History                                         The history of Luton Town Football Club

Luton Town Football Club came into existence through an amalgamation of two existing clubs, The Wanderers and The Excelsiors.  A meeting at Luton Town Hall on April 11, 1885, passed the resolution that the 'Luton Town Club be formed' and decreed that the colours should be 'navy blue and pink halves for both shirts and caps.'  The merger was harmonious to some extent as the first ever Luton Town team consisted of 6 players from one club and 5 from the other, although what was left of the Wanderers team competed in that season's FA Cup as Luton Wanderers.  The Wanderers indeed had the greater track record of the two clubs, having once played in the FA Cup against the great Old Etonians side of the time.  Where are they now, eh?

Kenilworth Road pictured in 1905.

Luton Town became founder members of the Southern League in 1894, finishing runners-up to Millwall in both the inaugural and second season.  In fact, progress was so swift that by 1897, Luton were elected to play in the Second Division of the Football League.  However, high costs associated with playing at League level (particularly as the bulk of the clubs were from the grim north) meant that Luton had to resign its position from the League just three years later.  But it's fair to say that by the late-Victorian era, Luton Town FC had already made its mark on the footballing world.  Not only were they founder members of the Southern League (remember football at this time was dominated by northern teams) but we had become the first club to join and leave the oldest Football League in the world.  In addition, we became the first professional team in Southern England in 1890, when the club started to pay three of its players a grand fee of five shillings (25p) per week and by the following year, the entire team was on the payroll.

Goal machine Joe Payne.

So the club went back into the Southern League where success did not quite come so readily this time, in fact they slumped into the Second Division of the SL for a couple of seasons.  The club moved to its current home, Kenilworth Road, in 1905 (after spells on Dunstable Road and Dallow Lane), which appeared to be the most notable event during the early part of the 20th Century.  Following the end of the WWI, the Southern League reformed as Division 3 of the Football League, where Luton stayed for the following 17 seasons.  The mid-1930s saw a considerable improvement though and the club finished runners-up to Coventry in 1935-1936, but these were the days when only one club was promoted.  On Easter Monday of that season, an injury crises forced the club to call on the services of Joe Payne, a young wing-half signed from Bolsover Colliery in 1934, to play up front against Bristol Rovers.  He capped his debut as a Centre Forward with the remarkable feat of scoring 10 goals in one game, a record that will surely never be surpassed.  This was no flash in the pan either, as Payne bagged 55 of the following season's 103-goal tally in a Championship winning season.

Luton quickly established its credentials as a Division 2 team and when War broke out in September 1939, they were sitting on top of the table.  By then, Payne had departed to Chelsea, his tally of 83 goals in 72 appearances a pretty good tally!  By this time the clubs nickname 'The Straw Plaiters', which reflected Luton's long-held association with the hat trade, had been altered to 'The Hatters'.  Just as a sideline, the 'Mad as a Hatter' phrase is derived from the hat industry but not the straw-hat manufacturing business associated with Luton.  For this you have to go to south Manchester, which became of the centre of the felt-hat making industry in late-Victorian times, hence Stockport are also known as 'The Hatters'.  Mercury was a component in the manufacture of felt hats so if the workers inhaled too much of it, they became Stockport fans or something!

Bob Morton.

Luton struggled in the late 1940s/early 1950s to build on the success of the pre-War squad but in the mid-1950s, under the guidance of manager Dally Duncan, clinched promotion to the First Division for the first time in the club's history.  And the spell in the top flight was no one-season wonder either: The Hatters beat some of the giants of the day including Wolves, Newcastle and Blackpool to finish in a respectable mid-table position and in 1957-58, secured eighth spot, the highest finish to date.

Cup Final: The Luton players at Wembley in 1959.

The following season was all about the Road to Wembley, as the side swept all aside to reach the 1959 FA Cup Final.  This included a quarter-final victory over Stanley Matthews' Blackpool, which saw 30,069 squeeze into Kenilworth Road for the still record home attendance.  The team, at the time, included Luton legends such as Bob Morton, who set a club record of 550 appearances, and Billy Bingham.  Syd Owen was captain and manager for the Wembley game; a true leader of men and widely considered Luton's best ever centre-half.  Luton lost the Final to Nottingham Forest 1-2, despite Forest playing 55 minutes of the game with only ten men after Roy Dwight (the uncle of a certain Reg Dwight, aka Elton John) suffered a broken leg.  This proved to be Syd's last game for the Hatters but his season was rewarded by collecting the Footballer of the Year award.  His ensuing period as manager proved less successful, Luton were relegated to the Second Division the following season and by 1965 had somehow slumped into the Fourth Division.  Of note during this period was the 1961 Cup-tie against Manchester City.  Denis Law scored a double-hat-trick to put City 6-2 up when the tie was abandoned due to fog.  Luton won the re-staged match by 3 goals to 1, Denis Law bagging Manchester City's consolation.

Syd Owen.

Allan Brown, a veteran of the 1959 Cup Final team, was appointed manager and although the 1966-1967 season can be considered the lowest point in the history of the club (it included a 1-8 thrashing by bottom-of-the league Lincoln), Brown quickly turned around the fortunes of the club.

The next eight seasons saw the following sequence:

1967-1968: Champions Div 4.

1968-1969: 3rd Div 3.

1969-1970: 2nd Div 3.

1970-1971: 6th Div 2.

Record scorer Gordon Turner.

1971-1972: 13th Div 2 (W*****d finished bottom!).

1972-1973: 12th Div 2.

1973-1974: 2nd Div 2.

1974-1975: 20th Div 1 and relegated.

Division Four Champions 1967-68.

Some great records were set in the period also, including 36 home games undefeated between May 1968 and December 1969, 15 home wins on the spin from April 1967 to December 1967, plus 20 clean sheets in the 1969-70 season. All in all, not a bad time to watch Luton and this was reflected in the attendances.  The club were regularly pulling in over 20,000 and four of those eight seasons saw an average attendance above 14,000, including two over 17,000.

However, during this period Allan Brown lasted only a couple of seasons in the hot seat at Luton, promptly sacked for applying for the job at Leicester, and replaced with Alec Stock.  For fans of the BBC Two comedy, 'The Fast Show', the character 'Ron Manager' (young boys in the park, jumpers for goalposts, hmm...enduring image), is based on Alec Stock.  Harry Haslam, who succeeded Alec Stock in the summer of 1972, was at the helm during the assault on the First Division and solitary season in the top flight.  The fact that this was all achieved against a constant background of financial constraints (sounds familiar) made the achievement all the greater.  The side were pretty much the whipping boys during the first half of the season and by New Year rooted at the bottom of the Division One table.  But the New Year saw a complete transformation of fortunes and a great escape was in the offing until a disastrous Easter period, including a controversial defeat (poor referee) against fellow relegation-strugglers Tottenham.  However, it still went to the wire because when the season was over, Tottenham had a game in hand (something that would never happen now) against Leeds, which they needed to win to overtake Luton and send the Hatters down.  Leeds were in the European Cup final a few days later and fielded a reserve team (the Football League did nothing) and Spurs easily turned Leeds over.  The game was allegedly played in the spirit of a friendly and the outcome agreed beforehand.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, the Hatters possessed three of their all-time 'legends' - midfielders Graham French and Bruce Rioch and striker Malcolm MacDonald.  

French joined Luton in 1965 from Non-League minnows Wellington Town, with the Hatters struggling in the Old Division Four.  Playing in a side that boasted John Moore, David Pleat, Bruce Rioch and Freddie Jardine, it wasn’t going to be long before Luton got themselves out of the rut they found themselves in.  And boy did they!  The following season Luton were promoted as Champions, winning the division by 5 points, French netting 5 goals along the way.  Also able to operate as a left-winger, French scored one of the most memorable individual goals in living memory in a 4-2 home win over Mansfield Town in mid-September 1968.  Just 5 years after he joined the Hatters, French was enjoying his second promotion with the club as Luton finished the 1969-70 season by gaining promotion from the Old Division Three. 

Graham French.

However, it turned sour for French when he was involved in a shooting incident and found himself in prison.  Released from prison, he made his first appearance for the club for 2 years and scored in a 2-2 home draw with Millwall in mid-December 1972.  However, it was to be his last goal for Luton, and after just 7 more League appearances, he joined Southport.  Having made 182 League appearances for Luton and scored 21 goals, he remains a Hatters legend to this day.

Rioch, meanwhile, was a naturally gifted player and always likely to hit 10+ goals a season from midfield.  Rioch had come through Luton’s youth ranks to make his first-team debut in a 0-1 home defeat to Southend United in late November 1964.  He went on to make a total of 11 appearances during the course of that season, but it was a difficult time to come into the side as Luton finished 21^st and were relegated from the Old Division Three. 

Bruce Rioch.

Rioch began to establish himself the following season, making 20 League appearances and scoring 3 goals, his first-ever Hatters goal coming in a 2-3 home defeat to Bradford City in mid-December 1965. 

However, it was during the following campaign that Rioch really made his mark at Kenilworth Road as he bagged 10 League goals in 37 matches, despite playing in a side that was struggling in the Old Division Four – in fact, Luton finished 17^th.  Next season things really turned around and the Hatters finished as Division Four champions, with Rioch absolutely shining.  He scored an unbelievable 27 goals in all competitions, a staggering tally for a central midfielder. 

He was to have just one more season with the club, though, where he scored another 10 League goals in 37 matches as Luton finished third in Division Three – but were promoted a year later.  However, Rioch was not a part of that Hatters side.  As has always been the case with Luton, Rioch was sold during the 1969-70 pre-season to Aston Villa for £100,000 to balance the books, his departure a huge blow to Luton supporters.  He was such a fantastic young talent, but in hindsight it was inevitable that he would leave the Hatters for a bigger club.  Rioch had made 149 League appearances for the Hatters, scoring 47 goals, and he went on to also captain Scotland and make the transition into a manager, taking control of Bolton Wanderers, Arsenal, Norwich City and Wigan Athletic.   

Malcolm MacDonald.

In attack, the Hatters possessed Malcolm MacDonald - also knows as 'Supermac'.  Born in Fulham on January 7th 1950, MacDonald started his career as a full-back with The Cottagers, but in 1969 he was persuaded to join the Hatters by manager Alec Stock.  With Luton just missing out on promotion from Division Three during the previous season, Stock felt that he needed to bring in a new striker that could score the goals to fire Luton to promotion this time around - and boy did he get it right when he signed MacDonald! 

In only his second game for the club, MacDonald scored the winner in a 1-0 victory at AFC Bournemouth, and he netted again in the following 4 matches, which included goals in home matches against Leyton Orient, Halifax Town and Bristol Rovers.  In fact, he never really stopped scoring during the season, and he netted two hat-tricks during the campaign in a 5-0 home win over Bradford City and a 5-0 home victory over Reading.  He also showed Fulham exactly why they shouldn’t have sold him when he netted the winner in both of the matches against the Cottagers. 

His 25 goals in 46 League matches were a huge factor in Luton finishing second in Division Three and gaining promotion to Division Two – the Hatters’ first season back in Division Two for 7 years. 

He took his fantastic form into the following season as Luton did extremely well in their first campaign in Division Two, finishing 6^th and just 7 points off of promotion to Division One.  MacDonald was absolutely on fire again and he was consistently scoring goals, his strength in the box and deadly finishing and heading prowess striking fear into every defence he came up against. 

He netted on the opening day of the season, in a 4-2 loss at Bolton Wanderers, and it spurred a rich run of goal scoring as he bagged 10 goals in the following 10 League matches, which included 2 goals in a 4-0 home win over Oxford United, another 2 goals in a 4-0 home win over Leyton Orient, 2 goals in a 3-0 home victory over Bristol City and a hat-trick in a 5-1 demolition of Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. 

He netted hat-tricks in 2 other matches during that season in a 3-4 home defeat to Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup 3^rd Round replay and in a 3-0 home win over Cardiff City on the final day of the season.

Malcolm MacDonald heads home yet another goal.

However, with clubs from higher divisions sniffing around MacDonald, it was always going to be hard for Luton to keep hold of their prize asset – and so it proved when in the summer of 1971, he was sold to Newcastle United for £180,000 as the Magpies’ manager Joe Harvey sought to revamp a Newcastle outfit, one that had failed to build on the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup triumph.  MacDonald’s departure was a bitter pill to swallow for the Luton fans, his goal scoring record had spoken for itself – 49 goals in 88 League matches.

With "Supermac" set to lead the line, Geordie fans eagerly awaited the start of the 1971-72 season. However, with no goals from the opening 2 games, it wasn't until August 21st when Newcastle United's season ignited before a large St James Park crowd. 39,720 gathered to see Malcolm MacDonald make his home debut against unbeaten Liverpool, with a newcomer by the name of Kevin Keegan drawing rave reviews… Yet the day belonged to "Supermac", a magnificient hat-trick securing a rousing 3-2 win for the home side.

Inevitably, MacDonald continued to score goals in international football. During the space of 5 special weeks in the spring of 1975, the fast and powerful striker had his finest moments in an England shirt. Firstly, he scored one of the goals that helped his country to an excellent 2-0 Wembley win over reigning World Cup holders, West Germany. Then, in a home European Championship qualifier against Cyprus, MacDonald wrote his name into footballing history, equalling the England individual scoring record by notching all 5 goals in a 5-0 triumph.

Luton legend David Pleat.

MacDonald made a total of 187 appearances for Newcastle, scoring a phenomenal 95 goals, before he was sold to Arsenal for a then record transfer fee of £333,333.33p – exactly a third of a million pounds.  He continued to blast the goals for the Gunners, bagging 42 goals in 84 matches before injury curtailed his time at Highbury.  His England record also spoke for itself – 4 goals in 4 appearances at U-23 level and 6 goals in 14 matches at senior level.

Back in the Second Division, the Hatters mounted a couple of seasons challenging unsuccessfully for promotion before the departure of Harry Haslam to Sheffield United gave the young assistant manager, David Pleat, his chance.  The club came close to the drop under Pleat's first full season in charge but following the skilful acquisition of a number of key players that was to lay the foundations for the most successful decade ever, the club were soon challenging for promotion.  A couple of top-six finishes followed before, in the 1981-82 season, the side romped home as Champions, spending only one week off of the top spot from October onwards.

Eric Morecambe.

It was during this period that the hugely popular TV comedian Eric Morecambe, part of the comedy double act 'Morecambe & Wise' plugged Luton Town consistently on national television.  Undoubtedly the Hatters' most famous fan, Morecambe famously displayed a board with the word, "LUTON" and would often refer to the Hatters' during the popular sketch show episodes.  His appearances and fame led the club to gain much publicity and Morecambe even became a Director of the club during the heydays of the 1970s and 1980s.  Since then, the club's fans have adopted the show's theme tune, "Bring Me Sunshine", which can occasionally be heard from the terraces.  Other famous Luton Town fans over the years have included cricketer Monty Panesar, actor Colin Salmon (who has played 'James Bond' in three films), boxers Billy Schwer and Graham Earl, poet John Hegley, actor John Carlisle, TV presenter Nick Owen, Norwegian former professional goalkeeper Frode Olsen, notorious criminal Charles Bronson, England goalkeeper David James and Cerys Matthews, lead singer of the band 'Catatonia'. 

The 1981-82 Second Division Champions squad.

The Second Division title-winning squad of 1981-82 included several popular players, the likes of full-back Kirk Stephens, central defender Mal Donaghy, the Hatters' most-capped international player ever with 58 caps for Northern Ireland, winger David Moss, skilful midfielders Raddy Antic, Ricky Hill and Brian Horton, and striker Brian Stein.

The side romped to the title, amassing 88 points and clinching the championship by 8 points from second-placed arch rivals Watford.  Under Pleat, the club had developed a cavalier and attacking style of play, which was winning friends all over the country, and they continued in the same vein back in the First Division.  This was in complete contrast to Watford who, on kicking and hoofing their way into second place, became the most hated football team in the country.  In fact, Luton scored the second highest tally of away goals that season, only one less than Champions Liverpool, and had many memorable away days during the campaign, a 3-3 draw at Anfield when Luton used three different 'keepers certainly stands out.  But none can match the last day of the season, against relegation-rivals Manchester City at Maine Road, for sheer drama.  Manchester City, needing only a point to survive the drop, defended resolutely and few chances came the Hatters way.  But with only four minutes remaining, substitute Raddy Antic, a Yugoslav, slammed home the winner to send the 5,000 travelling Hatters fans into a manic frenzy.

Raddy Antic scores a dramatic winner at Manchester City in 1983.

During the summer of 1985, Luton Town decided to lay down an artificial pitch, a decision that resulted in many players and managers of rival clubs disliking playing at Kenilworth Road.  Most notably, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish complained on numerous occasions about the artificial surface.  The surface remained until 1990, when it was replaced once again with real grass.

The artificial pitch is laid during the summer of 1985.

The 1980s saw the Hatters have an abundance of talent and numerous England internationals.  The first of the 1980s 'heroes' to represent England was homegrown midfielder Ricky Hill.  

An absolute Luton legend in his own right, Hill played for Luton during arguably their most successful-ever period, in which they won the Littlewoods Cup in 1988, reached the final the following season and got through to 2 FA Cup semi-finals and a Simod Cup final.  Oh, and add to that the fact that Hill was an integral part of the Division Two Championship-winning side and a team that survived for 7 seasons in the Old Division One and included a highest-ever finish of 7^th in the 1986-87 season.

Genius: Ricky Hill.

Hill burst onto the scene as a youngster in the 1975-76 season when he came on as a substitute and scored in a 3-1 home win over Bristol Rovers.  Just 2 years later he was an established member of the first-team and it was to stay that way for the next 11 seasons.  Always likely to score a goal and a superb passer of the ball with some real trickery, Hill earned 3 caps for England despite playing for an ‘unfashionable’ club.  His first cap came in 1983 as a substitute against Denmark and he started against West Germany during the same year.  Three years later he earned his third and final cap as a substitute against Egypt. 

After a staggering 13 years as a first-team player with Luton and 436 League appearances (scoring 54 goals), Hill joined French side Le Havre in 1988, the club handing him a free transfer as a mark of respect for his fantastic dedication, loyalty and service to the Hatters.

Ricky Hill dons his England shirt.

Hill was quickly followed in the England squad by striker Brian Stein.  Stein was snapped-up from Non-League Edgeware Town and made his Hatters debut in a 2-3 defeat at Maine Road against Manchester City in an FA Cup 3^rd Round replay on November 9^th 1977.  He went on to make 24 League appearances for Luton that season, netting 3 goals, his first strike at senior level coming in only his second home match when he netted a brace in a 4-0 win over Sheffield United.

With the Hatters finishing in a mid-table position in Division Two during Stein’s first season, the 1977-78 campaign, many people didn’t realise just what an impact he would make over the following 10 seasons as he initially earned the number 9 shirt, but then went on to make the number 8 shirt his own.

In only his second season as a first-team player he bagged 14 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions, as he helped the Hatters to the League Cup 5^th Round, despite Luton finishing a disappointing 18^th in Division Two.  He also bagged a brace in three matches during the season as he began to earn rave reviews as a young striker with an eye for goal and a big future.

Striker Brian Stein.

Over the course of the next two seasons, he scored 26 League goals in 84 matches as he was an ever-present for both campaigns.  However, it was during the 1981-82 season that Stein really came into his own as he scored 21 League goals to fire Luton to the Second Division Championship, as the Hatters finished 8 points ahead of local rivals Watford who finished 2^nd.  These 21 goals included 2 in a 4-1 home win over rivals Watford and a hat-trick in a 3-2 home victory over Newcastle United.

Now a First Division player and playing against England’s top clubs, Stein wasn’t fazed and he continued his fantastic goal scoring record by netting 14 League goals in just 21 matches during an injury-hit campaign for the pacy and energetic striker.  He made a fantastic start to the season as he scored on the opening day of the campaign in a 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur and then blasted 2 in a 3-3 home draw with Liverpool and then a hat-trick in a 5-0 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Having proved that he could score goals against the very best, Stein had helped Luton to a final position of 18^th in Division One, despite Luton being one of the bookies’ favourites to be relegated at the start of the season.  And he once again helped the Hatters to stave off the threat of relegation the following season as Luton finished the 1983-84 campaign in 16^th position in Division One, Stein netting 9 League goals, which included one in a 2-1 win at rivals Watford.  Stein also earned an England cap during this season, when playing the first-half against France – alongside another Luton striker, Paul Walsh!

Stein (left) & Paul Walsh played for England against France.

With Luton now established as a First Division club, Stein was always a regular in the side as depicted by injury and suspension and it was during the 1984-85 season that manager David Pleat purchased a new striker to partner Stein in attack – a partnership that many Luton fans believe to have been the best in the club’s history.  The new man that was brought in was none other than the great Mick Harford and the Hatters now had a little and large combination up front, the strength and determination of Harford coupled with the pace and trickery of Stein.

The Hatters finished 13^th in Division One that season and claimed League victories against the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Everton, Aston Villa and Sunderland. Pleat’s side also reached the FA Cup semi-final that season, beating Watford along the way, but, despite taking the lead through Ricky Hill, Everton came back to win 2-1, but Stein’s goal against Millwall in the Quarter-Final had taken the Hatters to Villa Park on a night when Millwall’s ‘fans’ made the headlines for all the wrong reasons.  Some 10,000 travelling Londoners made the trip to Bedfordshire, and caused such devastation that the Hatters decided to ban away fans from Kenilworth Road for a number of seasons and the incident was even spoken about in the houses of parliament.  It was, arguably, the worst act of football violence ever witnessed at an English football match.

Millwall 'fans' riot at Luton.

Luton did better in the League than the previous season, finishing 9^th in Division One and also getting to the FA Cup Quarter-Final, where they were beaten by Everton once more, losing 0-1 at Goodison Park in a replay after a 2-2 draw at Kenilworth Road.  Stein netted 14 League goals that season, including a hat-trick in a 7-0 demolition of Southampton at Kenilworth Road.

The 'Bobbers' Stand after Millwall's visit in 1985.

12 League goals followed the next season as Luton recorded their best-ever final League position of 7^th in Division One.  By now, Pleat had departed to Tottenham and was replaced by his assistant John Moore.  Despite guiding Luton to the club's best-ever finish of seventh in the First Division (now known as the Premiership) in the 1986-87 campaign, he resigned, stating that he didn't like the pressures of being a football manager.  He was replaced once again by the assistant, this time Ray Harford.  Harford did even better than Pleat in the cup competitions as in the 1987-88 season Luton won the Littlewoods (League) Cup with a 3-2 victory over Arsenal at Wembley, Stein netting 2 goals to give Luton arguably their greatest-ever moment.

The Hatters also reached the FA Cup semi-final, but lost 1-2 to eventual winners Wimbledon at White Hart Lane and also got to Wembley in the Simod Cup, but were shocked to be beaten 1-4 by Second Division Reading.  Stein netted 18 goals in all competitions that season and his partnership with Mick Harford was now regarded as one of the best in the business.

At the end of that season, Stein was allowed to leave Kenilworth Road as he joined French club Caen, the club deciding not to ask for a transfer fee as a mark of respect for his fantastic loyalty and dedication during his 11 seasons with the club.

Mick Harford joins Luton.

Ray Harford inherited a very good squad.  Pleat had laid upon the foundations set with the likes of Hill, Stein and Northern Ireland international Mal Donaghy, by making some extremely astute signings during the mid 1980s - none more so than striker Mick Harford, who would go on to partner Stein in attack for much of the 1980s and get voted the greatest Luton Town player of all-time by the Hatters fans.

A strong, aggressive, no-nonsense and powerful centre forward, Harford joined Luton from Birmingham City for £250,000 in mid-December 1984 – just a week after boss David Pleat had signed another Hatters legend, midfielder David Preece!  Before he joined the Brum, he had played for Lincoln City, Newcastle United and Bristol City. 

Harford made his Luton debut just 2 days after joining in a match at Leicester City – and he scored in a 2-2 draw to earn the Hatters a point.  On signing Harford, manager David Pleat had said he was worried about the fee he spent to secure Harford, the £250,000 being a lot of money to the club.  But after his debut strike, Pleat then said that he knew it was money well spent.  However, few people realised just what a Luton legend he would become – he made the number 9 shirt his own for the next few seasons and would also return to Luton for a second spell as a player.  He went on to score an astonishing 15 League goals in just 22 matches that season.

Mick Harford.

The following season Harford bagged 25 goals in all competitions for Luton, and he netted two hat-tricks during the campaign in a 3-1 win over Leicester City and a 3-2 victory over local rivals Watford at Kenilworth Road.  A further 39 goals in all competitions followed over the next 4 seasons, and his form as a dominant centre forward who put fear into the oppositions defence had earned him international recognition with England as he earned 2 caps for his country, making his debut as a substitute against Israel in 1988 and earning his second cap against Denmark in 1989.

Ray Harford's spell as manager was to herald arguably the greatest season in Luton Town FC's history, 1987-1988, winning the Littlewoods Cup, FA Cup Semi-Finalists, Simod Cup Finalists, finishing ninth in the League and the doing the 'double' over arch rivals Watford.  The Littlewoods Cup (or League Cup) may be considered a bit of a 'Mickey Mouse' competition now, but at the time it was the third most prestigious trophy a club could win, due to the ban on English clubs competing in Europe.  The Final itself was incredible, trailing 1-2 against George Graham's Arsenal with 10 minutes to go, Arsenal were awarded a highly dubious penalty.  Andy Dibble, in goal for the injured Les Sealey, pulled off a save and the rest is, as they say, history -  late goals from Danny Wilson and Brian Stein sealing victory for the Hatters.

Luton Town win the Littlewoods Cup final in 1988 at Wembley.

Sadly the ban on English clubs remained intact for the following season, denying Luton their rightful place in the UEFA Cup.  But of course, those cheeky little scouse chappies were in no way responsible for rioting and making that wall collapse, killing 39 people at the Heysel.  Luton made it to the Littlewoods Cup Final the following season, losing 1-3 to Nottingham Forest, but by this time the cracks had begun to appear.  The ageing side was quickly broken up, either cashed in on or released on free transfers and David Evans, then Chairman, disappeared over the horizon with pockets bulging with the money from the sale of Kenilworth Road to the Council.  Yes Mr. Evans, it was Luton Town FC's money this success was built on, not yours.  In addition, Evans had ostracised the club from the footballing world by banning away fans in a bid to further his political career and 'suck up' to the alleged football-hating Margaret Thatcher.  The banning of away fans and the ridiculous membership cards lost Luton thousands of fans at the time, while the plastic pitch hardly won any friends either.

Striker Roy Wegerle.

The Hatters also sold their star players, fans' favourite, Mick Harford, and American striker Roy Wegerle.  Wegerle joined Queen's Park Rangers for £1 million, while in mid-January 1990, the Luton legend Harford was sold to Derby County for £450,000, one of the reasons given that the artificial pitch that Luton were playing on was ‘doing his ankles in’.  His departure was, though, still a cruel blow for the Hatters supporters.  He still remained a Luton hero and, in fact, still helped the Hatters to escape relegation on the final day of the 1990-91 season as he headed an own goal to give Luton the lead in a 2-0 win over Derby.

It was the second time in successive seasons the Hatters had survived relegation on the final day - both times against the Rams - the previous campaign had thrown up a memorable trip to Derby County's Baseball Ground in May 1990.  A 3-2 victory on the last day of the season kept Luton up against all the odds.  The victory would have been for nothing had Sheffield Wednesday taken a point at home to Nottingham Forest, but remarkably they went down 0-3.

Danish forward Lars Elstrup.

However, the joy was short lived when Chairman Peter Nelkin announced the disgraceful dismissal of Jimmy Ryan, who had done a fine job since succeeding Ray Harford as manager mid-way through the previous season.  He was replaced as manager by David Pleat, who returned to Kenilworth Road for his second spell as the Hatters boss.

Pleat had returned to Kenilworth Road with many Hatters fans still seething at the sacking of Ryan and Peter Nelkin stated that Ryan had left due to a "Clash of personalities" and that the decision had been made before the season had even ended.  Pleat had been sacked as Leicester City manager and was the obvious  appointment to replace the unfortunate Ryan.  Pleat agreed to return, having been away from Kenilworth Road for five years following his decision to join Tottenham Hotspur in 1986.

The Hatters fans were still not happy and their anger forced Peter Nelkin to resign, Roger Smith once again becoming Luton chairman.

David Pleat in 1991.

Pleat decided to splash the cash, signing Northern Ireland striker Phil Gray for £275,000 from Tottenham Hotspur, Pleat aware of Gray's talents after working with him at White Hart Lane.  Veteran centre-half Trevor Peake also arrived for £100,000 from Coventry City.

Trevor Peake.

The summer had seen many changes at Kenilworth Road, with the completion of a new stand adjacent to the 'Main Stand' ( the 'David Preece Family Stand') and the artificial pitch had been replaced with grass.  Meanwhile, the club allowed away supporters into the ground for the first time since 1986 after the infamous riot by Millwall 'fans'.

However, the sales of key assets continued, the transfers of Danish striker Lars Elstrup, who rejoined former club OB Odense for £250,000, winger Kingsley Black, who was sold to Nottingham Forest for £1.5 million, striker Iain Dowie, who joined West Ham United for £450,000 and full-back Tim Breacker, who joined Dowie at Upton Park for £600,000, totally shattered Luton's side.  Elstrup had only joined two years previously, signing for a club record fee of £850,000 and he made an immediate impact, but after 19 goals in 61 appearances, he got homesick, his form dipped, and he returned to Denmark.

Brian Stein in 1991.

Kingsley Black.

With the key players sold, Luton were struggling once more during the following season (1991-92) at the bottom of the Old Division One (now known as the Premiership).  It took the Hatters 407 minutes to score their first goal of the season and six matches to win their first game.  Pleat took a gamble and re-signed Luton hero Mick Harford, who answered an SOS call for a striker and returned home, joining Luton for his second spell as a player for £325,000 in mid-September 1991.  It was the second time that Pleat had brought Harford to Kenilworth Road.  Pleat had attempted to keep Luton in the top flight by reuniting his two great former strikers from the Hatters' heydays in the 1980s, as he also brought back veteran front man Brian Stein for a second spell as a player, and paired him with Harford in attack, but ultimately the gamble did not pay off as Stein scored just 3 goals in 39 League appearances during his second stint as a player at Kenilworth Road.

Mick Harford scores on his second Luton debut in 1991.

The highlight of Harford’s second spell as a player with the Hatters was 2 goals on his ‘second debut’ as he bagged two late goals that saw Luton come from behind to beat Oldham Athletic 2-1 at Kenilworth Road, Harford’s second coming with a fantastic overhead kick.  The chants of “One Micky Harford” were then heard once again from the Kenilworth Road end, and the great man had truly returned – and how it brought joy to so many Luton faces!  He also had another memorable moment with a Boxing Day winner in a 1-0 home victory over Arsenal in front of just under 11,000 fans.

Pleat moved to sign another veteran, midfielder Chris Kamara joining for £150,000 from Leeds United.  He blended these veterans with some young signings, as homegrown players like Ceri Hughes and Paul Telfer were complimented by Des Linton and Scott Oakes, who joined from Pleat's former side Leicester City.  However, striker Phil Gray, Pleat's new signing, injured his knee in the October, the injury ruling him out of action effectively until the end of the season.

Scott Oakes and Des Linton are unveiled as new signings.

Oakes impressed, netting goals at Sheffield Wednesday and at home to Crystal Palace and the energetic and highly skilful midfielder would go on to become a very popular player at Kenilworth Road.  He arrived from Leicester City along with team mate Des Linton, in a swap deal that saw Hatters midfielder Steve Thompson go to Filbert Street.  Pleat, always the shrewd manager, knew that the Foxes wanted to sign Bolton Wanderers midfielder Thompson, but they didn't have the funds to sign the midfielder from the Trotters.  Pleat, however, wanted to sign the Foxes duo of Oakes and Linton, but Leicester were not prepared to let their young stars leave.  So, Pleat signed Thompson, played the midfielder in a handful of games, and then, knowing how keen Leicester were on Thompson, he approached them with the offer of exchanging Thompson for Oakes and Linton.  The move was unorthodox, but Pleat secured the signatures of his two targets nonetheless!

Chris Kamara.

As he had done in 1984-85, Pleat appeared to be trying to rebuild the spine of his struggling team, but this time he was not anywhere near as successful.

Luton were down at the bottom of the table for more or less the entire season and they never looked likely to stay up, aside from a brief revival over Christmas when they won three successive home matches.  However, the Hatters' away form was dire, the side failing to win a single away match during the entire campaign.  This included a match at Nottingham Forest when the Hatters led 1-0, only to concede an equaliser seven minutes into injury-time from Forest defender Des Walker - the only goal he ever scored during his career!

Steve Sutton.

As has always been the case in Luton's history, other star players had been sold during the season, academy product and full-back Matt Jackson going to Everton for £600,000 after only eight first-team appearances and winger Kingsley Black joining Nottingham Forest for £1.5 million.  The loan signing of goalkeeper Steve Sutton from Nottingham Forest revived Luton for a period, but after the Board refused the £300,000 fee to keep Sutton in Bedfordshire on a permanent basis, it was the final nail in the coffin.  These sales, and the reluctance of the Board to sign Sutton permanently, ultimately cost the club their place in the top flight.

Various loan signings, like veteran forward Imre Varadi, failed to galvanise the side and it was miraculous really that with one match remaining, Luton still had an outside chance of avoiding the dreaded drop.  The Hatters travelled to already-relegated Notts County knowing they had to win their first away match of the season and hoping that Coventry City lost at Aston Villa.  5,000 Luton Town fans made the trip to Meadow Lane hoping for yet another last-day escape.  However, this time it was not to be.

Mick Harford celebrates yet another goal.

Julian James gave Luton the lead they required, but two late goals from Rob Matthews (who ironically later joined Luton), consigned the Hatters to relegation from the top flight after a decade.  Ironically, Coventry did lose at Aston Villa, so if the Hatters had managed to hold onto their lead, they would have provided yet another amazing act of escapology.

It was a huge blow, especially given that the relegation came just as the old Division One was transformed into the Premier League with all of the financial revenue that entails.

Mick Harford did, however, prove to be a big success once again.  He netted 12 League goals in 29 matches during that season.

At the end of the campaign, it was always going to be difficult for Luton to hold on to Harford, and it was ultimately a task too great for David Pleat as Harford joined Chelsea for £300,000 in mid-August 1992, the second time that the Hatters’ fans hearts were broken by the departure of their hero.

Mark Pembridge.

The following season, the 1992-93 campaign, saw Luton almost drop straight into Division Two (now called League One).  Another star player, midfielder Mark Pembridge, a product of the club's youth system and a Wales international, had been sold, joining Derby County for £1.25 million.  He'd turned down a move to Derby County the previous transfer deadline day, but this time the offer was too good to refuse and he headed to the Baseball Ground.

The only new arrival of note during the summer of 1992 was that of striker Steve Claridge for £160,000 from Cambridge United.

David Kohler.

By now, David Kohler, who had taken over Luton from business partner Peter Nelkin, was the centre of the fans' dissatisfaction, not least because of the sale of fans' favourite Mick Harford.  Fans paraded 'Kohler Out' placards and, although Kohler seemed willing to sell the club, no deal materialised.

Luton really struggled at home and didn't win a match at Kenilworth Road until late November.  It was fortunate that Luton won the odd away match or they would have been almost certainly relegated come the end of the season.

Then, in October, Luton surprisingly sold striker Steve Claridge back to Cambridge United to meet VAT demands and replaced him with veteran striker Ian Benjamin, who failed to deliver the goals required to push the Hatters up the table.

Darren Salton.

However, tragedy then stuck off the field.  Young Luton duo Paul Telfer and Darren Salton were involved in a fatal car crash.  Telfer escaped relatively unscathed, but Salton was less fortunate and his promising career - he'd been a Scotland U-21 international defender - was over almost as soon as it had begun.  In the following match, Luton beat arch rivals Watford in front of the television cameras - a win dedicated to Salton by manager David Pleat.

Phil Gray.

Bottom of the table briefly early in the New Year, the team then went seven consecutive matches without conceding a goal.  Benjamin was struggling in attack, so manager David Pleat swooped to sign veteran striker Kerry Dixon, a former England international, on loan from Southampton.  The new strike partnership of Dixon and Phil Gray worked very well, Gray scoring in six consecutive matches, and being the subject of a rejected transfer bid from Chelsea.

The Hatters went four games without a win, before claiming two vital wins that meant safety could be secured at home to Peterborough United in the penultimate game.  However, a 0-0 draw at Kenilworth Road meant the celebrations had to be cut short.  The dramatic climax that was expected, however, did not materialise as by the time Luton travelled to Roots Hall to play Southend United on the final day of the season, results elsewhere in the week had meant the Hatters were all but guaranteed their place in the old Division One (the Championship).

Mitchell Thomas.

Kerry Dixon.

It meant that, yet again, despite being in a lower Division, Luton had battled relegation - a scenario that seemed to have been an all to familiar occurrence over the past ten years.

During the summer of 1993, star striker Phil Gray was sold, the popular front man moving to the north-east, his preferred destination as his family were living in that part of the country.  He joined Sunderland for £800,000, as did long-serving Hatters goalkeeper Alec Chamberlain, this time under freedom of contract.

The only notable arrival was Hitchin-born winger Scott Houghton from Tottenham Hotspur.

An opening day win over arch rivals Watford was followed by a run of four successive defeats over the next few weeks and manager David Pleat responded by signing Paul Dickov from Arsenal and Alan Harper from Everton on loan deals.  However, the Hatters were in poor form and dropped to the bottom of the table.

In October 1993, Kerry Dixon's loan move from Southampton was made permanent on a free transfer, and then another veteran, former Hatters defender Mitchell Thomas, returned to Kenilworth Road, initially on loan from West Ham United, before making the move permanent, again on a free transfer.

Tony Thorpe scores on his Luton debut at Newcaste.

Luton were in financial problems off-the-field and John Mitchell, who would later go on to become a Board member (resulting in highly controversial times to say the least), offered to buy out David Kohler along with his business partner David Ellingham.  However, the move never went through and long-time Luton fan Chris Green, a local businessman, and Cliff Bassett joined the Board and eased the immediate financial worries.

Although Luton were struggling in the League, an extraordinary FA Cup run in 1993-94 saw magnificent victories over Premiership sides Newcastle United and West Ham United.

The Hatters beat Southend United 1-0 at Kenilworth Road in the Third Round courtesy of Paul Telfer's goal.  A Fourth Round trip to Premier League giants Newcastle United was seen by many pundits as an impossible task for Luton Town but, against Kevin Keegan's side, the Hatters took a shock lead through a 25-yard thunderbolt strike from debutant Tony Thorpe, making his full Luton Town debut.  The hosts won a dubious penalty through Peter Beardsley, which he duly converted himself, to set up a replay at Kenilworth Road, which was shown in front of the live Sky television cameras.

Hartson has scored the opening goal against Newcastle.

The stars during this tremendous Cup run - which led the Hatters all the way to a Wembley Semi-Final against Chelsea (ending in a 0-2 defeat) - were young midfielder Scott Oakes and striker John Hartson.  Oakes, a highly skilful player signed by Pleat from Leicester City during the ill-fated relegation from the top flight, was attracting interest from a whole host of clubs.

Hartson, meanwhile, a Wales U-21 international and a powerhouse of a striker, had progressed through the Hatters youth scheme.

In front of a packed Kenilworth Road and the nation watching on TV, Keegan's multi-million pound side were harassed and never given time on the ball by the Hatters players, and it looked from early on like it would be Luton Town's night, despite the Hatters squad costing just £500,000 to put together against Keegan's £7.5 million side.  So it proved when Hartson, deputising for the injured Kerry Dixon, took the ball around the Newcastle goalkeeper Mike Hooper and rolled into the empty net to send the Hatters fans wild.

David Preece scores the winner at Cardiff City.

A lovely second-half goal from Oakes - set up by a wonderful pass from full-back Des Linton - sealed a famous victory and earned an FA Cup Fifth Round trip to Division Two side Cardiff City, giant killers themselves after dumping out Manchester City.

The Bluebirds, like the Hatters, were struggling in the League, but had put together a fine FA Cup run.  The match was played in front of an extremely hostile home crowd and a highly intimidating atmosphere, which included brick and dart throwing at Luton Town fans and constant abuse aimed at striker John Hartson due to his upbringing in Swansea.  The recriminations of the crow trouble would go on for weeks after the event.

However, Luton's players rose to the occasion and claimed a memorable 2-1 victory courtesy of goals from the ever-improving Oakes and long-serving midfielder David Preece, who netted the winner in controversial circumstances with the home fans claiming the goal was offside.  Preece had been onside himself, but fellow midfielder Ceri Hughes was running back from an offside position.  However, with the new laws of the game stating a goal should stand if a player is in an offside position but not interfering with play, the goal stood and set up a Quarter-Final trip to Premier League side West Ham United.

Scott Oakes is mobbed after his FA Cup hat-trick.

Manager David Pleat operated with five across the midfield for the Hatters and the master tactician got his tactics spot-on, frustrating the Upton Park faithful and earning a battling 0-0 draw to set up a Quarter-Final replay at Kenilworth Road, which would once again be played in front of the live Sky television cameras.

Another sold-out Kenilworth Rad crowd saw Oakes give Luton Town the lead, but Martin Allen levelled for the Hammers.  However, a second-half Oakes strike put the Hatters back in front, before an Ian Bishop goal made it 2-2.  Oakes was, though, to have the last word and he took advantage of a Steve Potts mistake on the halfway line to burst through on goal and fire past Ludo Miklosko in the Hammers goal and send the Hatters fans - some of whom spilled onto the pitch - into pandemonium.  It was rumoured that Oakes was to be sold to big-spending Blackburn Rovers for £2.5 million if the Hatters had lost the match, but his hat-trick meant he would be staying at Kenilworth Road for the Semi-Final and eventually the move never materialised.

Luton's players celebrate after the Quarter-Final win.

The reward for Luton Town was a Semi-Final showdown with Glenn Hoddle's Premier League Chelsea side.  The clash was played at Wembley as the FA's short-lived experiment with staging Cup Semi-Finals at Wembley was in full swing.  Manager David Pleat felt that the young Hatters players were overawed by the occasion and he was convinced they wouldn't have lost the match if it had been played at a neutral ground, as semi-finals usually are.   As it turned out, 27,500 Hatters fans saw Luton beaten 0-2 by Chelsea at the Twin Towers, the Blues striker Gavin Peacock scoring both goals that broke the Hatters hearts and ended what had been a truly memorable and highly unexpected Cup run.  Chelsea went on to lose the final 0-4 to Manchester United.

Luton's fans at Wembley for the FA Cup Semi-Final in 1994.

If the Hatters had won the clash against Glenn Hoddle's side, they would have been playing in Europe for the first time in their history as finalists Manchester United had already won the Premier League title and subsequently, the Red Devils' FA Cup Final opponents would automatically qualify for European football regardless of the result against Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

However, it wasn't meant to be and instead of Luton Town playing against Europe's elite, the men from Stamford Bridge would instead claim the accolade.  Luton's players left Wembley disappointed and knowing that instead of a trip back to the Twin Towers for the Final, they had another relegation battle to look forward to.

Ceri Hughes versus Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi-Final.

Pleat had assembled a squad comprising of young stars like Oakes, Hartson, Ceri Hughes and Paul Telfer and blended them with experienced pros at the end of their careers like Alan Harper, Kerry Dixon, David Preece and Trevor Peake.

Luton lost five matches on the spin after the semi-final defeat, and did not score a goal in seven-and-a-half hours of football.

However, a 3-2 home win over West Bromwich Albion earned survival three matches before the season ended and it meant that for the first time since 1988, Luton's final game of the season did not mean anything.

Gary Waddock.

Striker Dwight Marshall.

During the summer of 1994, Alan Harper, the veteran midfielder, joined Burnley on a free transfer and incoming arrivals were striker Dwight Marshall, for £150,000 from Plymouth Argyle, and veteran forward Tony Adcock for £10,000 from Peterborough United.  However, the major disappointment was the loss of key defender John Dreyer, who joined Stoke City on a free transfer under freedom of contract.

However, Luton struggled once more, the pace of the side causing teams problems away from home, but the side struggling to score goals at home.  This poor home form resulted in home crowds plummeting and manager David Pleat responded by signing veteran midfielder Gary Waddock from Bristol Rovers, initially on loan, before the move was made permanent on a free transfer.

Waddock went on to become a key player at Kenilworth Road, appearing regularly in the Hatters' midfield for four seasons, his experience proving valuable in a relatively young side that boasted young stars like Scott Oakes, Paul Telfer, Ceri Hughes and John Hartson.

John Hartson.

The talented Scott Oakes.

Pleat himself was now rumoured to be attracting the interest of his former club Tottenham Hotspur once more.  Pleat had left Spurs in 1987 following allegations in newspapers surrounding his private life, but after his miraculous efforts in leading Luton to the FA Cup Semi-Final the season before, he was on the big clubs' radar once more.  Offered the role of General Manager at the North London club, he rejected the advances to stay as Luton Town boss.

The team responded extremely positively and moved up to fifth place.  The Cup run of the previous season had brought a whole host of scouts flocking to Kenilworth Road and in January 1995, after just 54 appearances and 11 goals for Luton Town, young striker and Wales U-21 international John Hartson was sold to Arsenal for a British record transfer fee for a teenager of £2.5 million.

Pleat used some of the money to sign Rob Matthews for £80,000 from Notts County (Matthews' two goals had relegated Luton from the top flight in 1992) and striker John Taylor from Bradford City for £200,000.

David Preece.

Terry Westley.

However the season petered out and the Hatters ended the 1994-95 campaign by finishing in 16th place.

The emergence of several young stars at Kenilworth Road and Luton's run to the FA Cup Semi-Final a year previously had put Pleat in the spotlight again and he left the Hatters for a second time, as he got a job at Sheffield Wednesday during the summer of 1995, so his departure opened the door for youth-team coach Terry Westley as the Hatters followed their policy of appointing manager's 'in-house'.

Westley's appointment began a summer of massive changes on the playing front.  Going out were long-serving and hugely popular midfielder David Preece, who joined Derby County on a free transfer under freedom of contract, and young midfielder Paul Telfer, who joined Coventry City for £1.15 million.

Bontcho Guentchev.

Ian Feuer.

Westley no doubt had a great record at coaching kids, but he simply wasn't up to the task of manager and he was sacked by Christmas after spending a lot of money on new players, including £750,000 defender Steve Davis from Burnley, £100,000 full-back Graham Alexander from Scunthorpe United, £150,000 on former striker David Oldfield, who returned to Kenilworth Road from Leicester City, £580,000 on American goalkeeper Ian Feuer from West Ham United and some £300,000 on Scandinavian duo Johnny Vilstrup and Vidar Riseth.

£150,000 also prized Northern Ireland defender Darren Patterson from Crystal Palace, meaning the Hatters had spent over £2 million on signing new players over the course of the first three months of the season, a huge amount of money for a club like Luton Town, and pretty much unprecedented in the Hatters' history.

Striker Vidar Riseth.

Other more experienced and so-called 'high profile' signings like Gavin Johnson and former Bulgaria World Cup star Bontcho Guentchev, who had represented his country at the 1994 World Cup in the USA, failed to deliver.

Stuart Douglas celebrates his debut goal for Luton Town.

Lyngby midfielder Johnny Vilstrup arrived with the reputation of having the hardest shot in Danish football and Norwegian striker Vidar Riseth came from Kongsvinger with Westley hoping they'd rectify the Hatters' poor start to the season.  However, the signings just did not solve the problem in attack and Westley even resorted to handing youth team striker Stuart Douglas a senior debut and, although Douglas scored a dream debut goal, it was too big a responsibility on his young shoulders.

Riseth, the experienced Bontcho Guentchev and John Taylor, signed by former manager David Pleat, just did not score the goals needed - in fact, Taylor went the entire season scoring just one goal!

The team were struggling and had looked disjointed and shot-shy, as well as extremely vulnerable in defence.  Following a 0-4 loss at Portsmouth, Westley was sacked.

Lennie Lawrence.

The experienced former Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough boss Lennie Lawrence was appointed as successor.

Dwight Marshall.

Luton drew 2-2 at home to Huddersfield Town and it looked as though the great escape could be on once again when the side somehow managed to go seven matches unbeaten, climbing from bottom of the table to 19th place.  However, in late February, star striker Dwight Marshall broke his leg at Sunderland and the team seemed to fall apart from that moment.

Luton quickly slipped back into the relegation places and Lawrence responded by signing striker Kim Grant for £250,000 from his former club Charlton Athletic.

However, a home defeat to Stoke City all but sealed relegation and a 1-3 home loss to Barnsley sealed Luton's fate.  The fact that the Hatters scored just forty goals all season, and only a dire ten away from home, told the story of the season.

Paul Showler.

Sold: Scott Oakes.

Relegation to Division Two (now known as League One) meant that the Hatters were back in a Division that they hadn't played in since 1970.  Lawrence decided to reduce the large squad that former manager Terry Westley had created and the first casualties were the Scandinavian duo Johnny Vilstrup and Vidar Riseth, who were sold to Danish side AGF Aarhus and Austrian team LASK Linz.

Popular midfielder Scott Oakes was also sold, having struggled the previous season during the relegation struggles.  Oakes, once a rumoured £2.5 million target for Blackburn Rovers during the epic 1994 FA Cup run, was sold for £425,000 to Sheffield Wednesday - managed by his former Hatters boss David Pleat.

Only one player signed for the Hatters during the summer of 1996 - left winger Paul Showler joining from Lawrence's former club Bradford City for £35,000.  It was strange in comparison to the hectic summer of transfer activity that had ensued at Kenilworth Road the previous summer.

Andrew Fotiadis.

The season started as woefully as the previous campaign ended - three straight defeats - including a 0-5 drubbing at Bristol City and a 2-3 loss at Brentford when the Hatters had led 2-1 with only ten minutes remaining.

David Oldfield scores the winner at Wycombe.

The Hatters finally stopped the slump with a 1-0 home win over Rotherham United - who looked equally poor themselves - and the season suddenly burst into life and Luton never looked back for the remainder of the campaign.

A win followed in the Hatters' first-ever trip to Wycombe Wanderers as young striker Andrew Fotiadis, an England schoolboy international, suddenly burst onto the scene as Lawrence threw him into the senior squad.  Gillingham were beaten at home before a stubborn Chesterfield side won at Kenilworth Road.

However, this defeat signalled another excellent run as the Hatters won five and drew two of their next seven matches and then beat Premiership side Derby County over two legs in the League Cup before losing to Premiership side Wimbledon in the next round - but only after extra-time and after the Hatters had drawn at Selhurst Park in the first clash.

Prolific: Tony Thorpe.

Over 5,000 Luton Town fans then travelled to Watford for a tense local derby and, when Paul Showler gave the Hatters the lead, it looked like Luton would cling on for three valuable points against their arch rivals.  However, a goal deep into injury-time from the Hornets denied the Hatters the win.

It was Tony Thorpe who proved to be a revelation during this season.  Converted from an attacking midfielder by Lawrence into an out-and-out striker, he scored goals for fun and bagged hat-tricks against Plymouth Argyle and in a home win over promotion rivals Crewe Alexandra.

Just a week before Christmas, the Hatters won 1-0 at Millwall through a Ceri Hughes goal and the win put Luton Town top of the table.  A 2-1 Boxing Day win at Gillingham - where the hugely popular goalkeeper Ian Feuer saved a last-minute penalty - set the Hatters up for a real promotion push as the New Year began.

Tony Thorpe celebrates his winner against Brentford.

However, problems, as always, were never far away.  The Hatters went over three weeks without a match due to frozen pitches resulting in games being postponed.  The players, upon resuming action, looked jaded after their extended break and results in January were not good.

However, a David Oldfield hat-trick saw the Hatters thump Preston North End 5-1 and the title challenge was back on.  This set up a live televised clash on Sky against long-time League leaders Brentford when a solitary Tony Thorpe goal gave Luton all three points and put the Hatters back on top of the table.

However, results became inconsistent, including a 2-3 loss at Walsall when the Hatters had been leading.  It meant the Hatters dropped out of the top two automatic promotion places.  Promotion hopefuls Bury then came and frustrated Luton with a 0-0 draw at Kenilworth Road and with two games remaining, the Hatters had to hope that other sides slipped up in order for Luton to have any chances of automatic promotion.  This did not happen and it meant for the first time in Luton Town's history, the Hatters would be playing in the play-offs.

The Hatters' Semi-Final opponents were Crewe Alexandra.  An early David Oldfield goal gave Luton the lead in the first leg at Gresty Road, but the Hatters lost 1-2.  In the second-leg, despite taking an early lead through another Oldfield goal, Crewe fought back to win 4-3 on aggregate, and the Railwaymen went on to clinch promotion by beating Brentford at Wembley in the Final.

A model of the proposed 'Kohlerdome'.

It meant another season in Division Two (League One) for Luton Town and was a bitter pill to swallow for the Hatters fans.

Whilst the Hatters were unsuccessful on the field in their quest for an immediate return to Division One (the Championship), Chairman David Kohler was busy trying to bring about a new stadium for the club.  His modestly named 'Kohlerdome' would be a 30,000 all-seated stadium with a retractable roof and pitch.  The Hatters had been looking for a new ground since the 1950s as their small and compact Kenilworth Road ground, although very homely, was just not possible to redevelop as it was landlocked by houses.  It was obvious to all concerned that a new stadium was a must for the club (and still is to this day).

Sold: Matthew Upson.

However, Kohler's plans for his new stadium, like his predecessors, never materialised and the Hatters were left wondering if their new home would ever come to fruition.

The summer of 1997 saw Luton Town central defender Matthew Upson - a teenager with just one first-team appearance under his belt for the Hatters (that coming as a substitute) - sold to Arsenal for £1 million.  Highly-rated by the Gunners, who saw him as a big future star (they were proved right as Upson went on to become a full England international), the fee for Upson would rise to around £2 million based on various add-ons.

Despite claiming this large fee for Upson, manager Lennie Lawrence still decided to sell popular Welsh international midfielder Ceri Hughes to then Premier League side Wimbledon for £400,000 and Ghana striker Kim Grant - who had struggled to force his way into the Luton Town side - for £200,000 to Millwall.

Defender Gavin McGowan joined from Arsenal.

A 0-1 defeat at Blackpool on the opening day of the season was not the start the Hatters were looking for and their problems got worse in the next match when, despite beating Southend United 1-0, the Hatters popular giant American goalkeeper Ian Feuer tore a shoulder muscle, ruling him out of action for three months.  In truth, Feuer never really recovered from this injury and the loss of arguably one of the greatest goalkeeper's Luton Town have ever had was a big blow.

Several injuries depleted Lawrence's squad and he responded by signing Arsenal's Gavin McGowan and Bolton Wanderers' Bryan Small on loan deals.

However, the squad was completely decimated by injuries, and this peaked in late September 2007 when the Hatters travelled to Bristol City and four youngsters made their debuts in a 0-3 loss at Ashton Gate.

Phil Gray re-joined Luton.

However, things got much worse when arch rivals Watford visited Kenilworth Road and hit four goals past the injury-plagued Hatters in the opening half an hour.  The crowd reacted angrily and manager Lennie Lawrence was the focus of much of the anger from the stands as one supporter even jumped onto the pitch and angrily confronted Lawrence and the players.

David Oldfield.

Lawrence responded by bringing striker Phil Gray - who the Hatters had sold in 1993 for £800,000 - back to the club from Dutch side Fortuna Sittard for a large fee by Luton Town's standards of £400,000 and central defender Alan White joined from Middlesbrough for £40,000.

However, Gray soon joined the injury victims and the Hatters lost four consecutive home matches which included an FA Cup First Round exit at the hands of Torquay United - at the foot of the Division below Luton.

The fans were not happy and it was Lawrence who was the centre of the majority of the abuse.  Lawrence later stated this was the worst time of his managerial career.

A Boxing Day 2-2 home draw with Northampton Town set the tone for 3 straight wins, but by now the hugely popular American goalkeeper Ian Feuer had returned from his torn shoulder injury but was playing with a distinct lack of confidence.  His mistakes gave Oldham Athletic and Fulham wins against the Hatters and Lawrence replaced him between the sticks with youngster Kelvin Davis.

Prolific striker Tony Thorpe was sold to Fulham.

However, things were about to get slightly better as the Haters battled back from a goal down to score a late equaliser at arch rivals Watford in mid-February 1998.  But, as is always the case with Luton Town, bad news wasn't far away and it came when chairman David Kohler decided to sell the prolific striker Tony Thorpe to Kevin Keegan's big-spending Fulham for £800,000.

It was a bad move by Kohler as Luton Town were in a real relegation fight and the decision to sell the top goal scorer was not welcomed by fans to say the least.  As transfer deadline day approached, the Hatters sat just one place off the bottom of Division Two (now known as League One), but former manager David Pleat - now Director of Football at Tottenham Hotspur - loaned striker Rory Allen to the Hatters until the end of the season.

Rory Allen nets the winner at Grimsby Town.

Allen had been injured with a serious ankle injury and was just coming back to fitness upon his arrival in Bedfordshire.  Allen made his debut at Walsall with eight matches of the season remaining and he scored a crucial goal as the Hatters won 3-2.

York City were then beaten 3-0 at Kenilworth Road, and Allen scored the winner at Grimsby Town.  Another Allen goal in a 2-2 draw at Brentford meant the Hatters could now no longer be relegated and he ended his loan spell with another great goal, a fine volley in the last minute of the final game of the season in a 3-2 win over Carlisle United.  He left as one of the best loan signings ever made by Luton Town after his goals almost single-handedly kept Luton Town in Division Two (League One).

Ricky Hill.

It was only Bassett's generosity that saved Luton from being ejected from the Football League, meeting Kohler's greedy demands in full from his own pocket on the eve of the 1999-00 campaign.  Kohler departed Luton Town FC.  Bassett helped steady the ship during the 1999-00 campaign, although the player sales continued to balance the books, young duo Kelvin Davis and Chris Willmott joining Wimbledon for a combined fee of £900,000.  In the summer of 2000, Bassett sold his shares to a consortium lead by Mike Watson-Challis, in a move that gave fans a representative on the board for the first time.  Luton hero Ricky Hill returned as manager, bringing a new wave of optimism to the club, something that had been lacking for too long.  However, the move turned sour as the Hatters found themselves struggling at the foot of the Second Division (League One) table and after just a few months at the helm, Hill was sacked, his assistant manager Lil Fuccillo taking over as the new manager.  The long-serving John Moore was promoted to Fuccillo's assistant, but after just a few months in charge of the Hatters, Fuccillo was relieved of his duties, with Luton still struggling at the foot of Division Two (League One).

Lil Fuccillo.

Joe Kinnear.

His replacement was ex-Wimbledon boss Joe Kinnear, who left his post as Director of Football with Oxford United to join the Hatters.  Although the Hatters had a fine early run when Kinnear took over as manager, the team could not maintain its form, and the Hatters were eventually relegated to Division Three (League Two) for the first time since 1968.  However, Kinnear made some astute new signings and built a squad that he believed would firstly get Luton out of Division Three, and then push for promotion to Division Two.

Steve Howard.

Luton did achieve Kinnear's dream - they were promoted to Division Two at the first attempt - the club's first promotion season for 20 years and undoubtedly their finest season for the previous ten years.  Bagging 97 points, the Hatters finished second in Division Three (League Two) behind Plymouth Argyle, and during the course of the campaign, Luton set numerous records, including the most away wins in a season, and the record number of consecutive wins.  The success was built upon some extremely astute signings by Kinnear.  Midfielder Kevin Nicholls signed from Wigan Athletic for a bargain £25,000 and would go on to become a key figure in midfield, earning the club captaincy, a role he would hold for the next 5 years.  Bustling striker Steve Howard - signed the previous transfer deadline day by Kinnear for just £50,000 from Northampton Town - ended the season by winning the Division Three (League Two) golden boot award with 24 goals and Australian defender Chris Coyne signed from Dundee, again for a bargain £50,000.  All three players would go on to become Luton legends in their own right and would enjoy two promotions during their stays at Kenilworth Road.

Chris Coyne.

Signed as a domineering central defender to play alongside Russell Perrett at the heart of Luton's rearguard, Coyne became an instant hit with the Luton supporters. He made his debut at home to Lincoln on September 18th 2001 - but scored a late own-goal which earned the visitors a 1-1 draw. However, he failed to let this setback affect him and from then on he was an integral part of Luton's promotion-winning side. A virtual ever-present as depicted by injury and suspension, he led by example and showed both superb aerial strength and also the ability to play the passing game.

He scored his first goal for the Hatters in a 3-0 home win over Bristol Rovers in February 2002 - and he hit the net twice more before the end of the season in home wins over Leyton Orient and Halifax Town. In total, he made 31 appearances during the season, all of them coming in the League.  He went on to make over 200 League appearances for Luton Town over the next seven seasons, becoming a real fans' favourite in the process and certainly one of the best players to play for the Hatters since their fall from top flight of English football in 1992.

Kevin Nicholls.

Nicholls, meanwhile, was also hugely instrumental in the Luton Town midfield and the newly appointed club captain would go on to become one of the biggest Hatters legends in living memory.  He made his Luton debut on the opening day of the season in a 2-0 win at Carlisle United, and he quickly became a firm fans' favourite with his crunching tackles, never-say-die attitude and general nastiness towards the opposition! Receiving a yellow card in the win at Brunton Park, it was pretty evident to all Luton supporters that he would have certain disciplinary problems during the season - and this was further demonstrated when he was sent-off for two bookable offences in the next match, his home debut, in a 2-1 win over Cheltenham. A virtual ever-present during the season as depicted by suspensions and injury, Nicholls scored his first goal for Luton in a 1-1 home draw with Oxford United on August 9th 2001, and he went on to score a further 5 times during the campaign - 4 of the goals from the penalty spot as he became the Hatters' penalty-taker.

As important to Luton as Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, and Steven Gerrard were to their sides, and very much in the same mould, Nicholls was arguably the bargain of the season for the Hatters. A consistent performer who wore his heart on his sleeve, he also became the team captain, his aggression, influence and determination an example to all of the other Luton players. He was also shown a yellow card on no less than 16 occasions that season!

Certainly not only a ball-winner, and very much able to play the passing game and score the odd goal or two, Nicholls was instrumental in the season, which saw Luton earn their first promotion for 20 years and finish 2nd in Division Three (League Two) with 97 points. He made a total of 43 appearances, 42 of them coming in the League, and also scored from the spot as Luton beat Plymouth Argyle 2-0 at Kenilworth Road on February 2nd 2002 in a promotion six-pointer.

Nicholls would go on to lead the club to another promotion in 2005 - this time winning the title.  After two unhappy years away from Bedfordshire, he would return in 2008 to Kenilworth Road as one of the most popular players to ever pull on a Luton Town shirt. 

Jean-Louis Valois.

However, it was the surprise signing of eccentric French winger Jean-Louis Valois that perhaps caught the eye of Hatters fans the most that season.  Valois joined on a free transfer from Lille, and Kinnear told supporters that he was a "Left-winger" who "Could play a bit."  And boy could he!  He made his debut at home to Torquay United on September 22nd 2001 and many described his debut as the best ever seen of a Luton player!  He was classy, jinxing through the Gulls defence and supplying copious amounts of sublime crosses for the Luton strikers.  Valois stole the show and scored what was eventually voted the 'Goal of the Season' with a 35-yard strike that flew into the top corner of the net.  Hatters supporters were astounded that a player of his unquestionable ability would have pulled on a Luton shirt.  Surely he was too good for Third Division football?  Or was it a one-off?  Two more spectacular goals followed in as many games and he would go on to become one of the most gifted players to ever wear a Luton Town shirt, despite playing just one season for the Hatters.

It could be argued that Luton had one of the strongest sides they'd ever had since leaving the top flight in 1992.  Despite being in the bottom tier of English football, the Hatters boasted homegrown players like Matthew Taylor, Matthew Spring and Emmerson Boyce to compliment Kinnear's new signings.

Luton Town win promotion in 2001-02.

Ending the season with 12 consecutive wins, the Hatters travelled to Swansea City on March 30th 2002 knowing that a win would guarantee them promotion back to Division Two (League One) at the first attempt, and they duly responded by winning 3-1.  Plymouth had already secured their Second Division status for the 2002-03 season, but the Championship was still very much a two-horse race.

Luton knew that they had to win their remaining 2 games - at home to Macclesfield and away to Shrewsbury - to have any sort of chance of catching Plymouth and winning the Division Three Championship.  However, a 0-0 home draw with Macclesfield, which ended the run of 12 consecutive victories, which had set a club record, also ended the hopes of Luton taking the Championship.  Plymouth won their remaining matches anyway, so they were crowned Division Three Champions for the 2001-02 season.

Matthew Taylor.

At the end of the season, star players Valois and Matthew Taylor left under freedom of contract, Valois moving to Scottish side Hearts and Taylor joining Portsmouth for a tribunal set fee of £400,000 - a decision that Kinnear lambasted by declaring, "At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask."  The duo had formed a formidable partnership on the Hatters' left-hand side and their departures would be a big blow.

After finishing 9th in Division Two during their first season back in the Division, there came a cruel summer for the club - possibly the worst time during the club's history.  On Tuesday, May 20th 2003, popular Luton Town chairman Mike Watson-Challis retired having struck a deal to sell the club to new owners.  However, Hatters supporters were left totally in the dark as to who the new owners of the club were.  Eventually, the new owner was named as John Gurney.  A businessman in the property industry, Gurney put together a consortium that purchased Luton Town Football Club in May 2003 when popular chairman Mike Watson-Challis decided to retire (although he remained a part of the club as Life President). 

The controversial John Gurney.

However, Gurney made the worst possible start to his time at the club when he brought in Peter Miller as chief executive – but just 2 days after taking control, Mr. Miller then proceeded to sign 2 letters that sacked both manager Joe Kinnear and his assistant Mick Harford – a Luton legend – and this obviously enraged the Luton fans.

Gurney then further frustrated the Hatters supporters by not coming forward and naming the new consortium in control of the club.  This resulted in the Luton supporters protesting at the club’s Kenilworth Road ground over the sackings of Kinnear and Harford, and the silence from Gurney and his consortium.  Still unaware at this current time that Gurney was a part of this consortium, there were rumours that he may be involved, but nothing concrete had come forward.

As 300 Luton supporters protested at the ground, there was a board meeting held at the ground by some members of the new consortium, and it turned slightly nasty as cars were kicked, spat at and had eggs thrown at them.  However, the only statement that was made was by former Peterborough United chairman Roger Terrell and ex-Posh striker Lee Power, who said that they were due to be appointed as the new chairman and vice-chairman respectively that day – but were now re-thinking having seen the reaction of the Luton supporters.

Mr. Terrell and Mr. Power then declined the opportunity to become a part of the new consortium, and it left Gurney in a rather precarious position.

A bizarre new statement was then released by Eric Hood, a former member of the board, who claimed that Joe Kinnear and Mick Harford hadn’t actually been sacked, and were in fact still employed by the club.  This obviously led to much confusion, and the supporters were left even further in the dark.

It was all calling for drastic action from the fans – and some Hatters supporters who used our very own Lutonfc.com Message Board decided to set up a new Luton Town Supporters’ Trust – Trust In Luton.  They staged a public meeting at which some 1,500+ Luton fans attended at the club’s Kenilworth Road ground – and Gurney's name was now being firmly linked with the club.  Although he hadn’t officially come forward, the media had found his name to be one of those forming the new consortium, and Gurney was not a popular man with the Luton fans.

Sacked by John Gurney: Joe Kinnear & Mick Harford

The Hatters supporters were doing everything that they could possibly think of to try to bring the whole situation at the club to the attention of the national media, and as well as the protest, setting up Trust In Luton and staging the public meeting, a supporter even made an online petition, which can be found HERE.

After conducting their own research, as well as news released on the local radio and in the local newspapers, the Luton fans learned that Gurney had previously been in control of Bedford Rugby Club – and what they found out was not about to instill any more confidence in them!

Gurney purchased Bedford Rugby Club in 1999, and he wasn’t seen for months – although it is hardly surprising given that he was allegedly charged along with others of smuggling over £40 million worth of cocaine. The police, however, did not proceed with the charges.

Bedford Rugby Club had been owned by boxing promoter Frank Warren, but the man who owned Sports Network, and who were funding The Blues, decided that they simply couldn’t afford to keep financing the club. Mr. Warren’s assets had been frozen at that current time due to an ongoing dispute with the American boxing promoter Don King.

Mr. Warren was a big fan of Bedford Rugby Club, and, deciding that he wanted to put the interests of the club first to secure a “Bright Future”, he sold the club for just £1 to anyone who could take the club forward – provided that one of the directors (not connected with his company) came up with a buyer who would take on the debts and carry the club forward.

A consortium bought the club – although the Bedford Blues fans did at least know who the new owners were, unlike the Hatters supporters this time around – Jefferson Lloyd International was the company that was named as the new owners.

However, nobody ever actually found out what this company even did, but a front man called Doug Braddock did come forward and claimed that coach Rudi Straeuli would leave the club “Over my dead body.”

However, in just a matter of days, the popular South African had been sacked with no apparent reason given – note the similarity between this and the sackings of Joe Kinnear and Mick Harford just days after the new owners took control of the club.

Gurney did, eventually, come forward and amazingly claimed that Braddock had somehow managed to gain control of Bedford Rugby Club by using Jefferson Lloyd International’s name without his knowledge.

And then, in an even more bizarre twist, Gurney tried to sell the club to the then Premiership side Coventry – this all coming after the players had not been paid.

Thankfully, the Rugby Football Union blocked the move and the town somehow managed to rally around and raise £750,000 in the space of five days and this saved the club.

Local business David Ledsom led the way and control was finally wrestled from Gurney, who left the whole charade with a tidy net profit.

Two years after Gurney left Bedford Rugby Club, they were still feelings the effects of his time in control of the club and the now chairman Mr. Irvine said, "Will the ghost of John Gurney never go away."

Mike Watson-Challis.

Gurney was heading the new consortium at Luton, having bought the club for £4 from Mike Watson-Challis.

However, it then emerged that Peter Miller, the man who signed the letters sacking both Joe Kinnear and Mick Harford, was in fact an employee of Northampton Town Football Club – he was their commercial director.

A spokesman for Northampton Town Football Club said: "Mr. Miller is the club's current commercial director, however, he is not available to comment."

The land owned by former chairman Mike Watson-Challis at junction 10 of the M1 had also apparently been transferred to Gurney as part of the deal.

The Football League then began an investigation into the club’s affairs, and the whole situation was not looking good for Gurney – the whole start of his time at the club was shrouded in controversy.

Gurney then enraged the Hatters fans even more by announcing that in a unique exercise in sport PR, the fans would have the opportunity to vote for the new manager by phoning a given number – at a cost of 50p per call.

Gurney released a statement which read…

”In a unique exercise in sport, Luton Town’s new owners announced today that the supporters will be given the chance to vote for the club’s new manager.

"Beginning next week, we will be taking nominations for people you want us to approach. Following that, we will draw up a short list and again supporters will be able to phone in their votes for their favourite from the shortlist. This will give us the final selection.

"The final vote will then be taken with three groups having a say: Season Ticket-holders, all other supporters and the Board.

"Season Ticket-holders will have five votes each, other supporters will have one vote each. To qualify for the additional voting rights, supporters must buy their Season Tickets by close of business next Friday June 6.” 

This news was understandably greeted with contempt by the Luton fans – they just couldn’t understand what on earth was going on at the club.

In the meantime, Peter Miller stated that he regretted signing the letters to sack Kinnear and Harford and that he would remain at Northampton Town Football Club – and wouldn’t be a part of Luton Town Football Club.

It also emerged now that Gurney had previously owned two football clubs – both small Non-League outfits – Ashford Town and Southall – and he had allegedly left them in a financial mess.

In an attempt to win back the fans’ support, Gurney then offered Mick Harford his job back – but Harford refused to return to his beloved club while Gurney remained on the board.

As if all of this controversy was not enough, rumours then circulated that Gurney wanted to change the club’s name from Luton Town Football Club to London Luton Football Club – and he later admitted it was something that he would consider doing given the proximity of the proposed new ground at Junction 10 to the airport.

Graham Kelly resigned.

Yvonne Fletcher, the fans’ representative on the board, then resigned stating that the position had become “Untenable” and shortly afterwards, Cherry Newbery followed, as she resigned from the board and as company secretary (although she remained at the club as club secretary).  Graham Kelly had already resigned from the board prior to these resignations. 

Gurney then released two reports – the first an initial report before he purchased the club – the second a report following 2 weeks of being in charge of the club.  The initial report claimed that Gurney could build a Grand Prix race track around the new stadium, as well as earning the club £50 million profit a year – plus a whole host of other amazing, but highly unlikely ideas.

The second report outlined further ambitious plans for the club – and the two reports can be found HERE and HERE.

Gurney was now conducting interviews on the local radio station, BBC Three Counties Radio, and you can hear what he had to say about his plans for the club by clicking HERE.

Gurney then stated that he could bring Joe Kinnear back to the club as manager if – and it looked extremely likely – he won the manager vote poll.  You can hear what Gurney had to say about this HERE.  

Gurney then conducted a question and answer session, again on BBC Three Counties Radio, and you can hear this interview HERE. 

John Gurney (right) welcomes Mike Newell as manager.

However, amazingly, Gurney announced that Joe Kinnear had not been voted the club’s new manager – but that ex-Hatters striker Mike Newell would be the new boss.  Gurney claimed that the players voted for Joe Kinnear, the season ticket holders voted for Joe Kinnear, but that the board, shareholders and general fans all voted for Mike Newell. In an attempt to make the phone vote seem ‘fair’, Gurney delayed the 1:00pm press conference in order to have a recount as the poll was, “So close.”

Unfortunately for Mike Newell, who the fans had nothing against personally, he would already be starting his new job on the wrong foot – the fans simply wanted Joe Kinnear and Mick Harford back at all costs! 

Gurney also revealed the new chairman of Luton Town Football Club - a Mr. Tony Cooper who works in the clothing industry in London - but who never actually came forward and to this day the fans have never seen nor heard from.

You can hear what Gurney had to say of the appointment of Mike Newell as the new manager by clicking HERE.

Gurney then failed to pay the players and staff on time for the second month running - and this caused even more controversy and ill-feeling at the club.  Gurney claimed that it was "A storm in a teacup", but the players, staff and the supporters were not happy!  Gurney therefore conducted another interview on BBC Three Counties Radio in an attempt to outline why the players and staff hadn't been paid, and what his ambitions were for the club.  You can hear that interview by clicking HERE.

After being told he must meet the Football League, Gurney attended the meeting, but failed to give any evidence of his plans for the club, or that he had the financial backing to fulfill the club's fixtures for the forthcoming season - the 2003-04 campaign.  The Football League, obviously as concerned as the Hatters supporters, gave Gurney two weeks to put together his plans for the club, to name the consortium and to prove that the club could indeed fulfill their fixtures.  The Football League also placed a transfer embargo on the club.

However, the two weeks passed and Gurney attended the meeting with the Football League.  At the meeting, Gurney failed to show any evidence of what he had been doing at the club, and also refused to name the consortium who owned the club, as well as failing to outline his plans for the club.  The Football League therefore reacted very angrily and stopped all cash injections into the club from commercial sponsorship to TV money.  They also stated that the transfer embargo remained and that they would be sending in a consortium of their own to investigate the club immediately.

'Trust In Luton'.

It left Luton in a precarious position as the fans had already decided not to buy their season tickets on the recommendation of Trust In Luton - so the club therefore had no money coming into it.  However, on July 14th 2003, the news came that all Luton Town supporters had been hoping for - John Gurney left the club.  It had been a very uncertain time for all concerned with the club during the two months he was in charge, but the first steps to secure the future of Luton Town Football Club had been taken.

The club were placed into Administrative Receivership at the request of a creditor that was owed money by the club. It was not known which of the many possible creditors it was that had taken this step.

Administrative Receivership is different to Administration. With Administration, an administrator works for all possible creditors that exist. With Administrative Receivership, an insolvency practitioner is appointed by one of the club's secured creditors, who is someone that has funded the club such as a private individual that has loaned funds to the club. The upshot of this was that John Gurney’s regime was no longer in control.

Announcing John Gurney's departure, the club released a statement which read...

"Luton Town Managing Director John Gurney has lost control of the football club, which has been placed into administrative receivership as a protective measure by the Club’s major creditor.

"The administrative receiver, Mr. Barry Ward, will be taking over the responsibilities of the Board of Directors with immediate effect.

Cherry Newbery.

"Club Secretary Cherry Newbery said: “This can only be great news for the future of our Club and I would now appeal to all supporters and commercial clients to support the Club and renew their Season Tickets, sponsorships and commercial packages safe in the knowledge that your money will benefit Luton Town Football Club.

“To this end, the Ticket Office will be open from 10am until 7pm from Tuesday July 15 until Saturday July 19 inclusive. We do expect to be inundated with supporters and would ask them to be patient with us during the next few days.

“Unfortunately, we will not be able to accept payment by credit card during this period and trust that in the circumstances everyone will understand.

“We look forward to welcoming all our supporters back to Kenilworth Road for the new season but firstly for our pre-season friendly at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday July 26. See you all there!”

Speculation had linked members of Trust in Luton to be central to the developments - although they moved to deny this. It is believed that representatives from Trust in Luton's interim committee had been involved in discussions with various individuals at the home of the Hatters. It was understood that the group had to overcome some complex legal issues in order to take these steps.

Former chairman Mike Watson-Challis had expressed his horror at Gurney’s actions, and may have been involved in some of the negotiations after making clear his concern. Following the Football League's compliance and advisory unit beginning their investigation at the club, Gurney's financial director and company secretary Andrew Zimbler resigned from the board, and we were led to believe John Gurney returned to his home of Tenerife in Spain.

Back with the club: Mick Harford.

Much to the delight of the Luton Town supporters, Newell brought back Mick Harford to the club as First-Team Coach and Director of Football shortly after being appointed as manager, with Harford able to return to the club following the departure of Gurney.

Surprisingly, after much disappointment on his arrival, new team manager Mike Newell did, after some 3 to 4 months in charge, manage to 'win over' the Hatters fans with his attractive style of passing football coupled with his motivation to simply "Get on with the job at hand."  Indeed it could be argued - and has often been by Luton Town fans - that despite all of the troubles during the period that Gurney was in charge of the club, he did actually manage to find the club a pretty decent manager!

Bill Tomlins.

After a year in administrative receivership, Luton Town Football Club finally got new owners in late May 2004 when former general manager Bill Tomlins put together a consortium called 'The Bill Tomlins Sports Management Consortium' that took control of the club.  He put the club under control of Kenilworth Road Football Club ltd.

You can also find a full rundown of everything relating to the takeover by the mystery consortium and the aftermath of administrative receivership that followed and the final takeover by the Tomlins consortium as written here on Lutonfc.com by clicking HERE.

With his time in charge of the club shrouded in controversy, Gurney was a very unpopular figure with the Luton supporters to say the least, and his two months in charge of the club were arguably the worst times in the club's history.

Mike Newell.

The 2004-05 season was a hugely successful campaign for Luton Town.  The summer had seen the return of popular goalkeeper Marlon Beresford, who rejoined the club from Barnsley just three months after leaving Kenilworth Road.  The move to bring back Beresford delighted the Luton fans, as well as manager Mike Newell, who had not wanted to see the goalkeeper leave in the first place, but Newell had previously been unable to offer Beresford a long-term contract with the club in administrative receivership. 

Another goalkeeper arrived, Slovenian Dino Seremet from NK Maribor, to provide able backup to Beresford along with youngsters Dean Brill, Robert Beckwith and Zac Barrett.  Two other summer arrivals concluded Newell’s pre-season acquisitions – strikers Matthew Blinkhorn and Rowan Vine on three-month loan deals from Blackpool and Portsmouth respectively.

Rowan Vine.

The summer also saw the departures of home-grown talents and popular duo Emmerson Boyce and Matthew Spring, who took advantage of freedom of contract to leave for higher division clubs, Boyce moving to newly-promoted Premiership side Crystal Palace and Spring signing for Leeds after turning down a move to join ex-Town manager Joe Kinnear at Nottingham Forest.  Another popular player, Adrian Forbes, decided to move on and, again under freedom of contract, he joined Swansea City – Luton not receiving a penny for three players who would undoubtedly have commanded fees in the transfer market.  Also on his way out was Danish goalkeeper Morten Hyldgaard, who was released in the wake of Beresford’s return.

In the aftermath of administrative receivership, there were several players out-of-contract at the club and manager Newell, who had lost three key players under freedom of contract, was quick to tie up the out-of-contract Ahmet Brkovic, Paul Hughes, Russell Perrett, Chris Coyne and Steve Robinson.  Coupled with his new signings and a new board backing the club, it was felt that, despite the loss of Boyce, Spring and Forbes, Luton could make a genuine push for promotion. 

Ahmet Brkovic.

The Hatters fans eventually took a liking to Newell, who brought about the return of attractive, passing football to the club and this saw him 'win over' the majority of Luton Town fans and he led the club to a 10th placed finish in Division Two (now known as League One) in his first season in charge of the club - an excellent achievement considering the club spent the entire campaign in administrative receivership, as well as to the FA Cup Fourth Round.  If he could continue to build upon those initial foundations it was felt that he could well become a very popular manager and the only bright spark to come out of what was an awful summer in 2003 for everyone connected with Luton Town Football Club - and he did just that.

The 2004-05 season began remarkably for Luton Town as the Hatters won 9, drew 1 and lost 0 of their opening 10 League fixtures to put them nine points clear at the top of League One by the beginning of October 2004 - and Newell became a 'hero' to the Luton Town supporters.

Amid the cacophony about Wayne Rooney's move to Manchester United and the drooling over Arsenal's unbeaten run, another fine achievement went all but unnoticed to the rest of the football world. With 28 points from a possible 30 by mid-October 2004, Luton had begun their League One season in a fashion that makes Rooney seem a slow starter.

Hat-trick: Steve Howard.

After a prestigious friendly with Dutch giants Ajax at Kenilworth Road, which the visitors won 4-0, Luton players certainly showed they were capable of promotion when they surprised the whole football world – and perhaps even the Hatters supporters – by winning their opening six matches - seeing off Oldham, Swindon, Barnsley, Torquay, Blackpool and Bournemouth.  In fact, it was still a further seven matches before Luton lost for the first time during the season, when Huddersfield Town inflicted a 2-1 defeat at Kenilworth Road.  When Luton lost their next two matches at Walsall and fellow promotion-chasers Hull City, many people were quick to point out that it was the beginning of the freefall down the table.  However, the players disagreed and bounced back by thumping Bradford City and Wrexham 4-0 and 5-1 respectively and then winning 4-1 at new rivals and much-despised Milton Keynes Dons – Steve Howard continuing his excellent goal scoring form by netting a hat-trick against the MK Dons.

Kevin Nicholls.

Howard had struck-up a good understanding in attack with Rowan Vine, and the loan signing from Portsmouth had now had his loan spell extended until the end of the season.  The hardworking Vine had, perhaps rather harshly in the eyes of many Luton fans, been criticised by certain sections of the Hatters faithful for his lack of goals, but playing a big part in a side who had been top of the division for the entire season, even the ruthless critics couldn’t moan too loudly.  It boded well for Vine that he had kept popular striker Gary McSheffrey, back at Kenilworth Road on a month’s loan from Coventry City in September, on the substitutes bench and was a testament to his determination to remain in the side. 

The most significant improvement over the previous season seemed to be the remarkable improvement of several players – the likes of Sol Davis, Kevin Nicholls and Ahmet Brkovic, who were performing consistently week-in, week-out and whose ability some supporters had questioned in the past.  Add to these the emergence of youngsters such as Curtis Davies, Keith Keane, Kevin Foley, Stephen O’Leary and Enoch Showunmi, as well as the reliable performers like Chris Coyne, Steve Howard, Paul Underwood and Steve Robinson, and Luton fans could see Newell had the basis for a championship-winning side.

Harford left for Nottingham Forest.

However, Luton were then hit by a bombshell in November 2004 – assistant manager and director of football Mick Harford – a legend to the Hatters supporters – was to join former manager Joe Kinnear at Championship strugglers Nottingham Forest despite Luton being six points clear at the top of League One. 

After a 0-2 loss at Brentford on a cold Tuesday night in early December when Luton had Steve Howard sent off early on, the Hatters didn’t appear to miss Harford if their actions on the pitch were anything to go by as they would now embark on a run that would see them go 14 League matches without defeat. 

The Christmas period saw wins at Bristol City – the first for 30 years - and at Chesterfield on Boxing Day as Enoch Showunmi, in for the suspended Howard, netted two late winners.  If anyone had any fears that Luton were a one-man team, then this surely put them to rest. 

However, six draws from the next seven matches had a few Luton fans wondering if the Hatters had begun to slip a little – after all, this was Luton Town and even the most optimistic of supporters are programmed to expect the worst! 

The visit of second-placed Hull City on February 12^th saw a sell-out Kenilworth Road crowd witness the most memorable match at Kenilworth Road for a few years as Ahmet Brkovic netted an 89^th minute winner to seal all three points for Luton and increase the lead at the top.  Brkovic, who had been the victim of the boo boys over the past two seasons, had been a revelation, netting goals from midfield at a canter and he was already into double figures for the season.

The popular and tough-tackling Sol Davis.

Wins at Hartlepool United and Bradford City and a midweek home victory over Walsall tightened Luton’s grip on a promotion place and along with Hull City, they were beginning to open up a gap over third and fourth-placed sides Tranmere Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday.   

Further good news came as manager Mike Newell and assistant manager Brian Stein signed new two-year deals, along with the highly impressive Sol Davis, Kevin Nicholls, Ahmet Brkovic and Curtis Davies.  The only worry came as striker Steve Howard, out-of-contract at the end of the season, had still yet to sign a new deal that had been offered to him since before Christmas.  With Championship side Burnley now declaring their interest in Luton’s star striker, many supporters were left wondering whether this would be the bustling forward’s last season at Kenilworth Road. 

Luton win League One at Wrexham.

On the pitch, a defeat at Port Vale was only a brief blip as Luton claimed home wins over Bristol City and Swindon Town – which saw the return of Mick Harford to Kenilworth Road.  Having left the Hatters - where he had been offered a five-year deal to stay at the club – Harford had found himself unemployed within just two months of departing Kenilworth Road after Joe Kinnear was sacked as Nottingham Forest manager.  However, he was soon back in football in February 2005 as he joined Swindon Town as assistant manager to ex-Hatter and close friend Andy King until the end of the season – before then leaving the County Ground to take up his first permanent managerial role – at Rotherham United. 

The Luton Town Board of Directors then showed their commitment to the club by splashing out £150,000 on transfer deadline day to secure the signing of Stockport County's Northern Ireland international striker Warren Feeney - the first fee paid for a player by Luton Town since 2002 - some 3 years previously!

Luton Town win the League One title at Wrexham.

A 1-3 home defeat to Barnsley on Good Friday in front of the television cameras was only a brief blip as a 4-1 win at Torquay United saw normality return, and consecutive 1-0 victories over Blackpool and AFC Bournemouth put the Hatters on the brink of promotion to the Championship.  This was secured on Tuesday, April 12^th 2005 when 3^rd-placed Tranmere Rovers were beaten 0-1 at Brentford, meaning that Luton Town could not mathematically finish any lower than 2^nd in the table, thus ensuring promotion to the Championship after 10 years in the bottom two Divisions of the Football League.

The League One Championship was sealed a fortnight later when, on April 23rd 2005, the Hatters - after seeing off Milton Keynes Dons 1-0 at Kenilworth Road the previous week - claimed a 2-1 victory at Wrexham, coming from a goal behind to seal the Championship on St. George's Day in Wales.  It was the second time in three years that the Hatters had joy in Wales after sealing promotion from Division Three (now called League Two) at Swansea City in 2002.  Over 2,000 travelling Luton Town fans were at the Racecourse Ground to see the Hatters claim the Championship - the first silverware the club had won since lifting the Littlewoods Cup at Wembley against Arsenal in 1988.  The Championship trophy was paraded at Kenilworth Road in front of a jubilant sell-out crowd in the final home match of the season against Brentford and an open top bus parade in Luton town centre on May 8th 2005 was the icing on the cake of what was undoubtedly the best season the club had enjoyed for years.

Luton Town: League One Champions 2004-05.

The team played free-flowing attacking football and always looked like they could score for fun.  It truly was a memorable season and with Luton legend Brian Stein as Newell's assistant, the pair brought back memories of the glory years for the fans.

Having led the club back to the Championship, Newell was already a Hatters hero with the supporters and he continued to build upon that reputation during the 2005-06 campaign. 

After a scintillating start where Luton Town surprised former Premiership sides Crystal Palace and Southampton – beating them both – and then drawing with former Premiership side Leeds United, the Hatters had begun life in the Championship in fine fashion.  In fact, such was their start, that they led the table after the first three games and were in the top three right up until the end of October 2005.  Even when they slipped out of the top three, they still occupied a play-off place until mid-December. 

However, a blip in form saw the Hatters eventually slip down the table to finish in 9^th place – still a remarkable feat considering the size of the clubs that Luton Town were competing against and their resources, and also given the fact that the Hatters hadn't played at this level for some 10 years. 

Luton Town play Liverpool in 2006.

Highlights during the season included thumping Norwich City – who had been in the Premiership only a season before – 4-2 at Kenilworth Road, beating Champions Reading 3-2, drawing 1-1 at local rivals Watford to end their automatic promotion hopes, and a memorable 3-5 defeat in front of the television cameras to then European Champions Liverpool in arguably one of the most exhilarating FA Cup clashes of all-time. 

Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Newell raised both his and Luton Town's profile by appearing on Sky Sports' "Soccer Am" and BBC's "Football Focus" programmes during the course of the season and it was a refreshing change for Hatters fans to receive media attention once again after being in the shadows since the "Glory Days" of the 1980s.  He was also involved in allegations of "Bungs" being offered by football agents, a story that saw him feature heavily in the tabloids for a few weeks and also appear in front of the Football Association.

Club record sale: Curtis Davies.

Amongst Newell's many achievements during his time at Kenilworth Road was his ability to bring in young players and to give opportunities to products of the Hatters youth set-up.  This came to prominence in August 2005 when he sold young defender Curtis Davies – a player he had brought into the first-team – to Premiership side West Bromwich Albion for a club record sale of £3 million.  Other youngsters like Republic Of Ireland Under-21 internationals Kevin Foley and Keith Keane, and local lad Leon Barnett, also progressed to the first-team under Newell's tutorship. 

Never one to panic and sign players who wouldn't improve the side, Newell spent just £100,000 of that money that summer, singing midfielder David Bell from Rushden & Diamonds and sticking for the rest of the season with the players that had done so well in gaining promotion the previous season.

Wing wizard: Carlos Edwards.

His summer signings spoke volumes as well for his ability to spot a good player – defender Markus Heikkinen, a Finland international, was a revelation after a Bosman free transfer move from Aberdeen, and winger Carlos Edwards, another free signing, made an immediate impact after joining from Wrexham.  A Trinidad & Tobago international, Edwards was one of only a few Hatters to ever represent their country at a World Cup finals when he went with the Trinidad & Tobago squad to Germany in 2006. 

Newell's managerial abilities didn't go unnoticed.  Following the sacking of Craig Levein, Championship rivals Leicester City approached Luton Town and spoke to Mike Newell about him becoming their new boss.  However, after speaking with The Foxes, Newell decided that his future lay in Bedfordshire and remained a Hatter, much to the delight of the Luton Town supporters.  There was further interest in Newell from another two Championship rivals - both of whom interviewed him during the summer of 2006 - Ipswich Town and Derby County.  In fact, Newell was even offered the Derby County manager's job, but turned it down to stay at Kenilworth Road.

Controversial: Mike Newell.

Offered a new four-year contract, Newell, along with his assistant Brian Stein, had worked wonders at Kenilworth Road and he delighted the fans by showing his intent to stay at Kenilworth Road by signing a new four-year deal prior to the start of the opening game of the 2006-07 season.

However, in a matter of just six months, things had turned very sour for Newell at Luton Town.  On March 15th 2007, he was sacked as manager of Luton Town Football Club for gross misconduct.  Never one to shy away from controversy, Newell's explicit criticism of Luton Town in the wake of a home defeat to Hull City prompted the board to inform him that the four-year contract he signed in September 2006 would be terminated with immediate effect.

Newell is understood to have reacted with anger and surprise to the decision.  He had been severely reprimanded in November 2006 for a scathing attack on the female assistant referee Amy Raynor and warned that he would be sacked for another outburst. The board stayed true to that promise after his newest comments.

Sold: Club captain Kevin Nicholls.

The club had been struggling on the pitch as well, with just 3 wins from 25 League matches seeing the Hatters plummet down the Championship table to sit 2nd bottom when Newell's contract was terminated.  He had come under fire from some supporters too for his tactical decisions and team selections and at one stage Newell rather embarrassingly declared, "I don't do tactics."

However, he blamed the side's poor form on the sales of four key players - Kevin Nicholls, Steve Howard, Carlos Edwards and Rowan Vine - who were all sold to Championship rivals for a total of over £6 million - added to the £3 million received for Curtis Davies a year earlier - and stated it had been the decisions of the Board to sell the players and not his choice.

"The reason we're in this position is because we've sold our best players," Newell said after Luton lost 1-2 at home to Hull City, their fifth successive League defeat.

Sold: Star striker Steve Howard.

"Where's the £9 million gone? Give that to me and I'll get five experienced players in. I'll pay them fortunes and we'll get ourselves out of it."

He added: "It takes three or four years to build a reputation as a decent manager and three months to lose that reputation. But if you take the four best players out of any team it will hurt them. Someone should investigate what is going on at this club."

Those remarks, and in particular the last comment, were effectively the final straw for the Luton board. There was a feeling within the club that Newell had overstepped the mark too often and that he could no longer be trusted.

He had courted controversy time and again since his appointment at Kenilworth Road in the summer of 2003. His comments about corruption being rife in football prompted an investigation into transfer deals but his ill-judged remarks about female officials caused an even greater stir. He had also accused the Luton chairman, Bill Tomlins, of "contributing nothing".

It is understood that Newell's comments on player sales particularly angered the board given that he took a 10% cut from all transfer fees received because of a clause in his contract. He had led the club to promotion from League One in 2005 before exceeding expectations and finishing 10th in the Championship during the 2005-06 season.

Sold: Striker Rowan Vine.

Sold: Winger Carlos Edwards.

His rant on Tomlins in November 2006 saw him remark that, "Everything he has got involved in he has messed up".  On female assistant referee Amy Raynor he stated, "She shouldn't be here. This is not park football. I know that sounds sexist but I am sexist. It is tokenism - for the politically correct idiots."  Other controversial remarks he made surrounded bungs in football, where he said, "A lot of people involved with the agents and doing the deals are taking backhanders. Agents are the scourge of the game."  He also commented on there being too many foreign players in football, saying, "We are going soft because of all the foreigners and the things they do. As soon as they are touched they go to ground feigning injury."

These constant outbursts brought what the club felt was negative publicity to the club and, after their warnings fell on deaf ears, Newell paid the price and saw his contract terminated with immediate effect in mid-March 2007.  However, not all of the Board members were in agreement and Director Martin King resigned from the Board, believing that it was the wrong decision to dismiss Newell.

Following his sacking, Newell keep quiet for over two weeks and did not comment until two days after the appointment of his successor, Kevin Blackwell.  Speaking of his dismissal, Newell said, "When something like this happens it comes as a real kick in the teeth.  We had a lot of success but I did not get appreciated for the things I'd done. During my time at Luton I have proven myself as a manager."

Kevin Blackwell.

His replacement, Luton-born Kevin Blackwell, was unable to save the Hatters from relegation to League One after two seasons in the Championship.

Appointed as Hatters manager in March 2007, it fulfilled a lifetime ambition of Blackwell's to manage Luton Town, the team he had supported as a child.  Living very close to the Kenilworth Road ground as a youngster, he would be able to hear from his bedroom the cheers from the ground when Luton scored!

A goalkeeper during his playing days, Blackwell had recently been sacked as Leeds United manager and he took over at Kenilworth Road with the Hatters placed 2nd from bottom of the Championship table and after six successive defeats.

Given the daunting task of trying to save Luton Town’s Championship status, Blackwell was unable to keep the young side in the Championship and relegation to League One beckoned.

Sold: Leon Barnett.

However, after making a string of backroom staff appointments and signing a whole clutch of new players, there were high hopes that the Hatters could make a real push for promotion during the 2007-08 season.  Blackwell had, however, lost the services of three other key players - defender Markus Heikkinen joined Austrian side SK Rapid Wien under freedom of contract, and homegrown stars Leon Barnett and Kevin Foley were sold to West Bromwich Albion for £2.5 million and Wolves for £750,000 respectively.  It meant that the Hatters had made some £12.5 million from players sales in just two years - but the 2004-05 League One title-winning side had now been completely dismantled.  In contrast, the Hatters had spent just £1.39 million on signing players - representing a profit of £11.1 million on player sales in just two years.

Unfortunately for Blackwell and the club, things didn't go quite as planned - in fact, that would be a huge understatement!  The summer signings of veterans Darren Currie, Don Hutchison, Chris Perry, Paul Peschisolido and Paul Furlong were questioned by Hatters fans and the side's form at the beginning of the season was patchy, the Hatters impressive at home, but extremely poor on their travels, winning only one away League game under Blackwell in 2007-08.  This did, at one point, lead to chants of "Blackwell Out" at a home FA Cup First Round tie with Brentford in November 2007.

Sold: Kevin Foley.

An impressive run in the League Cup - where both Sunderland and Charlton Athletic were beaten - ended in an extra-time home defeat to Everton in the Fourth Round and gave Blackwell some much-needed pressure relief, but in the League the Hatters were struggling in mid-lower table of League One.

David Pinkney.

Then came a bombshell as Chairman David Pinkney - who had always backed Blackwell - stepped down from the Club and put Luton Town into administration in November 2007, stating that the club had unsustainable debts.  At the same time, directors John Mitchell and Richard Bagehot also resigned under extreme pressure from the Hatters fans, who were extremely aggrieved at numerous player sales and with the pair under investigation from the Football Association for financial irregularities.  Blackwell and his coaches Sam Ellis and John Carver were understandably upset by the developments and Blackwell stated many times that he felt "cheated" and that he'd been brought to the club under "false promises".  It also posed the mind boggling question - how could a club that had made a profit of £11.1 million on transfers in just two years, go into administration for having no money? The Hatters fans were angry, and quite rightly so, and directed their anger at former chairman Bill Tomlins and directors John Mitchell, Derek Peter and Richard Bagehot and their holding company Jayten Stadium Ltd.

John Mitchell.

The club were automatically deduced 10 points by the Football Association, which saw the Hatters plummet to bottom place in League One.  However, the off-the-field activities seemed to galvanize the players who produced some excellent displays on the pitch and Blackwell had by now gained a lot of sympathy from the majority of Hatters fans.  Although Luton remained in the relegation places when Blackwell was dismissed from his position in mid-January 2008, they had clawed back a good few points to give themselves a fighting chance of staving off the threat of relegation.

Sold: Chris Coyne.

The club also gained huge praise and worldwide recognition when they were drawn at home to Premiership giants Liverpool in the FA Cup Third Round in January 2008.  A superb 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road in front of the live Sky television cameras earned a money-spinning replay at Anfield.  However, it was at this point that things went from bad to worse for Blackwell and his assistants.  The administrators decided to sell two key players - central defender and club captain Chris Coyne and midfielder David Edwards - for £350,000 and £675,000 to Colchester United and Wolves respectively.  Blackwell stated that he felt the decisions had been made without his say-so and that he was no longer managing the club.  Blackwell, his assistant manager Sam Ellis, and head coach John Carver all subsequently resigned, but said they'd stay at the club until February, thereby giving a month's notice, even though they weren't required to do so.

Sold: David Edwards.

However, just days later, after the decimated Hatters were bravely beaten 0-5 at Liverpool in the FA Cup replay, the administrators announced that they had terminated the trio's contracts with immediate effect and they duly appoint Hatters legend Mick Harford as the new Luton Town manager.  The decision had been made with the backing of consortium LTFC2020, a fans' led group, which included TV presenter and lifelong Hatters fan Nick Owen, and former Luton Town players Godfrey Ingram and Steve Foster.  The consortium also included lifelong Luton Town fans Gary Sweet and Stephen Browne - with the group having a six-year plan to get the Hatters among football's elite.  LTFC2020 had been chosen by the administrators as the preferred bidders to take ownership of the club and, after a lengthy process, LTFC2020 were eventually confirmed as the new owners of Luton Town Football Club.

Luton Town equalise against Liverpool in 2008.

The decision to sack Blackwell after a ten-month spell as manager at Kenilworth Road was not particularly surprising, especially considering he'd already announced he would be leaving, but he left with the best wishes of all Luton Town supporters for the work he had done under extremely difficult circumstances.  Surprisingly, he was still polite and courteous and even wished new manager Mick Harford all the best in the job.

Unfortunately, without a recognised central defender in the squad, Harford was forced to play veteran midfielder Don Hutchison in the centre of defence, as well as handing first-team debuts to several youth team players.  With the Hatters deducted 10 points, key players sold, and a transfer embargo placed on the club as a result of administration (the lengthy process of coming out of administration would take until the end of the season, despite the LTFC2020 consortium taking over the running of the club), Harford faced an impossible task.

Mick Harford returned as manager.

Harford inherited a poor side, lacking a decent goal scoring threat, and so vulnerable in defence, and just two points were all Harford had to show for his first 12 games in charge of Luton Town.  All-but-relegated upon Harford's arrival, the ageing side, coupled with a lack of defenders, meant that Luton Town finished bottom of League One, winning just two of the 22 matches from Harford's arrival until the end of the season.

Luton Town fans show their support for LTFC2020.

New owners LTFC2020 quickly set about trying to transform the club and, along with a plan to rebuild the club off-the-pitch, as well as on-the-pitch, they also pleased the fans by holding a 20th anniversary match in May 2008 against an Arsenal Pro-Celebrity XI.  The match was arranged to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the Hatters' 3-2 Littlewoods (League) Cup win over Arsenal at Wembley.  As well as 1988 heroes Steve Foster, Darron McDonough (who didn’t actually feature in the match due to neck and ankle injuries respectively, but were both in attendance), David Oldfield, Mick Harford, Ricky Hill, Rob Johnson, Kingsley Black, Mark Stein and Tim Breacker, other Luton legends were also in attendance – from 1990s heroes like Scott Oakes, Phil Gray, Julian James and John Dreyer – to older stars like Godfrey Ingram, Mitchell Thomas and Wayne Turner.

Luton Legends squad for the anniversary match.

Luton triumphed 2-1 with goals from Mark Stein and David Oldfield as the Luton Legends rolled back the years.  This event was highly pleasing for the Hatters fans as it was the type of event that had not been arranged over the years by previous owners of the club, and it reaffirmed to the Hatters fans that the LTFC2020 consortium had the club at heart and loved Luton Town as much as anyone.  You can see a full report and photos of this anniversary match by clicking HERE.

Preparing for life in League Two, hopes were high for the 2008-09 season, but in June 2008, Luton Town were hit by a bombshell by the Football Association.  The club were fined £50,000 and deducted 10 League points for the start of the 2008-09 season by the FA for financial irregularities at the club under the former owners Jayten Stadium Ltd.

The investigation, which began in March 2007, found that payments made to the six agents, totalling about £160,000, by the club's holding company 'Jayten (also known as 'J10') Stadium Limited' were not disclosed to the FA on the required forms.  In addition, it was also alleged that services for the benefit of a Luton player, totalling approximately £7,000, were paid for directly by 'Jayten' but were not disclosed on the player's contract.

Cherry Newbery.

The charges followed an FA investigation after former Hatters manager Mike Newell claimed in early 2006 that illegal payments in the game were rife.  His allegations were shown to be right and his concerns - which had seen him sacked as Luton Town manager after he voiced these concerns - were proven to be well founded when club secretary Cherry Newbery identified the illegal payments.  She subsequently reported them to the FA.

The Hatters were found guilty of 15 charges of misconduct, concerning payments to agents between July 2004 and February 2007.  The Regulatory Commission found the club guilty of paying agents via a third party, but not of paying bungs.

Bill Tomlins.

Former chairman Bill Tomlins was banned from football for five years and fined £15,000.  Three other ex-directors were also punished and six agents warned. Derek Peter was fined £3,750 and a one-year ban from football. Richard Bagehot was fined £750 and John Mitchell £250.

It represented the worst-case scenario for Luton Town and the decision was a huge shock and came as a massive blow for Hatters fans.

It also seemed so unfair on Luton supporters – how many more times were they going to be punished? Not only had they had to contend with selling over £14 million worth of players in 2-and-a-half-years, three different managers, a 10-point deduction the previous season and two successive relegations, they now also had to accept that they could even lose their status as a Football League club.

Bill Tomlins offered to help Luton's fight for justice and even publicly announced that he should be punished and not the Football Club.  He wrote a letter to LTFC2020, the consortium running the club, offering to help their fight, but they reacted angrily and stated his help would never be welcome and they would prefer that he stayed away from the club.

John Mitchell.

When it looked as though Luton Town had hit rock bottom, things then went from bad to worse.  In July 2008, Luton Town were handed a further 20-point deduction by the Football League for failing to exit administration in the correct manner via a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) with its creditors.

Coupled with the previous 10-point deduction imposed by the FA in June 2008 for financial irregularities, it meant the Hatters would start the 2008-09 season in League Two on an unprecedented -30 points.

As well as imposing the points deduction, the Football League also informed LTFC2020, the consortium aiming to take control at Kenilworth Road, that they must pay a further £500,000 to purchase the club, and must also sign a declaration that stated that they could not appeal against this decision. If LTFC2020 failed to sign this declaration, Luton Town would not be able to compete in the Football League and would subsequently go out of business.

2020 members Gary Sweet, Nick Owen and Stephen Browne.

Members of the Hatters' prospective new owners, Stephen Browne and Gary Sweet, stated that they had looked into the possibility of being demoted directly to the Blue Square Premier (previously more famously known as the Vauxhall Conference), but the Blue Square Premier did not accept clubs in administration and this was therefore not an option.

They were consequently left in the position of having no option but to agree to the terms set out by the Football League, in order to make sure that professional football could remain at Kenilworth Road.

Still confident that they can take the club forwards and into a brighter future, the LTFC2020 consortium have a big task to try to bring the glory days back to Kenilworth Road, starting with a 2008-09 campaign in the bottom Division of the Football League and with a 10-point deduction.  It is so sad to see how far Luton Town have fallen - 20 years since winning the Littlewoods (League) Cup, 16 years after playing in what is now called the Premiership and just two years after playing in the Championship.

The FA punished Luton.

LTFC2020 director Stephen Browne said, "It's quite clear that we made a mistake. We placed our faith in the footballing authorities. We have tried to do everything openly and honestly. We tried to give our best offer from the start. Obviously the very clear message from both the FA and the Football League is that doing such a thing is a total waste of time. Once again, the club suffers from the mismanagement of the past. Once again the faithful supporters are left high and dry. Once again, a policy of honesty is not at all recognised by the football authorities who claim they want to clean up the game. Once again the Football League fail as who was it that cleared the previous owners as 'fit and proper' owners in the first place?

"The Football League had our application at the end of April. They have prevaricated because of the Leeds case (Leeds United were deducted 15 points the previous season by the Football League) and this has caused the administrator costs to rise as he has been managing the clubs business for longer than needed. Even bearing this in mind, the Football League have decided to dictate what should be paid for the football club as it now appears that they are the only people who can set a purchase price for a football club. It's a gun to our heads because we also have to forego our right of appeal; or else we will not be allowed to stay in professional league football.

The League punished Luton.

"It is quite clear to me that to incur significant costs of seeking a CVA, as well as the extra time involved, is something that is a total waste of money. In addition, the Football League are confused - their statement says, "In line with recent precedent" when it was very clear from the Leeds case that the Football League were told NOT to view that outcome as a precedent.

"We have already discussed this internally and have decided unanimously that we will continue the fight by sticking to our principle of openness and honesty. People who should, in theory at least, be protecting supporters and encouraging honesty in the game will not bring us down. They are clearly trying to push Luton Town out of existence for mistakes that they should take part of the blame for. It is obvious that their insolvency policy is in disarray and even after the Leeds case, they are still no nearer bringing their policies in line with UK law. It's not a laughing matter anymore, but even so we will continue to ensure that Luton Town has a solid and sustainable future, despite what the Football League do to us."

Just a few days later, the appeal by the LTFC2020 consortium to the FA over the 10-point deduction and £50,000 fine for financial irregularities was rejected, leaving Luton Town fans, the consortium and the football world in total shock and disbelief.  It meant the Hatters could do nothing but start the 2008-09 season on -30 points and fighting for their existence as a Football League club.  Needless to say, the FA and the Football League were not at the top of Luton Town fans' Christmas card list and the Hatters gained sympathy from far and wide.

Andrew joined Crystal Palace.

With a squad of players rumoured to be on very high wages - certainly for League Two level - the club were forced to make drastic changes to the playing squad, transfer-listing the entire playing staff in a bid to reduce the wage bill and to allow for manager Mick Harford to bring in fresh faces.  Young striker Calvin Andrew was sold to Crystal Palace for a fee believed to be around £80,000, midfielder David Bell joined Norwich City for £600,000 and veterans Paul Furlong, Chris Perry, Don Hutchison, Paul Peschisolido and Darren Currie - all signed by former manager Kevin Blackwell - all departed Kenilworth Road after just one season with the club.  Alan Goodall, another of former manager Kevin Blackwell's signings, joined Chesterfield and key midfielder Matthew Spring joined former boss Kevin Blackwell at Sheffield United, signing a one-year loan deal after making it known he wanted to leave Kenilworth Road.  Finally, the deals for goalkeepers Marlon Beresford and Zac Barrett, defender Richard Jackson and midfielder Steve Robinson were all terminated by mutual consent.  Out-of-contract midfielders Richard Langley, Stephen O'Leary and Robert Sinclair departed, leaving the Hatters with a wafer thin squad and the drastic squad changes manager Mick Harford had promised.  Finally, winger Dean Morgan joined Leyton Orient on a five-month loan deal.  All in all, seventeen senior players left the club during the summer of 2008 as the total rebuilding of the playing staff began.

Finally, on July 28th 2008, some eight months after the Hatters had initially gone into administration, it was announced that the Football League had approved LTFC2020's application to become the new custodians of Luton Town Football Club. After LTFC2020 accepted the Football League’s conditions of entry (a 30-point deduction), the transfer of the share in the Football League has taken place and LTFC2020 officially became the new custodians of the club.

Bell: Sold to Norwich City.

Gary Sweet, managing director of LTFC2020 said, “We are delighted that we can now move on and look to rebuilding the club and ensuring survival in the professional leagues. The entire 2020 team have been working tirelessly since last autumn to save this great club and have shown to the football world that our blueprint to stabilise our club has the official rubber stamp of all the footballing authorities, which recognises the effort and quality that has gone into our bid.

“Our backers have been absolutely fantastic and resolute behind our every step, for which I would like to publicly thank them. No matter what hurdles we have had to overcome, they have never waived in their support. Mick Harford, too, has been a rock to us and we are merely in the shadow of his love for our club. Whilst there are many individuals that deserve our gratitude our biggest thanks must surely go to our fantastic supporters who have given us the constant encouragement we have needed.

“This is just the start. We have proved to supporters our determination to put the heart back into our club. We now have a huge job on our hands, both on and off the pitch, to finally exorcise the ghosts of the past. On our part, getting through these dark days has only given us more energy and determination to move forward and rebuild. It’s a long-term plan as we have always said, but we are on target, we are strong, and there is a unity about the club that I haven’t witnessed for many years.”

Kevin Nicholls re-signs for Luton Town.

Then, in August 2008, Luton Town fans finally got some good news.  After a summer full of “will he return, won’t he return” speculation, Hatters supporters got the news they’d been waiting for as former club captain and fans' favourite Kevin Nicholls signed a three-year deal on the Kenilworth Road pitch during the half-time interval of a pre-season clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Nicholls had been sold to Leeds United two years previously for £700,000 and his departure was one of the many sales that had led to the Hatters' freefall from the Championship to League Two in successive seasons.  Within a few months, Nicholls was asking to leave Leeds United and return to Luton Town, but the move never materialised and, after another unsuccessful move, this time to Preston North End, he returned to Bedfordshire on a free transfer.

Nicholls: Returned to Luton.

Speaking of Nicholls' return, Luton Town manager Mick Harford said, "He's the one person I would like in the situation we are in because we know we are in for a dogfight.

"It's probably the most important signing Luton have made for some time, in terms of his effort, his commitment and his desire to play for the club.

"He made it plain to us that he wanted to come back and try and help the club stay up this season, he will be the captain and he has made a big commitment.

"He was on a long-term contract at Preston and he's done a deal with them which wasn't very favourable to him.

"The reason he's come back is to try and help me and Luton Town get ourselves out of this situation."

Chris Martin joined on loan.

Hall was one of 11 new arrivals.

Just days before the season kicked-off with the visit of Port Vale, the Hatters' new owners, LTFC2020, were finally given permission from the Football League to sign new players and no less than eleven new faces (including Kevin Nicholls) arrived within the space of two days.  Full-back Claude Gnakpa arrived from Peterborough United, central defenders Ian Roper and George Pilkington joined from Walsall and Port Vale respectively and midfielders Kevin Watson, Asa Hall and Rossi Jarvis came in from Colchester United, Birmingham City and Norwich City respectively.  The four other new faces were all loan arrivals - the Norwich City duo of defender Michael Spillane and forward Chris Martin arriving on season-long loans and initial month-long deals agreed for Bristol City winger Tristan Plummer and Bristol Rovers striker Josh Klein-Davies.  In addition, youngsters George Beavan, Ryan Charles and Edward Asafu-Adjaye all signed new professional contracts, and first-team regulars Lewis Emanuel and Keith Keane penned new deals to stay with the Hatters.

Just a fortnight later, goalkeeper Conrad Logan arrived on loan from Leicester City to make it twelve new faces in the playing squad to join during the August 2008 transfer window.

It gave manager Mick Harford the squad he had spent months trying to put together, carefully scouting players and watching many matches and meant he had a group of players that he felt was capable of performing "The Great Escape" and maintaining Luton Town's League status.

A banner is paraded prior to the 2008-09 kick-off.

However, the season started with another disappointment - a 1-3 home loss to Port Vale.  Such were the problems faced by the LTFC2020 consortium when taking over the club, that the side didn't even have a proper kit to play in.  The new owners had agreed a deal with a new kit supplier but because the deal was agreed so late, it wasn't ready in time for the season's kick-off, so the Hatters were forced to gain special dispensation from the football authorities to wear their Littlewoods Cup 20th anniversary kit for the first few matches.  The most important thing was, however, that at least Luton still had a Football Club!

A shock 2-0 home win over Championship side Plymouth Argyle in the Carling Cup set the ball rolling for the Hatters and they took this fine form into their next League match, Sam Parkin scoring the winner in a 1-0 victory at Gillingham.  A home draw with Notts County saw another point clawed back, and after a 1-5 thumping at Reading in the League Cup, Harford's side won on their travels again, Parkin the hero as he bagged the winner in a 1-0 victory at Exeter City.

Luton players celebrate beating Aldershot Town.

It meant the Hatters entered September 2008 on -23 points, but a poor performance led to a 1-2 loss at Macclesfield Town.  The first home League win of the season came in the following clash, as Aldershot Town were beaten 3-1 at Kenilworth Road.  It set up a mouth watering relegation battle at Rotherham United - who had started the season on -15 points themselves - but a lacklustre Luton performance saw the Hatters go down 0-1.

An awful October, which saw the Hatters gain only 5 points from a possible 15, put Luton onto -14 points, but by now some sections of the Luton fans were calling for manager Mick Harford's head, perhaps rather harshly, but it was fair to say that the performances had certainly been inconsistent.  However, the LTFC2020 consortium stuck by their man, despite pressure growing as Luton picked up just 3 points from a possible 12 in November 2008.

Tom Craddock celebrates scoring at Grimsby.

Harford had continued to utilise the loan market during the early part of the season, loaning out striker Sam Parkin to Leyton Orient and bringing in forwards Tom Craddock and Kevin Gallen from Middlesbrough and Milton Keynes Dons respectively.  Craddock made an immediate impact, scoring twice on his debut in a 2-2 draw at Grimsby Town - who had appointed former Hatters boss Mike Newell as their new manager - and in a 2-1 victory at Bury. 

December 2008 saw somewhat of a resurgence by the Hatters as they defeated relegation rivals Barnet 3-1 at Kenilworth Road and earned a fine point at leaders Wycombe Wanderers.  However, it was surprisingly in the shape of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy that Luton were gaining some excellent results.  Their campaign started off in rather unspectacular fashion in early October 2008 against League Two rivals Brentford.  After trailing 0-2 at home to the Bees, the Hatters battled back to draw 2-2 and then defeated the Griffin Park side on penalties.  A shock 1-0 win at League One side Walsall followed before another League One side, Colchester United, were beaten 1-0 at Kenilworth Road to set up a Southern Section Area Final against League One Brighton & Hove Albion.  A 0-0 draw at the Withdean Stadium in the first leg gave Luton Town a great chance to make their first appearance at Wembley since 1994 and their first ever visit to the newly redeveloped stadium.

Striker Tom Craddock joined permanently for £80,000.

As the January transfer window for 2009 came to a close, loan striker Tom Craddock, who had impressed the Hatters greatly with 4 goals in 8 appearances, made his loan move from Middlesbrough permanent.  He became the first player to sign under Mick Harford for a transfer fee when £80,000 exchanged hands to bring the young striker to Kenilworth Road.

However, January 2009 failed to bring a League win and a 1-2 home defeat to Bury at the end of the month, followed by a 1-2 loss at Dagenham & Redbridge, meant the chances of the Hatters retaining their League status looked almost impossible, with a 21-point gap between Luton Town and the last team outside the relegation places, Barnet, by mid-February 2009.  It meant that for the third successive season, the campaign looked to be petering out meaninglessly, with a third consecutive relegation - only this time agonisingly out of the Football League for the first time in Luton Town's history.  It represented an unbelievable slump in fortunes for the Hatters - just two years after playing in the Championship, Luton Town would be a Non-League club.

Tom Craddock celebrates scoring against Brighton.

The Hatters fans did, however, finally get something to celebrate on February 17th 2009 as Luton Town faced League One side Brighton & Hove Albion in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Southern Section Area Final second leg at Kenilworth Road.  In front of the live Sky television cameras, the Hatters drew first blood with a goal from Tom Craddock - his first since signing permanently for the club - after just two minutes.  However, the visitors soon equalised and despite mounting pressure from the Hatters, the game ended in a 1-1 draw and went to the dreaded penalty shootout.  With Luton converting all four of their penalties successfully, it was left to their on-loan goalkeeper Lewis Price - making only his second appearance after joining from Derby County - to become the hero as he saved two penalties to send the Hatters fans into raptures and spark a pitch invasion.  It set up a Wembley appearance - the first for Luton Town since 1994 and their first visit to the newly redeveloped Wembley stadium - against Scunthorpe United on April 5th 2009.

Price was the hero versus Brighton.

The prospect of a visit to Wembley briefly breathed new life into the Hatters' relegation fight, with a 3-1 home victory over Shrewsbury Town quickly followed win a 3-1 success at Port Vale.  A home defeat to Exeter City looked to have all but ended any hopes of staying up, but a 2-0 victory at Notts County gave Hatters fans that glimmer of hope that the 'Great Escape' could still miraculously be on.  The inconsistency of Luton Town's season, however, saw them lose again, this time at Aldershot Town, before relegation rivals Grimsby Town came to Kenilworth Road for a tense midweek clash under the floodlights.  The Mariners took the lead but the Hatters battled back to steal a 2-1 win thanks to a late winner from Asa Hall - by now into double figures for the season, an excellent return for a young midfield player.  A 1-0 home victory over Macclesfield Town the following weekend kept alive Luton's slim hopes of going out of the Football League, but victories for fellow relegation rivals Chester City and Grimsby Town maintained an 11-point gap between the Hatters and their nearest rivals.

The Luton Town players celebrate getting to Wembley.

Another win - 2-1 at Morecambe - gave Luton their third consecutive victory for the first time during the entire season, but a victory for Grimsby Town meant that the gap between the two sides was not getting any smaller and games were running out fast.  A midweek home clash with Rotherham United all but sealed the Hatters' relegation from the Football League when the Millers turned up at Kenilworth Road with the best away record in the Division and proved why by inflicting a 2-4 defeat on Luton Town that all but killed off any lingering hopes of avoiding the dreaded drop.

Approx 40,000 Luton Town fans at Wembley.

It meant that the Hatters went into their Johnstone's Paint Trophy final clash with League One Scunthorpe United at Wembley on somewhat of a downer and knowing that they were likely to be the only side ever to possibly win a trophy at Wembley and be relegated from the Football League in the same season.  However, Luton Town had sold an incredible 40,000 tickets for the final - compared to the 13,000 tickets sold by the Irons.  It proved what huge potential Luton Town have and was incredible considering the club were enduring the worst season in their history and 92nd out of 92 in the entire Football League.  It also caused another feeling of resentment between the Hatters staff and fans and the Football Association as Luton Town requested more tickets, believing they could sell a further 20,000 on top of the approx 40,000 tickets they had already sold.

The players line-up at Wembley on April 5th 2009.

However, despite the fact there would be some 35,000 empty seats at Wembley on the day, the Football Association refused to allow the Hatters any further tickets, citing "segregation issues" as the reason for the refusal.  It baffled everyone considering both Humberside Police and Beds Police were happy for Hatters fans to sit in the empty seats above the Scunthorpe United fans, as were both Football Clubs.  the case was also argued that the authorities were happy to allow both sets of supporters to mix in the pubs and the stadium concourse before the game, but wouldn't allow Hatters fans to sit above their counterparts during the match - so high up in fact that there couldn't possibly have been any trouble even there was a possibility of it.

Craddock has put Luton Town ahead.

It still meant, though, that Luton Town were taking the biggest following any club had taken to the redeveloped Wembley Stadium.  The match itself was a classic, described by many as certainly the best match to have taken place at the new Wembley Stadium and arguably one of the best finals ever at Wembley.  A thrilling encounter saw the Irons take an early lead courtesy of top scorer Gary Hooper, before the plucky Hatters, backed by a vociferous following, hit back to equalise through Chris Martin to make it 1-1 before the interval.  An excellent performance by the Hatters - with inspirational captain Kevin Nicholls leading by example -  saw Luton stun their higher division opponents to take the lead through a fine Tom Craddock goal.  However, with just two minutes remaining, Scunthorpe scored a superb equaliser through Grant McCann to take the clash into extra-time.  It looked as though the Hatters had missed their chance of causing a huge upset, but the day was to be theirs as substitute Claude Gnakpa came off the bench to score a dramatic extra-time winner and write himself into Luton Town history.

Claude Gnakpa is mobbed after his Wembley winner.

Among the 40,000 Hatters fans were legendary former manager David Pleat, cricketer and Luton Town fan Monty Panesar, and numerous former Hatters players such as John Dreyer, Scott Oakes, Darren Salton, Mark Pembridge, Chris Coyne, Marlon Beresford and Gary Doherty.  It just went to show how popular the Football Club is to former employees - how many other clubs would have so many former players in attendance?

Of course, there may have been even more former Hatters at Wembley on that wonderful Sunday afternoon - and there probably were - and it was great to see so many former stars mixing with the supporters for the wonderful club who had battled against the odds for the whole season and were rewarded for their efforts with this glorious afternoon in the sun.

Full-Time: Luton Town celebrate as the whistle is blown.

After lifting the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley, it was back to the business of fighting for survival in the Football League.  However, just a week after the great day at Wembley, the Hatters' fight against the drop was over as consecutive 0-0 draws, firstly at Lincoln City and then at home to Chesterfield over the Easter weekend, coupled with rare away wins for relegation rivals Chester City and Grimsby Town, consigned Luton Town to the Blue Square Premier (Conference).  It meant the Hatters had suffered a Football League record three successive relegations and the oldest professional Football Club in Southern England were relegated from the Football League for the first time in their history.

Luton Town lift the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley.

Speaking after relegation was confirmed with the goalless home draw with Chesterfield on Easter Monday, Hatters chairman Nick Owen said, "It's unthinkable that we can be in such a terrible position.  We have battled hard and the players have been absolutely superb but it has happened and I have to say that at this moment I am absolutely devastated.

"When you go out having started on minus 30 points, your mindset must be a bit different. Having said that, I think we have had a pretty useful season bearing in mind we had to build the squad pretty quickly after coming out of administration, signing 11 players.

Mick Harford with the trophy.

"A week ago we played magnificently at Wembley to beat Scunthorpe - a team that is going for a place in the Championship - and that shows our quality really.  The absolute exhilaration of the win at Wembley was so, so special, I will take that with me to my dying day.

"I suppose I'll take this as well, being the chairman of a club that has been relegated for the third consecutive season.

"The odds were against us, and the whole of the football world is with us. It does help and the supporters are all saying 'we are with you, we will be here next season."

Luton Town manager Mick Harford said, "I said to the players it's 100% not their fault.  The past incumbents of this club are to blame. The penalty points were a massive burden we could not overcome.

"I looked at the clock in the dressing room and said to the players 'remember this time. Five to five on 13th April. This is the rebirth of Luton Town Football Club'.

"We will go forward, we will kick-on. There are lots of people worse off than Luton Town Football Club.

Harford after relegation is confirmed.

"I'm disappointed to be in the Conference and out of League football, but these players are not non-league players.  They are winners. We've got a group of winners. They've won a trophy this season.

"There are millions and millions of players who have never won a trophy and this group of players did.  They are winners and deservedly so."

It meant that the final four matches of the season would be meaningless and the season had petered out into a non-entity for a heart breaking third successive campaign for Hatters supporters.  However, of course without the 30-point deduction imposed by the FA and the Football League, Luton Town would not have been at the bottom of the League, so many fans argued that the Hatters had not been relegated from the Football League, but rather "Evicted".

And so Luton Town are out of the Football League for the first time in their history.  However, with a fantastic group of fans, who always unite in adversity - and they've suffered a lot of that over the years, possibly more than any other Football Club - there are high hopes that the club can put its turbulent past behind it and move forwards - as the song goes..."We'll never die, we'll never die - the Luton Town will never die - 100 years of history...a Luton fan, I'm proud to be!"

Keep the faith.

History Written by James Garley