[jjamez]

It's grand national weekend, and the runners and riders are preparing for the final hurdles. Huddersfield have the handicap of going last this weekend as they face fellow runner Luton at the John Smiths Stadium on Monday evening. The Hatters have a prime position in the race sitting in 4th position right on the heels of Town in 3rd, they did however suffer a little stumble the other night as they failed to beat bottom side Peterborough, Jonson Clarke-Harris scoring late in proceedings after Danny Hylton had given Luton the lead.
The other runners and riders all have to face off against each other, much like Town do in the coming weeks. This weekend sees 6th placed Sheffield United play 2nd placed Bournemouth in the early kick off on Saturday. 5th placed Nottingham Forest play Birmingham City, 7th placed Middlesbrough host Hull, Blackburn who are fast losing the pace of the race face Lancashire rivals Blackpool, whilst a QPR side that have fallen away quicker than a sinking stone travel to Preston, Millwall and West Brom are not theoretically out of it, but it is a huge ask, they face Barnsley and Stoke respectively.

In other news there is also a big horse race going on, who is everyone backing, if you are that way inclined?




Going back to our visitors on Monday, Luton as mentioned failed to beat the leagues whipping boys in Peterborough on Tuesday night and will be looking to set that right. The two sides last met in October when they played out a very forgettable draw, the fact that I actually had to search it to find out what happened says it all. Since then it has been pretty good sailing for both sides, obviously as both sit with eyes and aspirations on promotion to the Premier League, could you imagine little old Huddersfield or little old Luton hosting top division big dogs such as Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton?

Town faced Luton on the first weekend of October and followed that up with a trip to the den to face the lions of Millwall. Harry Cornick bagged a brace for the Hatters as they ran out 2-0 winners, Jedwood Wallace missed a penalty for the hosts. Town meanwhile hosted Hull and also ran out 2-0 winners thanks to diddy Duane and Tom Lees. Next up was a trip to the midlands to face Wayne Rooneys Derby County. Luton fell behind through a Tom Lawrence goal, but hit back through Fred Onyediinma, Jason Knight put Derby back ahead but Elijah Adebayo equalised with just minutes to go for the Hatters. Town played out a boring 0-0 against Birmingham, enough said. Back with home comforts and the Hatters hosted Hull, Adebayo was on the scoresheet once again as they won 1-0, Huddersfield meanwhile suffered their customary defeat away at Bournemouth, losing 3-0. To finish the month, Luton were on the road to Preston and left empty handed as Emil Riis Jakobsen scored a brace as Preston ran out 2-0 victors, Town meanwhile beat Millwall 1-0 thanks to a goal from prolific goalscorer Jonny Hogg.



November started with Luton beating Middlesbrough, then managed by Neil Warnock, 3-1 at Kennilworth Road. Warnock had never lost to Luton in his previous 12 games and found his side 1-0 up through Josh Coburn, but Luton hit back in the space of 5 second half minutes when Sonny Bradley, Adebayo and Cornick turned the game on its head. Town meanwhile suffered the same result as Luton away at Peterborough, a late Clarke-Harris goal cancelling out Danny Wards goal in a 1-1 draw. Next up for Luton was the visit of Stoke, who left Bedfordshire with all three points thanks to a goal from former Barnsley man Jacob Brown midway through the first half. Town too suffered defeat in Wales to Cardiff City, Sinani put Town ahead but Keiffer Moore scored two late goals to send Town home with nowt. It was two defeats in two for Luton as they lost 2-0 to QPR, former Town loanee Chris Willock opened the scoring for Rangers after Luton keeper Simon Sluga went walkabout, before everyones favourite player Charlie Austin double the advantage as the hoops ran out 2-0 winners. An early Sinani goal saw Town past 10 man West Brom at the John Smiths Stadium. Luton were back on the road again, this time to Nottingham as they played out a 0-0 draw. Forest saw Jack Colback sent off and Luton saw Adebayo miss a penalty, whilst Town also lost to QPR through a late Luke Amos goal. A miserable November was rounded off with a 2-1 defeat at home to Cardiff for Luton, Rubin Colwill (no relation to Levi... I think) opened the scoring for the Bluebirds and whilst Jordan Clark equalised for the Hatters, former Town loanee Sean Morrison sent the blues back to Wales with 3 points. Town meanwhile suffered a deserved 2-1 defeat at home to Middlesbrough, now managed by Chris Wilder, Duncan Watmore scored a brace in the first half, Town got a late consolation through a Luke Daniels own goal, but a lot of us had left by that point.

A new month and a better start for Luton as they travelled to the seaside to face the Tangerines of Blackpool. The Hatters were able to leave with 3 points and a stick of rock thanks to goals from Bradley in the first half and then Adebayo and Clark in the second half. Talking of the beach, life is anything but that for Barnsley and it pretty much remained that way as the Tykes and Terriers played out a 1-1 draw. Lewis O'brien gave Town the lead before Carlton Morris equalised for the reds, Town had the chances in the second half but were unable to take any and had to settle for the point. An impressive 1-1 draw against Fulham was next for the Hatters and it would also signal the last match of 2021 for them too due to postponements. Some guy called Aleksandar Mitrovic opened the scoring for the Cottagers but fellow hitman Adebayo equalised in the second half to get the Hatters a share of the points. Meanwhile, Town too played out a draw, somewhat fortunately against Mark Robins' Coventry City. Town took the lead through Danny Ward but conceded a late equaliser when Matt Godden scored in the 93rd minute. But Town had been completely outplayed in the game and didn't even deserve the point.



The next time Luton kicked a ball in anger was in the FA Cup against League Two Yorkshiremen Harrogate. The game finished 4-0 to Luton, but Harrogate, who fielded two Huddersfield loanees in the form of Brahima Diarra and Josh Austerfield gave a good account of themselves. Adebayo gave the Hatters the lead in the 18th minute, before Huddersfield born Cameron Jerome doubled the lead in the 50th minute. The League Two side ran out of steam and conceded two late goals from Kai Naismith and Luke Berry. The Terriers had sealed their place in the next round the day before thanks to a 2-1 win over Premier League Burnley. Jay Rodriguez opened the scoring for the Clarets in the first half before two late goals from Josh Koroma and Matty Pearson saw Town through. A late stunner from Naismith saw Luton upset Bournemouth 3-2. A Lloyd Kelly own goal put Luton ahead before Allan Campbell doubled the lead before half time. The Cherries hit back after the break when goals from Emilliano Marcondes and Morgan Rogers pulled them back level, but a swerving strike from Naismith in the 97th minute sealed the points for the Hatters. Town played out yet another draw, this time at home to Swansea. Sinani gave Town the lead in the first half, and Town should have capitalised on it but found former clown Ben Hamer equal to most efforts. The side then started to sit back deeper and deeper until Flynn Downes equalised for the Swans and Town hung on for the point. In the midweek, Luton played one of their games in hand against struggling Reading. The Royals didn't prove to be much of a match for Luton as a Tom Holmes own goal and another goal from Campbell saw the Hatters leave the Select Car Leasing Stadium with 3 points. It was a bit of a come down for Luton as they travelled to Yorkshire to face Sheffield United. Goals from Rhian Brewster and Jack Robinson saw the Blades to victory whilst Luton also saw Reece Burke given a straight red for a foul on Brewster. Town had made the trip down to Reading and picked up where Luton left off, putting 4 past them, whilst they did manage to score 3, but who's counting? Lucas Joao put the Royals ahead, before Sinani equalised minutes later, Danny Ward scored his first of the afternoon to put Town ahead, but Puscas equalised, again minutes later and it wasn't long before Ward had his second of the afternoon, it was 3-2 after just 25 minutes. Michael Morrison equalised again for Reading before half time, but in a quieter second half, Ward completed his hattrick and sealed a thrilling win for Town. Another midweek catch up game for Luton as they hosted Bristol City. Tom Lockyer gave the Hatters the lead before half time, but Andi Weimann equalised just after it but Adebayo was on hand to grab the three points for Luton in the 68th minute to keep them within touching distance of the playoff places. Luton finished January off with a 0-0 at home to Blackburn, whilst Town drew 1-1 at home to Stoke, with Koroma, lucky to still be on scoring for Town before bees knees Brown equalised late on for Stoke.



February began with a 1-0 win over Swansea for Luton, with Harry Cornick seeing the Hatters leave Wales with 3 points. Town played a day later against Derby and took their time to get past them after Richard Stearman had seen an early red. Duane Holmes scored against his old club, whilst Jordan Rhodes scored his first and only goal of the season for Town. Next up was the next round of the FA Cup and both sides played host to lower league opposition (sort of). Luton travelled to Cambridge and ran out 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Reece Burke and Carlos Mendes Gomes in the first half and a late goal from Admiral Muskwe. Town hosted Barnsley at a very wet and windy John Smiths and a single Duane Holmes goal was enough to see the Terriers in the hat for the next round. The following Tuesday, Luton hosted Barnsley themselves and took the lead in the first half through Campbell before Morris equalised on the stroke of half time. Trusty scorer Adebayo sealed the points from the penalty spot in the second half. Town played a day later away at Preston and drew 0-0. A surprise result at St Andrews followed as Birmingham cruised past Luton 3-0, Bacuna, fresh from his spell in Scotland scored his first goal for the club before Lyle Taylor and Onel Hernadez sealed the points for the Blues. Town meanwhile drew 0-0 against Sheffield United but were unlucky to do so due to some dodgy refereeing decisions. There was a bounce back from Luton as they beat Steve Bruce's West Brom 2-0 thanks to goals from Jerome and Campbell, Town meanwhile travelled to the capital and caused an upset as they left Craven Cottage with all 3 points thanks to a 2-1 win over Fulham, Danny Ward opened the scoring for Town before Town finally scored a penalty as Holmes tucked away from the spot, Bobby De Cordova Reid made it a tense finish but Town emerged victorious. The bounceback continued as Luton headed to the Potteries to face Stoke. Danny Hylton opened the scoring for the Hatters before Jerome doubled the lead. Lewis Baker scored in second half injury time but the points went to Nathan Jones' side meaning he had a happy night at his former club. Town left it late to come back and win against Cardiff, Tommy Doyle opened the scoring for the Bluebirds, before Josh Koroma equalised in the 88th minute, and in the 96th minute Jon Russell scored his first actual goal for the club to seal the three points. Danny Hylton was again on hand to score the only goal of the game as Luton beat Derby 1-0 at Kennilworth Road in what had been a fairly even game. Town meanwhile headed to the Leaky Blinders and left with 3 points thanks to goals from Levi Colwill on his birthday and Lewis O'brien.



Into March and Luton began with the FA Cup tie against Chelsea. They got off to a flier when Reece Burke put them ahead after just 2 minutes but Chelsea better call Saul and he answered as he put them back on level terms before Cornick scored Luton's second of the night just before half time. Chelsea regrouped at the break and found an equaliser midway in the second half through Timo Werner before Romelu Lukaku scored what proved to be the winner ten minutes later.  Town were also knocked out at the hands of Nottingham Forest in the same round. Tom Lees put Town ahead but goals from Ryan Yates and Sam Surridge saw Forest through. That'll teach Town to line up with no strikers. Back in League action and Luton suffered a miserable trip to Middlesbrough...like most people do. Paddy Mcnair gave Boro the lead from the spot in the 16th after Burke fouled Balogun, before Watmore sealed the game in the 87th minute, Luton pulled a 96th minute consolation goal back through Harry Cornick. Town meanwhile ran out 3-0 victors over Peterborough thanks to goals from Sinani and a brace from Tom Lees. Another midweek game to catch up and another goal for Adebayo saw Luton edge past Coventry 1-0, Town weren't in action as they faced West Brom on the Friday, Town took a 2-0 lead thanks to a Danny Ward brace but squandered it in 2 second half minutes late on as ex Terrier Karlan Grant scored from the spot and long haired bean pole Andy Carroll scored an unmarked header. Luton played on the Sunday at home to QPR and took the lead midway through the first half through Cameron Jerome. Rangers turned it around however in the second half with goals from Andre Grey and Rob Dickie. Luton put that disappointment behind them with an emphatic 4-0 win at home to Preston. Luke Berry scored a first half brace with Onyedinma scoring in between, in the second half former Barnsley defender Bambo Diaby put into his own net to seal the 4-0 victory. Town had a miserable trip to the capital as former loanee Benik Afobe came back to haunt them with a brace as Millwall eased past Town 2-0. March finished with Luton travelling up to Humberside to face Hull. It started off well for the Hatters as Adebayo put them ahead in the 9th minute and it got better from there. Harry Cornick made it two in the second half before James Bree scored a 3rd with under 20 minutes to go, Hull managed to put a blemish on the Luton scorecard when Tom Eaves scored an injury time consolation. Town were torn apart at home to automatic hopefuls Bournemouth. Jaidon Anthony opened the scoring in the 19th minute before Jefferson Lerma doubled it a short while later. Dominic Solanke made it 3 straight after halftime and Town never looked like causing any trouble. Luton began April at home to Millwall but saw themselves fall behind through a Tom Bradshaw goal in the 25th minute, Adebayo was on hand to level things up a few minutes later before Afobe continued his scoring spree late in the second half to put the Lions 2-1 up, the lead was short lived as Jake Cooper conceded an own goal to give both sides a share of the spoils. Town played a day before and required a late Harry Toffolo goal to see them past a 10 man Hull who saw Tom Eaves sent off for two yellow cards in the first half.



In terms of leading performers it should come as no surprise that Elijah Adebayo is leading the scoring charts for Luton with 16 goals this campaign, Harry Cornick sits in second with 11 goals, and Luke Berry third on 7 despite only playing 15 games this season. In terms of creating, Cameron Jerome leads the assists charts with 7, whilst Naismith and Bree both have 6, Bree leading the way in terms of chances created with 57 this campaign.

So who should we be on the look out for on Monday?

Well, obviously Adebayo, the former Walsall man was all but set to sign for Town the other January, but Town pulled out of the deal due to Walsall moving the goalposts on us and we decided to sign Yaya Sanogo and haven't looked back since... Adebayo has been relinked with us for a summer move but it reeks of shoddy journalism using us seeing as we have been linked before rather than having anything concrete.

Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Allan Campbell offer hustle and bustle in the middle of midfield and will both prove interesting competition for the Town midfielders. Mpanzu is fairly short but strong on the ball and enjoys making in the words of Michael Hefele, the 'tough tacklings'

Kai Naismith once an attacking midfielder come wing back has recently found himself as part of a back three along with full back James Bree with the third slot being rotated between Peter Kioso and Dan Potts, although it wouldn't surprise me if Sonny Bradley comes back in as I believe he has been out injured. Bradley is usually a rock at the heart of the Luton defence and formed a solid alliance with Matty Pearson before he joined us. If Luton do go with a back three consisting of an attacking wing back and a full back, it'll be interesting to see how Town go about their front line and how they set about creating chances.



In terms of team news, Luton will be without defender Gabriel Osho after he was ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, whilst Tom Lockyer missed out against Peterborough through injury. Former Forest man Henri Lansbury will be pushing for a recall after losing his place to Danny Hylton. As for Town, if the training videos are anything to go by, then Ward and Hogg will both be pushing for recalls to the starting line up, whilst Pearson has picked up an injury and will miss out against his former side. Tino Anjorin missed the Hull game with a toe injury and could return to the bench after returning to training, Aaron Rowe and Danny Grant featured for the B team during the week but it is unlikely that they will feature on the bench any time soon. Duane Holmes appears to be most at threat for losing his place with Sinani likely to return into the midfield.

In the January window, Luton were fairly inactive, with only a few signings. Former Town loanee Jed Steer joined on loan from Aston Villa, but he has since got injured and hasn't featured since Luton played Derby. Peter Kioso saw his loan at MK Dons end and has returned to the Hatters and has started to feature more, he is the cousin of midfielder Mpanzu. Former Leeds and Scotland winger Robert Snodgrass joined on a free transfer in February. He had seen his contract at West Brom terminated on deadline day. Another keeper in Alex Palmer joined on an emergency loan in March as Steer and James Shea were unavailable, he has now returned to West Brom.

In terms of outgoings, Glen Rea moved to Wigan on loan, but a recent injury has led to him returning to Luton for treatment. Dion Pereira joined League Two strugglers Bradford City on a free transfer, whilst Keeper Simon Sluga left to join Ludogrets in Bulgaria where he can expect to come up against former Town loanee Graham Carey who plays out there for CSKA Sofia.



Its an unhappy head to head for Town when it comes to facing the Hatters, with Luton winning 12 compared to Towns 9, with 6 draws between the two sides. The first meeting between the two sides came back on the 1tth October 1952 when the Terriers won 3-0, now key question, did anyone on here go to that match? The two sides met sporadically through the 60's to the 80's with Luton coming out on top in those games. Since Town relegation and silly Luton Town away song, we are yet to beat the Hatters. Luton did the double over Town in the first season, with Mark Hudson's side losing 2-1 at Kennilworth road, Grant opened the scoring before James Collins and Andrew Shinnie put Luton ahead. The game also saw Rajiv Van La Parra taken off at half time, before being sold the next day. In the return fixture, Danny Cowley's side was beaten 2-0 to put Town at risk of consecutive relegations, Sonny Bradley and Elliott Lee scored for the Hatters that day. Last season it was a pair of draws for the two sides, in the first meeting at the John Smiths, George Moncur opened the scoring for Luton before Carel Eiting equalised for Town. The return fixture in Bedfordshire saw Town once again fall behind with James Collins scoring for the Hatters before Naby Sarr equalised for Town who saw Toffolo sent off in injury time, although he would miss more than his allotted suspension due to a back injury.



Carlos' words




Played for both anagrams

1- Phone At Warmest
2- Canoe Smith
3- A Win Or Banish
4- A Jock Reins
5- All Even King


There is another quiz, but it isn't fully ready yet, so it will appear in the comments soon enough

[theo_luddite]

Someone wearing Bratfud City colours won the Grand National, but given the footy results so far today, that's the worst result we've seen.

Top thread jjamez

---

Have to say though, this season Luton v Town was 0-0 2nd October, Luton won 0-2 at Millwall afterwards. Last seasons games were both 1-1 or did I get the wrong season or did I misunderstand the way you wrote that?

[jjamez]

A bit of both Theo. I mentioned it being a forgettable draw this season and then poorly worded the next para.


In the last para I said that last season it was a pair of draws

[Lord Snooty]

Nice one, jjamez.

Mr Waley-Cohen won the National. I bet loads of Only Connect fans had backed him.

[jjamez]

Seeing as we are playing the hatters... we'll have a quiz

if the hat fits. I'll describe some nice and obscure hats, you tell me what they are.

1- A hard felt hat with a rounded crown created in 1850 by Lock's of St James's, the hatters to Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester, for his servants. More commonly known as a Derby in the United States.

2-A bell-shaped ladies' hat that was popular during the Roaring Twenties.

3- A traditional flat-brimmed and flat-topped hat associated with flamenco dancing and music and popularized by characters such as Zorro.

4- Red felt hat in the shape of a truncated cone, common to Arab-speaking countries and a comedian

5- A traditional Scottish boat-shaped hat without a peak made of thick-milled woollen material with a toorie on top, a rosette cockade on the left, and (usually) ribbons hanging down behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military or civilian Highland dress.

6- Straw hat made in Ecuador, become rather common now and some can be worth over 100s of pounds

7- Also known as a "Cowboy Hat". A high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat, with a sweatband on the inside, and a decorative hat band on the outside. Customized by creasing the crown and rolling the brim.

[Lord Snooty]

1. Bowler
2. Cloche
3.
4. Fez
5.
6. Straw boater
7. Ten Gallon

[jjamez]

The last two aren't what's on my answer sheet m'lud

[Lord Snooty]

1st anagram. Matthew Pearson

---

5th one is Kevin Gallen.

[WakeyTerrier]

A win tonight and we really should be setting ourselves up for a Play off spot.

A draw tonight would be ok for both teams

Defeat would have us in squeaky bum territory.

It's another game which IMO is too close to call

[hibeejim21]

1. Bowler
2. Cloche
3.
4. Fez
5.
6. Straw boater
7. Ten Gallon

5 is a Glengarry..... I think.