Luton Town aiming for more FA Cup glory against Norwich City | Sean Ingle

After a chaotic past Blue Square Premier side finally stability and are looking to continue killing giants

French football fans have seen it all and then there's the city of Luton fans, who more or less. Here was the president, who has proposed the construction of a F1 track in a stadium of 50,000 seats m1 her way to the club facing bankruptcy, which was banned fans and wanted to chat glues nine o 'hooligans used in . There were the joys of spring - a victory in the Littlewoods Cup and Johnstone Paint Trophy -. Deep midwinter and after three administrations, worth 40 points deduction and relegation four in less than a decade

At one point, Luton also face 55 charges of systematic abuse of transfer rules and FA owes the Treasury ? 3.5 million. But then, like a cartoon character who falls off a cliff as drill high speed across the surface of the Earth and are almost fried his engine, the club began to look again. Luton in 2020, a group of investors led by TV presenter Nick Owen, finances have stabilized. Now his exploits in the FA Cup players begin to loosen the ties and languages.

the third round, non-league Luton Wolverhampton Wanderers won 1-0 with a goal in the second half of Alex Lawless. It was not a coincidence. Andre Gray, a 21 years old striker, signed for ? 30,000 by Hinckley, conscious human wolves "whenever he has the ball, while Lawless, a carousel footballer stored in the center of Luton, said adapt in midfield. further reasons, dirty and left the local team to compete on an equal footing.

But Lobos beat a team short of confidence before a crowd braying Kenilworth Road is one thing, against Norwich City, Premier League club Sat 84 places above them on the ladder English League football, this is another. No wonder the manager of Luton, Paul Buckle, refuses to let go. "The wolf was an important marker for us," he said. "He showed it could cause problems against a top team. But we are facing a team Premier League and the Gulf in the classroom there is to see. "

Norwich

strain and provide a welcome meeting. Loop - the official agent as a player, with 10 minor league clubs and the League in your CV - began his career at Brentford, where the head of Norwich, Chris Hughton, has been the main pro. "I used to travel with him," she said. "It's really a good guy, an honest man.'m Surprised not become an excellent manager. Knowing Chris as I am well prepared. Underestimation we do not."

This means Luton, sixth in the Blue Square Premier, enters the game with very little except the history on their side. Since 1985, 12 teams have played in three or more FA Cup semi-final - a list that includes Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton - and a huge outlier, Luton, who reached the semi-finals in 1985, 1988 and 1994. They must also provide large Heebie jeebies way: in 2006 were ahead 3-1 at Liverpool, then European champions before losing 5-3, while Liverpool was also a repeat in 2009, the season that, after have been docked 30 points, slipped out of the Football League.

could surprise everyone again? Make foreign bookmakers 1.10, which suggests not. But, as demonstrated in the Bradford Capital One Cup, sometimes an outsider has its day. "He has shown that minor league clubs can take sides in the Premier League and win," said Lawless. "And remember, they are only 20 points or more above us. If they can do it, who knows?"

Gray, meanwhile, was bullish enough to say that Luton was a "sleeping giant" this week - although, as he stood in the living room Eric Morecambe, he may be tried to tickle the funny bone of the most famous fan of the club since its inception. On the other hand, maybe not. "He showed me what he could do against the wolves, but the defenders of the Premier League is another level," says Gray, in the interest of clubs higher up the food chain. "But this club is huge. Has a huge story."

• Background
• is the key here: Luton never be fatal, as the Manchester United club, for example, but its doors are usually home north of 6000, more than most League Two clubs and took 40,000 fans Johnstone Paint Trophy final in 2009. As goalkeeper Mark Tyler said: "Everyone knows that you should play in a higher league, but the conference is difficult to leave Crawley and Fleetwood But have accomplished in League Two is what we want is not realistic .. We have a great board, and touch wood, we are financially stable. "

This is usually a sentence to heat only the heart of a meter. However, in the last decade, fans have come to know and balances Luton battles. In December 2012, there were grim reminders of the past, when Derek Peter, chief financial officer of the club between July 2004 and February 2007, was expelled from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of "serious" misconduct, which led to collector due ? 3.5m. Pierre was one of four former directors of Luton, including former President Bill Tomlins, Richard Bagehot and John Mitchell also prohibits management companies.

deeper

These memories will remember David Evans, Conservative MP right to introduce membership cards and prohibits supporters as President during the Thatcher era high. And John Gurney who, having bought the club for ? 4 in the summer of 2003, he tried to change the name from London Luton to attract more fans, sacked Joe Kinnear and implemented a "manager Idol" vote a new leader - a voting was still going on when he spoke of Mike Newell on the job. To no one's surprise, Gurney later went bankrupt.

As Kevin Rye of Supporters Direct said: ". The main difference is that the club is run by people, and it is a very good starting point"
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