The Hatters reached the Littlewoods Cup final again the following year but went down 1-3 to Nottingham Forest as the era of success came to a gradual close. A last gasp home win over Norwich in 1989 saved the Town from relegation but was not enough to save Ray Harford, who was dismissed mid-way through the following campaign. Ex-Hatters star Jim Ryan took over to see the Town escape the drop at the last over the next two seasons before he was replaced by the returning David Pleat.

This time the Town had used up their nine lives and sank back down in 1992 after 10 years at the top. They did not find life much easier at the new level and struggled to adapt and almost dropped again in 1993.

Surprisingly, the Hatters fought through to the FA Cup semi-final once more in 1994 after seeing off Premiership high flyers Newcastle and West Ham along the way. Unfortunately, defeat by Chelsea in a lacklustre game at Wembley meant that all the Town had to look forward to was another fight against relegation which was mercifully achieved.

Pleat departed once more at the end of 1994/95 and his replacement, Terry Westley from the coaching staff, was unable to prevent the team dropping like a stone to the foot of the table. After only a few months in the job he was replaced by the experienced Lennie Lawrence who initially got the side to put together an unbeaten run.

The loss of talismanic goalscorer, Dwight Marshall, with a broken ankle, however, knocked the stuffing out of the side with relegation the inevitable consequence.

Back in a division they last left in 1970 the Hatters took a little while to acclimatise but when sharpshooter Tony Thorpe got his eye in, the goals started to flow and by Christmas they had hit top spot. Unfortunately, a late season wobble with too many points dropped at home meant that the Hatters had to settle for third at the death and a place in the play-offs where they were beaten by a superior Crewe.

The Town then failed to hit the heights for several seasons and even suffered two periods in the hands of receivers as well as a season in the football basement. Thankfully, that period came to end in the summer of 2004 and with the new owners in place, Manager Mike Newell, oversaw the Hatters make a fantastic start to the 2004/05 season, winning their first six games and the players never looked back from that position. Records tumbled throughout the year as Luton ran away with the League One title, amassing 98 points and finishing 12 points clear of their nearest rivals Hull City.

The Hatters took the Championship by storm in 2005-06, surprising many pundits and finishing up in a creditable mid-table position. Sadly, finances dictated by a small, antiquated, low-capacity stadium meant that several players were then sold and not adequately replaced, leading to relegation at the end of the 2006-07 campaign.

Mike Newell had been relieved of his duties in March 2007 and replaced by locally born Kevin Blackwell. The former Leeds manager was determined that their stay outside the Championship would be a brief one and bolstered his squad with some experience during the close season. In came Don Hutchinson, Darren Currie, Chris Perry, Paul Peschisolido and Paul Furlong along with four other new faces.

With a new owner, manager and backroom staff now in place, Hatters fans are, as always, looking optimistically to the future. Being a Luton supporter is anything but dull!

LTFC History compiled by Brian Swain, Chris Rivett and Roger Wash