List of Luton Town F.C. seasons

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]

  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. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. 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. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  16. ^ Fletcher, Paul (5 April 2009). "Luton 3–2 Scunthorpe (aet)". BBC. Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  17. ^ Solhekol, Kaveh (16 July 2008). "Luton Town lose appeal against points deduction". The Times. London: Times Newspapers. Archived from the original on 18 September 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  18. ^ "Luton 0–0 Chesterfield". BBC. 13 April 2009. Archived from the original on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  19. ^ "Luton Town win Conference Premier and Football League spot". BBC Sport. 15 April 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  20. ^ Simmonds, Mike (21 April 2018). "Luton seal promotion to League One with Carlisle draw". Luton Today. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  21. ^ "Luton Town 3–1 Forest Green Rovers". BBC Sport. 28 April 2018. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  22. ^ "League One promotion: Luton Town and Barnsley return to Championship for 2019–20". BBC Sport. 30 April 2019. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. 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.