1988–89 Luton Town F.C. season

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Luton Town F.C.
1988–89 season
ChairmanDavid Evans
ManagerRay Harford
StadiumKenilworth Road
First Division16th
FA CupThird round
Football League CupRunners-up
Full Members' CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague:
All: Roy Wegerle and
Danny Wilson (12)

During the 1988–89 English football season, Luton Town F.C. competed in the Football League First Division, in which they finished 16th to secure an eighth successive season at this level. They were holders of the League Cup for this season and maintained their defence of the trophy to the final, where they were beaten by Nottingham Forest.

Despite being League Cup holders, Luton did not compete in the UEFA Cup this season due to the continuation of the ban on English clubs in European competitions arising from the Heysel disaster of 1985.

Season summary[]

Luton were unable to build on their top-ten finishes of the two previous seasons and finished the season in 16th, just two points clear of relegation. Luton did manage to reach the League Cup final for the second season running, but were unable to defend the cup as they were beaten 3-1 by Nottingham Forest. Survival was achieved on the final day of the season with a 1-0 home win over Norwich City; this was the first of three successive seasons where Luton would secure First Division on the final day of the season before finally being relegated in 1992.

Squad[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK England ENG Alec Chamberlain
— GK England ENG Les Sealey
— DF England ENG Tim Breacker
— DF England ENG John Dreyer
— DF England ENG Steve Foster
— DF England ENG Steve Williams
— DF England ENG Richard Harvey
— DF England ENG Marvin Johnson
— DF England ENG Rob Johnson
— DF England ENG Julian James
— DF Scotland SCO Dave Beaumont
— MF England ENG Gary Cobb
— MF England ENG Ricky Hill
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Darron McDonough[1]
— MF England ENG David Oldfield[2]
— MF England ENG David Preece
— MF Northern Ireland NIR Kingsley Black[3]
— MF Northern Ireland NIR Danny Wilson[4]
— MF Republic of Ireland IRL Ashley Grimes
— FW England ENG Iain Dowie[5]
— FW England ENG Mick Harford
— FW England ENG Sean Farrell
— FW Northern Ireland NIR Paul Gray[6]
— FW South Africa RSA Roy Wegerle[7]

League table[]

Main article: 1988–89 Football League § First Division
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
14 Charlton Athletic 38 10 12 16 44 58 −14 42
15 Sheffield Wednesday 38 10 12 16 34 51 −17 42
16 Luton Town 38 10 11 17 42 52 −10 41
17 Aston Villa 38 9 13 16 45 56 −11 40
18 Middlesbrough (R) 38 9 12 17 44 61 −17 39 Relegation to the Second Division
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated

Results[]

Date Opponent Venue Competition Res Score
27 Aug 88 Sheffield Wednesday A 1D L 0-1
3 Sep 88 Wimbledon H 1D D 2-2
10 Sep 88 Southampton A 1D L 1-2
17 Sep 88 Manchester United H 1D L 0-2
24 Sep 88 Everton A 1D W 2-0
27 Sep 88 Burnley H LC2 1st D 1-1
1 Oct 88 Nottingham Forest A 1D D 0-0
8 Oct 88 Liverpool H 1D W 1-0
11 Oct 88 Burnley A LC2 2nd W 1-0
22 Oct 88 Middlesbrough A 1D L 2-1
25 Oct 88 Arsenal H 1D D 1-1
29 Oct 88 Queens Park Rangers H 1D D 0-0
2 Nov 88 Leeds United A LC3 W 2-0
5 Nov 88 Millwall A 1D L 1-3
12 Nov 88 Coventry City A 1D L 0-1
19 Nov 88 West Ham United H 1D W 4-1
26 Nov 88 Norwich City A 1D D 2-2
3 Dec 88 Newcastle United H 1D D 0-0
10 Dec 88 Derby County A 1D W 1-0
17 Dec 88 Aston Villa H 1D D 1-1
26 Dec 88 Tottenham Hotspur A 1D D 0-0
31 Dec 88 Wimbledon A 1D L 0-4
2 Jan 89 Southampton H 1D W 6-1
7 Jan 89 Millwall A FAC3 L 2-3
10 Jan 89 Crystal Palace A FMC3 L 1-4
14 Jan 89 Charlton Athletic A 1D L 0-3
18 Jan 89 Southampton H LC4 D 1-1
21 Jan 89 Everton H 1D W 1-0
25 Jan 89 Southampton A LC4 Replay W 2-1
4 Feb 89 Nottingham Forest H 1D L 2-3
12 Feb 89 West Ham United A LCSF 1st W 3-0
18 Feb 89 Middlesbrough H 1D W 1-0
25 Feb 89 Arsenal A 1D L 0-2
1 Mar 89 West Ham United H LCSF 2nd W 2-0
11 Mar 89 Millwall H 1D L 1-2
14 Mar 89 Liverpool A 1D L 0-5
18 Mar 89 Sheffield Wednesday H 1D L 0-1
21 Mar 89 Queens Park Rangers A 1D D 1-1
25 Mar 89 Manchester United A 1D L 0-2
28 Mar 89 Tottenham Hotspur H 1D L 1-3
1 Apr 89 Aston Villa A 1D L 1-2
9 Apr 89 Nottingham Forest N LCF L 1-3
15 Apr 89 Coventry City H 1D D 2-2
22 Apr 89 Newcastle United A 1D D 0-0
29 Apr 89 Derby County H 1D W 3-0
2 May 89 Charlton Athletic H 1D W 5-2
6 May 89 West Ham United A 1D L 0-1
13 May 89 Norwich City H 1D W 1-0

Key: 1D = First Division FAC = FA Cup LC = League Cup FMC = Full Members Cup

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ McDonough was born in Antwerp, Belgium, but was raised in Greater Manchester, England.
  2. ^ Oldfield was born in Perth, Australia, but qualified to represent England internationally as he was raised there. He would make his debut for the U-21 side in 1988.
  3. ^ Black was born in Luton, England, but qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1988.
  4. ^ Wilson was born in Wigan, England, but qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally and made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1987.
  5. ^ Dowie was born in Hatfield, England, but qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally through his father. He made his international debut for Northern Ireland in 1990.
  6. ^ Gray was born in Portsmouth, England, but qualified to represent Northern Ireland internationally as he was raised there. He would make his international debut for the U-21 side in 1990.
  7. ^ Wegerle was born in Cape Town, South Africa, but gained American citizenship in 1991, qualifying through his wife, and made his international debut for the United States in May 1992.
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