Season Preview 20in20 - Luton Town

7 of 20 - The Hatters

Author

nick lochner
July 30, 2023

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2022/23 Finish - 3rd Place The Championship, Won Play In Promoted

Amazing Drama in the Finals - How Luton Town Earned Promotion

SMALL club making an unbelievable run from Level 5 (see the structure of the EFL to understand the significance) to League 2 (Level 4, 2014) to League 1 (Level 3, 2018) to The Championship (2019) to the PL this year. Go to their website, look at their on-line store, and you can tell they are a small club who seem surprised of the run themselves. LT had nice success in the 1950s and again in the 1980s, but each followed relegations out of the EFL. Will be very difficult for The Hatters to ramp up enough to compete in the PL this year. The betting lines represent that - The Hatters are significant favorites to be relegated this year, and to finish last.

The Club

Located in Luton, Bedfordshire (just north of London)

Kenilworth Road, 10,356 capacity

Rough estimates

$20M Annual Revenue

$12M Player Payroll - $225M+ less than Man City and Man United, and $18M+ less than next lowest Sheffield United

History on the Pitch

  • 1 Major Trophy win, The Football League Cup, in 1988

  • 1 FA Cup Runner-Up

  • No European Matches

Ownership

Paul Ballantyne (English) owns 82% of the club, David Wilkinson is Chairman. Ballantyne is an investment and finance expert.

Sponsorship

Biggest Rival - Watford

  • Watford has been the higher ranked team at the end of every season from 1997 until 2022, but Luton still holds the better record over 120 matches with 55W 38L 29D.

The Culture

How do you currently enter Kenilworth Road to watch a home match? This 30 seconds clip on an entrance to the stadium sums it up.

Reading LT history gives a good idea of the ups and downs of the club.

Here is how they title their history over time…..Into the Legue…..Top League and the Finals…..The Decline Begins…..Rock Bottom….Champions!…..Whoops!…..A Brief Stay at the Top…..you get the idea.

In 2008 the Football Association docked LT 30 points to start the season for breaking “administrative” rules (financials and transfers). The fans were not happy, as in the past other clubs were deducted fewer points for similar situations. The fans took an “Us against the World” mentality.

Required Improvements

Kenilworth Road does not currently meet PL standards. The club will need to make $10M worth of improvements to their 120 year old stadium prior to the start of the PL season.

Supporters You May Recognize

  • Alastair Cook - England Cricket

  • Rob Stringer - Chairman SONY

Song

Hatters, Hatters - A collaboration between LT and the Barron Knights.

Game Day Pub Guide

Fan Sites

Official Twitter

@LutonTown

High Follows on Twitter

@lutontownST (7k)

@wearelutontown (21k)

@LutonNews_LTFC (22k)

The Team

The Gaffer

  • Rob Edwards (Wales), 40yo

  • In May, 2022 Edwards was announced as the new head coach for Watford. In September 2022, Edwards was sacked after winning three out of ten league games and with Watford in 10th place.

  • Luton Town, Watford’s big rival, then hired Edwards and in his first season at the club, he guided LT to the Premier League.

ODDS

  • To Win League +300,000

  • To Be Relegated -275

  • To Finish Top 4 +50,000

  • To Finish Top 10 +2000

Roster Notes

Full Roster click link

Projected to finish 20th

  • No Americans on the roster.

  • Carlton Morris (England) 27 was LTs best player in 2022, but has never played in the PL.

  • Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu (Congo) 29 is the first player to ever make it from Level 5 to the PL with the same team.

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