Mike Newell                                                                     By Lutonfc.com Question and Answer Session

We asked for YOUR questions for the former Luton Town player and current Hatters manager Mike Newell - and he has kindly answered the questions submitted to him by YOU, the fans! 

As a player, Newell represented the Hatters, signing for the club under David Pleat at the age of 20 for £100,000 from Wigan Athletic in January 1986, after netting 25 goals in 72 League games for The Latics.

He made his Luton debut in a 0-1 loss at Chelsea in the Old First Division (now the Premiership) on January 11th 1986, in a side that included Luton legends Mick Harford, David Preece, Steve Foster, Brian Stein, Ricky Hill and Mal Donaghy.

On his home debut, he netted his first goal for the club as Luton beat Aston Villa 2-0, Newell netting the first goal and Brian Stein adding a second.  He only missed one game during the remainder of that season, as he netted 6 goals in 16 games as a partner to either Mick Harford or Brian Stein in attack.

He played all 42 League games the following season, the 1986-87 campaign, and he scored 12 goals, which included a memorable hat-trick against his former club Liverpool, who had released him as a youngster.  He helped Luton to their highest-ever finish of 7th in the top flight - and Luton only finished 5 points behind Tottenham Hotspur, who finished 3rd.

He played the first 5 games of the next season, 1987-88, as Luton went on to lift the Littlewoods Cup that season, but Newell failed to score in the opening 5 matches and he he joined Leicester City for £350,000 in September 1987.  He made 63 League appearances for Luton, scoring 18 goals.

He also played for Liverpool, Crewe Alexandra, Everton, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, West Ham United (loan), Bradford City (loan), Aberdeen, Crewe Alexandra (second spell), Doncaster Rovers and Blackpool. He made a total of 530 League appearances during his career, scoring 120 goals and he totalled £3,585,000 in transfer fees.   

Newell was appointed as the Luton Town manager on June 23^rd 2003 on a two-year contract after winning a phone poll that John Gurney, the club’s then Managing Director, had set up as a unique exercise in sport PR.

Newell replaced the extremely popular Joe Kinnear, who had been amazingly sacked by the new owners of the club just 2 days after they purchased the club from Mike Watson-Challis, who had decided to retire at the end of the 2002-03 season.

Newell has, however, done very well so far and at the time of the Q & A session (October 15th 2003) the Hatters were 8th in Division Two despite being in administrative receivership!

So without further ado, here are YOUR questions and Mike Newell's answers: -

Nick Price asked: “What was the truth behind the Tony Thorpe transfer..?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  The truth is as I told u at the time.  The player and his agent both wanted to leave the club and that's exactly what happened.  I will not have players who do not want to be here.

Debbie Papworth wanted to know about the possible permanent signings of current loan players Courtney Pitt and Gary McSheffrey and she asked: “Have you talked to Pitt and McSheffrey's clubs about signing them on a permanent basis?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  Yes I have, but, as you know, until we are out of administration it is not an option.

Brian Bugle wanted to know the differences between Luton Town and Newell's former club as a manager, Hartlepool United and he asked: “What have been the main differences between us and Hartlepool?  And why do you think you have done better here?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  The main difference is that here I am being allowed to manage the club the way that I want to and the administrators must take a lot of credit for that.  I gained promotion with Hartlepool and missed out on the title by one kick in the last game, so your question doesn't make sense.

Derek Eslon asked: “How does your relationship work when, as Director of Football, Mick Harford would appear to be your boss, yet at the same time he is under your instructions as first-team coach?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  People appear to be looking for things that are not there.  The relationship is very good and we are both aiming for the same thing.  We got on very well as players and still do now and together with Brian Stein we are working as well as we did as players.

Simon Yippee asked: “How helpful have the Football League been in assisting us in our time of need?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  The League appear to be making it up as they go along.

Beaker Jones the Third asked the question that was on every Hatters fans lips: "Is Barry Ward making any headway in our fight for financial survival?"

Mike Newell's Answer:  Hopefully something will happen before the end of this month.

John wanted to know if a certain popular giant American goalkeeper could be brought back: "There is a very popular former goalkeeper called Ian Feuer and he has stated he would love to return to our football club.  The fans would love to see him back - what are the chances of bringing Ian in as cover for our 2 young keepers?"

Mike Newell's Answer:  We are looking at every option and is it difficult at the moment.  We have 2 good young keepers but we must add for their sake as well as ours.

Darren Armstrong asked: “With such tight budgets, where are you aiming to finish in the League?  Is promotion a possibility, or are you just looking to avoid relegation?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  I think a top 6 spot is not out of the question even in these troubled times.  That depends on whether we can keep our players fit and add to the squad.  Regardless we will aim as high as possible.

Peter Griffiths asked: “Who was the best player you played with/against?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  Alan Shearer/Ronald Koeman.

Stephen Gamble asked about Newell's appointment as manager: “There is a natural scepticism about the way in which you secured the position of manager at the club due to the 'phone vote'.  What would you like to say to deal with this once and for all?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  If people want to be sceptics I can't stop them.  I was offered the job of manager and I accepted it immediately without discussing a contract.

Barry.bsbr asked about Newell's opinion of Hatters winger/striker Adrian Forbes: “Do you think you slightly undervalue Adrian Forbes?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  Adrian Forbes was outstanding against Port Vale and we had Steve Howard available again and Adrian had only played one game.  He struggled pre-season with a knee injury and is now beginning to find some form.  We don't undervalue any player but we can only start with eleven.

M.C. Barry Fishcake asked a slightly less serious question: “Will the dug out fall down if your not leaning up against it?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  It's nice to see someone with a sense of humour.

Danny Denscombe was interested in Newell's time as a player with the Hatters: “What was the best game you ever played in wearing the Town colours?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  The most memorable would have to be the 4-1 victory over Liverpool when I was lucky enough to score a hat-trick.  But even more enjoyable was the 3-0 win over them after 3 games in the FA Cup.

Nicola Johnston asked: “There are a lot of players who now play into their late 30`s, do you think you should have ever carried on playing for a few more years?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  I would have loved to still be playing and some days in training I think I still should be!  The players will tell you different however!  My knee wouldn't allow it but I'm grateful I didn't leave anything behind during my career.

Steven Manfredi asked: “We seem to change our approach to a game when in the lead rather than staying with the style of play that got us our lead in the first place.  Is it management instructions to defend a lead or just something the players bring upon themselves to do?”

Mike Newell's Answer:  It is natural for teams to drop deeper when protecting a lead, it is not something we encourage but we do have a young side.

And that concluded the Q & A session with Mike Newell.  We here at Lutonfc.com would like to thank Mike very much for taking the time to answer the questions and let's hope that we continue to progress and push for promotion to Division One!