1974–75 Luton Town F.C. season

English football club season February 2015 December 2021 Luton Town 1974–75 Harry Haslam Robert Keens (until 21 December 1974)Len Hawkins (from 21 December 1974)Collings (1985) p. 141. Football League First Division 20th (relegated) FA Cup Third Round Football League Cup Third Round Texaco Cup Group Stage Adrian Alston (7) Adrian Alston (8) 23,096 vs Chelsea (First Division, 11 January 1975) 10,073 vs Bristol Rovers (Football League Cup, 11 September 1974) 17,396Collings (1985) p. 350. 4–1 v Birmingham City (A), First Division, 19 April 1975 0–5 v Derby County (A), First Division, 29 March 1975 _navyborder _whitestripeonright _navyborder _orangesides _whiteline ff3300 ff3300 ff3300 000066 ff3300 _rightstripeonwhite ffffff ff3300 ffffff FFFFFF ffffff The 1974–75 season was the 89th season in the history of Luton Town Football Club. It was Luton Town's 55th consecutive season in the Football League, and their 58th overall. It was also the team's first season in the First Division since 1959–60, and their sixth overall. The season saw Luton narrowly relegated back to Division Two. This article covers the period from 1 July 1974 to 30 June 1975. Background History of Luton Town F.C. (1970–present) List of Luton Town F.C. seasons Following promotion from the Fourth Division in 1966–67, Luton consolidated under first Allan Brown, then Alec Stock before rising another division following a successful 1969–70 campaign in which Malcolm Macdonald scored 28 goals. Macdonald scored 31 during 1970–71 as Luton finished sixth in the Second Division, and was sold to Newcastle United at the end of the season to ease the club's financial worries. Harry Haslam replaced Stock in 1972, and along with him came the ambition to return to Division One after a 12-year absence. Luton fans would have to wait two more years for Haslam to deliver the third promotion; in 1973–74 the team finished second in Division Two behind Middlesbrough, and ensured that for 1974–75 Luton would be a top division club once again. Review July–September After failing to progress past the group stage of the Texaco Cup, Luton began the campaign badly. The first victory came in the League Cup, as Luton beat Bristol Rovers on 11 September; in the league, a series of losses and draws prevailed. On the 28th, Luton finally won a league match, beating Carlisle United 3–1. This win lifted Luton out of the relegation places, and up to 17th in the division. October–December The team then went 11 matches without a victory, including a run of six straight defeats. Luton crashed out of the League Cup and by mid-December, they were bottom of the league and eight points away from safety. Starting with a 1–0 home win over Derby County, Luton suddenly won three successive matches and reduced the gap to five points. January–March A draw with Chelsea meant that Luton came off the foot of the table, but defeat at Burnley sent them straight back to the bottom, six points behind 19th placed Chelsea. A draw at Sheffield United, followed by a victory over Newcastle United and another draw with Stoke City, saw Luton come within four points of survival. A 3–1 defeat at Everton on 25 February resulted in no further ground being made up. Two more straight defeats followed, and the gap remained four points. Luton then won three matches on the trot, against Carlisle, Leeds and Arsenal, to be only two points behind Chelsea. The team were brought back down to earth sharply towards the end of March by a 5–0 annihilation at Derby County and a 5–2 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers – these put Luton back down to 21st, though still only three points behind Leicester City in 19th. April–May Defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on 5 April sent Luton back to the bottom of the league and increased the gap to five points with only eight left to gain from Luton's final four matches. Luton managed a 2–1 home win over Everton, before beating Leicester 3–0 to be only one point away. A 4–1 victory at Birmingham put Luton level on points with Tottenham, with the North London team ahead on goal average. Manchester City would visit Luton on 26 April for their final match, while Tottenham would have to travel to Highbury to face their rivals Arsenal before entertaining Leeds United two days later. Luton could only draw with Manchester City, while Tottenham were defeated 1–0 at Arsenal; Luton therefore rose out of the relegation zone for the first time since October. However, Tottenham beat Leeds 4–2 on the 28th, and therefore leapfrogged Luton into 19th place. Thus, Luton were sentenced to Division Two football in 1975–76. Match results Texaco Cup 1974–75 Texaco Cup Group B 3 August 1974 Luton Town 1–1 D Southampton Butlin 40 Chatterley 54 Kenilworth Road Luton 8,445 Group B 7 August 1974 West Ham United 1–2 W Luton Town Bonds 72 pen. Husband 9Anderson 49 Upton Park London 14,705 Group B 10 August 1974 Orient 2–2 D Luton Town Walley 21Queen 87 Husband 56Butlin 58 Brisbane Road London 5,443 https://hattersheritage.co.uk/matches?season=80 Matches 1974/75 Season Hatters Heritage First Division 1974–75 Football League First Division 1 17 August 1974 Luton Town 1–2 L Liverpool Butlin 27 Smith 32Heighway 74 Kenilworth Road Luton 21,216 2 19 August 1974 West Ham United 2–0 L Luton Town Lampard 4Bonds 18 Upton Park London 23,182 3 24 August 1974 Middlesbrough 1–1 D Luton Town Mills 18 Butlin 89 Ayresome Park Middlesbrough 21,478 4 28 August 1974 Luton Town 0–0 D West Ham United Kenilworth Road Luton 16,931 5 31 August 1974 Luton Town 1–1 D Queens Park Rangers John Ryan 7 Bowles 34 pen. Kenilworth Road Luton 18,535 6 7 September 1974 Leeds United 1–1 D Luton Town Clarke 27 Butlin 32 Elland Road Leeds 26,516 7 14 September 1974 Luton Town 1–4 L Ipswich Town Alston 67 Talbot 9 58 pen.Hamilton 29Whymark 80 Kenilworth Road Luton 17,577 8 21 September 1974 Arsenal 2–2 D Luton Town Kidd 43 62 Alston 53Shanks 81 Highbury London 21,649 9 24 September 1974 Coventry City 2–1 L Luton Town Stein 8Cross 40 Jimmy Ryan 84 pen. Highfield Road Coventry 15,643 10 28 September 1974 Luton Town 3–1 W Carlisle United Anderson 12Alston 56Jimmy Ryan 78 pen. Laidlaw 37 Kenilworth Road Luton 12,987 11 5 October 1974 Leicester City 0–0 D Luton Town Filbert Street Leicester 19,024 12 12 October 1974 Luton Town 1–3 L Birmingham City Hindson 11 Francis 3 5 70 Kenilworth Road Luton 15,097 13 16 October 1974 Luton Town 0–1 L Middlesbrough Foggon 16 Kenilworth Road Luton 10,464 14 19 October 1974 Manchester City 1–0 L Luton Town Summerbee 67 Maine Road Manchester 30,649 15 25 October 1974 Luton Town 1–1 D Tottenham Hotspur Aston 87 Chivers 67 Kenilworth Road Luton 22,420 16 2 November 1974 Newcastle United 1–0 L Luton Town Tudor 76 St James' Park Newcastle upon Tyne 30,141 17 9 November 1974 Luton Town 0–1 L Sheffield United Currie 58 Kenilworth Road Luton 12,670 18 16 November 1974 Stoke City 4–2 L Luton Town Hudson 2Robertson 60Greenhoff 62 67 Anderson 29Garner 73 Victoria Ground Stoke-on-Trent 20,646 19 30 November 1974 Luton Town 2–3 L Burnley Faulkner 42Spiring 52 Hankin 36 54James 49 Kenilworth Road Luton 11,816 20 7 December 1974 Chelsea 2–0 L Luton Town Hutchinson 49Kember 75 Stamford Bridge London 19,009 21 14 December 1974 Liverpool 2–0 L Luton Town Toshack 47Heighway 84 Anfield Liverpool 35,151 22 21 December 1974 Luton Town 1–0 W Derby County Jimmy Ryan 80 pen. Kenilworth Road Luton 12,862 23 26 December 1974 Ipswich Town 0–1 W Luton Town R. Futcher 90 Portman Road Ipswich 23,406 24 28 December 1974 Luton Town 3–2 W Wolverhampton Wanderers R. Futcher 38 42 83 Munro 23Powell 69 Kenilworth Road Luton 19,642 25 11 January 1975 Luton Town 1–1 D Chelsea Husband 63 Kember 82 Kenilworth Road Luton 23,096 26 18 January 1975 Burnley 1–0 L Luton Town Ingham 34 Turf Moor Burnley 17,237 27 1 February 1975 Sheffield United 1–1 D Luton Town Woodward 28 Anderson 81 Bramall Lane Sheffield 17,270 28 8 February 1975 Luton Town 1–0 W Newcastle United R. Futcher 56 Kenilworth Road Luton 18,019 29 22 February 1975 Luton Town 0–0 D Stoke City Kenilworth Road Luton 19,894 30 25 February 1975 Everton 3–1 L Luton Town Telfer 15Dobson 26Latchford 52 Aston 68 Goodison Park Liverpool 35,714 31 1 March 1975 Queens Park Rangers 2–1 L Luton Town Givens 38Rogers 83 Alston 39 Loftus Road London 19,583 32 8 March 1975 Luton Town 1–3 L Coventry City Aston 55 Alderson 9 25Green 78 Kenilworth Road Luton 14,423 33 15 March 1975 Carlisle United 1–2 W Luton Town Laidlaw 56 Aston 62R. Futcher 87 Brunton Park Carlisle 8,339 34 22 March 1975 Luton Town 2–1 W Leeds United Aston 3Anderson 12 Jordan 88 Kenilworth Road Luton 23,048 35 25 March 1975 Luton Town 2–0 W Arsenal Jimmy Ryan 48 pen.R. Futcher 56 Kenilworth Road Luton 22,120 36 29 March 1975 Derby County 5–0 L Luton Town Davies 8 12 33 78 86 Baseball Ground Derby 24,619 37 31 March 1975 Wolverhampton Wanderers 5–2 L Luton Town Carr 7Hibbitt 33 pen. 42 57Withe 60 Seasman 15Jimmy Ryan 29 Molineux Wolverhampton 22,689 38 5 April 1975 Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 L Luton Town Duncan 19Conn 85 West 26 White Hart Lane London 25,796 39 9 April 1975 Luton Town 2–1 W Everton Anderson 40 44 Latchford 20 Kenilworth Road Luton 13,437 40 12 April 1975 Luton Town 3–0 W Leicester City Alston 22Weller 36 o.g.Husband 77 Kenilworth Road Luton 18,298 41 19 April 1975 Birmingham City 1–4 W Luton Town Francis 61 John Ryan 13Alston 44 48Husband 75 St Andrew's Birmingham 28,755 42 26 April 1975 Luton Town 1–1 D Manchester City Jimmy Ryan 72 Tueart 13 Kenilworth Road Luton 20,768 League Cup 1974–75 Football League Cup 2nd Round 11 September 1974 Luton Town 1–0 W Bristol Rovers Alston 36 Kenilworth Road Luton 10,073 2nd Round 8 October 1974 Sheffield United 2–0 L Luton Town Eddy 14Bradford 58 Bramall Lane Sheffield 14,150 FA Cup 1974–75 FA Cup 3rd Round 4 January 1975 Luton Town 0–1 L Birmingham City Kendall 47 Kenilworth Road Luton 17,543 League table 1974–75 Football League#First Division First Division y LUT Player details Last match played on 26 April 1975. 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.Bailey (1997) p. 62. Pos.NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupTexaco CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsMFENG Alan West421102030481MFENG Peter Anderson406102031467DFENG John Ryan381102010421FWENG Jimmy Husband333102032395MFSCO Jimmy Ryan30 (1)710103035 (1)7FWENG John Faulkner341100000351MFENG John Aston32510000 (1)033 (1)5GKENG Keith Barber26000200 (1)028 (1)0DFENG Steve Buckley240101000260MFENG Gordon Hindson171002030230DFENG Bobby Thomson170001030210FWAUS Adrian Alston18 (3)700210020 (3)8DFENG Paul Futcher19010000 (1)020 (1)0GKENG Graham Horn160100030200DFENG Don Shanks15 (1)100202019 (1)1FWENG Ron Futcher16 (1)710000017 (1)7DFENG Steve Litt120001030160DFENG Alan Garner91001 (1)03013 (1)1FWENG Barry Butlin93001032135MFENG Brian Chambers6000000060FWENG Peter Spiring5 (2)10000005 (2)1FWENG Rodney Fern3000000030MFENG John Seasman1 (1)10000001 (1)0MFENG Lil Fuccillo0 (1)00000000 (1)0MFENG Andy King0 (1)00000000 (1)0FWSCO Maitland Pollock000 (1)000000 (1)0—own goal—1—0—0—0—1 See also 1974–75 in English football References General Player statistics and league table sourced from: The Definitive Luton Town F.C. Soccerdata Steve Bailey December 1997 1-899468-10-2 Background sourced from: The Luton Town Story 1885–1985 Luton Town F.C. Timothy Collings 1985 0-9510679-0-7 Specific Category:Luton Town F.C. seasons Luton Town