Football Season Guide

Luton will launch a third attempt to earn promotion and return to the Football League this season and the hope of everyone connected to the club is that this time they have this little bit of luck at the end to carry them through and end their agony. The Hatters came within a whisker of going up last season but AFC Wimbledon pipped them in the play-off final, winning on penalties after the two teams failed to score a goal in 120 minutes before that. Luton were the better side, missing some great chances, and were really unlucky at the end but Gary Brabin took it on the chin and vowed that the team will walk the distance in their next attempt. It was a really bitter pill to swallow but what must be encouraging for fans and management alike is that financial powerhouse Crawley is not around this season and their chances of finishing top are much higher as a result. Brabin was given the job on permanent basis after guiding the team in the last two months of the season and he will be eager to succeed too after losing in two play-off finals now, with Cambridge and Luton. However, the close season has not exactly filled the Hatters faithful with a lot of optimism for the campaign. Some key players like Claude Gnakpa and Zdenek Kroca left the club along with striker Jason Walker who finally established himself under Brabin as a first-choice centre forward but then the 60,000 offer from York proved too good to turn down. Moreover, the incomings were hardly impressive with none of James Dance, Curtis Osano, Dean Beckwith, Aaron O'Connor or WIll Antwi looking like better players that the ones that departed. Brabin is still looking to sign a few more players and the squad definitely possesses some real quality but Luton will need more than that to finish as winners in what will be again a fiercely competitive league. Thus, a place in the play-offs is the most likely outcome once again for the Hatters.