History of Luton Town F.C. (1970–present)

Pleat even dabbled in the overseas market, signing Yugoslav defender Raddy Antić from Spanish club Real Zaragoza in 1980.

[20] Under Pleat, the club had developed a cavalier and attacking style of play, which was evident during 1982–1983 as Luton finished with the second highest tally of away goals, only one less than champions Liverpool.

[21] On the last day of the season, Luton needed all three points against relegation rivals Manchester City at Maine Road to stay in the division.

[26] 1983–1984 brought an excellent first half of the season for Luton, whose 3–0 win at Notts County on Boxing Day had seen them occupy third place in the league, putting them just five points behind leaders Liverpool and sparking hopes of a title challenge.

[30] 13 March 1985 saw an infamous riot by Millwall supporters before, during and after an FA Cup sixth-round tie, which caused noticeable damage to the ground and the surrounding area.

[51] Striker Iain Dowie and full back Tim Breacker were both sold to West Ham United for a combined fee of £1,050,000.

[51] Following a shaky start to the 1991–1992 season, Pleat took a gamble and re signed Mick Harford, who joined Luton for a second spell as a player for £325,000 in mid-September 1991.

[51] Brian Stein had already returned from FC Annecy for a second spell and Pleat had revived the forward line which had played a big part in Luton's success a few years earlier.

Luton travelled to already-relegated Notts County knowing that they had to win their first away match of the season, and hope that Coventry lost at Aston Villa.

[53] This meant the club missed out on competing in the inaugural season of the Premier League and, with it, the larger amounts of money available through television rights.

[55] 1993–1994 started with David Pleat making Dixon's move permanent, and re-signing Mitchell Thomas from West Ham United.

[56] However, a 3–2 home win over West Bromwich Albion earned survival three games from the end of the season, keeping Luton in the second tier for another year.

However, the introduction of young forward Andrew Fotiadis saw Luton burst into life, as they shot up the table with a run of eight wins and two draws in eleven games.

[70] Young duo Kelvin Davis and Chris Willmott were sold to Wimbledon for £900,000, and Lawrence was forced to sell Gary Doherty late on in the season, but he successfully kept an inexperienced Luton side up once again.

Valois moved to Scottish side Hearts after only one year in a Luton shirt and Taylor joined Portsmouth for a tribunal set fee of £400,000.

[83][84] Chairman Mike Watson-Challis sold the club to a consortium headed by John Gurney in May 2003 and, days later, both Kinnear and his assistant Mick Harford were dismissed.

[85] A bizarre series of episodes followed, including the infamous "Manager Idol" phone-vote, an attempt to merge the club with Wimbledon, and plans for a 50,000 capacity stadium built on rafters over the M1 motorway, before Gurney was finally ousted by supporters' group Trust in Luton.

[86][87][88] Newell brought Mick Harford back to the club as First Team Coach and Director of Football shortly after being appointed as manager.

Newell surprised all the observers by taking the transfer-embargoed club to a tenth-place finish in 2003–2004, although he was not helped by the transfer of striker Tony Thorpe to Queen Park Rangers for £50,000.

After a year in administrative receivership, Luton Town finally acquired new owners in May 2004 when a consortium led by former general manager Bill Tomlins bought the club.

However, transfer deadline day saw star defender Curtis Davies sold to Premier League side West Bromwich Albion for a club record of £3,000,000.

[96] By the end of February, Luton, by now a shadow of the side that had won promotion to the Championship only two years before, were hovering perilously close to the relegation zone.

[65][114] The investigation into the illegal agents' payments was concluded in the summer, and the club was handed a ten-point deduction for the 2008–2009 season on 3 June 2008, along with a £50,000 fine.

Staring down the barrel of a gun, Luton was forced to start the season with a 30-point penalty, the biggest points deduction ever handed to a club in the top four tiers of English football.

Coupled with a victory for Mike Newell's Grimsby Town, this meant Luton's survival in the league became mathematically impossible to achieve.

Brabin led Luton to a 5–1 aggregate win over Wrexham in the play-off semi-final to set up a potential place back in The Football League, but AFC Wimbledon beat them 4–3 on penalties in the final after a goalless 120 minutes.

[125] After a decline in form towards the end of the 2011–2012 season that left Luton outside the play-off places, Brabin was replaced by former Torquay United and Bristol Rovers manager Paul Buckle on a two-year contract.

[126][127] Buckle's tenure saw the club qualify for the play-offs with a fifth-place finish and beat Wrexham 3–2 on aggregate in the semi-final, but for the second year running Luton lost in the final, this time in a 2–1 defeat to York City.

Despite this cup run, poor league results led Buckle to leave the club in February 2013 where he was replaced by long-standing Dagenham & Redbridge manager John Still – the fifth managerial change at Luton in four seasons.

[143] Meanwhile, Chairman Nick Owen stepped down after nine years, stating that he felt "unable to dedicate the time and effort that... the role now deserves".