Released manager made the club “stronger”

Mick Harford terrified defences when he played for Luton in the eighties and nineties, but he will no longer be terrifying anyone at Kenilworth Road, as he was released of managerial duties this morning. Club managing director Gary Sweet offered the following:

“This club is far stronger now than it was when Mick joined.”

It’s a charming sentiment, but hardly one we agree with: Luton were in League One when he joined in January 2008, and have since suffered two consecutive relegations and now sit in eighth place in The Conference.

Admittedly, Luton’s plight and Harford’s workload were not helped by their financial troubles, but we find it difficult to agree that they are now “stronger”.

Crawley boss set for two months on the naughty step

Mark Hughes might feel hard done by over Emmanuel Adebayor’s recent three-game ban, but spare a thought for Conference side Crawley Town. Their manager Steve Evans has been slapped across the chops with a thirteen match penalty.

With the sort of speed and efficiency you’d expect from the FA, Evans has only just received a three-game ban for using ‘foul and abusive language’ in a match against Salisbury City last February. An additional 10-game suspended penalty was tacked on from a 12-match ban the manager previously sat out last season.

The best most tolerable sports on the telebox tonight

There’s not much happening on the pictocube tonight, so unless hilarious toffs Mitchell and Webb take your fancy, it’s all about the Blue Square Premier. Bet on tonight’s action using the best odds available on the web at our ingenious oddschicken.

Blue Square Premier
Salisbury/ Stevenage (Setanta Sports 1, 7.45pm)