The 1987–88 season was the 103rd season in the history of Luton Town Football Club. It was Luton Town's 68th consecutive season in the Football League, and their 71st overall. It was also their sixth successive season in the First Division, and their 12th overall. The season is one of the club's most successful of all time, as Luton Town achieved a ninth-place finish in the league, won the Football League Cup, and reached the FA Cup semi-final and Full Members' Cup final. As League Cup winners, they would normally have qualified for the UEFA Cup, but were denied a first foray into European competition due to the ban on English clubs as a result of the 1985 Heysel disaster continuing for a fourth season.
Background
1982–83 saw Luton Town back in the First Division under David Pleat, making a final day escape from relegation at Maine Road through Raddy Antić. By 1985–86 Pleat had ensured that Luton had climbed to a ninth-place finish, but at the end of the season Pleat left to take up the reins at Tottenham Hotspur. Youth team manager and former player John Moore was promoted to manager, and former Fulham boss Ray Harford was brought in as his assistant. Due to the club's infamous ban on visiting supporters, 1986–87 saw Luton excluded from the Football League Cup. However, it proved to be Luton Town's best yet, as Moore and Harford took the club to their highest ever league finish; seventh. When Moore resigned after only one season, Harford was promoted to manager for the 1987–88 campaign.
Review
July–September
The promotion of Ray Harford to manager ensured a sense of continuity was maintained at Kenilworth Road, as Harford had been assistant to John Moore the previous season. Danny Wilson arrived from Brighton & Hove Albion during July in a £150,000 deal, as the club looked to build on their seventh-place finish the year before.
Luton made a dismal start to the First Division season, not winning their first game of the campaign until the sixth time of asking with a 5–2 victory over Oxford United at the Manor Ground. A second victory followed the next week, as Luton beat Everton 2–1. Meanwhile, Harford continued to dabble in the transfer market – Scottish winger Mickey Weir arrived from Hibernian for £230,000, while Robert Wilson and Stacey North were sold to Fulham and West Bromwich Albion respectively. Days after the Weir transfer, Mike Newell was sold to Leicester City - perhaps a surprising move as Newell had been Luton's top scorer the previous season and even scored a hat-trick against defending double winners Liverpool. Two league defeats followed, at Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers – but in between there was a winning start in the League Cup as Luton beat Wigan Athletic 1–0 at Springfield Park, courtesy of a goal from new signing Weir.
October–December
A Mick Harford goal was enough to secure a 1–1 draw against Manchester United at Kenilworth Road, and Harford bagged a hat-trick three days later as Luton trounced Wigan 4–2 in the second leg of the League Cup fixture. Harford scored a penalty at Fratton Park on the 10th, but it wasn't enough to prevent a 3–1 victory for Portsmouth. Ian Allinson signed from Stoke City for £10,000, and made his debut a week later as Luton beat Wimbledon 2–0.
The impact of a 1–0 home defeat to Liverpool was softened by subsequent success in the League Cup, as Coventry were routed 3–1 at Leicester City's Filbert Street. Three comfortable league victories followed, Luton keeping a clean sheet in every one, and the League Cup run continued with a 1–0 win at Ipswich. Defeat at Norwich City was followed by the derby match at Watford – Steve Foster's goal gave Luton a 1–0 victory. A draw and a loss followed, before Luton rounded off the calendar year with a 1–0 home win over Charlton.
January–March
New Year's Day saw a 3–0 home win over Chelsea – indeed, Luton went through the month unbeaten. The start of the club's FA Cup run saw victory at Hartlepool, while a draw and a victory in the league kept Luton comfortably in mid-table. The League Cup success continued, as Bradford City were beaten 2–0 at Kenilworth Road.
Oxford United then visited Kenilworth Road for one of the more remarkable fixtures of the year – Luton beat Oxford 7–4, as Mark Stein scored a hat-trick. Luton travelled to Oxford four days later for the League Cup semi-final first leg, and came out of the match with a 1–1 draw. Arsenal beat Luton 2–1 at Highbury, before Mickey Weir, who had just signed from Hibernian months before, returned to Hibernian on the 14th in a £200,000 move.
Luton achieved victory over Everton in the Full Members' Cup, and it then took a replay to knock Queens Park Rangers out of the FA Cup. The second leg in the League Cup against Oxford saw Luton run out 2–0 victors, with a place in the final against Arsenal as their prize.
No English league team had yet won more than one domestic cup competition in the same season, but Luton were now in serious contention to win three domestic cups in the same season.
March saw Luton win two successive matches in the Full Members' Cup, but also lose twice in a row in the league. The end of the month saw the Full Members' Cup final against Second Division Reading – Luton were defeated 4–1 at Wembley Stadium. Consolation was taken from a 4–1 victory over Portsmouth two days later. This left them with two cups to play for.
April–June
Luton lost the FA Cup semi-final 2–1 to Wimbledon, and Luton only won once in the league during April.
The League Cup Final against Arsenal came on the 24th, and Luton took an early lead through Brian Stein. Luton were overhauled by the opposition during the second half, and trailed 1–2 before a penalty was awarded to Arsenal with ten minutes left. Andy Dibble, a young goalkeeper standing in for the more experienced Les Sealey, saved Nigel Winterburn's shot, and the Luton team rallied to equalise soon after through Danny Wilson. Stein scored the winner with the last kick of the game to bring the first ever piece of major silverware to Luton.
Following the League Cup victory, Luton drew at Norwich before beating Watford 2–1 at home to complete a double over their rivals. Tottenham Hotspur beat Luton 2–1 at White Hart Lane, before Luton finished the season with four consecutive 1–1 draws with Southampton, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest (twice). Luton achieved a ninth-place finish, to go with their cup achievements – an FA Cup semi-final place, a League Cup victory, and a Full Members' Cup final.
At the end of the season, long-serving striker Brian Stein left for French club SM Caen on a free transfer, while Emeka Nwajiobi retired due to injury. Defender John Dreyer signed from Oxford United on 27 June for £140,000.
League table
Match results
Luton Town results given first.
Legend WinDrawLoss
Football League First Division
+DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersNotes15 August 1987Derby CountyAway0–117,204—18 August 1987Coventry CityHome0–19,380—22 August 1987West Ham UnitedHome2–28,073Harford (2)29 August 1987ChelseaAway0–316,075—31 August 1987ArsenalHome1–18,745Wilson (pen)5 September 1987Oxford UnitedAway5–26,804Breacker, Harford, Hill, Nwajiobi, B. Stein12 September 1987EvertonHome2–18,124B. Stein 18', Hill 50'19 September 1987Charlton AthleticAway0–15,002—26 September 1987Queens Park RangersAway0–211,175—3 October 1987Manchester UnitedHome1–19,137Harford 19'10 October 1987PortsmouthAway1–312,391Harford (pen)17 October 1987WimbledonHome2–07,018B. Stein, Wilson24 October 1987LiverpoolHome0–111,997—7 November 1987Newcastle UnitedHome4–07,638M. Stein 2', 62', Nwajiobi 75', B. Stein 87'14 November 1987Sheffield WednesdayAway2–016,960Allinson, M. Stein21 November 1987Tottenham HotspurHome2–010,091Allinson (2)5 December 1987Norwich CityHome1–27,002B. Stein12 December 1987WatfordAway1–012,152Foster18 December 1987SouthamptonHome2–26,618Harford, McDonough26 December 1987EvertonAway0–232,128—28 December 1987Charlton AthleticHome1–07,243Wilson1 January 1988ChelseaHome3–08,018M. Stein 12, B. Stein 50', Harford 64'2 January 1988West Ham UnitedAway1–116,716M. Stein16 January 1988Derby CountyHome1–07,175McDonough6 February 1988Oxford UnitedHome7–48,063Harford (2), McDonough, B.Stein, M.Stein (3)13 February 1988ArsenalAway1–222,612M.Stein5 March 1988WimbledonAway0–24,854—15 March 1988Coventry CityAway0–413,711—29 March 1988PortsmouthHome4–16,740B.Stein, M.Stein, Wilson, own goal2 April 1988Newcastle UnitedAway0–420,752—5 April 1988Sheffield WednesdayHome2–27,337McDonough, B. Stein12 April 1988Manchester UnitedAway0–328,830—19 April 1988Queens Park RangersHome2–16,735Foster, Wilson (pen)30 April 1988Norwich CityAway2–213,171M. Stein, Wilson (pen)2 May 1988WatfordHome2–110,409Oldfield, Wilson (pen)4 May 1988Tottenham HotspurAway1–215,437Grimes7 May 1988SouthamptonAway1–112,722Wilson9 May 1988LiverpoolAway1–130,374Oldfield 30'13 May 1988Nottingham ForestHome1–19,108Donaghy 5'15 May 1988Nottingham ForestAway1–113,106Oldfield 2'
FA Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersNotes3rd Round9 January 1988Hartlepool UnitedAway2–16,187Weir, McDonough4th Round30 January 1988SouthamptonHome2–110,009Allinson, B. Stein5th Round20 February 1988Queens Park RangersAway1–115,856Harford5th Round(replay)24 February 1988Queens Park RangersHome1–010,854own goal6th Round12 March 1988PortsmouthHome3–112,857Wilson, M. Stein, HarfordSemi-final9 April 1988WimbledonNeutral1–225,963Harford
Football League Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersNotes2nd Round1st Leg22 September 1987Wigan AthleticAway1–05,018Weir2nd Round2nd Leg6 October 1987Wigan AthleticHome4–24,240Harford (3), McDonough3rd Round27 October 1987Coventry CityNeutral3–18,113Harford (2), Weir4th Round17 November 1987Ipswich TownAway1–015,643B. Stein5th Round19 January 1988Bradford CityHome2–011,022Foster, HarfordSemi-final1st Leg10 February 1988Oxford UnitedAway1–112,943B. SteinSemi-final2nd Leg28 February 1988Oxford UnitedHome2–013,010B. Stein, GrimesFinal24 April 1988ArsenalNeutral3–295,732B. Stein (2), Wilson
Full Members' Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersNotes3rd Round16 February 1988EvertonAway2–15,204Oldfield (2) 61', 83'Quarter-final1 March 1988Stoke CityHome4–14,580Harford (2), B. Stein (2)Semi-final8 March 1988Swindon TownHome2–110,027B. Stein, M. SteinFinal27 March 1988ReadingNeutral1–461,740Harford 13'
Player details Players arranged in order of starts (in all competitions), with the greater number of substitute appearances taking precedence in case of an equal number of started matches.
Pos.NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupFM CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsDF Tim Breacker40160802 (2)056 (2)1DF Steve Foster392608120553MF Danny Wilson3886181205410DF Mal Donaghy321608030491GK Les Sealey310507030460FW Brian Stein2895185334418DF Ashley Grimes31 (1)14 (1)03 (2)13041 (4)2FW Mick Harford24 (1)953763339 (1)21MF Darron McDonough24 (3)461612038 (3)6DF Rob Johnson21 (4)040702 (1)034 (5)0FW Mark Stein20 (5)11614 (1)03133 (6)13MF Ian Allinson23 (4)351004032 (4)4MF Ricky Hill16 (1)200200020 (1)2MF Kingsley Black10 (3)00 (1)03 (1)04017 (5)0MF David Preece130002000150GK Andy Dibble90101010120FW Emeka Nwajiobi10 (2)2001 (1)00011 (3)2MF Mickey Weir7 (1)011320011 (1)3DF Marvin Johnson7 (2)00000209 (2)0MF David Oldfield6 (2)3001 (1)01 (1)28 (4)5MF Gary Cobb4 (3)00000105 (3)0FW Mike Newell4 (1)00000004 (1)0MF Robert Wilson3000000030DF Richard Harvey0000101 (1)02 (1)0MF Ricky McEvoy0000001010MF Paul Gray0000001010DF Julian James0 (3)00000000 (3)0DF Stacey North0 (1)00000000 (1)0—own goal—1—1—0—0—2
Transfers
In
DatePlayerFromFeeNotes 16 July 1987 Danny Wilson Brighton & Hove Albion £150,000 11 September 1987 Mickey Weir Hibernian £230,000 October 1987 Ian Allinson Stoke City £10,000 27 June 1988 John Dreyer Oxford United £140,000
Out