SIMON JORDAN: There’s nothing plastic about Luton – they’re the embodiment of our game

There has been a touch of pomposity and an element of misguided football elitism aimed at Luton Town since they won promotion to the Premier League.

Since that dramatic Wembley win over Coventry City, so much attention has been paid to the capacity of Kenilworth Road and the fact that the stadium isn’t in the best shape – it’s all been a bit mean.

But rather than worry about the perceived negatives, we should be celebrating their return to England’s top flight after a 31-year absence, as they deserve their moment in the sun.

Without wanting to be too sappy, this is what dreams should be made of, what football should represent.

In recent times football has had a staple of dishonest circumstances, with the Premier League champions being investigated for financial impropriety and clubs such as Everton facing similar challenges, while a number of Championship clubs have had sanctions against them.

How refreshing then that out of the clouds comes a football club built on effort. They have overcome adversity with small budgets, core values ​​and integrity.

They are a club that refuses to compromise their values ​​and decided not to profit from the low-hanging fruits of gambling companies’ commercial endorsement because they disagreed.

These principles and properties are, in part, what football clubs should embody and what the game should represent.

Luton’s journey back to the elite represents the recovery and remembrance of the dream that the Premier League is a country that can be reached no matter how far you’ve fallen.

There’s something pure, clean and uplifting about their journey from non-League, where they lived just nine years ago, to competing in the world’s biggest and best league.

Overcoming every obstacle, uniting people, the value of a football club and achieving individual merit alongside collective spirit – that is what Luton is. That’s what should be celebrated, what we should be talking about, rather than how to access the end at Kenilworth Road.

Luton should be something we hope and champion, not because they are the smaller family of these great monolithic football clubs, but because they are English football.

In the 1980s they might have had a plastic pitch, but now there’s nothing plastic about them anymore. They’ve made it through four divisions with 10,000 fans in the ground and are a breath of fresh air in this sometimes greed-laden, superficial world of football.

The Premier League needs clubs like Luton. They certainly shouldn’t apologize for anything or develop an inferiority complex. They should just absolutely, unmistakably be Luton Town FC.

They should use the size of their stadium as an advantage.

Premier League players are used to palatial facilities, but when you put the key in the door at Luton and the window at the back of the dressing room breaks – take advantage of that! Be proud to be outliers.

They must never forget that they have a right to be there, even as they go to their first Premier League meeting.

It will be interesting to see how Luton takes a more professional approach.

Football League meetings – with a plethora of very narrow-minded and visionary clubs – tended to focus on ridiculous rule changes and the color of umpires’ trousers rather than the bigger issues. In the Premier League there is one clear agenda: how much money will we get and where will we get it from?

You know where you stand. You know the main objective and Luton will be part of the conversation, instead of the cheap chatter they’ve had to listen to for years. This will be the culture change of all culture changes for them.

Because everything changes when you’re in the Premier League. Everything looks so much brighter, so much easier on the eye. Even the way the broadcasters put together the TV programs is different.

In the Football League you have an old man with a rattle promoting it, in the Premier League everything is done in grandiose style that makes things feel bigger and better. Everything shines, as if it’s been T-cut within an inch of its life.

When the so-called big guys appear on your turf, everyone’s energy level rises. Suddenly you no longer look, but you participate. You’re not sitting with your nose against the toy store window like Tiny Tim, you’re actually in the toy store, even if you pretend until you make it.

They will also face a huge spike in media attention.

Every aspect, every part of the club becomes public property and public interest. They will constantly be pitched as the have-nots and not allowed to let that seep into their psyche. They must rise above it and not be sucked in by it.

They are not second class citizens and it will be a challenge to constantly pigeonhole them unless they embrace it and take advantage of it. But after all they’ve been through, they can adapt to this.

There will undoubtedly be anguish from many Premier League clubs, but there will also be respect and admiration.

Being a somewhat boisterous character and repeatedly vociferously disdaining for the pettiness of the Football League, my arrival in the Premier League with Crystal Palace in 2004 was viewed with trepidation, so much so that I was asked to meet Richard Scudamore to attend. so that I could be told how to behave. Suffice it to say that this request was met with a two-word answer!

I am certainly not advocating for Luton to follow the approach I have taken. I hope they go in there with their shoulders back, chests out and take on this league from the moment their chairman walks into his first Premier League meeting.

From the first game to the 38th game, every aspect of Luton Town must be full of pride, belief and confidence in themselves. Show no fear and don’t apologize for anything.

They are an asset to the pyramid and football in this country, the living embodiment of what the English game should look like.

TYSON FURY, you embarrass yourself

As someone who considers himself a fan of Tyson Fury, I find myself increasingly disappointed with his behavior, attitude, and output on social media.

Heavyweight champions were once meant to mean something – they were the leaders of boxing – but his ridiculous behavior is embarrassing.

He’s one of the world’s most charismatic sportsmen, but he makes himself a laughingstock, an object of mockery, with all the berating and berating of Oleksandr Usyk and his constant cries of the potentially busted flush that is Anthony Joshua.

He mocks the idea that fighters can immortalize themselves through their actions in the ring.

We all know you’re the A side, we all know you need to get paid, but come on, Tyson, cut it, get yourself together and stop these ridiculous outbursts. We need fewer words and more actions.

He’s the best heavyweight we’ve seen in 20 years, someone who has raised the bar, opened up the division, spread the belts and battled against adversity.

But his greatest battle is now the battle of the bulls.

Continue to be the statesman and leader of boxing’s blue ribbon division because right now Tyson your behavior is an embarrassment to you and the sport.