Luton face their first ever trip to Stadium MK on Saturday, but even playmaker Kasey Palmer is aware of the chequered history between Luton Town and Milton Keynes.
Town will take just over 6,000 Hatters supporters for the short the trip to Buckinghamshire, but the geographical proximity is only part of the story. The fixture carries particular significance for some Luton fans because of the club’s own history of them fighting a hated proposed move to Milton Keynes.
It was part of a contentious chapter in English football, which began for Luton in the early 1980s. The club’s then-owners explored a move to Milton Keynes, where a new stadium was proposed as an alternative to Kenilworth Road. The idea was fiercely opposed by supporters who feared losing their club’s identity and its connection with the town.
The campaign included protest marches and rallies during the 1983-84 season, while a petition opposing the move reportedly attracted around 18,000 signatures. The proposal ultimately failed, with supporters’ opposition playing a significant part in keeping the club in Luton.
The issue returned to the spotlight years later when Wimbledon were moved to Milton Keynes in 2003 and changed its name to Milton Keynes Dons.
The decision caused deep anger among many football supporters, and the relocation remains one of English football’s most controversial episodes.
Hatters attacker Palmer, who lives closer to Stadium MK than Kenilworth Road, knows the occasion means more to Town fans than a routine away game and says the players must give the travelling support a performance to match their commitment.
“It’s a big one for the fans, obviously, the history of it, we all know what happened, so we’ve just got to go there with, obviously, the full backing of 6,000 fans,” he told the BBC.
The Hatters will be hoping to claim back-to-back victories for the first time in this term’s League One against the only side in the division yet to win a game.
Palmer scored a stunning goal in last Saturday’s emphatic 4-1 success and wants Luton to carry the same work rate into their next test, which he says is “literally on my doorstep. It’s closer than Luton,”
He added: “We’ve got to go and put the same work ethic in as [at Wycombe], and hopefully get a result,”
Palmer also warned that one result will not be enough, saying “We need to go to MK next week and do the same and go on a run now.”
A fans’ view
MK Dons v Luton Town is about much more than three points.
For the first time, the Hatters head to Stadium MK — but the fixture carries decades of history, resentment and a reminder of how close Luton came to leaving its home town.
They Tried To Kill Us Off… host Kevin Harper is “eternally grateful for those that fought so that they didn’t steal our club”, as, in this match preview podcast, the boys discuss the proposed move to Milton Keynes in the 1980s, the protests that helped keep Luton Town in Luton and the later relocation of Wimbledon to Buckinghamshire.
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