In John Gurney, the Hatters had found themselves landed with the sort of football club owner that has plagued a host of clubs over recent times. Our very own Michael Knighton of course made himself equally unpopular during his last few years in charge at Brunton Park. Gurney, who supposedly was the frontman for a 'mystery consortium' (now where have we heard that before) arrived with ambitious plans to move Town to a new stadium by the side of the M1 motorway and change their name to 'London Luton'. Gurney stood in front of the cameras in a ploughed field near the motorway and said in all seriousness that he would dig up the ground and build an underground car park and then put the stadium on top. In fact, his plans at the time included putting the whole structure on stilts, but this didn't get into the programme, thus sparing him even more embarrassment. Furthermore, in a bid to win favour with sceptical supporters, he initiated a bizarre 'poll' to pick a new manager. It involved three separate polls amongst fans, players and the club's board. It was an open secret that Gurney wanted Mike Newell to take the job whilst the fans wanted the recently deposed Joe Kinnear to return. Kinnear was well ahead in the fans' internet voting when overnight Newell suddenly took an unexpected lead. On the day of the decision, Newell was shown arriving at the ground and agreeing a contract with Gurney while there was still a few hours left to vote. Newell got the job of course, but Mr Gurney was soon on his bike, when the Luton Town supporters' trust TILT (Trust In Luton Town) managed to acquire a large amount of the debt owed to a creditor by the club. They were able to force the club into administrative receivership and Gurney was soon out. The story, like ours, has had a happy ending. The Hatters now head the Second Division and Newell has proved an inspired choice as boss, probably the only good decision the disappeared Mr Gurney ever took. Unfortunately there are still stories like Luton's around every season. Currently Wrexham are battling against the machinations of property developer Alex Hamilton, who wants them out of their Racecourse Ground by the end of the season and who could ultimately cost them their place in the Football League. Once again, the greed of one man threatens a whole club's existence. The fight goes on, and the supporters' trust are again leading the fight to rescue league football in North Wales. There have been similar tales of woe at Swansea, Exeter, York and Darlington in the last few years. All these clubs have come through the crises but there will be many more battles to be fought in the future unless the football authorities wake up to the dangers and act accordingly. Just when you thought the Premiership clubs could not get any more powerful, comes the bizarre news that they are trying to take over the running of the England team and the FA Cup. They have written to the FA to offer their services to take control of these two institutions so that the game's governing body can concentrate on the rules and regulations. Amazingly, the FA have yet to turn them down flat. Who knows what might happen. If Premiership clubs can dictate who can and can't play for England, as well as negotiate increased compensation packages for players who are picked for international duty, they will have a total stranglehold on the top level of the FA's famed 'pyramid' which was to have been the thing which the Premiership and all leagues below was feeding into and supporting from underneath. In addition, if they were to run the FA Cup, what would stop them taking an even greater share of the competition's prize-money, which they have recently gained an increased amount of. The Cup should be seen as a lifeline for non-league clubs who manage to reach the latter stages, not another cash-cow for the biggest clubs to milk. On the home front, it's been great to see United move into second place in the Conference. After 15 games, we've scored 35 goals which is a brilliant return for a club who have regularly failed to score more than a goal a game in recent seasons. Karl Hawley's eight goals and call up to the England National Game XI for the match in Italy next month is a big boost. Paul Simpson and Dennis Booth deserve a lot of credit for the way they have turned the club around and adapted to Conference football. Now with the away tie at Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup First Round, we have a chance to measure ourselves against one of the better sides in the Third Division, and of course, have another chance to put one over our old boss Ian Atkins. We can expect a tough game but this is one match we are definitely capable of winning. Al |
