Luton Town Football Club () is a professional
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in the town of
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
, the second tier of the
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
. Founded in 1885, it is nicknamed 'the Hatters' and affiliated to the
Bedfordshire County Football Association
The Bedfordshire Football Association, also simply known as ''Bedfordshire FA'', is the governing body of football in the county of Bedfordshire, England. Founded in 1894, the Bedfordshire FA run a number of cups at different levels for teams a ...
. The team plays its home matches at
Kenilworth Road
Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, includ ...
, where it has been based since 1905. The club's history includes one major trophy win, several financial crises, numerous
promotions and relegations, and some spells of sustained success. It was perhaps most prominent between 1982 and 1992, when it was a member of English football's top division, at that time the
First Division; the team won its first major honour, the
Football League Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
, in 1988. Luton Town have a
long-standing rivalry with nearby club
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
.
The club was the first in southern England to turn professional, making payments to players as early as 1890 and turning fully professional a year later. It joined
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
before the
1897–98 season, left in 1900 because of financial problems, and rejoined in 1920. Luton reached the First Division in
1955–56 and contested a major final for the first time when playing
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 ...
in the
1959 FA Cup Final
The 1959 FA Cup Final was contested by Nottingham Forest and Luton Town at Wembley. Forest won 2–1, with goals from Roy Dwight and Tommy Wilson just four minutes apart. Dave Pacey scored Luton's consolation goal. Forest were playing in their ...
. The team was then relegated from the top division in
1959–60, and demoted twice more in the following five years, playing in the
Fourth Division
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
from the
1965–66 season. However, it was promoted back to the top level by
1974–75.
Luton Town's most recent successful period began in
1981–82, when the club won the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, and thereby gained promotion to the First. Luton defeated
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
3–2 in the
1988 Football League Cup Final
The 1988 Football League Cup Final (also known as the Littlewoods Challenge Cup Final for sponsorship reasons) was an association football match between Luton Town and Arsenal on 24 April 1988 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match ...
and remained in the First Division until relegation at the end of the
1991–92 season. Between 2007 and 2009, financial difficulties caused the club to fall from the second tier of English football to the fifth in successive seasons. The last of these relegations came during the
2008–09 season, when 30 points were docked from Luton's record for various financial irregularities. Luton thereafter spent five seasons in
non-League football
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
before winning the
Conference Premier
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...
in
2013–14, securing promotion back into the Football League. More success soon followed, with Luton being promoted from
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
and
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
in successive seasons in
2017–18 and
2018–19, meaning Luton now play in the Championship.
History
Formation and election to the Southern League (1885–1890)
Luton Town Football Club was formed on 11 April 1885.
Before this there were many clubs in the town, the most prominent of which were Luton Wanderers and Luton Excelsior. A Wanderers player, George Deacon, came up with the idea of a 'Town' club which would include all the best players in Luton. Wanderers secretary Herbert Spratley seized upon Deacon's idea and arranged a secret meeting on 13 January 1885 at the St Matthews school rooms in
High Town. The Wanderers committee resolved to rename the club Luton Town—which was not well received by the wider community. The local newspapers referred to the club as 'Luton Town (late Wanderers)'. When George Deacon and John Charles Lomax then arranged a public meeting with the purpose of forming a 'Luton Town Football Club', Spratley protested, saying there was already a Luton Town club; and the atmosphere was tense when the meeting convened in the town hall on 11 April 1885. The meeting, attended by most football lovers in the town, heard about Spratley's secret January meeting and voted down his objections. The motion to form a 'Luton Town Football Club', put forward by G H Small and seconded by E H Lomax, was carried. A club committee was elected by ballot and the team colours were agreed to be pink and dark blue shirts and caps.
Initially based at Excelsior's
Dallow Lane
Dallow Lane was a association football, football ground in Luton, England. It was the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town from its formation in 1885 until a move to Dunstable Road in 1897.
History
The first organised match of association ...
ground,
[ Luton Town began making payments to certain individual players in 1890. The following year, Luton became the first club in southern England to be fully professional.] The club was a founder member of the Southern Football League
The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...
in the 1894–95 season and finished as runners-up in its first two seasons. It then left to help form the United League and came second in that league's inaugural season before joining the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
(then based mostly in northern and central England) for 1897–98, concurrently moving to a new ground at Dunstable Road
Dunstable Road, also known as Bury Park, was a football ground in Luton, England. It was the home ground of Luton Town between 1897 and 1905.
History
The ground was located between Dunstable Road and the now-closed railway line between Luton an ...
. The club continued to enter a team to the United League for two more seasons, and won the title in 1897–98. Poor attendance, high wages and the high travel and accommodation costs that resulted from Luton's distance from the northern heartlands of the Football League crippled the club financially,[ and made it too expensive to compete in that league.][ A return to the Southern League was therefore arranged for the 1900–01 season.][
]
Early 20th century (1900–1950)
Eight years after arriving at Dunstable Road, Luton moved again, settling at their current ground, Kenilworth Road
Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, includ ...
, in 1905.[ ]Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
and left winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
Bob Hawkes became Luton's first international player when he was picked to play for England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
against Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on 16 February 1907. A poor 1911–12 season saw Luton relegated to the Southern League's Second Division; the club won promotion back two years later. After the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
broke out, Luton took part in The London Combination during 1915–16, and afterwards filled each season with friendly matches
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
. A key player of the period was Ernie Simms
Ernest Simms (23 July 1891 – 11 October 1971) was an English footballer, who was best known as a Luton Town centre forward. He was the first forward to play for England while playing for a Third Division club.
Career
Luton Town
Simms ...
, a forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
. Simms was invalided back to England after being wounded on the Italian front,[ but recovered enough to regain his place in the Luton team and scored 40 goals during the 1916–17 season.][
The Luton side first played in the white and black colours which it has retained for much of its history during the 1920–21 season, when the club rejoined the Football League; the players had previously worn an assortment of colour combinations, most permanently ]sky blue
Sky blue is a shade of light blue comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. The term (as "sky blew") is attested from 1681. A 1585 translation of Nicolas de Nicolay's 1576 ''Les navigations, peregrinations et voyages faicts en la Turquie'' in ...
shirts with white shorts and navy socks. Such was the quality of Luton's team at this time that despite playing in the third tier, a fixture between Ireland and England at Windsor Park
Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual rent ...
on 22 October 1921 saw three Luton players on the pitch—Louis Bookman
Louis "Abraham" Bookman (6 November 1890 – 10 June 1943) was an Irish sportsman of Lithuanian Jewish origin who represented Ireland in both football and cricket. Born the son of a rabbi in Lithuania, he arrived in Ireland in 1895 when his famil ...
and Allan Mathieson for Ireland, and the club's top goalscorer, Simms, for England. However, after Luton finished fourth in the division, the squad was broken up as Simms, Bookman and Mathieson joined South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
, Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
and Exeter City
Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third tier of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...
respectively.[ Luton stayed in the ]Third Division South
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...
until 1936–37, when the team finished top and won promotion to the Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, at that time the second tier of English football. During the promotion season, striker
Striker or The Strikers may refer to:
People
*A participant in a strike action
*A participant in a hunger strike
*Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant
*Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America
People wi ...
Joe Payne scored 55 goals in 39 games; during the previous season he had scored 10 in one match against Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
, which remains a Football League record today.
Success under Duncan and relegation (1950–1965)
During the early 1950s, one of Luton's greatest sides emerged under manager Dally Duncan
Douglas "Dally" Duncan (14 October 1909 – 2 January 1990) was a Scottish football player and manager.
A left-winger, Duncan joined Hull City from Aberdeen Richmond in 1928 and spent his entire professional career in English football. He joined ...
. The team included Gordon Turner
Gordon Reginald Turner (7 June 1930 – 23 December 1976) was an English footballer, who was best known as a Luton Town centre forward. He is Luton Town's all-time top goalscorer, with 243 in the League and 276 overall.
Football career
Luto ...
, who went on to become Luton's all-time top goalscorer, Bob Morton, who holds the record for the most club appearances, and Syd Owen
Sydney William Owen (29 September 1922 – 27 August 1998) was an English football player and coach. He spent nearly all his playing career as a centre half for Luton Town.
Born in Birmingham to Florence Laura (née Whiley) and Henry Sydney O ...
, an England international. During this period, Luton sides also featured two England international goalkeepers, Ron Baynham
Ronald Leslie Baynham (born 10 June 1929) is an English former footballer, best known as a goalkeeper for Luton Town. He is currently the oldest surviving player to have represented England.
Playing career
Baynham first took up goalkeeping du ...
and Bernard Streten, as well as Irish internationals Seamus Dunne
Seamus Dunne (13 April 1930 – 28 September 2016) was an Irish professional footballer from Wicklow, best known as a player for English side Luton Town.
Playing career
Dunne joined Luton Town from Shelbourne in July 1950 and made his debu ...
, Tom Aherne
Thomas Aherne (26 January 1919 – 30 December 1999), also referred to as Bud Aherne, was an Irish footballer and hurler. He played football for Belfast Celtic and Luton Town and was a dual internationalist, playing for both Ireland teams â ...
and George Cummins. This team reached the top flight
Top Flight (April 15, 1929 – 1949) was an American U.S. Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at two and three years of age.
Background
Bred in Kentucky by the very prominent horseman Harry ...
for the first time in 1955–56, after finishing the season in second place behind Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
on goal average
A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines.
A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...
. A few years of success followed, including an FA Cup Final appearance against 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 ...
in 1958–59; at the end of the season, Owen was voted FWA Footballer of the Year
The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...
. However, the club was relegated the following season and, by 1964–65, was playing in the fourth tier.
Back to the first tier and late century success (1965–1992)
In yo-yo club
A yo-yo club is a sporting side that is regularly promoted and relegated. The phrase is most typically used in association football in the United Kingdom, especially in reference to promotion to and relegation from the Premier League.
The name ...
fashion, Luton were to return. A team including Bruce Rioch
Bruce David Rioch (; born 6 September 1947) is a football manager and former player for the Scotland national team. His last managerial post was at AaB in the Danish Superliga in 2008.
As a player, he made more than 550 appearances in the Fo ...
, John Moore and Graham French
Graham Edward French (also known as Graham Lafite) is an English former professional footballer, who was best known as a winger for Luton Town.
Football career
Early career
French started his career as an apprentice with his home town club S ...
won the Fourth Division championship in 1967–68 under the leadership of former player Allan Brown;[ two years later ]Malcolm Macdonald
Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer, manager and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle U ...
's goals helped them to another promotion, while comedian Eric Morecambe
John Eric Bartholomew, (14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984), known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's de ...
became a director of the club.[ Luton Town won promotion back to the First Division in 1973–74, but were relegated the following season by a solitary point.][ Former Luton player ]David Pleat
David John Pleat (born 15 January 1945) is an English football player turned manager, and sports commentator. Pleat made 185 Football League appearances for five clubs, scoring 26 goals. He had two spells as manager of Luton Town, and four as ma ...
was made manager in 1978, and by 1982–83 the team was back in the top flight.[ The team which Pleat assembled at Kenilworth Road was notable at the time for the number of ]black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
players it included; during an era when many English squads were almost entirely white, Luton often fielded a mostly black team. Talented players such as Ricky Hill
Ricky Hill (born 5 March 1959) is an English former footballer, spending most of his playing career at Luton Town FC for 14 years, while representing England at Senior, U21 and U18 International levels. Hill was the fourth Black player to play ...
, Brian Stein
Brian Stein (born 19 October 1957) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Stein played in the Football League for Luton Town and Barnet as well as spells in France with Caen and Annecy, before finishing his caree ...
and Emeka Nwajiobi
Chukwuemeka "Emeka" Nwajiobi (born 25 May 1959) is a former professional footballer. He had a short footballing career but became a firm favourite with the Luton Town fans in the mid-1980s.
Career
Nwajiobi started out in non-league playing for ...
made key contributions to the club's success during this period, causing it to accrue "a richer history of black stars than any in the country", in the words of journalist Gavin Willacy.
On the last day of the 1982–83 season, the club's first back in the top tier, it narrowly escaped relegation: playing Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
at Maine Road
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side, Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City F.C. from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final and England matches. Maine Road's highest atte ...
, Luton needed to win to stay up, while City could escape with a draw. A late winner by Yugoslavian substitute Raddy Antić saved the team and prompted Pleat to dance across the pitch performing a "jig of joy", an image that has become icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
ic. The club achieved its highest ever league position, seventh, under John Moore in 1986–87, and, managed by Ray Harford
Raymond Thomas Harford (1 June 1945 – 9 August 2003) was an English footballer, better known for his successes as a coach and manager than as a player. He is considered to have been one of the top coaches of his generation.
During his playin ...
, won the Football League Cup
The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
a year later with a 3–2 win over Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. With ten minutes left on the clock and Arsenal 2–1 ahead, a penalty save from stand-in goalkeeper Andy Dibble
Andrew Gerald Dibble (born 8 May 1965) is a Welsh football coach and former professional player.
As a player, he was as a goalkeeper from 1982 to 2006. During his career he played in the Premier League for Manchester City and in the Scottish Pre ...
sparked a late Luton rally: Danny Wilson equalised, before Brian Stein
Brian Stein (born 19 October 1957) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Stein played in the Football League for Luton Town and Barnet as well as spells in France with Caen and Annecy, before finishing his caree ...
scored the winner with the last kick of the match.[ The club reached the League Cup Final once more in 1988–89, but lost 3–1 to Nottingham Forest.][
]
Resurgence and fall to non-League (1992–2009)
The club was relegated from the top division at the end of the 1991–92 season,[ and sank to the third tier four years later.][ Luton stayed in the third-tier Second Division until relegation at the end of the 2000–01 season. Under the management of ]Joe Kinnear
Joseph Patrick Kinnear (born 27 December 1946) is an Irish former football manager and player. Kinnear played as a defender, spending the majority of his career—ten seasons—with Tottenham Hotspur. With Tottenham he won the FA Cup, the EFL ...
, who had arrived halfway through the previous season, the team won promotion from the fourth tier at the first attempt.[ "Controversial"] owner John Gurney unsettled the club in 2003, terminating Kinnear's contract on his arrival in May; Gurney replaced Kinnear with Mike Newell before leaving Luton as the club entered administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
. Newell's team finished as champions of the rebranded third-tier Football League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
in 2004–05.[
While Newell's place was taken first by ]Kevin Blackwell
Kevin Patrick Blackwell (born 21 December 1958) is an English former professional football goalkeeper who since retiring as a player has worked as a coach and a manager. He is currently the manager of Thai League 1 club Nakhon Ratchasima.
Ea ...
and later former player Mick Harford
Michael Gordon Harford (born 12 February 1959) is an English football manager and former professional player. He is the chief recruitment officer at Luton Town, a club where he has spent a large portion of both his playing and non-playing caree ...
, the team was then relegated twice in a row, starting in 2006–07, and spent the latter part of the 2007–08 season in administration, thus incurring a ten-point deduction from that season's total.[ The club then had a total of 30 points docked from its 2008–09 record by ]the Football Association
The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
and the Football League for financial irregularities dating back several years. These deductions proved to be too large an obstacle to overcome, but Luton came from behind in the final of the Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...
to win the competition for the first time.
Non-League and subsequent promotions (2009–present)
Relegation meant that 2009–10 saw Luton playing in the Conference Premier
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...
, a competition in which the club had never before participated. The club unsuccessfully contested the promotion play-offs three times in four seasons during their time as a non-League club, employing five different managers. In the 2012–13 FA Cup
The 2012–13 FA Cup was the 132nd season of the FA Cup, the main domestic cup competition in English football, and the oldest football knock-out competition in the world. It was sponsored by Budweiser for a second consecutive season, thus the com ...
fourth round, Luton won their away tie against Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
club Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
1–0 and, in doing so, became the first non-League team to beat a side from England's top division since 1989. In the 2013–14 season, under the management of John Still
John Still (c. 1543 – 26 February 1607/1608) was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an ...
, Luton won the Conference Premier title with three games to spare, and thereby secured a return to the Football League from 2014–15. After reaching the League Two play-offs
The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are part of the annual Engli ...
in 2016–17, when they were beaten 6–5 on aggregate by Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
in the semi-final, Luton were promoted back to League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
the following season as runners-up. Luton achieved a second successive promotion in 2018–19, after they won the League One title, marking the club's return to the Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
after a 12-year absence. Luton reached the Championship play-offs in 2021–22, where they were beaten 2–1 on aggregate by Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...
in the semi-final.
Club identity
The club's nickname, "the Hatters", reflects Luton's historical connection with the hat making
Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter.
Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...
trade, which has been prominent there since the 17th century. The nickname was originally a variant on the now rarely seen straw-plaiters. Supporters of the club are also called Hatters.
The club is associated with two very different colour schemes—white and black (first permanently adopted in 1920), and orange, navy and white (first used in 1973, and worn by the team as of the 2015–16 season). Luton mainly wore a combination of light blue and white before 1920, when white shirts and black shorts were first adopted. These colours were retained for over half a century, with the colour of the socks varying between white and black, until Luton changed to orange, navy and white at the start of the 1973–74 season. Luton began playing in white shirts, shorts and socks in 1979, with the orange and navy motif reduced to trim; navy shorts were adopted in 1984. This palette was retained until the 1999–2000 season, when the team played in orange shirts and blue shorts. From 2000 to 2008, Luton returned to white shirts and black shorts; orange was included as trim until 2007. The white, navy and orange palette favoured in the 1980s was brought back in 2008, following the results of a club poll, but a year later the colours were changed yet again, this time to a predominantly orange strip with white shorts. Navy shorts were readopted in 2011. Luton wore orange shirts, navy shorts and white socks during the 2015–16 season.[
Luton Town have traditionally used the town's crest as its own in a manner similar to many other teams. The club's first badge was a white eight-pointed star, which was emblazoned across the team's shirts (then a deep ]cochineal
The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessility (motility), sessile parasitism, parasite native to tropical and subtropical Sout ...
red) in 1892. Four years later a crest comprising the club's initials intertwined was briefly adopted. The shirts were thereafter plain until 1933, when Luton first adopted a badge depicting a straw boater, which appeared on Luton shirts. The letters "LTFC" were added in 1935, and this basic design remained until 1947. The club then played without a badge until 1970, when the club began to wear the town crest regularly, having first done so in the 1959 FA Cup Final.
In 1973, concurrently with the club's switch to the orange kit, a new badge was introduced featuring the new colours. The new emblem depicted a stylised orange football, bearing the letters "Lt", surrounded by the club's name in navy blue text.[ In 1987, the club switched back to a derivative of the town emblem, with the shield portion of the heraldic crest becoming the team's badge; the only similarity with the previous design was the inclusion of the club name around the shield in navy blue. The "rainbow" badge, introduced in 1994, featured the town crest below an orange and blue bow which curved around to meet two footballs, positioned on either side of the shield, with the club name underneath.][ This badge was used until 2005, when a replacement very similar to the 1987 version was adopted, featuring black text rather than blue and a straw boater in place of the outstretched arm depicted in the older design. The club's founding year, 1885, was added in 2008.][ The badge was altered once more during the 2009–10 pre-season, with the red of the town crest being replaced with orange to better reflect the club colours.]
The first sponsor to appear on a Luton Town shirt was Tricentrol, a local motor company based in Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
, who sponsored the club from March 1980 to 1982; the deal was worth £50,000. Subsequent sponsors have been Bedford Trucks (1982 to 1990), Vauxhall
Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
(1990 to 1991), Universal Salvage Auctions (1991 to 1999), SKF
AB SKF (Swedish: ''Svenska Kullagerfabriken''; 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory') is a Swedish bearing and seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication and l ...
(1999 to 2003), Travel Extras (2003 to 2005), Electrolux
Electrolux AB () is a Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer, headquartered in Stockholm. It is consistently ranked the world's second largest appliance maker by units sold, after Whirlpool.
Electrolux products sell under a variety ...
(2005 to 2008), Carbrini Sportswear
Carbrini Sportswear is a leisure wear brand of clothing that is sold at JD Sports and Argos. They have developed a full range of leisure wear, ranging from trainers to tracksuits. They also have a line of school bags and lunchboxes. The brand is ...
(2008 to 2009),[ ]EasyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
and NICEIC (concurrently, 2009 to 2015),[ and ]Barnfield College
Barnfield College is the largest further education college in Bedfordshire, England, with two campuses in Luton.
Campus locations
*New Bedford Road Campus, New Bedford Road, Luton, LU2 7BF
*Technology Campus, Enterprise Way, Luton, LU3 4BU
F ...
and NICEIC (concurrently, 2015 to 2016). For the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons the club's kit was sponsored by NICEIC and SsangYong Motor UK. The 2018–19 season saw changes to the kits and sponsors, with Indigo Residential taking up the home shirt, Star Platforms sponsoring the away strip, and Northern Gas & Power sponsoring the third. In 2019–20, Ryebridge Construction took up the vacated role of sponsoring the third kit, and for the 2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season, JB Developments will sponsor the home kit, while Star Platforms and Ryebridge Construction continue to sponsor the away and third kits.
The club released the song "Hatters, Hatters", a collaboration between the Luton team and the Bedfordshire-based musical comedy group the Barron Knights
The Barron Knights are a British humorous pop rock group, originally formed in 1959 in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire,Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'', (Muze UK Ltd, 1997), ), p. 32 as the Knights of the Round Table.
C ...
, in 1974. Eight years later another song featuring vocals by the Luton players, "We're Luton Town", was released to celebrate the club's promotion to the First Division.
Stadium
Luton Town's first ground was at Dallow Lane
Dallow Lane was a association football, football ground in Luton, England. It was the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town from its formation in 1885 until a move to Dunstable Road in 1897.
History
The first organised match of association ...
, the former ground of Excelsior.[ The ground was next to the Dunstable to Luton railway line, and players regularly claimed to have trouble seeing the ball because of smoke from the trains.][ A damaging financial loss during 1896–97 forced Luton to sell the stadium to stay afloat and, as a result, the club moved across the tracks to a stadium between the railway and Dunstable Road.][ The ]Dunstable Road
Dunstable Road, also known as Bury Park, was a football ground in Luton, England. It was the home ground of Luton Town between 1897 and 1905.
History
The ground was located between Dunstable Road and the now-closed railway line between Luton an ...
ground was opened by Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford
Herbrand Arthur Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford, (19 February 1858 – 27 August 1940) was an English politician and peer. He was the son of Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford, and his wife Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West, daughter of George Sack ...
, who also donated £50 towards the £800 building costs.[ When the site was sold for housing in 1905, the club was forced to move again at short notice,][ to its present ]Kenilworth Road
Kenilworth Road is an association football stadium in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. It has been the home ground of Luton Town F.C., Luton Town Football Club since 1905. The stadium has also hosted women's and youth international matches, includ ...
site, in time for the start of the 1905–06 season.[
The stadium now has an all-seater capacity of 10,356 and is situated in the ]Bury Park
Bury Park is an area of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is located 1 mile north west of the town centre on the road to Dunstable. The area is roughly bounded by Claremont Road and Highfield Ro ...
area of Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
. It was named after the road that runs along one end of it, although the official address of the club is 1 Maple Road. Opposite the eponymous Kenilworth Stand is the Oak Road End, which has evolved from a stand first used exclusively by Luton supporters, then later by away supporters, and now used by both except in times of high ticket demand from away clubs. The Main Stand is flanked by the David Preece Stand, and opposite them stands a row of executive boxes. These boxes replaced the Bobbers Stand in 1986, as the club sought to maximise income.
The original Main Stand burnt down in 1921, and was replaced by the current stand before the 1922–23 season. The ground underwent extensive redevelopment during the 1930s, and the capacity by the start of the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
was 30,000. Floodlights
A floodlight is a broad-beamed, gas discharge lamp#High-intensity discharge lamps, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is Night game, being held during low-li ...
were installed before the 1953–54 season, but it was 20 years before any further modernisation was carried out. In 1973 the Bobbers Stand became all-seated, and in 1985 the grass pitch was replaced with an artificial playing surface; it quickly became unpopular and was derided as "the plastic pitch".[
A serious incident involving hooliganism before, during and after a match against ]Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
in 1985 led to the club's then chairman, Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) David Evans David, Dave, or Dai Evans may refer to:
Academics
* Sir David Emrys Evans (1891–1966), Welsh classicist and university principal
* David Evans (microbiologist) (1909–1984), British microbiologist
* David Stanley Evans (1916–2004), British a ...
, introducing a scheme effective from the start of 1986–87 supposedly banning all visiting supporters from the ground, and requiring home fans to carry membership cards when attending matches. Conversion to an all-seater ground also began in 1986.[ Away fans returned for 1990–91, and grass a year later. The David Preece Stand was erected in 1991, and the conversion of the Kenilworth Stand to an all-seater was completed in 2005.][
]
New stadium
The club first expressed an interest in building a new stadium away from Kenilworth Road in 1955, the year it won promotion to the First Division for the first time. Even then the ground was small compared to those of most First and Second Division clubs, and its location made significant redevelopment difficult. The team has since made several attempts to relocate.[ Leaving Luton for the nearby new town of ]Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
was unsuccessfully proposed several times, most notably in the 1980s. The club sold Kenilworth Road to Luton Council in 1989, and has since leased it. A planning application for a new 20,000-seater indoor stadium, the "Kohlerdome" proposed by chairman David Kohler
Karger David Kohler (born June 9, 1966) is an American businessman, the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Kohler Company and the fourth generation of the Kohler family of Wisconsin to lead the company since its inception in 1873. ...
in 1995, was turned down by the Secretary of State in 1998, and Kohler left soon after.
In 2007, the club's then-owners proposed a controversial plan to relocate to a site near Junction 12 of the M1 motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...
, near Harlington and Toddington Toddington could be
*Toddington, Bedfordshire
**Toddington services, M1 motorway
*Toddington, Gloucestershire
**Toddington railway station
Toddington railway station serves the village of Toddington in Gloucestershire, England. Since 1984 it h ...
. A planning application was made on the club's behalf by former chairman Cliff Bassett, but the application was withdrawn almost immediately following the club's takeover in 2008. In 2009, the club began an independent feasibility study to determine a viable location to move to. The club did not rule out redeveloping Kenilworth Road and, in October 2012, entered talks to buy the stadium back from Luton Borough Council. By 2015, these plans had been dropped in favour of a move to a new location, with managing director Gary Sweet confirming that the club was in a position to "buy land, secure the best possible professional advice ... and to see the lanning Lanning is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Andy Lanning, British comic book writer and artist
*Dave Lanning, English sports commentator
*Frank Lanning (1872–1945), American silent film actor
* Jim Lanning, American wrestler
* ...
application process through to the receipt of consent."
In April 2016, the club announced its intention to build and move into a 17,500-capacity stadium on the Power Court site in central Luton. Outline planning permission for this ground, with potential to expand to 23,000 seats, was granted by Luton Borough Council on 16 January 2019. In March 2021, the club announced that it intended to make a number of changes to the initial scheme to reflect changes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, but that the capacity of the new stadium was still to be 23,000 and had a target opening date of 2024.
Supporters and rivalries
During the 2014–15 season, Luton Town had an average home league attendance of 8,702—the second highest in League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
behind only Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. In the 2013–14 season, when the club were in the Conference Premier
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...
, the club had significantly higher support than the other clubs in its league, with an average home attendance of 7,387; more than twice compared to the second highest of 3,568. Average attendances at Kenilworth Road fell with the installation of seats and the club's reduction in stature, dropping from 13,452 in 1982–83 to their 2014–15 level—a slump of 35% over 32 years. A supporters' trust
In British sports, a supporters' trust is a formal, democratic and not-for-profit organisation of fans who attempt to strengthen the influence of supporters over the running of the club they support. There are over 140 supporters' trusts across Eng ...
, Trust in Luton
Luton Town Supporters' Trust is a registered industrial and provident society which acts as the supporters' trust, a democratic cooperative, for fans of the English football club Luton Town.
Trust in Luton was established in June 2003 by a group ...
, owns shares in the club and elects a representative to the club's board. The club's official supporters' group, Luton Town Supporters' Club, merged with Trust in Luton in 2014. The club is associated with another supporters' group, the breakaway Loyal Luton Supporters Club. Trust in Luton has, since March 2014, held the legal right to veto any changes to the club's identity, including name, nickname, colours, club crest and mascot.
Luton Town supporters maintain a bitter rivalry with Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
-based Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
. Watford have remained the higher ranked team at the end of every season since 1997. However, overall Luton still hold the superior record in the fixture between the two clubs; out of 120 competitive matches there have been 53 Luton victories and 38 for Watford, with 29 draws. The 2003 Football Fans Census
Football Fans Census (sometimes known as FFC), is the trading name of Football Fans Central Ltd, a small market research company which specialises in research into the views and opinions of English football supporters.
When the free-to-air dig ...
showed that there was also animosity between Luton Town fans and those of west London club Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
.[
The club produces an official match programme for home matches, entitled ''Our Town''. A character known as Happy Harry, a smiling man wearing a straw boater, serves as the team's mascot and appears on the Kenilworth Road pitch before matches. In December 2014, after the seafront ]statue of Eric Morecambe
The Statue of Eric Morecambe in Morecambe, Lancashire, England is a commemorative bronze sculpture of Eric Morecambe (1926–1984) by Graham Ibbeson. It was unveiled by Elizabeth II, the Queen in July 1999. It depicts Morecambe in his "Bring ...
in his birthplace Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
was restored, Luton and Morecambe F.C.
Morecambe Football Club is a professional football club in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
Nicknamed the "Shrimps" due to the coastal town's local specialit ...
jointly announced that the winners of future Luton–Morecambe fixtures would be awarded the "Eric Morecambe Trophy".
Records and statistics
The record for the most appearances for Luton is held by Bob Morton, who turned out for Luton 562 times in all competitions. Morton also holds the record for the most Football League appearances for the club, with 495. Fred Hawkes holds the record for the most league appearances for Luton, having played in 509 league matches. Six players, Gordon Turner
Gordon Reginald Turner (7 June 1930 – 23 December 1976) was an English footballer, who was best known as a Luton Town centre forward. He is Luton Town's all-time top goalscorer, with 243 in the League and 276 overall.
Football career
Luto ...
, Andy Rennie, Brian Stein
Brian Stein (born 19 October 1957) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Stein played in the Football League for Luton Town and Barnet as well as spells in France with Caen and Annecy, before finishing his caree ...
, Ernie Simms
Ernest Simms (23 July 1891 – 11 October 1971) was an English footballer, who was best known as a Luton Town centre forward. He was the first forward to play for England while playing for a Third Division club.
Career
Luton Town
Simms ...
, Herbert Moody
Herbert B. Moody (born 1880 in Luton) was an English footballer.
Career
After signing with home-town club Luton Town in 1901, Moody scored 15 league goals in 63 matches before moving on to Leicester Fosse in 1905. Returning to Luton two years ...
and Steve Howard
Steven John Howard (born 10 May 1976) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Howard was usually cited as a typical target man and renowned for his aerial strength.
Club career Early career
Howard began his career at non- ...
, have scored more than 100 goals for Luton.
The first player to be capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
while playing for Luton was left winger Robert Hawkes
Robert Murray Hawkes (18 October 1880 – 12 September 1945) was an English footballer who played for Luton Town, became their first international player, and competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Playing career
Hawkes joined his local team Lu ...
, who took to the field for England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
against Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
at Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...
on 16 February 1907. The most capped player is Mal Donaghy
Malachy Martin Donaghy (born 13 September 1957 in Belfast) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played for Luton Town and Manchester United.
Career
Club career
The current Northern Ireland Under-19 coach, originally from W ...
, who earned 58 Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
caps while at the club. The first player to score in an international match was Joe Payne, who scored twice in his only game for England against Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
on 20 May 1937. Payne also holds the Football League record for the most goals in a game—he hit 10 past Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
on 13 April 1936.[
The club's largest wins have been a 15–0 victory over Great Yarmouth Town on 21 November 1914 in the ]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 ...
and a 12–0 win over Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
in the Third Division South
The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...
on 13 April 1936. Luton's heaviest loss was a 9–0 defeat against Small Heath
Small Heath is an area in south-east Birmingham, West Midlands, England situated on and around the Coventry Road about from the city centre.
History
Small Heath, which has been settled and used since Roman times, sits on top of a small hill. Th ...
in the Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
on 12 November 1898.
Luton's highest home attendances are 30,069 against Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
in the FA Cup on 4 March 1959 and 27,911 against Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
in the First Division on 5 November 1955.
The highest transfer fee received for a Luton Town player is the fee Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
paid for Luton-born full-back James Justin on 28 June 2019. The most expensive player Luton Town have ever bought was Croatian goalkeeper Simon Sluga
Simon Sluga (; born 17 March 1993) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad and the Croatia national team.
Club career Rijeka
In the first two seasons of his professional career HNK ...
, who cost €1.5m from HNK Rijeka
Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka ( en, Croatian Football Club Rijeka), commonly referred to as NK Rijeka or simply Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football, football club from the city of Rijeka.
HNK Rijeka compete in Croatia's top ...
on 19 July 2019.
The youngest player to make a first-team appearance for Luton Town is Connor Tomlinson
Connor Alexander Tomlinson (born 12 February 2001) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Bedford Town.
Early and personal life
Tomlinson was born in Luton, Bedfordshire and attended Harlington Upper Schoo ...
at 15 years and 199 days old in the EFL Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
, replacing Zane Banton
Zane Banton (born 23 May 1996) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a striker for club St Albans City.
Career Luton Town
Born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, Banton became a first-year scholar at Luton Town in July 2012, hav ...
as a 92nd-minute substitute in a 2–1 win over Gillingham on 30 August 2016, after the club were given permission for him to play from his headteacher.
Players
Current squad
The club operates a Development Squad, made up of contracted senior players, youth team scholars and trialists, which plays in the Southern Division of The Central League
The Central League is a football league for reserve teams, primarily from the English Football League. For sponsorship purposes, it was branded as the Final Third Development League until the 2015/16 season.
The league was formed in 1911 and ...
. The club also fields an under-18 team in the Football League Youth Alliance
The Football League Youth Alliance is a youth football competition in Football in England, England, consisting of four regional divisions. It acts as League 2 of the U18 Professional Development League system.
Current structure
North West Co ...
South East Conference. Luton's youth set-up consists of ten Soccer Centres across Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
and North Hertfordshire
North Hertfordshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the amalgamation of the Urban district (Great Britain and Ir ...
, two Centres of Excellence (one in Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
, one in Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
), and an Academy in Baldock
Baldock ( ) is a historic market town and unparished area in the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the county of Hertfordshire, England, where the River Ivel rises. It lies north of London, southeast of Bedford, and north n ...
that caters for players in the under-9 to under-16 age groups.
Out on loan
Notable former players
Backroom staff
:''As of 24 October 2021.''
Shareholders
* Kailesh Karavadra
* Luton Town Supporters' Trust
Directors
* Chairman: David Wilkinson
* Chief executive officer: Gary Sweet
* Directors: Paul Ballantyne, Stephen Browne, Bob Curson, Mike Herrick, Rob Stringer
Management
* Chief Recruitment Officer: Mick Harford
Michael Gordon Harford (born 12 February 1959) is an English football manager and former professional player. He is the chief recruitment officer at Luton Town, a club where he has spent a large portion of both his playing and non-playing caree ...
* Manager: Rob Edwards
* Assistant Managers: Richie Kyle and Paul Trollope
Paul Jonathan Trollope (born 3 June 1972) is a football coach and former professional footballer, who played as a midfielder. He is currently joint-assistant manager of Luton Town Born in England, he represents Wales internationally.
As a playe ...
* Head of goalkeeping: Kevin Dearden
Kevin Charles Dearden (born 8 March 1970) is an English former professional footballer who made more than 400 appearances in the Football League, playing as a goalkeeper for many clubs. He later became a coach, and is currently goalkeeper coac ...
* Goalkeeper coach: Kevin Pilkington
Kevin William Pilkington (born 8 March 1974) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is now the goalkeeping coach at club Luton Town.
As a player, he had a 25-year career as a goalkeeper, playing 439 league and cup ...
* Head of sports science: Jared Roberts-Smith
* Head of performance development: James Redden
* Head of coaching and player development: Adrian Forbes
Adrian Emmanuel Forbes (born 23 January 1979) is an English former professional footballer and Head of Coaching & Player Development at Luton Town.
As a player, he was a midfielder and forward from 1996 until 2012. Having started his career wi ...
* Head of scouting operations: Phil Chapple
Philip Richard Chapple (born 26 November 1966) is an English former professional footballer.
Chapple began his career with Cambridge United after coming through the youth teams at Norwich City. He was part of the Us defence which gained consecu ...
* Head of recruitment analysis: Jay Socik
* Strength and conditioning coach: Elliott Plant
* Performance analyst: Peter Booker
* Head of medical: Simon Parsell
* Physiotherapist: Chris Phillips
* Therapist and kitman: Darren Cook
* Academy and development manager: Paul Hart
Paul Anthony Hart (born 4 May 1953) is an English association football, football manager, coach, and former professional player who made 567 appearances in the English Football League, Football League as a Defender (association football), def ...
Managers
:''As of 9 November 2022. Only managers in charge for a minimum of 50 competitive matches are counted.''
:''Key: M = matches; W = matches won; D = matches drawn; L = matches lost''
Honours
:''Luton Town's major honours are detailed below; non-League
Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...
achievements are omitted. For a list of all club honours, including those won outside the Football League, see List of Luton Town F.C. records and statistics : Honours and achievements''.[
]
Footnotes
:A. The only other club from the south of England in the Football League at the time was Woolwich Arsenal.
:B. Calculated by adding together all the home league attendances for the 2014–15 season to calculate the total attendance (200,157) and then dividing by the number of home league matches (23) to reach an average of 8,702. Attendances taken from BBC report for match that day and Soccerbase statistics.
:C. Calculated by adding together all the home league attendances for the 2013–14 season to calculate the total attendance (169,906) and then dividing by the number of home league matches (23) to reach an average of 7,387. Attendances taken from BBC report for match that day and Soccerbase statistics.
:D. Before the start of the 2004–05 season, Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
re-branding saw the First Division become the Football League Championship
The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
. The Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
and Third Divisions became Leagues One and Two
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
, respectively.
:E. On its formation for the 1992–93 season, the FA Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
became the top tier of English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
; the First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
, Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
and Third Divisions then became the second, third and fourth tiers, respectively.
References
Bibliography
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External links
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Luton Today's Luton Town News Page
Luton Town football shirts kit history
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Football clubs in England
Association football clubs established in 1885
Football clubs in Bedfordshire
Football clubs in Luton
English Football League clubs
EFL Cup winners
EFL Trophy winners
Southern Football League clubs
1885 establishments in England
National League (English football)