The next batch of eight players largely failed to impress. One of them was a very good player for us, until he was inevitably sold, two other players are players that Luton fans wish had been sold and two others became renowned for their finishing in front of goal (or lack of finishing as the case may be).
9. Rowan Vine - All things considered, we probably shouldn't have sold Vine, even though the price of £2.5m we got for him was probably more than he was worth. Vine's departure to Birmingham was possibly the main reason we went down this season; with 14 goals this season, he has scored about three times as many as our highest scorer (Morgan) still at the club. 3 of those 14 goals were actually against champions elect Birmingham, and ensured we took 4 points off them. In fact, not only was Vine a good scorer, he created a lot of goals for others and could conjure something special out of nothing. You've probably guessed by now that I don't think we should have sold him - would we have gained the money back if we'd stayed in the Championship?
9. Bjorn Runstrom - The player that we hoped would be the next Rory Allen turned out to be more like Rory Bremner in front of goal. In truth, he wasn't that bad (although I've never actually seen Bremner) and he showed that he had some good skills and touches, but unfortunately, he tried to do something that wouldn't work. Runstrom only managed two goals in two months, which wasn't good enough for us, and although he helped us beat Sheffield Wednesday, he didn't do much else that helped us greatly. Certainly not an adequate replacement for Vine.
10. Warren Feeney - Talking of inadequate, Mr Warren Feeney. He certainly won't be forgotten easily by the Town faithful. If he hadn't left to achieve 'better things', Luton fans may look on Feeney with sympathy, as a half decent player who was out of his depth. His work rate was certainly very good, and he was one of the only Luton players to get capped last season. As it is, four goals in a season isn't good enough. These goals were against Brentford, who have just gone down to League Two, Birmingham and QPR, both goalkeeping errors more than good finishing, and a tap in at West Brom. Suddenly, Andew Fotiadis seems like a reasonable striker Luckily for Feeney, Cardiff came in for him so that he could fire them into the Premiership, as Feeney said himself. Unfortunately for Cardiff, he didn't score for them and they failed to make the play-offs. I think we can safely say that this wasn't one of Newell's better signings. The final word can go to the loud bloke who sits behind me, who said that he used to think Dave Jones could spot a good player, until he signed Feeney.
11. Dean Morgan - Certainly more effective than Feeney, but Morgan's contribution hasn't really been enough either. He has scored 5 goals this season but no one is quite sure how. Deano definitely has the ability to do something special, as he proved last season, and his free-kick against Coventry, but these are mere interruptions in spells of mediocrity. Although many Luton fans may disagree, I think Morgan has a lot of skill and can offer us something, but if he wants to stay at Luton, then he needs to be more consistent, and act as if he cares, which is why he has been in and out of the team. A bit of helping out in defence wouldn't go amiss either.
15. Stephen O'Leary - It is very difficult to criticuse a youngster like O'Leary, who makes very few appearances and still has age on his side. In total, O'Leary has only made 10 appearances this season, scoring one goal in the process. However, it is also difficult to say that O'Leary has looked comfortable in these matches, and he has never been too effective, let alone stood out from a poor team. Yes, he may have been better than the alternatives, but he still falls short of the expected standards in my opinion. Of course, he still has age on his side, and he may do a Keith Keane and turn things around. However, it looks extremely unlikely at this moment in time.
16. Lewis Emanuel - Lewis' performance this season was typical of the season as a whole. He started off the season looking very promising and putting in a few good performances. However, after October, it is difficult to think of a good performance from the left sided player, and he gradually got worse and worse. This may partly be down to him having to fill in at left-back after Sol Davis was ruled out at the end of October, but then again he was apparently a left-back back at Bradford. Lewis' loss of form had a big effect on the left side - before, he was a much better version of Morgan because he came back to defend as well, but now he looks mediocre in a very poor team. If Lewis can get his form back, then he can be a good player in League One, but if not, then he may be shown the door early on by Blackwell.
17. Richard Langley - It is fair to say that Langley has had a very poor start to his Luton career. Problems first came about when he was paired with Steve Robinson in the centre of midfield, when neither player would be considered a defensive midfielder. With the departure of Nicholls in the summer, people assumed that Langley was brought in to replace him, but it soon became clear that tackling wasn't his strong point. It never really became clear what his strong points were actually. He was soon dropped by Newell, and when he appeared in the team again, he was a little bit better. I believe that Langley does have skill, but it is more a question of whether he can be bothered to use his skill. I wouldn't be sorry to see him go, but maybe he should be given one more chance to prove himself.
18. Ahmet Brkovic - Brkovic has also received a lot of criticism, not necessarily in recent matches, from the people around me. However, his performance on Sunday illustrated his usefulness to the team - before he came on, we didn't look like we had a chance of scoring, but as soon as he came on, he looked threatening, particularly from dead-ball situations. Brko had a difficult season - kept out of the side largely by Carlos Edwards, and then until January, was played out of position on the left wing. Then, when he got into the team, QPR injured him again, keeping him out for a long time. Had he been fitter throughout the season, then he may have produced something brilliant to help keep us up. As it is, we'll have to wait until next season, although at 32, Brko's fitness levels may be in doubt. Even if he does try to sometimes try too many overhead kicks, he can still be a very useful player for us, particularly in League One. Also, now that we actually have some tactics for corners, hopefully Brkovic can play more of a part in this, as he is the best crosser of the ball at the club by far.
9. Rowan Vine - All things considered, we probably shouldn't have sold Vine, even though the price of £2.5m we got for him was probably more than he was worth. Vine's departure to Birmingham was possibly the main reason we went down this season; with 14 goals this season, he has scored about three times as many as our highest scorer (Morgan) still at the club. 3 of those 14 goals were actually against champions elect Birmingham, and ensured we took 4 points off them. In fact, not only was Vine a good scorer, he created a lot of goals for others and could conjure something special out of nothing. You've probably guessed by now that I don't think we should have sold him - would we have gained the money back if we'd stayed in the Championship?
9. Bjorn Runstrom - The player that we hoped would be the next Rory Allen turned out to be more like Rory Bremner in front of goal. In truth, he wasn't that bad (although I've never actually seen Bremner) and he showed that he had some good skills and touches, but unfortunately, he tried to do something that wouldn't work. Runstrom only managed two goals in two months, which wasn't good enough for us, and although he helped us beat Sheffield Wednesday, he didn't do much else that helped us greatly. Certainly not an adequate replacement for Vine.
10. Warren Feeney - Talking of inadequate, Mr Warren Feeney. He certainly won't be forgotten easily by the Town faithful. If he hadn't left to achieve 'better things', Luton fans may look on Feeney with sympathy, as a half decent player who was out of his depth. His work rate was certainly very good, and he was one of the only Luton players to get capped last season. As it is, four goals in a season isn't good enough. These goals were against Brentford, who have just gone down to League Two, Birmingham and QPR, both goalkeeping errors more than good finishing, and a tap in at West Brom. Suddenly, Andew Fotiadis seems like a reasonable striker Luckily for Feeney, Cardiff came in for him so that he could fire them into the Premiership, as Feeney said himself. Unfortunately for Cardiff, he didn't score for them and they failed to make the play-offs. I think we can safely say that this wasn't one of Newell's better signings. The final word can go to the loud bloke who sits behind me, who said that he used to think Dave Jones could spot a good player, until he signed Feeney.
11. Dean Morgan - Certainly more effective than Feeney, but Morgan's contribution hasn't really been enough either. He has scored 5 goals this season but no one is quite sure how. Deano definitely has the ability to do something special, as he proved last season, and his free-kick against Coventry, but these are mere interruptions in spells of mediocrity. Although many Luton fans may disagree, I think Morgan has a lot of skill and can offer us something, but if he wants to stay at Luton, then he needs to be more consistent, and act as if he cares, which is why he has been in and out of the team. A bit of helping out in defence wouldn't go amiss either.
15. Stephen O'Leary - It is very difficult to criticuse a youngster like O'Leary, who makes very few appearances and still has age on his side. In total, O'Leary has only made 10 appearances this season, scoring one goal in the process. However, it is also difficult to say that O'Leary has looked comfortable in these matches, and he has never been too effective, let alone stood out from a poor team. Yes, he may have been better than the alternatives, but he still falls short of the expected standards in my opinion. Of course, he still has age on his side, and he may do a Keith Keane and turn things around. However, it looks extremely unlikely at this moment in time.
16. Lewis Emanuel - Lewis' performance this season was typical of the season as a whole. He started off the season looking very promising and putting in a few good performances. However, after October, it is difficult to think of a good performance from the left sided player, and he gradually got worse and worse. This may partly be down to him having to fill in at left-back after Sol Davis was ruled out at the end of October, but then again he was apparently a left-back back at Bradford. Lewis' loss of form had a big effect on the left side - before, he was a much better version of Morgan because he came back to defend as well, but now he looks mediocre in a very poor team. If Lewis can get his form back, then he can be a good player in League One, but if not, then he may be shown the door early on by Blackwell.
17. Richard Langley - It is fair to say that Langley has had a very poor start to his Luton career. Problems first came about when he was paired with Steve Robinson in the centre of midfield, when neither player would be considered a defensive midfielder. With the departure of Nicholls in the summer, people assumed that Langley was brought in to replace him, but it soon became clear that tackling wasn't his strong point. It never really became clear what his strong points were actually. He was soon dropped by Newell, and when he appeared in the team again, he was a little bit better. I believe that Langley does have skill, but it is more a question of whether he can be bothered to use his skill. I wouldn't be sorry to see him go, but maybe he should be given one more chance to prove himself.
18. Ahmet Brkovic - Brkovic has also received a lot of criticism, not necessarily in recent matches, from the people around me. However, his performance on Sunday illustrated his usefulness to the team - before he came on, we didn't look like we had a chance of scoring, but as soon as he came on, he looked threatening, particularly from dead-ball situations. Brko had a difficult season - kept out of the side largely by Carlos Edwards, and then until January, was played out of position on the left wing. Then, when he got into the team, QPR injured him again, keeping him out for a long time. Had he been fitter throughout the season, then he may have produced something brilliant to help keep us up. As it is, we'll have to wait until next season, although at 32, Brko's fitness levels may be in doubt. Even if he does try to sometimes try too many overhead kicks, he can still be a very useful player for us, particularly in League One. Also, now that we actually have some tactics for corners, hopefully Brkovic can play more of a part in this, as he is the best crosser of the ball at the club by far.