OPINION: A season of what ifs for Luton but Hatters boss Rob Edwards definitely hasn't let anyone down

Usually I would agree with most, if not all things that Rob Edwards says during his press conferences. The manager is not known for sugarcoating a defeat, or talking his side up if they haven’t performed to the manner he expects, but just before and after relegation was all but confirmed last weekend at the London Stadium, there was one comment I simply couldn’t get on board with.

Barely able to keep his emotions in check having seen Town lose 3-1 to West Ham which ended any slim hopes of remaining in the Premier League due to the small matter of that pesky goal difference, Edwards faced up to the media. He did so after spending near enough 10 minutes on the pitch in front of the massed ranks of travelling fans, crouching to his haunches at one point, also looking to the sky, clearly touched by the 37th wonderful post-match ovation he and his players have received this season.

Still clearly trying to hold it together when speaking to the press afterwards, Edwards reflected on being unable to keep Town up, a feeling that left him hurting naturally, but also thinking he had somehow let people down along the way. Well let me tell you right now, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

This season was always a bonus. Even before a ball was kicked, every Luton follower knew that. To get out of the Championship with the budget available to them was a quite superb achievement in itself, so to go up against the big boys over a 38-game campaign, not many outside of Bedfordshire gave the Hatters a chance.

Yes, if they could stay up it would be an absolutely magnificent accomplishment, even usurping getting here in the first place, but once Fankaty Dabo put his penalty over the bar at Wembley to spark scenes of wild celebrations, the financial rewards that came with promotion began to sink in. No longer did Town’s board have to worry about how they were going to finance their new stadium at Power Court, as with £100m coming their way, they could immediately ringfence the expenditure needed for that, with CEO Gary Sweet admitting recently the income means they can now push for the biggest capacity possible.

And that day in the London sun gave fans young and old one of the best experiences they could have ever wished for following their beloved Hatters. Being in the top tier, or Division One as it was then known, wasn’t a new thing to everyone, Luton having plied their trade at the highest level just over 30 years ago.

However, there would have been a large proportion of supporters, at both ends of the generational scale, who would never have dreamed they would get to see their side take on the best in the business again, or for the first time in fact. Especially when heading to Guiseley, Halifax and Southport around a decade ago, often met with, ‘so you support Luton, but who is your Premier League team?’

Now they could just say the Hatters and leave it there, while also looking forward to the prospect of watching Erling Haaland, Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne and Declan Rice run out at Kenilworth Road, even if on reflection, they might wish three of them hadn’t bothered turning up. Already there was a sense of realism that greeted Town’s promotion and that was to continue during the summer transfer window.

Two other teams came up with Luton remember, Burnley and Sheffield United. A quick peek at their spending demonstrated which newly-promoted duo were going to throw some money at it, and which club was going to try and get by with some clever recruitment, so if the worst did happen, they could then attack the Championship in a place of real financial strength.

Yes the Hatters did break their previous transfer record on a number of occasions, however, it was nowhere near the sums of money being spent elsewhere, the Clarets dropping almost £20m on James Trafford, a relatively unknown goalkeeper who had just helped England U21s triumph at the Euro Championships, with near enough £30m going on securing both Sander Berge and Aaron Ramsey (no, not that one).

The Blades also splashed out, £17m boosting Aston Villa’s coffers for Cameron Archer, almost as much as Town spent in total, the forward managing a meagre return of just four goals in the end. Luton did also spend what would have seen unthinkable amounts in recent years, around £22m, with Tahith Chong, Thomas Kaminski and Teden Mengi already looking excellent purchases. They were also masters of the free transfer market too, Chiedozie Ogbene and a certain Ross Barkley both joining for nothing, the Premier League-hardened Andros Townsend arriving later on.

But Edwards still wanted to give those who had got the Hatters to the promised land a chance to prove themselves, Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris both getting to double figures in what was their first and hopefully not last ever season at this level. Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu making history when stepping on to the pitch at the Amex on the opening day as he became the first player to go from the Conference to the Premier League with the same club.

Reece Burke had his second crack at the level, as Wembley hero Jordan Clark got an opportunity when fully fit too, while just watching Luke Berry bomb around and get stuck into Rodri, James Maddison and co was a sight to behold. Being the optimistic guy he is, Edwards believed he could keep Luton up from the moment Dabo’s penalty was still airborne. It’s not an act either as you only have to spend a few minutes with him to see how he exudes positivity through every fibre, with Townsend saying how that belief trickled down to the entire squad on a recent BBC Sport Monday Night Club podcast.

Written off by every pundit before a ball was kicked and tipped to be down by Christmas, yes, that was you Garth Crooks, most Luton fans knew it was going to be desperately difficult to stay up. However, many stated they were going to enjoy the ride whatever the outcome, as having come from where they had been in recent years, heading back to the Championship once more wouldn’t be by any means a disaster.

But Luton were to do better than just make up the numbers, as who would have expected them to still technically be able to survive going into the last round of fixtures this weekend? Not many I’d say. Yes they were helped by points decisions for Everton and Nottingham Forest, but who cares? If you break the rules you need to be punished. And the penalties handed out weren’t a patch on the 30 points that Hatter fans had to stomach back in 2008 which saw them plummet out of the Football League entirely, during days when an ‘early plea’ and ‘cooperation’ clearly weren’t taken into consideration.

Probably the biggest frustration for Edwards is that things could have been so very different going into a final day clash against Fulham as it's certainly been a case of what if, even from the word go. What if Luton hadn’t had to significantly eat into their funds and shell out around £15m of their windfall to build an entirely new stand to get Kenilworth Road, a ground that probably hasn't changed a great deal in its 118 glorious years, Premier League ready?

What if they hadn’t suffered so horrendously with those injuries? What if Adebayo, Sambi Lokonga (twice), Ogbene, Jacob Brown, Marvelous Nakamba and Amari’i Bell to name just six, had all stayed fit? What if Town didn’t have to field a substitutes bench that contained two goalkeepers and up to four untested teenagers at some of the biggest venues in world football like the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Emirates and the Etihad?

What if Berry or Townsend’s stoppage time goalbound strikes against Everton hadn’t been deflected away? What if they could have held onto their lead at West Ham? Or AFC Bournemouth? Or even at Anfield? The list goes on. While Edwards won’t ever publicly point the finger at injuries and use it as an excuse, you ask any of the teams in the bottom half of the table, or top half for that matter, to be without up to 13 first team players and see what happens.

Town’s season really peaked when Adebayo put them 4-2 up at Newcastle United on a memorable day at St James’ Park back in early February. Although the Magpies hit back to draw 4-4, the glint in Edwards’ eye afterwards showed he knew he had found a way of playing at this level, and something special could be on the horizon, Luton in their best run of form, securing three of their six league wins in just five matches.

The slide started from then though, Adebayo pulling out of the warm-up against Manchester United, Lokonga off at Anfield, Ogbene injured on international duty, Osho leaving the field at Selhurst Park. It felt like Town had walked under every ladder going, broken a hundred mirrors and seen not just one but a herd of black cats cross their path.

When they started to come back, it was just that bit too late, as the Premier League is an unforgiving place to try and regain your match sharpness such is the quality of those you’re facing. I mean West Ham had an unused sub in Edson Alvarez last weekend who cost David Moyes £35m which puts things into perspective.

Let’s not forget as well, this is a manager who was able to change things around mid-season too, knowing this side weren’t quite attacking the top flight in the manner he wanted, altering their approach just before the Arsenal game in December. It meant no more were Town intent on holding their opponents with a low block, nope, from now they were going to be on the front foot and looking to outscore them as it almost worked against a side who can still win the title on Sunday.

Then there’s the human side of it as well. Edwards had to help his strike pair when they received some disgusting online racist abuse, Adebayo not just once which is already unacceptable, but twice, Morris also the recipient of another alleged incident at Sheffield United too. Then came the truly horrific moment that saw Tom Lockyer suffer a cardiac arrest on the pitch at AFC Bournemouth, the eerie silence that immediately enveloped the Vitality Stadium something that will always live with all of us who were present.

As he has stated since, nothing in the coaching handbook prepares you for those events, there is no course available to deal with such a potentially tragic event. But the way Edwards and his players handled things afterwards further strengthened the bond between him, his squad and supporters. Lockyer, who thankfully is now making a full recovery, has spoken in the highest terms of just what the manager has done for him since, emphasising the family first nature of the dressing room that has been created.

So, although the dreaded R will go next to Luton’s name at around 6pm this weekend, with a season that has heralded just nine wins in all competitions, the memories that Hatters will have taken will still live long. Just being there at Brighton on the opening day when it hit home that the Hatters were back, hearing the ‘Conference champions you’ll never sing that’ chant, watching Match of the Day and actually seeing Town on it, and all that was just on the opening day.

A spine-tingling ovation at Chelsea after a 3-0 loss, something that followed Town’s players up and down the country, whatever the result. A first win at Everton, beating Crystal Palace, Newcastle United, AFC Bournemouth and most memorably Brighton at home, will never be forgotten. Chong’s goal against Liverpool, leading against the Reds on Merseyside, plus Manchester City and Spurs, almost coming back from 3-0 down against Chelsea. There have been some other heroic moments even in defeat too, losing 4-3 to Arsenal with the last kick courtesy of a £100m signing, Aston Villa as well, plus running Manchester United mighty close.

Getting to watch prime Barkley strut his stuff in a Luton shirt on a weekly basis, the midfielder now surely in the annals of the best player to ever represent the club, seeing Berry score a dramatic equaliser against Nottingham Forest, I could go on. Yes, Luton may have the odd regret, not strengthening defensively during the January transfer window to replace Lockyer, but at that time, Bell, Osho, Mads Andersen and Dan Potts were all available. Losing at home to Sheffield United and Burnley, but they are minor gripes in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, this term means the proud run of finishing in a higher league position for the last eight years will now end, but that could never go on forever, and is a feat that deserves celebrating in itself. It’s worth remembering the last relegation Luton suffered back in 2009, they were dropping into the wilderness of non-league, with no way of knowing when they would ever be back. This time it’s the Championship and there are far worse places to be than a division that contains their greatest rivals which constantly throws up thrills and spills. All done without VAR too.

So yes, Edwards can be down, disappointed, frustrated, and even downright annoyed that he hasn’t been able to do what many would have seen as mission impossible at the start of the season and keep the Hatters up, but the applause from both sets of fans last weekend shows the respect that Town have earned for their efforts in attempting to finish above that dotted line.

Luton fans are a hardy bunch too. They will no doubt sing their manager’s name loud and proud as they have done throughout his 18 months at the helm when the curtain comes down on the campaign after the clash with the Cottagers this weekend and they say farewell to the Premier League. As he most definitely hasn’t let any of them down.