"Something's not quite right" - Pundit issues statement on Luton Town amid Rob Edwards scrutiny | OneFootball

Carlton Palmer believes that Rob Edwards should not be under pressure at Luton Town

Pundit Carlton Palmer believes that Rob Edwards should not be coming under pressure at Luton Town despite a poor start to the 2024/25 Championship campaign following relegation from the Premier League.

The Hatters, who managed to retain the majority of their prized assets in the aftermath of relegation, were widely tipped to be among the promotion reckoning this term.

Although Luton lost the likes of Ross Barkley, Gabriel Osho and Chiedozie Ogbene, they were not dealt the natural trials and tribulations of fighting to keep hold of key performers and kept Alfie Doughty, Carlton Morris and Teden Mengi at Kenilworth Road.

Naturally, they were not quite as busy with recruiting fresh faces as Burnley and Sheffield United were, but the additions of Mark McGuinness, Victor Moses and Tom Krauss were all met with excitement nonetheless.

However, Luton have endured a sorely disappointing introduction to life back in the second-tier. Following Friday evening's shock 3-1 defeat away to Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle, Luton find themselves in 19th-place with just two victories from their opening seven encounters.

The side's struggling form has seen Edwards come under pressure from supporters amid growing division over his immediate future, although he has been backed to keep his job.

Carlton Palmer's Luton Town, Rob Edwards admission

We caught up with Palmer to quiz him on Edwards' current situation at Luton, and he feels that the 41-year-old should be under no pressure this season after putting strong credit in the bank by guiding them to the Premier League in the 2022/23 campaign.

"It's fair to say that it's not the start that Rob Edwards and Luton would've wanted this season, but there is a long way to go," Palmer exclusively told Football League World.

"Should Edwards come under pressure? Absolutely not.

"After getting Luton promoted, he nearly kept them in the Premier League. There's always this little hangover when you get relegated from the Premier League because you have to sell players, you have to balance the books.

"It's not been the greatest start for Edwards but for what he's done at the club, he's got a free pass for me this season and I fully expect Luton to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

"Something's not quite right at the moment, maybe still a hangover from getting relegated from the Premier League, Edwards will get it right and I'm sure we will see Luton at the other end of the table vying for the automatic slots come the end of the season.

"100 per cent, Edwards should not come under pressure given what he's done at the club."

Rob Edwards, Luton Town pressure will grow if poor 24/25 form continues

Unfortunately for Edwards, the harsh reality is that history and merit have decreased in value when it comes to assessing the situation of an under-fire manager nowadays.

Across the game, clubs generally tend to have a higher managerial turnover than ever before, owners are increasingly trigger-happy and time is almost invariably of the essence whenever a poor run of form begins to take shape, so Edwards' past achievements with the club may only hold so much credence if he fails to stop the rut.

It would feel harsh if the Hatters were to part ways just yet, but free passes are largely a factor of the past and Luton could just focus on the present instead should they continue to struggle.

There may well be ample time for improvement right now, although the ground which Luton will have to make up will only grow each and every week and they simply should not be where they are in the division.