Submitted by Andrew McMellon (@andrew_mc84)
Host of My Best Eleven Podcast, Journalist and Pundit (https://mybesteleven.podbean.com/) (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCosPHLqTf7KuZfKVtlVLy0Q)
We finally end the playing staff on this countdown of Luton Town's greatest ever players with the strike force. This is where the big money is often made, and rightly so! Below are some options from players from a number of different eras as well as a variety of types of striker too (big men, target men, speedsters, tricksters etc). Some did not make the final list, so have your say on whether you agree or who you feel missed out....
Mick Harford
The only man to be found twice on this list Mick Harford is a man who led from the front but played with his heart. He was always pigeon holed as a target man however he could play with his feet and he's back to goal as well as when the wingers were putting the ball on his head. Despite the fact that he scored a goal every three games for the club most fans remember his goal for Derby after he transferred there and kept the club up by sending them down with an own goal
Brian Stein Songs still ring out around the Kenny about his goal against Arsenal in the League Cup final in 1988. He was a tricky striker who loved to run into the channels and his assist record for the club was good as his goal record for the club.
Paul Walsh Young striker who came through the ranks at Charlton before being picked up by Pleat and Luton, openly agrees that he was nurtured by the tough talking and direct dressing room at the Town in the early/mid 80’s. He was a player who went on to great things after leaving Luton, including lifting the European Cup (now Champions League) with Liverpool.
Steve Howard
A striker who is well known and fondly remembered in clubs across the land for his goals and wheeling away with his arm in the air celebrating yet another goal. He was one of the spine players in the team which Kinnear built and Newell continued in the early 00’s. Was sadly sold for a misery fee to Derby, considering he played over 200 games for the club and scored just over 100 goals.
James Collins
Maybe the most controversial on this list but his goals in the back to back promotion winning teams of the Town under Jones and then Harford, made him a cult hero at Kenilworth Road. His goals then kept Luton up in that hard fought, miracle escape in 2019-20 season. He is a striker who has never had an issue in front of goal and played as a solo striker for much of his latter time at the club.
Malcolm McDonald Better known for his time at Newcastle Utd, a striker who scored goals wherever he went. He was another striker who should have got more caps for England whilst at Luton but, due to the ‘unfashionable’ nature of the club, he got more international recognition elsewhere . He does however have a goal record of better than one every two games, making him the most prolific in this striker list
John Hartson
John scored a number of memorable goals for the Town, most notably during the cup run of 1993-94. When he was eventually sold to Arsenal for then club record fee of £2.5 million it became difficult for Luton to find a target man for number of years after that.
