1988–89 Luton Town F.C. season

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.

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)

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

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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

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

League table

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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

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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

Player details

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Players arranged in alphabetical order by surname.
Pos. Name League League Cup FA Cup Full Members Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
MF   Ian Allinson 1 (4) 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (5) 0
DF   Dave Beaumont 15 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 18 0
MF   Kingsley Black 35 (1) 9 9 0 1 1 0 0 45 (1) 10
DF   Tim Breacker 19 (3) 0 5 (2) 0 1 0 1 0 26 (5) 0
GK   Alec Chamberlain 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7 0
MF   Richard Cooke 0 (6) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (6) 0
DF   Mal Donaghy 8 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
FW   Iain Dowie 1 (7) 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 (7) 1
DF   John Dreyer 16 (2) 1 5 0 0 0 1 0 22 (2) 1
DF   Steve Foster 36 3 9 0 1 0 0 0 46 3
DF   Ashley Grimes 12 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
FW   Mick Harford 33 7 7 4 1 0 1 0 42 11
DF   Richard Harvey 11 (1) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 12 (1) 0
MF   Ricky Hill 33 3 8 (1) 3 1 0 1 0 43 (1) 6
DF   Julian James 1 0 1 0 (1) 0 1 0 3 (1) 0
DF   Marvin Johnson 16 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 20 0
DF   Rob Johnson 19 (2) 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 23 (2) 1
FW   Raphael Meade 2 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 (2) 0
MF   Darron McDonough 9 (1) 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 9 (2) 0
MF   David Oldfield 15 (6) 1 4 (1) 2 (1) 0 1 0 22 (8) 3
MF   David Preece 26 0 6 0 1 0 1 0 34 0
GK   Les Sealey 32 0 9 0 1 0 0 0 42 0
FW   Roy Wegerle 28 (4) 8 7 4 1 0 0 (1) 0 36 (5) 12
DF   Steve Williams 10 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 14 0
MF   Danny Wilson 37 9 9 2 1 1 0 0 47 12

See also

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References

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  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.