas Eve, winning 2-1 thanks to goals by Len Duquemin and Johnny Brooks.

The presence of Spurs had led to Luton's crowd record being broken three times in the 1940s - all larger than the 1955 meeting.

The last time Luton beat Spurs was at Kenilworth Road in November 1987. Their last away win was in November 1985 when the margin was 3-1. 20-year-old Richard Cooke scored a late goal for Spurs but Mick Harford and Brian Stein had already given Luton the lead, with Ricky Hill adding their third in the last minute of the game.

Luton were managed by David Pleat between 1978 and 1986. He was Spurs' manager when his old club beat us in 1987. Luton were actually unbeaten against Spurs in six games played between 1985 and 1987, winning three of those games. Richard Cooke had made his Spurs debut two years earlier and scored first in a 4-2 away win. Future Spur Paul Walsh scored one of Luton's goals. Steve Archibald scored two and another youngster - Ally Dick - scored our fourth goal. Ally Dick became the youngest first team player in Spurs' history up to that time, appearing at the age of 16 years and 301 days when he made his debut at White Hart Lane against Manchester City on 20 February 1982.

Regarding this season's away game, Spurs went top of the league and made their best 8-game start since 1960. It was our first competitive meeting with Luton since March, 1992. As for tomorrow, I'm hoping for a 3-0 home win. Look out for a mass turning of backs in the 65th minute in protest of the club's new policy of phasing out concessions for their older cusomers - me included!

Jimmy Husband, who died recently, aged 76, came to fame playing for Everton between 1964 and 1973, winning a league title medal along the way. He transferred to Luton in 1973. Husband spent five years at Kenilworth Road, scoring 48 goals in 162 games.

Luton also recently mourned their former goalkeeper Ron Baynham who died at the age of 94. Baynham made 434 appearances for the Hatters, arriving in 1951 and playing his last game for them in 1965. He played in Luton's 1959 FA Cup Final defeat to Nottingham Forest. He earned three international caps and Luton Town said he was England's oldest surviving international player at the time of his death.

We are being refereed by Australian-born Jarred Gillett for the seventh time. His last game in charge of Spurs was our ill-fated away defeat to Brighton on 28th December.

Did you know? - Joseph Payne was born on 17th January, 1914 on Brimington Common, Chesterfield. (I have lived in Chesterfield for 16 years now.) Payne began his Football League career with Luton and on 13th April, 1936 (Easter Monday) scored 10 goals in a 12-0 win over Bristol Rovers. Payne moved to Chelsea and was on their books before and after the Second World War. He had one season with West Ham in 1946/47. Payne was a centre-forward and his last Football League goal was scored against Chesterfield in a 5-0 Division Two win on 18th January, 1947. A plaque in Payne's memory appears on the wall of The Miners' Arms, Brimington.

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