The 1991–92 season was the 106th season in the history of Luton Town Football Club. It was Luton Town's 71st consecutive season in the Football League, and their 74th overall. It was also their tenth successive season in the First Division, and their 16th overall. Luton Town were relegated on the season's final day, and thus condemned to second-tier football for the following season. This deprived them of a place in the new FA Premier League.

It was the first season of David Pleat's second spell as Luton Town manager; he had returned in the 1991 close season as successor to Jimmy Ryan, having previously been the club's manager from 1978 to 1986.

This article covers the period from 1 July 1991 to 30 June 1992.

Background

The 1985–86 season was David Pleat's final year with Luton, and it was a success as Luton finished ninth. Even following his departure, the team continued to play well – 1986–87 saw a best-ever finish of seventh under John Moore. The following year Ray Harford's team won the League Cup with a 3–2 victory over Arsenal, and finished ninth in the league to boot. However, 1988–89 saw Luton drop to 16th, and in 1989–90 the team were battling relegation by December. The replacement of Harford with Jimmy Ryan in January saw Luton improve enough to escape demotion on the final day of the season, a feat that Ryan's team repeated a year later. Despite keeping Luton in Division One for a ninth successive season, Ryan was fired by chairman Peter Nelkin two days later due a "personality clash". David Pleat was promptly re-appointed in his stead.

Review

July–September Right away, Pleat was forced to sell, as homesick star forward Lars Elstrup was sold back to Odense for £200,000. Brian Stein was brought back as his replacement, while another striker, Phil Gray, was signed from Tottenham Hotspur. On the pitch, the season started badly – Luton did not score a goal for four matches, and failed to win in five. Trevor Peake arrived on 27 August, while Kingsley Black, the Northern Ireland international, was sold to Nottingham Forest for £1.5 million on 2 September.

The first victory of the season came two days after the sale of Black, as Luton defeated Southampton 2–1 at Kenilworth Road. Wimbledon then inflicted a 3–0 reverse at Selhurst Park, before the news came that former player Mick Harford had returned from Derby County to lead the forward line. Harford scored two in his first match, to secure a 2–1 win over Oldham Athletic. However, Luton then lost 1–0 at home to Queens Park Rangers before Manchester United piled on the misery with a 5–0 demolition at Old Trafford. A 1–1 draw with Notts County rounded up the month.

October–December Two months then followed without a win, as Dave Beaumont left for Hibernian and new signing Steve Thompson left after only seven matches in a swap deal with Leicester City for Des Linton and Scott Oakes. Talented full back Matt Jackson also moved on, to sign for Everton. Form was no better in the cups, as Luton were knocked out of both the League Cup and the Full Members' Cup in October. The acquisition of goalkeeper Steve Sutton in November raised spirits, though Luton's next victory did not come until 20 December, when a Harford goal sealed a 1–0 win over Coventry. The next two matches were at home, and Luton won them both – another goal from Harford secured a defeat of Arsenal on Boxing Day, and Chelsea were beaten 2–0 two days later. Despite three successive wins, Luton still remained in the relegation zone on New Year's Day.

January–March January was a fruitless month – Nottingham Forest's Des Walker scored an injury-time equaliser to deny Luton their first away win, and the team crashed out of the FA Cup at Sheffield United three days later. Graham Rodger was sold to Hibernian on 8 January, and Chris Kamara was acquired as a replacement. Three consecutive defeats preceded a win against Norwich City on 8 February. Manchester City then beat Luton 4–0 at Maine Road, before Sheffield United visited Kenilworth Road in the League – this time around, Luton won 2–1. The next six matches saw four draws and two losses – tellingly, Luton had not won on the road all season. The board refused to pay the fee to keep Sutton, and so he signed for Derby County instead. Mervyn Day was brought in as a short-term replacement, while midfielder Darron McDonough moved to Newcastle United.

April–June Imre Varadi arrived on loan and scored on his debut as Luton beat Wimbledon. A week later, Luton lost 5–1 at Oldham. Victory over Nottingham Forest at Kenilworth Road gave Luton hope – they were now only three points behind Coventry City with four matches left. Luton drew at home to Manchester United on the 18th to reduced the gap to two points as Coventry lost to Everton. Coventry lost again two days later, but as Luton slumped to defeat at Queens Park Rangers no ground was made up. The task was made even more difficult as Luton's terrible goal difference meant that they would have to finish ahead of Coventry on points to stay up. Luton beat Aston Villa on 25 April, but Coventry beat West Ham United, and the gap was still two points.

For Luton to stay up, they would have to win their first away match of the campaign at already-relegated Notts County and hope for an Aston Villa victory over Coventry. Julian James gave Luton the lead required, but two goals from County's Rob Matthews put the seal on a dismal season. Despite losing 2–0 at Villa Park, Coventry stayed up and Luton were relegated after ten years of Division One football.

Ever-present midfielder Mark Pembridge left for Derby County for a £1.25 million fee in June.

Match results

Luton Town results given first.

Legend WinDrawLoss

Football League First Division

+DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersNotes17 August 1991West Ham UnitedAway0–025,079—21 August 1991Coventry CityAway0–59,848—24 August 1991LiverpoolHome0–011,132—27 August 1991ArsenalAway0–225,898—31 August 1991ChelseaAway1–417,457Gray4 September 1991SouthamptonHome2–18,055Gray, Harvey7 September 1991WimbledonAway0–33,231—14 September 1991Oldham AthleticHome2–19,005Harford (2)17 September 1991Queens Park RangersHome0–19,185—21 September 1991Manchester UnitedAway0–546,491—28 September 1991Notts CountyHome1–17,629Gray5 October 1991Aston VillaAway0–418,722—19 October 1991Sheffield WednesdayHome2–29,401Harford, Nogan26 October 1991Norwich CityAway0–110,514—2 November 1991EvertonHome0–18,002—16 November 1991Tottenham HotspurAway1–427,643Harford23 November 1991Manchester CityHome2–210,031Harford, Dreyer30 November 1991Sheffield UnitedAway1–121,804Telfer7 December 1991Leeds UnitedHome0–211,550—20 December 1991Coventry CityHome1–07,533Harford26 December 1991ArsenalHome1–012,665Harford28 December 1991ChelseaHome2–010,738Harvey, Dreyer (pen)1 January 1992Nottingham ForestAway1–123,809Pembridge11 January 1992LiverpoolAway1–235,095own goal18 January 1992West Ham UnitedHome0–111,088—1 February 1992Sheffield WednesdayAway2–322,291Preece, Oakes8 February 1992Norwich CityHome2–08,554Preece, Harford15 February 1992Manchester CityAway0–422,137—22 February 1992Sheffield UnitedHome2–19,003Stein, Harford25 February 1992Crystal PalaceAway1–112,109Pembridge (pen)29 February 1992Leeds UnitedAway0–228,227—7 March 1992Crystal PalaceHome1–18,591Oakes11 March 1992Tottenham HotspurHome0–011,494—14 March 1992EvertonAway1–117,388Stein21 March 1992SouthamptonAway1–214,192Pembridge4 April 1992WimbledonHome2–17,753Varadi, Preece11 April 1992Oldham AthleticAway1–513,210Harford14 April 1992Nottingham ForestHome2–18,014Harford, James18 April 1992Manchester UnitedHome1–113,410Harford20 April 1992Queens Park RangersAway1–210,749Mark Pembridge (pen)25 April 1992Aston VillaHome2–011,178Stein, Pembridge2 May 1992Notts CountyAway1–211,380James

FA Cup

+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersNotes3rd round4 January 1992Sheffield UnitedAway0–412,201—

Football League Cup

+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersNotes2nd round1st Leg25 September 1991Birmingham CityAway2–26,315Gray, Nogan2nd round2nd Leg8 October 1991Birmingham CityAway2–313,252Gray (2)

Full Members Cup

+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersNotes2nd round22 October 1991Ipswich TownAway1–15,750Telfer

League table

Player details Last match played on 2 May 1992. Players arranged in order of starts (in all competitions), with the greater number of substitute appearances taking precedence in case of an equal number of started matches.

Pos.NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupFM CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMF Mark Pembridge425102010465DF John Dreyer422101000442DF Trevor Peake380101000400MF David Preece34 (4)310200037 (4)3FW Brian Stein32 (7)3101 (1)00034 (8)3DF Richard Harvey31 (1)210100033 (1)2FW Mick Harford29120010103112DF Julian James282100010302DF Chris Kamara280100000290GK Alec Chamberlain240102010280MF Paul Telfer17 (3)110201121 (3)2MF Scott Oakes15 (6)210000016 (6)2GK Steve Sutton140000000140DF Graham Rodger11 (1)000101013 (1)0FW Phil Gray9 (5)300230011 (5)6MF Darron McDonough9000000090DF Matt Jackson7 (2)00020009 (2)0DF Dave Beaumont6 (3)00020008 (3)0MF Ceri Hughes6 (12)00000107 (12)0FW Kurt Nogan6 (8)1000 (2)1107 (10)2MF Steve Thompson5020000070MF Imre Varadi5 (1)10000005 (1)1FW Jamie Campbell4 (7)00 (1)0000 (1)04 (9)0DF Darren Salton2 (1)00010104 (1)0MF Kingsley Black4000000040GK Mervyn Day4000000040MF Jason Rees3 (2)000000 (1)03 (3)0FW Sean Farrell3 (1)00000003 (1)0DF Des Linton2 (1)00000002 (1)0MF Martin Williams0 (1)00000101 (1)0FW Lee Glover1000000010MF Paul Holsgrove1000000010DF Tim Allpress0000001010—own goal—1—0—0—0—1

Transfers

In

DatePlayerFromFeeNotes July 1991 Brian Stein FC Annecy 13 August 1991 Steve Thompson Bolton Wanderers £180,000 16 August 1991 Phil Gray Tottenham Hotspur £275,000 27 August 1991 Trevor Peake Coventry City £100,000 12 September 1991 Mick Harford Derby County £325,000 13 September 1991 Martin Williams Leicester City Free 22 October 1991 Scott Oakes Leicester City Swap 22 October 1991 Des Linton Leicester City Swap 11 January 1992 Chris Kamara Leeds United £150,000

Out DatePlayerToFeeNotes 1991 Lars Elstrup Odense Boldklub £200,000 2 September 1991 Kingsley Black Nottingham Forest £1,500,000 10 October 1991 Dave Beaumont Hibernian £110,000 18 October 1991 Matt Jackson Everton £600,000 22 October 1991 Steve Thompson Leicester City Swap 29 October 1991 Tim Allpress Released 1 November 1991 Paul Holsgrove Heracles Almelo Free 19 December 1991 Sean Farrell Fulham £100,000 8 January 1992 Graham Rodger Grimsby Town £135,000 March 1992 Darron McDonough Newcastle United £90,000 2 June 1992 Mark Pembridge Derby County £1,250,000

Loans in

DatePlayerFromEnd dateNotes 2 September 1991 Lee Glover Nottingham Forest 6 September 1991 28 November 1991 Steve Sutton Nottingham Forest 1 March 1992 4 March 1992 Mervyn Day Leeds United 22 March 1992 26 March 1992 Imre Varadi Leeds United 3 May 1992

Loans out

DatePlayerToEnd dateNotes 12 September 1991 Julian James Preston North End 10 October 1991 13 September 1991 Sean Farrell Northampton Town 6 October 1991 13 November 1991 Juergen Sommer Brighton & Hove Albion 13 December 1991

See also 1991–92 in English football

Footnotes

A.  Lost 2–1 on penalties B.  Upon its formation for the 1992–93 season, the FA Premier League became the top tier of English football; the First, Second and Third Divisions then became the second, third and fourth tiers, respectively. C.  Steve Thompson moved to Leicester City in exchange for Des Linton and Scott Oakes.

References General Player and match statistics sourced from: Match statistics sourced from: Specific