# 1998–99 Luton Town F.C. season

The 1998–99 season was the 113th season in the history of Luton Town F.C. It was Luton Town's 78th consecutive season in the Football League, and their 81st overall. It was their third consecutive season in the Football League Third Division.

## Season summary

During the 1998–99 English football season, Luton Town F.C. competed in the Football League Second Division. Having finished strongly to narrowly avoid relegation in the previous season Luton Town carried their good form into the start of the 1999 season. Their bright start to the season saw them competing for a playoff spot as well as progressing to the quarter-final of the League Cup. However their defeat to Sunderland in the League Cup coincided with a run of only 1 win in 12 league games which saw Luton Town drop out of playoff contention.
Luton Town's season took a turn for the worse in February. Even though they suffered 7 defeats in 8 league games, the club's situation off the pitch was even more dire. Luton's long-running plan for a multi-purpose 'Kohlerdome' stadium, to be named after chairman David Kohler, was finally rejected by the Department of the Environment. As a result, David Kohler announced on 19 February that he would be resigning as chairman of the club. Kohler spent the next month trying to sell the club. But having failed to agree a price with fellow directors, including Cliff Bassett, for his share of the club, Kohler and the board decided there was no option but to appoint receivers. Buchler Phillips were appointed and Luton Town went into receivership on 20 March.
A strong finish to the season on the back of a loan striker's goals, this time Tony Thorpe, had shades of the 1998 season and Rory Allen's legendary contribution. Thorpe's 4 goals in the final 4 games saw Luton pick up 9 points and ensure their safety for another season.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 10 | Millwall | 46 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 62 |
| 11 | Reading | 46 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 54 | 63 | −9 | 61 |
| 12 | Luton Town | 46 | 16 | 10 | 20 | 51 | 60 | −9 | 58 |
| 13 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 65 | 56 | +9 | 56 |
| 14 | Blackpool | 46 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 56 |

## Results

Luton Town's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Second Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 08 August 1998 | Wycombe Wanderers | Away | 1–0 | 5,252 | Steve Davis |
| 15 August 1998 | Preston North End | Home | 1–1 | 5,392 | Dwight Marshall |
| 22 August 1998 | Reading | Away | 0–3 | 18,108 | |
| 29 August 1998 | Colchester United | Home | 2–0 | 5,005 | Stuart Douglas, Steve Davis |
| 31 August 1998 | Wigan Athletic | Away | 3–1 | 3,778 | Steve Davis, Sean Evers, Phil Gray |
| 05 September 1998 | Burnley | Home | 1–0 | 5,554 | Stuart Douglas |
| 08 September 1998 | Wrexham | Away | 1–1 | 2,951 | Ray McKinnon |
| 12 September 1998 | Bristol Rovers | Home | 2–0 | 5,558 | Steve Davis, Graham Alexander |
| 19 September 1998 | Blackpool | Away | 0–1 | 5,695 | |
| 26 September 1998 | Walsall | Home | 0–1 | 5,530 | |
| 03 October 1998 | Fulham | Away | 3–1 | 11,856 | Phil Gray, Stuart Douglas, Steve Davis |
| 10 October 1998 | York City | Away | 3–3 | 3,780 | Stuart Douglas, Sean Evers, Phil Gray |
| 17 October 1998 | Oldham Athletic | Home | 2–0 | 5,447 | Phil Gray, Andre Scarlett |
| 20 October 1998 | Northampton Town | Home | 1–0 | 6,087 | Graham Alexander |
| 24 October 1998 | Gillingham | Away | 0–1 | 5,602 | |
| 07 November 1998 | Stoke City | Away | 1–3 | 12,964 | Stuart Douglas |
| 21 November 1998 | Lincoln City | Away | 2–2 | 4,893 | Phil Gray, Gary Doherty |
| 28 November 1998 | Manchester City | Home | 1–1 | 9,070 | Gary Doherty |
| 12 December 1998 | Macclesfield Town | Away | 2–2 | 2,905 | Stuart Douglas, Phil Gray |
| 19 December 1998 | Millwall | Home | 1–2 | 5,939 | Steve Davis |
| 28 December 1998 | AFC Bournemouth | Away | 0–1 | 8,863 | |
| 02 January 1999 | Colchester United | Away | 2–2 | 4,694 | Graham Alexander, Alan White |
| 09 January 1999 | Wycombe Wanderers | Home | 3–1 | 5,063 | Matthew Spring, Sean Evers, Stuart Douglas |
| 16 January 1999 | Preston North End | Away | 1–2 | 11,034 | Andrew Fotiadis |
| 23 January 1999 | Wigan Athletic | Home | 0–4 | 4,934 | |
| 30 January 1999 | AFC Bournemouth | Home | 2–2 | 5,426 | Ray McKinnon, Gary Doherty |
| 06 February 1999 | Burnley | Away | 2–1 | 10,285 | Andrew Fotiadis, Gary Doherty |
| 13 February 1999 | Wrexham | Home | 1–2 | 4,759 | Gary Doherty |
| 20 February 1999 | Bristol Rovers | Away | 0–1 | 6,361 | |
| 23 February 1999 | Notts County | Home | 0–1 | 4,021 | |
| 27 February 1999 | Blackpool | Home | 1–0 | 4,646 | Stuart Douglas |
| 06 March 1999 | Walsall | Away | 0–1 | 4,508 | |
| 09 March 1999 | Fulham | Home | 0–4 | 7,424 | |
| 13 March 1999 | Stoke City | Home | 1–2 | 5,221 | Graham Alexander(pen) |
| 20 March 1999 | Chesterfield | Away | 1–3 | 3,921 | Phil Gray |
| 23 March 1999 | Reading | Home | 1–1 | 5,527 | Matthew Spring |
| 27 March 1999 | Gillingham | Home | 1–0 | 6,705 | Sean Dyche |
| 02 April 1998 | Oldham Athletic | Away | 1–1 | 4,948 | Phil Gray |
| 06 April 1999 | York City | Home | 2–1 | 4,667 | Matthew Spring, Stuart Douglas |
| 10 April 1999 | Northampton Town | Away | 0–1 | 6,856 | |
| 14 April 1999 | Manchester City | Away | 0–2 | 26,130 | |
| 17 April 1999 | Lincoln City | Home | 0–1 | 5,122 | |
| 24 April 1999 | Notts County | Away | 2–1 | 5,583 | Tony Thorpe (2) |
| 27 April 1999 | Chesterfield | Home | 1–0 | 4,287 | Tony Thorpe |
| 01 May 1999 | Macclesfield Town | Home | 1–2 | 5,738 | Gary Doherty |
| 09 May 1999 | Millwall | Away | 1–0 | 8,494 | Tony Thorpe |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 15 November 1998 | Boreham Wood | Away | 3–2 | 1,772 | Phil Gray (2), Steve Davis |
| R2 | 05 December 1998 | Hull City | Home | 1–2 | 5,021 | Steve Davis |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st leg | 11 August 1998 | Oxford United | Home | 2–3 | 3,165 | Graham Alexander (penx2) |
| R1 2nd leg | 18 August 1998 | Oxford United | Away | 3–1 | 5,099 | Phil Gray, Sean Evers, Paul McLaren |
| R2 1st leg | 15 September 1998 | Ipswich Town | Away | 1–2 | 9,032 | Stuart Douglas |
| R2 2nd leg | 22 September 1998 | Ipswich Town | Home | 4–2 | 5,655 | Andrew Fotiadis, Stuart Douglas, Steve Davis, Marvin Johnson |
| R3 | 27 October 1998 | Coventry City | Home | 2–0 | 9,051 | Phil Gray, Steve Davis |
| R4 | 10 October 1998 | Barnsley | Home | 1–0 | 8,435 | Phil Gray |
| QF | 01 December 1998 | Sunderland | Away | 0–3 | 35,742 | |

### Football League Trophy

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SR2 | 05 January 1999 | Walsall | Home | 0–3 | 1,870 | |

## Squad

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 | ENG | Nathan Abbey |
| — | GK | ENG | Kelvin Davis |
| — | GK | ENG | Scott Ward |
| — | DF | SCO | Graham Alexander |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Davis |
| — | DF | ENG | Sean Dyche |
| — | DF | BRB | Emmerson Boyce |
| — | DF | ENG | Marvin Johnson |
| — | DF | ENG | Gavin McGowan |
| — | DF | ENG | James Ayres |
| — | DF | ENG | Mitchell Thomas |
| — | DF | ENG | Alan White |
| — | DF | ENG | Matthew Taylor |
| — | DF | IRL | Gary Doherty |
| — | DF | SCO | Stuart Fraser |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Willmott |
| — | MF | ENG | Sean Evers |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul McLaren |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | SCO | Ray McKinnon |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Showler |
| — | MF | ENG | Andre Scarlett |
| — | MF | SCO | Michael McIndoe |
| — | MF | ENG | Matthew Spring |
| — | MF | ENG | Gerry Harrison |
| — | MF | WAL | Simon Davies |
| — | MF | ENG | Jimmy Cox |
| — | MF | ENG | Kofi Nyamah |
| — | FW | ENG | Stuart Douglas |
| — | FW | ENG | Andrew Fotiadis |
| — | FW | IRL | Liam George |
| — | FW | JAM | Dwight Marshall |
| — | FW | ENG | Tony Thorpe |
| — | FW | NIR | Phil Gray |
| — | FW | FRA | Hervé Bacqué |
| — | FW | COD | Trésor Kandol |
| — | FW | CIV | Landry Zahana-Oni |

## Player statistics

| Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | FL Trophy | FL Trophy | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| MF | Matthew Spring | 45 | 3 | 1 (1) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 (1) | 3 |
| GK | Kelvin Davis | 44 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 0 |
| DF | Marvin Johnson | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 1 |
| FW | Stuart Douglas | 42 | 9 | 1 (1) | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 49 (1) | 11 |
| FW | Phil Gray | 32 (3) | 8 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 40 (3) | 13 |
| DF | Gavin McGowan | 27 (4) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 (4) | 0 |
| DF | Alan White | 18 (15) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 (18) | 1 |
| MF | Graham Alexander | 28 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 6 |
| MF | Sean Evers | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 4 |
| MF | Ray McKinnon | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 35 (2) | 2 |
| DF | Mitchell Thomas | 26 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 (6) | 0 |
| MF | Paul McLaren | 14 (9) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 (3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 (12) | 1 |
| DF | Steve Davis | 20 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 10 |
| MF | Michael McIndoe | 17 (5) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 (8) | 0 |
| FW | Andrew Fotiadis | 8 (13) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 (15) | 3 |
| FW | Gary Doherty | 5 (15) | 6 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 6 (18) | 6 |
| MF | Gerry Harrison | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| DF | Sean Dyche | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| DF | Chris Willmott | 13 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 (1) | 0 |
| FW | Liam George | 6 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (8) | 0 |
| FW | Hervé Bacqué | 2 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 (7) | 0 |
| MF | Jimmy Cox | 3 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (6) | 0 |
| DF | Stuart Fraser | 5 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 (3) | 0 |
| FW | Tony Thorpe | 7 (1) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (1) | 4 |
| FW | Landry Zahana-Oni | 4 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (4) | 0 |
| MF | Andre Scarlett | 2 (4) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (6) | 1 |
| FW | Dwight Marshall | 3 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (1) | 1 |
| FW | Trésor Kandol | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (3) | 0 |
| GK | Nathan Abbey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Paul Showler | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 |
| MF | Simon Davies | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DF | Emmerson Boyce | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Kofi Nyamah | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |