The 2002–03 season was the 117th season in the history of Luton Town Football Club. The club's promotion from the Third Division in the previous season meant they competed back in the Second Division, their 82nd consecutive year in the Football League. Luton finished in ninth place, though a poor late run of games prevented the club from reaching the play-offs. After almost three seasons of financial security, the first signs of a new wave of problematic cracks began to appear in the club's infrastructure during the season, triggering a series of events which would eventually result in disastrous consequences. John Gurney's highly controversial takeover of the club in May and subsequent sacking of popular managerial duo Joe Kinnear and Mick Harford led to the establishment of a Supporters' Trust to protect the future of the club. A bizarre and farcical phone-vote poll organised by Gurney proved to be the method of picking a new manager to replace Kinnear, with ex-Hartlepool United boss and former Luton player Mike Newell allegedly winning the most votes on 23 June. This article covers the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003. Background Joe Kinnear, appointed manager on 8 February 2001, had revived Luton's fortunes the previous season. A series of transfers had seen a complete turnaround in playing staff, making the squad unrecognisable from the one relegated from the Second Division two seasons previously. The team comfortably won promotion from the Third Division at the first attempt with the squad Kinnear had built, finishing as runners-up with 97 points and also ending the season as top scorers in the division. A key component of the squad, left winger Matthew Taylor, had been sold to Portsmouth for £400,000 at the end of the season. In June 2002 Kinnear signed Tony Thorpe, who had scored 55 goals for Luton in a previous seven-year stint spanning 1992 to 1999, on a free transfer from Bristol City, whilst Northern Ireland international midfielder Steve Robinson was bought from Preston North End for £50,000. Review Pre-season Very few transfer dealings were completed during pre-season, with key players having already signed contract extensions at the end of the previous season. Stuart Douglas, Richard Dryden, Adam Locke, Daryl Murphy and Scott Ward were all released, while four youth team players were given three-year scholar contracts, including Leon Barnett and Dean Brill. Jean-Louis Valois, a key player in the previous