How Luton Town rose from non league to the brink of the Premier League

What do Fulham, Wigan Athletic, Swansea, Hull City, and Blackpool have in common? Apart from being well-recognised teams, all of the clubs rose from the bottom of the English football pyramid to the Premier League. Moreover, all these clubs went on an impressive run where they went from obscurity to the top of the English League. And if things go their way, Luton Town could become the next club to join the list.

Situated in Bedfordshire county in the East of England, Luton Town last played in the top-tier League in 1982. Since then, they have been on a cycle of relegation and promotion in the lower leagues. However, in 2009, the club reached their lowest point when they were eliminated to the Conference Premier League.  

However, since then, the club have ground it out, suffering close promotional calls, winning it the hard way through several leagues to get to the point they are currently at.

So, how did Luton Town manage to turn around their fortunes?

A steep fall for Luton Town
When the 2008-09 season ended, Luton Town achieved history though not in a positive sense. For the first time in their history, the club was relegated to the Conference Premier League. And the drop came under controversial circumstances. Before the start of the 2008-09 season, the Football Association (FA) conducted an investigation which found the club guilty of 15 misconduct.

And thus, the club was fined £50,000 and docked ten points even before the season started. However, the worst was yet to come as the FA docked a further 20 points for Luton Town to compete in the current season. This meant that despite winning 56 points, Luton were relegated to the Conference Premier League.

This meant that Luton Town were playing as a non-league team for the first time. And that status would remain with them for the next four years. During this time, they would get to the playoffs thrice but fail to get promoted each time.

Luton Town’s Conference League Play-offs losses

Season
Against 
Score

2009-10
York City 
2-0

2010-11
AFC Wimbledon
0-0 (4-3 on penalties)

2011-12 
York City 
2-1

2012-13
–
–

The rise under John Still
However, things only changed in 2013 when the club appointed John Still as their manager. A former player Still altered the club’s face by signing several players. One of them was midfielder Pelly Ruddock, who remains an integral part of the club.

Still implemented a new system that made Luton a goal-scoring machine—in his first season, Still managed to win the Conference League amassing a massive total of 101 points, 19 ahead of second-placed Cambridge United.

However, promotion came with a price as Luton Town lost their star striker Andre Gray who scored 38 goals for them. Luton Town then had to get creative, which meant making intelligent transfers, often free ones, to keep their squad competitive.

Despite all that, Luton Town would have to wait for at least three more seasons for their next promotion. However, in between all this, Luton Town fired John Still after the team were 17th in League Two in just their second season.

With 8 games left Luton Town sit 9 points and 6 places above Watford with their arch-rivals to play next

Great chance the Hatters finish above the Hornets for the first time this century – and maybe even with the dream of promotion to the Premier League for the first time#LTFC

— Outside The Box (@FMOutsideTheBox) March 23, 2023

The saviour Nathan Jones 
When Still resigned, Luton Town were a mess and looked certain of relegation back to the Conference League. And it was under these circumstances that the club appointed the inexperienced Nathan Jones. A former player who acted as caretaker boss for Brighton, Jones’ appointment was a considerable risk. However, he answered the critics by helping the club climb up to 11th in the table.

Jones was a man who had big dreams about the club, and the first step was promotion to League One. For this, he followed the same strategy that Still did; smart signings. And one of the players who came was striker Danny Hylton. The Englishman would score 27 goals in his debut season to help Luton finish fourth, following which they failed to win their playoffs.

Read more:

Noah Okafor: Red Bull Salzburg young gun forward
Moussa Diaby: The next star to come out of Bundesliga

The following season though, Luton finally got their second promotion in 2017-18 as they finished second behind Accrington Stanley to achieve automatic promotion to League One.

Luton, though are a club that always experienced a roller coaster of a ride. And in their first season in League One, they experienced just that when Nathan Jones left the club for Stoke City. Unfortunately, this meant that Luton Town had to find another manager when they were in a precarious situation.

Promotion to Championship and return of Nathan Jones 
When Nathan Jones went to Stoke, Luton appointed Mick Harford on a temporary basis. And he didn’t disappoint, helping them win the League and get promotion back to the Championship in 2018-19. Their first season in the Championship, though, gave them a real taste of the challenge they had to endure and win to get to the Premier League.

For the major part of the season, Luton Town were in the relegation zone under their new manager Graeme Jones. On the other hand, Nathan Jones was also having a rough time at Stoke City, failing to get the best out of one of the best teams in the Championship.

And thus, in April, Nathan Jones was fired from his job, and Luton duly reappointed him, considering their precarious situation. Jones had an immediate effect going on an undefeated five-match streak at the end of the season to help them survive relegation by the skin of their teeth.

From the following season, Luton would be better prepared to deal with life in the Championship. The club signed Kal Naismith and Jordan Clark on a free transfer and added several other players as loan signings.

• 2016: Stayed in League Two
• 2018: Promoted to League One
• 2020: Survived in the Championship
• 2022: Make the Championship playoffs

With one of the smallest budgets in the division, Nathan Jones has taken Luton Town within three games of the Premier League. 🎩📈#LTFC pic.twitter.com/9FmWKwqoFv

— The Coaches’ Voice (@CoachesVoice) May 7, 2022

This helped them finish 12th in the league table and went into the summer transfer window with renewed ambition. However, the lack of financial resources compared to their fellow teams meant that four players were added to the squad on a free transfer.

The influx of players helped Luton finish in the playoff position for the first time and gave them a shot to win promotion and take the final step in their fairytale story. However, they lost to Huddersfield in the playoff semi-finals.

Luton Town though are still going strong this season and are currently fourth. If they could manage to do it this time, it might be a season late, but it would be the biggest fairytale after Leicester City’s Premier League win.

Source: FootTheBall | Read More