How Luton’s fairytale rise from non-League to the Premier League now has them fighting back-to-back relegations | Football News

This time last season, Luton sat above Nottingham Forest and outside of the Premier League’s bottom three. The club that climbed from non-League to the top flight in 10 years is now fighting against back-to-back relegations.

Their fairytale rise that culminated in the club’s greatest day with a Championship play-off final victory on penalties at Wembley is heading in the opposite direction.

Only Swindon, Wolves and Sunderland have tumbled down to League One immediately after being dumped out of the Premier League.

Luton sit four points adrift of safety and visit relegation rivals Hull on Saturday March 29, live on Sky Sports+, with eight games to save their season. What’s gone wrong?

Edwards unable to reverse losing mentality

Luton still had a chance of staying in the Premier League on the final day of last season despite failing to win any of their last 15 matches.

They had picked up 11 points over a six-game run in January and February which moved them out of the bottom three yet 10 defeats in 13 matches confirmed their fate.

Expectations, though, were understandably high at the start of this season with the club’s bank balance boosted by the Premier League’s riches and manager Rob Edwards signing a new four-year contract.

The aim was to push for an immediate return to the top flight and Luton were tipped as the third-favourites for promotion while Opta’s supercomputer predicted a fifth-placed finish.

A 4-1 defeat at home to Burnley on the opening day was a shock but the goalless draw at Portsmouth and the defeats to Preston and QPR which followed raised concerns their return might not be so easy.

Then came the heavy away losses, losing by three goals or more at Plymouth, Coventry, Middlesbrough, Leeds and Norwich. The credit Edwards had earned with supporters for leading them to the Premier League was starting to wear thin.

Five defeats in six games resulted in Edwards’ departure by mutual consent in January. “It just seems the footballing gods are against us,” he said after his final game in charge.

Poor summer recruitment

Luton’s new stadium at Power Court will be “bigger, better, bolder” according to CEO Gary Sweet thanks to the extra income from the club’s season in the Premier League – but the same couldn’t be said for their transfer business.

In January 2024, with a good chance of surviving in the Premier League, Luton only signed defender Tom Holmes from Reading, who was loaned straight back to the club, and right-back Daiki Hashioka from Belgian side Sint-Truiden.

Holmes is now on loan at another Belgian club Dender while Hashoika is recovering from his second injury of the season, but Luton’s problems in the Championship have stemmed from last summer.

The quality of midfield duo Ross Barkley and Albert Sambi Lokonga, plus Chiedozie Ogbene who left in an £8m move to Ipswich, has proved difficult to replace.

Luton spent “significant” money on Mark McGuinness from Coventry, signed Swansea’s Liam Walsh on a free, Shandon Baptiste on loan from Brentford and Tom Krauss from Mainz but they have not solved the midfield problem.

There is also a feeling that the squad has lost its connection with supporters and that the dressing room has lost some of its soul. Popular players Luke Berry, Dan Potts and Pelly Ruddock, who rose through the league with the club, have either departed or left on loan and the leadership of Tom Lockyer is missed.

“They have got the quality when you look at them versus some of the other teams down there,” said Jobi McAnuff told the Sky Sports Essential EFL podcast. “But have they got that will to dig in, battle and stick together? I’ve got to be honest, I’m still not sure.”

Lack of goals

Luton were prepared to pay up to £7m for Wycombe striker and League One top scorer Richard Kone in January to fix their problems in attack but were unable to get the deal done.

Carlton Morris scored 11 times in the Premier League and Elijah Adebayo netted 10 but both are yet to hit double figures this season in the Championship.

Luton are bottom of the division for goals scored and are underachieving their non-penalty Expected Goals total which places them in mid-table, with their shots on target percentage the third-worst in the league.

They’ve been unable to convert regularly despite having little issue in getting to the final third, placing seventh in the league for touches in the opposition box.

No new manager bounce

Matt Bloomfield swapped a League One title push with Wycombe for a Championship relegation battle when he replaced Edwards in January although was unable to inspire an instant turnaround in form.

“It’s taken a little bit of time for Matt Bloomfield to get a grip of things and impose his way of doing things on the group,” said Sky Sports’ McAnuff. “There have been some improvements and we’re seeing a little bit more fight.

“But when you’re at that end of the table when you’re a group of players who didn’t expect to be there, that can be a real challenge from a mentality perspective.”

A 1-0 victory over Portsmouth was Bloomfield’s first win at the ninth attempt to lift them off the bottom. Bloomfield, 41, has been a slow starter in his previous two jobs, winning nine games in 27 at Colchester, leaving them 19th in League Two when he joined Wycombe.

He won just four of his first 15 games at Wycombe at the end of the 2022/23 season before a remarkable 2024 that saw them take 87 points, scoring 107 goals in all competitions and reaching the EFL Trophy final.

Luton have now won two of their last four, and the performance in the 0-0 draw against Middlesbrough last time out has been described as one of their best yet.

“They’ve got Hull City away, next. then Leeds, Stoke, Blackburn – who are out of sorts – then Derby away,” Don Goodman told the Sky Sports Essential EFL podcast.

“These five games will define Luton. They need to pick up some points here because they’ve already got that little gap between them and fourth bottom.

“They then go into their final three games against Bristol City, Coventry and West Brom, who may all still have play-off places to play for.

“The next five games are pivotal. But, if I’m honest with you, based on what I’ve seen so far, I think it’s hard to sell the situation where Luton survive.”

Watch Hull City vs Luton Town on Saturday March 29, live on Sky Sports+. Kick-off 12.30pm.