Aston Villa vs Luton Town pre-match thread

[RamboandBruno]

Stoke Uni ? that's a new one on me . Up there with RAF Luton

Staffordshire Uni, or Staffordshire Poly as it was still known the year before I went there

[olaftab]

I had to drive through Toddington often to get to our office . There are a lot of pubs in that village in fairness. I think its where the wealthier people from Luton go on holiday

No, they go to Billing Aquadrome.

[Astnor]

What's the craic with Jacob? Has he got sore bruising so it's hard to gauge a return time or is his injury more serious?

Think I did read somewhere that Emery in his presser before West ham last week said that him and Moreno would be back in 2-3 weeks ish. Not sure though.

[OCD]

What's the craic with Jacob? Has he got sore bruising so it's hard to gauge a return time or is his injury more serious?

Emery said 2-3 weeks in the West Ham pre-match press conference. Same with Moreno. We should start to see them before the next international break and then more so afterwards. Just in time for the Man City/Arsenal games by the sound of it.

[purpletrousers]

This could be tougher than people think. We struggled to score for most of the matches against Mostar and Palace when they came to mainly park the bus. Luton are a poor side but they work hard and since the opening 2 games they haven't lost by more than 1. A fairly early goal and we should win comfortably, otherwise I can see it being a nervy one.

Palace was immediately after the shit Liverpool result though, so I think confidence was low, and we'd just lost Carlos as well as Mings. I think we tried to keep it tight for a while. We're playing with 100% more freedom and confidence now.

Was about to agree, but maybe you have a point Risso. Will be fascinating to see.

I would say greetings from Luton btw but I'm at one of our Hospital sites in East London atm.

It certainly has been listed as #1 worst place to live, but there are plenty of redeeming features (not just that it's closer to B6 than I was in London) and nice parts of town (likewise Dunstable, eg the Dunstable Downs).

I find being in a town compared to a City a pleasant relief, and couldn't have hoped to setting up a better family home/location tbh.

Annnnywayyyy, I was explaining Funeralling to a Luton fan last night.

I think as much as how you cope against the big boys, how you cope against the parked bus will be interesting.

[supertom]

Aside from their first couple of games Luton don't tend to get soundly tonked. They've been a tad unfortunate in some games, or just lacked a cutting edge you need to win games at this level.

So I'm expecting a tight and difficult game. That said, I expected the same against Brighton, West Ham and AZ, and we twatted them all royally.

We'll see. Historically when we have a good run this is the kind of game we slip up in. So I hope we are right on it from the start.

2-1 Villa but it's going to be by no means easy.

We're gonna win 10-0 now, aren't we?

But seriously. Very tight game. 2-1.
(10-0).
Don't slip up lads!

[Aldridge Villa]

A nervy win followed by a cringeworthy rendition of “ You’ve seen the Villa now politely go home” .

[mike]

Luton is an absolute shithole of the highest order, up there with Stoke for absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever.

I went to uni in Stoke back in the 90s and can confirm its shithole status, though the drink and drugs certainly helped me have a grand old time in the grey old town.

I had to do some work in Dunstable for a day last year and afterwards i was telling a women in work what a hole it was, she informed me deadpan she had her wedding day there, what are the fecking chances of that.

I worked in Barrow in Furness for a while. It was the most unremittingly depressed and dull place I had ever been to. Greyer and sadder than the shitty council estate in Birmingham I grew up in. I had to go to Stoke with a work colleague who was a proud native Barrovian and even he thought Stoke was a shit hole.

Oh, and this is a massive banana skin. Oddly, if Villa win this apparently easy game, I will finally stop waiting for the bubble to burst after a year of consistently strong performances. Because traditionally, we lose games like this.

[PeterWithe]

I had to drive through Toddington often to get to our office . There are a lot of pubs in that village in fairness. I think its where the wealthier people from Luton go on holiday

No, they go to Billing Aquadrome.

I had to pitch some work to Billing Aquadrome a few years ago, fella I was dealing with described what it was like of a weekend in summer when the most of the council estates in the East Midlands started their sojourn, sounded like Sodom & Gamorrah hosting Millwall in the cup.

[charlatan]

Our biggest top flight victory is 7-1 v Wimbledon and Chelsea.

12-2 V Accrington?

[PeterWithesShin]

Our side last time we played Luton

Mark Bunn
Jordan Amavi
Nathan Baker
Jores Okore
Micah Richards
Gary Gardner
Aaron Tshibola
Jack Grealish
André Green
Jordan Ayew
Ross McCormack

Subs
Jed Steer
Aly Cissokho
Alan Hutton
Tommy Elphick
Leandro Bacuna
Ashley R Westwood
Rudy Gestede

[Risso]

Billing Aquadrome is weird, a strange little holiday village built right next to a sewage works and the smell that comes with it.

[PeterWithesShin]

A couple of random other things, we have a losing record against Luton. W15 D5 L19. That's mainly down to our woeful record at their place.

And the last time we played them at home in the league we won 4-0. October 1991, scorers were Yorke, Regis, Richardson and Paul Mortimer. Att: 18,722.

[Risso]

Our side last time we played Luton

Mark Bunn
Jordan Amavi....

And Di Matteo laughing as they scored.

[AV84]

Came across the Luton Town preview with Rob Edwards on YouTube. They start by asking him what he thinks of how Uni Emery has been doing since taking over at Villa, and he just laughs. Seems a nice guy, and I didn't realise he spent about 10 years at Villa as a kid.