Luton Town have been incredible to watch this season. No team in the top five English divisions has amassed more points or scored more goals than the Hatters which is a remarkable achievement given the fact they were only promoted from League Two last season.
Even the loss of charismatic manager Nathan Jones to Stoke midway through the season for Stoke has not stopped the Hatters from storming their way to the summit of the table. Between October and April, they went on a run of 28 league games without defeat, firing them from tenth place up to within touching distance of the Championship.
With a win over lowly AFC Wimbledon tonight, Luton will move one step closer to sealing promotion and the League One title, moving five points clear of second-placed Barnsley with two games to play. The Hatters have been buoyed by the division’s leading marksman James Collins this season, who, with 23 goals, has been central to their attacking success.
Luton are set to win League One for the first time since 2004-05 when they almost hit the 100 point mark on their way to the Championship. However, infamous financial troubles soon followed at they suffered the ignominy of three consecutive relegations which took them from England’s second tier to non-league in just 72 months.
Since then, the club have rebuilt and now look set for a return to the second tier for the first time in over a decade. This Championship return could spell good news for Liverpool if you believe in history repeating itself.
2005 was a glorious year for Liverpool fans as they won the Champions League, staging an incredible comeback over one of the great AC Milan sides. A team featuring Kaka, Shevchenko, Maldini and Nesta were 3-0 up at half-time in Istanbul before Steven Gerrard inspired a remarkable comeback that saw Liverpool lift their fifth European Cup.
Unlike this season however, the Reds were way off the pace in the Premier League, finishing fifth, 37 points behind eventual winners Chelsea, who had smashed records under Jose Mourinho.
Perhaps history does repeat itself. Although Luton and Liverpool’s success is not yet confirmed, one man who has replicated his success of 14 years ago is legendary golfer Tiger Woods. At The Masters back in 2005 he won his fourth Green Jacket following a remarkable play off with Chris DiMarco, after both players had finished on 12 under par, way clear of the rest of the field.
This year, Woods won his first major title in 11 years, rolling back the clock after a decade of turmoil. He slipped on the Green Jacket once again to crown a remarkable sporting comeback which few could have seen coming just a couple of years ago.
Over in America, the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl for the third consecutive year in 2019 with a win over the LA Rams but they also achieved success back in 2005 over the Philadelphia Eagles. This year, the iconic Tom Brady won his sixth Super Bowl and crowned himself as one of the best to ever throw a Pigskin.
So sporting success has already repeated itself from 2005 and Luton look likely to make it a trio of sporting replications. Will Liverpool follow suit and win their sixth European Cup?
