The 2009–10 season was the 124th season in the history of Luton Town Football Club. Luton's 24th-place finish in Football League Two in 2008–09 meant that the club competed in the Conference Premier for the first time in its history, and in a division outside of the Football League for the first time since the beginning of their second spell as a member in 1920. Although tipped as favourites for the title and promotion before the season had even begun, the club struggled to immediately adapt to life in the new division, ultimately costing manager Mick Harford his job. Richard Money was appointed as new manager soon after, eventually leading the club to an unbeaten run of 14 games towards the end of the season that propelled them to a second-place finish in the league. However, defeat in the play-off semi-finals to York City meant Luton were to remain in the Conference for the 2010–11 season. This article covers the period from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010. Background After a chaotic 2007–08 season, Luton Town's situation went from bad to worse when it emerged that, due to financial irregularities, they would start the 2008–09 season with a 20-point deduction from the Football League on top of a 10-point deduction from the Football Association for matters concerning transfers of players under the previous board. As the club only exited administration two days before the start of the season, manager Mick Harford needed to rebuild the squad from scratch. Six new players were in the starting line-up for the first game of the season, and throughout the campaign loan and non-contracted players were drafted in and out of the squad. As a result of this instability, the players never settled sufficiently to gain the results required. In the end, relegation was inevitable, though some consolation was taken from victory in the Football League Trophy final at Wembley Stadium. Since Luton were no longer in the Football League, and thus no longer eligible for the competition, the club applied to defend their title during 2009–10. The request was denied on 15 June, causing the club to consider an appeal. Review Pre-season Luton Town competed in the South West Challenge Cup during July, and were drawn to play against Bideford and Wycombe Wanderers in Group C. However, a waterlogged pitch caused the Wycombe game to be cancelled, and Luton were given passage