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On the 9th January 2019, Luton Town announced that manager Nathan Jones had left the club to join Championship side Stoke City.
The news came as a surprise to many fans across the country. Jones had taken Luton from the pits of League Two when he first joined the team in 2016 to one of the most promising clubs in the Football League, guiding the club to promotion to League One in 2017 and taking the Hatters to second in the league table before his departure.
Luton had gained a reputation for playing some of the most effective attacking football in all of England, being one of the most prolific teams in the Football League and setting numerous records for their goal-scoring achievements, but then Stoke came knocking for Jones, and the former defender packed his bags and opted for a move to the Potters.
Here’s how Luton fans reacted to the news of Jones move to Stoke…
Totally, completely and utterly gutted.
— Hatters Talk (@HattersTalk) 9 January 2019
How gullible was I believing in all the hype & chest thumping
Didn’t finish the job— Adam Tucker (@tweetertucker) 9 January 2019
— Gary McEvoy (@LutonBhoy) 9 January 2019
I feel totally sick and betrayed. Totally lost all respect for him. Never want to see him back in Luton ever again. To leave at such a vital time after all his claims of love for the club and how our players should stay is something I can’t condone.
— John Cawdell (@JohnCawdell) 9 January 2019
Unbelievable ,well money talks i guess. Not loyal as we all believed you were. So you will be beating your chest and kissing the badge, giving the heart sign at stoke until someone else comes knocking.
— Graham (@GBright30) 9 January 2019
Thought his love and passion for the club was real. A bigger club comes calling and he’s off leaving his “project” half completed. Disappointed in him and gutted
— Scott Wilson (@scott_w18) 9 January 2019
Don’t come crying back when it falls apart
— arthur mason (@artjmas) 9 January 2019
Gutted, totally gutted, I would like a refund on my #ltfc calendar, December is no longer a month I want to turn too pic.twitter.com/xyayJw9tnU
— Joe Wheeler (@brightonagent) 9 January 2019
Many neutrals expected the Hatters to slip down the table with the departure of Jones and the subsequent appointment of caretaker manager Mick Harford, but Luton surprised everyone by not dipping in form, but in fact, going up another level in terms of results and performances.
Harford guided Luton to a club-record 28-game unbeaten run that saw the Hatters establish themselves as one of the dominant teams in the division, and after Portsmouth and Sunderland failed to win their games in hand in the final week of the season, the London side confirmed their promotion to the Championship.
For Jones, though, it’s been a completely different story at Stoke. The former Luton manager who was seen as the man to take the Potters back to contention for promotion back to the Premier League has only managed three wins since his move up north, as well as drawing a whopping 10 games out of 20 so far with the club.
Luton fans had a feeling of dread and despair when Jones left the club midway through the season, but four months on it has proven to be nothing but a unique change in fortunes for the Hatters, and with Championship football returning to Kenilworth Road next season and Graeme Jones recently named as Harford’s successor, the future has never been brighter for the London side.
Luton fans, was Jones leaving the best thing to happen to the club? Let us know!
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