Luton Town
1999–2000 season
ChairmanCliff Bassett
ManagerLennie Lawrence
StadiumKenilworth Road
Second Division13th
FA CupThird round
League CupFirst round
Football League TrophyFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: George (14)
All: George (16)
Average home league attendance5,658

During the 1999–2000 English football season, Luton Town F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division.


Background

Luton suffered from severe financial difficulty throughout the 1998–99 season and were forced to sell a number of established players and promising young stars.One of the club's directors, Cliff Bassett, made the decision to place the club into receivership as part of a move to shift controversial[1] owner David Kohler out of the club. Kohler, accused by Luton supporters of selling the club's assets while continuing to draw a large salary of his own and of promoting an unworkable stadium project (known as the 'Kohlerdome') for his own means, relinquished his position as chairman on 20 February 1999 following the discovery of a petrol bomb in his letterbox.[1] Despite his departure, Kohler remained as the majority shareholder and held out from selling until a suitable offer was made. Numerous bids from consortia fell through, unable to meet Kohler's demands, until, after being told by the Football League that the club would be unable to compete in the 1999–2000 season unless it was out of receivership, Bassett himself stepped in hours before the deadline and bought out Kohler's shares. Luton finished the 1999–2000 season in 13th position, relying heavily on players brought through the youth system, such as Emmerson Boyce, Gary Doherty, Matthew Taylor, Matthew Spring and Liam George. Bassett made it clear throughout the season that his intention was to find a new owner for the club and, on 23 May 2000, Luton Town was sold to a consortium led by businessman Mike Watson-Challis.


Season summary

Just before the 1999–2000 season, the club was sold to Cliff Bassett, while player sales continued to balance the books.[2] 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. Mike Watson-Challis then purchased the club in 2000,[2] and Lawrence was sacked to be replaced by former Luton player Ricky Hill.[3]

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
11 Wrexham 46 17 11 18 52 61 −9 62
12 Wycombe Wanderers 46 16 13 17 56 53 +3 61
13 Luton Town 46 17 10 19 61 65 −4 61
14 Oldham Athletic 46 16 12 18 50 55 −5 60
15 Bury 46 13 18 15 61 64 −3 57
Source: [4]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Results

Luton Town's score comes first[5]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League Second Division

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
7 August 1999Notts CountyA0–06,141
14 August 1999BlackpoolH3–25,176George (2), Spring
21 August 1999ReadingA2–18,741Fotiadis, George
28 August 1999Cardiff CityH1–05,374Gray
31 August 1999AFC BournemouthA0–14,797
4 September 1999BuryH1–14,633Fotiadis
11 September 1999WrexhamH3–15,121Taylor, Spring, George
18 September 1999BrentfordA0–27,039
25 September 1999Oxford UnitedH4–26,102George (2), Fraser, Locke
2 October 1999Wigan AthleticA0–16,866
9 October 1999Oldham AthleticA1–24,532Midgley
16 October 1999GillinghamH3–16,394George (2, 1 pen), Douglas
19 October 1999Wycombe WanderersH1–15,820Douglas
23 October 1999Oxford UnitedA1–05,866George
2 November 1999MillwallA0–16,181
6 November 1999BurnleyH2–17,205Midgley (2)
12 November 1999Cambridge UnitedA1–36,211George
23 November 1999Preston North EndH0–25,124
27 November 1999Bristol RoversA0–37,805
4 December 1999Notts CountyH2–25,195Doherty, Thorpe
17 December 1999Colchester UnitedA0–33,049
26 December 1999ChesterfieldH1–15,870Locke
28 December 1999Bristol CityA0–011,832
3 January 2000Scunthorpe UnitedH4–15,574Douglas, Gray, Spring (2)
8 January 2000Stoke CityA1–210,016Spring (pen)
15 January 2000BlackpoolA3–35,262Locke, Gray, Taylor
22 January 2000ReadingH3–16,044Watts, George (2)
30 January 2000Cardiff CityA3–16,185Watts, Spring, George
5 February 2000AFC BournemouthH1–25,961Boyce
8 February 2000Stoke CityH2–15,396Gray (2)
12 February 2000BuryA0–13,760
19 February 2000Bristol RoversH1–46,520Gray
26 February 2000BrentfordH1–26,029Gray
4 March 2000WrexhamA0–12,703
7 March 2000BurnleyA2–012,080White, Gray
11 March 2000MillwallH0–26,341
18 March 2000Preston North EndA0–113,731
21 March 2000Cambridge UnitedH2–25,379Doherty, McLaren
25 March 2000ChesterfieldA3–12,597Doherty, Watts, George
1 April 2000Colchester UnitedH3–25,125Watts, Doherty, Taylor
8 April 2000Scunthorpe UnitedA2–13,811Gray, Doherty
18 April 2000Bristol CityH1–24,771Doherty
22 April 2000GillinghamA0–28,667
24 April 2000Wigan AthleticH1–15,010Gray
29 April 2000Wycombe WanderersA1–05,379Taylor
6 May 2000Oldham AthleticH1–15,963Gray

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R130 October 1999KingstonianH4–24,682Gray, George, Spring, Taylor
R219 November 1999Lincoln CityH2–24,291Doherty (2)
R2R30 November 1999Lincoln CityA1–03,822Douglas
R311 December 1999FulhamA2–28,251George, Spring
R3R21 December 1999FulhamH0–38,170

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R1 1st Leg10 August 1999Bristol RoversH0–22,984
R1 2nd Leg24 August 1999Bristol RoversA2–2 (lost 2–4 agg)4,414Kandol, Doherty

Football League Trophy

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
SR17 December 1999Oxford UnitedA0–21,220

Squad

[6] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Nathan Abbey
2 DF England ENG Gavin McGowan
4 MF England ENG Matthew Spring
5 DF England ENG Alan White
6 DF England ENG Marvin Johnson
7 FW Northern Ireland NIR Phil Gray
8 MF England ENG Paul McLaren
9 FW England ENG Stuart Douglas
10 MF Scotland SCO Michael McIndoe
11 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Liam George
13 DF Scotland SCO Stuart Fraser
14 FW England ENG Andrew Fotiadis
15 DF England ENG Matthew Taylor
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 MF Ivory Coast CIV Landry Zahana-Oni
17 DF Barbados BRB Emmerson Boyce
18 FW Democratic Republic of the Congo COD Trésor Kandol
19 DF England ENG James Ayres
20 MF Uganda UGA Jerry Moses
21 MF England ENG Andre Scarlett
22 GK England ENG Daniel Tate
23 DF England ENG Jude Stirling
24 GK England ENG Scott Ward
28 MF England ENG Adam Locke
32 GK England ENG Ben Roberts (on loan from Middlesbrough)
40 DF England ENG Julian Watts

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
27 MF Scotland SCO Ray McKinnon (to Livingston)
30 FW England ENG Neil Midgley (on loan from Ipswich Town)
39 FW England ENG Tony Thorpe (on loan from Bristol City)
3 DF Nigeria NGA Efe Sodje (to Colchester United)
No. Pos. Nation Player
12 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Gary Doherty (to Tottenham Hotspur)
25 MF England ENG Ryan Davis (Released)
26 MF England ENG David Castro-Pearson (Released)
31 FW England ENG Paul Read (Released)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Kohler goes after bomb in letterbox". The Guardian. 20 February 1999. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Luton Town Football Club". Luton Borough Council. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  3. ↑ "Managers: Ricky Hill". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "England 1999–00". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  5. ↑ "Latest Luton Results, Fixtures & Betting Odds - Soccer Base". www.soccerbase.com.
  6. ↑ "FootballSquads - Luton Town - 1999/00". www.footballsquads.co.uk.
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