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Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-07-04T08:00:00.000Z

IN FOCUS: LUTON TOWN

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

2024-07-04T08:00:00.000Z

Ahead of our return to the Sky Bet Championship, learn more about all 23 of our opponents

Luton Town were formed in April 1885, bringing together the best players from the various teams across the town.

Starting out at the Dallow Lane ground, the Hatters began making payments to players five years later and in 1891 became the first club in southern England to turn fully professional.

A founder member of the Southern Football League, Town eventually joined the Football League for the 1897/98 campaign but, due to financial reasons, returned to the Southern League three years later.

Settling at Kenilworth Road in 1905, the club re-joined the Football League for the 1920/21 season and reached the top flight for the first time in 1955.

Appearing in the 1959 FA Cup final against Nottingham Forest, Luton were relegated the following season and by 1965 the Hatters were competing back in the fourth tier of English football.

In typical Luton fashion, a revival and three promotions in seven years followed and in 1974 a runners-up spot in the Second Division propelled the Hatters back to the top flight.

Winning the 1988 League Cup courtesy of a 3-2 victory over Arsenal in the final was the highlight of the next 40 years or so, with the Hatters finding themselves in non-league by 2009.

The Conference Premier proved difficult to get out of but progression was quick once they did, with Nathan Jones winning back-to-back promotions to break into the Championship in 2019/20.

Last season saw them end their top flight hiatus of over 30 years and they have kept hold of manager Rob Edwards ahead of their return to the Sky Bet Championship.

Stadium: Kenilworth Road (11,850) – Maple Road East, Luton, LU4 8AW

Nickname(s): The Hatters, Town

Manager: Rob Edwards

2023/24 finishing position: 18th in the Premier League (relegated)

2023/24 top scorer (all competitions): Carlton Morris (11)

Played for both:

Graham Alexander – A stalwart at every club he played for, the Scottish full-back signed for Luton in 1995 from Scunthorpe. Alexander played 183 games for the Hatters over four years scoring 17 goals before departing for Preston North End in 1999. 400 appearances later the defender joined the Clarets in 2007 and missed just three league matches in his first two seasons at Turf Moor. In Alexander's second campaign the Clarets were promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs. At the Club until 2011, the Scot made 177 appearances before returning to Preston North End.

Matthew Taylor – Beginning his career with Luton as a 17-year-old, Taylor made an immediate impact by winning their Young Player of the Season and Player of the Season awards in consecutive seasons. The midfielder then moved to Portsmouth, making 178 Premier League appearances in six years before further moves to Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. Taylor arrived at Burnley in July 2014 and after most of his first season was affected by injury, he bounced back to feature in a large portion of our 2015/16 Championship matches before being released. After finishing his playing career with Northampton Town and Swindon Town he moved into coaching and is now in charge of non-league side Wealdstone.

Steve Davis – Davis joined the Clarets initially on loan from Southampton in 1989, before making it a permanent move in the summer of 1991. The centre-back spent four seasons at Turf Moor including two promotions helping the side return to the second division before leaving for Luton Town in 1995. After 28 goals in 174 matches at Kenilworth Road, Davis then returned to Burnley in 1998. Following five more seasons in East Lancashire, the defender stayed took his tally of Clarets appearances up to 385 in total across his three spells before joining Blackpool in 2003.