I knew it would come in the end. I have to admit I didn’t see it coming this soon, but I get how football works and I knew it would come eventually – the calls for the Town to get Nathan Jones back of course.
I have to say when I did hear it, I thought it would be someone trolling on social media and not really being serious, but actually it was coming away from the Madejski Stadium, after last week’s 3-0 defeat at Reading, which was all the more baffling.
Nathan Jones? Dear me, I’d rather have Tom Jones than have him back!
I thought as a fan base we had a bit more backbone to us after all we have been through, but maybe I’m wrong. Whether we have or haven’t, the calls for him to come back as manager do not make any sense.
I’m not about to completely tear up the work he did here. Along with Mick Harford he put a good squad together, but at the same time I won’t forget his departure, not just the pathetic timing of it, but the way it was done.
Football is a game full of short memories though, so I prefer to look at this from a footballing point of view, and in this world of budgets being discussed at every press conference, ultimately we are talking about a manager who had one of the biggest in League Two, and failed to finish above Accrington Stanley.
If that wasn’t enough to overlook him, the difference in our results against the big teams last season when he was manager compared to Mick’s time is incredible.
Under Jones we lost at Portsmouth, Peterborough, Barnsley and Doncaster, and drew with Charlton and Sunderland. With Mick in charge we beat Pompey, Donny and Peterborough, the latter two 4-0 with exceptional performances, and only lost to Charlton.
I guess the best indication of why we shouldn’t go back comes in Championship form though, given that is where we now are. Let’s look at Nathan Jones’ record as Stoke boss. It took him until his 30th match to win a fourth league game at the Bet365 Stadium. In contrast to that, our current boss Graeme Jones matched that in just 12 matches, with an inferior squad and at a paltry fraction of the money spent by the Potters.
Nathan did some good work for our club, but if you are prepared to see through the hype, the evidence is there to suggest we are better without him, and have kicked on since he left.
His record in the very big matches – Blackpool in the play-offs, Accrington at home in the League Two promotion season and those I highlighted above – all suggest he didn’t handle them very well, and we have 30 of them coming up over the next six months.
People need to appreciate the jump we have made. You only have to look at Ipswich this season and Barnsley last season to see the huge gulf between the Championship and League One,and so in my eyes, regardless of recent results, Graeme Jones has moved us on again, and if he keeps us up he’ll go down as one of our better managers.
Nathan Jones? No thanks.
Always enjoy Kevin’s column as he sparks off some interesting debate. Having been away from the keyboard for a while, it’s good to pick up on what’s been going on.
I totally agree re Nathan Jones. He decided to try to short-cut his route towards being ‘the best manager in the world’ and came a cropper. He’ll have to start again from square one.
No real controversy there, but there does seem to be a measure of disagreement about Graeme Jones. For myself, it’s a non-starter. While a lot of modern manager/coach talk goes over my head, he needs a much fairer crack of the whip than some are giving him. In most matches this season, apart from the odd dodgy spell, the Town seem to have been competitive. Only at Reading do we appear to have been overwhelmed. He may or may not come good – which presumably means keeping us up – but it will be for 2020 to decide on his future. We know we can trust them to do the right thing.
I’ve noticed that a couple of fans commenting on the Opinion column seem to have got across each other a bit. No harm in that, although I wonder why ‘Jim’ appears to have taken against one critic of Kevin in particular and not against others. Perhaps there’s something personal there!
Whether or no, we’re all on the same side in the end. Fingers crossed for a good outcome from the next two games – four points would be great! COYH
And six even better!
Just seen today’s line-up – looks good to me. COYH
With 30 games to go & Leeds at home can all supporters put in some positive mental energy please 🙏 we have come a long way & staying up is paramount. Negativity will feed into the players with confidence low. GJ has worked with the best & is still adjusting to life at ltfc. We need to give 2020 & the team our support. If we stay up on goal difference it will give a massive boost to everyone….there is no quick fix ! It will be a rollercoaster ride with highs & lows COYH💪
It’s always been a roller-coaster ride with highs and lows – probably always will be. I first stood on the terraces in the forties when we were in the old Second Division – a very different beast from its modern equivalent, The Championship. I’ve seen players come and go, managers come and go, boards come and go – and I give thanks for 2020. Read what The Parliamentary Review has to say about them as a model for the modern football club.
I may not feel that GJ is the right man for the job, based on what we’ve seen and heard from him since he took over, but I shall be delighted if he proves me and other doubters wrong. A point on Saturday against Leeds, followed by three points against Charlton, would be a great start – a real high on the roller-coaster!
Anyone must be mad to want Nathan Jones back! As for the current Jones (God save us from another name like that) 1 just knew from his arrogant demeanor he would fail, blame the players and soon move on. People like him need to work harder, or listen to the back room more. Be humble and realise we are in a tuff league, but we deserve to be there, and if he truly new our history it’s the league where we have had our best wins and greatest players.
As before, Kevin Harper appears to regard himself as an authority on all things Luton Town.
What if some supporters would welcome the return of Nathan Jones? They have a right to their opinion – and certainly don’t deserve Kevin’s initial dismissive assumption that they must be internet ‘trolls’.
Personally, I wouldn’t welcome him back: he made a big mistake – perhaps the mistake of a lifetime – and the manner of his going did him little credit. Stoke City also – obviously – made a big mistake. Clearly they didn’t have the benefit of Kevin’s detailed analysis of just how unconvincing Nathan’s performance at Luton really was!
As for the second Mr Jones, I see that, in a recent poll, some 81% of Luton supporters thought he was not the man for the job. I number myself amongst them – for reasons I’ve made very clear in other posts.
It would be good if the coming visit of Leeds Utd saw a bit more down-to-earth reality in team selection and tactics and a bit less pseudo-scientific theorizing. We might even win!
Really? You should re-read Kevin’s piece. He didn’t accuse anyone of being a troll. He said he expected that the first time he’d hear calls for NJ’s return would have been from trolls. He was surprised it was from the away end at Reading.
You seem to have a real disdain for Kevin. I’m not sure why but as he’s someone on the supporters’ trust and given a role on The Lutonian (which he hasn’t abused) he has valid platforms. The internet is a big space. If you don’t like someone as much as you appear to, you’re likely to be happier if you self-censor and don’t read what Kevin has to say thanks in future.
And as for the polls, far more scientifically conducted ones by professional pollsters proved to be massively incorrect at the last general election. They used far more respondents and knew who they were asking so they could try to get a representative cross section of society. The ones on vital football get a few clicks and no-one knows from who/where. So whilst there’s undoubtedly people who don’t think GJ is right for the job, until you hear mass booing and chanting for him to get the sack at a game, it’s best not to assume that 80%+ of fans want GJ sacked.
We’ve come a long way in 5 years. Dips are always going to come with Luton but we’re overall on huge upswing from where we’ve been – not just since 2008 but really since 1992 where we’ve suffered being driven almost out of existence by 3 administrations, had 5 relegations before 2020 took over and only 2 promotions. Since they’ve come in we’ve had 1 relegation (which 2020 could do nothing about), 3 promotions, won a Wembley cup final and beat premier League Norwich in the cup as a non league side. 2020 has also got planning permission (subject to the judicial review on newlands) for the new ground. So whilst I don’t think the football is great at the moment I agree with Kevin. We owe more faith to 2020 to continuing doing the right things by the club. They believe gj deserves faith. Let’s show a collective spine on match days and back him till they change their mind.
But hey, plenty of other places on the internet to find people who agree with you.
Try reading what I said again.
To say that he assumed they must be internet trolls is much the same as that he expected the first time he’d hear calls for NJ’s return would have been from trolls.
I neither dislike Kevin nor have any disdain for him. He is, however, in a privileged position which seemingly allows him to dismiss other people’s views as ‘nonsense’. Other than that, I just don’t agree with some of his observations – which I’m perfectly entitled to do. Equally, you are perfectly entitled to disagree with me.
And I shall continue to make comments on this site or any other when I feel a comment needs to be made – whether I find people who agree with me or not.
Read it again. You’re wrong. You accused him of calling people trolls the first time. The second time you say you meant he tantamount called them trolls. He didn’t.
Feel free to keep posting. And if you have to keep insulting Kevin (2nd article on the trot) that’s your prerogative. It won’t make you happy and you’ll keep getting called out on it.
Your opening para doesn’t make sense. He said he ‘thought it must be someone trolling on social media’ (his words) i.e a troll. I didn’t say anything different second time. You read it again.
You clearly think it’s acceptable for Kevin, as he did in an earlier article re Izzy Brown, to dismiss views he disagrees with as ‘nonsense’. I don’t – and to say so is not ‘insulting’. If there’s any insult in the equation it’s on Kevin’s part.
I don’t need your permission to keep posting. I shall post or not post according to circumstances. And if I disagree with Kevin I shall say so. If you choose to regard any statement of disagreement with Kevin as ‘insulting’ to him, you’ll have to carry on calling me out.
As for making me happy: in football terms, it’s what happens on the field that matters, not verbal sparring with other supporters.
blimey, were people at reading really calling for nj back?! i didn’t hear any around where we were, or on the way back to the park and ride. the “nathan jones’ mother is a…” lot were out in less force at half time but that was mainly cos izzy brown was in the concourse, not cos they suddenly want him back.
nj is not the solution to our problems on the pitch. i bet even he would admit that to his nearest and dearest. he’s too divisive to be welcome back at the moment. that will change with time – look at tony thorpe. but it will change as a visitor, not as a member of staff.
what i would say with reading is that we were awful from the moment that corner came across for the first goal. the defensive worries for me were the scapegoating of bolton for the second goal. butterfield did what he’s done all season, stand off an attacker outside the box. him and cranie did that before the first goal too. there seem to be too many defenders and no-one knowing if it’s their responsibility to do something. we also concede the same goals almost every week.
the worry up front was that playing 2 wingers and collins as an attacking midfielder seemed to confuse everyone – there was zero attacking threat.
both problems seem symptomatic of the last few weeks where players don’t seem to understand what gj wants from them, or can’t deliver it. gj’s focus would be better spent on sorting that out than looking over his shoulder at whether he might lose his job. personally i haven’t enjoyed some of the tactics under gj and don’t think he has the players to fully implement them but that’s not my place to worry about or demand change. i felt the same under nj’s diamond when he introduced that too. that worked out ok in the end. hopefully gj’s system will work in the long run too.
but i wouldn’t give gj more money to spend in jan unless he ships a big chunk of the wage bill out. we have too many players nowhere near the first team. if we add more wages we could end up back in financial difficulty. i’d take relegation and financial stability over staying up with a massive wage bill we can’t fund. our future is about more than the next 6 months.