Shocking statistic highlights Luton Town’s plight this season, and one player is solely to blame

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Luton Town have gone from Premier League relegation to being on the brink of falling out of the Championship within a year, and the statistics show exactly where they’re going wrong.

Neutrals were delighted to see the plucky Luton Town make it to the Premier League for the 2023/24 campaign after a shock promotion.

They were even more impressed by Rob Edwards’ side once they got there, too, with spirited displays and some big results. But, it wasn’t enough, and rather predictably, the Hatters returned to the second tier.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
20	Stoke CityStoke City	38	9	12	17	37	51	-14	39
21	CardiffCardiff	38	9	12	17	42	62	-20	39
22	DerbyDerby	38	10	8	20	40	51	-11	38
23	LutonLuton	38	9	8	21	34	60	-26	35
24	PlymouthPlymouth	38	7	12	19	40	77	-37	33

Many had expected them to be challenging at the top of the Championship table again this year, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

With eight games to go, Luton are firmly involved in the Championship relegation battle, and it’s abundantly clear where they’ve been going wrong.

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Elijah Adebayo’s wastefulness could cost Luton Town

After 38 games, Luton are the lowest-scoring team in the whole division with just 34 goals. They also have the second-worst goal difference (-26) having conceded a whopping 60 goals.

Clearly, there are problems at both ends of the pitch, but a shocking statistic revealed by the Second Tier podcast highlights how poor the Hatters have been in front of goal.

Turns out, Elijah Adebayo has missed 27 big chances this season. That’s nine more than Coventry City’s Ellis Simms, who is second in this rather undesirable list.

You have to imagine that, if Adebayo had just put even half of those chances away, Luton would be a lot better off and may even be out of the danger zone.

Still, it’s not just Adebayo who is guilty of this wastefulness, though he is by far the worst offender. Luton’s usually so dependable Carlton Morris has also spurned 11 big chances this season.

Interestingly, players like Wilson Isidor, Borja Sainz, and Josh Sargent are also on the list, but the big difference is, they have all put away plenty of goals and are fighting for the Championship Golden Boot this season.

Adebayo, meanwhile, has just five goals this term, while Morris has seven.

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Luton Town have a brutal relegation run-in

Weeks ago, Championship fans all agreed Luton were probably heading down to League One. Since then, the Hatters have shown very brief signs of life, with Matt Bloomfield’s playing style starting to emerge.

Sadly, it’s likely to be a case of too little, too late for Luton. They have eight games to save themselves, but of all the teams around the drop zone, their run-in does not look too friendly.

The likes of Leeds, Bristol City, Coventry, and West Brom will all fancy their chances against Luton. Meanwhile, a resurgent Derby County team are looking like the team to back and they’ll also be hard to beat at Pride Park next month.

The only saving grace for Luton is that they still need to play Hull and Stoke, who are sitting just outside the relegation zone. Win those games, and the great escape could still be on.