2001–02 Luton Town F.C. season

Luton Town

2001–02 season
Chairman	Mike Watson-Challis
Manager	Joe Kinnear
Football League Third Division	Second (promoted as runners-up)
FA Cup	First round
Football League Cup	First round
Football League Trophy	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Steve Howard (24) All: Steve Howard (24)
Highest home attendance	9,585 vs Plymouth Argyle (Football League Third Division, 2 February 2002)
Lowest home attendance	5,066 vs Lincoln City (Football League Third Division, 18 September 2001)
Average home league attendance	6,853
Home colours Away colours
← 2000–01 2002–03 →

The 2001–02 season was the 116th season in the history of Luton Town Football Club. The club's 22nd-place finish in Division Two in 2000–01 meant they competed in Division Three for the first time in 33 years. After a summer of upheaval from manager Joe Kinnear, the club comfortably secured automatic promotion by finishing in second place in the league, 18 points ahead of their nearest rivals. Cup competitions proved to be far less of a success, with Luton exiting the FA Cup, League Cup, and Football League Trophy at the first hurdle.

The 2001–02 season is also notable for Kinnear creating the nucleus of the successful Luton team of future years: centre-back Chris Coyne, midfielders Kevin Nicholls and Ahmet Brković, and striker Steve Howard would all go on to prove themselves as fully adept at playing at a higher level for the club.

This article covers the period from 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002.

Instability and inexperience had proved to be Luton's downfall in the previous season with two former players, Ricky Hill and Lil Fuccillo, winning just four out of 26 games as managers and ultimately contributing to the club's relegation from Division Two.^[1][2] An under-performing squad, expensive yet underwhelming signings and poor quality, untested players from abroad left the club languishing deep in the relegation zone. Ex-Wimbledon boss Joe Kinnear was appointed, initially, as director of football on 8 February 2001, but his first act in the job was to immediately demote Fuccillo to an assistant role and install himself as manager.^[3] Kinnear's arrival saw Luton win five of their next seven games, raising hopes of avoiding relegation. However, the team's good form soon collapsed as they failed to win again that season. The damage had been done long before Kinnear's appointment as Luton fell into the bottom tier of league football for the first time since 1968.

Kinnear began building his own squad over a month before the 2000–01 season had even finished, releasing players he deemed as surplus to requirements and notably signing striker Steve Howard for £50,000 from Northampton Town in March.^[4][5]

Former Luton Town striker and fan-favourite Mick Harford was installed as first-team coach in early July, as Kinnear began to overhaul his backroom staff as well as playing squad.^[6] Former Luton youth player Aaron Skelton arrived from Colchester United on a free transfer to boost the defence, goalkeeper Carl Emberson was drafted in from Walsall, and prolific lower-league striker Carl Griffiths was signed from Leyton Orient for £65,000. Winger Adrian Forbes and midfielder Paul Hughes were signed from Norwich City and Southampton respectively, whilst the only player to leave was Finnish defender Petri Helin. What would prove later to be a shrewd signing was the capture of influential midfielder Kevin Nicholls for £25,000 from Wigan Athletic.^[5]

Luton began the season with several injuries to key players, including Matthew Spring, Aaron Skelton and Adrian Forbes. The team managed to secure a series of good results despite an ever-changing squad, with just one loss in their first six league games. New signing Carl Griffiths lived up to his goalscoring reputation, hitting the net three times as Luton hovered near the top of the table. Reading knocked Luton out of the League Cup with a 4–0 hammering at the Madejski Stadium.

Meanwhile, members of the playing staff continued to change – right-back Ian Hillier was signed on a three-month loan from Tottenham Hotspur in mid-August and centre-back Russell Perrett was drafted in on a free transfer from Cardiff City. Players from the previous regime, such as Norwegian Kent Karlsen, were released from their contracts as Kinnear looked to trim the squad.^[7][8]

A 2–1 victory over York City on 15 September was marred by an incident involving Steve Howard. With Luton awarded a penalty, the striker took it, but it was promptly saved. However, the referee had seen an infringement and Luton were ordered to re-take the penalty. Despite his team-mates protests, Howard grabbed the ball from captain and designated penalty-taker Skelton and placed it on the spot. Once again, he saw it saved. A seething Howard was immediately substituted for eventual match-winner Ian Hillier. Manager Joe Kinnear later branded Howard a "disgrace", and even considered placing him on the transfer list.^[9][10]

Australian centre-back Chris Coyne signed from Dundee for £50,000 on 17 September on a three-year contract and was immediately placed into the team that drew 1–1 with Lincoln City a day later – a team minus Steve Howard, whom Kinnear had dropped. French winger Jean-Louis Valois was signed on a one-year contract from Lille on 21 September and put in a stunning performance in a 5–1 demolition of Torquay United the next day, setting up two goals and scoring from 40 yards in a game that saw Griffiths score a hat-trick.^[11]

Striker Dean Crowe signed on a one-month loan on 28 September from Stoke City after news that leading scorer Carl Griffiths was ruled out through injury; later revealed to be a fractured leg that would keep him out for the rest of the season.

After a 2–1 loss away to Plymouth Argyle ended Luton's seven game unbeaten run, the team found themselves in third place in the table at the end of September.

Injuries persisted at Kenilworth Road: Paul Hughes was ruled out for three months; captain Aaron Skelton had suffered a broken foot; striker Andrew Fotiadis was still recovering from an ankle injury, and veteran defender Marvin Johnson required specialist treatment.^[12] Ahmet Brković, a Croatian midfielder who had most recently played for Leyton Orient, signed on a free transfer on 4 October.

By the end of October, Luton found themselves topping the table, despite suffering their first home defeat of the season to Rochdale. The Football League Trophy saw an inexperienced Luton side knocked out by non-League Dagenham & Redbridge in the second round.

Players continued to move in and out of the club, with forwards Stuart Douglas and Peter Thomson loaned to Oxford United and Rushden & Diamonds respectively, and both Ian Hillier and Dean Crowe making their own loan moves at Luton permanent; Hillier for £30,000, and Crowe for free. With the loan places in the squad now freed up, Kinnear moved to sign Crewe Alexandra midfielder Kevin Street on a one-month loan.

November saw the team grind to a halt – one win in four games led the club to fall to fifth in the league. Two heavy defeats to Mansfield Town and Macclesfield Town, and a home loss to Hull City, meant the Hatters needed a good spell of form over the winter to maintain their promotion ambitions. Southend United knocked Luton out of the FA Cup at the First Round on 17 November.

An outbreak of flu led to the cancellation of Luton's game at Kidderminster Harriers, which, combined with injuries, left Kinnear with fewer than eleven players to choose from.^[13]

Defender David Bayliss was signed from Rochdale on 7 December as Luton looked to patch up their injury-hit squad. Bayliss started in the game at Hartlepool United, where Luton returned to winning ways with a 2–1 victory. A swift return to their early season form left Luton safely in the automatic promotion places by mid-January, thanks to an eight-game unbeaten streak and a strong scoring run from Dean Crowe.

Striker Liam George and midfielder Dean Brennan were released from their contracts on 23 December.^[14] In addition, Stuart Douglas was sent on a two-month loan to Rushden & Diamonds after his spell at Oxford came to an end. Peter Thomson, after an unsuccessful loan at Rushden, was released by Luton on 31 January.

Further changes were afoot, with Kinnear signing defender Alan Neilson from Fulham. To balance this, Jude Stirling was sent on loan to neighbouring team Stevenage Borough, which was later converted into a permanent deal. Strikers Gary McSwegan and Steve Kabba were signed on one-month loans from Hearts and Crystal Palace respectively, to provide competition for places up front. Long-term injury victim Stuart Fraser was released on 21 March, bringing an end to a five-year spell at Luton.

Another stutter in the promotion bid came when Luton picked up just five points from a possible eighteen through late-January to mid-February. A 2–0 victory, the only win in this period, over leaders Plymouth Argyle saw the highest attendance at Kenilworth Road in over seven years, when Luton were in Division One, as 9,585 fans packed in.^[15] Fellow promotion hopefuls Rochdale ground out a 1–0 victory to close the gap between the clubs, and Scunthorpe United scored a last-minute winner at Kenilworth Road – this saw Luton balanced precariously between the automatic promotion places and the playoffs with around a quarter of the season left to play.

However, a run of twelve consecutive victories, with a 3–1 win away to Swansea City on 30 March clinching the club's first promotion in twenty years, ensured Luton went back to the Second Division with four games left to play, breaking several long-standing club records in the process.^[16][17] Steve Howard scored thirteen goals in those twelve games to finish the season as top scorer of the Third Division with twenty-four goals.^[18]

Luton finished a comfortable eighteen points ahead of third-placed Mansfield Town and just five points behind leaders Plymouth Argyle. The club claimed the highest goal difference and goals scored in the league, averaging just over two goals every game. Matthew Taylor, naturally a left-back, but pushed forward by Kinnear often, won the PFA Third Division player of the year award, scoring eleven goals in total.^[19] Taylor was also included in the PFA Division Three Team of the Season, the only Luton player to do so.^[20]

Joe Kinnear immediately set about keeping his squad for the next season, securing contract extensions for Kevin Nicholls, David Bayliss, Alan Neilson, Ahmet Brković and Paul Hughes. Highly rated midfielder Matthew Spring, who had progressed through the youth team and was coming close to the end of his contract, signed a new two-year deal.^[21] His fellow academy graduate Matthew Taylor refused a new contract and, as he was under 24 years old, Luton were entitled to a fee from any club that bought his services. That club proved to be Division One side Portsmouth, who offered £150,000. Kinnear reacted furiously, calling the offer "an insult" and exclaiming that "at least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask."^[22] The two clubs eventually reached a deal for an initial £400,000, rising to £750,000 based on appearances.^[23]

Striker Tony Thorpe returned to the club on 12 June after a four-year absence, signing a two-year contract. Preston North End midfielder and Northern Irish international Steve Robinson joined Luton for a fee of £50,000 two weeks later.

Luton Town results given first.

All results, goals, attendances etc. taken from Soccerbase^[29] and verified with official Luton Town match reports.^[30]

Last match played on 20 April 2002. Players with a zero in every column only appeared as unused substitutes.^[31]

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy		Total		Discipline
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Mark Ovendale	13	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	14	0	1	0
2	DF	Aaron Skelton	9	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	10	1	0	0
4	MF	Matthew Spring	40	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	41	6	4	0
5	DF	Russell Perrett	40 (1)	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	41 (1)	3	6	0
6	DF	Marvin Johnson	11 (7)	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	12 (7)	1	2	0
7	MF	Adrian Forbes	15 (25)	4	1	1	1	0	0	0	17 (25)	5	6	0
8	MF	Kevin Nicholls	41	5	0	0	1	0	0	0	42	5	14	1
9	FW	Stuart Douglas	2 (7)	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	0	0	2 (8)	0	2	0
10	FW	Carl Griffiths	10	7	0	0	1	0	0	0	11	7	2	0
11	FW	Liam George	2 (2)	0	0 (1)	0	0	0	1	0	3 (3)	0	1	0
12	DF	Chris Coyne	29 (2)	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	29 (2)	3	4	1
13	DF	Stuart Fraser	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
14	FW	Andrew Fotiadis	0 (8)	1	0 (1)	0	0	0	1	0	2 (9)	1	0	0
15	DF	Matthew Taylor	43	11	1	0	1	0	0	0	45	11	7	0
16	GK	Carl Emberson	33	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	35	0	2	0
17	DF	Emmerson Boyce	30 (7)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	31 (7)	0	5	0
18	DF	Adam Locke	1 (2)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1 (2)	0	0	0
19	FW	Steve Howard	42	24	0	0	1	0	0	0	43	24	11	0
20	MF	Peter Holmes	4 (3)	1	1	0	0 (1)	0	1	0	6 (4)	1	1	0
21	DF	Richard Dryden	2 (1)	0	1	0	0 (1)	0	1	0	4 (1)	0	1	0
22	MF	Dean Brennan	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	2	1	0	0
23	DF	Jude Stirling	1	0	0	0	0	0	0 (1)	0	1 (1)	0	0	0
24	GK	Scott Ward	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	MF	Brendan Mcnamara	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	FW	Peter Thomson	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	0	0
27	MF	Paul Hughes	12 (10)	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	13 (10)	3	5	2
28	MF	Jean-Louis Valois	32 (2)	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	32 (2)	6	5	0
30	DF	David Bayliss	15 (3)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15 (3)	0	4	1
31	MF	Kevin Street	1 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1 (1)	0	0	0
32	MF	Lee Mansell	6 (5)	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	8 (5)	1	0	0
33	DF	Ian Hillier	11 (12)	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	12 (12)	1	5	1
34	FW	Dean Crowe	33 (2)	15	1	0	0	0	0	0	34 (2)	15	3	0
35	MF	Ahmet Brković	17 (4)	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	18 (4)	2	5	0
38	DF	Rob Gillman	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
39	FW	Daryl Murphy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	MF	Stephen O'Leary	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
41	FW	James Osborn	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
42	FW	Gary McSwegan	2 (1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2 (1)	0	0	0
43	DF	Alan Neilson	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	2	0
44	FW	Steve Kabba	0 (3)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0 (3)	0	0	0

Only competitive games from the 2001–02 season are included.

Name	Nat.	From	To	Record							Honours
				PLD	W	D	L	GF	GA	W%
Joe Kinnear		8 February 2001	23 May 2003	49	30	7	12	100	58	61.2	Promoted to Second Division as runners-up

Awarded on 21 April 2002.

Award	Name	No.	Pos.	Notes
Player of the Season	Steve Howard	19	FW	[32]
Players' Player of the Season	Steve Howard/ Matthew Taylor	19/15	FW/DF	[32] [C]
Young Player of the Season	Kevin Foley	–	DF	[32]
Young Members' Player of the Season	Kevin Nicholls	8	DF	[32]
Goal of the Season	Jean-Louis Valois	28	MF	[32] [D]

Date	Player	From	Fee	Notes
4 July 2001	Aaron Skelton	Colchester United	Free	[5]
10 July 2001	Carl Griffiths	Leyton Orient	£65,000	[5]
14 July 2001	Carl Emberson	Walsall	Free	[5]
16 July 2001	Adrian Forbes	Norwich City	£60,000	[5]
9 August 2001	Kevin Nicholls	Wigan Athletic	£25,000	[5]
10 August 2001	Russell Perrett	Cardiff City	Free	[5]
10 August 2001	Paul Hughes	Southampton	Free	[5]
17 September 2001	Chris Coyne	Dundee	£50,000	[5]
21 September 2001	Jean-Louis Valois	Lille	Free	[5]
4 October 2001	Ahmet Brković	Leyton Orient	Free	[5]
30 October 2001	Dean Crowe	Stoke City	Free	[5]
8 November 2001	Ian Hillier	Tottenham Hotspur	£30,000	[5]
7 December 2001	David Bayliss	Rochdale	Free	[5]
22 February 2002	Alan Neilson	Fulham	Free	[5]
12 June 2002	Tony Thorpe	Bristol City	Free	[5]
24 June 2002	Steve Robinson	Preston North End	£50,000	[5]

Date	Player	To	Fee	Notes
18 July 2001	Petri Helin	Stockport County	Free	[5]
21 August 2001	Dean Standen	Released		[7]
14 September 2001	Kent Karlsen	Released		[8]
23 December 2001	Dean Brennan	Released		[14]
23 December 2001	Liam George	Released		[14]
31 January 2002	Peter Thomson	Released		[5]
20 March 2002	Jude Stirling	Stevenage Borough	Free	[5]
21 March 2002	Stuart Fraser	Released		[5]
6 June 2002	Matthew Taylor	Portsmouth	£400,000	[5]

Date	Player	From	End date	Notes
18 August 2001	Ian Hillier	Tottenham Hotspur	8 November 2001	[5]
28 September 2001	Dean Crowe	Stoke City	28 October 2001	[5]
19 November 2001	Kevin Street	Crewe Alexandra	19 December 2001	[5]
15 February 2002	Gary McSwegan	Hearts	15 March 2002	[5]
28 March 2002	Steve Kabba	Crystal Palace	21 April 2002	[5]

Date	Player	To	End date	Notes
23 October 2001	Stuart Douglas	Oxford United	23 November 2001	[5]
6 November 2001	Peter Thomson	Rushden & Diamonds	6 January 2002	[5]
28 November 2001	Scott Ward	Boreham Wood	28 February 2002	[33]
26 November 2001	Richard Dryden	Scarborough	29 December 2001	[34]
19 January 2002	Stuart Douglas	Rushden & Diamonds	19 March 2002	[5]
14 February 2002	Jude Stirling	Stevenage Borough	19 March 2002	[5]
13 March 2002	Daryl Murphy	Harrow Borough	21 April 2002	[5]

• List of Luton Town F.C. seasons