Luton Town had never won a major football trophy until Ray Harford turned up in 1987. The new manager soon put that right. He instilled belief in a team blessed with skill and camaraderie, and the Hatters beat Arsenal 3-2 in a stirring League Cup final at Wembley.
“It was a golden period in Luton’s history,” recalls Mick Harford, “and it culminated in us winning the League Cup. We had lost to Wimbledon in the FA Cup semi-final and we also lost in the final of the Simod Cup at Wembley, so we were in a sticky position.
“The side had a good spine with myself, Steve Foster in defence and Les Sealey in goal, although he was injured and couldn’t play in the final. But there was great team spirit and we had a fine leader in Steve Foster. Although we approached the final as underdogs, we were positive about the game and had always done well against Arsenal.”
Brian Stein gave Luton the lead, but when Arsenal’s Martin Hayes and Alan Smith scored, it appeared that there would be no upset. Then Luton’s stand-in goalkeeper, Andy Dibble, saved a penalty from Nigel Winterburn. “That was the turning point,” says Harford, “because we would have been 3-1 down.”
Danny Wilson scrambled an equaliser for Luton in the last 10 minutes, and almost out of the blue Stein was again on target with a volley late in the game to seal the victory. “We had a great celebration at the Savoy Hotel after the game,” says Harford. “When Stevie Foster is involved there is always a good celebration.” [The numbers refer to a photograph, which is not carried on the website.]
1 Ashley Grimes The Dublin-born defender-cum-midfielder played for Bohemians before joining Manchester United for £20,000 in March 1977. He spent six seasons at Old Trafford and then joined Coventry. But it was not a great move, and in the summer of 1984 Grimes joined Luton. During five seasons he played 117 games and scored four goals, including one against Oxford in the League Cup semi-final. He won 18 caps for the Republic of Ireland and played for Pamplona. He is Huddersfield reserve team coach
2 Mick Harford Starting out as a midfielder for the Lambton Boys Club, he joined Lincoln City at the age of 18 and developed into a strong, robust striker. His goal-scoring prowess persuaded Newcastle United to pay £180,000 in December 1980. But he failed to settle in the northeast and was soon on his way to Bristol City and Birmingham. It took a move to Luton in December 1984 for Harford to fulfil his potential, and he won two caps for England. He also played for Derby, Chelsea, Sunderland and Coventry before finishing his career at Wimbledon, where he became coach. He was assistant manager and director of football at Luton. Then last November he joined Joe Kinnear at Nottingham Forest and became caretaker boss when Kinnear resigned. He was assistant manager at Swindon in February and has now taken over at Rotherham. “It is a tough job. I don’t get the easy jobs in football, but it is a great little club,” he says
3 Darren McDonough He was sidelined by injury for the cup final, having establishing himself as a first-team regular. McDonough joined Oldham as an apprentice in 1980. He played in 183 games in six seasons at Boundary Park before signing for Luton, whom he represented in more than 100 games in five season. Signed by Kevin Keegan at Newcastle in 1991, he played only three first-team games before injury cut short his career. He has built a house in Oldham and helps his wife in Ally’s Sandwich and Tea shop
4 Mal Donaghy Born in Belfast in 1957, Donaghy was a stylish full-back who made more than 400 appearances in two spells for Luton Town, the club he joined from Larne. He won the Second Division championship and the League Cup with the Hatters before going to Manchester United in 1988 for £650,000. After 89 appearances for United he went back to Luton on loan before a transfer to Chelsea. He is Northern Ireland’s most capped outfield player, with 91. He made his debut against Scotland at Windsor Park in 1980 and played his last game 14 years later, against Mexico in Miami. He is a development officer with the Irish Football Association
5 David Oldfield Born in Perth, Australia, Oldfield began his career at Luton and was only 19 on the day of the cup final, in which he did not play. But he did enough at Kenilworth Road to persuade Manchester City to pay £600,000 in 1989. A talented centre-forward, he scored a hat-trick in a 5-1 win against Manchester United and then joined Leicester, for whom he played more than 200 games. Oldfield returned to Luton and then played for Stoke and Peterborough before joining Oxford, where he is first-team coach
6 Danny Wilson The scorer of the second goal in the cup final when he bundled the ball into the net, Wilson won 24 caps for Northern Ireland. He played for Bury and Chesterfield before joining Brighton and Hove Albion. He then joined Luton and celebrated victory in the League Cup final before moving to Sheffield Wednesday, where he again won the League Cup in 1991. He was appointed player-manager of Barnsley in 1994 when Viv Anderson moved to Middlesbrough as assistant to Bryan Robson. He took them to an unlikely promotion in 1997, but they made a quick return to the First Division. He then had two seasons at Sheffield Wednesday before being sacked. Wilson joined Bristol City, but was sacked again when they lost the Second Division playoff final last season. He is manager of Milton Keynes
7 Kingsley Black He began his career at Kenilworth Road and became an important cog in the Luton midfield. His form during the club’s golden spell in the late 1980s won him 30 caps for Northern Ireland. After five years at Luton he moved to Nottingham Forest and was soon earning plaudits in Brian Clough’s young team. But once Clough left, Black lost his first-team place. After loan spells at Sheffield United and Millwall, he joined Grimsby for £25,000 in the summer of 1996.
He then signed for Lincoln, but injuries ended his career in 2002. He has property in Luton and owns a solarium. “That’s why he always has a tan,” jokes Harford
8 David Preece He was playing for Walsall when Luton paid £150,000 plus Steve Elliott for his services in December 1984. Preece proved a valuable buy, scoring the only goal of the game on his debut to give Luton their first win in seven matches. He was a lively midfielder with a strong left foot, who spent 10 years at the club, playing in 336 games and scoring 21 goals. He moved to Derby County in 1995, linking up with Roy McFarland as a coach. The pair also managed Cambridge and Torquay. Preece has recently been coaching at Telford and is looking to get back into the game
