July–September

Right away, Pleat was forced to sell, as homesick star forward Lars Elstrup was sold back to Odense for £200,000.^[10] Brian Stein was brought back as his replacement,^[11] while another striker, Phil Gray, was signed from Tottenham Hotspur.^[12] On the pitch, the season started badly – Luton did not score a goal for four matches, and failed to win in five. Trevor Peake arrived on 27 August,^[12] while Kingsley Black, the Northern Ireland international, was sold to Nottingham Forest for £1.5 million on 2 September.^[12]

The first victory of the season came two days after the sale of Black, as Luton defeated Southampton 2–1 at Kenilworth Road.^[13] Wimbledon then inflicted a 3–0 reverse at Selhurst Park, before the news came that former player Mick Harford had returned from Derby County to lead the forward line. Harford scored two in his first match, to secure a 2–1 win over Oldham Athletic. However, Luton then lost 1–0 at home to Queens Park Rangers before Manchester United piled on the misery with a 5–0 demolition at Old Trafford. A 1–1 draw with Notts County rounded up the month.

October–December

Two months then followed without a win, as Dave Beaumont left for Hibernian and new signing Steve Thompson left after only seven matches in a swap deal with Leicester City for Des Linton and Scott Oakes.^[12] Talented full back Matt Jackson also moved on, to sign for Everton.^[12] Form was no better in the cups, as Luton were knocked out of both the League Cup and the Full Members' Cup in October. The acquisition of goalkeeper Steve Sutton in November raised spirits,^[12] though Luton's next victory did not come until 20 December, when a Harford goal sealed a 1–0 win over Coventry.^[14] The next two matches were at home, and Luton won them both – another goal from Harford secured a defeat of Arsenal on Boxing Day,^[15] and Chelsea were beaten 2–0 two days later. Despite three successive wins, Luton still remained in the relegation zone on New Year's Day.

January–March

January was a fruitless month – Nottingham Forest's Des Walker scored an injury-time equaliser to deny Luton their first away win,^[16] and the team crashed out of the FA Cup at Sheffield United three days later. Graham Rodger was sold to Hibernian on 8 January,^[12] and Chris Kamara was acquired as a replacement.^[12] Three consecutive defeats preceded a win against Norwich City on 8 February. Manchester City then beat Luton 4–0 at Maine Road, before Sheffield United visited Kenilworth Road in the League – this time around, Luton won 2–1. The next six matches saw four draws and two losses – tellingly, Luton had not won on the road all season. The board refused to pay the fee to keep Sutton, and so he signed for Derby County instead.^[17] Mervyn Day was brought in as a short-term replacement, while midfielder Darron McDonough moved to Newcastle United.^[17]

April–June

Imre Varadi arrived on loan^[12] and scored on his debut as Luton beat Wimbledon.^[18] A week later, Luton lost 5–1 at Oldham. Victory over Nottingham Forest at Kenilworth Road gave Luton hope – they were now only three points behind Coventry City with four matches left.^[19] Luton drew at home to Manchester United on the 18th to reduced the gap to two points as Coventry lost to Everton. Coventry lost again two days later, but as Luton slumped to defeat at Queens Park Rangers no ground was made up.^[20] The task was made even more difficult as Luton's terrible goal difference meant that they would have to finish ahead of Coventry on points to stay up.^[21] Luton beat Aston Villa on 25 April, but Coventry beat West Ham United, and the gap was still two points.^[22]

For Luton to stay up, they would have to win their first away match of the campaign at already-relegated Notts County and hope for an Aston Villa victory over Coventry.^[23] Julian James gave Luton the lead required, but two goals from County's Rob Matthews put the seal on a dismal season.^[24] Despite losing 2–0 at Villa Park, Coventry stayed up and Luton were relegated after ten years of Division One football.^[23]

Ever-present midfielder Mark Pembridge left for Derby County for a £1.25 million fee in June.^[12]

Legend

Football League First Division

FA Cup

Football League Cup

Full Members Cup

In

Date	Player	From	Fee	Notes
July 1991	Brian Stein	FC Annecy		[11]
13 August 1991	Steve Thompson	Bolton Wanderers	£180,000	[12]
16 August 1991	Phil Gray	Tottenham Hotspur	£275,000	[12]
27 August 1991	Trevor Peake	Coventry City	£100,000	[12]
12 September 1991	Mick Harford	Derby County	£325,000	[12]
13 September 1991	Martin Williams	Leicester City	Free	[12]
22 October 1991	Scott Oakes	Leicester City	Swap	[C][12]
22 October 1991	Des Linton	Leicester City	Swap	[C][12]
11 January 1992	Chris Kamara	Leeds United	£150,000	[12]

Out

Date	Player	To	Fee	Notes
1991	Lars Elstrup	Odense Boldklub	£200,000	[10]
2 September 1991	Kingsley Black	Nottingham Forest	£1,500,000	[12]
10 October 1991	Dave Beaumont	Hibernian	£110,000	[17]
18 October 1991	Matt Jackson	Everton	£600,000	[12]
22 October 1991	Steve Thompson	Leicester City	Swap	[C][12]
29 October 1991	Tim Allpress	Released		[12]
1 November 1991	Paul Holsgrove	Heracles Almelo	Free	[12]
19 December 1991	Sean Farrell	Fulham	£100,000	[12]
8 January 1992	Graham Rodger	Grimsby Town	£135,000	[12]
March 1992	Darron McDonough	Newcastle United	£90,000	[17]
2 June 1992	Mark Pembridge	Derby County	£1,250,000	[12]

Loans in

Date	Player	From	End date	Notes
2 September 1991	Lee Glover	Nottingham Forest	6 September 1991	[12]
28 November 1991	Steve Sutton	Nottingham Forest	1 March 1992	[12]
4 March 1992	Mervyn Day	Leeds United	22 March 1992	[17]
26 March 1992	Imre Varadi	Leeds United	3 May 1992	[12]

Loans out

Date	Player	To	End date	Notes
12 September 1991	Julian James	Preston North End	10 October 1991	[12]
13 September 1991	Sean Farrell	Northampton Town	6 October 1991	[12]
13 November 1991	Juergen Sommer	Brighton & Hove Albion	13 December 1991	[12]