As the decade draws to a close tonight, it feels like a good time to reflect on what has been a truly amazing 10 years for the Hatters, one which featured massive highs and the ultimate lows.
Three promotions, four play-off defeats, two league titles, making history in the FA Cup and most importantly of all, planning permission being granted for two game-changing developments, headlined a rollercoaster period in our history.
Among that, there were iconic moments too, ones which will live long in the memory, such as Keith Keane’s corner against Oxford in 2010, Olly Lee’s goal from a different postcode and the George Moncur free kick on that superb night against Portsmouth.
The Town have had some wonderful players wear the famous orange shirt over the 10 years, some who have gone on to play at the very highest level. Here is my idea of a Luton team of the decade.
In goal it has to be Mark Tyler. James Shea would run him close for his wonderful achievements last season but Tyler was an excellent custodian for a long period of time, finally getting the reward of promotion back into the league that his efforts deserved when we won the Conference in 2014.
The right-back position has been filled with some important men over the decade. Ronnie Henry was important to the Conference-winning side but nobody played the role better than Jack Stacey, and it is no surprise that he is now plying his trade in the Premier League. His bursts forward and assists were huge features in successive promotions.
James Justin gets the nod at left-back for many of the same reasons. As a footballer he might even be better than his former teammate, and I’m convinced he’ll go on to achieve huge things in the game under Brendan Rodgers at Leicester.
The centre-half spots are open to more debate but for me the importance of Steve McNulty in the Conference-winning campaign, and of Matty Pearson last season get them in my team. The likes of George Pilkington, Sonny Bradley and Alan Sheehan could easily have got in but McNulty and Pearson had massive impacts on two key promotions.
Moving into the midfield and there has to be room in it for Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu. He has been a key feature of the decade, involved in all three promotion-winning sides, scoring goals in four different divisions and continuing to get better all the time.
Alan McCormack was important in the two league promotion sides, especially the League Two one. We would have been promoted the year before had we had him in the ranks then. He was the man on both occasions who ensured we would not fall away when the going got tough. He was a better footballer than he was given credit for as well.
Izzy Brown is the best footballer I’ve seen in a Luton shirt, but his impact has been a short-term one, so I’ll go for the next best technical player we’ve had in the decade as my third midfielder in Andrew Shinnie. His comfort on the ball is wonderful, his eye for a pass and delivery is right up there, and he scores goals too. Shins was unlucky to be frozen out towards the end of the League Two promotion campaign but made up for it last year.
The last man into my midfield is Luke Guttridge, who was just a joy to watch in that Conference-winning season. The Town played some lovely stuff that season and almost all of it went through the veteran playmaker. We missed him towards the end of that campaign.
We have had many good strikers over the course of the decade, but two standout as obvious players to put in the team. Andre Gray and his 30 goals got us out of the Conference and until recently he hasn’t done too bad for himself since. James Collins has had many doubters in his Luton career but I was never one of them. He has been massive for us in achieving successive promotions, and has rightly been rewarded with international honours.
This lot all need a manager and that has to be John Still. What he did for our football club should never be forgotten and the foundations for the good times we have enjoyed were created by him. His influence is still on this current side through Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu, so he gets the nod as manager.
It has been a great decade for the Town. Here’s hoping the next one will be just as good!
The Luton Town Supporters’ Trust Podcast team also picked their Team of the Decade in their latest episode, which you can listen to here:
