Mark Langdon: Luton's gung-ho approach should be celebrated

Trial by TV is not a new phenomenon and in the sporting world football pundits increasingly set the news agenda, so when a high-profile co-commentator goes off on a rant those words will have an impact.

Gary Neville's "billion-pound bottle jobs" line aimed at Chelsea following their League Cup final loss to Liverpool was incredibly harsh and sensationalist against a bunch of Blues novices. Eight of those who finished the match were aged between 21 and 24, even if Chelsea's youngsters were more experienced than Jurgen Klopp's kids.

Rather than "bottle it" in extra-time, Chelsea just looked knackered, which is why they sat back, and Klopp's decision to send on his untried kids was deemed to have worked while his opposite number Mauricio Pochettino opting not to throw on his unused outfield subs - Alfie Gilchrist, Jimi Tauriainen and Billy Gee - failed.

The decisive goal was scored by Virgil van Dijk and Chelsea's lack of similar leadership is far more of an issue than their mental approach.

Neville's off-the-cuff remark went too far, but it was not the worst bit of football TV in the past week. That was left to Gary Lineker who allowed Wayne Rooney to go totally unchallenged and rewrite history on his failure at Birmingham and the idea "the fans didn't accept me from day one" was an interesting take. And by interesting I mean a different version from the reality.

Pundits also suggested this week that Luton need to tighten up following their FA Cup exit at the hands of Manchester City, when Erling Haaland scored five times in the 6-2 success and Kevin De Bruyne assisted four of the goals.

It can be a thankless task trying to tackle City, particularly when Haaland and De Bruyne are in the mood, and the idea that Luton had a better chance by sitting every player behind the ball doesn't ring true when many teams over the years have tried and failed to nullify a Pep Guardiola outfit by doing exactly that.

Rob Edwards has rightly decided to be aggressive in trying to win matches and this is a different team from the one who looked like rabbits caught in the headlights after accumulating one point from their first five Premier League games. 

Town were too passive when they first came up. Brighton had 71 per cent possession and 12 shots on target in a 4-1 win over Luton, who had one effort on goal and 33 per cent possession in their next outing, a 3-0 loss at Chelsea. 

One shot on target followed in the loss to West Ham and Fulham had 78 per cent possession as they saw off the Hatters in mid-September before Luton got off the mark against ten-man Wolves at the fifth attempt.

This is now a different Luton, as proved by close defeats to Arsenal (4-3), Chelsea (3-2) and Manchester United (2-1) while Luton had 59 per cent possession as they chased the Red Devils all over the Kenilworth Road turf.

Attack is seen as the best form of defence, and Luton bashed Brighton 4-0 in the reverse fixture to show how far they have come since the opening day thrashing at the Amex. The thrilling 4-4 draw at Newcastle last month was another positive performance which suggested Edwards' sense of adventure is paying dividends. 

There are likely to be a few hidings as Luton still have to head to City, Arsenal and Tottenham but the flip side of that is a favourable set of home fixtures (after Saturday's clash with Aston Villa) which might yet see the Hatters pull off the maddest of great escapes given Town's tiny budget relative to most of their Premier League rivals.

Home dates with Fulham, Bournemouth, Everton, Brentford and Nottingham Forest will decide Luton's fate. It may not end in success, but it should be fun. 

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