Team News
Luton
Luton have an almost fully fit squad to choose from, with just the usual suspects injured for the match. Paul Underwood has had another operation that keeps him out of the match tomorrow, although he has at least been seen at recent Luton matches, so there are signs that he is recovering, and he hasn't just disappeared, like Paul Hughes did about a week after we signed him. Sam Parkin is also still out with an ankle injury he picked up against Dagenham & Redbridge in August, and Richard Langley is out for a long time because of an injury picked up in pre-season. Keith Keane is also apparently unavailable because of an injury, possibly a leg injury, although many Luton fans may prefer an injured Keith Keane to a fully fit Richard Jackson on his and the current defence's form.
 | Peschisolido: May start tomorrow |
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After three straight defeats, Blackwell may have to make changes if Luton are to finally claim another win. Loan keeper David Forde is expected to stay in goal for Saturday's match, and up and coming keeper Dean Brill is not even expected to be on the bench, as we are expected to keep up the ridiculous idea of putting five outfield players on the bench. For some reason, Kevin Blackwell thinks that our defence is 'organised', so no changes can be expected to our organised, but slow defence, with the Polish guy missing out again. Midfield should see Currie earn his place back in the team, with Robinson dropped, and David Bell, Matthew Spring and David Edwards all keeping their places. There may be a change up front though. Paul Furlong is widely expected to keep his place after an excellent start to the season with four goals for him, but partnering him could be Talbot, Peschisolido or Dean Morgan. So far this season, Talbot has worked hard for the team, but hasn't really got into any goalscoring positions, except for the second goal against Dagenham, whilst Dean Morgan is proving to be a chocolate teapot type of player, so I think Blackwell could opt for Paul Peschisolido to play up front, because he does at least have the ability to score goals. However, it would leave the team, and the forward line extremely short of pace.
Predicted Team
Forde (GK), Goodall (DL), Jackson (DR), Perry (DC), Coyne (DC), Currie (ML), Bell (MR), Spring (MC), Edwards (MC), Furlong (SC), Peschisolido (SC)
Port Vale
The Port Vale official website states that Vale have very few injury worries, with the only possible exclusion being Wolves defender Keith Lowe. Lowe is on loan from Wolves, and had to be substituted for Vale a few minutes into their match with Nottingham Forest because of a back injury. Mark McGregor or Justin Miller should play at right-back instead of him. The only other question mark over the Port Vale team is whether former Shrewsbury striker Luke Rodgers will start tomorrow, or whether Vale will carry on with their current strikeforce. The Port Vale website also states that the one to watch from Luton will be Peschisolido, with Sam Parkin or Adam Boyd expected to partner him up front. Still, I'm sure that it is better than our website anyway.
Luke Rodgers should start for Vale, as he is currently their top scorer with three goals this season to his name. In fact, he is the only player this season to have scored for Vale, as Port Vale have currently scored two league goals and just one goal in the cup. Vale's only win of the season came away at Bournemouth, when Luke Rodgers struck in the last ten minutes to give Martin Foyle's side a 1-0 win. Away from home, they have won at Bournemouth but also lost at Yeovil and drawn at Walsall; it is their home form that has let them down significantly, with two straight defeats and a draw against Bristol Rovers in the league leaving them in the drop zone. They still seem to be suffering from the loss of star striker Akpo Sodje to Sheffield Wednesday, and haven't regained their momentum yet, so let's hope they don't regain it for another week at least.
Connections
Martin Foyle's predecessor in charge of Port Vale, Brian Horton, is one of a few players to be associated with both Luton and Port Vale. Horton was part of David Pleat's team in the early 80's that gained promotion to the old First Division and then stayed up thanks to Raddy Antic's goal at Man City,
 | Ray Harford: Played for Vale, managed Luton |
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prompting the David Pleat run across the pitch. Horton managed Port Vale for five years betwen 1999 and 2004. Horton kept Vale in the First Division (now the Championship) in his first season as manager, but failed to do so the next season, and after three more seasons of failing miserably to get Vale back up, he was replaced by Martin Foyle. Former Luton manager Ray Harford also has a connection with Port Vale, having had a spell with them in his playing days, although Harford is now best remembered for the Littlewood's Cup win in 1988 with Luton. Ron Futcher has played for both clubs, playing for Luton for four seasons between 1974 and 1978 with his brother Paul. He scored 40 goals in 120 appearances for Luton before moving on to Man City. Ten years later, he signed for Port Vale where he was to score a respectable 20 goals in 52 appearances. Two more recent connections between the two clubs are Chris Allen and Carl Griffiths. Midfielder Allen joined Luton on loan from Nottingham Forest in the 1997-98 season, where he played five times, scoring once. However, Allen was severely handicapped by the fact that he was useless, and proved to be one of Lennie Lawrence's worst signings, which is a pretty remarkable achievement. He moved on to Port Vale the next season with similar success. Welsh striker Carl Griffiths also played for Port Vale in 1999, scoring twice in almost ten appearances. He played for Luton between 2001 and 2003, where injuries hampered his performances. Nevertheless, he still scored 8 times in 13 matches. He can now be found at Maldon Town, as sadly his career never recovered.
Past Meetings
Vale have a very bad record at Luton, winning only once out of fifteen matches at Kenilworth Road. In fact, the only time that Port Vale have beaten
 | Brkovic (remember him?): Scored overhead kick against Vale once |
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Luton was in the first ever meeting between the two clubs, back in 1898, with Port Vale (then known as Burslem Port Vale) winning 1-0. Burslem did the double over Luton that season, and Luton didn't actually beat Port Vale until 1955. Port Vale have also only managed 12 goals away at Luton, and they haven't scored in Luton for three games, which will probably change now. However, Vale did win the last meeting between the two clubs, in 2005. A Kevin Foley goal gave Luton the lead, but two goals from Dave Hibbert and a Dave Matthews effort after a saved penalty gave Port Vale a 3-1 win, the season that Luton went on to win the league. The last meeting between the two teams at Kenilworth Road saw Luton earn a 1-0 victory, with a stunning overhead kick from Ahmet Brkovic (remember him?) separating the two sides. Overall, Luton have beaten Port Vale 13 times, with Vale beating us 10 times, and 8 matches ending in draws. For a full record of the past meetings between the two sides,
click here.
PredictionWith the form that Port Vale seem to be on, Luton should have enough about them to be able to win this match. Vale have only scored twice in the league this season, so will our 'organised' defence be able to keep a clean sheet? Personally, I don't think so, although our over-reliance on Paul Furlong for goals is a little worrying. I'll predict a Luton 3-1 win.
