Football League World
·30 de outubro de 2024
Football League World
·30 de outubro de 2024
The Hatters have had a tough start to life back in the Championship
Tahith Chong has not been able to match his performance levels from last season for Luton Town during the current campaign.
That's according to Football League World's fan pundit for the Hatters, Finley Cannon, who says that getting the attacker back to top form is vital for the Hatters.
Chong joined Luton following their promotion to the Premier League in the summer of 2023, signing from Birmingham City for a reported £4million.
Although the club were relegated back to the Championship after just a single season in the top-flight, Chong did impress during his debut campaign at Kenilworth Road.
However, it appears there is a concern among some of the Hatters' fanbase, that Chong has so far been unable to perform as well since the club returned to the second-tier.
Last season, Chong scored five goals in 38 appearances in all competitions for Rob Edwards' side, and often looked like being one of their more creative sparks in the top-flight.
This season though, the attacker has struggled, with just one goal - in the opening day 4-1 defeat to Burnley - in 11 appearances in all competitions since the campaign began.
Now it seems that the attacker's performances during the season so far, are falling short of what was expected of him, given the drop down a division, judging by these comments from Cannon.
When asked which of the club's player's had surprised him with his performances this season - either positively or negatively - the Luton Town fan told Football League World:
"I think Tahith Chong has probably not quite been at the level we would have liked or hoped.
"He's shown flashes of ability, but he was a really fun player last season in the Premier League and you'd think making the step down would actually let him thrive a bit more.
"But he doesn't seem to be getting the most out of himself so getting him back to his best, or getting him up to his best would really do us a world of favours in terms of our attacking output, and the chances we're creating because he can cause a lot of problems with his flare.
"Which is not something we have anywhere else on the pitch, he's a very different player to what we have elsewhere and provides a bit more expression on the ball."
Just as has been the case for Chong, it has been a difficult start to the season for the Kenilworth Road club as a whole.
Edwards' side have taken just 11 points from their 12 league games so far, after squandering a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 away at Coventry City at the weekend.
As a result, they currently sit 22nd in the Championship table, one point from safety, ahead of the visit of West Brom to Kenilworth Road on Friday night.
It is certainly a surprise that Chong has rather struggled with his performances for Luton so far this season.
The attacker previously impressed in the Championship with Birmingham, and was one of the more positive aspects of the Hatters' Premier League stint despite their relegation last season.
So given he had impressed in the Premier League during that period, you would have expected the experience and confidence he took from that to aid him in the second-tier this time round.
As it stands though, that is so far yet to happen, with Chong enduring a quiet start to the campaign for Edwards' side.
Given the way the season has gone for Luton as a whole, that will certainly be worrying for them, since they need key men to step up and get them out of trouble over the rest of the season.
Chong is certainly someone who has shown he can make those sort of contributions for the club and at this level previously.
With that in mind, getting the attacker back to top form may be something of a priority for Edwards if he wants to turn things around at Luton, and secure his own position at Kenilworth Road.