List of Luton Town F.C. managers

Luton Town Football Club is an English association football club, based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire. The club was founded in 1885,[1] and competes in the Championship during the 2020–21 season.

Nathan Jones, pictured in 2014, was in charge between January 2016 and January 2019.

The playing staff were originally organised by a trainer, and chosen for matches by a committee made up of directors led by the club's secretary.[2] The club appointed an official manager for the first time in 1925. George Thompson took up the role in February, but left after eight months, "scalded by his experience".[3] Thompson was not replaced until 1927, when former player John McCartney took charge.[4] Harold Wightman worked during the early 1930s to build a team to challenge for promotion, but was sacked early on in the 1935–36 season. Without a manager, the team finished as runners-up in Division Three South, before topping the table in 1936–37 under Ned Liddell. Dally Duncan was appointed in 1947, and during his 11-year tenure he took Luton into the First Division for the first time.[5] After Duncan was sacked early in the 1958–59 season, the club's board of directors managed the team to the 1959 FA Cup Final.[6]

Poor spells under four managers resulted in relegation to the Fourth Division by 1965.[7] Allan Brown became manager in November 1966, and Luton won the division in 1967–68.[8] Brown moved on halfway through the next season, and Alec Stock continued the revival, winning promotion to Division Two in 1969–70.[9] Luton won another promotion in 1973–74 to return to the top division under Harry Haslam, but Haslam was unable to prevent relegation during the following season.[10] David Pleat became manager in 1978,[11] and built a team that took the 1981–82 Second Division championship. Though Pleat moved on in 1986, success continued—Luton finished seventh during 1986–87, and won the Football League Cup a year later under Ray Harford. Managed by Jimmy Ryan, the team avoided relegation in 1989–90, and repeated that feat during the following season. When Ryan was then sacked in favour of a return for Pleat,[11] Luton were relegated in 1991–92. Pleat left again in 1995, and a five-year spell under Lennie Lawrence then saw Luton drop to the third tier.[12] A disastrous 2000–01 season—in which three managers took the helm at the club—saw Luton fall into the bottom division of The Football League for the first time since 1968.[13][14][15][16][17]

Joe Kinnear took Luton back up at the first time of asking, but was sacked by the club's new owners following a takeover in May 2003.[18][19] Mike Newell was appointed as manager,[20] and his side became League One champions in 2004–05. Internal troubles at the club started to intensify during the summer of 2006, as the club's chairman was revealed by Newell to be making illegal payments to agents[21]—after writing a scathing letter to the board,[21] Newell was sacked in March 2007.[21][22] Kevin Blackwell was appointed in his stead,[23] but was also sacked less than a year later on 16 January 2008;[24] former player Mick Harford was made Luton Town's new manager the same day,[25] and he was unable to prevent the club's relegation in 2007–08. After being deducted a total of 30 points by The Football League and The Football Association for 2008–09,[26] Luton were relegated to the Conference Premier;[27] however, the club claimed a Football League Trophy victory during the same season.[28] After two months of the 2009–10 season, Harford left the club by mutual consent,[29] to be replaced a month later by Richard Money.[30] Money's assistant, Gary Brabin, replaced him in March 2011,[31] and managed the club until he was sacked a year later.[32] His replacement, Paul Buckle, took charge in April 2012,[33] and was himself replaced in February 2013 by John Still.[34] Still took Luton back into The Football League in his first full season as manager, breaking a number of club records in the process.[35]

Still guided Luton to a comfortable finish in their first season back in League Two, but was sacked by the club in December 2015 following a poor run of form.[36] He was replaced by Nathan Jones in January 2016, who took on his first ever managerial role.[37] Jones led the club to promotion to League One in the 2017–18 season, before departing in January 2019 to join Championship side Stoke City.[38][39] He left Luton with the highest Football League points per game ratio of any manager in their history.[40]

Managers
All first-team matches in national or international competition are counted, except the abandoned 1939–40 Football League season and matches in wartime leagues and cups. Names of caretaker managers are supplied where known, and periods of caretaker-management are highlighted in italics. Win percentage is rounded to one decimal place. Statistics are correct as of 6 February 2021.[41][42]
Key

M: Matches played W: Matches won D: Matches drawn L: Matches lost

Name Nation From To M W D L Win % Honours and achievements Notes
George Thompson  England 16 February 1925 26 October 1925 25 9 7 9 036.0
—
 [3][43][44]
none
—
 26 October 1925 14 September 1927 77 30 22 25 039.0
—
 [B][45]
John McCartney  Scotland 14 September 1927 21 December 1929 151 57 38 56 037.7
—
 [A][4][46][47]
George Kay  England 23 December 1929 13 May 1931 71 29 16 26 040.8
—
 [A][48][49]
Harold Wightman  England 1 June 1931 9 October 1935 198 85 49 64 042.9
—
 [A][50][51]
none
—
 9 October 1935 13 August 1936 41 23 12 6 056.1 Football League Third Division South runners-up, 1935–36 [B][52][53]
Ned Liddell  England 13 August 1936 26 February 1938 79 42 11 26 053.2 Football League Third Division South champions, 1936–37 [54][55]
none
—
 26 February 1938 1 June 1938 12 3 5 4 025.0
—
 [B][56]
Neil McBain  Scotland 1 June 1938 5 June 1939 43 22 6 15 051.2
—
 [57][58]
George Martin  Scotland 4 December 1944 24 May 1947 36 18 8 10 050.0
—
 [C][59][60]
none
—
 24 May 1947 13 June 1947 1 1 0 0 100.0
—
 [B][60]
Dally Duncan  Scotland 13 June 1947 16 October 1958 503 192 133 178 038.2 Football League Second Division runners-up, 1954–55 [5][61][62]
none
—
 16 October 1958 27 April 1959 39 13 10 16 033.3
—
 [B][6][63]
Syd Owen  England 27 April 1959 16 April 1960 42 10 11 21 023.8 FA Cup runners-up, 1958–59 [7][64][65]
none
—
 16 April 1960 18 July 1960 3 1 1 1 033.3
—
 [B][65]
Sam Bartram  England 18 July 1960 14 June 1962 95 35 18 42 036.8
—
 [66][67]
Jack Crompton  England 29 June 1962 6 July 1962 0 0 0 0 !—
—
 [68]
Bill Harvey  England 24 July 1962 21 November 1964 121 37 26 58 030.6
—
 [69][70]
Charlie Watkins  Scotland 21 November 1964 16 February 1965 11 3 1 7 027.3
—
 [41][71]
George Martin  Scotland 16 February 1965 3 November 1966 82 34 16 32 041.5
—
 [59][72]
Allan Brown  Scotland 4 November 1966 17 December 1968 111 56 24 31 050.5 Football League Fourth Division champions, 1967–68 [8][73][74]
Alec Stock  England 20 December 1968 27 April 1972 172 71 56 45 041.3 Football League Third Division runners-up, 1969–70 [9][75][76]
none
—
 27 April 1972 4 May 1972 1 0 1 0 000.0
—
 [B][77]
Harry Haslam  England 4 May 1972 23 January 1978 275 110 69 96 040.0 Football League Second Division runners-up, 1973–74 [10][78]
David Pleat  England 24 January 1978 16 May 1986 393 158 108 127 040.2 Football League Second Division champions, 1981–82 [11][79]
John Moore  Scotland 3 June 1986 16 June 1987 47 19 15 13 040.4 Club's best league finish: seventh in the top flight, 1986–87 [80][81]
Ray Harford  England 16 June 1987 3 January 1990 133 51 34 48 038.3
[82][83]
Terry Mancini  Ireland 3 January 1990 11 January 1990 0 0 0 0 !—
—
 [84][85]
Jim Ryan  Scotland 11 January 1990 13 May 1991 63 18 16 29 028.6
—
 [86][87]
David Pleat  England 7 June 1991 11 June 1995 207 55 70 82 026.6
—
 [11][88]
Terry Westley  England 3 July 1995 18 December 1995 28 5 7 16 017.9
—
 [89][90]
Lennie Lawrence  England 21 December 1995 4 July 2000 250 90 66 94 036.0
—
 [12][91]
Ricky Hill  England 10 July 2000 11 November 2000 21 2 8 11 009.5
—
 [13]
Lil Fuccillo  England 16 November 2000 8 February 2001 15 4 2 9 026.7
—
 [92]
Joe Kinnear  Ireland 8 February 2001 23 May 2003 122 56 28 38 045.9 Football League Third Division runners-up, 2001–02 [15]
Mike Newell  England 23 June 2003 15 March 2007 200 83 49 68 041.5 Football League One champions, 2004–05 [93]
Brian Stein  England 15 March 2007 27 March 2007 1 0 0 1 000.0
—
 [22][23][94]
Kevin Blackwell  England 27 March 2007 16 January 2008 42 16 9 17 038.1
—
 [95]
Mick Harford  England 16 January 2008 1 October 2009 91 25 29 37 027.5 Football League Trophy winners, 2008–09 [29][96]
Alan Neilson  Wales 1 October 2009 30 October 2009 5 4 1 0 080.0
—
 [29][30]
Richard Money  England 30 October 2009 28 March 2011 83 45 21 17 054.2 Conference Premier runners-up, 2009–10 [30][31]
Gary Brabin  England 28 March 2011 31 March 2012 62 29 22 11 046.8 Conference Premier play-off finalists, 2010–11 [31][32]
Alan Neilson  Wales 31 March 2012 8 April 2012 1 0 0 1 000.0
—
 [32][33]
Paul Buckle  England 8 April 2012 19 February 2013 48 26 9 13 054.2 Conference Premier play-off finalists, 2011–12 [33][34]
Alan Neilson  Wales 19 February 2013 26 February 2013 3 0 1 2 000.0
—
 [97][98][99]
John Still  England 26 February 2013 17 December 2015 148 69 38 41 046.6 Conference Premier champions, 2013–14 [36][100]
Andy Awford  England 17 December 2015 6 January 2016 4 1 1 2 025.0
—
 [36][101]
Nathan Jones  Wales 6 January 2016 9 January 2019 170 87 46 37 051.2 EFL League Two runners-up, 2017–18 [102]
Mick Harford  England 10 January 2019 7 May 2019 21 12 6 3 057.1 EFL League One champions, 2018–19 [96]
Graeme Jones  England 7 May 2019 24 April 2020 41 12 5 24 029.3
—
 [103][104]
Mick Harford  England 24 April 2020 28 May 2020 0 0 0 0 !—
—
 [104][105][106]
Nathan Jones  Wales 28 May 2020 Present 41 16 11 14 039.0
—
 [102]

Footnotes
A. a b c Secretary-manager
B. a b c d e f g The club was managed by a committee during these times, made up of the club's trainer and directors.
C. ^ George Martin was appointed as coach on 1 August 1939, and promoted to manager on 4 December 1944.[41]

References

General

  • Dates and match statistics sourced from: Collings, Timothy (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. Luton: Luton Town F.C. ISBN 978-0-9510679-0-1.
  • Dates and match statistics sourced from: Bailey, Steve (December 1997). The Definitive Luton Town F.C. Nottingham: Soccerdata. ISBN 978-1-899468-10-2.
  • Club honours sourced from: "Luton Town". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 5 May 2019.

Specific

  1. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. p. 1.
  2. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 13–14.
  3. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 29–31.
  4. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 32–34.
  5. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 57–60.
  6. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 78–82.
  7. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 82–86.
  8. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 105–108.
  9. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 108–111.
  10. "Managers: Harry Haslam". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  11. "Managers: David Pleat". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  12. "Managers: Lennie Lawrence". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  13. "Managers: Ricky Hill". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  14. "Fuccillo is new Luton boss". BBC Sport. 16 November 2000. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  15. "Managers: Joe Kinnear". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  16. "Kinnear heads for the Hatters". The Independent. London. 8 February 2001. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  17. Haylett, Trevor (25 April 2001). "Rotherham on the rise as Luton fall". The Independent. London. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  18. Harrison, Lindsay (24 May 2003). "Kinnear parts company with Luton". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  19. Lovejoy, Joe (12 October 2008). "Joe Kinnear: Still crazy after all these years". The Times. London. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  20. "Luton pick Newell". The Daily Telegraph. London. 23 June 2003. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  21. "Exposed: The Chairman who paid agents £150,000 in bungs". London Evening Standard. 15 May 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  22. "Struggling Luton sack boss Newell". BBC Sport. 15 March 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  23. "Luton unveil Blackwell as manager". BBC Sport. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  24. Hooper, Andy (12 January 2008). "Kevin Blackwell resigns from Luton Town". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  25. Hodges, Vicki; Caroe, Charlie (16 January 2008). "Mick Harford replaces Kevin Blackwell at Luton". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  26. Solhekol, Kaveh (16 July 2008). "Luton Town lose appeal against points deduction". The Times. London. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  27. "Luton 0–0 Chesterfield". BBC Sport. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  28. Fletcher, Paul (5 April 2009). "Luton 3–2 Scunthorpe (aet)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
  29. "Hatters part company with Mick". Luton Town F.C. 1 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009.
  30. "Interest grows on Money". Luton Town F.C. 30 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2 November 2009.
  31. "Club Statement". Luton Town F.C. 28 March 2011. Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  32. "Club Statement". Luton Town F.C. 31 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  33. "Paul Buckle: the Town's new boss". Luton Town F.C. 6 April 2012. Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  34. "John Still: Luton Town appoint Dagenham & Redbridge boss". BBC. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  35. "Football: 'The most remarkable season ever' – Luton Town boss John Still hails his record breakers". Luton on Sunday. LD Express Newspaper Ltd. 27 April 2014. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  36. "John Still: Luton Town sack boss, Andy Awford named caretaker". BBC Sport. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  37. "Nathan Jones: Brighton coach appointed Luton Town boss". BBC Sport. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  38. "Luton seal promotion to League One with Carlisle draw". Luton Today. JPIMedia Publishing. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  39. Wales, Keith (9 January 2019). "Nathan Jones confirmed as new Stoke City manager". Stoke-on-Trent Live. Local World. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  40. "Club statement: Nathan Jones departs for Stoke City". Luton Town F.C. 9 January 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  41. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 101.
  42. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 244–245, 351.
  43. "Managers: George Thomson". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  44. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 19–20.
  45. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 20–22.
  46. "Managers: John McCartney". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  47. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 22–24.
  48. "Managers: George Kay". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  49. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 24–26.
  50. "Managers: Harold Wightman". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  51. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 26–30.
  52. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 43–36.
  53. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 30–31.
  54. "Managers: Ned Liddell". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  55. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 31–32.
  56. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 32.
  57. "Managers: Neil McBain". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  58. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 33.
  59. "Managers: George Martin". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  60. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 34.
  61. "Managers: Dally Duncan". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  62. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 34–46.
  63. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 46.
  64. "Managers: Syd Owen". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  65. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 47.
  66. "Managers: Sam Bartram". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  67. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 48–49.
  68. Collings. The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. pp. 89–93.
  69. "Managers: Bill Harvey". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  70. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 50–52.
  71. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 52.
  72. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 52–54.
  73. "Managers: Allan Brown". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  74. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 54–56.
  75. "Managers: Alec Stock". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  76. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 56–59.
  77. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 59.
  78. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 59–65.
  79. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 65–73.
  80. "Managers: John Moore". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  81. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 74.
  82. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 74–77.
  83. "Managers: Ray Harford". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  84. Dunn, Alan (1990-01-21). "Taste of life at the top for Aston Villa". Manchester Guardian Weekly. Guardian and Manchester Evening News: 30.
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  86. "Managers: Jim Ryan". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  87. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 77–78.
  88. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. pp. 79–82.
  89. "Managers: Terry Westley". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  90. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 83.
  91. Bailey. The Definitive Luton Town F.C. p. 84.
  92. "Managers: Lil Fuccillo". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  93. "Managers: Mike Newell". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  94. "Luton: Results/matches: 2006/07". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  95. "Managers: Kevin Blackwell". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  96. "Managers: Mick Harford". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  97. Wood, Mark (19 February 2013). "Updated: Neilson put in temporary charge as Buckle departs". Luton Today. JPIMedia Publishing. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  98. Simmonds, Mike (27 February 2013). "Neilson apologises to fans after Braintree debacle". Luton Today. JPIMedia Publishing. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  99. "Luton: Results/matches: 2012/13". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  100. "Managers: John Still". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  101. "Managers: Andy Awford". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  102. "Managers: Nathan Jones". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  103. "Managers: Graeme Jones". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  104. Simmonds, Mike (24 April 2020). "Luton boss Graeme Jones leaves the club by mutual consent". Luton Today. JPIMedia Publishing. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  105. Simmonds, Mike (28 May 2020). "Luton appoint Nathan Jones as manager". Luton Today. JPIMedia Publishing. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  106. "Luton: Results/matches: 2019/20". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 September 2020.

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