2000–01 Luton Town F.C. season

Luton Town
2000–01 season
Chairman Mike Watson-Challis
Manager Lennie Lawrence (until 4 July)
Ricky Hill (from 10 July to 15 November)
Lil Fuccillo (from 16 November to 8 February)
Joe Kinnear (from 8 February)
Second Division 22nd (relegated)
FA Cup Third round
League Cup Second round
Football League Trophy First round
Top goalscorer League: Liam George (7)
All: Liam George (9)
Highest home attendance 8,677 (vs. Queens Park Rangers, FA Cup third round, 6 January)
Lowest home attendance 3,175 (vs. Peterborough United, League Cup first round, 22 August)
Average home league attendance 5,672
Home colours
Away colours
← 1999–2000 2001–02 →

The 2000–01 season was the 115th season in the history of Luton Town Football Club, the club's 80th consecutive year in The Football League and its 83rd overall. Luton ended the season relegated from the Second Division, dropping into the basement level of League football for the first time since the 1967–68 season. The club went through a total of three managers following the departure of Lennie Lawrence; firstly Ricky Hill, then Lil Fuccillo, and eventually settling on Irishman Joe Kinnear. Under Kinnear's management, Luton underwent an initial resurgence, winning five of out of his first seven games. However, they failed to win any of their games in the final quarter of the season and ultimately slipped into the Third Division. Luton won only nine league games all season, setting a club record for the fewest wins over a 46-game season.

This article covers the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001.

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.[1] 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[2] 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.[2] 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.[1]

Season summary

One of new chairman Mike Watson-Challis' first acts was, on 4 July, to sack manager Lennie Lawrence and look to appoint his own man.[3] Ex-player and fan favourite Ricky Hill was appointed a week later, and was provided with the resources to build his own squad.[4] One signing was that of goalkeeper Mark Ovendale from Bournemouth, who cost £425,000; the most the club had spent on a player since the 1995–96 season when they were competing in the First Division.[5] Ovendale struggled to make an impact,[6] which was the story of most of Hill's acquisitions, who included among their number untested foreign players Friedrich Breitenfelder, Petri Helin and Kent Karlsen.

Hill's reign began with a defeat to Notts County and did not improve from there; one win in their first ten league games left Luton in the relegation zone and the fans voicing their displeasure.[7] A penalty shootout victory over Peterborough United in the League Cup set up a tie with Premier League side Sunderland, but Luton collapsed to a 5–1 aggregate defeat. One further league win followed, but even more defeats left Luton in 23rd place by early November. Hill resigned on 15 November to be replaced by his assistant, another former Luton player, Lil Fuccillo.[8] John Moore, who had led the club to their highest-ever league finish in the 1986–87 season and was in charge of the youth team, was installed as Fuccillo's assistant.[8] Luton's fortunes failed to improve under this tenure, suffering seven further league defeats, though a run to the Third Round of the FA Cup did offer some respite.

With the club failing to impress on the pitch and facing the prospect of relegation, Watson-Challis acted to recruit a Director of Football to oversee "all football matters".[9] Former Wimbledon manager Joe Kinnear was appointed to this role on 8 February, but his first act was to immediately demote Fuccillo to assistant and place himself in charge.[10] Kinnear's arrival prompted an initial resurgence in form – Luton won five of their next seven games and were one point away from 20th position, and safety, by 6 March. However, they failed to win again during the campaign and, on 24 April, were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in 33 years following a 1–0 loss to Rotherham United.[11]

With the season drawing to a close, Kinnear signed striker Steve Howard from nearby Northampton Town for a fee of £50,000, released five players, and transfer listed four others.[12]

Match results

Luton Town results given first.

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Friendlies

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersNotes
22 July 2000 Bromley Away 5–2 Unknown Fotiadis, George (2), Mark Stein, Brennan [13]
26 July 2000 St Albans City Away 2–1 900 Carter, A. Douglas Luton XI[13]
27 July 2000 Welling United Away 1–0 Unknown Mark Stein [13]
31 July 2000 Grimsby Town Away 1–1 3,475 Fotiadis [13]
2 August 2000 Hull City Away 1–0 1,415 Mark Stein [13]
4 August 2000 Rushden & Diamonds Away 5–1 3,065 Mark Stein (2), Spring (pen), Taylor, Boyce [13]

Football League Second Division

All results, goals, attendances etc. taken from Soccerbase[14]
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersNotes
12 August 2000 Notts County Home 0–1 7,059 –
19 August 2000 Wigan Athletic Away 1–2 6,518 Watts
26 August 2000 Bournemouth Home 1–0 5,221 Spring (pen)
28 August 2000 Wycombe Wanderers Away 1–1 6,001 Kandol
2 September 2000 Rotherham United Away 1–1 4,061 Fotiadis
9 September 2000 Northampton Town Home 0–2 6,712 –
12 September 2000 Walsall Home 0–0 4,362 –
16 September 2000 Swansea City Away 0–4 6,011 –
23 September 2000 Swindon Town Home 2–3 4,933 Stein, George
30 September 2000 Bristol Rovers Away 3–3 7,901 Kandol (2), George
8 October 2000 Millwall Home 0–1 5,345 –
13 October 2000 Cambridge United Away 1–2 6,191 Stein
17 October 2000 Oxford United Away 0–0 4,537 –
21 October 2000 Brentford Home 3–1 5,382 Stuart Douglas (2), Spring (pen)
28 October 2000 Wrexham Home 3–4 5,341 Stein, Watts, George
4 November 2000 Bury Away 1–1 2,861 Helin
11 November 2000 Bristol City Home 0–3 6,595 –
25 November 2000 Port Vale Home 0–3 4,194 –
2 December 2000 Stoke City Away 3–1 12,389 McLaren, Thomson (2)
16 December 2000 Colchester United Home 0–3 4,791 –
23 December 2000 Reading Away 1–4 10,771 Nogan
26 December 2000 Peterborough United Home 3–2 7,374 Spring, Holmes, Boyce
30 December 2000 Wigan Athletic Home 0–2 5,332 –
1 January 2001 Bournemouth Away 2–3 5,411 Fotiadis, Locke
12 January 2001 Wycombe Wanderers Home 1–2 4,551 Locke
23 January 2001 Oldham Athletic Home 0–2 3,011 –
10 February 2001 Northampton Town Away 1–0 6,633 Douglas
13 February 2001 Notts County Away 3–1 4,333 Boyce, George, Fotiadis
17 February 2001 Swansea City Home 5–3 7,085 Mansell (2), Douglas, Rowland, George
20 February 2001 Walsall Away 1–3 4,816 Spring
24 February 2001 Swindon Town Away 3–1 7,160 Rowland, Boyce, Mansell
28 February 2001 Bristol Rovers Home 0–0 7,405 –
6 March 2001 Cambridge United Home 1–0 6,370 Taylor
10 March 2001 Millwall Away 0–1 11,691 –
27 March 2001 Peterborough United Away 1–1 5,425 Mansell
31 March 2001 Colchester United Away 1–3 4,271 Howard (pen)
3 April 2001 Reading Home 1–1 6,132 own goal
7 April 2001 Stoke City Home 1–2 6,456 Mansell
10 April 2001 Oxford United Home 1–1 6,010 Watts
14 April 2001 Oldham Athletic Home 0–0 4,886 –
16 April 2001 Wrexham Away 1–3 3,339 Watts
21 April 2001 Bury Home 1–2 4,902 George
24 April 2001 Rotherham United Home 0–1 4,854 –
28 April 2001 Bristol City Away 1–3 9,161 George
3 May 2001 Brentford Away 2–2 3,287 Howard, McLaren
5 May 2001 Port Vale Home 1–1 5,260 Howard

FA Cup

For information on this season's FA Cup, see FA Cup 2003–04.
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersNotes
First Round 17 November 2000 Rushden & Diamonds Home 1–0 5,771 George
Second Round 9 December 2000 Darlington Away 0–0 3,667 –
Second Round replay 19 December 2000 Darlington Home 2–0 3,563 Nogan, McLaren
Third Round 6 January 2001 Queens Park Rangers Home 3–3 8,677 Fotiadis, George, Douglas
Third Round replay 17 January 2001 Queens Park Rangers Away 1–2 14,395 Mansell

Football League Cup

For information on this season's Football League Cup, see Football League Cup 2003–04.
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersNotes
First Round first leg 22 August 2000 Peterborough United Home 0–0 3,175 –
First Round second leg 5 September 2000 Peterborough United Away 2–2 (aet) 4,286 Stein, Scarlett [A]
Second Round first leg 19 September 2000 Sunderland Away 0–3 24,668 –
Second Round second leg 26 September 2000 Sunderland Home 1–2 5,262 Kandol

Football League Trophy

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersNotes
Southern Section First Round 5 December 2000 Peterborough United Away 0–1 2,075 –

League table

Pos Team Pl W D L F A GD Pts
1. Millwall 46 28 9 9 89 38  +51 93
2. Rotherham United 46 27 10 9 79 55  +24 91
3. Reading 46 25 11 10 86 52  +34 86
4. Walsall 46 23 12 11 79 50  +29 81
5. Stoke City 46 21 14 11 74 49  +25 77
6. Wigan Athletic 46 19 18 9 53 42  +11 75
7. Bournemouth 46 20 13 13 79 55  +24 73
8. Notts County 46 19 12 15 62 66  -4 69
9. Bristol City 46 18 14 14 70 56  +14 68
10. Wrexham 46 17 12 17 65 71  -6 63
11. Port Vale 46 16 14 16 55 49  +6 62
12. Peterborough United 46 15 14 17 61 66  -5 59
13. Wycombe Wanderers 46 15 14 17 46 53  -7 59
14. Brentford 46 14 17 15 56 70  -14 59
15. Oldham Athletic 46 15 13 18 53 65  -12 58
16. Bury 46 16 10 20 45 59  -14 58
17. Colchester United 46 15 12 19 55 59  -4 57
18. Northampton Town 46 15 12 19 46 59  -13 57
19. Cambridge United 46 14 11 21 61 77  -16 53
20. Swindon Town 46 13 13 20 47 65  -18 52
21. Bristol Rovers 46 12 15 19 53 57  -4 51
22. Luton Town 46 9 13 24 52 80  -28 40
23. Swansea City 46 8 13 25 47 73  -26 37
24. Oxford United 46 7 6 33 53 100  -47 27
Key
Promoted to Division 1
Qualified for the promotion playoff
Relegated to Division 3

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points|}

Player statistics

Last match played on 5 May 2001. Players with a zero in every column only appeared as unused substitutes.[15]
Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup FL Trophy Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
MFEngland Matthew Taylor 45140401054100
MFEngland Matthew Spring 41450401051400
FWRepublic of Ireland[16] Liam George 37 (6)7423 (1)00044 (7)900
DFEngland[17] Emmerson Boyce 4232 (1)0400048 (1)300
GKEngland Paul McLaren 35231401043300
FWEngland[18] Mark Stein 19 (11)31 (1)0310 (1)023 (13)400
DFEngland Julian Watts 26 (2)430400033 (2)400
GKEngland Mark Ovendale 26020401033000
DFEngland Adam Locke 17 (8)22 (1)01 (1)01021 (10)200
DFFinland Petri Helin 23130001027100
FWEngland Andrew Fotiadis 12 (10)331101017 (10)400
DFScotland Stuart Fraser 10 (5)040401019 (5)000
GKEngland Nathan Abbey 20030000023000
FWEngland Stuart Douglas 15 (6)41 (1)1000016 (7)500
MFEngland Peter Holmes 12 (6)1102 (1)00015 (7)100
DFEngland Richard Dryden 20000000020000
MFEngland Lee Mansell 17 (1)511000018 (1)600
FWDemocratic Republic of the Congo Trésor Kandol 6 (7)3002 (1)1008 (8)400
FWEngland Peter Thomson 4 (7)21 (1)01 (1)0107 (9)200
DFEngland Adrian Whitbread 9040000013000
FWEngland[19] Steve Howard 12300000012300
DFNorthern Ireland Keith Rowland 12200000012200
MFEngland Andre Scarlett 5 (4)00 (1)021007 (5)100
MFRepublic of Ireland Dean Brennan 2 (7)0001 (2)0003 (9)000
DFEngland Marvin Johnson 9020000011000
FWWales Lee Nogan 7131000 (1)010 (1)200
DFEngland Jude Stirling 5 (4)00 (2)000005 (6)000
DFNorway Kent Karlsen 4 (2)02000107 (2)000
FWEngland Paul Shepherd 700000007000
GKEngland Gavin McGowan 5 (1)01000006 (1)000
DFAustria Friedrich Breitenfelder 2 (3)00000002 (3)000
FWEngland Rocky Baptiste 0 (3)00000000 (3)000
DFEngland James Ayres 000000101000
GKEngland Scott Ward 0 (1)00000000 (1)000

Managerial statistics

Only competitive games from the 2000–01 season are included.
Name Nat. From To Record Honours
PLDWDLGFGAGDW%
Ricky Hill England 10 July 2000 11 November 2000 21 2 8 11 20 36 −16 09.5 –
Lil Fuccillo England 16 November 2000 8 February 2001 15 4 2 9 17 28 −11 26.7 –
Joe Kinnear Republic of Ireland 8 February 2001 – 20 5 7 8 25 29 −4 25.0
Total 56 11 17 28 62 93 −31 19.6

Transfers

In

Date Player From Fee Notes
14 July 2000 England Mark Stein Bournemouth Free [20]
1 August 2000 Austria Friedrich Breitenfelder Austria St. Pölten Free [20]
2 August 2000 England Peter Holmes Sheffield Wednesday Free [20]
7 August 2000 England Mark Ovendale Bournemouth £425,000 [20]
10 August 2000 Republic of Ireland Dean Brennan Sheffield Wednesday Free [20]
11 September 2000 England Peter Thomson Netherlands NAC Breda £100,000 [20]
24 October 2000 England Rocky Baptiste Hayes Free [20]
2 November 2000 Finland Petri Helin Finland FC Jokerit Free [20]
3 November 2000 Norway Kent Karlsen Norway Vålerenga Free [20]
23 November 2000 Wales Lee Nogan Darlington Free [20]
2 February 2001 England Richard Dryden Southampton Free [20]
22 March 2001 England Paul Shepherd Scunthorpe United Free [20]
22 March 2001 Scotland Steve Howard Northampton Town £50,000 [20]

Out

Date Player To Fee Notes
1 July 2000 Scotland Michael McIndoe Hereford United Free [20]
16 July 2000 England Alan White Colchester United Free [20]
17 July 2000 Northern Ireland Phil Gray Burnley Free [20]
24 July 2000 Nigeria Efe Sodje Crewe Alexandra Free [20]
24 November 2000 England Paul Read Exeter City Free [20]
11 January 2001 England James Ayres Released [20]
12 February 2001 Wales Lee Nogan York City Free [20]
20 April 2001 England Nathan Abbey Released [12]
20 April 2001 England Rocky Baptiste Released [12]
20 April 2001 Austria Friedrich Breitenfelder Released [12]
20 April 2001 England Gavin McGowan Released [12]
20 April 2001 England Andre Scarlett Released [12]
31 May 2001 England Mark Stein Released [20]
31 May 2001 England Julian Watts Australia Northern Spirit Free [20]
8 June 2001 England Paul McLaren Sheffield Wednesday Free [20]

Loans in

Date Player From End date Notes
25 January 2001 Northern Ireland Keith Rowland Queens Park Rangers 8 May 2001
23 November 2000 England Adrian Whitbread Portsmouth 24 January 2001

See also

Footnotes

A. ^ Luton progressed into the Second Round on the away goals rule.

References

  1. 1 2 "Cliff Bassett". Luton FC [cached]. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Kohler goes after bomb in letterbox". The Guardian. 20 February 1999. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "Lennie leaves Luton". BBC Sport. 4 July 2000. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  4. ↑ "Hill is new boss". BBC Sport. 10 July 2000. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  5. ↑ "Luton complete Ovendale move". BBC Sport. 7 August 2000. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  6. ↑ "Hill explains why he axed Ovendale". BBC Sport. 19 October 2000. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  7. ↑ "Hill looks for lift". BBC Sport. 25 September 2000. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Fuccillo is new Luton boss". BBC Sport. 16 November 2000. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  9. ↑ "Kinnear joins struggling Luton". BBC Sport. 8 February 2001. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  10. ↑ "Kinnear: I'm the boss". BBC Sport. 8 February 2001. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  11. ↑ "Luton 0-1 Rotherham". BBC Sport. 24 April 2001. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Clear-out begins at Luton". BBC Sport. 20 April 2001. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Fixtures - 2000-01". LutonFC.com. Archived from the original on 2012-04-27. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  14. ↑ "Luton 2000-2001 results". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  15. ↑ "Luton 2000-2001 player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  16. ↑ George was born in Luton, England, but also qualified to represent the Ireland internationally through his mother and represented Ireland at U-21 level.
  17. ↑ Boyce was born in Aylesbury, England, but also qualified to represent Barbados internationally through his parents and would make his international debut for Barbados in March 2008.
  18. ↑ Stein was born in Cape Town, South Africa.
  19. ↑ Howard was born in Durham, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and would make his international debut for Scotland B in November 2007.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 "Luton Town transfers 2010-11". Soccerbase. CenturyComm Ltd. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
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