Luton Town F.C.

Luton Town F.C.
Full name Luton Town Football Club
Nickname(s) The Hatters
Founded 1885
(Merger of Wanderers and Excelsior)
Ground Kenilworth Road
Luton
(Capacity: 10,260)
Chairman Flag of England Nick Owen
Manager Flag of England Mick Harford
League League Two
2007-08 League One, 24th
(relegated)
Team colours Team colours Team colours
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Team colours Team colours Team colours
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Away colours

Luton Town Football Club is an English football team based in the town of Luton in Bedfordshire. They are nicknamed The Hatters due to the historical association of the town with the hat-making trade. The club compete in the Football League Two for the 2008-09 season, following their relegation from League One. They are currently managed by Mick Harford, who was a playing legend at the club from 1984 to 1990, and then again from 1991 to 1992. Harford was appointed during the second half of the 2007-08 campaign.

Luton Town won their first (and so far only) piece of major silverware in 1988, when they won the League Cup under the management of Ray Harford, beating Arsenal 3-2. Luton also reached the final the following year, but failed to regain their crown, losing 3-1 to Nottingham Forest. The two teams also met in the 1959 FA Cup Final, Luton Town's first appearance in a major final, with Nottingham Forest winning 2-1.

Luton Town were the first professional club in southern England, making payments to players as early as 1890[1]. In 1936, Luton striker Joe Payne scored 10 goals in a single match which remains a football league record.

The club are also known for having a series of financial catastrophes which have plagued its history, the controversial "plastic pitch" of the 1980s, a notorious incident involving rioting hooligans at a match against Millwall in 1985 and the subsequent ban on visiting supporters that lasted until 1991. Financial mismanagement has caused the club to enter administration three times in recent years. Luton's old and historic Kenilworth Road ground has caused the club to run at a loss for decades, and the club have been looking for a new ground for much of that time.

Luton are one of a relatively small number of teams to have played in all four divisions of the Football League. Rarer still is the fact that Luton have achieved this twice. Their most recent spell as a top division club was from 1982 to 1992. They then fell through the leagues and were relegated to the basement division in 2001. A brief rise to the renamed Football League Championship in 2005 proved a false start, and they were relegated twice in a row, for a third stint in the bottom division.

The club is currently owned and run by the Luton Town Football Club 2020 consortium, fronted by Midlands Today presenter Nick Owen.

Contents

History

For more details on this topic, see History of Luton Town F.C.

Luton Town Football Club was formed on Sunday, April 11, 1885 - a merger of the two leading local teams, the (Luton) Wanderers and Excelsior. They moved several times before arriving at their current ground, Kenilworth Road, in 1905. Luton were the first professional club in the south of England, becoming fully professional in 1891. They had already started paying chosen individual players the year before.

Luton joined the Football League in 1897, but left 3 years later due to bad attendances, high wages, and the fact that due to most professional clubs at the time being in the north of England, they were spending too much money on transport. Luton enjoyed a lot of success in the United League during their early years, winning it twice, and were founder members of the Southern League.

Luton first adopted their white and black colours in 1919, the same year as they rejoined the Football League. They stayed in the Third Division (South) until 1937, when they were crowned champions, and were promoted to the Second Division. During that season striker Joe Payne scored fifty-five goals in thirty-nine games, including ten in one match.

Luton Town's league standings since 1950

It wasn't until 1955 that Luton finally graced the top flight, when they were promoted to the First Division. A few years of success followed, including an FA Cup Final defeat to Nottingham Forest in 1959. Luton player Syd Owen was voted Footballer of the Year at the end of that season. However they were relegated the following season, and would be in the Fourth Division by 1965.

Luton won the Fourth Division in 1968, with players like Bruce Rioch, John Moore and David Pleat in the side. Two years later Malcolm Macdonald fired them to another promotion, and Eric Morecambe became a director of the club.

Pleat was made manager in 1978, and in 1981 Luton were back in the top flight. Luton won the League Cup in 1988, and achieved their highest ever league position, 7th, in 1987. In 1989 they reached the final of the League Cup again, but lost to Nottingham Forest.

In 1992 Luton were relegated again, and have not been in the top flight since. In 1996 they were relegated to the third tier, and missed out on bouncing back at the first attempt in the playoffs. They stayed in the third tier until 2001. Several notable players were sold during this time, including Matthew Upson, Kelvin Davis and Graham Alexander.

In 2001, Joe Kinnear took over and built a new squad including Kevin Nicholls, Chris Coyne and Steve Howard that won promotion at the first attempt, second only to Plymouth Argyle.

In May 2003, the club was taken over by a mysterious consortium. Days afterwards, manager Kinnear and his assistant Mick Harford were both sacked. This sparked a protest by Luton fans, who demanded their instant re-appointment. The protest was fierce and led to the resignations of new chairman Roger Terrell and vice-chairman Lee Power. This forced the leader behind the consortium, John Gurney, to reveal himself. Trust in Luton was set up, and TiL managed to oust Gurney. It was Gurney, however, who appointed Mike Newell as manager, following a bizarre phone-vote. Newell would take Luton into the Football League Championship in 2005, after being crowned champions of League One, and then to 10th place the next season.

However, Luton then fell again. The nucleus of the side who had taken Luton up was ripped apart, with players such as Nicholls, Howard, Carlos Edwards and Rowan Vine sold. Luton were relegated the next season, only kept off the bottom by Leeds.

Kevin Blackwell arrived as manager in the second half of the 2006-07 campaign, and he overhauled the squad during the summer. However the team he built finished bottom of League One, albeit with a ten point deduction for entering administration. Blackwell was sacked during January, and playing hero Mick Harford was brought in as his replacement.

The financial chaos culminated in Luton Town Football Club 2020 taking over the club in 2008, and facing the brunt of what the former owners, Jayten, had done. Due to financial irregularites, Luton were docked 10 points for the 2008-09 season - and then 20 points by the Football League for exiting administration without a Company Voluntary Agreement. Luton Town therefore started the 2008-09 campaign on -30 points.

2008-09 Season

Manager Mick Harford faced a great challenge, and needed to practically rebuild the squad from scratch. Indeed, on the opening day of the season six new faces were in the starting lineup. Club hero Kevin Nicholls returned to captain the team from Preston, Claude Gnakpa joined from Peterborough, Asa Hall signed from Birmingham City, and many other players were signed including Michael Spillane and Chris Martin both on season-long loans from Norwich and George Pilkington from Port Vale.[2][3]

Luton made a decent start to the season, beating Plymouth in the League Cup before going down 5-1 at Reading, and reaching -19 points by the start of October. However form soon slumped - Luton could only manage a draw away at Bradford, and after a penalty shootout win over Brentford in the Football League Trophy, they lost two home games in a row. First Darlington piled on the misery with a last minute winner in front of the Oak Road, and then the worst Luton performance in recent memory saw them defeated 2-1 by Accrington Stanley.[4]

Meanwhile, manager Mick Harford continued to try and regenerate the squad - Irish winger Garreth O'Connor was drafted in from free agency[5], as was former Coventry City forward Wayne Andrews.[6] A spate of injuries did not help matters - talismanic captain Kevin Nicholls had not played since August, star forward Sam Parkin was struggling and defensive rock George Pilkington was still out. Harford introduced several younger players into the team, including blooding Jake Howells from the youth ranks, bringing in Harry Worley on loan from Leicester[7], and just before the Accrington game, centre forward Tom Craddock on loan from Middlesbrough.[6]

Craddock made a big impact in his second game - scoring two goals at Grimsby as he ran the Mariners' defence ragged. Craddock earnt and scored a penalty after Grimsby had taken an early lead, and then, deep into injury time, crashed the ball into the far corner from long range to secure a vital point for Luton and send the travelling fans into raptures. Luton Town history was made in this game as striker Jordan Patrick pulled on the number 29 shirt to become Luton's youngest ever player - at 16 years and 11 days, Patrick came off the bench late on to set up Craddock's equaliser.[8] Parkin finally came off the bench during this game, but failed to score. He was sent out on loan to Leyton Orient days later, with a view to a permanent deal.[9]

A 2-1 away victory at Bury with Craddock grabbing another goal and Ian Roper heading in his first in a Luton shirt saw Luton climb to -14 points[10], but three days later, a Tuesday night game against Bournemouth at Kenilworth Road was abandoned after only eight minutes due to bad weather.[11] Luton's form was obviously interrupted - a 3-0 annihalation followed that Saturday at Shrewsbury, putting a dent into Luton's charge for safety.[12]

Luton then faced a tough trip to third-tier Walsall in the Football League Trophy Southern Section semi-finals. Surprisingly, Luton ripped up the form book as they dominated Walsall for much of the game, and nabbed a winner courtesy of Rossi Jarvis just a minute from time to put them only three matches away from a day out at Wembley.[13]

However form quickly dropped again as four days later Luton took on Conference National side Altrincham in the FA Cup 1st Round at Kenilworth Road - in an incredibly dull game, Luton were unable to break the part-timers down and the match finished goalless. However some positives did come out of the game for the Hatters, as captain Kevin Nicholls started the game and lasted until half time, and long-term absentee forward Drew Talbot came on for the last quarter of an hour.[14] Mick Harford had intended to give 15 year old striker Jean-Phillipe Yamfam a place on the bench, but had been unable to do so as the competition's rules prohibited the use of players below the age of 16. Had Yamfam been allowed to play, and done so, he would have broken the record set by Jordan Patrick only weeks before for youngest ever Luton player.[15]

Ahead of Luton's next game, at home against Dagenham & Redbridge, Luton were boosted by the news that Craddock had extended his loan from Middlesbrough by a month, keeping him in Bedfordshire until after the Morecambe game on December 20.[16] With Talbot, Nicholls and O'Connor all returning to action the week before, this gave the squad a much more healthy complexion ahead of the clash with the Daggers. However, when Craddock suddenly injured his groin only days after signing, Luton were forced to bring in another striker - former Queens Park Rangers hitman Kevin Gallen was signed on loan for a month.[17] Gallen's debut proved to be a priceless home victory, with Sol Davis and Paul McVeigh both tucking away their first of the season in a 2-1 win.[18]

The replay against Altrincham came three days later, and with Gallen ineligible and Craddock still out the squad suddenly looked much more streamlined. Sol Davis was sent off for bringing down an Altrincham forward in front of an open goal, but on-loan goalkeeper Conrad Logan was the hero of the night as he saved the resulting penalty, and then two more in the shootout which followed 210 minutes of goalless football. Luton won the shoot-out 4-2 to earn a second round game at Southend United on the 29th.[19]

At Spotland, Luton collapsed to a 2-0 defeat against Rochdale due to some bizarre refereeing decisions by referee Steve Bratt - Bratt bemused both sets of fans and gave a penalty to the home side despite neither the players nor fans appealing.[20]

Kenilworth Road

The view from the Kenilworth End

The club play at the 10,248 seater Kenilworth Road Stadium in the Bury Park area of Luton. The club have been reporting annual losses there since the 1980s.

The stadium was sold to the local council in the late 1980s due to financial difficulties under then chairman David Evans. During the 90s, owner David Kohler put in a planning application for a new stadium adjacent to Junction 10 of the M1. The application was refused. The site has since been purchased by the Watson-Challis family, who have frequently announced their intention to submit a new planning application there. However, issues arose over the viability of the site first after Luton Airport announced their plans to build a new runway, and then again after work to widen the M1 reduced the site's area.

In February 2008 a consortium led by local businessman Cliff Bassett applied for planning permission to build a large industrial estate including a stadium at a green belt site adjacent to Junction 12 of the M1. The application is opposed by all the local councils, most local residents and a majority of the club's supporters. The club's prospective new owners, 2020, have announced they will wait for the results of an independent feasibility study before committing themselves to any development.

Colours

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Luton's first established colours, worn between 1901 and 1920.
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Luton's "traditional" white and black kit, originally worn between 1920 and 1973.
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A dramatic change for the 1973-74 season saw Luton run out in a recognisable orange and navy outfit.
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An all-white strip with orange sleeves was worn during the 1981-82 season, when Luton were crowned champions of the Second Division.
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The kit in which Luton beat Arsenal 3-2 in the 1988 Littlewoods Cup Final to win their first piece of major silverware.

Luton currently play in white shirts, navy shorts and white socks, with orange trim. The club decided on a return to these colours following a poll of fans.[21] Luton had previously been using the club's traditional colours of white and black, following a return to that colour scheme for the 2000-01 campaign.

From the club's founding, Luton Town changed their colours regularly - their original kit was a claret and navy halved shirt, with navy shorts and socks and even replete with a cap matching the shirt.[22] White and black were used for the first time in 1891, but were quickly abandoned in favour of a claret shirt, with navy shorts and socks. In 1896 they changed again, to a bizarre white, black and claret striped shirt that only lasted two years. Luton then wore a smart navy blue shirt, with white shorts and navy socks.

It wasn't until 1901 however that Luton took on a colour scheme that lasted - a much lighter shade of blue was adopted for the shirt, while the white shorts and navy socks remained. In 1910 a 'V' on the front of the shirt was added in royal blue, along with a royal blue collar.

In 1920 there was another overhaul, and Luton took on what is now seen as their 'traditional' kit. White shirts were adopted, with black shorts and socks. White and black had been first used way back in 1891, but had never been used again since. They were worn with black socks initially, but from 1947 to 1958 black and white hooped socks were seen. Eventually in 1966 Luton changed to white socks.

In 1973, Luton suddenly changed from the established white and black to orange and navy - this was to set them apart from the many other teams who regularly ran out in white and black, such as Derby County, Fulham and Port Vale. This new colour scheme was very recognisable and distinctive, and the club retains navy and orange in its colours to this day.

However this didn't last long - in 1979 another dramatic change coincided with Adidas arriving as kit manufacturer. Luton took to the field in an all-white affair, with orange and navy trim and an orange collar. This kit was unusual in that it saw the club badge on the right breast rather than the left - this was due to the orange and navy stripe down the left side of the shirt. Adidas's logo was moved below the sponsor to accommodate this. In 1981 Orange sleeves were added, as the club badge and kit manufacturer's logo returned to their traditional positions. Luton won promotion back to the First Division, and retained the orange sleeves for two more years.

For much of their time in the First Division, Luton were recognisable for their plain white shirts with navy trim, navy shorts and white socks. Indeed, their kit changed very little from 1984 until 1991. The only notable change was the removal of the orange trim on the socks for the 1988-89 campaign.

For the 1991-92 season, Luton changed to a very unusual white, royal blue and orange design - which was apparently designed to resemble tracksuits which were popular at the time. On top of the bizarre lines and panels on the shirt, a royal blue collar was added, along with royal blue sleeves and socks. The garish design did not fare Luton well, as they were finally relegated from the top flight after ten years, on the last day of the season (and, in fact, the last day of the old 'Four Division' Football League).

Luton returned to a more sensible outfit the next season, with plain white shirts, shorts and socks, all with blue and orange trim. After two years, navy sleeves were added, along with orange pinstripes that only lasted a year.

In 1997, royal blue returned, as Luton wore a white shirt with royal blue shoulders, with royal blue shorts and socks. In 1999 they bore a design reminiscent of the 1970's, wearing an orange shirt with royal blue trim, royal blue shorts and hooped orange and blue socks. The two colours clashed however, and after only a season Luton returned to their traditional white and black kit, however still bearing hints of orange trim.

The kit worn for the 2007-08 campaign was notable as it was the first since 1973 to be plain white and black, as there was no orange included at all.

Due to the club's chaotic season, the new owners, Luton Town Football Club 2020, were not able to get the new Carbrini Sportswear supplied and sponsored kit in time for the start of the 2008-09 campaign. As a result Luton wore a replica of their 1988 Littlewoods Cup winning shirt, with plain black shorts and white socks, during some matches in August 2008.

Change colours have tended to be either orange or navy (or a combination of the two, along with white trim). At present, Luton wear a navy blue outfit with white socks and orange trim.

Due to Luton's use historically of both black and navy blue, navy blue in their strips is sometimes misconstrued as black.

Players

Current squad

As of 28 October 2008.[23]
No. Position Player
1 Flag of England GK Dean Brill
2 Flag of France DF Claude Gnakpa
3 Flag of England DF Sol Davis
4 Flag of Ireland MF Keith Keane
5 Flag of England DF Ian Roper
6 Flag of England DF George Pilkington
7 Flag of Ireland MF Garreth O'Connor
8 Flag of England MF Kevin Nicholls (captain)
10 Flag of England FW Ryan Charles
11 Flag of Ireland MF Lewis Emanuel
14 Flag of England MF Asa Hall
15 Flag of England DF Ed Asafu-Adjaye
16 Flag of England MF Rossi Jarvis
17 Flag of England MF Kevin Watson
No. Position Player
18 Flag of England FW Chris Martin (on loan from Norwich City)
19 Flag of England FW Drew Talbot
20 Flag of Ireland DF Michael Spillane (on loan from Norwich City)
21 Flag of Ireland GK Conrad Logan (on loan from Leicester City)
23 Flag of England FW Wayne Andrews
24 Flag of England FW Tom Craddock (on loan from Middlesbrough)
25 Flag of England DF George Beavan
28 Flag of Northern Ireland FW Paul McVeigh
29 Flag of England FW Jordan Patrick
32 Flag of England FW Kevin Gallen (on loan from Milton Keynes Dons)
33 Flag of England DF Jake Howells
36 Flag of England GK Aaron Fletcher
40 Flag of England FW Scott Sinclair

Out on loan

No. Position Player
9 Flag of Scotland FW Sam Parkin (on loan at Leyton Orient)
27 Flag of England MF Dean Morgan (on loan at Leyton Orient)
–– Flag of England MF Matthew Spring (on loan at Sheffield United)

Rivalry

Watford

Luton fans maintain a rivalry with those of Watford. The two clubs met regularly in the Southern and Football Leagues from 1900 to 1937, but Luton's promotion meant that aside from a Southern Cup meeting, the two clubs did not meet again until 1964. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s they played each other sporadically, and the rivalry gradually grew in significance. They were both promoted to the First Division in the 1981-82 season, with Luton taking the championship ahead of Watford. Both clubs were also relegated together from the new Division One in the 1995-96 season. Watford's promotion from Division Two in 1997-98 meant that the two clubs did not meet again in the League until the 2005-06 season, when Luton were promoted into the Championship.

In all meetings between the two clubs, Luton have the far superior record, with 56 wins and 183 goals to Watford's 37 and 156. 29 matches have ended in draws.

Other rivals

There are lesser rivalries with clubs such as QPR,[24] Millwall, and Brentford.

Club officials

Honours

Managers

Records

Supporters groups

References

  1. ↑ The Luton Town Story 1885-1985, Timothy Collings, pp4-6
  2. ↑ "AFTER THE WAIT, HERE'S THE FIRST EIGHT!", Luton Town FC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  3. ↑ "THREE MORE SIGN FOR THE HATTERS", Luton Town FC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  4. ↑ "Luton 1-2 Accrington", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  5. ↑ "Luton recruit midfielder O'Connor", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "HATTERS COMPLETE DOUBLE STRIKER SWOOP", Luton Town FC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  7. ↑ "Foxes' Worley joins Luton on loan", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  8. ↑ "Grimsby 2-2 Luton", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  9. ↑ "PARKIN MOVE CONFIRMED", Luton Town FC. Retrieved on 2008-10-24. 
  10. ↑ "Bury 1-2 Luton", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  11. ↑ "Luton A-A Bournemouth", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  12. ↑ "Shrewsbury 3-0 Luton", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  13. ↑ "Walsall 0-1 Luton", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-05. 
  14. ↑ "Luton 0-0 Altrincham", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-08. 
  15. ↑ "Yamfam added to squad for Altrincham tie", Luton Today. Retrieved on 2008-11-08. 
  16. ↑ "CRADDOCK SIGNS FOR ANOTHER MONTH", Luton Town FC. Retrieved on 2008-11-13. 
  17. ↑ "GALLEN SIGNS FOR A MONTH", Luton Town FC. Retrieved on 2008-11-14. 
  18. ↑ "Luton 2-1 Dag & Red", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-16-05. 
  19. ↑ "Altrincham 0-0 Luton (aet)", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-20. 
  20. ↑ "Rochdale 2-0 Luton", BBC. Retrieved on 2008-11-25. 
  21. ↑ "One Day to Go!!". www.lutontown.premiumtv.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-10-10.
  22. ↑ "Luton Town - Historical Football Kits". Historical Football Kits. Retrieved on 2008-10-10.
  23. ↑ "First Team". Luton Town FC. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  24. ↑ "Football Rivalries: The Complete Results". Planetfootball.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-02.
  25. ↑ "Football Club History Database - Luton Town". Richard Rundle. Retrieved on 2008-10-09.
  26. ↑ "Luton Town Supporters Club". Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  27. ↑ "Loyal Luton Supporters Club". Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  28. ↑ "Trust in Luton". Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  29. ↑ "Luton Outlaws". Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  30. ↑ "Ten questions for ... Monty Panesar". The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  31. ↑ "The Den of Geek interview: Colin Salmon". www.denofgeek.com/. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  32. ↑ "Lutonfc.com history". www.lutonfc.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  33. ↑ "John Hegley: On the buses". www.angelmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
  34. ↑ "Luton Town a labour of love for Nick Owen". Telegraph. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.

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