Luton Town Performances from 1897 until 2023

Luton Town Football Club is an English football club, founded in 1885.[1] After becoming the first professional team in the south of England in 1891,[2] Luton joined The Football League in 1897 before leaving three years later.[3] The club rejoined the League in 1920,[4] and reached its top division in 1955–56.[5] After losing the 1959 FA Cup Final 2–1 to Nottingham Forest,[6] a period of decline saw Luton in the Fourth Division by 1965.[7] After a swift revival the club was back in Division Two by 1970.[8] Luton earned another promotion four years later, returning to Division One for the 1974–75 season, in which Luton were relegated back to the Second Division.[9]

Financial crises during the 1970s led to the sale of important players[10][11] and it was not until David Pleat, a former Luton player, was appointed in 1978 that Luton started to recover.[12] Pleat's team achieved promotion in 1981–82, and remained in Division One until 1992. Luton won the League Cup in the 1987–88 season with a 3–2 victory over Arsenal, but it marked the beginning of decline.[9] Inconsistent performance and financial uncertainty meant that Luton rose and fell through the divisions from season to season,[13][14][15] and in 2007 a collapse began that would result in three successive relegations.[9] The club claimed a Football League Trophy victory in 2009,[16] but with it came the relegation to the Conference Premier made inevitable by 40 points deducted in two seasons.[17][18] Luton contested five years in non-League football, including three unsuccessful play-off campaigns, before winning promotion to League Two as Conference Premier champions in the 2013–14 season.[19] The club were promoted to League One after finishing second in League Two in 2017–18,[20][21] and the following season they won a second successive promotion to the Championship after winning the League One title.[22][23]

Key

Champions Runners-up Promoted Relegated

Top scorer and number of goals scored shown in bold when he was also top scorer for the division
Division shown in bold when it changes due to promotion, relegation or reorganisation
League results shown in italics for abandoned or wartime competitions

Seasons

Season League FA Cup League
Cup[a] 		Other competitions Top scorer(s)[b]
Division Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos. Competition Pos. Player(s) Goals
1885–86                   R1 — — none 0
1886–87 R1 — — E. Ellingham 1
1887–88 R1 — — George Deacon 1
1888–89 QR3 — — J.C. Lomax 6
1889–90 QR3 — — Harry Whitby
J.C. Lomax 		1
1890–91 QR1 — — none 0
1891–92 R1 — — Harry Whitby 5
1892–93 QR3 — — Frank Whitby 4
1893–94 R1 — — Fred Allen
Robert Dimmock 		3
1894–95 South[c] 16 9 4 3 36 22 22 2nd R1 — — Hugh Galbraith 16
1895–96 South 18 13 1 4 68 14 27 2nd QR1 — — Hugh Galbraith 17
1896–97 United[d] 14 10 1 3 52 16 21 2nd R1 — — George Ekins 9
1897–98 Div 2[e] 30 13 4 13 68 50 30 8th R1 — — Willie Stewart 12
United 16 13 2 1 49 11 28 1st
1898–99 Div 2 34 10 3 21 51 95 23 15th QR5 — — James Kemplay 12
United 20 2 3 15 24 71 7 11th
1899–1900 Div 2 34 5 8 21 40 75 18 17th QR5 — — John Brock 11
1900–01 South[f] 28 11 2 15 43 49 24 10th Int — — James Blessington
Jimmy Durrant 		11
1901–02 South 30 11 10 9 31 35 32 7th Int — — James Blessington 14
1902–03 South 30 10 7 13 43 44 27 11th R1 — — Leon Gall 12
1903–04 South 34 14 12 8 38 33 40 8th QR5 — — Jason McKee 9
1904–05 South 34 12 3 19 45 54 27 17th QR6 — — David Ross 12
1905–06 South 34 17 7 10 64 40 41 4th QR4 — — Sandy Brown 18
1906–07 South 38 18 9 11 52 52 45 4th R2 — — Sandy Brown 15
1907–08 South 38 12 6 20 33 56 30 18th R1 — — Herbert Moody 13
West 1B[g] 12 4 4 4 16 21 12 4th
1908–09 South 40 17 6 17 59 60 40 9th R1 — — Herbert Moody 15
West 1A 12 5 2 5 24 24 12 4th
1909–10 South 42 15 11 16 72 92 41 15th QR4 — — Thomas Quinn 24
1910–11 South 38 15 8 15 67 63 38 9th R1 — — Herbert Moody 25
1911–12 South 38 9 10 19 49 61 28 19th R1 — — Herbert Moody 15
1912–13 South 2 24 13 4 7 52 39 30 5th QR5 — — James Stephenson 10
1913–14 South 2 30 24 3 3 92 22 51 2nd QR5 — — Ernie Simms
Arthur Wileman 		28
1914–15 South 38 13 8 17 61 73 34 14th R1 — — Ernie Simms 30
1919–20 South 42 10 10 22 51 76 30 20th R2 — — Ernie Simms 12
1920–21 Div 3[h] 42 16 12 14 61 56 44 9th R3 — — Ernie Simms 34
1921–22 Div 3 S 42 22 8 12 64 35 52 4th R2 — — Ernie Simms 18
1922–23 Div 3 S 42 21 7 14 68 49 49 5th R1 — — Syd Reid 18
1923–24 Div 3 S 42 16 14 12 50 44 46 7th R1 — — Andy Kerr 20
1924–25 Div 3 S 42 10 17 15 49 57 37 16th R1 — — George Dennis
Syd Reid 		12
1925–26 Div 3 S 42 18 7 17 80 75 43 7th R2 — — Jimmy Thompson 25
1926–27 Div 3 S 42 15 14 13 68 66 44 8th R3 — — Syd Reid 21
1927–28 Div 3 S 42 16 7 19 94 87 39 13th R3 — — Jimmy Yardley 28
1928–29 Div 3 S 42 19 11 12 89 73 49 7th R3 — — Andy Rennie 48
1929–30 Div 3 S 42 14 12 16 64 78 40 13th R1 — — Andy Rennie
Jimmy Yardley 		17
1930–31 Div 3 S 42 19 8 15 76 51 46 7th R2 — — Andy Rennie 20
1931–32 Div 3 S 42 20 7 15 95 70 47 6th R3 — — Tommy Tait 27
1932–33 Div 3 S 42 13 13 16 78 78 39 14th R6 — — Tommy Tait 23
1933–34 Div 3 S 42 21 10 11 83 61 52 6th R3 Football League Third Division South Cup R2 Andy Rennie 17
1934–35 Div 3 S 42 19 12 11 92 60 50 4th R4 Football League Third Division South Cup R2 Jack Ball 31
1935–36 Div 3 S 42 22 12 8 81 45 56 2nd R4 Football League Third Division South Cup R1 George Stephenson 14
1936–37 Div 3 S 42 27 4 11 103 53 58 1st R4 Football League Third Division South Cup QF Joe Payne 58
1937–38 Div 2 42 15 10 17 89 86 40 12th R5 — — Joe Payne 16
1938–39 Div 2 42 22 5 15 82 66 49 7th R3 — — Hugh Billington 28
1939–40[i] Div 2 3 2 1 0 7 1 5 – n/a — — Hugh Billington 5
1945–46 n/a[j] – – – – – – – – R3 — — none 0
1946–47 Div 2 42 16 7 19 71 83 39 13th R5 — — Hugh Billington 28
1947–48 Div 2 42 14 12 16 56 59 40 13th R5 — — Hugh Billington 14
1948–49 Div 2 42 14 12 16 55 57 40 10th R5 — — Billy Arnison 19
1949–50 Div 2 42 10 18 14 41 51 38 17th R3 — — George Stobbart 9
1950–51 Div 2 42 9 14 19 57 70 32 19th R4 — — Willie Davie
George Stobbart 		9
1951–52 Div 2 42 16 12 14 77 78 44 8th R6 — — Jack Taylor 24
1952–53 Div 2 42 22 8 12 84 49 52 3rd R5 — — Jesse Pye 28
1953–54 Div 2 42 18 12 12 64 59 48 6th R4 — — Gordon Turner 16
1954–55 Div 2 42 23 8 11 88 53 54 2nd R5 — — Gordon Turner 37
1955–56 Div 1 42 17 8 17 66 64 42 10th R3 — — Gordon Turner 19
1956–57 Div 1 42 14 9 19 58 76 37 16th R3 — — Gordon Turner 35
1957–58 Div 1 42 19 6 17 69 63 44 8th R3 — — Gordon Turner 38
1958–59 Div 1 42 12 13 17 68 71 37 17th RU[k] — — Allan Brown 25
1959–60 Div 1 42 9 12 21 50 73 30 22nd R5 — — Billy Bingham 16
1960–61 Div 2 42 15 9 18 71 79 39 13th R5 R2 — — Gordon Turner 29
1961–62 Div 2 42 17 5 20 69 71 39 13th R3 R2 — — Gordon Turner 21
1962–63 Div 2 42 11 7 24 61 84 29 22nd R3 R4 — — Ron Davies 21
1963–64 Div 3 46 16 10 20 64 80 42 18th R3 R2 — — John O'Rourke 22
1964–65 Div 3 46 11 11 24 51 94 33 21st R3 R2 — — Tommy McKechnie 11
1965–66 Div 4 46 24 8 14 90 70 56 6th R2 R1 — — John O'Rourke 34
1966–67 Div 4 46 16 9 21 59 73 41 17th R2 R1 — — Bruce Rioch
Ray Whittaker 		11
1967–68 Div 4 46 27 12 7 87 44 66 1st R2 R2 — — Bruce Rioch 27
1968–69 Div 3 46 25 11 10 74 38 61 3rd R3 R3 — — Brian Lewis 23
1969–70 Div 3 46 23 14 9 77 43 60 2nd R2 R3 — — Malcolm Macdonald 28
1970–71 Div 2 42 18 13 11 62 43 49 6th R3 R3 Watney Cup QF Malcolm Macdonald 30
1971–72 Div 2 42 10 18 14 43 48 38 13th R3 R2 — — Peter Anderson 10
1972–73 Div 2 42 15 11 16 44 53 41 12th R6 R2 Anglo-Italian Cup Grp John Aston 12
1973–74 Div 2 42 19 12 11 64 51 50 2nd R5 R4 — — Barry Butlin 18
1974–75 Div 1 42 11 11 20 47 65 33 20th R3 R3 Texaco Cup Grp Adrian Alston 8
1975–76 Div 2 42 19 10 13 61 51 48 7th R4 R2 — — Jimmy Husband 14
1976–77 Div 2 42 21 6 15 67 48 48 6th R4 R2 — — Ron Futcher
Jimmy Husband 		13
1977–78 Div 2 42 14 10 18 54 52 38 13th R4 R3 — — Phil Boersma
Ron Futcher 		10
1978–79 Div 2 42 13 10 19 60 57 36 18th R3 QF — — Brian Stein 14
1979–80 Div 2 42 16 17 9 66 45 49 6th R3 R1 — — David Moss 24
1980–81 Div 2 42 18 12 12 61 46 48 5th R4 R3 — — David Moss
Brian Stein 		19
1981–82 Div 2 42 25 13 4 86 46 88[l] 1st R4 R2 — — Brian Stein 21
1982–83 Div 1 42 12 13 17 65 84 49 18th R4 R4 — — Brian Stein 15
1983–84 Div 1 42 14 9 19 53 66 51 16th R3 R2 — — Paul Walsh 14
1984–85 Div 1 42 15 9 18 57 61 54 13th SF R4 — — Mick Harford 16
1985–86 Div 1 42 18 12 12 61 44 66 9th R6 R3 — — Mick Harford 25
1986–87 Div 1 42 18 12 12 47 45 66 7th[m] R4 n/a[n] — — Mike Newell
Brian Stein 		13
1987–88 Div 1 40 14 11 15 57 58 53 9th SF W[o] Full Members' Cup RU[p] Mick Harford 21
Football League Centenary Tournament R1
1988–89 Div 1 38 10 11 17 42 52 41 16th R3 RU[q] Full Members' Cup R3 Roy Wegerle
Danny Wilson 		12
1989–90 Div 1 38 10 11 17 42 52 41 16th R3 R3 Full Members' Cup R2S Kingsley Black
Iain Dowie 		11
1990–91 Div 1 38 10 7 21 42 61 37 18th R4 R2 Full Members' Cup SFS Lars Elstrup 18
1991–92 Div 1 42 10 12 20 38 71 42 20th R3 R2 Full Members' Cup R2S Mick Harford 12
1992–93 Div 1[r] 46 10 21 15 48 62 51 20th R4 R2 Anglo-Italian Cup Grp Phil Gray 20
1993–94 Div 1 46 14 11 21 56 60 53 20th SF R1 Anglo-Italian Cup Grp Scott Oakes 13
1994–95 Div 1 46 15 13 18 61 64 58 16th R4 R1 — — Dwight Marshall 13
1995–96 Div 1 46 11 12 23 40 64 45 24th R3 R1 Anglo-Italian Cup Grp Dwight Marshall 13
1996–97 Div 2 46 21 15 10 71 45 78 3rd[s] R3 R3 Football League Trophy R2S Tony Thorpe 31
1997–98 Div 2 46 14 15 17 60 64 57 17th R1 R2 Football League Trophy SFS Tony Thorpe 19
1998–99 Div 2 46 16 10 20 51 60 58 12th R2 QF Football League Trophy R2S Phil Gray 13
1999–2000 Div 2 46 17 10 19 61 65 61 13th R3 R1 Football League Trophy R1S Liam George 16
2000–01 Div 2 46 9 13 24 52 80 40 22nd R3 R2 Football League Trophy R1S Liam George 9
2001–02 Div 3 46 30 7 9 96 48 97 2nd R1 R1 Football League Trophy R2S Steve Howard 24
2002–03 Div 2 46 17 14 15 67 62 65 9th R2 R2 Football League Trophy QFS Steve Howard 23
2003–04 Div 2 46 17 15 14 69 66 66 10th R4 R2 Football League Trophy QFS Steve Howard 16
2004–05 Lge 1[t] 46 29 11 6 87 48 98 1st R3 R1 Football League Trophy R1S Steve Howard 22
2005–06 Champ 46 17 10 19 66 67 61 10th R3 R2 — — Steve Howard 15
2006–07 Champ 46 10 10 26 53 81 40 23rd R4 R3 — — Rowan Vine 14
2007–08 Lge 1 46 11 10 25 43 63 33[u] 24th R3 R4 Football League Trophy R2S Paul Furlong
Matthew Spring 		12
2008–09 Lge 2 46 13 17 16 58 65 26[v] 24th R2 R2 Football League Trophy W[w] Chris Martin 13
2009–10 Conf Prem 44 26 10 8 84 40 88 2nd[x] R3 — FA Trophy R1 Tom Craddock 24
2010–11 Conf Prem 46 23 15 8 85 37 84 3rd[y] R2 — FA Trophy SF Matthew Barnes-Homer 19
2011–12 Conf Prem 46 22 15 9 78 42 81 5th[z] R2 — FA Trophy SF Stuart Fleetwood 16
2012–13 Conf Prem 46 18 13 15 70 62 67 7th[aa] R5 — FA Trophy QF Andre Gray 20
2013–14 Conf Prem 46 30 11 5 102 35 101 1st R1 — FA Trophy R3 Andre Gray 30
2014–15 Lge 2 46 19 11 16 54 44 68 8th R3 R1 Football League Trophy R2S Mark Cullen 14
2015–16 Lge 2 46 19 9 18 63 61 66 11th R2 R2 Football League Trophy R2S Jack Marriott 16
2016–17 Lge 2 46 20 17 9 70 43 77 4th[ab] R3 R2 EFL Trophy SF Danny Hylton 27
2017–18 Lge 2 46 25 13 8 94 46 88 2nd R3 R1 EFL Trophy R3S Danny Hylton 23
2018–19 Lge 1 46 27 13 6 90 42 94 1st R3 R1 EFL Trophy R2S James Collins 25
2019–20 Champ 46 14 9 23 54 82 51 19th R3 R3 — — James Collins 14
2020–21 Champ 46 17 11 18 41 52 62 12th R4 R3 — — James Collins 13
2021–22 Champ 46 21 12 13 63 55 75 6th[ac] R5 R1 — — Elijah Adebayo 17
2022–23 Champ 46 21 17 8 57 39 80 3rd[ad] R4 R1 — — Carlton Morris 20

Footnotes

  1. ^ The League Cup competition started in the 1960–61 season.
  2. ^ Includes goals scored in the Southern League, United League, The Football League (including play-offs), FA Cup, Football League Third Division South Cup, EFL Cup, Watney Cup, Anglo-Italian Cup, Texaco Cup, Full Members' Cup and Associate Members' Cup/Football League Trophy
  3. ^ Luton Town were founder members of the Southern Football League.
  4. ^ Luton Town left the Southern League to become founder members of the United League.
  5. ^ Luton were elected to the Football League Second Division. They continued to field a second side in the United League for two more seasons.
  6. ^ Luton resigned from The Football League and rejoined the Southern League.
  7. ^ Luton Town started to enter a team into the Western Football League as well as the Southern League in 1907, but this arrangement only lasted two seasons. 1907–08 was spent in Division 1B, 1908–09 in Division 1A.
  8. ^ Luton were elected to the Football League Third Division.
  9. ^ Because of the outbreak of the Second World War, the 1939–40 season was abandoned in September and all results annulled. Three matches had been played.
  10. ^ During the first season after the Second World War, 1945–46, the Football League was not contested and all FA Cup ties were played over two legs.
  11. ^ Luton Town's first appearance in a major final. Luton lost 2–1 to Nottingham Forest.
  12. ^ The 1981–82 season saw the introduction of three points for a win.
  13. ^ Highest finish in the English football pyramid.
  14. ^ Luton Town were disqualified from the 1986–87 League Cup for refusing to admit away fans following the 1985 Kenilworth Road riot.[24]
  15. ^ Defeated Arsenal 3–2
  16. ^ Lost 4–1 to Reading
  17. ^ Lost 3–1 to Nottingham Forest
  18. ^ Upon its formation before the 1992–93 season, the FA Premier League became the top tier of English football; the First, Second and Third Divisions then became the second, third and fourth tiers, respectively.
  19. ^ Lost in the play-off semi-final to Crewe Alexandra, 4–3 on aggregate
  20. ^ Before the 2004–05 season, Football League re-branded Division One as the Football League Championship. Divisions Two and Three became Leagues One and Two, respectively.
  21. ^ 10 points deducted for entering administration[25]
  22. ^ 30 points deducted—20 by the Football League, 10 by the FA—for various financial irregularities under past owners[26]
  23. ^ Defeated Scunthorpe United 3–2 after extra time (2–2 after 90 minutes)
  24. ^ Lost in the play-off semi-final to York City, 2–0 on aggregate
  25. ^ Lost in the play-off final to AFC Wimbledon, 4–3 on penalties (0–0 after 90 minutes and extra time)
  26. ^ Lost to York City in the play-off final, 2–1
  27. ^ Lowest finish in the English football pyramid.
  28. ^ Lost in the play-off semi-final to Blackpool, 6–5 on aggregate
  29. ^ Lost in the play-off semi-final to Huddersfield Town, 2–1 on aggregate
  30. ^ Won in the play-off final to Coventry City, 6–5 on penalties (1–1 after 90 minutes and extra time)

References

General

Specific

  1. ^ Collings (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 1–2.
  2. ^ Collings (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 3–4.
  3. ^ Collings (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 11–13.
  4. ^ Collings (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 26–27.
  5. ^ Collings (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 70–74.
  6. ^ Collings (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 78–82.
  7. ^ Collings (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 95–98.
  8. ^ Collings (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 108–111.
  9. ^ a b c Rundle, Richard. "Football Club History Database – Luton Town". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 29 May 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  10. ^ Vernon, Leslie (1971). "May 1971". Rothman's Football Yearbook 1971–72. The Queen Anne Press.
  11. ^ Vernon, Leslie (1976). "December 1975". Rothman's Football Yearbook 1976–77. The Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0-362-00259-2.
  12. ^ "David Pleat's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  13. ^ "Winners and Losers". The Independent. London: Independent News & Media. 6 May 1996. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  14. ^ Haylett, Trevor (25 April 2001). "Rotherham on the rise as Luton fall". The Independent. London: Independent News & Media. Retrieved 24 May 2009.[dead link]
  15. ^ Brown, Geoff (1 May 2005). "Round-up : Coventry end with demolition Derby". The Independent. London: Independent News & Media. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  16. ^ Fletcher, Paul (5 April 2009). "Luton 3–2 Scunthorpe (aet)". BBC. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  17. ^ Solhekol, Kaveh (16 July 2008). "Luton Town lose appeal against points deduction". The Times. London: Times Newspapers. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  18. ^ "Luton 0–0 Chesterfield". BBC. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  19. ^ "Luton Town win Conference Premier and Football League spot". BBC Sport. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  20. ^ Simmonds, Mike (21 April 2018). "Luton seal promotion to League One with Carlisle draw". Luton Today. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  21. ^ "Luton Town 3–1 Forest Green Rovers". BBC Sport. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  22. ^ "League One promotion: Luton Town and Barnsley return to Championship for 2019–20". BBC Sport. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  23. ^ "League One roundup: Luton seal title as Plymouth go down on goal difference". The Guardian. London. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  24. ^ Hayes (2002). Completely Top Hatters!. pp. 7–8.
  25. ^ "Luton suffer 10-point deduction". BBC. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  26. ^ "Luton to face 30-point deduction". BBC. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2009.

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