Luton docked a further 20 points

[Christies Child]

The league have today docked Luton a further 20 points making a total of 30 in all.

[Shire Shrimp]

Ouch!

[marky No.1]

Hell thats a real spankin'

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528, ... 12,00.html

Squeaky bum time for Rotherham as well

http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/N ... 88,00.html

[wonder shrimp]

wow, so going on last years table they will have to win enough points (73) to almost get them play off spot just to avoid relegation! they'll spend half a season or more on negative points!

[wijit]

That is utter crap. We see the "big" clubs get away with bending, breaking and manipulating rules, we see players setting the worst examples to kids, we see those at the top of international organisations crookedly maintaining their positions and yet those in authority see fit to try to demolish clubs who are clearly already in trouble.
Twats.

[scar]

The BIGGER clubs though haven't gone in to administration 3 times in the past 10 years though!

Yes it a tough penalty, but i'm sure they will recover well in the conference and bounce straight back up.

[heysham_mfc]

The BIGGER clubs though haven't gone in to administration 3 times in the past 10 years though!

Yes it a tough penalty, but i'm sure they will recover well in the conference and bounce straight back up.

I think Luton can stay up before they got the points knocked off I though they would make the play offs

[slackAlice]

That is utter crap. We see the "big" clubs get away with bending, breaking and manipulating rules, we see players setting the worst examples to kids, we see those at the top of international organisations crookedly maintaining their positions and yet those in authority see fit to try to demolish clubs who are clearly already in trouble.
.

I agree. I seem to remember there was 'suprise' at the leniancy shown to Wet Sham and a £6 Million fine over the Tevez affair , small beer for a club their size. Although its on a different tack the way highly paid players , managers behave week in , week out is nothing short of a disgrace. Players like Rooney make my blood boil - effing & jeffing , snatching his training gear of a member of the England coaching staff when he gets subbed - a disgrace - and if people don't believe this has an effect on grass roots football - think again - my lad plays for a youth team and you see this disrespect & petulance in young lads under 9 - I know a couple of blokes that ref and they say they regularly get swear words / abuse. Thats what they need to come down hard on ' player conduct'.
A 30 point deduction is near enough a death sentence I would think, and a right kick in the guts before the season starts. I'll be willing Luton to stay up - its the fans I feel for - the ones that go week in - week out - year on year ; they don't have much of a say in how the 'money men' treat their clubs.

[campdave]

I don't see how player conduct is related to this case at all. Luton have gone into administration three times in recent season.

It is harsh, but there MUST be tough sanctions on teams that go into administration; otherwise what is to stop teams spending loads of money, going bust and starting again with a clean slate? Spending beyond their means gave teams like Leeds a massive advantage over the teams around them, and now they are reaping the harvest of the seeds they've sown.

[slackAlice]

I don't see how player conduct is related to this case at all.

I don't suppose it is really , but it was mentioned by wijit and I suppose in the sense of wrongdoers and punishment it has some relevance. I still feel malwhiney & his ilk should find more appropriate ways of treating the individuals who mis manage clubs . What do they know about football and how supporters feel about their clubs.
As I was posting this that lovely fella Joey Barton has been told he'll have to serve another month ... clucking bell !!! Presumbly he'll be back to £60 k a week after that and knocking f**k out of somebody else before Xmas or putting a cigar out in somebody else's eye.

Rant over.

[campdave]

I still feel malwhiney & his ilk should find more appropriate ways of treating the individuals who mis manage clubs . What do they know about football and how supporters feel about their clubs.

I agree; but unfortunately I feel the clubs need to be punished. Otherwise there is nothing to stop the club being "sold" to another contact of the existing dodgy chairman. Personally I blame Ken Bates trying to wangle Leeds out of administration for this ruling which will no doubt affect several clubs in the future.

[wijit]

The BIGGER clubs though haven't gone in to administration 3 times in the past 10 years though!

Yes it a tough penalty, but i'm sure they will recover well in the conference and bounce straight back up.

No they haven't, (biggerclubs/administration) but it's not as if Luton have really gained from doing so. when bigger clubs have broken rules they have done so to benefit themselves. be it by maintaining league position or by having players they shouldn't and gained financially too.
Point is, luton shouldn't have to bounce back, this is clearly an absolute over-reaction by a League and the FA desparate to show their muscle. But not to anyone who can fight back.
Leeds did this far more cynically and in relation to this, got off lightly.

[Number 1]

I'm really in two minds about this. On the one hand, I'm gutted for the fans of LTFC because the club they support week in and week out have more or less had the rug pulled from underneath them, and the Blue Square beckons unless they manage a monumental effort this season. I can't see them doing a Leeds, because much as I don't really like Leeds, they are a different kettle of fish in terms of infrastructure and fanbase, as well as a "The world hates us" kind of seige mentality which drove them on last season. I don't think anyone really hates Luton (apart from Watford perhaps) so this relative apathy towards them as a football club won't really spur them on like it did Leeds. I'm sure that most of their supporters, if they had the money to do it, would like to buy the club and save it from administration, just like the fans of any club really. So on that basis, it's a very sad day, and I feel for them.

On the other hand, the club is a business, and there are rules and regulations as to how that business should be run. I'm sure that had LTFC not been a football club it would have gone to the wall well before now, and the directors would easily have been able to form another business doing the same thing, but calling it a different name, or even the same name with 2008 or something after the name. So on that basis, people can't just write off debts they have accumulated just by winding up the company and starting again. The FA and FL are very strict about this, and it's to stop unscrupulous directors thinking they can avoid paying their debts simply by going into administration. The message is clear; live within your means, or the consequences could be catastrophic.

Good luck to Luton, but if they finish above us this season, I'll be gutted, quite frankly. Which should mean that we only have to avoid one more relegation place...

[My mates Ed]

If the FA carry on true to form then it should make an interesting relegation battle from day 1 of this season for Luton, Bournemouth and Rotherham. Chances of any other club being relegated this season would then seem slim, and if they were relegated then they jolly well deserve it

[Phoenix]

Clubs going into adminstration need to be punished otherwise they'd all be doing it. Let's buy all the best players we can attract to Morecambe, run up massive debts and go into administration at the end of the season then do it all again next year. Hardly fair for those clubs, like Morecambe, that live within their means and don't pay massive amounts for players then go bust. Yes, I want to see us do well but I also want to see us still playing football in 5 or 10 years time.

I do feel sorry for fans of those teams hitting problems but the FA aren't the ones to take it out on, they didn't get them into this situation.

[Scottlee]

Playing as Luton on the next Football Manager is going to be quite a challenge