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.

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 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

League table

Results 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 Players arranged in alphabetical order by surname.

Pos.NameLeagueLeague CupFA CupFull Members CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMF Ian Allinson1 (4)00 (1)000001 (5)0DF Dave Beaumont150300000180MF Kingsley Black35 (1)990110045 (1)10DF Tim Breacker19 (3)05 (2)0101026 (5)0GK Alec Chamberlain6000001070MF Richard Cooke0 (6)00000000 (6)0DF Mal Donaghy80200000100FW Iain Dowie1 (7)01000112 (7)1DF John Dreyer16 (2)150001022 (2)1DF Steve Foster363901000463DF Ashley Grimes120500000170FW Mick Harford3377410104211DF Richard Harvey11 (1)010000012 (1)0MF Ricky Hill3338 (1)3101043 (1)6DF Julian James1010(1)0103 (1)0DF Marvin Johnson160201010200DF Rob Johnson19 (2)031100023 (2)1FW Raphael Meade2 (2)00000002 (2)0MF Darron McDonough9 (1)0(1)000009 (2)0MF David Oldfield15 (6)14 (1)2(1)01022 (8)3MF David Preece260601010340GK Les Sealey320901000420FW Roy Wegerle28 (4)874100 (1)036 (5)12DF Steve Williams100300010140MF Danny Wilson3799211004712

See also List of Luton Town F.C. seasons 1988–89 Football League 1988–89 FA Cup

References