2020–21 Luton Town F.C. season
English football club season
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The 2020–21 season was the 135th in the history of Luton Town Football Club, a professional association football club based in Luton, Bedfordshire, England. Their 19th-place finish in 2019–20 meant it was the club's second consecutive season in the Championship and 95th season in the English Football League. Luton were eliminated in the third round of the 2020–21 EFL Cup, after being beaten 3–0 at home to Premier League club Manchester United, and lost 3–1 away to Chelsea, also of the Premier League, in the FA Cup fourth round.
OwnerLuton Town Football Club 2020 Limited
ChairmanDavid Wilkinson
ManagerNathan Jones
StadiumKenilworth Road
| 2020–21 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Luton Town Football Club 2020 Limited | |||
| Chairman | David Wilkinson | |||
| Manager | Nathan Jones | |||
| Stadium | Kenilworth Road | |||
| Championship | 12th | |||
| FA Cup | Fourth round (eliminated by Chelsea) | |||
| EFL Cup | Third round (eliminated by Manchester United) | |||
| Top goalscorer | League: James Collins (10) All: James Collins (13) | |||
|
| ||||
Background and pre-season
The 2019–20 season was Luton Town's first season back in the Championship after a 12-year absence, having won the League One title in 2018–19.[1][2] Manager Graeme Jones had his contract terminated by mutual consent in April 2020 with Luton in 23rd place, as part of a restructure of the club's football department to reduce its cost base,[3] after professional football in England was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] With nine matches remaining in the 2019–20 Championship season and the club six points from safety, Nathan Jones was reappointed manager in May, after leaving Stoke City in November 2019.[5] The season resumed in June,[6] and despite being in the relegation zone with one match remaining, Jones led Luton to safety from relegation with a 19th-place finish, after a 3–2 home win over Blackburn Rovers on the final day of the season.[7]
At the end of the 2019–20 season, Luton released Jacob Butterfield and Callum McManaman,[8] while Luke Berry, Danny Hylton, Elliot Lee, Kazenga LuaLua and Glen Rea were retained with new contracts.[9][10][11][12] Luton made four pre-season signings, including defenders James Bree from Aston Villa, Tom Lockyer from Charlton Athletic,[13] Rhys Norrington-Davies on loan from Sheffield United,[14] and midfielder Jordan Clark from Accrington Stanley.[15]
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A |
Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 August 2020 | Berkhamsted | A | W | 9–0 | Neufville 11', Hylton (3) 16', 39' pen., 40', Bradley 23', Moncur 51', Collins (3) 60', 67', 84' | 0 | [16] |
| 22 August 2020 | Stevenage | A | W | 1–0 | Cornick 79' | 0 | [17] |
| 25 August 2020 | Wealdstone | A | W | 3–0 | LuaLua 9', Clark 34', Shinnie 50' | 0 | [18] |
| 29 August 2020 | Northampton Town | A | W | 3–0 | Collins 62', LuaLua 77', Cranie 81' | 0 | [19] |
Competitions
EFL Championship
| Date | League position |
Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A |
Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 September 2020 | 6th | Barnsley | A | W | 1–0 | Collins 71' | 0 | [20] |
| 19 September 2020 | 2nd | Derby County | H | W | 2–1 | Berry 34', Clark 87' | 0 | [21] |
| 26 September 2020 | 6th | Watford | A | L | 0–1 | 0 | [22] | |
| 3 October 2020 | 5th | Wycombe Wanderers | H | W | 2–0 | Mpanzu 59', Lee 89' | 0 | [23] |
| 17 October 2020 | 6th | Stoke City | H | L | 0–2 | 0 | [24] | |
| 20 October 2020 | 10th | Millwall | A | L | 0–2 | 0 | [25] | |
| 24 October 2020 | 9th | Sheffield Wednesday | A | W | 1–0 | Mpanzu 74' | 0 | [26] |
| 28 October 2020 | 9th | Nottingham Forest | H | D | 1–1 | Rea 22' | 0 | [27] |
| 31 October 2020 | 13th | Brentford | H | L | 0–3 | 0 | [28] | |
| 4 November 2020 | 9th | Rotherham United | A | W | 1–0 | Collins 70' | 0 | [29] |
| 7 November 2020 | 10th | Huddersfield Town | A | D | 1–1 | Moncur 21' | 0 | [30] |
| 21 November 2020 | 10th | Blackburn Rovers | H | D | 1–1 | Berry 69' | 0 | [31] |
| 24 November 2020 | 9th | Birmingham City | H | D | 1–1 | Pearson 37' | 0 | [32] |
| 28 November 2020 | 12th | Cardiff City | A | L | 0–4 | 0 | [33] | |
| 2 December 2020 | 11th | Norwich City | H | W | 3–1 | Moncur 15', Pearson 22', Collins 47' pen. | 1,000 | [34] |
| 5 December 2020 | 12th | Swansea City | A | L | 0–2 | 0 | [35] | |
| 8 December 2020 | 13th | Coventry City | A | D | 0–0 | 0 | [36] | |
| 12 December 2020 | 11th | Preston North End | H | W | 3–0 | Collins (3) 20', 29', 66' | 2,000 | [37] |
| 16 December 2020 | 13th | Middlesbrough | A | L | 0–1 | 0 | [38] | |
| 19 December 2020 | 14th | AFC Bournemouth | H | D | 0–0 | 0 | [39] | |
| 26 December 2020 | 15th | Reading | A | L | 1–2 | LuaLua 90' | 0 | [40] |
| 29 December 2020 | 13th | Bristol City | H | W | 2–1 | Rea 17', Dewsbury-Hall 68' | 0 | [41] |
| 12 January 2021 | 14th | Queens Park Rangers | H | L | 0–2 | 0 | [42] | |
| 16 January 2021 | 12th | AFC Bournemouth | A | W | 1–0 | Dewsbury-Hall 67' | 0 | [43] |
| 20 January 2021 | 13th | Brentford | A | L | 0–1 | 0 | [44] | |
| 30 January 2021 | 13th | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 0–1 | 0 | [45] | |
| 6 February 2021 | 15th | Huddersfield Town | H | D | 1–1 | Collins 11' | 0 | [46] |
| 13 February 2021 | 14th | Birmingham City | A | W | 1–0 | Potts 31' | 0 | [47] |
| 16 February 2021 | 15th | Cardiff City | H | L | 0–2 | 0 | [48] | |
| 20 February 2021 | 16th | Stoke City | A | L | 0–3 | 0 | [49] | |
| 23 February 2021 | 17th | Millwall | H | D | 1–1 | Adebayo 55' | 0 | [50] |
| 27 February 2021 | 14th | Sheffield Wednesday | H | W | 3–2 | Naismith 50', Tunnicliffe 58', Adebayo 86' | 0 | [51] |
| 2 March 2021 | 13th | Nottingham Forest | A | W | 1–0 | Tunnicliffe 64' | 0 | [52] |
| 6 March 2021 | 14th | Norwich City | A | L | 0–3 | 0 | [53] | |
| 13 March 2021 | 16th | Swansea City | H | L | 0–1 | 0 | [54] | |
| 16 March 2021 | 13th | Coventry City | H | W | 2–0 | Bree 23', Adebayo 42' pen. | 0 | [55] |
| 20 March 2021 | 13th | Preston North End | A | W | 1–0 | Iversen 83' o.g. | 0 | [56] |
| 2 April 2021 | 13th | Derby County | A | L | 0–2 | 0 | [57] | |
| 5 April 2021 | 13th | Barnsley | H | L | 1–2 | Collins 83' | 0 | [58] |
| 10 April 2021 | 13th | Wycombe Wanderers | A | W | 3–1 | Moncur 80', LuaLua 85', Adebayo 88' | 0 | [59] |
| 17 April 2021 | 13th | Watford | H | W | 1–0 | Collins 78' pen. | 0 | [60] |
| 21 April 2021 | 12th | Reading | H | D | 0–0 | 0 | [61] | |
| 25 April 2021 | 11th | Bristol City | A | W | 3–2 | Collins 59', Adebayo 68', Cornick 74' | 0 | [62] |
| 1 May 2021 | 12th | Middlesbrough | H | D | 1–1 | Rea 19' | 0 | [63] |
| 4 May 2021 | 12th | Rotherham United | H | D | 0–0 | 0 | [64] | |
| 8 May 2021 | 12th | Queens Park Rangers | A | L | 1–3 | Dewsbury-Hall 43' | 0 | [65] |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 57 | 55 | +2 | 68 |
| 10 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 55 | 53 | +2 | 64 |
| 11 | Millwall | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 62 |
| 12 | Luton Town | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 62 |
| 13 | Preston North End | 46 | 18 | 7 | 21 | 49 | 56 | −7 | 61 |
| 14 | Stoke City | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 60 |
| 15 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 65 | 54 | +11 | 57 |
Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences[66]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences[66]
Results summary
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 62 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 25 | 23 | +2 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 16 | 29 | −13 |
Last updated: end of season.
Source: [67]
FA Cup
EFL Cup
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A |
Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 5 September 2020 | Norwich City | H | W | 3–1 | Collins (3) 79' pen., 83', 90+5' | 0 | [70] |
| Second round | 15 September 2020 | Reading | A | W | 1–0 | Clark 24' | 0 | [71] |
| Third round | 22 September 2020 | Manchester United | H | L | 0–3 | 0 | [72] |
Transfers
In
| Date | Player | Club† | Fee | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 August 2020 | Jordan Clark | (Accrington Stanley) | Free | [15] |
| 1 September 2020 | James Bree | Aston Villa | Undisclosed | [13] |
| 1 September 2020 | Tom Lockyer | (Charlton Athletic) | Free | [73] |
| 15 October 2020 | Joe Morrell | Bristol City | Undisclosed | [74] |
| 18 November 2020 | Gabriel Osho | (Reading) | Free | [75] |
| 15 January 2021 | Kal Naismith | (Wigan Athletic) | Free | [76] |
| 1 February 2021 | Elijah Adebayo | Walsall | Undisclosed | [77] |
- † Brackets around club names indicate the player's contract with that club had expired before he joined Luton.
Out
| Date | Player | Club† | Fee | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 February 2021 | Andrew Shinnie | Charlton Athletic | Free | [78] |
| 19 May 2021 | James Collins | (Cardiff City) | Free | [79] |
| 30 June 2021 | Martin Cranie | Released | [80] | |
| 30 June 2021 | Brendan Galloway | (Plymouth Argyle) | Released | [81][82] |
| 30 June 2021 | Harry Isted | Released | [81] | |
| 30 June 2021 | George Moncur | (Hull City) | Released | [81][83] |
| 30 June 2021 | Kazenga LuaLua | (Gençlerbirliği) | Released | [81][84] |
| 30 June 2021 | Tiernan Parker | Released | [81] | |
| 30 June 2021 | Matty Pearson | (Huddersfield Town) | Free | [85] |
| 30 June 2021 | Ryan Tunnicliffe | (Portsmouth) | Free | [86] |
- † Brackets around club names indicate the player joined that club after his Luton contract expired.
Loan in
| Date | Player | Club | Return | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2020 | Rhys Norrington-Davies | Sheffield United | Recalled 12 January 2021 | [14][87] |
| 16 October 2020 | Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall | Leicester City | End of season | [88] |
| 16 October 2020 | Sam Nombe | Milton Keynes Dons | End of season | [89] |
| 1 February 2021 | Tom Ince | Stoke City | End of season | [90] |
Loan out
| Date | Player | Club | Return | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 September 2020 | Harry Isted | Wealdstone | Recalled 30 November 2020 | [91][92] |
| 29 September 2020 | Tiernan Parker | Hitchin Town | One month | [93] |
| 15 October 2020 | Peter Kioso | Bolton Wanderers | Recalled 11 January 2021 | [94][95] |
| 16 October 2020 | Andrew Shinnie | Charlton Athletic | 19 February 2021 | [96][78] |
| 1 December 2020 | Josh Neufville | Yeovil Town | End of season | [97][98] |
| 1 December 2020 | Gabriel Osho | Yeovil Town | Recalled 2 January 2021 | [97][99] |
| 21 January 2021 | Gabriel Osho | Rochdale | End of season | [100] |
| 25 January 2021 | Peter Kioso | Northampton Town | End of season | [101] |
| 30 January 2021 | Harry Isted | Wealdstone | Recalled 5 April 2021 | [102][103] |
| 1 February 2021 | Elliot Lee | Oxford United | End of season | [104] |
Appearances and goals
- Source:[105][106]
- Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
- Players with names struck through and marked † left the club during the playing season.
- Players with names in italics and marked * were on loan from another club for the whole of their season with Luton.
- Players listed with no appearances have been in the matchday squad but only as unused substitutes.
- Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Total | Discipline | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |  |
 | ||||
| 1 | GK |  ENG |
James Shea | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | ENG |
Martin Cranie | 20 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 21 (4) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG |
Dan Potts | 20 (4) | 1 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 (5) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | ENG |
Ryan Tunnicliffe | 17 (7) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 (7) | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG |
Sonny Bradley | 36 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 40 (1) | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG |
Matty Pearson | 38 (2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 (2) | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 7 | FW | ENG |
Harry Cornick | 28 (12) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 30 (13) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG |
Luke Berry | 22 (9) | 2 | 0 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 (11) | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG |
Danny Hylton | 6 (10) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 (10) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG |
Elliot Lee | 8 (4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 10 (6) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| MF |  SCO |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 12 | GK |  CRO |
Simon Sluga | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG |
George Moncur | 10 (11) | 3 | 1 (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 13 (12) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF |  WAL |
Tom Lockyer | 18 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 (2) | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | MF |  IRL |
Glen Rea | 33 (7) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 (7) | 3 | 11 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG |
Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu | 38 (6) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 (6) | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ENG |
Jordan Clark | 23 (11) | 1 | 1 (1) | 1 | 2 (1) | 1 | 26 (13) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | IRL |
James Collins | 29 (13) | 10 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 30 (14) | 13 | 4 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | IRL |
Peter Kioso | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | ENG |
Harry Isted | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | ENG |
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall * | 36 (3) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 (3) | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG |
Brendan Galloway | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DF | WAL |
16 (2) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 19 (3) | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 24 | MF | SCO |
Kal Naismith | 17 (5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 (5) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | MF |  DRC |
Kazenga LuaLua | 5 (18) | 2 | 0 (2) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 7 (21) | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG |
James Bree | 16 (8) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 (8) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | ENG |
Sam Nombe * | 1 (10) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (10) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | WAL |
Joe Morrell | 5 (5) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | ENG |
Elijah Adebayo | 15 (3) | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 (3) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | ENG |
Dion Pereira | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | ENG |
Sam Beckwith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | ENG |
Gabriel Osho | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | ENG |
Tom Ince * | 3 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | GK |  NIR |
Tiernan Parker |
| 32 | DF | ENG |
Avan Jones |
| 34 | MF | ENG |
Jake Peck |
| 35 | DF | ENG |
Corey Panter |
| 37 | FW | ENG |
Josh Neufville |