During the 1988–89 English football season,
Luton Town F.C. competed in the
Football League First Division
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
, in which they finished 16th to secure an eighth successive season at this level. They were holders of the League Cup for this season and maintained their defence of the trophy to the final, where they were beaten by Nottingham Forest.
Despite being League Cup holders, Luton did not compete in the UEFA Cup this season due to the continuation of the ban on English clubs in European competitions arising from the
Heysel disaster
The Heysel Stadium disaster ( it, Strage dell'Heysel ; german: link=no, Katastrophe von Heysel ; french: Drame du Heysel ; nl, Heizeldrama ) was a crowd disaster that occurred on 29 May 1985 when mostly Juventus fans escaping from a breach by L ...
of 1985.
Season summary
Luton were unable to build on their top-ten finishes of the two previous seasons and finished the season in 16th, just two points clear of relegation. Luton did manage to reach the League Cup final for the second season running, but were unable to defend the cup as they were beaten 3–1 by
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
. Survival was achieved on the final day of the season with a 1–0 home win over
Norwich City; this was the first of three successive seasons where Luton would secure First Division on the final day of the season before finally being relegated in 1992.
Squad
League table
Results
Key: ''1D'' =
First Division ''FAC'' =
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
''LC'' =
League Cup ''FMC'' =
Full Members Cup
See also
*
List of Luton Town F.C. seasons
Luton Town Football Club is an English football club, founded in 1885.
After becoming the first professional team in the south of England in 1891,
Luton joined The Football League in 1897 before leaving three years later.
The club rejoined th ...
*
1988–89 Football League
The 1988– 89 season was the 90th completed season of the Football League.
No European qualification took place due to the Heysel Stadium disaster suspension in place.
Prior to the 1986–87 season membership of the Football League was depend ...
*
1988–89 FA Cup
The 1988–89 FA Cup was the 108th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup for short.
First round proper
Teams from the Football League Third and Fourth Division entered i ...
References
{{1988–89 in English football
1988–89
Luton Town