'Watered down' derby clash with Hornets will still have some 'spice' for Luton chief

Although a lack of supporters for the Hatters’ first derby against Watford in almost 15 years will lead to a ‘watered down’ clash this weekend, Luton chief Nathan Jones is still expecting there to be plenty of ‘spice’ on show during the 90 minutes at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

When Town last played the Hornets, it was back in April 2006, a second tier contest with over 15,000 fans present, that saw five bookings, Markus Heikkinen, Steve Howard and Enoch Showunmi cautioned for Luton, Lloyd Doyley and Marlon King booked for the hosts.

This time it around it will be a whole different experience for the 22 players who take to the field in front of an empty stadium due to the social distancing rules in place because of Covid-19.

Jones said: "They’ve always got a bit of spice, whether it’s a renowned derby like a Cardiff v Swansea, or a Celtic v Rangers, or whether it’s a London derby, there's always a bit more spice and we know that Luton v Watford has that spice.

“So we’re looking forward to it, it’s another big, big game and it finishes off a big week.

“Football without supporters is watered down and derbies without supporters is exactly that.

“Midweek (against Manchester United) we would have loved that to be an occasion, with fans in there because ironically it was more of a leveller for them than us, even though they are are one of the biggest sides in the world.

"Not having fans there is not ideal, but it's the world we live in and they will be missed.

"Our fans were missed on Tuesday, and in all the games we’ve had as pretty much all the games at the minute is a big game.”

Although Jones doesn’t expect a derby from the old days to take place, with tackles flying in early on, especially as referees have clamped down on the ‘dark arts’ of the game in the modern era, he is confident Town's players know the magnitude of the fixture.

He continued: "I’m not sure derbies have the same edge that they used to have because football’s rules have changed.

"Swashbuckling tackles, if you look at the FA Cup Final between Liverpool and Wimbledon (in 1988), if that was nowadays, Wimbledon would be down to ten men after four minutes.

"So, you can’t get away with what you did, there’s not that leeway given to the intensity and the physicality any more, it’s just not.

“You could see your side finishing with less than 10 men as football’s different now, you don’t get the leeway to smash someone in and leave a bit on someone early on like you used to.

"That’s not to say that it takes away anything from it, but certain things that you were able to do before, tactically, or the dark arts, as they call it, you won’t be able to do these days, but it’s still a wonderful occasion.

"Football has changed now, it will be competitive, it will be competitive anyway as it’s a Championship game.

"We’re looking forward to it, I know the importance of the game to fans and to both clubs, we know that.

"It’s a derby, you know the importance of it, I don’t think they need to be told any more, it is a big game, an important game, one I’d imagine both sets of fans have waited for for a while.

"It’s been a while since they’ve been able to do that, but we’re glad we’re in this league to then face a derby rival is a good occasion."

Having admitted that a lack of home supporters made it far more of an even contest for the visiting Red Devils in their midweek Carabao Cup tie, Jones didn't think that it will tip the balance the Hornets way this weekend, as Luton would have filled out their allocation at the drop of a hat.

He added: “We would have a good following as well, I just think Man United, in realistic terms, are so far above the Championship that us not having any fans is massive because that would have been our 12th man, that would have been our edge.

"We weren’t able to get that edge so we had to rely on pure technique and now when there are two teams that are similar, same league, it’s less of a leveller.

"You see now with the amount of away wins and so on and so forth that happen, without fans it is a leveller.

"We don’t know (if it is), we have to wait and see, if you ask me at 2:30pm I’ll be able to tell you.”