{"id":34690,"date":"2024-04-24T23:01:09","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T23:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/24\/this-town-had-a-reputation-problem-premier-league-soccer-changed-things\/"},"modified":"2024-04-24T23:01:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T23:01:09","slug":"this-town-had-a-reputation-problem-premier-league-soccer-changed-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/24\/this-town-had-a-reputation-problem-premier-league-soccer-changed-things\/","title":{"rendered":"This Town Had a Reputation Problem. Premier League Soccer Changed Things."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/24\/multimedia\/24soccer-luton-08-bmwc\/24soccer-luton-08-bmwc-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"This Town Had a Reputation Problem. Premier League Soccer Changed Things.\" title=\"This Town Had a Reputation Problem. Premier League Soccer Changed Things.\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the announcement trilled out over Kenilworth Road, the jumble of rusted metal and peeling paint that Luton Town F.C. calls home, the tone started to shift. At the start of the sentence, it was little more than the traditional polite welcome to the stadium for that evening\u2019s visiting team, Manchester City.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">By the end, though, the voice of the announcer seemed overcome by what sounded a little like awe. Luton, the fans in the stands and the players on the field were reminded, was about to face \u201cthe champions of the F.A. Cup, the champions of England and the champions of Europe.\u201d Luton seems to be having a hard time believing the company it now keeps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There is a reason for that. Fifteen years ago, Luton Town had been relegated to the fifth tier of English soccer, a world away from the power and the prestige of the Premier League. There was, for a time, a genuine risk that the club, founded in 1885, several years before <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2013\/10\/16\/the-zipper-1893\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the invention of the zipper<\/a>, might fold altogether. For years afterward, money remained tight, ambitions modest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Now, Luton Town\u2019s horizons are much grander. Last summer, it won an unexpected promotion to the world\u2019s richest, most popular sports league. Three decades after it last played in England\u2019s top division, it could again call Manchester City, Manchester United and the rest its peers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That meant an immediate transformation in the club\u2019s financial outlook: Playing in the Premier League for a single season is worth around $150 million. More important, the status that came with it gave the town \u2014 a place that has long suffered a chronic reputation problem \u2014 a global platform on which to change not just how it is perceived by others, but how it thinks of itself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There are, broadly speaking, three ways that Luton permeates the British consciousness. One is as a transportation hub; some 16.2 million passengers filter through London Luton Airport every year. Few, though, linger. The clue for their ultimate destination is in the name.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The second is, perhaps, best summarized by the results of a 2004 poll for The Idler magazine. Some 1,800 of its readers awarded Luton the dubious honor of being Britain\u2019s pre-eminent <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk\/2004\/sep\/27\/communities.books\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">\u201ccrap\u201d town<\/a>. As one reader put it, Luton was essentially a \u201cbrick-and-iron temple to global pollution.\u201d Last year, another survey ranked it as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lutontoday.co.uk\/news\/people\/luton-fights-back-after-being-labelled-the-worst-place-in-the-country-to-live-in-online-poll-4017581\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the worst place to live in Britain<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Third \u2014 and most damaging \u2014 is the town\u2019s association with extremism. In 2005, three suicide bombers responsible for a set of coordinated attacks in London stopped off in Luton to collect a fourth accomplice before boarding a train to the capital. One of the town\u2019s mosques has hosted speeches by the radical Islamist preachers <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/01\/10\/nyregion\/british-cleric-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-in-terror-case.html\" title=\"\">Mostafa Kamel Mostafa<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2005\/08\/13\/world\/europe\/britain-says-it-will-bar-return-of-firebrand-muslim-cleric.html\" title=\"\">Omar Bakri Mohammed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In 2009, a handful of protesters from <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/05\/18\/world\/europe\/uk-extremist-cell-anjem-choudary.html\" title=\"\">the extremist group Al Muhajiroun<\/a> staged a demonstration in Luton against British soldiers returning from Afghanistan. That prompted counterprotests in the town from an array of far-right groups. A far-right agitator, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon \u2014 better known by his stage name, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/04\/23\/world\/europe\/uk-far-right-tommy-robinson-russia.html\" title=\"\">Tommy Robinson<\/a> \u2014 was born in Luton.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For a time, the town was unwittingly and unwillingly projected as the heartland of the nationalist group he founded, the English Defence League. The largest march in the group\u2019s short history <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk\/2011\/feb\/05\/edl-stage-protest-luton\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">was held there in 2011<\/a>. Another contentious figure, the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/andrew-tate-arrests-explained.html\" title=\"\">provocateur Andrew Tate<\/a>, who has been accused of human trafficking and sex crimes, spent some of his childhood on the town\u2019s Marsh Farm estate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When \u2014 if \u2014 the rest of England thought of Luton, it was in that context: division, rancor, blight. Luton, though, always saw something different.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe place that you see on the news: I don\u2019t recognize it,\u201d Tanher Ahmed, 42, said from behind the counter of Hatters Fish and Chips, a couple of minutes\u2019 walk from Kenilworth Road. \u201cThere\u2019s harmony here,\u201d he added. \u201cThere\u2019s a sense of community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Bury Park, the area that immediately surrounds the stadium, might feel distinct from the center \u2014 with streets full of sari stores, roti joints and perfumed confectioners rather than the clutter of chain pubs and bookmakers that dot most British high streets \u2014 but Luton sees that as a strength.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cLuton has always been a mix of people,\u201d said Maryan Broadbent, a board member of Luton Town\u2019s main fan group. When the town was a center for millinery, and then for the car manufacturer Vauxhall, there were influxes of workers not only from India and Pakistan but also from Ireland and, later, Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s always been a changing place,\u201d Ms. Broadbent said. The town\u2019s Muslim community has long fought both the handful of extremists who made up Al-Muhajiroun and the idea that they were somehow representative.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/08\/11\/sports\/soccer\/premier-league-luton-town.html\" title=\"\">presence of its soccer team in the Premier League<\/a> was, for residents, a chance to offer an alternative definition of Luton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Ahmed chose to win hearts and minds on a case-by-case basis. He opened his shop after he spotted a gap in the market. \u201cThere was no chippie in the area,\u201d he explained. Fans have to walk the bustling streets of Bury Park to get to the stadium, so he knew there would be demand. \u201cI wanted to give a good impression of the town,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It has also helped that the club has not merely existed in the Premier League \u2014 an improbable guest at the feast \u2014 but also provided one of the season\u2019s most compelling story lines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Luton has a shoestring team \u2014 one of its mainstays, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, is now the only player to have represented the same club in the top five divisions of English soccer \u2014 and it is led by Rob Edwards, a young, charismatic (and, not entirely irrelevantly, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/femail\/article-12978211\/premier-league-manager-luton-town-rob-edwards-beautiful.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">very handsome<\/a>) coach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It has a crumbling, hostile stadium, a creaking throwback to an age before the edges of elite sports were smoothed down and buffed to a high sheen. And it has shown that it can compete with far richer, far more pedigreed rivals. With a handful of games remaining, Luton still harbors a slim hope of avoiding relegation and securing a second season among the elite.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There have been moments where the team has been overmatched, the romance of its story lost amid cold, hard capitalist reality \u2014 against Manchester City, for example, Luton lost, 6-2. But the team\u2019s pluck has won it plenty of friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">J\u00fcrgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, described Mr. Edwards\u2019s work with his team as \u201cinsane\u201d \u2014 in a positive way. Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal coach, insisted that Luton Town \u201cdeserves more credit than any other team in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For Luton, the town, that positive association is a rare and precious thing. It has, in recent years, nurtured a thriving arts scene. And when the author Sarfraz Manzoor, who grew up in Luton, was appointed chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire last year, he said he would use his post to make people <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2023\/jul\/16\/sarfraz-manzoor-says-he-will-use-new-role-to-make-luton-cool\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">think of Luton as \u201ccool.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But having a team in the Premier League will not change any of the more deep-rooted problems Luton faces. Unemployment is <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/visualisations\/labourmarketlocal\/E06000032\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">higher than the national average<\/a>, for example, and there are as many as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lutontoday.co.uk\/news\/people\/sharp-rise-in-youngsters-living-in-poverty-in-luton-4082207\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">15,000 children in town<\/a> living in poverty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The club\u2019s success may yet generate a material benefit. A portion of the $150 million or so that it will earn for playing a season in the Premier League has been set aside to help build a new stadium. That arena would be closer to the city center and could \u201ctransform the piece that lets Luton down,\u201d according to Ms. Broadbent. But the intangible benefit is no less valuable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For almost a year, millions of people have thought about Luton at least once a week. Not as a backwater or as a crucible of intolerance, but as a soccer team: bold and courageous and hopeful and refreshing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There are plenty of people, across England, nursing a fading hope that Luton Town avoids relegation and sticks around for another year. That may not make a difference to the ultimate outcome of the season \u2014 the Premier League is not a sentimental place \u2014 but it has made a difference in Luton.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the soccer team, the town has been able to see itself as it would like to be seen. \u201cWhatever happens,\u201d Ms. Broadbent said as she contemplated the specter that Luton\u2019s feel-good story may not have a happy ending, \u201cwe have done ourselves proud.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/24\/world\/europe\/luton-town-premier-league.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the announcement trilled out over Kenilworth Road, the jumble of rusted metal and peeling paint that Luton Town F.C. calls home, the tone started to shift. At the start of the sentence, it was little more than the traditional polite welcome to the stadium for that evening\u2019s visiting team, Manchester City. By the end, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/24\/multimedia\/24soccer-luton-08-bmwc\/24soccer-luton-08-bmwc-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1417,2873,4638,3684,1673,10032,18149],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34690"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34692,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34690\/revisions\/34692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}