Due to the steady decline of the club over the past five or six years, it's not surprising that many fans have become rather more cynical and negative than in the past. An eight-figure debt has led to the club selling the ground to help make ends meet, while the team has dropped into League Two after another dreadful season. But there are one or two signs of recovery, and the new season gives us, and the other clubs in our division, the chance to start on a level playing field.
Well, almost all of us.
Spare a thought for the fans of Luton Town. Through no fault of their own, their fans are now facing a battle for their very existence after a double-whammy of sanctions has left them staring relegation from the Football League in the face before a ball has even been kicked.
Firstly, the club was found guilty of 15 charges relating to breaches of FA and FIFA regulations, incurring a ten point deduction for this season.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, the Football League have imposed a further 20-point penalty on the club for exiting administration without a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) in place.
Leeds United were docked 15 points for a similar offence last season, but it appears the Football League have beefed up Luton's penalty due to the fact that the club has had three insolvencies in the last ten years.
Football clubs need to be run properly, and the penalty of sanctions is there as a deterrent as well as a punishment, but it does seem that these penalties often hurt the fans far more than the people who are guilty of the indescretions themselves. I understand the need for punishment over the club's conduct, but I also feel sympathy with their fans, who are totally blameless, but will suffer the most from the whole affair.
Luton were docked ten points last season and finished on 33 points. They're going to need to produce title-winning form if they're going to avoid relegation this season. I genuinely wish them well and hope they stay up.
IT'S DEADLINE DAY!
Today is deadline day for fans wanting to guarantee their season ticket seats, so expect a rare queue outside the Priestfield ticket office at lunchtime today. However, there certainly wasn't one this morning, when the missus renewed our season tickets. In fact she was the only fan there!
But, according to the club's CEO Mark Jones, season ticket sales have been "exceptional". The club have reportedly sold 2,500 season tickets already, so it'll be interesting to see:
- How many more people renew today
- How many season ticket holders we have in total
Hopefully we'll have a good base of season ticket holders this season, and the atmosphere at Priestfield will be a good one. The more people we can pack into Priestfield, the better.