December 1988 Luton (a) footage

[Deano's Mullet]

Roy Wegerle scores for Luton and Villa score a freak goal thanks to a Johnson own goal.

Lots of other 1988-89 stuff on youtube i notice but most of it features us in defeats.

[The Left Side]

Great camera work ITV!

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Was that on the plastic pitch ?

I hated Luton. Apart from the plastic pitch,  they also had a chairman David Evans who was a particularly reactionary Tory MP. Apparently he was on the the Villa books from 1950 to 1954 but never made the first team. He was pushing Thatcher to bring in ID cards for football fans, parliamentary colleagues described him as having the pugnacity of Norman Tebbit with the foul mouth of Alf Garnett. During the election campaign of 1997, in an address to sixth formers he called his Labour opponent, a “single girl” with “three bastard children”, to which he added general insults on blacks and homosexuals. He lost in 1997 by the way. The following year he had to apologise to the Birmingham Six after having claimed in an interview that they were guilty, even though they had been cleared by the Court of Appeal.
 
A ground consisting of an entire side given over to hospitality and private boxes. Evans then banned all away fans for a time.  Millwall fans without question had been really bad even by their standards, but the ban was Evans sucking up to Thatcher at a time when she really had it in for football. The joke used to be that NASA were sending their astronauts to Kenilworth Road to aclimatise to being in an environment with no atmosphere.   

[garyshawsknee]

My first ever game was at Luton in 84,sitting in The Bobbers stand,which a year later got torn down for the horrible boxes. Think we lost 2-0.

Evans was the Prince of Darkness,used the club as a tool to get in with Thatcher(what a horrible thought)and started the decline of the club,which they're still in.

Was at the game in 89,there were a few Villa fans in the Luton end,cant remember having a shot of our own on target!

[The Left Side]

I lived there for a while at University and the town itself is nasty, if you want to go out for beers and a fight go to Luton. Generally the people aren't bad but just an angry little town.

[usav]

Generally the people aren't bad but just an angry little town.

It must be tough living in the shadow of Watford.

[The Left Side]

Generally the people aren't bad but just an angry little town.

It must be tough living in the shadow of Watford.

They don't mention the W word!

[andyaston]

If I didnt know the score it would of seemed that we lost 2-1 with Roy Wegerle scoring two identical goals.

Hated Luton, we hardly even beat them, glad they went down the Leagues.

[pooligan]

I had forgot how much i disliked Luton. Used to dread playing them. Crap ground,nasty fans,plastic pitch ,banning of away fans,nasty chairman and a bloody fortune to park. I am sure they have never forgiven us for Tommy Doc stealing the Rioch brothers from them

[The Left Side]

Very nasty lot, they love a scrap

[Pat McMahon]

Off the top of my head I don't think i have ever seen us beat Luton, home or away. I know they are one of the teams we have encountered relatively little in my lifetime but I have no good memories of playing them, other than a cracking Gary Shaw goal at their place around 1983. The away end was a reasonably large open terrace and their fans were throwing coins and stones in from outside the ground after the game - and they had beaten us 2-1.

I had a good mate who lived in Luton for 6 years and there is a fair bit of gang in-fighting from different parts of town - I always thought there was a racial undercurrent there. Apparently they manage a truce of sorts for the footie and make it a surprisingly hostile away day considering the size of the place. There are some nice places around Luton but the town itself is a bit of a dump. My mate lives in Bethnal Green now which is much nicer.....

[pooligan]

You got me thinking Pat when you said you could'nt remember us ever beating them. Looking through the record books ,our record against them since i have been watching villa is not to clever. At home we have played them 11 times,won 6 drew 1 and lost 4. The first 5 times we actually won just 1,drew 1 and lost 3. Away from home our record is awful, Played 11,won 1,drew 2 and lost 8.The only win came in the season we came 2nd under GT and Derek Mountfield scored. I have a feeling that may have been when away fans were banned because i cant remember being there and i used to go to most away games.Just to prove they are a bit of a bogey side, they also beat us in a League Cup tie at Villa Park

[eric woolban woolban]

We beat them when Daley scored that wonder goal.

But as you say, wins were few and far between.

Another bogey team of ours.

[Pete3206]

Whenever I hear The Style Council's 'Speak Like A Child', I think of my trip to Luton Town in the early 80's. It was a bloody dreadful day by the way. The only footage I can find from that game is on these World Of Sport titles. Blink and you'll miss it.