Luton Outlaws - Independent Message Board for Luton Town FC

I didn't want to post this last night straight after a poor result, but do feel like it's time to get a few things off my chest. No one is above criticism, although of course credit should be given when warranted.

The overall management of the club since 2009 has been laudable. The team on the pitch has had 10 years of straight progression. As the most important KPI, this is clearly unmatched with any other club in the country. This should be rightly celebrated and as I say, there should be significant credit in the bank for this.

Over the summer, the amount of positive comments I got from fans of rival clubs and people I know overseas, I've never seen in previous years. The profile of the club went through the roof last season.

The club is run by the fans for the fans. Actions over the years make me proud to be a fan of LTFC.

There is a big BUT here though.

The warning signs have been there for a while and I fear for this season on various levels if things don't improve or change in the near future.

The recruitment has been a failure this summer. Part of me (joking of course) is that our Sheffield United supporting scout has given them our target list this summer! I completely undestand the reasons behind it, but we cannot expect teams to spend £10Ms on players when we won't spend a little more ourselves. Teams and agents are only going to see us as more and more desperate - we have 17 days to sort it out.

We are underprepared (again). Yesterday was not a shock. It happened against Bochum last summer. It happened against Celta Vigo last week. The defence is all over the gaffe. We are wide open. We persist with a system that doesn't work with the players at our disposal.

The selection last night speaks volumes. Tom Holmes and Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu are experienced players at Championship level, regardless of their ability. To have two teenagers selected ahead of both for their first starts said a lot. Does Rob not trust them any more? Based on pre-season, I'd agree.

Gary Sweet is coming in for a lot of criticism on here. He is one of us. He was there in 2003 and again in 2007. He deserves our absolute respect. But Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher weren't around forever - they were eventually moved on by their parties (I hate to use this as an analogy). Change is sometimes a good thing. How many CEOs are in position for 15+ years? Fresh ideas are usually a positive. His workload from the outside looks absolutely enormous.

I was struck by the comments of Kieran Maguire last week - he cited the lack of transparency from the club. This was surprising in a way, but I don't think he's wrong. Communication from the club has been poor for some time (yes, I know, it's summer).

The situation with the stadium is frustrating. I'm a consultant PM by trade... if the stadium was my project, I think I'd have been replaced by this point. Is it worth having a proper Project Manager in place and Gary and others allowed to concrentrate on the operational side of the club. It is clearly a role for a specialist. As I say above, workload must be insane.

The day-to-day are run by a vast band of consultants and I believe have been in place since about 2017. This is clearly not unusual, but the excuses for further delay are wearing thin. I'm glad to see progress on the site recently and I appreciate the bureaucracy in executing such a project is insane. If the current Labour government was in place a few years ago and they had YIMBY polices, perhaps we'd be further along by now. But it's now go time. The detailed plans should go in within the next month. If there isn't decent progress this season, there needs to be some tough conversations.

The situation with the kit is ridiculous - there is no way that decision was taken in the way that has been portrayed publically. Part of me thinks that it's insulting the intelligence of the supporters. And when the kits are released, they aren't available to buy for "weeks"?

Why are we a parachute club on the field, but a League 1 club off the field from a commercial perspective? Nothing changes. Change is needed here and frankly some accountability.