“Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” These apocryphal words may have been attributed to Muhammad Ali and boxing, but they could just as easily apply Luton Town’s current status.
A little over a month ago, staying in the Championship was a puncher’s chance at best. The Hatters were adrift in the bottom, with confidence seemingly shattered.
Yet, as April develops something has shifted. Impossible is starting to look like a challenge rather than a certainty.
Jordan Clark’s decisive goal against Portsmouth on March 1 not only ended a 12-match winless streak and provided Matt Bloomfield’s first win as manager, but it signified a possible turning point in a tumultuous campaign.
It took longer than anyone had expected, but Luton now have three clean sheets in six, are unbeaten in four and are one of the form teams in the division. They’ve have just held promotion-chasing Leeds to a 1-1 draw and they are about to face Stoke City in a relegation six-pointer, with the possibility of exiting the bottom three for the first time since mid January.
On a recent visit to The Brache I saw firsthand how the manager is trying to breathe life back into the club. The atmosphere was one of renewed vigour in high-intensity drills but, crucially, in hamstring-saving small spaces, that somewhat mirrored the tight spot Town still find themselves in. Organisation and discipline were evident, while talk has been of vulnerability as a sign of strength off the pitch.
Football has changed, so too have players, but results recently – 11 points from six games and back-to-back away wins for the first time in more than two years – have spoken for themselves.
While Bloomfield’s impact is showing on the pitch, the spirit off it might be just as important. Last month, former boss John Still returned to Kenilworth Road as the guest of honour at a Luton Town Supporters’ Trust evening. The man who dragged the club out of non-league exile in 2014 delivered a stirring rallying cry, urging fans to summon the spirit of that era.
“Now the club need you,” he said to fans before him in his unique and unifying way, adding of Town’s great escape aspirations: “Support your team with everything you’ve got, even if they are shocking. Give them everything, because the supporters in this club have done it before. You can do it again.”
His words resonate because Hatters have seen their club defy the odds before. Fans have willed their team to glory in the darkest times. And you will be needed to do so again, with six huge fate-deciding games to end the season.
A month ago, staying up seemed impossible and there may still be bumps in the road, but now, maybe, just maybe, Luton Town are primed to prove that impossible is nothing.
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