Premier League - 2023/24

Most neutrals like a plucky underdog when it’s their first time in the Premier League (football doesn’t count from before then) I doubt most of your average football fans even know Nathan Jones managed Luton, (let alone Joe Kinnear or Mike Newell). To any outsiders there isn’t anything particularly horrible about Luton anymore than there is any other similar sized team, most teams of that size (including ourselves) would’ve played ‘ugly football’ for a lot of their existence as a pre-requisite of being a smaller unfashionable club. Not everyone can play football like Man City, or actually does. I personally can’t think why any neutral non Watford fan would dislike Luton more than say, Bradford, Hull, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Huddersfield etc?

 

Looking forward to teary-eyed Rob giving it large about 'the group', 'doing it for Locks' and anything else and that they only need 6 more wins to give themselves a chance of safety. What is it with some teams unable to give them up the M1 the proper tonking that their defence offers up virtually every game and man-hugging Edwards to death at the end? Klopp appeared to want to give the big blubberer a sloppy kiss, leading with those white gnashers of his. Don't think he ever aimed to pucker up to our Walt?! In the wise analysis of @RelegationsCerts, this is really boiling my p**s.

 

Given that Walt probably stank of tobacco that is scarcely surprising.

 

Fair points, but by "neutral" I'm not sure whether you mean people who aren't a fan of any particular team and just enjoy football, casual fans who go to few if any games, or simply those who aren't fans of either us or Luton. Luton have played in all the top five divisions and the five clubs you mentioned in all of the top four, and most diehard fans of English clubs would have encountered all of those clubs at one point or another. You could be right about Hull, but Bournemouth and Huddersfield are much nicer locations, both the towns and surroundings (Huddersfield has one of the finest stations in the country, Luton's is as dreary as most of the rest of the town) - even Blackpool has the Pleasure Beach and decent fish and chips. And with the possible exception of Blackpool, all of them have much nicer stadiums and apart from maybe Hull none of them have the thuggish element that Luton have.

 

Yes, I'm sure many football followers consider the quality of the local station architecture when deciding whether to favour a team.

 

I might have missed issues with other fan bases - but it does seem to me that Luton have had a fair few charges against them for Homophobic Chanting, Tragedy Chanting etc. this season. That could be a reason perhaps?

 

Everton's point deduction reduced from 10 to 6pts.

But presumably more to come with the latest charges...

https://www.premierleague.com/news/3912574

 

No point getting too excited about this increasing the odds of L*ton going down, as I fear they will only pull our pants down next season as we slip towards League One.

 

Yes it's a no win.
Luton will prob finish above NF anyway but even if they did go down, they will go down with the 2 tiddlers they went up with. They will be best placed to return to the prem (as we are relegated), given the 3 huge sides relegated last season will have gone back up this season. The gods will smile on them one way or the other.

 

Although given the length of time this has taken it may not come to fruition until 2030?!

 

Aren't those for more recent breaches of the regulations? Would those come into effect this season, or next?

 

This season. They've tightened up the rules now so punishments and appeals are supposed to be sorted within the season itself.

 

Still think Brentford are the ones to catch

 

We’d catch them easily if they didn’t sign Eriksen.

 

I can't see that being possible myself, surely they'd have the right of appeal which would lengthen the process past the start of the next season. A bit conflicted, obviously I don't want L*ton to do well at all (even if them getting relegated means the less than appetising prospect of them playing us next season), but on the other hand, there should be punishments for teams who break the rules, or else why are they in place? Yeah they only 'slightly' broke the rules, but that is a lot of money to lose each year, and you can have so many deductions on it, anyone who is even sailing close to PSR limits is a dumb club

 

I'm sure I heard appeals have to be concluded by 30 June. Hence charged brought in Jan, hearings in March then judgment in April. Leaves time for appeal to be heard and decided.

 

The whole thing is a farce. They can impose a penalty on Everton (for their second set of breaches) and Forest, then reduce the penalties on appeal by just the right number to get the desired result – ie, enough to send them down or keep them up.

The Premier League is now so broken they have lame points deduction penalties for gross financial irregularities and the sporting integrity of the entire relegation battle is in the bin.

Everton's penalty, as someone else pointed out, is to be docked two wins. What deterrent is that, really? Carry on laundering is the message.

 

Luton “can still catch Brentford”.

 

They can. Albeit it’s at least worth noting these hearings are heard and decided by independent panels of lawyers. The appeal panel was made up by a former appeal court judge and two KCs. The PL just act as the prosecution. I suppose they could ask for a points deduction carefully calibrated to get their desired outcome… but there’s no guarantee they’d get it.

 

Pah! Pesky facts. I take your point but no matter how independent they are, an independent panel cannot help but be influenced by the league table. It completely alters the severity of the penalty. If eight points means staying up and ten means going down, say, determining the penalty after the season has ended is a joke. Even more of a joke than what's going on now with several clubs playing with uncertainty. The integrity of the competition is shot to bits.

 

No argument there!

 

Weirdly they’ve mostly done well against good teams (or at least held their own) and then completely shat the bed against Sheffield Utd.

 

Luton scoring from set pieces once again, something that has given them a fighting chance of staying up. Of all the mismanagement our club has experienced for a number of years now, the complete neglect in this area is up there with the worst of the many examples.

 

Really can't be ****ed with referee drama bollox. Couldn't be anything less entertaining imo

 

Smaller teams such as ourselves always get decisions against us as Forest did yesterday. It was a disgraceful decision which should be highlighted and the idiot ref demoted to League one for a month or so. But what will happen? He'll get more Liverpool matches. Job done. Career protected.

 

Proper hit from Rashford but you just knew City would come good eventually. Foden should be starting for England but Southgate probably won’t have it

 

IMO this has been blown out of proportion .
I accept that Forest should have been given possession however it is not a case of a penalty being given
for reasons that are not entirely clear or something similar
Control what you can control and Forest missed a couple of gilt edges chances
Take them and a referees brain fart in minute 99 is rendered irrelevant

 

Liverpool fans and Klopp hate Tierney though, ironically.