If anyone was in doubt as to which club is the greatest football club in the land, on Sunday they got their answer. Could I talking about Manchester United, who snatched a last minute victory against Aston Villa? No, in fact I'm talking about Luton Town FC!
Before calling out the men in white coats, let me present the fact. Luton Town, a club at the bottom of the Football League and facing relegation to the Conference, took 40,000 fans to Wembley Stadium. This was three times as many fans as Scunthorpe United, a team currently aiming for promotion to the Championship. Such was Luton's support, complaints were made that Luton were unable to increase their ticket allocation. How many other clubs could count on such fantastic support in such dire circumstances?
They also took part in what has been described in the Guardian as the greatest Wembley final since 1988, the year when Luton Town beat Arsenal to win their only major trophy so far. In fact this is a club that has a habit of playing in memorable matches, think also of their battling performance against Liverpool in 2006. Of course this was only the Johnstones Paint Trophy Final but for a club which had been unfairly deducted 30 points, due to the inept running of the club by the previous owners, this game meant so much. That passion could be seen on the pitch and produced a fantastic match, won 3-2 in extra time by an ecstatic Luton side.
Of course Luton don't have the great players seen in the Premier League and would get annihilated playing the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool. However football is not just about great players. For me, no other club could have produced such varying emotions for its followers, from elation to total despair. I truly believe they have the greatest fans in the country, who have stuck with them through thin and thinner. Their attractive football has also seen them play in some of the most entertaining matches of recent times. It will be a sad day when they are eventually relegated from the Football League. However for a club which has so often triumphed over adversity over its history, I'm sure they won't be languishing in the Conference for long.
