Speaking on the latest edition of the ‘Not The Top 20′ Podcast alongside Ali Maxwell, Elek expressed his worries regarding the Hatters this term, with the expectations of the club completely transformed after spending a solitary season in the Premier League under Rob Edwards.
Despite losing a handful of key performers from last season such as Ross Barkley, Gabriel Osho and Chiedoze Ogbene, for the most part, Edwards has been able to maintain a core of players that featured heavily in Luton’s promotion-winning campaign of two years ago, before putting up somewhat of a valiant effort to consolidate in the top flight.
However, their return to the Championship couldn’t have got off to a worse start, as the Bedfordshire outfit are one of five second tier sides still seeking their first win of the season, which has led to such concerns being issued.
Despite not investing heavily in the transfer market, with Mark McGuinness being Luton’s most expensive purchaseof the window, many expected Edwards’ side to at least be challenging for a play-off spot at a bare minimum, which seems a long distance away according to Elek, when reacting to Friday’s 2-1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers at Kenilworth Road.
The pundit stated: “Luton took the lead, after what had been a poor start for them, it felt like they very much needed this when (Jimmy) Dunne put through his own net.”
However, two quickfire second half strikes from Nicolas Madsen and Michael Frey turned the tide, with Elek believing that the R’s victory was more than warranted.
“They were really good value for the win. I feel that in that period of time, Luton couldn’t get near them, it felt like QPR suffocated Luton in possession, who for a lot of it weren’t able to advance the ball far forward,” Elek continued.
“Yes, there were a couple of opportunities for Luton to draw level. They’ll say the (Joe) Taylor header over the bar was one, Adebayo had a chance with around 20 minutes to go. They looked ‘threatening’, but I think it would have been unjustified if Luton had managed to get an equaliser, personally, on the balance of play.”
“These were two teams who really needed a win to kick-start their season having struggled to do so. I worry for Luton now,” the pundit declared.
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