Luton Town F.C.

english association football club
“ LTFC ” redirects here. For other uses, see LTFC ( disambiguation )
Football club

Luton Town Football Club ( ) is a professional association football club based in the township of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league organization. Founded in 1885, it is nicknamed ‘the Hatters ‘ and affiliated to the Bedfordshire County Football Association. The team plays its home matches at Kenilworth Road, where it has been based since 1905. The club ‘s history includes major trophy wins, several fiscal crises, numerous promotions and relegations, and some spells of sustained success. It was possibly most outstanding between 1982 and 1992, when it was a member of English football ‘s crown division, at that time the First Division ; the team won its first major honor, the Football League Cup, in 1988. Luton Town have a long-standing competition with nearby club Watford. The clubhouse was the first in southerly England to turn professional, making payments to players angstrom early as 1890 and turning in full professional a year belated. It joined the Football League before the 1897–98 season, left in 1900 because of fiscal problems, and rejoined in 1920. Luton reached the First Division in 1955–56 and contested a major concluding for the foremost time when playing Nottingham Forest in the 1959 FA Cup Final. The team was then relegated from the lead division in 1959–60, and demoted doubly more in the follow five years, playing in the Fourth Division from the 1965–66 season. however, it was promoted back to the top floor by 1974–75. Luton Town ‘s most holocene successful time period began in 1981–82, when the clubhouse won the Second Division, and thereby gained promotion to the First. Luton defeated Arsenal 3–2 in the 1988 Football League Cup Final and remained in the First Division until relegation at the end of the 1991–92 season. between 2007 and 2009, fiscal difficulties caused the club to fall from the second tier of English football to the one-fifth in consecutive seasons. The last of these relegations came during the 2008–09 season, when 30 points were docked from Luton ‘s record for assorted fiscal irregularities. Luton thereafter spent five seasons in non-League football before winning the Conference Premier in 2013–14, securing promotion back into the Football League. More success soon followed, with Luton being promoted from League Two and One in consecutive seasons in 2017–18 and 2018–19, meaning Luton now play in the Championship, for the first base time since 2006–07 .

history [edit ]

The Luton Town police squad of 1897–98, which won the United League title

formation and election to the Southern League ( 1885–1890 ) [edit ]

Luton Town Football Club was formed on 11 April 1885. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Before this there were many clubs in the township, the most big of which were Luton Wanderers and Luton Excelsior. a Wanderers actor, George Deacon, came up with the idea of a ‘Town ‘ club which would include all the best players in Luton. Wanderers repository Herbert Spratley seized upon Deacon ‘s idea and arranged a clandestine meeting on 13 January 1885 at the St Matthews educate rooms in high Town. The Wanderers committee resolved to rename the club Luton Town—which was not well received by the wide community. The local newspapers referred to the club as ‘Luton Town ( late Wanderers ) ‘. When George Deacon and John Charles Lomax then arranged a public meet with the purpose of forming a ‘Luton Town Football Club ‘, Spratley protested, saying there was already a Luton Town club ; and the standard atmosphere was strain when the meeting convened in the town manor hall on 11 April 1885. The meeting, attended by most football lovers in the town, hear about Spratley ‘s confidential January meet 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 golf club committee was elected by ballot and the team color were agreed to be pink and dark blue shirts and caps. [ 6 ] initially based at Excelsior ‘s Dallow Lane earth, [ 5 ] Luton Town began making payments to certain individual players in 1890. The adopt year, Luton became the first club in southerly England to be fully professional. [ 7 ] The golf club was a founder member of the Southern Football League in the 1894–95 season and finished as runner-up in its first two seasons. It then left to help form the United League and came second in that league ‘s inaugural temper before joining the Football League ( then based largely in northern and central England [ A ] ) for 1897–98, [ 8 ] concurrently moving to a new grind at Dunstable Road. [ 9 ] The clubhouse continued to enter a team to the United League for two more seasons, and won the championship in 1897–98. [ 8 ] [ 10 ] Poor attendance, high wages and the high travel and accommodation costs that resulted from Luton ‘s outdistance from the northern heartlands of the Football League crippled the club financially, [ 10 ] and made it besides expensive to compete in that league. [ 10 ] A restitution to the Southern League was therefore arranged for the 1900–01 temper. [ 8 ] [ 10 ]

early twentieth century ( 1900–1950 ) [edit ]

Eight years after arriving at Dunstable Road, Luton moved again, settling at their current grind, Kenilworth Road, in 1905. [ 7 ] Captain and left winger Bob Hawkes became Luton ‘s first external player when he was picked to play for England against Ireland on 16 February 1907. [ 11 ] A poor 1911–12 season saw Luton relegated to the Southern League ‘s Second Division ; the club won promotion binding two years former. [ 8 ] [ 12 ] After the beginning World War broke out, Luton took part in The London Combination during 1915–16, and afterwards filled each season with friendly matches. [ 13 ] [ 14 ] A key player of the time period was Ernie Simms, a ahead. Simms was invalided rear to England after being wounded on the italian front, [ 12 ] [ 14 ] but recovered enough to regain his home in the Luton team and scored 40 goals during the 1916–17 temper. [ 12 ]
(white shirt, left) scores one of his record-breaking 10 goals in one match 1936 : Joe Payne scores one of his record-breaking 10 goals in one match The Luton side first played in the white and black coloring material which it has retained for much of its history during the 1920–21 temper, when the club rejoined the Football League ; [ 15 ] the players had previously worn an categorization of color combinations, most permanently flip aristocratic shirts with white shorts and dark blue socks. [ 16 ] Such was the quality of Luton ‘s team at this meter that despite playing in the third base tier, a repair between Ireland and England at Windsor Park on 22 October 1921 saw three Luton players on the pitch— Louis Bookman and Allan Mathieson for Ireland, and the clubhouse ‘s top goalscorer, Simms, for England. [ 17 ] [ 18 ] however, after Luton finished fourth in the division, the team was broken up as Simms, Bookman and Mathieson joined South Shields, Port Vale and Exeter City respectively. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] Luton stayed in the Third Division South until 1936–37, when the team finished top and won promotion to the Second Division, at that time the irregular tier of English football. [ 20 ] During the forwarding season, striker Joe Payne scored 55 goals in 39 games ; during the previous season he had scored 10 in one match against Bristol Rovers, which remains a Football League commemorate today. [ 21 ]

Success under Duncan and delegating ( 1950–1965 ) [edit ]

During the early 1950s, one of Luton ‘s greatest sides [ 22 ] emerged under coach Dally Duncan. [ 23 ] The team included Gordon Turner, who went on to become Luton ‘s all-time top goalscorer, [ 24 ] Bob Morton, who holds the record for the most club appearances, [ 25 ] and Syd Owen, an England international. [ 26 ] During this time period, Luton sides besides featured two England external goalkeepers, Ron Baynham and Bernard Streten, [ 27 ] [ 28 ] angstrom well as irish internationals Seamus Dunne, [ 29 ] Tom Aherne and George Cummins. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] This team reached the top flight for the first time in 1955–56, after finishing the season in second plaza behind Birmingham City on goal average. [ 32 ] A few years of success followed, including an FA Cup Final appearance against Nottingham Forest in 1958–59 ; [ 33 ] at the end of the season, Owen was voted FWA Footballer of the Year. [ 34 ] however, the club was relegated the following season and, by 1964–65, was playing in the fourth tier. [ 35 ]

back to the first tier and deep century success ( 1965–1992 ) [edit ]

In yo-yo club fashion, Luton were to return. A team including Bruce Rioch, John Moore and Graham French won the Fourth Division championship in 1967–68 under the leadership of former musician Allan Brown ; [ 8 ] two years subsequently Malcolm Macdonald ‘s goals helped them to another promotion, [ 36 ] while comedian Eric Morecambe became a director of the club. [ 36 ] Luton Town won promotion back to the First Division in 1973–74, but were relegated the following season by a lone point. [ 8 ] [ 37 ] Former Luton player David Pleat was made director in 1978, and by 1982–83 the team was back in the top flight. [ 8 ] The team which Pleat assembled at Kenilworth Road was luminary at the time for the number of black players it included ; during an earned run average when many english squads were about entirely white, Luton frequently fielded a by and large black team. Talented players such as Ricky Hill, Brian Stein and Emeka Nwajiobi made key contributions to the club ‘s success during this period, [ 38 ] causing it to accrue “ a richer history of black stars than any in the nation ”, in the words of diarist Gavin Willacy. [ 39 ] On the last day of the 1982–83 temper, the clubhouse ‘s beginning spinal column in the top tier, it narrowly escaped delegating : dally Manchester City at Maine Road, Luton needed to win to stay up, while City could escape with a draw. [ 40 ] A belated achiever by yugoslavian stand-in Raddy Antić saved the team and prompted Pleat to dance across the lurch performing a “ jig of rejoice ”, [ 40 ] an image that has become iconic. [ 41 ] The club achieved its highest always league position, seventh, under John Moore in 1986–87, [ 42 ] and, managed by Ray Harford, won the Football League Cup a class by and by with a 3–2 succeed over Arsenal. With ten-spot minutes left on the clock and Arsenal 2–1 ahead, a punishment save from stand-in goalkeeper Andy Dibble sparked a recently Luton muster : Danny Wilson equalised, before Brian Stein scored the winner with the last recoil of the match. [ 8 ] [ 43 ] [ 44 ] The club reached the League Cup Final once more in 1988–89, but lost 3–1 to Nottingham Forest. [ 8 ]
Luton Town players and staff celebrate winning the Conference Premier title in 2014

revival and precipitate to non-League ( 1992–2009 ) [edit ]

The club was relegated from the top class at the end of the 1991–92 season, [ 8 ] and sink to the third tier four years subsequently. [ 8 ] [ 45 ] Luton stayed in the third-tier Second Division until delegating at the end of the 2000–01 season. [ 46 ] Under the management of Joe Kinnear, who had arrived center through the previous season, [ 47 ] the team won promotion from the fourth tier at the foremost undertake. [ 8 ] “ controversial ” [ 48 ] owner John Gurney unsettled the golf club in 2003, [ 48 ] terminating Kinnear ‘s contract on his arrival in May ; [ 48 ] [ 49 ] Gurney replaced Kinnear with Mike Newell before leaving Luton as the clubhouse entered administration. [ 48 ] [ 50 ] Newell ‘s team finished as champions of the rebranded third-tier Football League One in 2004–05. [ 8 ] [ 51 ] While Newell ‘s place was taken first by Kevin Blackwell and belated former musician Mick Harford, [ 52 ] [ 53 ] 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, frankincense incurring a ten-point deduction from that temper ‘s total. [ 8 ] [ 54 ] The clubhouse then had a total of 30 points docked from its 2008–09 record by the Football Association and the Football League for fiscal irregularities dating back several years. [ 55 ] These deductions proved to be excessively large an obstacle to overcome, [ 56 ] but Luton came from behind in the final examination of the Football League Trophy to win the competition for the first time. [ 57 ]

Non-League and subsequent promotions ( 2009–present ) [edit ]

relegation meant that 2009–10 saw Luton play in the Conference Premier, a rival in which the baseball club had never ahead participated. The cabaret unsuccessfully contested the promotion play-offs three times in four seasons during their clock as a non-League club, employing five unlike managers. In the 2012–13 FA Cup fourthly cycle, Luton won their off affiliation against Premier League club Norwich City 1–0 and, in doing sol, became the first non-League team to beat a side from England ‘s exceed division since 1989. [ 58 ] In the 2013–14 temper, under the management of John placid, Luton won the Conference Premier entitle with three games to spare, and thereby secured a recurrence to the Football League from 2014–15. [ 59 ] After reaching the League Two play-offs in 2016–17, [ 60 ] when they were beaten 6–5 on aggregate by Blackpool in the semi-final, [ 61 ] Luton were promoted back to League One the following season as runner-up. [ 62 ] [ 63 ] Luton achieved a second consecutive promotion in 2018–19, after they won the League One title, marking the cabaret ‘s return to the Championship after a 12-year absence. [ 64 ] [ 65 ]

Club identity [edit ]

Luton beginning wore white and black between 1920 and 1973 . 1973–87 Luton Town badge, The club ‘s nickname, “ the Hatters ”, reflects Luton ‘s diachronic connection with the hat making trade, which has been big there since the seventeenth century. [ 66 ] [ 67 ] The nickname was in the first place a variant on the now rarely seen straw-plaiters. Supporters of the club are besides called Hatters. [ 68 ] The cabaret is associated with two very different color schemes—white and black ( first permanently adopted in 1920 ), and orange, dark blue and white ( first used in 1973, and worn by the team as of the 2015–16 temper ). Luton chiefly wore a combination of light blue and blank before 1920, when whiten shirts and black shorts were foremost adopted. These colours were retained for over half a hundred, with the discolor of the socks varying between white and black, until Luton changed to orange, navy and ashen at the starting signal of the 1973–74 season. Luton began playing in ashen shirts, shorts and socks in 1979, with the orange and dark blue theme 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, united states navy and orange palette favoured in the 1980s was brought back in 2008, following the results of a club poll, [ 69 ] but a year former the colours were changed so far again, this clock to a predominantly orange strip with white shorts. [ 70 ] Navy shorts were readopted in 2011. Luton wore orange shirts, united states navy shorts and white socks during the 2015–16 season. [ 16 ] Luton Town have traditionally used the town ‘s peak as its own in a manner like to many early teams. The club ‘s first badge was a white eight-pointed ace, which was emblazoned across the team ‘s shirts ( then a deep cochineal red ) in 1892. Four years late a crest comprising the club ‘s initials intertwined was concisely adopted. The shirts were thereafter plain until 1933, when Luton first base 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 baseball club then played without a badge until 1970, when the club began to wear the town crest regularly, having foremost done so in the 1959 FA Cup Final. [ 71 ] In 1973, concurrently with the cabaret ‘s switch to the orange kit, a new badge was introduced featuring the new semblance. The newfangled emblem depicted a conventionalized orange football, bearing the letters “ Lt ”, surrounded by the clubhouse ‘s name in dark blue gloomy textbook. [ 71 ] In 1987, the club switched back to a derivative of the town emblem, with the harbor share of the heraldic crest becoming the team ‘s badge ; the lone similarity with the former design was the inclusion of the club name around the harbor in united states navy blue. The “ rainbow ” badge, introduced in 1994, featured the town crown below an orange and amobarbital sodium bow which curved around to meet two footballs, positioned on either side of the shield, with the cabaret list underneath. [ 71 ] This badge was used until 2005, when a substitute very like to the 1987 version was adopted, featuring black textbook rather than blue and a straw boatman in invest of the outstretched arm depicted in the older design. The cabaret ‘s establish year, 1885, was added in 2008. [ 16 ] The badge was altered once more during the 2009–10 pre-season, with the crimson of the town crest being replaced with orange to better reflect the club color. [ 72 ] The first patronize to appear on a Luton Town shirt was Tricentrol, a local anesthetic drive company based in Dunstable, who sponsored the baseball club from March 1980 to 1982 ; the bargain was deserving £50,000. [ 73 ] subsequent sponsors have been Bedford Trucks ( 1982 to 1990 ), Vauxhall ( 1990 to 1991 ), Universal Salvage Auctions ( 1991 to 1999 ), SKF ( 1999 to 2003 ), Travel Extras ( 2003 to 2005 ), Electrolux ( 2005 to 2008 ), Carbrini Sportswear ( 2008 to 2009 ), [ 16 ] EasyJet and NICEIC ( concurrently, 2009 to 2015 ), [ 72 ] [ 74 ] [ 75 ] [ 76 ] [ 77 ] and Barnfield College and NICEIC ( concurrently, 2015 to 2016 ). [ 78 ] [ 79 ] For the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons the club ‘s kit was sponsored by NICEIC and SsangYong Motor UK. [ 80 ] The 2018–19 season saw changes to the kits and sponsors, with Indigo Residential taking up the home shirt, Star Platforms sponsoring the aside leach, and Northern Gas & Power sponsoring the third base. [ 81 ] In 2019–20, Ryebridge Construction took up the revoke function of sponsoring the one-third kit out, [ 82 ] and for the 2020–21 temper, JB Developments will sponsor the family kit, while Star Platforms and Ryebridge Construction continue to sponsor the away and third base kits. [ 83 ] The club released the song “ Hatters, Hatters ”, a collaboration between the Luton team and the Bedfordshire-based musical drollery group the Barron Knights, in 1974. [ 84 ] Eight years later another sung featuring vocals by the Luton players, “ We ‘re Luton Town ”, was released to celebrate the cabaret ‘s promotion to the First Division. [ 85 ]

stadium [edit ]

The opinion from the Kenilworth End in 2007. To the leave is the Main Stand, and to the good is the Oak Road End . Luton Town ‘s average home league attendances at Kenilworth Road from 1946–47 to 2016–17. Attendances rose with Luton ‘s promotion in 1955 before plummeting during the early 1960s as the club suffered three relegations. Spectators returned with the promotions of the late 1960s and mid 1970s, before seeing a refuse with the presentation of an all-seater stadium in 1986. Luton Town ‘s first grind was at Dallow Lane, the former land of Excelsior. [ 5 ] The grind was future to the Dunstable to Luton railway argumentation, and players regularly claimed to have trouble seeing the ball because of smoke from the trains. [ 9 ] A damage fiscal loss during 1896–97 forced Luton to sell the stadium to stay adrift and, as a resultant role, the club moved across the tracks to a stadium between the railway and Dunstable Road. [ 9 ] The Dunstable Road grind was opened by Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford, who besides donated £50 towards the £800 building costs. [ 9 ] When the locate was sold for caparison in 1905, the cabaret was forced to move again at short notice, [ 9 ] to its show Kenilworth Road web site, in fourth dimension for the startle of the 1905–06 season. [ 7 ] [ 9 ] The stadium immediately has an all-seater capacity of 10,356 and is situated in the Bury Park area of Luton. It was named after the road that runs along one end of it, although the official address of the baseball club is 1 Maple Road. Opposite the eponymous Kenilworth Stand is the Oak Road End, which has evolved from a digest first gear used entirely by Luton supporters, then former by away supporters, and now used by both except in times of high tag requirement from away clubs. The Main Stand is flanked by the David Preece Stand, and opposite them stands a course of executive boxes. These boxes replaced the Bobbers Stand in 1986, as the club sought to maximise income. [ 86 ] The original Main Stand burnt down in 1921, and was replaced by the current stand before the 1922–23 season. The land undergo extensive renovation during the 1930s, and the capacity by the start of the Second World War was 30,000. Floodlights were installed before the 1953–54 season, but it was 20 years before any promote modernization was carried out. In 1973 the Bobbers Stand became all-seated, and in 1985 the grass pitch was replaced with an artificial play surface ; it quickly became unpopular and was derided as “ the credit card pitch ”. [ 18 ] [ 86 ] [ 87 ] [ 88 ] A unplayful incidental involving vandalism before, during and after a match against Millwall in 1985 caused the clubhouse ‘s then president, Conservative Member of Parliament ( MP ) David Evans, to introduce a scheme effective from the beginning of 1986–87 banning all visiting supporters from the ground, and requiring home fans to carry membership cards when attending matches. [ 89 ] Conversion to an all-seater ground besides began in 1986. [ 86 ] Away fans returned for 1990–91, [ 90 ] and grass a year later. [ 91 ] The David Preece Stand was erected in 1991, and the conversion of the Kenilworth Stand to an all-seater was completed in 2005. [ 86 ]

New stadium [edit ]

The baseball club first expressed an interest in building a modern stadium off from Kenilworth Road in 1955, the year it won promotion to the First Division for the first time. even then the background was small compared to those of most First and Second Division clubs, and its location made significant renovation difficult. The team has since made several attempts to relocate. [ 32 ] Leaving Luton for the nearby new town of Milton Keynes was unsuccessfully proposed respective times, most notably in the 1980s. [ 92 ] The cabaret sold Kenilworth Road to Luton Council in 1989, and has since leased it. [ 93 ] A design application for a new 20,000-seater indoor stadium, the “ Kohlerdome ” proposed by chair David Kohler in 1995, was turned down by the Secretary of State in 1998, and Kohler left soon after. [ 94 ] In 2007, the clubhouse ‘s then-owners proposed a controversial plan to relocate to a locate near Junction 12 of the M1 expressway, near Harlington and Toddington. [ 95 ] A plan application was made on the cabaret ‘s behalf by former chair Cliff Bassett, but the lotion was withdrawn about immediately following the clubhouse ‘s coup d’etat in 2008. [ 96 ] [ 97 ] In 2009, the baseball club began an autonomous feasibility cogitation to determine a viable localization to move to. [ 98 ] [ 99 ] The cabaret did not rule out redeveloping Kenilworth Road and, in October 2012, entered talks to buy the stadium back from Luton Borough Council. [ 93 ] By 2015, these plans had been dropped in favor of a motion to a new location, with managing director Gary Sweet confirming that the club was in a position to “ buy bring, secure the best possible professional advice … and to see the [ design ] application process through to the receipt of accept. ” [ 100 ] In April 2016, the cabaret announced its intention to build and move into a 17,500-capacity stadium on the Power Court web site in cardinal Luton. [ 101 ] Outline plan license for this footing, with potential to expand to 23,000 seats, was granted by Luton Borough Council on 16 January 2019. [ 102 ] 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, but that the capacity of the fresh stadium was calm to be 23,000 and had a target opening date of 2024. [ 103 ]

Supporters and rivalries [edit ]

During the 2014–15 season, Luton Town had an average base league attendance of 8,702—the second highest in League Two behind only Portsmouth. [ B ] In the 2013–14 season, when the club were in the Conference Premier, the club had importantly 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. [ C ] Average attendances at Kenilworth Road fell with the facility 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. [ 104 ] A supporters ‘ trust, Trust in Luton, owns shares in the club and elects a example to the golf club ‘s board. [ 105 ] [ 106 ] The cabaret ‘s official supporters ‘ group, Luton Town Supporters ‘ Club, merged with Trust in Luton in 2014. [ 107 ] The club is associated with another supporters ‘ group, the breakaway Loyal Luton Supporters Club. [ 108 ] Trust in Luton has, since March 2014, held the legal right to veto any changes to the club ‘s identity, including identify, nickname, color, club crest and mascot. [ 109 ] Luton Town supporters maintain a bitter competition with Hertfordshire -based Watford. [ 110 ] [ 111 ] [ 112 ] 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 fastness between the two clubs ; out of 119 competitive matches there have been 53 Luton victories and 37 for Watford, with 29 draws. The 2003 Football Fans Census showed that there was besides animosity between Luton Town fans and those of west London club Queens Park Rangers. [ 110 ] The club produces an official match program for dwelling matches, entitled Our Town. [ 113 ] A character known as happy Harry, a smiling world wearing a straw boater, serves as the team ‘s mascot and appears on the Kenilworth Road deliver before matches. [ 114 ] In December 2014, after the seafront statue of Eric Morecambe in his birthplace Morecambe was restored, Luton and Morecambe F.C. jointly announced that the winners of future Luton–Morecambe fixtures would be awarded the “ Eric Morecambe Trophy ”. [ 115 ]

Records and statistics [edit ]

Luton Town ‘s annual operation from the club ‘s election into the Football League to the present. The record for the most appearances for Luton is held by Bob Morton, who turned out for Luton 562 times in all competitions. [ 116 ] Morton besides holds the record for the most Football League appearances for the club, with 495. [ 116 ] Fred Hawkes holds the record for the most league appearances for Luton, having played in 509 league matches. [ 117 ] Six players, Gordon Turner, Andy Rennie, Brian Stein, Ernie Simms, Herbert Moody and Steve Howard, have scored more than 100 goals for Luton. [ 118 ] [ 119 ] [ 120 ] [ 121 ] The foremost musician to be capped while playing for Luton was left winger Robert Hawkes, who took to the field for England against Ireland at Goodison Park on 16 February 1907. [ 11 ] The most cap musician is Mal Donaghy, who earned 58 Northern Ireland caps while at the club. [ 122 ] The inaugural musician to score in an international couple was Joe Payne, who scored twice in his only plot for England against Finland on 20 May 1937. [ 123 ] Payne besides holds the Football League commemorate for the most goals in a game—he hit 10 by Bristol Rovers on 13 April 1936. [ 21 ] The club ‘s largest wins have been a 15–0 victory over Great Yarmouth Town on 21 November 1914 in the FA Cup [ 124 ] and a 12–0 winnings over Bristol Rovers in the Third Division South on 13 April 1936. [ 122 ] Luton ‘s heaviest loss was a 9–0 kill against Small Heath in the Second Division on 12 November 1898. [ 122 ] Luton ‘s highest home attendances are 30,069 against Blackpool in the FA Cup on 4 March 1959 [ 122 ] [ 125 ] and 27,911 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the First Division on 5 November 1955. [ 126 ] The highest transplant tip received for a Luton Town musician is the tip Leicester City paid for Luton-born full-back James Justin on 28 June 2019. [ 127 ] The most expensive musician Luton Town have ever bought was croatian goalkeeper Simon Sluga, who cost €1.5m from HNK Rijeka on 19 July 2019. [ 128 ] The youngest player to make a first-team appearance for Luton Town is Connor Tomlinson at 15 years and 199 days old in the EFL Trophy, replacing Zane Banton as a 92nd-minute substitute in a 2–1 win over Gillingham on 30 August 2016, after the cabaret were given permission for him to play from his headteacher. [ 129 ]

Players [edit ]

As of 24 September 2021[130]

current squad [edit ]

note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .
The baseball club operates a Development Squad, made up of abridge senior players, youth team scholars and trialists, which plays in the Southern Division of The Central League. [ 132 ] The club besides fields an under-18 team in the Football League Youth Alliance South East Conference. [ 133 ] Luton ‘s youth set-up consists of ten Soccer Centres across Bedfordshire and North Hertfordshire, two Centres of Excellence ( one in Luton, one in Dunstable ), and an Academy in Baldock that caters for players in the under-9 to under-16 age groups. [ 134 ]

Out on loanword [edit ]

note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

noteworthy erstwhile players [edit ]

Backroom staff [edit ]

As of 24 October 2021.[137]

Shareholders [edit ]

Kailesh Karavadra
Luton Town Supporters’ Trust

Directors [edit ]

Chairman: David Wilkinson
Chief executive officer: Gary Sweet
Directors: Paul Ballantyne, Stephen Browne, Bob Curson, Mike Herrick, Rob Stringer

management [edit ]

Managers [edit ]

Richard Money (2007 photograph), a player for Luton during the , a player for Luton during the 1982–83 season, managed the club from 2009 to 2011 .

As of 9 January 2019. Only managers in charge for a minimum of 50 competitive matches are counted.[138][139][140]

Key: M = matches; W = matches won; D = matches drawn; L = matches lost

Name

Nation

From

Win %

Scotland
14 September 1927
21 December 1929
151
57
38
56
0 37.7

England
23 December 1929
13 May 1931
71
29
16
26
0 40.8

England
1 June 1931
9 October 1935
198
85
49
64
0 42.9

England
13 August 1936
26 February 1938
79
42
11
26
0 53.2

Scotland
13 June 1947
16 October 1958
503
192
133
178
0 38.2

England
18 July 1960
14 June 1962
95
35
18
42
0 36.8

England
24 July 1962
21 November 1964
121
37
26
58
0 30.6

Scotland
16 February 1965
3 November 1966
82
34
16
32
0 41.5

Scotland
4 November 1966
17 December 1968
111
56
24
31
0 50.5

England
20 December 1968
27 April 1972
172
71
56

45
0 41.3

England
4 May 1972
23 January 1978
275
110
69
96
0 40.0

England
24 January 1978
16 May 1986
393
158
108
127
0 40.2

England
16 June 1987
3 January 1990
133
51
34
48
0 38.3

Scotland
11 January 1990
13 May 1991
63
18
16
29
0 28.6

England
7 June 1991
11 June 1995
207
55
70
82
0 26.6

England
21 December 1995
4 July 2000
250
90
66
94
0 36.0

Ireland
8 February 2001
23 May 2003
122
56
28
38
0 45.9

England
23 June 2003
15 March 2007
200
83
49
68
0 41.5

England
16 January 2008
1 October 2009
91
25
29
37
0 27.5

England
30 October 2009
28 March 2011
83
45
21
17
0 54.2

England
28 March 2011
31 March 2012
62
29
22
11
0 46.8

England
26 February 2013
17 December 2015
148
69
38
41
0 46.6

Wales
6 January 2016
9 January 2019
170
87
46
37
0 51.2

Honours [edit ]

References [edit ]

bibliography [edit ]

Ellis, Brian; Shury, Alan; Bailey, Steve (1997). The Definitive Luton Town F.C. Nottingham: Soccerdata. ISBN 978-1-899468-10-2.
Collings, Timothy (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. Luton: Luton Town F.C. ISBN 978-0-9510679-0-1.
Hayes, Dean P. (2002). Completely Top Hatters!. Dunstable: Book Castle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-903747-27-8.

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