As the old adage goes, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's how well that dog can adapt its fighting style to match all of the other dogs that have more money.
To stretch that particular analogy to breaking point, Luton Town's first ever season in the Premier League has at times been the story of a determined Bichon Frise that's slowly managed to learn Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
A difficult start was met with no surprise, and the conversations about the size of the challenge facing them were as predictable as the ones about the size of their stadium. A row of houses, yes! And you can see into that lady's bathroom from the away end!
But as the months went on, Luton began to have several of those big dogs sweating about their top-flight status. Their results against relegation rivals have been largely positive, they bagged four points against Newcastle, and Brighton weren't just beaten recently, but battered 4-0.
Liverpool were held 1-1 at Kenilworth Road, and while Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City eventually departed victorious, they did so gasping for breath and wiping blood from their noses. There's a treacherous road ahead if they are to seal survival, but Rob Edwards' men have made a mockery of early-season forecasts that they would finish rock bottom of the Premier League table.
01 CHASING THEIR TAILS
Intensity. It’s one thing no amount of cash can buy you in the Premier League. You can be technically outplayed 38 times across a season, but in each of those games you’ll still have the chance to ensure you’re not outworked by the opposition. For Luton, they’ve turned this tired cliche into a deadly attacking weapon.
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