Luton Town Fc.
- Thread starter Jake
- Start date
mjsmith2k
Come on you Reds!
Go on then.
BobbyBox
WING NUT!
- 10 October 2003
- Arsenal
DO IT!
- Thread starter
- #4
From darkness to greatness
Luton Town Fc
Club information
Full name: Luton Town Football Club
Nickname: The Hatters
Founded: 1885
Stadium: Kenilworth Road
Stadium Capacity: 10,300; all seater stadium
Club History
Luton Town Football Club was formed on Sunday, April 11, 1885 - a merger of the two leading local teams, the (Luton) Wanderers and Excelsior. They moved several times before arriving at their current ground, Kenilworth Road, in 1905. Luton was the first professional club in the south of England, becoming fully professional in 1891. They had already started paying chosen individual players the year before.
Luton joined The Football League in 1897, but left 3 years later due to bad attendances, high wages, and the fact that due to most professional clubs at the time being in the north of England, they were spending too much money on transport. Luton enjoyed a lot of success in the United League during their early years, winning it twice, and was founder members of the Southern League.
Luton first adopted their white and black colours in 1919, the same year as they rejoined the Football League. They stayed in the Third Division (South) until 1937, when they were crowned champions, and were promoted to the Second Division. During that season striker, Joe Payne scored fifty-five goals in thirty-nine games, including ten in one match.
It was not until 1955 that Luton finally graced the top flight, when they were promoted to the First Division. A few years of success followed, including an FA Cup Final defeat to Nottingham Forest in 1959. Luton player Syd Owen was voted Footballer of the Year at the end of that season. However, they were relegated the following season, and would be in the Fourth Division by 1965.
Luton won the Fourth Division in 1968, with players like Bruce Rioch, John Moore and David Pleat in the side. Two years later Malcolm Macdonald fired them to another promotion and Eric Morecambe became a director of the club.
Pleat was made manager in 1978, and in 1981 Luton was back in the top flight. Luton won the League Cup in 1988, and achieved their highest ever league position, seventh, in 1987. In 1989, they reached the final of the League Cup again, but lost to Nottingham Forest.
In 1992 Luton were relegated again, and have not been in the top flight since. In 1996, they were relegated to the third tier, and missed bouncing back at the first attempt in the playoffs. They stayed in the third tier until 2001. Several notable players were sold during this time, including Matthew Upson, Kelvin Davis and Graham Alexander.
In 2001, Joe Kinnear took over and built a new squad including Kevin Nicholls, Chris Coyne and Steve Howard that won promotion at the first attempt, second only to Plymouth Argyle.
In May 2003, the club was taken over by a mysterious consortium. Days afterwards, manager Kinnear and his assistant Mick Harford were both sacked. This sparked a protest by Luton fans, who demanded their instant re-appointment. The protest was fierce and led to the resignations of new chairman Roger Terrell and Vice-chairman Lee Power. This forced the leader behind the consortium, John Gurney, to reveal himself. Trust in Luton was set up, and TiL managed to oust Gurney. It was Gurney, however, who appointed Mike Newell as manager, following a bizarre phone-vote. Newell would take Luton into the Football League Championship in 2005, after being crowned champions of League One, and then to 10th place the next season.
However, Luton then fell again. The nucleus of the side who had taken Luton up was ripped apart, with players such as Nicholls, Howard, Carlos Edwards and Rowan Vine sold. Luton was relegated the next season, only kept off the bottom by Leeds.
Kevin Blackwell arrived as manager in the second half of the 2006-07 campaign, and he overhauled the squad during the summer. However, the team he built finished bottom of League One, albeit with a ten-point deduction for entering administration. Blackwell was sacked during January, and playing hero Mick Harford was brought in as his replacement.
The financial chaos culminated in Luton Town Football Club 2020 taking over the club in 2008, and facing the brunt of what the former owners, Jayten, had done. Due to financial irregularities, Luton was docked 10 points for the 2008-09 season - and then 20 points by the Football League for exiting administration without a Company Voluntary Arrangement. Luton Town therefore started the 2008-09 campaign on -30 points. Nevertheless, the league decided against the decision after a change of heart, they saw that the D.I.C group were going to help them, so they thought the penalty was unnecessary.
Kits
Home
Away
Honours
FA Cup:
Runners-up (1): 1959
Semi-finalists (3): 1986, 1988, 1994
Football League Cup:
Winners (1): 1988
Runners-up (1): 1989
Football League Second Division:
Champions (1): 1982
Football League Third Division (and successors):
Champions (2): 1937, 2005
Football League Fourth Division (and successors):
Champions (1): 1968
Runners-up (1): 2002
Full Members Cup:
Runners-up (1): 1988
Southern Football League:
Runners-up (2): 1895, 1896
United League:[29]
Champions (1): 1898
Runners up (2): 1895, 1896
Highest League Position: 7th, First Division; 1986-87
Kenilworth Road
Kenilworth Road is a stadium in Luton, England, which is home to Luton Town FC., a professional football team in the English Football League Two. The stadium is situated in the Bury Park area of the town and is named after the road which runs along one end of it though its address is actually 1 Maple Road. The capacity of the stadium is 10,200 all seated though crowds of up to 30,000 were accommodated before the seating was installed, the record crowd being 30,069 in 1959 for an FA Cup game against Blackpool. The ground is generally disliked by visiting supporters as it is very basic and has had very limited modernisation.
The club moved to Kenilworth Road in 1905, playing their first match against Plymouth Argyle. On 10 September 2005, at home to Wolves, the club celebrated its hundredth year at Kenilworth Road.
Records
Year Formed: 1885, following merger of Wanderers and Excelsior.
Year Turned Professional: 1890.
Record Attendance: 30,069 against Blackpool in the FA Cup, on 4 March 1959.
Record League Win: 12-0 v Bristol Rovers in Third Division (South) on 13 April 1936.
Record League Defeat: 0-9 v Small Heath in 1898.
Most Consecutive Games Without Defeat: 19 during the 1968-69 season.
Most Consecutive Games without a Home Defeat: 39 from 1925 to 1927.
Consecutive League Wins: 12, during the 2001-02 campaign.
Most Consecutive League Defeats: eight, during the 1899-00 season.
Record Goals in a Single Match: 10 by Joe Payne in match versus Bristol Rovers in 1936, which remains to this day, a Football League record.
Record League Goals In A Season: Joe Payne with 55 during the 1936-37 season.
Record League Goals in Total: Gordon Turner with 243 from 1949-64. Gordon scored 265 goals in all competitions for Luton, more than any other player did.
Record League Appearances: Bob Morton, with 495. During his Luton career (1948-64) he appeared 550 times in all competitions.
Most League Goals Season: 103 during the Division Three promotion season in 1936-37.
Most League Points In A Season: 98 during the championship-winning season of 2004-05 in League One.
Record Transfer Fee Paid: £4,800,000 for Micah Richards from Man City in July 2008.
Record Transfer Fee Received: £3,000,000 for Curtis Davies from West Bromwich Albion on August 31, 2005.
Luton Town Fc
Club information
Full name: Luton Town Football Club
Nickname: The Hatters
Founded: 1885
Stadium: Kenilworth Road
Stadium Capacity: 10,300; all seater stadium
Club History
Luton Town Football Club was formed on Sunday, April 11, 1885 - a merger of the two leading local teams, the (Luton) Wanderers and Excelsior. They moved several times before arriving at their current ground, Kenilworth Road, in 1905. Luton was the first professional club in the south of England, becoming fully professional in 1891. They had already started paying chosen individual players the year before.
Luton joined The Football League in 1897, but left 3 years later due to bad attendances, high wages, and the fact that due to most professional clubs at the time being in the north of England, they were spending too much money on transport. Luton enjoyed a lot of success in the United League during their early years, winning it twice, and was founder members of the Southern League.
Luton first adopted their white and black colours in 1919, the same year as they rejoined the Football League. They stayed in the Third Division (South) until 1937, when they were crowned champions, and were promoted to the Second Division. During that season striker, Joe Payne scored fifty-five goals in thirty-nine games, including ten in one match.
It was not until 1955 that Luton finally graced the top flight, when they were promoted to the First Division. A few years of success followed, including an FA Cup Final defeat to Nottingham Forest in 1959. Luton player Syd Owen was voted Footballer of the Year at the end of that season. However, they were relegated the following season, and would be in the Fourth Division by 1965.
Luton won the Fourth Division in 1968, with players like Bruce Rioch, John Moore and David Pleat in the side. Two years later Malcolm Macdonald fired them to another promotion and Eric Morecambe became a director of the club.
Pleat was made manager in 1978, and in 1981 Luton was back in the top flight. Luton won the League Cup in 1988, and achieved their highest ever league position, seventh, in 1987. In 1989, they reached the final of the League Cup again, but lost to Nottingham Forest.
In 1992 Luton were relegated again, and have not been in the top flight since. In 1996, they were relegated to the third tier, and missed bouncing back at the first attempt in the playoffs. They stayed in the third tier until 2001. Several notable players were sold during this time, including Matthew Upson, Kelvin Davis and Graham Alexander.
In 2001, Joe Kinnear took over and built a new squad including Kevin Nicholls, Chris Coyne and Steve Howard that won promotion at the first attempt, second only to Plymouth Argyle.
In May 2003, the club was taken over by a mysterious consortium. Days afterwards, manager Kinnear and his assistant Mick Harford were both sacked. This sparked a protest by Luton fans, who demanded their instant re-appointment. The protest was fierce and led to the resignations of new chairman Roger Terrell and Vice-chairman Lee Power. This forced the leader behind the consortium, John Gurney, to reveal himself. Trust in Luton was set up, and TiL managed to oust Gurney. It was Gurney, however, who appointed Mike Newell as manager, following a bizarre phone-vote. Newell would take Luton into the Football League Championship in 2005, after being crowned champions of League One, and then to 10th place the next season.
However, Luton then fell again. The nucleus of the side who had taken Luton up was ripped apart, with players such as Nicholls, Howard, Carlos Edwards and Rowan Vine sold. Luton was relegated the next season, only kept off the bottom by Leeds.
Kevin Blackwell arrived as manager in the second half of the 2006-07 campaign, and he overhauled the squad during the summer. However, the team he built finished bottom of League One, albeit with a ten-point deduction for entering administration. Blackwell was sacked during January, and playing hero Mick Harford was brought in as his replacement.
The financial chaos culminated in Luton Town Football Club 2020 taking over the club in 2008, and facing the brunt of what the former owners, Jayten, had done. Due to financial irregularities, Luton was docked 10 points for the 2008-09 season - and then 20 points by the Football League for exiting administration without a Company Voluntary Arrangement. Luton Town therefore started the 2008-09 campaign on -30 points. Nevertheless, the league decided against the decision after a change of heart, they saw that the D.I.C group were going to help them, so they thought the penalty was unnecessary.
Kits
Home
Honours
FA Cup:
Runners-up (1): 1959
Semi-finalists (3): 1986, 1988, 1994
Football League Cup:
Winners (1): 1988
Runners-up (1): 1989
Football League Second Division:
Champions (1): 1982
Football League Third Division (and successors):
Champions (2): 1937, 2005
Football League Fourth Division (and successors):
Champions (1): 1968
Runners-up (1): 2002
Full Members Cup:
Runners-up (1): 1988
Southern Football League:
Runners-up (2): 1895, 1896
United League:[29]
Champions (1): 1898
Runners up (2): 1895, 1896
Highest League Position: 7th, First Division; 1986-87
Kenilworth Road
Kenilworth Road is a stadium in Luton, England, which is home to Luton Town FC., a professional football team in the English Football League Two. The stadium is situated in the Bury Park area of the town and is named after the road which runs along one end of it though its address is actually 1 Maple Road. The capacity of the stadium is 10,200 all seated though crowds of up to 30,000 were accommodated before the seating was installed, the record crowd being 30,069 in 1959 for an FA Cup game against Blackpool. The ground is generally disliked by visiting supporters as it is very basic and has had very limited modernisation.
The club moved to Kenilworth Road in 1905, playing their first match against Plymouth Argyle. On 10 September 2005, at home to Wolves, the club celebrated its hundredth year at Kenilworth Road.
Records
Year Formed: 1885, following merger of Wanderers and Excelsior.
Year Turned Professional: 1890.
Record Attendance: 30,069 against Blackpool in the FA Cup, on 4 March 1959.
Record League Win: 12-0 v Bristol Rovers in Third Division (South) on 13 April 1936.
Record League Defeat: 0-9 v Small Heath in 1898.
Most Consecutive Games Without Defeat: 19 during the 1968-69 season.
Most Consecutive Games without a Home Defeat: 39 from 1925 to 1927.
Consecutive League Wins: 12, during the 2001-02 campaign.
Most Consecutive League Defeats: eight, during the 1899-00 season.
Record Goals in a Single Match: 10 by Joe Payne in match versus Bristol Rovers in 1936, which remains to this day, a Football League record.
Record League Goals In A Season: Joe Payne with 55 during the 1936-37 season.
Record League Goals in Total: Gordon Turner with 243 from 1949-64. Gordon scored 265 goals in all competitions for Luton, more than any other player did.
Record League Appearances: Bob Morton, with 495. During his Luton career (1948-64) he appeared 550 times in all competitions.
Most League Goals Season: 103 during the Division Three promotion season in 1936-37.
Most League Points In A Season: 98 during the championship-winning season of 2004-05 in League One.
Record Transfer Fee Paid: £4,800,000 for Micah Richards from Man City in July 2008.
Record Transfer Fee Received: £3,000,000 for Curtis Davies from West Bromwich Albion on August 31, 2005.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #5
A bolt out the blue
Today it was confirmed, that D.I.C have bought Luton Town Football Club, with only one thing in mind, success. It is thought that players will be bought in to get them to the Premiership. Manger Mick Harford had this to say, “I am thoroughly delighted that we have got some much needed investment being pumped into our squad.” Potential signings are yet to be speculated, but it is thought that the aim is to sign "up and coming" British based players with previous Premier League experience to take the club forward.
After a sudden clear out of the squad, D.I.C have been true to their word and given Harford money to spend, he has signed: Boaz Myhill and Joe Hart in the goalkeeping positions, in defence he has signed: Leighton Baines, Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka, Chris Gunter, James Tomkins, Robert Huth & Micah Richards. In midfield, he has signed: Luis Valencia, Wilson Palacios, Tom Huddlestone, Michael Johnson, Mark Noble, Jamie O’Hara, Grant Leadbitter, Marouane Fellani, Kelvin Etuthu and Steven Pienaar. In attack, he has signed: Anthony Stokes, Andy Carroll, Ishmael Miller, Daniel Sturridge and David Nugent. It is thought that the Bedfordshire club had to part with around £80,000,000 to sign the players in question.
Lescott, who is thought to be named to captain of Luton had this to say: “I feel like I am part of something special here, it is quite a compact tight ground, is Kenilworth Road and I feel our fans can urge us up, up and away.”
Player Profiles
Goalkeepers
Boaz Myhill
Full name: Glyn Oliver Myhill
Squad number: 13
Previous Clubs: Aston Villa, Stoke City, (loan), Bristol City (loan), Bradford City (loan), Macclesfield Town (loan), Stockport County (loan), Hull City.
Height: 6”3
Age: 25
Joe Hart
Full name: Charles Joseph John Hart
Squad number: 1
Previous Clubs: Shrewsbury, Man City, Tranmere (loan), Blackpool (loan).
Height 6”3
Age: 21
Defenders
Joleon Lescott
Full name: Joleon Patrick Lescott
Squad number: 5
Previous Clubs: Wolves, Everton.
Height: 6”2
Age: 26
Phil Jagielka
Full name: Phillip Nikodem Jagielka
Squad number: 6
Previous Clubs: Sheffield United, Everton
Height: 5”11
Age: 26
Leighton Baines
Full name: Leighton John Baines
Squad number: 3
Previous Clubs: Wigan, Everton.
Height: 5”7
Age: 23
Chris Gunter
Full name: Christopher Ross Gunter
Squad number: 27
Previous Clubs: Cardiff, Spurs.
Height: 5”11
Age: 19
Micah Richards
Full name: Micah Lincoln Richards
Squad number: 2
Previous Clubs: Man City.
Height: 5”11
Age: 20
James Tomkins
Full name: James Oliver Charles Tomkins
Squad number: 34
Previous Clubs: West Ham, Derby (loan).
Height: 6”3
Age: 19
Robert Huth
Full name: Robert Huth
Squad number: 32
Previous Clubs: Chelsea, Middlesbrough.
Height: 6”3
Age: 24
Midfielders
Wilson Palacios
Full name: Wilson Roberto Palacios Suazo
Squad Number: 4
Previous Clubs: Olympia, Birmingham City (loan), Wigan, Spurs.
Height: 5”10
Age: 24
Tom Huddlestone
Full name: Thomas Andrew Huddlestone
Squad number: 22
Previous clubs: Derby, Wolves (loan), Spurs.
Height: 6”3
Age: 21
Mark Noble
Full name: Mark James Noble
Squad number: 8
Previous clubs: West Ham, Hull (loan), Ipswich (loan).
Height: 5”11
Age: 21
Luis Valencia
Full name: Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera
Squad number: 7
Previous clubs: CD El Nacional, Villarreal, Recrativo (loan), Wigan (loan), Wigan.
Height: 5”11
Age: 23
Grant Leadbitter
Full name: Grant Leadbitter
Squad number: 19
Previous clubs: Sunderland, Rotherham (loan).
Height: 5”9
Age: 22
Kelvin Etuthu
Full name: Kelvin Etuhu
Squad number 38
Previous clubs: Man City, Rochdale (loan), Leicester (loan).
Height: 5”11
Age: 20
Jamie O’Hara
Full name: Jamie Darryl O’Hara
Squad number: 21
Previous clubs: Spurs, Chesterfield (loan), Milwall (loan).
Height: 5”11
Age: 21
Marouane Fellani
Full name: Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui
Squad number: 23
Previous clubs: Standard Liege, Everton.
Height: 6”4
Age: 20
Steven Pienaar
Full name: Steven Jerome Pienaar
Squad number: 11
Previous clubs: Ajax Cape Town, AFC Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Everton (loan), Everton.
Height: 5”7
Age: 26
Michael Johnson
Full name: Michael Johnson
Squad number: 33
Previous clubs: Man City.
Height: 6”0
Age: 20
Forwards
Anthony Stokes
Full name: Anthony Stokes
Squad number: 20
Previous clubs: Arsenal, Falkirk (loan), Sunderland, Sheffield United (loan).
Height: 5”11
Age: 20
Andy Carroll
Full name: Andrew Thomas Carroll
Squad number: 15
Previous clubs: Newcastle, Preston (loan).
Height: 6”3
Age: 19
Ishmael Miller
Full name: Ishmael Anthony Miller
Squad number: 10
Previous clubs: Man City, West Brom (loan), West Brom.
Height: 6”3
Age: 21
Daniel Sturridge
Full name: Daniel Andre Sturridge
Squad number: 9
Previous clubs: Man City
Height: 5”11
Age: 19
David Nugent
Full name: David James Nugent
Squad number: 14
Previous clubs: Bury, Preston, Portsmouth.
Height: 5”11
Age: 23
Harford sacked
Mick Harford has been sacked as manager of Luton Town, just moments before the club begins to prepare for pre-season. D.I.C have come to the decision after a board meeting on early Monday morning, it is likely that they want to employ their own man for the job. A representative for Luton Town had this to say on the matter: “Mick Harford’s contract has been terminated with immediate effect. The club feel that we would be able to progress forward better if we had a different man in charge. We would like to wish Mick good luck in whatever he chooses to do”. The early candidates for the job include Aidy Boothroyd & Kevin Blackwell, Mick Harford’s successor will be appointed very quickly reports suggest.
Wood the hell is going on?
In one of the weirdest ever managerial appointments, in the history of football, Sir Clive Woodward has been appointed as manager of Luton Town. D.I.C have chose Woodward as the man to lead them to greatness, after he led England to success in the Rugby World Cup in 2003. The 52 year old was elated at getting appointed: “I feel so privileged that they (D.I.C) have picked me to lead Luton Town to greatness. Yes it will be a change and a challenge, but I am looking forward to this season and many after.” The board has told him his budget for the season, but they will not reveal it, but rumour has it that he has been told to use it to buy a right back. Also D.I.C have come out and said that the play offs is the minimum requirement for the upcoming season.
Sponsor announced
Today Luton Town have signed a one year deal with the coffee maker Chico as their sponsor. It is believed that they receive around £20,000 per match and a massive £1,100,000 is to be theirs if they win the league. There are also other incentives in the deal such as Domestic bonuses and extras. A spokesperson from Chico had this to say: “We are delighted to sign a deal with a upcoming club like Luton Town, we are looking forward to a long and successful era with the club.
Placebo
Ԁlɐɔǝqo
BobbyBox
WING NUT!
- 10 October 2003
- Arsenal
Yeah - Sort of lost a bit of interest now in reading the rest of it.
The whole thing though is really good. Just would have been better if you take the actual Luton team and made it a bit more realistic.
Jumbo_
-
And copying their history from wikipedia was a bit pointless.
- Thread starter
- #9
Nick Cave
Wrexham fan for my sins...
Got to keep it real, that's where the challenge is...
Placebo
Ԁlɐɔǝqo
I use only my default players + the allowed 2 loans per season.
Nick Cave
Wrexham fan for my sins...
Man the loan players on offer are crap, and they need to make your loan players grow a little too...
Placebo
Ԁlɐɔǝqo
Well it's a gamble as to whether or not there'll be good players available, I've seen 80+ players available for loan in the past, and quite regularly 70+ players, I just started a new MM and unfortunately for the first season the pickings were very poor (I like to get a tall strong forward and a tall DM who can also play at CB), best I could get was a 6'4" DM/CB of 50 called "Van Dessel" and a 5' 11" Striker at 63, he's not bad though as he can also play on the wing for the same rating, really agile player and his off the ball movement is better than any of my own players.
Nick Cave
Wrexham fan for my sins...
I'll have to look more, I've never seen anyone above 60 before...
Placebo
Ԁlɐɔǝqo
Do a manual search for all players listed for loan, the default list is only your league IIRC.
Nick Cave
Wrexham fan for my sins...
Never thought of that...