List of Luton Town F.C. managers

Luton's current manager Nathan Jones, pictured in 2014, has been in charge since January 2016.

Luton Town Football Club is an English association football club, based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire. The club was founded in 1885,^[1] and competes in League Two during the 2015–16 season.

The playing staff were originally organised by a trainer, and chosen for matches by a committee made up of directors led by the club's secretary.^[2] The club appointed an official manager for the first time in 1925. George Thompson took up the role in February, but left after eight months, "scalded by his experience".^[3] Thompson was not replaced until 1927, when former player John McCartney took charge.^[4] Harold Wightman worked during the early 1930s to build a team to challenge for promotion, but was sacked early on in the 1935–36 season. Without a manager, the team finished as runners-up in Division Three South, before topping the table in 1936–37 under Ned Liddell. Dally Duncan was appointed in 1947, and during his 11-year tenure he took Luton into the First Division for the first time.^[5] After Duncan was sacked early in the 1958–59 season, the club's board of directors managed the team to the 1959 FA Cup Final.^[6]

Poor spells under four managers resulted in relegation to the Fourth Division by 1965.^[7] Allan Brown became manager in November 1966, and Luton won the division in 1967–68.^[8] Brown moved on halfway through the next season, and Alec Stock continued the revival, winning promotion to Division Two in 1969–70.^[9] Luton won another promotion in 1973–74 to return to the top division under Harry Haslam, but Haslam was unable to prevent relegation during the following season.^[10] David Pleat became manager in 1978,^[11] and built a team that took the 1981–82 Second Division championship. Though Pleat moved on in 1986, success continued—Luton finished seventh during 1986–87, and won the Football League Cup a year later under Ray Harford. Managed by Jimmy Ryan, the team avoided relegation in 1989–90, and repeated that feat during the following season. When Ryan was then sacked in favour of a return for Pleat,^[11] Luton were relegated in 1991–92. Pleat left again in 1995, and a five-year spell under Lennie Lawrence then saw Luton drop to the third tier.^[12] A disastrous 2000–01 season—in which three managers took the helm at the club—saw Luton fall into the bottom division of The Football League for the first time since 1968.^{[13][14][15][16][17]}

Joe Kinnear took Luton back up at the first time of asking, but was sacked by the club's new owners following a takeover in May 2003.^[18][19] Mike Newell was appointed as manager,^[20] and his side became League One champions in 2004–05. Internal troubles at the club started to intensify during the summer of 2006, as the club's chairman was revealed by Newell to be making illegal payments to agents^[21]—after writing a scathing letter to the board,^[21] Newell was sacked in March 2007.^[21][22] Kevin Blackwell was appointed in his stead,^[23] but was also sacked less than a year later on 16 January 2008;^[24] former player Mick Harford was made Luton Town's new manager the same day,^[25] and he was unable to prevent the club's relegation in 2007–08. After being deducted a total of 30 points by The Football League and The Football Association for 2008–09,^[26] Luton were relegated to the Conference Premier;^[27] however, the club claimed a Football League Trophy victory during the same season.^[28] After two months of the 2009–10 season, Harford left the club by mutual consent,^[29] to be replaced a month later by Richard Money.^[30] Money's assistant, Gary Brabin, replaced him in March 2011,^[31] and managed the club until he was sacked a year later.^[32] His replacement, Paul Buckle, took charge in April 2012,^[33] and was himself replaced in February 2013 by John Still.^[34] Still took Luton back into The Football League in his first full season as manager, breaking a number of club records in the process.^[35] Still guided Luton to a comfortable finish in their first season back in League Two, but was sacked by the club in December 2015 following a poor run of form. He was replaced by Nathan Jones in January 2016, who took on his first ever managerial role.

Managers

All first-team matches in national or international competition are counted, except the abandoned 1939–40 Football League season and matches in wartime leagues and cups. Names of caretaker managers are supplied where known, and periods of caretaker-management are highlighted in italics. Win percentage is rounded to one decimal place. Statistics are correct as of 30 April 2016.^[36][37]

Key

M: Matches played W: Matches won D: Matches drawn L: Matches lost

Name	Nation	From	To	M	W	D	L	Win %	Honours and achievements	Notes
Thompson, GeorgeGeorge Thompson	England	16 February 1925	26 October 1925	25	9	7	9	36.0	—	[3][38][39]
none	—	26 October 1925	14 September 1927	77	30	22	25	39.0	—	^[B][40]
McCartney, JohnJohn McCartney	Scotland	14 September 1927	21 December 1929	151	57	38	56	37.7	—	^[A][4][41][42]
Kay, GeorgeGeorge Kay	England	23 December 1929	13 May 1931	71	29	16	26	40.8	—	^[A][43][44]
Wightman, HaroldHarold Wightman	England	1 June 1931	9 October 1935	198	85	49	64	42.9	—	^[A][45][46]
none	—	9 October 1935	13 August 1936	41	23	12	6	56.1	Football League Third Division South runners-up, 1935–36	^[B][47][48]
Liddell, NedNed Liddell	England	13 August 1936	26 February 1938	79	42	11	26	53.2	Football League Third Division South champions, 1936–37	[49][50]
none	—	26 February 1938	1 June 1938	12	3	5	4	25.0	—	^[B][51]
McBain, NeilNeil McBain	Scotland	1 June 1938	5 June 1939	43	22	6	15	51.2	—	[52][53]
Martin, GeorgeGeorge Martin	Scotland	4 December 1944	24 May 1947	36	18	8	10	50.0	—	^[C][54][55]
none	—	24 May 1947	13 June 1947	1	1	0	0	100.00	—	^[B][55]
Duncan, DallyDally Duncan	Scotland	13 June 1947	16 October 1958	503	192	133	178	38.2	Football League Second Division runners-up, 1954–55	[5][56][57]
none	—	16 October 1958	27 April 1959	39	13	10	16	33.3	—	^[B][6][58]
Owen, SydSyd Owen	England	27 April 1959	16 April 1960	42	10	11	21	23.8	FA Cup runners-up, 1958–59	[7][59][60]
none	—	16 April 1960	18 July 1960	3	1	1	1	33.3	—	^[B][60]
Bartram, SamSam Bartram	England	18 July 1960	14 June 1962	95	35	18	42	36.8	—	[61][62]
Crompton, JackJack Crompton	England	29 June 1962	6 July 1962	0	0	0	0	—	—	[63]
Harvey, BillBill Harvey	England	24 July 1962	21 November 1964	121	37	26	58	30.6	—	[64][65]
Watkins, CharlieCharlie Watkins	Scotland	21 November 1964	16 February 1965	11	3	1	7	27.3	—	[36][66]
Martin, GeorgeGeorge Martin	Scotland	16 February 1965	3 November 1966	82	34	16	32	41.5	—	[54][67]
Brown, AllanAllan Brown	Scotland	4 November 1966	17 December 1968	111	56	24	31	50.5	Football League Fourth Division champions, 1967–68	[8][68][69]
Stock, AlecAlec Stock	England	20 December 1968	27 April 1972	172	71	56	45	41.3	Football League Third Division runners-up, 1969–70	[9][70][71]
none	—	27 April 1972	4 May 1972	1	0	1	0	00.0	—	^[B][72]
Haslam, HarryHarry Haslam	England	4 May 1972	23 January 1978	275	110	69	96	40.0	Football League Second Division runners-up, 1973–74	[10][73]
Pleat, DavidDavid Pleat	England	24 January 1978	16 May 1986	393	158	108	127	40.2	Football League Second Division champions, 1981–82	[11][74]
Moore, JohnJohn Moore	Scotland	3 June 1986	16 June 1987	47	19	15	13	40.4	Club's best league finish: seventh in the top flight, 1986–87	[75][76]
Harford, RayRay Harford	England	16 June 1987	3 January 1990	133	51	34	48	38.3	Football League Cup winners, 1987–88 Full Members Cup runners-up, 1987–88 Football League Cup runners-up, 1988–89	[77][78]
Mancini, TerryTerry Mancini	Ireland	3 January 1990	11 January 1990	0	0	0	0	—	—	[79][80]
Ryan, JimJim Ryan	Scotland	11 January 1990	13 May 1991	63	18	16	29	28.6	—	[81][82]
Pleat, DavidDavid Pleat	England	7 June 1991	11 June 1995	207	55	70	82	26.6	—	[11][83]
Westley, TerryTerry Westley	England	3 July 1995	18 December 1995	28	5	7	16	17.9	—	[84][85]
Lawrence, LennieLennie Lawrence	England	21 December 1995	4 July 2000	250	90	66	94	36.0	—	[12][86]
Hill, RickyRicky Hill	England	10 July 2000	11 November 2000	21	2	8	11	09.5	—	[13]
Fuccillo, LilLil Fuccillo	England	16 November 2000	8 February 2001	15	4	2	9	26.7	—	[14][87]
Kinnear, JoeJoe Kinnear	Ireland	8 February 2001	23 May 2003	122	56	28	38	45.9	Football League Third Division runners-up, 2001–02	[15][16][18][19]
Newell, MikeMike Newell	England	23 June 2003	15 March 2007	200	83	49	68	41.5	Football League One champions 2004–05	[20][22][88]
Stein, BrianBrian Stein	England	15 March 2007	27 March 2007	1	0	0	1	00.0	—	[89]
Blackwell, KevinKevin Blackwell	England	27 March 2007	16 January 2008	42	16	9	17	38.1	—	[23][24][90]
Harford, MickMick Harford	England	16 January 2008	1 October 2009	91	25	29	37	27.5	Football League Trophy winners, 2008–09	[25][29][91]
Neilson, AlanAlan Neilson	Wales	1 October 2009	30 October 2009	5	4	1	0	80.0	—	[29][30]
Money, RichardRichard Money	England	30 October 2009	28 March 2011	83	45	21	17	54.2	Conference Premier runners-up, 2009–10	[30][31]
Brabin, GaryGary Brabin	England	28 March 2011	31 March 2012	62	29	22	11	46.8	Conference Premier play-off finalists, 2010–11	[31][32]
Neilson, AlanAlan Neilson	Wales	31 March 2012	8 April 2012	1	0	0	1	00.0	—	[32][33]
Buckle, PaulPaul Buckle	England	8 April 2012	19 February 2013	48	26	9	13	54.2	Conference Premier play-off finalists, 2011–12	[33][34]
Neilson, AlanAlan Neilson	Wales	19 February 2013	26 February 2013	3	0	1	2	00.0	—	[92][93][94]
Still, JohnJohn Still	England	26 February 2013	17 December 2015	148	69	38	41	46.6	Conference Premier champions, 2013–14	[33][34][95]
Awford, AndyAndy Awford	England	17 December 2015	6 January 2016	4	1	1	2	25.0	—	[95]
Jones, NathanNathan Jones	Wales	6 January 2016	Present	20	10	3	7	50.0	—	[96]

Footnotes

A. ^{a b c} Secretary-manager

B. ^{a b c d e f g} The club was managed by a committee during these times, made up of the club's trainer and directors.

C. ^ George Martin was appointed as coach on 1 August 1939, and promoted to manager on 4 December 1944.^[36]

References

General

• Dates and match statistics sourced from: Collings, Timothy (1985). The Luton Town Story 1885–1985. Luton Town F.C. ISBN 0-951067-90-7.
• Dates and match statistics sourced from: Bailey, Steve (December 1997). The Definitive Luton Town F.C. Soccerdata. ISBN 1-899468-10-2.
• Club honours sourced from: Rundle, Richard. "Football Club History Database - Luton Town". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 7 May 2009.

Specific

1. Collings (1985). p. 1.
2. Collings (1985). pp. 13–14.
3. Collings (1985). p. 29–31.
4. Collings (1985). p. 32–34.
5. Collings (1985). pp. 57–60.
6. Collings (1985). pp. 78–82.
7. Collings (1985). pp. 82–86.
8. Collings (1985). pp. 105–108.
9. Collings (1985). pp. 108–111.
10. "Harry Haslam's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
11. "David Pleat's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
12. "Lennie Lawrence's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
13. "Ricky Hill's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
14. "Fuccillo is new Luton boss". BBC. 16 November 2000. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
15. "Joe Kinnear's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
16. "Kinnear heads for the Hatters". The Independent (London: Independent News & Media). 8 February 2001. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
17. Haylett, Trevor (25 April 2001). "Rotherham on the rise as Luton fall". The Independent (London: Independent News & Media). Retrieved 13 May 2009.
18. Harrison, Lindsay (24 May 2003). "Kinnear parts company with Luton". The Independent (London: Independent News & Media). Retrieved 13 May 2009.
19. Lovejoy, Joe (12 October 2008). "Joe Kinnear: Still crazy after all these years". The Times (London: Times Newspapers). Retrieved 22 June 2009.
20. "Luton pick Newell". The Daily Telegraph (London: Telegraph Media Group). 23 June 2003. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
21. Graham, Bob (16 May 2007). "Exposed: The Chairman who paid agents £150,000 in bungs". The Daily Mail (Associated Newspapers). Retrieved 22 June 2009.
22. "Mike Newell leaves Luton". Luton Town F.C. 16 March 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
23. "Luton Town appoint new manager". BBC. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
24. Hooper, Andy (12 January 2008). "Kevin Blackwell resigns from Luton Town". The Daily Telegraph (London: Telegraph Media Group). Retrieved 29 April 2009.
25. Hodges, Vicki; Caroe, Charlie (16 January 2008). "Mick Harford replaces Kevin Blackwell at Luton". The Daily Telegraph (London: Telegraph Media Group). Retrieved 29 April 2009.
26. Solhekol, Kaveh (16 July 2008). "Luton Town lose appeal against points deduction". The Times (London: Times Newspapers). Retrieved 25 May 2009.
27. "Luton 0–0 Chesterfield". BBC. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
28. Fletcher, Paul (5 April 2009). "Luton 3-2 Scunthorpe (aet)". BBC. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
29. "Hatters part company with Mick". Luton Town F.C. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
30. "Interest grows on Money". Luton Town F.C. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
31. "Club Statement". Luton Town F.C. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
32. "Club Statement". Luton Town F.C. 31 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
33. "Paul Buckle: the Town's new boss". Luton Town F.C. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
34. "John Still: Luton Town appoint Dagenham & Redbridge boss". BBC. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
35. "Football: 'The most remarkable season ever' - Luton Town boss John Still hails his record breakers". Luton on Sunday (LD Express Newspaper Ltd). 27 April 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
36. Bailey (1997). p. 101.
37. Collings (1985). pp. 244–245, 351.
38. "George Thompson's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
39. Bailey (1997). pp. 19–20.
40. Bailey (1997). pp. 20–22.
41. "John McCartney's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
42. Bailey (1997). pp. 22–24.
43. "George Kay's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
44. Bailey (1997). pp. 24–26.
45. "Harold Wightman's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
46. Bailey (1997). pp. 26–30.
47. Collings (1985). pp. 43–36.
48. Bailey (1997). pp. 30–31.
49. "Ned Liddell's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
50. Bailey (1997). pp. 31–32.
51. Bailey (1997). p. 32.
52. "Neil McBain's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
53. Bailey (1997). p. 33.
54. "George Martin's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
55. Bailey (1997). p. 34.
56. "Dally Duncan's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
57. Bailey (1997). pp. 34–46.
58. Bailey (1997). p. 46.
59. "Syd Owen's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
60. Bailey (1997). p. 47.
61. "Sam Bartram's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
62. Bailey (1997). pp. 48–49.
63. Collings (1985). pp. 89–93.
64. "Bill Harvey's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
65. Bailey (1997). pp. 50–52.
66. Bailey (1997). p. 52.
67. Bailey (1997). pp. 52–54.
68. "Allan Brown's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
69. Bailey (1997). pp. 54–56.
70. "Alec Stock's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
71. Bailey (1997). pp. 56–59.
72. Bailey (1997). p. 59.
73. Bailey (1997). pp. 59–65.
74. Bailey (1997). pp. 65–73.
75. "John Moore's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
76. Bailey (1997). p. 74.
77. Bailey (1997). pp. 74–77.
78. "Ray Harford's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
79. Dunn, Alan (1990-01-21). "Taste of life at the top for Aston Villa". Manchester Guardian Weekly (Guardian and Manchester Evening News): 30.
80. Bailey (1997). p. 77.
81. "Jim Ryan's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
82. Bailey (1997). pp. 77–78.
83. Bailey (1997). pp. 79–82.
84. "Terry Westley's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
85. Bailey (1997). p. 83.
86. Bailey (1997). p. 84.
87. "Lil Fuccillo's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
88. "Mike Newell's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
89. Harris, Nick (16 March 2007). "Newell seals fate with attack on club board". The Independent (London: Independent News & Media). Retrieved 13 May 2009.
90. "Kevin Blackwell's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
91. "Mick Harford's managerial career". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
92. "AN: Defeat summed up our season". Luton Town F.C. 23 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
93. "Neilson put in temporary charge as Buckle departs". Luton Today (Johnston Publishing Ltd). 19 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
94. "Neilson apologises to fans after Braintree debacle". Luton Today (Johnston Publishing Ltd). 27 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
95. "John Still: Luton Town sack boss, Andy Awford named caretaker". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 17 December 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
96. "Nathan Jones: Brighton coach appointed Luton Town boss". BBC Sport (BBC Sport). 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.