aggborough news
23rd january 2002 
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Luton on trial on Thursday

Luton face a Football League panel on Thursday to give their reasons for failing to fulfill their game at Aggborough on December 1st.

The match was originally called off when the Luton manager, Joe Kinnear, used a touch of flu in his squad as a reason to cancel the game.

The hearing will be held at the Bescot Stadium in Walsall.

Kinnear said:
"We have received a dossier from solicitors acting for the League, and are preparing our response.
I can't see anything coming from it unless they call three doctors liars for the medical decisions they made.

I made strenuous efforts to bring players in, and a dozen managers will confirm that I spoke to them looking for help.
The League have looked at the team sheet for our LDV Vans Trophy match at Dagenham, when we fielded a reserve side but out of that squad, only one player, Mark Ovendale, was available for the game at Kidderminster.

Perhaps it is being suggested we should have taken a youth team up there. But if we had done that, what about the integrity of the competition? Would it be fair to other teams in the league, especially those who are competing with Kidderminster for play-off places? And would it be fair to fans, paying league football prices to see a youth team?"


Luton gave us a double whammy when they beat us in the re-arranged game a few weeks later. The League are expected to dock the three points they received at our expense.

In the past, the League have taken a tough line on postponements and five clubs have been charged in the past 27 years for not fulfilling fixtures.

Doncaster were the only club to be pardoned after an appeal to an FA Board which over-ruled the original League finding.

Three clubs were fined:
Exeter £5,000 in 1974, Chester £2,000 in 1985, and Chesterfield, £12,000 in 1990.

Only one club, Tranmere Rovers in 1987, were given a points and cash fine when they were docked two points and fined £2,000.

The most famous case, involving Middlesbrough, was in the FA Premiership and not the Football League so.


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