Luton

Luton Town FC announced Saturday that defender and captain Tom Lockyer was responsive after suffering cardiac arrest during an English Premier League match against Bournemouth.

The club confirmed that Lockyer went into cardiac arrest, but it noted that he was responsive by the time he was taken away on a stretcher, and he is currently in stable condition at a local hospital:

"Our medical staff have confirmed that the Hatters captain suffered cardiac arrest on the pitch, but was responsive by the time he was taken off on the stretcher. He received further treatment inside the stadium, for which we once again thank the medical teams from both sides.

"Tom was transferred to hospital, where we can reassure supporters that he is stable and currently undergoing further tests with his family at his bedside. We would like to thank everyone for their support, concern and loving messages for Locks."

According to Reuters (h/t ESPN), Lockyer collapsed during the 59th minute with the score tied 1-1, and the decision was made to abandon the match as both teams left the pitch.

Bournemouth also issued a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, taking solace in the fact that Lockyer was responsive: "We're relieved to hear Tom is responsive. Our thoughts will continue to be with Tom and his family at this time. We'd like to thank all the medical staff for their quick action as well as everyone inside the stadium for their support and unity during a difficult moment."

Lockyer, 29, is a Welsh centre-back who has been with Luton Town since 2020 after previous stints with Bristol Rovers and Charlton Athletic.

After playing in lower leagues throughout his career, this season is Lockyer's first in the EPL, as Luton Town qualified for promotion by finishing third in the EFL Championship last season.

In over 100 career appearances for Luton Town, Lockyer has five league goals and seven goals across all competitions to his credit.

He has also played in 16 matches for the Welsh national team since 2017, including playing for the 2022 FIFA World Cup squad.

Lockyer's collapse Saturday was reminiscent of a scary moment that occurred during Euro 2020, which was held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Denmark's Christian Eriksen collapsed during a match against Finland, and it was determined that he too went into cardiac arrest.

Eriksen underwent surgery to have a heart-starter device implanted, and he returned to play in February 2022 after signing with Brentford.

Eriksen has spent the past two seasons with Manchester United.

Luton Town, who are 18th in the EPL this season, are scheduled to return to action next Saturday as the hosts for a match against Newcastle United.

This is a View from Kingsmeadow special to Bleacher Report and the View from Victoria Street.

Now originally, at first I wanted to close out the View from Kingsmeadow after Volume 42, but I decided that this had to be said regarding Luton Town Football Club and its supporters.

Luton, listen up and listen carefully. You are not entitled to anything in this world. I repeat, you are not entitled to anything in this world.

Really. What makes you think that you have divine right to be in the Football League? What, you think that you should be an exemption from the nuances of promotion and relegation in the English football league system? That you should be in the Football League because you are scared of becoming a Football Conference side for another year?

Seriously, stop it. I, for one, am bored with you not being a good sport when it comes to competing in the Football Conference. There has been talk around Internet circles that I frequent, that your have been whiny, spoiled brats with no gratitude for the competition that you are in.

Good Lord, Luton Town. You put yourself in this situation as a result of your own undoing years ago. Bungs, financial misappropriations, points deductions...you did this to yourself, Luton Town.

It just gags me to note that you have a disrespect for the Football Conference National. It's not Football League Three, but it could be. It might as well be. The talent in the Football Conference National can compete with League Two. I mean, there's not much of a dropoff here in terms of the caliber of play. I'll be darned if there is.

On Saturday, at the City of Manchester Stadium in Eastlands, Manchester, England, Danny Kedwell of AFC Wimbledon taught you guys a lesson with one swing of the leg from the penalty spot.

He taught you this: never have the notion that you entitled to anything. Even promotion to the Football League. There are 23 other teams that want to be among the two coming in. They don't have any delusions that they are entitled to promotion.

The teams that get promoted earn their victories and their promotion by executing. Playing solid defense. Crisp passing sequences and distribution. And most importantly, finishing.

I can't stress this any more. If you don't finish your chances, you're staying where you are. Period. No reprieve, no breaks.

If I were to pick out a goat from your sad Hatter lot, it would have to go to Jason Walker, bless his heart. How dare you not finish your chances. Three times you had an opportunity to score, one of them in the shootout, and you could not get it done. Oh boy, shame on you, for all you're worth.

Aside from that, Luton, you have to come to terms with the fact that you have to earn your place and never dwell on the "We are entitled to promotion" mentality. It just won't work.

As the beat writer on Bleacher Report for AFC Wimbledon, I can tell you that my players never had this mentality. Sure, the desire to go up was there. It has been there. Ever since 2002, when they formed out of anguish from their original club moving franchise-style to Milton Keynes.

But they never had the notion that they were entitled to it. They knew that 23 other sides (including Conference winners Crawley Town) wanted to go up as well and each had just as good a chance as the other.

Hopefully Saturday has taught you this lesson, and that it is engrained in every one of your heads coming into next August.

While there is no doubt that I personally wish you all the best in your next Conference campaign, may I remind you one last time: You are never entitled to anything in this world. Nothing at all.

With second-place Crawley Town creeping up on Terry Brown's AFC Wimbledon, the Dons looked to get on the payback trail as they traveled to take on the Quakers of Darlington.

Along the way, they received the services of former Rushden & Diamonds centre back Jamie Stuart.

"It was vital that we signed an experienced leader after the news that Brett Johnson needed to undergo an exploratory operation on his troublesome knee," Brown said. "The two young centre backs have done an admirable job covering for my two senior centre backs, but with the number of important games coming thick and fast as we get to the business part of the season, I felt I needed more cover and Jamie fits the bill perfectly."

Other players could join the Dons in the coming weeks, as they are undergoing discussions with the Wimbledon manager.

In the end, all Wimbledon could muster up was a scoreless draw.

"Thursday’s late signing, Jamie Stuart, proved to be a fantastic acquisition in what was a very well earned point against Darlington," Brown said. "The Darlington pitch was not conducive to any type of passing football and the most I could ask of our players was to get to the ball first and get it in the opposition's half.

"Credit to both sides, who tried to entertain on what was a hard and, in some places, dangerous pitch. The conditions in no way suited our team and we were left to show passion and pride in what was a battling performance against a big and resourceful Darlington side."

The Wimbledon manager gave high remarks for the team's defensive play.

"On the day, either side could have won the game but some exceptional saves from Seb Brown and Sam Russell kept the score goalless," Brown said. "A sterling performance by Fraser Franks and Danny Kedwell ensured we defended resolutely, kept a clean sheet and caused Darlington several problems up front. We have now negotiated several northern trips and I feel it was a point gained rather than two dropped.

"I am hopeful of the return of Kurt Hudson, who has been recovering at home from the virus that has struck a number of players over the past month. Luton’s result at Bath means both sides on Wednesday will be looking for maximum points to ward off the challenge of Crawley, who have played three games less than us."

Up next for AFC Wimbledon was another shot at payback as they looked to return to the win column against Luton Town on Jan. 12 at Kingsmeadow.

With the Hatters just three points behind the Wombles, Wimbledon needed a result to remain in the hunt for promotion.

"The boys trained well yesterday and are all looking forward to the game," Brown said on Tuesday. "From a manager's point of view I've got some difficult decisions to make, as our recent recruits mean we have a bigger squad than in the past and one or two of the boys will be disappointed to find themselves in the stand tonight.

"We all know that Luton are a very strong and talented team. The last time they lost was back in November and in the six league games since then, they have only conceded a single goal, so we know what the challenge will be tonight. But we are confident that we can score against any team and we will be going all out for a win. We also know that [Luton manager] Richard Money takes a very positive approach to games, so it should be a very exciting game with both teams going for the win."

However, the Dons would come in shorthanded.

"I am sorry to say that we have more injury news regarding Lee Minshull, which is that he has suffered a hairline fracture of his foot. The previous X-rays hadn't shown anything, but he was in pain, so we sent him for a scan, which revealed the problem. It isn't the same injury as before but it will still be four to six weeks before he is able to play again. This is very difficult for Lee and the club, but we hope to have him back fighting fit by the back end of the season.

"Brett Johnson is having a glucose injection in his knee today. We are indebted to Darlington's medical team, who told us about a similar injury to one of their players which was resolved by this treatment, so we are cautiously hopeful of a good outcome."

And it wasn't the result they wanted. Another scoreless draw awaited Luton and Wimbledon.

With the result, the Wombles remain in first with 50 points, but with Crawley Town having four games in hand, the Red Devils have plenty of time to more than catch up with the league leaders of the Conference.

Wimbledon will need to regain their scoring ways when they step aside for FA Trophy action against Woking. Kickoff at Kingsmeadow is scheduled for Jan. 15, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

The boys from Terry Brown's AFC Wimbledon were away to Kenilworth Road in Luton, Bedfordshire to take on the Hatters of Richard Money's Luton Town F.C.

The Dons were coming off a comprehensive 4-0 shutout victory over Bath City at Kingsmeadow's Cherry Red Records Stadium.

“The first half was probably the best we have played all season," Brown said on the win. "I thought credit should go to Bath City who came to Kingsmeadow to play football and not pull everyone back behind the ball.

"We didn’t reassert ourselves after the half time interval and started off very slowly, which gave our visitors the chance to get back into the game.

“In the end, the four-nil result did not flatter us and I was particularly pleased that two goals were scored from set pieces, which is a benefit from being full time and having the opportunity to practice.

"All the teams at the top have again won and we now face in our next two games two of the biggest challenges. I will know a lot more about our team and our chances for the season ahead after those two games.”

The match was televised on Premier Sports.

"Yesterday's training went without a hitch, although a couple of players were unable to train and will have fitness tests this morning," Brown said during training. "Normally I'd say who it is, but I don't particularly want to tell Luton, so I am very sorry but I will have to leave you all in suspense about their identities.

"Nonetheless, we go into tonight's game in a confident mood after a very good display against Bath on Saturday. Having looked at Luton's report against Cambridge in their 2-0 win and we should therefore look forward to an open and exciting encounter tonight.

"For several of our players, it will be one of the biggest games they have played in to date and it will be interesting to see how they rise to the occasion. The position we find ourselves in league-wise will hopefully allow us to feel confident enough to express ourselves and play our normal game as we have absolutely nothing to fear with regards the result."

Unfortunately for the Dons, it wasn't the best of performances. Goals by George Pilkington in the 23rd minute, Zdenek Kroca in the 37th minute, and Matther Barnes-Horner in the 49th minute were enough to deal Luton Town the Dons' second defeat of the season, a 3-0 shutout loss.

A victory by Crawley Town this week will set up a pivotal showdown to determine first place in the Football Conference National. The Dons need to shake off what has been their worst outing of the young season to date in order get their form back.

Kickoff at Kingsmeadow is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 23, at 3:45 p.m. ET.

I had not known about Elliot Quince until he mailed me. Now I know what a fantastic illustrator he is. He has this love of football and drawing and a desire to help his community – now he has combined this all. He is planning to draw 32 illustrations of top footballers, one each from each country in the world cup finals. These drawings will be exhibited at the Offside Gallery in Islington, UK. Anyone can buy these paintings. The price of each of these exquisite illustrations range from GBP 100 to 300. The money collected from the sales would go to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital. Why this hospital? There’s a reason.

If you would like to buy, please do – here is the link. If you want to spread the word, please do – here is the website. I’ve put some of his very brilliant work. This is just a sample while you can visit his website and see the rest for yourself:

It’s a pity that he has not drawn the likes of Lampard, Terry, Malouda, Anelka etc. It would be great to have such an illustration of a trophy holding Chelsea team. Anyway, my personal favourite in his work is Lionel Messi. I think it’s a fantastic illustration. It captures the essence of Messi – the youth, the childish innocence, the baby smile, the lovely combination of his hairstyle, his nose and his teeth. I love it.

That’s it. Let’s do our bit. Catch you later.

After three successive relegations, which have seen Luton Town fall from the Coca-Cola Championship right the way through the Football League and end up in the Blue Square Premiership, Luton Town must now feel they have hit rock bottom and the only way is up.

Last season Luton Town had to overcome the mammoth task of trying to overhaul a 30-point deduction that was handed to them by the Football League and the FA for financial irregularities and for not exiting administration with a CVA.

The effort of the players was Herculean but unfortunately the points deduction was just too much and has Luton Town outside the Football League for the first time in their history.

Even though Luton’s season ended with relegation from the league, Luton still went on to beat Scunthorpe United in an exciting final of the Johnston Paint Trophy.

Luton will now be looking to bounce straight back up to the Football League at the first attempt. Mick Harford has managed to keep most of last season's squad together, but with the likes of Chris Martin and Michael Spillane returning to Norwich City to help in their attempts to return to the Championship and also releasing Dean Brill, Sam Parkin, Dean Morgan, and Sol Davis.

Mick Harford has managed to add few key players to help the push for a return to the Football League. Some of the new faces that have been brought in are Liam Hatch, Mark Tyler, Andy Burgess, and Adam Newton.

The Blue Square Premier is a league that sits at the top of the non-league football pyramid and is made up of clubs that have worked their way up from an amateur and semi-professional background and is also littered with former League clubs who have fallen out of the league and struggled to return.

Whilst Luton will start the league as red-hot favourites for promotion back to the professional divisions. This year’s league will be stronger and there are several teams who will fancy there chances but I personally feel Oxford United could be one of Luton’s main rivals for the Championship.

Luton will need to keep focused on the task in hand and they will have to be wary of the pitfalls that have hampered so many other former league club's attempts for promotion back to the top leagues.

I personally hope we have now found a Plateau in which Luton Town can now start building towards a bright future and working our way up the leagues.

The new season kicks off on the 8th August against AFC Wimbledon at Kingmeadow.

On a bright Easter Monday at Kenilworth Road, Luton Town were still hanging on to their league status after Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Lincoln City.

Luton went into today’s game knowing they would need to beat playoff-chasing Chesterfield and hope Nott’s County could draw or beat Grimsby.

Otherwise Luton would be relegated.

The game started off at a slow pace with a Keith Keane shot ending up wide of the post. Luton needed to push on and try to go for the win, but Chesterfield started to take control, creating several chances with Jack Lester and Alan Goodall coming close with chances.

The game started to turn when a corner from Luton’s Kevin Nicholls to Keane volleyed over the net. Nether side was able to take control of the rest of the first half with several half chances being created by both sides.

During halftime the club paraded the Johnston Paint Trophy to brighten up the supporters’ afternoon. They also were hopefully trying to emulate the “Wembley performance.”

The second half opened with more urgency as Sam Parkin headed a ball over the bar in the opening couple of minutes. Luton started to dominate the game and after 57 minutes Tom Craddock picked out Claude Gnakpa, whose shot was blocked.

Luton continue to pressure the Chesterfield back line and a beautiful pass from Nicholls to set Parkin went directly to the goalkeeper in a straight line. Luton continued to create chances and Asa Hall managed to set Gnakpa away, but a poor touch allowed Tommy Lee the time to come out and claim the ball.

Chesterfield then started to come back into the game with Pilkington blocking a Jack Lester shot and Darren Currie managing to curl an effort straight at Luton ‘keeper Dean Brill.

Parkin had a header that just cleared the crossbar, but in the final few minutes Luton seemed unable to break the deadlock.

The final whistle was blown and fans began turning to their transistor radios desperately trying to find the results of the Nott’s County Grimsby game and were treated with bad news.

At 4:55 p.m. on April 13, 2009, Luton Town Football club lost their fight against relegation after 89 years in the football league.

With a surreal and disbelieving atmosphere around Kenilworth Road, tears began to slowly creep down the faces of some supporters. Fans knew the fight was over and the fat lady had begun to sing. Luton had now relegated three seasons in a row from the Coca-Cola Championship to non-league football.

A week after one of the brightest performances of the campaign and lifting the JPT League trophy, nobody could imagine a week later would have come the lowest point of the campaign.

Luton Town have taken the punishment handed down by the Football League and the FA on the chin and continued to fight for their survival and attempt to get promoted from the Blue Square Premier at the first attempt.

Without the 30 deduction at the start of the season, the club lie in 15th place in the league two standings with a new piece of silverware in the cabinet.

Most fans would have considered this to be good campaign. Luton’s relegation all comes down to politics of the Football Association and the Football League.

In recent weeks I have beamed in optimism at the mathematical possibility of Luton Town avoiding the drop.

Their chances of survival had challenging, but promising, prospects of coming into fruition.

With Grimsby and Chester both winning games, however, that dream is catastrophically coming to a close. Luton Town, having been unfairly docked 30 points, will be a non-league team next year.

This inevitability made this past weekend's events all the more poignant.

The Johnstone's Paint trophy may be in some peoples eyes be a throwaway trophy. The teams that participate would rather excel as underdogs in the FA Cup or League Cup.

However, Luton Town’s inspirational heroics in the JP Trophy final against Scunthorpe, gave their army of loyal fans a shining and defining moment to remember their beloved team by.

Their Wembley triumph has also made clear to the rest of the league that the pathetic injustice handed to them for financial irregularities has stripped a capable team of their league status.

Luton Town’s fans, nicknamed the Hatters, have always been a part of the team's eclectic history.

The second highest average attendance of all League Two teams, and a 40,000 supporter turnout at Wembley for the final, have shown the dedication that the Hatters emit.

And they were duly rewarded with a 3-2 victory which some hailed as the best football match to have been played thus far at the newly improved national stadium.

A display of heart-warming solidarity was shown before the match had even started, as the Hatter’s controversially booed league chairman Brian Mawhinney’s appearance in the pre-game events.

Such a passionate display of emotion highlighted the desperate situation that had befallen the club. Their disgust at pre-season events was there for all to see.

Although League One promotion hopefuls Scunthorpe dominated initially, taking an early lead, it was Luton Town who ultimately came out on top.

With an extra time stunner from substitute Claude Gnakpa, who drilled in a 95^th minute breathtaker of a winner, Luton Town etched their names into the history books.

This rounded off a game of five goals which BBC correspondent Paul Fletcher described as "worthy of a Wembley final."

And so Luton Town, whose next two weeks of action will surely see them relegated from the league, have given their deserving fans a lasting impression of what can be done without any outside interference and off-pitch antics.

Hopefully such a glorious success will inspire a quick promotion back to the league. In turn this will also precede future years of improved triumph and on-pitch action worthy of a Wembley pitch.

On a bright Sunday afternoon at Wembley Stadium, the football league’s bottom club, Luton Town took on play off chasing Scunthorpe United for the Johnsone's Paint Trophy.

Luton Town suffered a 30 point deduction at the start of the season and were looking to add a little sunshine to their season. They took an incredible 40,000 fans with them, which set a new record for the amount of tickets sold by one club for a fixture at the new Wembley. 

Luton have had a number of finals at Wembley including the 1988 league cup win against Arsenal, were facing a Scunthorpe side who were contesting their first cup final.

As the Teams were introduced to Football League Chairman Sir Mawhinney, loud echo’s of boo's rung around Wembley as the Luton Fans made their feeling’s known to the man they blame for the predicament the club has found itself in.

The game kicked off with Scunthorpe coming out of the blocks the quickest and on 14 minutes a long Kick from Joe Murphy set Paul Hayes free and he found Gary Hooper in space to drive a low ball beyond stranded Luton Keeper Dean Brill to Make it 1-0 to the Iron.

Luton tried to pull themselves back into the tie with quick pressing play and attempts to hit Scunthorpe on the break. At 32 minutes a quick pass found Tom Craddock on the edge of the Scunthorpe area and he sent a delicate chip to an on-rushing Chris Martin who bent the ball beyond Murphy for the equalizer, 1-1.

Luton seemed to wake up and started to push further forward and dominate the play, but without creating any clear cut chances. Just before the break Tom Craddock was lucky to stay on the pitch after a slapping Iron’s Skipper Cliff Byrne but as none of the officials saw the incident no action was taken.

During half time Luton presented their Under 11’s Team who a month earlier had won the prestigious under 11's European Cup.

The Second half started at quite a pace, with both the Hatters and Irons trying to carve out opportunities with the game going from end to end.

On 70 minutes the Hatters took the lead. A cross from the left hand side saw a poor clearance which fell to Asa Hall who tucked the ball to Tom Craddock to fire a low 20 yard drive into the bottom right hand corner 2-1.

The Iron’s then came alive, bossing play and trying to push the Hatters back into their own half and with time ticking away Scunthorpe kept pushing away.

As time ticked on and the Luton fans thought the Cup was won, up popped Northern Ireland International Grant McCann on the edge of the Luton area in the 88th minute to  blast home a 25 yard curling shot to equalize and take the game into extra time...

The first period was hectic and with players getting tired the game was getting stretched as both sets of players were looking to write themselves into their clubs history.

A couple of Minutes into the first period it was Claude Gnapka who stood up to take the plaudit’s. A long forward ball from Luton found Gnapka and Williams sprinting with both eager to get the touch.

Scunthorpe Keeper Joe Murphy saw the danger and as he raced towards the edge of the 18 yard box both Gnapka and Williams lunged for the ball. The contact from Gnapka and Williams sent the ball upwards and towards an unguarded net to make it 3-2 to Luton Town.

Scunthorpe spent the rest of the extra time period trying to break down a stubborn Luton rearguard and a minute from the end Arsenal youngster Henri Lansbury pounced on a bad clearance to send a shot right across Luton goalmouth but it ended up trickling wide.

Luton had won the cup and this was their day after eight gloomy months of trying to overturn the point deduction the fans finally had something to shout about.

Luton skipper and Man of the Match Kevin Nicholls led his Team mates up the 109 steps of Wembley to the Royal Box to collect the cup. Waiting for Nicholls at the top was Chairman Nick Owen and current Director Steve Foster, the last Luton captain to pick up a cup from Wembley.

The Luton Players basked in the trophy win with the fans of Luton dressed in there Orange and White to make it memorable day. Both Luton and Scunthorpe played their part in an excellent game which was much to be praised.

The referee also deserved some praise, as he allowed the game to flow and seemed too have total control over the fixture and allowed the game to develop.

Scunthorpe will now go back try to cement their place in the League One playoffs and all credit to them they look like a hungry young side and I hope they can return to the Championship.

Luton are now 11 points adrift of safety with 6 games and 18 points to try and rescue their league status, it will be straight back to work for these champions.