03 October 2023 , 10:29
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Garth Crooks has hailed Luton, seemingly U-turning on his belief that the newly-promoted side would be "down by Christmas".
Crooks' comments at the start of last month sparked a row with Hatters boss Rob Edwards, who branded them "disrespectful". Edwards has steadied the ship over the past two weeks, since Crooks insisted he "can't take them seriously".
They finally secured their first win of the season on Saturday by defeating fellow strugglers Everton away from home. And Crooks has responded to that result by including two Luton players in his Team of the Week, with the first being captain Tom Lockyer.
"I'm not entirely sure if this win by Luton is a commentary on how good the visitors were to pick up their first ever win in the Premier League or how poor Everton were in front of goal," Crooks wrote when naming Lockyer in his team for BBC Sport.
"Wales centre-back Lockyer showed the sort of grit and determination his team will need to stay in this league when he pounced on a rebound off the Everton crossbar. Ashley Young required two touches to clear the danger.
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"But the Luton captain had no intention of letting him have more than one, and promptly stuck the ball in the back of the net. In the scheme of things this was a very important win by the Hatters away from home."
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Rob Edwards hit out at Garth Crooks after the pundit 'disrespected' Luton (Getty Images)Crooks also selected striker Carlton Morris, after the Englishman scored his side's crucial second goal. And while the pundit warned that Luton can't afford to rely on Morris, he did suggest they could follow the path of Bournemouth.
"Whatever concerns I may have about Luton Town's ability to survive in the Premier League, credit where credit is due, there can be no doubt about the quality of the finish by Morris against Everton," Crooks added.
"Luton needed that second goal at Everton in order to take victory, and long may it continue if they have any chance of securing points in future fixtures. The question is where are all their goals going to come from? Morris can't score all of them.
"Bournemouth are a similar-sized club and were in a comparable position some years ago. They had Callum Wilson who has gone on and built an international career for himself having adjusted to the Premier League, and they created an outstanding manager in Eddie Howe who is now managing in the Champions League, so we have seen what can be achieved."
Luton face fellow newly-promoted side Burnley on Tuesday night, in what is already a likely relegation six-pointer. The win over the Toffees moved Edwards' side out of the bottom three and above the Clarets.