Luton Town

Geoff Doyle, BBC Three Counties Radio

We are all still waiting for further news on Tom Lockyer and everybody remains concerned, hoping for the best for the popular Hatters captain.

The huge positive has been how the football world has come together to offer their support. Rivalries, tribalism, petty squabbles are put aside as everybody understands that some things are more important than this silly, beautiful game.

This started with the conduct of Bournemouth and their fans as events unfolded last week. Luton as a club and as a supporter group will not forget that.

Because of the tremendous story of Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu going through the leagues with Luton from non-league to Premier League it can sometimes be forgotten that Lockyer has done the same thing - the only difference being it has not been entirely with Luton.

He was part of the Bristol Rovers defence which played in the National League and won promotion via the play-offs. He played against Luton in both games in the 2015-16 season in League Two and again in the 2018-19 season in League One.

From there he moved into the Championship with first Charlton and then Luton. Lockyer has earned his right to play in the Premier League.

He has got there by sheer hard work as well as talent - and his character and personality has led to him captaining the Hatters in the top flight.

This season Tom has got better and better in the middle of the defence. He was excellent against Manchester City, Liverpool and Crystal Palace recently and on Saturday had a brilliant battle with Dominic Solanke. In a fairly young defence, Lockyer’s leadership skills have stood out.

Get well soon, Tom.

• This is only the second meeting between Luton and Newcastle in any competition this century, with the Magpies winning 3-1 in an FA Cup third-round tie in January 2018.

• Luton have only failed to score in one of their eight Premier League home games this season, a 1-0 defeat against Tottenham in October. The Hatters have dropped points from winning positions in three of their past four home league games, drawing 1-1 with Liverpool, and losing against Arsenal (3-4) and Manchester City (1- 2).

• Newcastle are unbeaten in their past 16 Premier League games against promoted sides (W9 D7) since a 2-1 home loss to Leeds in January 2021. They have won both such games this season by an aggregate score of 10-0.

• Elijah Adebayo is Luton's top scorer in the Premier League this season with four goals, and is looking to become the first player to score in three consecutive top flight games for the Hatters since Mick Harford in April 1992.

• With six goals and four assists, Anthony Gordon has been involved in more Premier League goals than any other Newcastle player this season. It is also the first campaign in which he has reached double figures for goal involvements in the competition.

The annual feast of festive Premier League football is about to get under way.

So what is your best memory of following Luton at Christmas?

Mince pies on the train for a Boxing Day away trip? Squinting through the snow to see your team score a late winner? Ending the year with a Christmas cracker?

Let us know here

Image source, Getty Images

Pat Nevin, writing for the BBC Football Extra newsletter: Trying to find reasonable perspective in modern-day top-level football isn’t always easy, but when something truly serious happens the game understands its’ place.

Luton’s Tom Lockyer had a cardiac arrest on the pitch against Bournemouth on Saturday and football was immediately reminded of its’ significance in the grand scheme of things.

Maybe Pope John Paul II summed it up best, “Amongst all unimportant subjects, football is by far the most important.” It isn’t more important than life!

Fortunately, other than a hospital A&E department, a football ground at this level is the best place to have a serious medical problem like this, and Tom was given the best care quickly.

He is responding well we hear and thank goodness the game is now prepared for these situations.

We have lost many over the years to cardiac arrests, I was there when Marc-Vivien Foe died back in 2003 in Lyon playing for Cameroon and there have been others, some very close to me, who didn’t make it.

The heart screenings and the checks are compulsory in the game at the top, and the further they can be rolled down the levels the better.

This multi-billion-dollar industry owes it to its grassroots. I was PFA chairman when the union first set up those mandatory heart screening tests, but we have gone further in the game by getting specialists and specialist equipment on the scene and at the ready as well.

It may have saved Tom’s life, and we wish him well.

Ollie Kay, We Are Luton Town, external

I’m at a loss as to what I should be writing about this week. The worldwide media have naturally turned their attention to Tom Lockyer and the situation with his cardiac arrest in the 65th minute of the Bournemouth vs Luton Town fixture that had to be abandoned.

It was the correct decision given the trauma of witnessing that, not just for the Luton team, but the Bournemouth team and all the supporters inside the stadium. If you were affected by this situation, you need to speak to someone about it.

Luton Town have been through a similar situation, back in October of the 2006-07 season, we were fifth in the Championship having beaten Leeds 5-1.

On the way to Ipswich, Sol Davis, our left-back, had a stroke on the team coach, leaving his team-mates distraught. Luton were beaten 5-0 and went onto win just four more games that season, which ended in relegation.

During those years, the club ownership was fragile but this time we are made of different stuff. From the top, down we are together. Whatever happens this season, I know that that the players will do it for Tom, and will play with his steely determination even if he isn’t on the pitch.

Get better Tom, I know that our club; the first to pay the living wage, the one club in the Premier League that say no to gambling money, the club that gave James Shea a new contract after a serious knee injury, will do everything in their power for you.

Once a Hatter, always a Hatter.