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1997–98 Luton Town F.C. season

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Luton Town
1997–98 season
ChairmanDavid Kohler
ManagerLennie Lawrence
StadiumKenilworth Road
Second Division17th
FA CupFirst round
League CupSecond round
Football League TrophySouthern Semi-final
Top goalscorerLeague:
Tony Thorpe (14)

All:
Tony Thorpe (19)
Highest home attendance9,041 (vs. Watford, Second Division, 4 October 1997)
Lowest home attendance2,816 (vs. Colchester United, League Cup, 26 August 1997)
Average home league attendance5,879

The 1997–98 season was the 112th season in the history of Luton Town F.C. It was Luton Town's 77th consecutive season in the Football League, and their 80th overall. It was their second season back in the Football League Third Division following relegation in the 1995–96 season.

This article covers the period from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998.

Season summary

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During the 1997–98 English football season, Luton Town F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division. It was the second full season of Lennie Lawrences's spell as Luton Town manager. Hopes were high for promotion following Luton's 3rd place finish the previous season, however injuries to key players in September and October saw Luton Town fall into the relegation zone.[1] They subsequently spent the season battling at the wrong end of the division. Luton were in the relegation zone as late as April and only secured their safety following a 2–2 draw with Brentford in the second last game of the season.[2] Luton's survival was due in no small part to the arrival of Rory Allen on loan from Tottenham Hotspur F.C.. Allen arrived at the end of March with Luton Town sitting 23rd in the table with only 8 games remaining. Allen scored 6 goals in that time which resulted in 5 wins and 1 draw for Luton Town[3]

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
15 Preston North End 46 15 14 17 56 56 0 59
16 York City 46 14 17 15 52 58 −6 59
17 Luton Town 46 14 15 17 60 64 −4 57
18 Millwall 46 14 13 19 43 54 −11 55
19 Walsall 46 14 12 20 43 52 −9 54
Source: [4]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).

Results

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Luton Town's score comes first[5]

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Football League Second Division

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
09 August 1997 Blackpool Away 0–1 6,547
18 August 1997 Southend United Home 1–0 5,140 Stuart Douglas
23 August 1997 Fulham Away 0–0 8,142
30 August 1997 Oldham Athletic Home 1–1 5,404 Tony Thorpe
02 September 1997 Millwall Home 0–2 5,781
09 September 1997 Northampton Town Away 0–1 7,246
13 September 1997 AFC Bournemouth Away 1–1 4,561 Dwight Marshall
20 September 1997 Wrexham Home 2–5 5,241 Steve Davis, Phil Gray
27 September 1997 Bristol City Away 0–3 8,509
04 October 1997 Watford Home 0–4 9,041
11 October 1997 Plymouth Argyle Home 3–0 4,931 Tony Thorpe (2), Simon Davies
18 October 1997 Wigan Athletic Away 1–1 4,466 David Oldfield
21 October 1997 Carlisle United Away 1–0 4,341 Alan White
25 October 1997 Brentford Home 2–0 5,972 Graham Alexander, Tony Thorpe
01 November 1997 Wycombe Wanderers Away 2–2 6,219 David Oldfield, Tony Thorpe
04 November 1997 Burnley Home 2–3 5,315 Graham Alexander (2)
08 November 1997 Preston North End Home 1–3 5,767 Tony Thorpe
22 November 1997 Walsall Home 0–1 4,726
29 November 1997 York City Away 2–1 3,636 Graham Alexander, Tony Thorpe
02 December 1997 Gillingham Home 2–2 4,408 Steve Davis, Tony Thorpe
13 December 1997 Chesterfield Away 0–0 4,358
20 December 1997 Bristol Rovers Home 2–4 5,266 Chris Allen, David Oldfield
26 December 1997 Northampton Home 2–2 8,035 David Oldfield, Tony Thorpe
28 December 1997 Millwall Away 2–0 7,461 Steve Davis, Tony Thorpe
03 January 1998 Southend United Away 2–1 5,056 Graham Alexander (2)
10 January 1998 Blackpool Home 3–0 5,574 Tony Thorpe (3)
17 January 1998 Oldham Athletic Away 1–2 6,057 Graham Alexander
24 January 1998 Fulham Home 1–4 8,366 Tony Thorpe
31 January 1998 AFC Bournemouth Home 1–2 5,466 Marvin Johnson
07 February 1998 Wrexham Away 1–2 3,527 Steve Davis
14 February 1998 Watford Away 1–1 15,182 Marvin Johnson
21 February 1998 Bristol City Home 0–0 6,405
24 February 1998 Wigan Athletic Home 1–1 4,403 David Oldfield
28 February 1998 Plymouth Argyle Away 2–0 4,846 Andrew Fotiadis, Sean Evers
03 March 1998 Preston North End Away 0–1 6,992
07 March 1998 Wycombe Wanderers Home 0–0 6,114
14 March 1998 Burnley Away 1–1 9,656 Mitchell Thomas
21 March 1998 Grimsby Town Home 2–2 5,722 Sean Evers, Steve Davis
28 March 1998 Walsall Away 3–2 3,922 David Oldfield, Rory Allen, Dwight Marshall
04 April 1998 York City Home 3–0 5,541 Graham Alexander(pen), David Oldfield, Phil Gray
07 April 1998 Grimsby Town Away 1–0 4,455 Rory Allen
11 April 1998 Gillingham Away 1–2 6,846 Rory Allen
14 April 1998 Chesterfield Home 3–0 5,884 Dwight Marshall, Rory Allen, David Oldfield
18 April 1998 Bristol Rovers Away 1–2 8,038 David Oldfield
25 April 1998 Brentford Away 2–2 6,596 Dwight Marshall, Rory Allen
02 May 1998 Carlisle United Home 3–2 6,729 Sean Evers, (og), Rory Allen

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 15 November 1997 Torquay United Home 0–1 3,446

League Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 1st leg 12 August 1997 Colchester United Away 1–0 2,840 Tony Thorpe
R1 2nd leg 26 August 1997 Colchester United Home 1–1 2,816 Tony Thorpe
R2 1st leg 16 September 1997 West Bromwich Albion Home 1–1 3,437 Stuart Douglas
R2 2nd leg 23 September 1997 West Bromwich Albion Away 2–4 7,227 Steve Davis, Tony Thorpe

Football League Trophy

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
SR2 06 January 1998 Brentford Home 2–1 3,106 Tony Thorpe, David Oldfield
SQF 27 January 1998 Fulham Away 2–1 5,103 Dwight Marshall, Tony Thorpe
SSF 17 February 1998 AFC Bournemouth Away 0–1 5,367

Squad

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[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
GK England ENG Nathan Abbey
GK England ENG Kelvin Davis
GK United States USA Ian Feuer
GK Wales WAL Andy Dibble
DF Scotland SCO Graham Alexander
DF England ENG Steve Davis
DF England ENG Richard Harvey
DF England ENG Julian James
DF England ENG Marvin Johnson
DF England ENG Gavin McGowan
DF Northern Ireland NIR Darren Patterson
DF England ENG Trevor Peake
DF England ENG Mitchell Thomas
DF England ENG Alan White
DF England ENG Bryan Small
DF Republic of Ireland IRL Gary Doherty
DF Scotland SCO Stuart Fraser
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF England ENG Chris Willmott
MF England ENG Sean Evers
MF England ENG Paul McLaren
MF England ENG David Oldfield
MF England ENG Paul Showler
MF Republic of Ireland IRL Gary Waddock
MF England ENG Chris Allen
MF England ENG Matthew Spring
MF England ENG Robert Kean
MF Wales WAL Simon Davies
FW England ENG Stuart Douglas
FW England ENG Andrew Fotiadis
FW Republic of Ireland IRL Liam George
FW Jamaica JAM Dwight Marshall
FW England ENG Tony Thorpe
FW Northern Ireland NIR Phil Gray
FW England ENG Rory Allen

Player statistics

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Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup FL Trophy Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
MF England David Oldfield 45 9 1 0 4 1 3 0 53 10
MF England Paul McLaren 41 (2) 0 1 0 4 0 2 0 48 (2) 0
DF England Steve Davis 39 5 0 0 4 0 2 0 45 5
DF Scotland Graham Alexander 39 8 1 0 2 0 2 0 44 8
MF Republic of Ireland Gary Waddock 34 (2) 0 1 0 4 0 0 (2) 0 39 (4) 0
DF England Mitchell Thomas 28 (2) 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 32 (2) 1
FW England Tony Thorpe 27 (1) 14 1 0 2 (1) 2 1 (1) 0 31 (3) 16
GK England Kelvin Davis 32 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 33 0
DF England Alan White 26 (2) 1 1 0 1 0 3 0 31 (2) 1
FW Jamaica Dwight Marshall 19 (10) 4 0 0 2 1 2 0 23 (10) 5
DF Northern Ireland Darren Patterson 23 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 3 0 26 (1) 0
MF England Sean Evers 14 (8) 3 0 0 2 0 3 0 19 (8) 3
MF Wales Simon Davies 8 (11) 1 0 (1) 0 3 (1) 0 3 0 14 (13) 1
DF England Julian James 23 (1) 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 25 (1) 0
FW England Stuart Douglas 5 (11) 1 0 0 3 (1) 0 0 0 8 (12) 1
FW Northern Ireland Phil Gray 14 (3) 2 0 0 1 0 0 (1) 0 15 (4) 2
MF England Chris Allen 14 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 17 1
GK United States Ian Feuer 13 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 17 0
FW England Andrew Fotiadis 5 (11) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 (11) 1
DF England Bryan Small 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
DF England Marvin Johnson 12 (1) 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 15 (1) 2
MF England Matthew Spring 6 (6) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 (6) 0
DF England Richard Harvey 6 (1) 0 1 0 2 (1) 0 1 0 10 (2) 0
DF Republic of Ireland Gary Doherty 1 (8) 0 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 1 (9) 0
FW England Rory Allen 8 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 6
DF England Gavin McGowan 6 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 (2) 0
FW Republic of Ireland Liam George 1 0 0 0 0 (2) 0 0 (1) 0 1 (3) 0
GK Wales Andy Dibble 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0
DF Scotland Stuart Fraser 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
GK England Nathan Abbey 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
MF England Robert Kean 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
MF England Paul Showler 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
DF England Trevor Peake 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (1) 0
own goal 1 0 0 0 1

References

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  1. ^ "Luton Town match report 27 September 1997 – HattersHeritage" (PDF). Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Luton Town match report 25 April 1998 – HattersHeritage" (PDF). Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Luton Town match report 02 May 1998 – HattersHeritage" (PDF). Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  4. ^ "England 1997–98". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
  5. ^ "Luton Town matches for the season 1997/98 – HattersHeritage". Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  6. ^ "All Luton Town players: 1998".