35 year-old former Luton defender Alan Neilson has been appointed as the new youth coach for Luton, alongside Gregg Broughton who will be the Youth Development Officer for the club. Alan spent three seasons at Luton, playing a role in the second half of the 2001/02 promotion season after being signed by Joe Kinnear on a free transfer. He played 63 times in total for Luton, scoring once in a 2-1 away victory at Stockport County, and played for both Tamworth and Salisbury City after leaving Luton.
Neilson joins the club following the departure of one of Blackwell's team, Chris Cummins. He has a UEFA 'A' License badge, which our last manager has shown doesn't prove anything. Hopefully things will turn out well for Alan at Luton. Alongside Alan is a new Youth Development Officer, Gregg Broughton. Gregg has previously worked with the club, and Gary Sweet on the official website has said, "We're very happy that Gregg has accepted the role. He's really respected here within the backroom team and he's proved he is a fantastic asset.
We feel that we have a great team in Alan and Gregg, that are fully behind our cornerstones of youth development and community involvement. All of us at the club wish them the very best of success".
As well as changes in the non-playing staff, two players have departed recently. Chris Perry left a few weeks ago to join Southampton on a free transfer. Perry still had a year left on his current contract, but the club offered him a free transfer. Despite playing well over 30 games for the club last season, Perry still hasn't got a relegation on his CV, having left Luton a few games before the club were officially relegated, despite it being clear we were going down weeks before he left. Hardly any Luton fans will be upset that Perry has gone, in fact, most fans will be wondering how he has managed to get a place at a Championship club after his performances last season. His departure means we now have no natural centre-backs, although none is better than having one that is Chris Perry.
Furlong also left the club to join Southend United yesterday, after being signed by Kevin Blackwell. Furlong was rare for a Blackwell signing, in that he actually tried and did a reasonable job for the club. He was signed for backup reasons and to give experience, and was asked to do much more than that when Peschisolido got injured. He ended up as the club's top scorer with 12 goals to his name. It didn't prove to be enough to keep us up, but he was certainly one of the surprise packages of this season. It is a little bit disappointing that Furlong has gone, but then again, as a 39-year old striker, he wouldn't have played much for Luton in League Two, and may well have ended up as a burden on the wage bill instead. He did serve the club well last season, but I think it's time for players such as Parkin, Andrew, Charles and Talbot, the current strikers, to prove themselves. None of them have really done that yet (although Charles' chances have been limited), and next season could be their big chance. Two disappointing things are that:
1. He leaves as probably the best of Blackwell's signings for Luton (with only Edwards coming close). Just goes to show how bad the others were, as a lot of Furlong's season seems to have been disrupted by injuries.
2. The manner of his departure seems to have been slightly suspect. Apparently, the news on the Southend website was the first that Luton had heard of the departure, according to Stephen Browne, so it is disappointing that the transfer wasn't conducted in a better manner. However, it doesn't sound like any action will be taken, which is good as the club have more important matters on their hands. Incidentally, if anyone from any club interested in Dean Morgan is reading this, feel free to illegally approach him so that his departure from the club comes around sooner rather than later.