Kenilworth Roar, tale of 2 Harrys and well-run or rubles? – 6 talking points from Luton 2 Chelsea 3

For almost 70 minutes the Hatters had the World Club Cup champions worried, and though it wasn’t to be, this FA Cup fifth round clash was another sign of evolution of Luton Town Football Club. Here are our takeaways from a heartening performance, regardless of the result.  

1. Plan B, but grade A

Humble pie time. I’ll admit it, I felt a little underwhelmed when the team sheet dropped an hour before kick-off. And, judging by a section of social media, so did some of you. But, for 68 glorious minutes, a supposed B team took it to the Champions League holders. 

It’s natural to still wonder what could’ve been if Luton’s big guns were given a game, but what this night showed is the club’s strength in depth. And it needed £150million worth of talent to unpick players who’ve not had as many minutes as they might have liked. 

Manager Nathan Jones said: “It’s ironic that we’re say we’re giving people minutes and stuff like that, but we’re playing the Champions League winners and a top side. We trust the group, and we need everyone up to speed, because we’ve got 13 absolutely huge games. 

“The way we play, the aggression we play with, we can’t go that with just 11 players, so we’ll need the whole group, and people have come through tonight and shown that they can cope with what we need them to do.” 

In the cold light of day, it’s quite a bold and shrewd move, which said loud and clear that the Championship is the priority, while also putting trust in those who featured, with FA Cup debutant Harry Isted a case in point. 

2. That noise! 

It’s often said the Kenny rocks under the lights. It’s mostly true. Like all things, it depends on the occasion and the opponents. Smaller clubs will travel to the likes of Liverpool, for example, and chant “Where’s your famous atmosphere?” The cold, hard truth is the Kop couldn’t care less about lower league opposition, and that’s the same across football grounds up and down the land, on a sliding scale of size and fixture importance, of course. 

That’s why beating Harrogate in the third round of the FA Cup was a fairly subdued affair. But on the big occasions, under the floodlights at Kenilworth Road, there’s magic in the air. 

We’re on a long goodbye as it is, but the first visit of Chelsea in in 31 years showed unequivocally what we know, and probably can’t prepare for –  that we’re going to miss the old girl when she’s gone.

My ears are still ringing, such was the delirious din when Reece Burke rose to head home and start us all dreaming less than two minutes into the match. And, for Harry Cornick’s goal, it was a sensational racket and something to savour.

3. Don’t fear the Premier League

Nathan Jones said: “There’s not many that beat Chelsea. They don’t lose many football games. With the greatest of respect we made six changes tonight, with Middlesbrough in mind. 

“Could we cope in the Premier League? I don’t know. Would we like the opportunity? Absolutely.”

A one-off match against the European and Wold Club champions is not really an effective benchmark of any team’s top-flight credentials. 

The Blues will rollover most teams in the Premier League, let alone the Championship, and their quality told in the end. 

Even if Luton are to win promotion to the Promised Land this season, they still won’t be expected to go toe-to-toe with Chelsea. In fact, the top three of the big league are light years ahead of everyone in this country, to the point that it was a genuine joy to even be 2-1 up at half time, as Luton were. 

They question is, should Luton be scared of the Premier League? And the answer is a resounding no. 

They’ll have to add more quality, no doubt. But Luton Town, under Jones’ two tenures, have shown that anything is possible – and that there will be a plan.

4. Money can’t buy you spirit

“We’ve won it allt,” sang the Chelsea fans, and the Luton fans’ retort was quick and cutting, as they chanted back: “You bought it all”.

There’s no doubt the money of Roman Abramovich has propelled Chelsea to a level they could’ve never previously dreamed. Money so often talks in football. Blues fans won’t care how they got there and I doubt they’ll worry too much about how their trophy-laden adventures over the last 19 years have been funded. Why would they?

But, at the opposite end of the scale, there’s something to be really proud of in the way that Luton go about their business. Not just on the pitch, as being the first Living Wage employer anywhere in the English professional football is just one example that can attest to that. Money can’t buy you that connection with real people and real lives, and that’s only one example.

When asked by a national journalist whether he fancied a billionaire owner at Luton, Jones said: “If we had a billionaire owner it would only take away the beauty of us at the minute. We’re progressing at a nice rate, we’re evolving as a football club and we’re evolving at a very good rate from where we’ve come.”

The fact that Luton’s is a model of football that lives within its means and still achieves results is a very relatable route. The club was saved by fans, built back up by fans and there’s arguably never been a stronger bond running through the club from the board to the staff and players and to the fans. 

Modern football and footballers (people are generally referring to top flight players when they say this) are generally held in some disdain because of the outrageous amount of money they can acquire. 

And, look, Luton players aren’t getting the bus to games with fans, like in the 1950s, but everyone knows they aren’t coining it in like so many of their Championship opponents, with one of the smallest budgets in the second tier. And yet they fight for that shirt, fight for the club and generally prove that heart, passion and a plan can get you very far indeed. How far? Who knows? But it’ll be fun finding out. 

5. Cornick’s a different animal these days

Two seasons ago, if Harry Cornick had been given the opportunity he had against Chelsea, you’d have watched him bear down on Kepa Arrizabalaga’s goal in hope rather than expectation. 

In his first season in the Championship we lost count of the one-on-ones that went begging. He also used to live offside. 

But last night, when Carlos Mendes Gomes played the ball over the top of the Chelsea backline, the forward bent and timed his run to perfection and, once he’d shown a clean pair of heels to Malang Sarr, there was only going to be one option. 

Jones said: “I think we’re all evolving, we’re all getting better. I’ve had an experience where I went away and I believed I got better and had a learning curve. We’re all adapting, all getting better and evolving as coaches, players, as a football club and getting better. 

“If that can continue, not only Harry Cornick, but Elijah, myself, my group, we all get better, all of us. But Harry’s a hard worker, he gets in that position because of his energy, his pace and the intelligence of his running.”

6. An Achilles blow but keepers aren’t a crutch for Town

If the worst is confirmed, that Jed Steer’s damaged his Achilles for the third time, then you have to feel for the Aston Villa loan keeper. Not to preempt scans, but if a player hits the deck without being challenged then it’s not looking good. A the 30-year-old punching the ground tells you it’s serious.

But, from that misfortune, we finally got a glimpse of Harry Isted and he did not disappoint. It’s a rare game where you concede three times and still have a goalie as the man of the match, but the 24-year-old was exceptional, especially in a first half where he unveiled a huge repertoire of saves to keep Chelsea frustrated.

He could do little about the three that they scored, such was their quality, but if you consider the last time he turned out for Town, Covid-19 wasn’t a thing and Boris Johnson was nowhere near No10 Downing Street.

With James Shea rested, due to a tight hamstring, if that keeps the number one on the sidelines, then hope Harry’s given his chance to make a long-awaited league debut. He’s earned it.