Luton Outlaws - Independent Message Board for Luton Town FC

Signing young men from foreign countries without infrastructure to support them in their personal lives isn't going to work. The fact that ALL of our foreign signings in recent years (including going back to Sluga) have failed suggests that we're getting something majorly wrong and it might not be the scouting or recruitment itself - as you say, many of them showed some evidence of quality on the pitch.

Other clubs, and other institutions (think universities) have staff and systems in place to look after overseas kids' welfare. Do we? If a young player is good at passing but overwhelmed with letters about council tax and TV Licenses and electricity companies that he doesn't understand, are you going to see him at his best?

I worked abroad as a young man and found a lot of the experience very stressful, and not the things you'd most obviously expect. You really need help otherwise a lot of boring bureaucracy and everyday isolation begins to preoccupy you and take your mind away from work.