Rob Edwards: 'It's like David versus Goliath' Photo: Telegraph Sport/David Rose
Rob Edwards stands in a public park in Luton. In front of him is a 24,500-square-foot message painted on the grass.
“The connoisseurs are getting ready to eat your hats. Luton Town Football Club has landed,” it says cheekily, and for the next two weeks it will be clearly visible from the air on the flight path to Luton Airport, which organized it.
“How do I feel about this? this?» Luton Town head coach laughs. «It's just fun, isn't it?»
And this. As well as the return of Luton to the Premier League. They are determined to have fun, and Edwards, ahead of Luton's first-ever Premier League game in Brighton on Saturday, says it's part of «embracing» the experience of being in the top flight, waiting — from said pundits — to see what it will be and then «old man Luton immediately relegated.
Luton know they are against it and are the favorites and Sheffield United should be relegated straight away.
“Of course,” Edwards says. “I understand that we will be favorites. In most cases, if not always, the team that makes the playoffs is the favorite to be relegated. There is nothing else. It doesn't upset me, it's just the norm and I understand why.
“We're one of the smallest teams ever to get promoted. We've never been in the Premier League before. It's like David versus Goliath. This. But I want to accept it.
Luton has a message for the rest of the Premier League. Photo: Telegraph Sport/David Rosa
“Last season we weren't expected to be promoted. Near the end it was «Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough» and then «oh look, Luton did it!» So, to be honest, it probably works in our favor. It takes the pressure off. Inside we will have our own expectations, our own requirements, and we will talk about it. I understand why people think what they think. From the outside, I would have thought the same.”
“You can ride on this wave”
Gary Sweet, chief executive of Luton, was clear when he compared the challenge ahead, given the size of the clubs they will be playing at and the resources they have, to facing a tidal wave without a surfboard.
« Yes, it is, isn't it? I read that too and thought, «Whoa, that sounds cool!» Edwards laughed hoarsely again before pausing to add, «But this wave can be ridden!
“I think it's because we believe we can, because we believed we could last year. Last year it was almost impossible. We had the third, fourth-highest budget [in the league] and we achieved incredible things by finishing third in the league. We won the playoffs. We deserve to be here, so let's show people what we can do at this level.»
Remarkably, Luton are even in this position, and their achievements should inspire any football fan — and give im hoping that one day their club can do it.
Promotion to the Premier League is the greatest moment in Luton Town history Photo: Reuters/Carl Recine
Luton are free this week signed by Ross Barkley. To put their growth in perspective, when the 29-year-old scored his first Premier League goal 10 years ago for Everton, Luton had just kicked off their Conference campaign with a 1-0 away loss to Southport , and then beating Salisbury.
As they were last in the top flight, being relegated in 1992, just as the Premier League was taking shape, Luton were in administration three times, were close to going out of business, a total of 40 points were deducted and still only five remained in the second league. years ago.
That history and the «old school» (in Edwards's phrase) uniqueness of their Kenilworth Road stadium will be repeated over and over again throughout this season, as will the huge financial disparities they face. Will he feel indulgent?
Luton Stadium has a certain old-school charm. Photo: Getty Images/Clive Mason «No, we're going to have to put up with it, and we're going to play along with it, too,» says Edwards. “It's 'Old Man Luton' and that's fine. That's what people will call us. At the moment we have a small stadium, and compared to these giants of the Premier League, we are a small Luton.
«There is a plan, there is a real identity»
Luton's story may be extraordinary, but to some extent so is Edwards' story. The 40-year-old former Wales defender has been coaching the team for ten years, but has only been manager for the last two years. During this time, he won promotion in League Two with Forest Green, was poached and then quickly sacked by Watford, and then hired by their arch-rivals Luton for another promotion.
“The club gave me a chance after my closest family and friends fired me, and we were really able to achieve something together,” says Edwards. “So they took a chance and saw something in me and in my staff — in Richie [Kyle] and the Trolls [Trollope Field] — and decided that we were right for each other. I feel like we repaid it, they helped me and it's been a journey together for the last 10 months or so.
“There were two promotions in two years, which was brilliant, and I got fired in the middle too [laughs]. I'm not sure that it happened before that a manager was fired at the Championship and then promoted.
“But I was incredibly proud of it, to be honest. Together with my staff, it showed that we had a lot of resilience, that we believed in ourselves. It was hard to get fired. It's not good, there's anger, there's embarrassment.»
After only 11 games, it also felt unfair.
«It's nice that you say that, but they made the decision and I wasn't shocked,» Edwards says. “In the end, I probably just felt relieved, because [at Watford] I didn’t feel good. But anyway, I'm here now. I liked it and it worked very well.
“Honestly, I was lucky. We won League Two which was great, but the move to Watford raised my profile and my phone rang almost immediately after being fired, which was really nice. So I was pretty sure something was going to happen. I know this isn't always the case, but for some reason something happened and it was nice to be back here in a few weeks.»
Rob Edwards and Luton are trying to survive in the Premier League on a relatively small budget. Photo: Telegraph Sport/David Rose
There must be a balance. Luton are in the Premier League but are determined not to spend too much money. “There is a plan, there is a real identity, and the club does not deviate from that,” says Edwards.
There is a future to protect, not least with exciting plans to move to a new stadium. at Power Court in 2026. Edwards also wants to think long term.
“Now, in this world of football, you never know, do you? Because people get fired so fast and I don't want to talk too soon because I played 11 games last season and I left. But I would like to think that there is enough credit in the bank so that we can go on a pleasant journey together for a long time,” he says.
With that in mind, Luton is determined to spend, but spend wisely. Their biggest purchase this summer was £4m for Wolverhampton Wanderers left-back Ryan Giles.
“The difference is huge, and that’s what Gary’s quote says,” says Edwards.
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«But I think the average spend for teams that have made it through the play-offs over the years is £18m and we currently have around £17m and we're probably going to do more.» .
“So we can be a little above average and I'm delighted with the support we've received. I said after the final that we don't do that; we are not going to spend double-digit millions on players — at least not yet. This is not included in our plans. Money went to Kenilworth Road [£10 million for beautification], money went to Power Court. This action will help us for the next 30+ years, not just here and now.”
“He's going up. It explodes.»
So, what will Luton's approach be?
«At certain points you can try,» explains Edwards. “If they [the opposition] have the ball, you might have to wait a bit. We will always try to be aggressive but in good shape. In the championship you can take more risks and we were very brave without the ball, but in this league you can't do that. We need to be a little more compact and press from a smarter form.
“We still want to be bold. I don't want to ever park a bus, a metaphorical bus, but I know there may be 10, 20, 30, even 40 minutes when we're forced to stand there and we just have to deal with it. But we still want to try. We still want to keep the threat alive.”
As a young coach, he is not afraid to ask for advice. Edwards will draw on his time in the Premier League with Blackpool in 2010–11 under Ian Holloway, as well as the experience of his friend, Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper, and last but not least, how he managed long streaks without a win last season. and verification.
Cooper told Edwards, “Rob, the price is going up. He explodes. Be ready for it.
Edwards adds: “There will be difficult times. There may be difficult months. There will be difficult months. But I can talk about it; This is fine. It's about how we're going to deal with it.
“We have to believe in what we can do at home in particular. Kenilworth Road is going to be very important to us this year and we need to make sure we use the Kenny to our advantage.»
Why is it so special?
«He's so tense, tense and old school,” says Edwards, smiling again. “It's unique and it's over you…. the place is bouncing. He bounces. And they are above all. So we have to make sure we use that in 19 [home league] games.»
This leads to the last, obvious question: what is success?
«Obviously stay in the division. What we can do is prove people wrong and try to score enough points to be in that position next year, and if we do, we'll probably have the same conversation again! We will probably be favorites again!” Edwards says with a laugh.
“If there is a 17th place at the end of the season, there will be a big party. It will be a huge success. But I want these guys to dream and try to finish as high as possible.” And at the same time, he adds, alluding to the drawing on the grass: “I want them to be able to fly.”
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