Sport
BBC pundit claims Luton would not stay up despite this
Former Spurs attacker Garth Crooks has made the latest in a number of uneducated statements about the Hatters this season as he somehow doesn’t believe Luton possess the ‘scoring power’ to remain in the Premier League.
Naming his Team of the Week from the latest round of top flight action, the BBC Sport pundit selected Town striker Carlton Morris after his last-gasp winner in the 2-1 victory over AFC Bournemouth that boosted his side’s chances of remaining in the top flight, netting a ninth of the season from Cauley Woodrow’s terrific left-wing cross.
However Crooks, who has been hugely critical of Luton’s attempts at beating the drop this term from pretty much the word go, laughably suggesting they would be ‘relegated by Christmas’ went on to suggest he doesn’t think the Hatters have enough goals in them to stay up. This comes despite Rob Edwards’ side netting in 18 successive top flight matches recently, despite being without top scorer Elijah Adebayo, plus Jacob Brown and Chiedozie Ogbene also missing at times too.
It was the second best ever sequence by a newly-promoted team, just two behind Newcastle United from the 1993-94 season, who under Kevin Keegan, and with Andy Cole, Peter Beardsley and Rob Lee in their side, managed 20 matches, as they went on to finish third in the table. Luton’s impressive efforts saw them on target against all of the top six sides in the division, a run that only ended at title-chasing Arsenal on Wednesday night.
Despite that defeat, the Hatters hit back immediately with two more goals to bag a precious three points at Kenilworth Road on Saturday, with Morris’s winner the 45th goal from 32 matches for Luton this term, the same as sixth placed Manchester United, who have caught up with five in their last two outings. In fact from the sides ranked 11th and lower in the table, Town’s tally is only bettered by Fulham, as they have the same amount as Bournemouth and Brentford, with more goals than Wolves and Crystal Palace, plus all of their other relegation rivals in Everton, Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Sheffield United.
However, that still wasn’t enough for Crooks, who stated. “Finally, Luton close out a game. I said at the start of the season Morris can’t score all their goals but he’s made a very healthy contribution with nine. The Hatters don’t have enough scoring power to stay in the league – a point I raised at the start of their campaign, but my goodness they’ve had a go.
“The finish by Morris against Bournemouth which provided Luton with a 2-1 win and three very valuable points demonstrated just how capable the striker is in front of goal. However, even with Nottingham Forest’s four-point deduction by the Premier League, which has given Luton a lifeline, they remain in the bottom three and still have a mountain to climb to survive the season. To stand any chance of staying up they must win at least three of their remaining six games.”
