Football romance awaits England. You walk to Luton through the neighboring gardens

Just 10 years ago, Luton Town, a club founded before Liverpool, West Ham or Barcelona, ​​was playing in the fifth division. However, that is already in the past. The biggest stars in the British Isles will once again run along the ancient Kenilworth Road, which has belonged to the club since 1905. Take off your hats, because The Hatters are returning to England’s elite after 31 years.

It was May 2nd 1992 when Luton took on an already clearly relegated Notts County. A victory would secure his salvation. But instead of a three-point gain came another loss and after that 20 dark years, if you can call it that, the period when the team gradually fell to the fifth highest league. Even back then, Luton had the smallest stand in the then First Division and football was played around the gardens of terraced houses. The scenery has not changed to this day.

It’s just better now. The club was able to overcome financial troubles, which cost it even a thirty-point deduction, it got into the hands of the heart-throbs, and step by step it climbed upwards. A glimmer of better times came in 2009, when The Hatters won the EFL Trophy final for teams from lower competitions and then famously won it at Wembley.

Procedures with a Czech footprint

But the important thing came in 2016 hand in hand with the engagement of Welsh coach Nathan Jones, who took the team from the fourth league to the Championship play-offs. Last year, the fight for the elite was not yet over, now it has already started. The team played very boldly again and finished third in the table. Even though Jones was no longer there (he couldn’t resist the lure of Southampton with the second division manager of the season award), another Welshman, Rob Edwards, completed the football fantasy.

Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu is the first player to go from non-league to the Premier League with the same club pic.twitter.com/7mPSAfu5Ca

— GOAL (@goal) May 27, 2023

Czech goalkeeper Marek Štěch was also in two promotions, only one footballer remembers the whole way from the bottom to the last promotion. When Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu arrived at the club in 2011, having spent three seasons waiting in vain for at least one game for West Ham, he had no idea what wonderful years were ahead of him. Before joining Luton, he only briefly played in the sixth division for Boreham. The reward for his loyalty and stable performance was not only a call to the Congolese national team, but also an entry in history. He became the first player to climb from the fifth top division all the way to the Premier League with one team.

The collapse of the captain

Playing at Wembley? Luton has already experienced this and, as has been said, succeeded in 2009. This year’s visit to England’s football temple started with a horror story. Captain Tom Lockyer staggered and fell to the ground as he returned to the defensive line. It was only the 12th minute of the match and medics went to the field to transport the guy, who is rarely missing from the team, to the hospital.

That’s certainly not how Lockyer envisioned it. He spent the end of the match in a hospital bed, connected to devices that monitored his heart rate. He had loved ones around him, dressed in Luton jerseys. His remained at Wembley and also became one of the symbols of victory.

WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE!#COVLUT | #COYH pic.twitter.com/gFgR6Ulc3N

— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) May 27, 2023

Then when Lockyer posted a photo from the hospital on Twitter, it became a viral piece. “Tom is fine. He’s happy but also sad that he can’t be with his teammates,” his father reported. The Luton defender stayed overnight in hospital to be sure, but the next day he reported with a smile: “I feel very good. It helps me how the guys did it on the pitch!”

For the reward of Las Vegas

On Monday, few people went to work in the city of 200,000 north of London. Even the mayor Mohammad Hanif himself invited the residents of Luton to a big party on Monday, which started before 11 o’clock in the morning, so that the full square of St. George’s Square to welcome their heroes in an open bus. As a reward, the football team subsequently received a trip to Las Vegas from the management. Departs on Thursday!

What a special day for this club and this town.

Thank you to all 20,000 of you for joining us to celebrate!#COYH pic.twitter.com/xzaaFk4MOI

— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) May 29, 2023

When he’s done growing up, Gary Sweet will dive back into Premier League rules. Luton’s chief executive already knows that the Kenilworth Road stand will have to change at least slightly in 11 weeks to meet the needs of the elite league. Reconstruction awaits the legendary Bobbers Stand, on which VIP boxes will grow, lighting will also need to be replaced and positions for 50 camera positions will be built. The reconstruction of the stadium, which is surrounded by terraced houses, is estimated at 10 million pounds (275 million crowns). But Sweet is not afraid of that: “We’re not complaining, if anyone’s going to prove it, it’s going to be us.”

Old stadium

Sweet then adds in an exaggeration that he is very much looking forward to Erling Haaland having to walk into the stadium through the cracked doors for visiting teams.

Luton Town have just won the Championship play-off final.

This is the entrance to our stadium.

Incredible to think this ground will be in the Premier League next season pic.twitter.com/QPV3ocSYMN

— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) May 27, 2023

Many connoisseurs cannot praise the return of “The Hatters”. A piece of history breathes life into English football again, there are few old stands left. After all, even Craven Cottage, one of the last stadiums of the former design, where Fulham has its home, looks super modern compared to Kenilworth Road.

The players sense that their home environment can be an advantage for Luton: “I don’t think anyone would like to come to us. Even when we played Chelsea in the FA Cup last year, they probably didn’t enjoy it much. But for us it’s home and we love it.” linebacker Amari’i Bell smiles.

“If someone comes in and they’re not in the right frame of mind, they’ll probably be looking forward to it being over. I feel that’s exactly the way Sunderland were. The fans are so close it’s uncomfortable. We can take advantage of that.” added Bell, recalling the game-winning battle in the playoff semifinals. The stand can only hold 10,356 spectators, but they still know how to make hell.

This is our story.

The first club to go from non-league to the Premier League!#COVLUT#COYH pic.twitter.com/n2NvnBiURl

— Luton Town FC (@LutonTown) May 27, 2023

Hats off to Luton Town for what they have achieved. And that there will be them in the stands. The club, which wears the orange and blue club colours, has a straw hat with a ribbon in its crest as a reminder of how proud the city is of the hat industry. However, even the famous hat of Jack Sparrow, the most famous of the Pirates of the Caribbean, worn by Johnny Depp, was made in Luton.