|
|
1) Retro Shirts of Luton Town Football Club
2) Luton Town FC Books 3) Buy All The LATEST sports merchandise here 4) Click here for all the latest odds on Luton Town FC 5) Luton Town Football Club Ebay Auction here Luton Town Football Club - A Potted History Luton Town Football Club was formed in 1885 when Luton Town Wanderers FC and Excelsior FC merged. They joined the United League before becoming founder members of the Southern Football League in 1894. Three years later, Luton Town FC were elected to the Football League. The club had already turned professional in 1891; the first club in Southern England to do so. Luton Town's initial stay in the Football League was brief, lasting just three seasons. High wages, cost of travelling and accommodation fees were having a devesting affect on the future of Luton Town, causing them to leave the Football League. Despite not playing in the Football League, one of their players, Bob Hawkes was selected to play for England at international level in 1907. This though was one of the few bright spots in this period of Luton's history, as they found themselves relegated to the Southern League Second Division in 1912. When World War I broke out, Luton switched to the London Combination. After the War, Luton Town were re-elected to the Football League in 1920. Individually, three players - Louis Bookman, Alan Mathieson and Ernie Simms - received international call-ups during the 1920/21 season but as a team they did not enjoy much success as they finished fourth. Without promotion the team broke-up and Luton Town remained in the Football League Division Three South until 1937 when they did achieve promotion to the Second Division as Champions. The 1950's saw Luton's best period to date as with a team full of international players, they won promotion to the First Division in 1955/56 season. Their rise to the top tier had been steady but their demise was remarkable as by 1965 they were playing in Division Four, which was the bottom division in the Football League. It was a long struggle for Luton but they achieved the near impossible and regained their First Division status in 1973/74; they were relegated the following season. The 1980's were to be a highlight in the life of Luton Town FC, as they regained their First Division status to become on of the top ten teams in England. Players such as Brian Stein, Mick Harford and Danny Wilson became household names as Luton achieved their highest ever league placing of 7th in 1987. In 1988, Luton defeated Arsenal to win the Football League Cup and were runners-up to Nottingham Forest the following season. Luton lasted played in the top division in 1992 and since then they have yo-yoed between the now called Championship, League One and even spending some seasons in League Two. In 2005, it seemed that Luton Town's problems were over as they were promoted back to the Championship after a spell in League Two. Unfortunately, events off the pitch destroyed Luton's Football League dreams as relegation to League One was followed by relegation to League Two after incurring a ten point penalty for entering administration. Worse though was to follow as Luton were punished again, this time they had thirty points deducted before the start of the 2008/09 season. With such an obstacle to overcome, the inevitable happened and Luton were relegated from the Football League to the Conference national at the end of the season.
|
|
