Crises always require context. Almost 41 years to the day, Manchester City’s game at Luton Town resulted in a 3-1 loss that was to sum up much of their season. Luton survived in the old First Division, City did not.
No visit to Kenilworth Road can take place without a glance back through history, so untouched is this rickety venue by modern football’s excess and trappings. City remained in Division Two until 1985. Their subsequent twists and turns as a club are nothing in comparison to Luton’s surge from near oblivion to the top flight, but City once knew what it was like to scratch for relevance. As decades passed, so too did agendas.
