2013–14 season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Owner | Luton Town Football Club 2020 Limited | ||
Chairman | Nick Owen | ||
Manager | John Still | ||
Stadium | Kenilworth Road | ||
Conference Premier | 1st | ||
FA Cup | First Round | ||
FA Trophy | Third Round | ||
Top goalscorer |
League: Andre Gray (30) All: Andre Gray (30) |
||
Highest home attendance | 10,044 vs Forest Green Rovers (Conference Premier, 21 April 2014) | ||
Lowest home attendance | 911 vs Staines Town (FA Trophy First Round replay, 3 December 2013) | ||
Average home league attendance | 7,387 | ||
|
The 2013–14 season is the 128th in the history of Luton Town Football Club and the club’s fifth consecutive season in non-League football following a mid-table finish in the 2012–13 campaign. In manager John Still's first full season in charge, Luton won promotion to the Football League and were crowned Conference Premier champions.
Luton started their 2013–14 campaign slowly, scoring only two goals from open play in their first eight games to leave the club in the lower reaches of mid-table. However, performances and results soon picked up, resulting in a club-record 27-match unbeaten run in which the team scored 78 goals. Luton reached the top of the table just before the turn of the year and remained in that position for the rest of the campaign. Promotion to League Two was confirmed on 15 April 2014 after nearest rivals Cambridge United failed to win; Luton eventually ended the season 19 points ahead of them. Luton accumulated 101 points and kept 23 clean sheets, both club records, while also equalling the club record for the fewest goals conceded over a season (35).
This article covers the period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014.
After two unsuccessful attempts for promotion back to The Football League in the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons, Luton dismissed manager Gary Brabin and appointed Paul Buckle in April 2012 in an attempt to reach the play-offs as the 2011–12 campaign drew to a close. Buckle oversaw five wins in eight games as Luton reached the play-off final, though ultimately lost to York City. Buckle quickly began moulding his own team for the 2012–13 season, releasing 14 players and signing eight new ones, although two signings in the form of Garry Richards and Danny Spiller did not play a single game as they both suffered long-term injuries. The club started the season well, and was one point from the top of the table after the first third of the season. However, the club's league form soon nosedived and they went on to win only three league games over the course of the next four months. Victories over higher-league opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers and Norwich City in the FA Cup gave some respite, but "genuine personal reasons" saw Paul Buckle leave the club in February. Under his replacement, John Still, performances and results gradually picked up to culminate in a late five-game unbeaten run, but the club could not challenge for a play-off finish and ended the season in a club-record low of seventh place.