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2002–03 Luton Town F.C. season

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Luton Town
2002–03 season
ChairmanMike Watson-Challis (until 20 May 2003)
John Gurney (from 20 May 2003)
ManagerJoe Kinnear (until 23 May 2003)
Mike Newell (from 23 June 2003)
Football League Second DivisionNinth
FA CupSecond round
Football League CupSecond round
Football League TrophySouthern Section Quarter-Final
Top goalscorerLeague: Steve Howard (22)
All: Steve Howard (23)
Highest home attendance9,477 vs Queens Park Rangers (Football League Second Division, 23 November 2002)
Lowest home attendance2,578 vs Cambridge United (Football League Trophy, 10 December 2002)
Average home league attendance6,746

The 2002–03 season was the 117th season in the history of Luton Town Football Club. The club's promotion from the Third Division in the previous season meant they competed back in the Second Division, their 82nd consecutive year in the Football League. Luton finished in ninth place, though a poor late run of games prevented the club from reaching the play-offs.

After almost three seasons of financial security, the first signs of a new wave of problematic cracks began to appear in the club's infrastructure during the season, triggering a series of events which would eventually result in disastrous consequences.[1][2][3][4] John Gurney's highly controversial[5] takeover of the club in May and subsequent sacking of popular managerial duo Joe Kinnear and Mick Harford led to the establishment of a Supporters' Trust to protect the future of the club.[6][7] A bizarre[5] and farcical[8] phone-vote poll organised by Gurney proved to be the method of picking a new manager to replace Kinnear, with ex-Hartlepool United boss and former Luton player Mike Newell allegedly[9] winning the most votes on 23 June.[10]

This article covers the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003.

Background

[edit]
See also: History of Luton Town F.C. (1970–present) and List of Luton Town F.C. seasons

Joe Kinnear, appointed manager on 8 February 2001, had revived Luton's fortunes the previous season. A series of transfers had seen a complete turnaround in playing staff, making the squad unrecognisable from the one relegated from the Second Division two seasons previously.[11] The team comfortably won promotion from the Third Division at the first attempt with the squad Kinnear had built, finishing as runners-up with 97 points and also ending the season as top scorers in the division. A key component of the squad, left winger Matthew Taylor, had been sold to Portsmouth for £400,000 at the end of the season.[12]

In June 2002 Kinnear signed Tony Thorpe, who had scored 55 goals for Luton in a previous seven-year stint spanning 1992 to 1999, on a free transfer from Bristol City, whilst Northern Ireland international midfielder Steve Robinson was bought from Preston North End for £50,000.

Review

[edit]

Pre-season

[edit]

Very few transfer dealings were completed during pre-season, with key players having already signed contract extensions at the end of the previous season.[13][14][15] Stuart Douglas, Richard Dryden, Adam Locke, Daryl Murphy and Scott Ward were all released, while four youth team players were given three-year scholar contracts, including Leon Barnett and Dean Brill.[16] Jean-Louis Valois, a key player in the previous season, refused the offer of a new contract and left the club on 2 August to join Scottish Premier League club Hearts. Defender Alan Kimble, released from Wimbledon in the summer, signed a one-year contract with the club one week before the season started and, on 10 August, striker Robbie Winters signed a short-term deal from Scottish club Aberdeen.[11]

August and September

[edit]

The opening games saw Luton fall to four losses and a draw, conceding 13 goals, before claiming a first victory in a 3–0 win over Chesterfield, though this still left the club near the bottom of the table. Robbie Winters left the club after just one game – a 3–2 loss to Peterborough United. Left-back Sol Davis was signed from Swindon Town for a fee of £60,000 on 16 August, and goalkeeper Ben Roberts, who had previously had a loan spell at Luton in 2000, signed on a one-month loan from Charlton Athletic a week later.[11]

September yielded an improvement in form as Luton finished the month two points above the relegation zone with eleven games played. Steve Howard continued his form from the previous season, netting seven goals in that time. On 10 September, Luton faced arch-rivals Watford in the League Cup – the first meeting between the two clubs in four years. In a game marred by violence between both sets of fans, Luton ran out 2–1 winners over the Hornets with goals from Matthew Spring, who scored a 25-yard strike that would later win Luton's Goal of the Season award, and Steve Howard.[17][18] Luton were drawn to face Premier League side Aston Villa in the Second Round.

October and November

[edit]

A goalkeeping injury crisis saw the arrival of Frenchman Cédric Berthelin on a two-month contract from Ligue 1 side Lens on 2 October.[19] Berthelin was named in the squad on the same day as the League Cup game at Aston Villa, which Luton lost 3–0. He played in nine league games throughout October and November as Luton recorded five victories and three draws, with a single loss coming against Northampton Town. This left the Hatters just outside the play-off positions on goal difference.[20]

Luton eased past Guiseley 4–0 in the FA Cup and recorded victories over Woking and Stevenage Borough in the Football League Trophy to reach the quarter-finals. The club were drawn against Cambridge United in the quarter-final of the Trophy, while Wigan Athletic were to be Luton's opponents in the Second Round of the FA Cup.

December and January

[edit]

Goalkeeper Cédric Berthelin was offered a contract until the end of the season in late November. However, Joe Kinnear was later informed that, unless he trimmed his squad down, there would be no funds available to sign Berthelin or any other players. Kinnear admitted he was shocked at the sudden lack of money, which was partly due to the collapse of former Football League broadcaster ITV Digital, but made it clear that no players would be sold.[1] This promise was affirmed later that day, with top scorer Steve Howard signing a two-year contract extension.[21] Berthelin signed for First Division side Crystal Palace later that month.

A severely depleted Luton side was knocked out of the FA Cup on 7 December by Wigan and then, three days later, Cambridge United beat Luton 2–1 in extra time in the Football League Trophy. In the league, Luton recorded a loss, a draw and two wins to end December in sixth place in the table.

A loss to Chesterfield on New Year's Day turned out to be Luton's last game for almost three weeks due to poor weather. On 17 January, Kinnear revealed he had turned down the offer of an interview for the job of Irish national team manager.[22] The next day, Luton beat Barnsley 3–2, despite being a goal down and having goalkeeper Carl Emberson sent off in the first half. A victory over Wycombe Wanderers a week later left Luton just outside the play-offs, though with games in hand over the teams above them.

Defender Chris Willmott, who started his career at Luton, joined the club on an initial month's loan from Wimbledon to ease a defensive injury crisis.[23]

Meanwhile, developments off the pitch regarding a new stadium continued. Chairman Mike Watson-Challis revealed that he had bought a 55-acre (220,000 m2) piece of land off of Junction 10 of the M1 motorway close to Luton Airport. He estimated the cost of building a 15,000 seater stadium and complex to be £15 million, though admitted there "may be other costs". The meeting where Watson-Challis revealed these details also referenced potential hindrances to the developments – the removal of electricity pylons sitting on the land, the plans to widen the M1 at the same location as the stadium was to be built, and the vital fact that the development was yet to receive support from either Luton Borough Council or the Highways Agency.[24]

February, March and April

[edit]

On 7 February, striker Andrew Fotiadis, who had played for Luton all his career, was given a free transfer to Peterborough United.[11] This freed up the funds to allow Kinnear to add to the squad; however, the player he wanted to sign, Australian striker Danny Allsopp, was injured on 8 February.[25] Canadian international goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld joined Luton on a one-month loan on 21 February from Tottenham Hotspur.[11] He was an unused substitute as Luton lost their sixth home game of the season to Brentford a day later, severely denting their play-off hopes. One week later, with regular right-back Emmerson Boyce requiring surgery, Luton secured defender Duncan Jupp on a free transfer from Notts County on a contract until the end of the season.[11] Only one win in six games followed in March, making automatic promotion almost impossible.

Chris Willmott's loan was extended to the end of the season in order to cover for various injuries on 13 March. Three days later, Kinnear released three youth players – Joe Deeney, Rob Gillman and James Osborn. Midfielder Lee Mansell, who had been a regular player in the team during Luton's relegation season two years previously, joined Football Conference club Nuneaton Borough on loan until the end of the season on 23 March.[11] Later on the same day, Luton signed Reading midfielder Sammy Igoe on loan for the rest of the season.[11] Luton picked up just three points from four matches in the first half of April, mathematically ruling them out of a play-off position and ensuring only a mid-table finish was possible.

On 21 April, the club's deputy chairman Eric Hood released a statement signalling the board's intention to have the new stadium, which was still yet to receive planning permission, built for the start of the 2005–06 season.[26]

Luton's next game saw them emphatically beat Colchester United 5–0 away from home, Steve Howard scoring a hat-trick. The game saw youth team goalkeeper Rob Beckwith make his second appearance for the club. Kinnear admitted that the lack of available funds would likely see "seven or eight" players leaving the club in May, though stressed his desire to sign Willmott and Igoe on permanent contracts.[27]

A 1–1 draw with Stockport County on 26 April left Luton in a mid-table position with one game left to play.

May

[edit]

The season ended with a defeat to Swindon Town on 3 May, leaving Luton in ninth place in the table and fourteen points behind the play-offs. Young midfielder Michael Leary signed a two-year contract extension on 5 May.

A summer of turmoil at the club began on 20 May with chairman Mike Watson-Challis, who owned the land that the club was intending to build a new stadium on, retiring and an unknown consortium taking over the ownership of the club.[28] Three days later the club announced that both Joe Kinnear and assistant manager Mick Harford had left the club, with no immediate reason given for their departures.[6] An outpouring of confusion and anger from supporters forced a press conference from the new owners to reveal their identities. However, the proposed new chairman Roger Terrell and vice-chairman Lee Power admitted they had nothing to do with the investors nor the takeover process, confusing the situation further. They both confessed that, after seeing the reaction from the supporters of Luton, they were considering resigning after only one week. It was also during this press conference that some of Luton's financial difficulties were exposed, with a cut to the wage bill and other parts of the club necessary to fund the new stadium venture.[29] To compound this, it was announced that Luton would not be renewing the contracts of six players – goalkeepers Carl Emberson and Mark Ovendale, defenders Duncan Jupp, Alan Kimble and Aaron Skelton, and striker Carl Griffiths were all released.[11]

The new owners, still yet to be revealed, announced on 30 May that the process of finding a new manager would be handled through a phone-vote process, with supporters choosing their preferred candidate from a shortlist – a first of its kind in sport.[30]

June

[edit]

On 1 June, Roger Terrell and Lee Power released a statement which specified that they were severing any association with Luton Town, and wanted no involvement with the consortium.[31] Two days later, the club revealed that a man named Peter Miller had been responsible for the removal of Joe Kinnear and Mick Harford from their jobs. It would later come to light that this was the same Peter Miller who was under employment at nearby club Northampton Town, breaching Football Association rules that state no single person can have an interest in more than one club. Stranger still, it was disclosed that Luton had entered into negotiations to re-hire Joe Kinnear and Mick Harford.[8] Meanwhile, the FA commenced an investigation into Miller's actions.[32]

With the situation at the club becoming more outlandish by the day, media reports highlighted businessman and property developer John Gurney as the man behind the takeover bid. It was later picked up that Gurney had previous history with leaving sports teams in dire financial situations, including non-League football clubs Farnborough Town and Southall, and rugby union club Bedford Blues, which alerted Luton supporters to the fact that their club could be inflicted with a similar fate.[8][33] Gurney made his ownership public on 8 June and released two documents outlining his plans for the club. Within them, he defined his vision to build a Formula One track around a 50,000-seater stadium with a removable pitch that was supported over the top of the M1 motorway on concrete rafters, claimed the club could be making up to £100 million profit per year, and that it should change its name to 'London-Luton Football Club' to tie in with the local airport and make it more accessible to "customers" living in London. Gurney ended the documents with a plea for investors.[34] Trust in Luton chairman Liam Day would later state that "if [the situation] wasn't so serious, it would have been hilarious."[8] Gurney also raised the possibility of Luton merging with Wimbledon, a club over 40 miles away who were themselves in a poor financial state, in order to secure a position in the league above.[33]

This uncertainty and the distinct possibility of liquidation for Luton Town, which was revealed to be losing £500,000 per month, in addition to the proposed destruction of the club's history, led to a group of supporters establishing a supporters' trust – Trust in Luton – to protect the future of the club and to give fans a unified voice to protest against the takeover. The Trust successfully convinced many supporters to vote with their feet and refuse to buy season tickets for the 2003–04 campaign, provoking a series of enraged statements from Gurney that were published in full on the club's website.[35][36][37] The situation even went as far as UK Parliament, with Luton South MP Margaret Moran receiving support from Minister for Sport Richard Caborn to find a solution to the circumstances at the club.[38]

On 23 June, Gurney announced the results from the phone-vote to find the next manager. He delayed the announcement for a re-count, as the results had allegedly[9] been "so close".[8] The eventual winner was revealed as former Hartlepool United manager and Luton player Mike Newell, who beat former manager Joe Kinnear by a reported four votes.[10] However, it is widely believed[9] that Kinnear won the vote by a significant margin, but refused to work with Gurney and turned the job down as a result. Newell expressed his desire to re-hire Mick Harford, who he had played with during his time at Luton, as assistant manager.[39]

To make matters worse, on 26 June, it was revealed that none of the players or staff at the club had been paid their wages for May and June, which led to Gurney being summoned for a meeting with the Football League to explain the situation.[8]

Match results

[edit]

Luton Town results given first.

Legend

[edit]
Win Draw Loss

Friendlies

[edit]
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Notes
17 July 2002 Barnet Away 1–1 1,095 Crowe [40]
22 July 2002 Wrexham Neutral 2–3 N/A Kinet, Robinson [41][A]
23 July 2002 Burnley Neutral 3–1 N/A Howard (2), Bayliss [42][A]
26 July 2002 Rochdale Neutral 4–2 N/A Crowe, Nicholls (2), Forbes [43][A]
5 August 2002 Southampton Home 3–2 4,746 Thorpe, Fotiadis, Holmes [44]

Football League Second Division

[edit]
All results, goals, attendances etc. taken from Soccerbase[45] and verified with official Luton Town match reports.[46]
Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Notes
10 August 2002 Peterborough United Home 2–3 7,860 Crowe, Brkovic
13 August 2002 Blackpool Away 2–5 6,377 Howard, Thorpe
17 August 2002 Plymouth Argyle Away 1–2 10,978 Howard
24 August 2002 Barnsley Home 2–3 6,230 Nicholls (pen), Spring
26 August 2002 Cardiff City Away 0–0 13,564 –
31 August 2002 Chesterfield Home 3–0 6,060 Perrett, Howard, Crowe
7 September 2002 Brentford Away 0–0 7,145 –
14 September 2002 Notts County Home 2–2 6,456 Perrett, Howard
17 September 2002 Mansfield Town Home 2–3 6,004 Howard, Nicholls
21 September 2002 Huddersfield Town Away 1–0 9,249 Howard
28 September 2002 Swindon Town Home 3–0 6,393 Howard, Fotiadis, Robinson (pen)
5 October 2002 Stockport County Away 3–2 5,932 Spring (2), Fotiadis
12 October 2002 Cheltenham Town Home 2–1 6,447 Coyne, Fotiadis
19 October 2002 Oldham Athletic Away 2–1 6,916 Fotiadis, Thorpe
26 October 2002 Wigan Athletic Home 1–1 7,364 Skelton
29 October 2002 Crewe Alexandra Away 1–0 6,030 Howard
2 November 2002 Northampton Town Away 0–3 5,750 –
9 November 2002 Port Vale Home 0–0 6,112 –
23 November 2002 Queens Park Rangers Home 0–0 9,477 –
30 November 2002 Tranmere Rovers Away 3–1 8,273 Spring, Brkovic, Howard
14 December 2002 Colchester United Home 1–2 5,890 Fotiadis
21 December 2002 Bristol City Away 1–1 14,057 Howard
26 December 2002 Cardiff City Home 2–0 7,805 Thorpe, Howard
28 December 2002 Wycombe Wanderers Away 2–1 7,740 Howard (2)
1 January 2003 Chesterfield Away 1–2 4,638 Brkovic
18 January 2003 Barnsley Away 3–2 9,079 Spring, Thorpe (2)
25 January 2003 Wycombe Wanderers Home 1–0 7,351 Spring
1 February 2003 Peterborough United Home 1–1 6,760 Howard
8 February 2003 Port Vale Away 2–1 4,714 Thorpe, Nicholls (pen)
11 February 2003 Blackpool Home 1–3 6,563 Thorpe
15 February 2003 Northampton Town Home 3–2 7,048 Hughes (2), Nicholls
22 February 2003 Brentford Home 0–1 6,940 –
25 February 2003 Plymouth Argyle Home 1–0 7,589 Thorpe
1 March 2003 Notts County Away 1–2 6,778 Thorpe
4 March 2003 Mansfield Town Away 2–3 4,829 Thorpe (2)
8 March 2003 Huddersfield Town Home 3–0 6,122 Thorpe, Holmes, Howard
15 March 2003 Wigan Athletic Away 1–1 7,087 Howard
18 March 2003 Oldham Athletic Home 0–0 6,142 –
22 March 2003 Crewe Alexandra Home 0–4 6,607 –
5 April 2003 Tranmere Rovers Home 0–0 6,326 –
8 April 2003 Cheltenham Town Away 2–2 3,762 Hughes, Forbes
12 April 2003 Queens Park Rangers Away 0–2 15,786 –
19 April 2003 Bristol City Home 2–2 6,381 Howard (2)
21 April 2003 Colchester United Away 5–0 3,967 Howard (3), Griffiths, Nicholls (pen)
26 April 2003 Stockport County Home 1–1 6,010 Howard
3 May 2003 Swindon Town Away 1–2 6,455 Thorpe

FA Cup

[edit]
For information on this season's FA Cup, see 2002–03 FA Cup.
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Notes
First round 16 November 2002 Guiseley Home 4–0 5,248 Spring, Brkovic (2), Thorpe
Second round 7 December 2002 Wigan Athletic Away 0–3 4,544 –

Football League Cup

[edit]
For information on this season's Football League Cup, see 2002–03 Football League Cup.
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Notes
First round 10 September 2002 Watford Away 2–1 14,171 Spring, Howard
Second round 2 October 2002 Aston Villa Away 0–3 20,833 –

Football League Trophy

[edit]
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers Notes
First round 22 October 2002 Woking Away 2–0 1,216 Holmes, Deeney
Second round 12 November 2002 Stevenage Borough Away 4–3 2,601 Thorpe, Brkovic (3)
Quarter-final 10 December 2002 Cambridge United Home 1–2 (aet) 2,578 Thorpe

League table

[edit]
Main article: 2002–03 Football League § Second Division

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
7 Tranmere Rovers 46 23 11 12 66 57 +9 80
8 Plymouth Argyle 46 17 14 15 63 52 +11 65
9 Luton Town 46 17 14 15 67 62 +5 65
10 Swindon Town 46 16 12 18 59 63 −4 60
11 Peterborough United 46 14 16 16 51 54 −3 58
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Player statistics

[edit]
Last match played on 3 May 2003. Players with a zero in every column only appeared as unused substitutes.[47]
No. Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup FL Trophy Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK England Mark Ovendale 5 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7 (1) 0 0 0
2 DF England Aaron Skelton 5 (3) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 (3) 1 0 0
3 DF Wales Alan Neilson 21 (5) 0 1 (1) 0 0 (2) 0 0 0 22 (8) 0 2 0
4 MF England Matthew Spring 41 6 2 1 2 1 1 0 47 8 10 0
5 DF England Russell Perrett 19 (1) 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 22 (1) 2 6 0
6 DF England Marvin Johnson 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1) 0 1 (1) 0 0 0
7 MF England Adrian Forbes 3 (2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 (2) 1 0 1
8 MF England Kevin Nicholls 35 (1) 5 1 0 1 0 1 0 38 (1) 5 10 1
9 FW England Tony Thorpe 28 (2) 13 1 1 0 0 2 2 31 (2) 16 5 0
10 FW Wales Carl Griffiths 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0
11 MF Northern Ireland Steve Robinson 23 (6) 1 2 0 1 (1) 0 1 0 27 (7) 1 4 0
12 DF Australia Chris Coyne 38 (2) 1 2 0 1 0 1 0 42 (2) 0 6 1
14 FW England Andrew Fotiadis 8 (9) 5 1 0 1 0 0 (1) 0 10 (10) 5 3 0
15 FW England Dean Crowe 17 (10) 2 0 0 1 (1) 0 1 0 19 (11) 2 3 0
16 GK England Carl Emberson 18 (2) 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 23 (2) 0 1 1
17 DF Barbados Emmerson Boyce 33 (1) 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 38 (1) 0 0 0
18 MF Croatia Ahmet Brković 29 (7) 3 2 2 1 0 3 3 35 (7) 8 10 0
19 FW Scotland Steve Howard 41 22 1 0 2 1 0 0 44 23 13 1
20 MF England Peter Holmes 8 (9) 1 1 (1) 0 1 0 2 (1) 1 12 (11) 2 1 0
21 MF England Paul Hughes 30 (5) 3 1 0 2 0 2 0 35 (5) 3 6 0
23 MF Wales Ian Hillier 12 (10) 0 0 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 2 0 14 (12) 0 4 0
24 DF England Sol Davis 34 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 38 0 8 1
25 DF Scotland Duncan Jupp 2 (3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 (3) 0 0 0
26 MF England Sammy Igoe 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
27 DF England David Bayliss 7 (6) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 (6) 0 4 0
28 GK Canada Lars Hirschfeld 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
30 FW Scotland Robbie Winters 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
31 DF England Alan Kimble 8 (4) 0 1 0 0 0 2 (1) 0 11 (5) 0 0 0
32 MF England Lee Mansell 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 (1) 0 0 0
33 GK England Rob Beckwith 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
34 GK England Ben Roberts 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
35 GK France Cédric Berthelin 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0
36 DF England Rob Gillman 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
37 DF England Chris Willmott 12 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 (1) 0 0 0
38 MF England Michael Leary 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1) 0 1 (1) 0 1 0
39 MF Republic of Ireland Stephen O'Leary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
40 FW England James Osborn 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
41 DF Republic of Ireland Kevin Foley 0 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (1) 0 1 (3) 0 0 0
42 DF England Joe Deeney 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 1 0 0
43 FW England Matthew Judge 0 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 1 (1) 0 1 (3) 0 0 0
44 GK England Dean Brill 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
45 DF England Leon Barnett 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 0
46 MF England Parys Okai 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 0

Managerial statistics

[edit]
Only competitive games from the 2002–03 season are included.
Name Nat. From To Record Honours
PLD W D L GF GA W%
Joe Kinnear Republic of Ireland 8 February 2001 23 May 2003 53 21 14 18 80 74 39.6

Awards

[edit]
Awarded on 4 May 2003.
Award Name No. Pos. Notes
Player of the Season Australia Chris Coyne 12 DF [48]
Players' Player of the Season Scotland Steve Howard 19 FW [48]
Young Player of the Season Republic of Ireland Kevin Foley 41 DF [48]
Young Members' Player of the Season England Tony Thorpe 9 FW [48]
Goal of the Season England Matthew Spring 4 MF [48][B]

Transfers

[edit]

In

[edit]
Date Player From Fee Notes
2 August 2002 England Alan Kimble Wimbledon Free [11]
10 August 2002 Scotland Robbie Winters Aberdeen Free [11]
16 August 2002 England Sol Davis Swindon Town £60,000 [11]
2 October 2002 France Cédric Berthelin Lens Free [11][19]
28 February 2003 Scotland Duncan Jupp Notts County Free [11]

Out

[edit]
Date Player To Fee Notes
25 July 2002 England Stuart Douglas Boston United Free [11]
25 July 2002 England Richard Dryden Scarborough Free [11]
25 July 2002 England Adam Locke Hornchurch Free [11]
25 July 2002 Republic of Ireland Daryl Murphy Waterford United Free [11]
25 July 2002 England Scott Ward Chesham United Free [11]
2 August 2002 France Jean-Louis Valois Hearts Free [11]
12 August 2002 Scotland Robbie Winters Brann Free [11]
2 December 2002 France Cédric Berthelin Crystal Palace Free [11][19]
7 February 2003 England Andrew Fotiadis Peterborough United Free [11]
16 March 2003 England Joe Deeney Enfield Free [11]
16 March 2003 England Rob Gillman Released [11]
16 March 2003 England James Osborn Hitchin Town Free [11]
22 May 2003 England Carl Emberson Released [11]
22 May 2003 Wales Carl Griffiths Released [11]
22 May 2003 Scotland Duncan Jupp Southend United Free [11]
22 May 2003 England Alan Kimble Released [11]
22 May 2003 England Mark Ovendale Released [11]
22 May 2003 England Aaron Skelton Released [11]

Loans in

[edit]
Date Player From End date Notes
23 August 2002 England Ben Roberts Charlton Athletic 20 September 2002 [11]
31 January 2003 England Chris Willmott Wimbledon 3 May 2003 [11]
21 February 2003 Canada Lars Hirschfeld Tottenham Hotspur 19 March 2003 [11]
27 March 2003 England Sammy Igoe Reading 3 May 2003 [11]

Loans out

[edit]
Date Player To End date Notes
27 March 2003 England Lee Mansell Nuneaton Borough 4 May 2003 [11]

See also

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
A. ^ Game part of the Isle of Man Tournament.
B. ^ The goal of the season was awarded as Matthew Spring's 25-yard strike against Watford on 10 September 2002.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "No new money unless players sold". Luton Town F.C. 1 December 2002. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  2. ^ "Daily Hansard – Debate: Luton Town Football Club". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 25 January 2008. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  3. ^ "Luton to face 30-point deduction". BBC Sport. 10 July 2008. Archived from the original on 6 August 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Owen hurt by Luton's relegation". BBC Sport. 14 April 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Trouble at the Top: Luton Kicks Off". BBC Three Counties. 29 October 2004. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  6. ^ a b Harrison, Lindsay (24 May 2003). "Kinnear parts company with Luton". The Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 8 August 2010.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ "New hope for Luton fans". BBC Sport. 17 July 2003. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "John Gurney profile at lutonfc.com". Lutonfc.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2003. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  9. ^ a b c "Hang on a minute – Joe... WHO?". Two Hundred Percent. 27 September 2008. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Newell wins Luton election". BBC Sport. 23 June 2003. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak "Kinnear's transfers". Lutonfc.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2003. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  12. ^ "Pompey seal Taylor switch". BBC Sport. 3 June 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  13. ^ "Matthew Spring signs two-year contract". Luton Town F.C. 21 June 2002. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  14. ^ "Emmerson Boyce signs two-year deal". Luton Town F.C. 14 May 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  15. ^ "Kevin Nicholls signs for an extra year". Luton Town F.C. 12 June 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  16. ^ "Luton sign four scholars". Luton Town F.C. 1 July 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  17. ^ "Watford 1–2 Luton". BBC Sport. 10 September 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  18. ^ "Joint probe launched into trouble". BBC Sport. 11 September 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  19. ^ a b c "Cedric Berthelin profile at lutonfc.com". Lutonfc.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  20. ^ "Second Division table – 30 November 2002". Luton Town F.C. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  21. ^ "Steve Howard signs for two more years". Luton Town F.C. 6 December 2002. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  22. ^ "Joe says no to Rahim and Ireland". Luton Town F.C. 17 January 2003. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  23. ^ "Wilmott joins Luton on loan". Luton Town F.C. 31 January 2003. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  24. ^ "Chairman and Deputy spell out stadium latest". Luton Town F.C. 28 January 2003. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  25. ^ "Joe's target striker injured on Saturday". Luton Town F.C. 10 February 2002. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  26. ^ "New stadium – a progress report". Luton Town F.C. 21 April 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  27. ^ "I've shaken hands on deals with Igoe and Willmott, says Joe". Luton Town F.C. 25 April 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  28. ^ "News owners of Luton Town". Luton Town F.C. 20 May 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  29. ^ "New football chairman and deputy 'consider resigning'". Luton Town F.C. 27 May 2003. Archived from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  30. ^ "YOU will choose the next manager". Luton Town F.C. 30 May 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  31. ^ "Statement from Roger Terrell and Lee Power". Luton Town F.C. 1 June 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  32. ^ "FA to investigate Luton Town Football Club". lutonfc.com. 1 June 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  33. ^ a b "Luton directors quit as far-fetched merger is mooted". Michael Walker. Guardian Media Group Ltd. 10 June 2003. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  34. ^ "Statement from John Gurney". Luton Town F.C. 9 June 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  35. ^ "Luton Town and the Supporters Trust". Luton Town F.C. 6 June 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  36. ^ "Report on Luton". Luton Town F.C. 10 June 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  37. ^ "The Supporters Trust and David Kohler". Luton Town F.C. 13 June 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  38. ^ "Margaret Moran MP meets with Sports Minister". Luton Town F.C. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  39. ^ "Newell: I'll wait for Mick Harford". Luton Town F.C. 27 June 2003. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  40. ^ "Barnet 1–1 Luton". Luton Town F.C. 17 July 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  41. ^ "Wrexham 3–2 Luton". Luton Town F.C. 22 July 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  42. ^ "Burnley 1–3 Luton". Luton Town F.C. 23 July 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  43. ^ "Rochdale 1–4 Luton". Luton Town F.C. 26 July 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  44. ^ "Luton 3–2 Southampton". Luton Town F.C. 5 August 2002. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  45. ^ "Luton 2002–2003 results". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  46. ^ "Luton 2002–2003 fixtures and match reports". Luton Town F.C. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  47. ^ "Luton 2002–2003 player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  48. ^ a b c d e "LTFC 2002–03 Awards". Luton Town F.C. 4 May 2003. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
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