Luton Town’s away form will be no surprise to Hatters fans, with the club now winless in ten straight away games.
However, this is nothing new for Luton, as the club have only won ten away games since April 2023, almost three years ago.
This leaves a fanbase with no hope when going to away matches, and a team who look disheartened on the pitch whenever they aren’t at Kenilworth Road.
Therefore the question really is, how has it come to this?
It comes as no surprise that Luton were expected to come into League One this season as title favourites, with Matt Bloomfield and Luton CEO Gary Sweet saying as such before the season started.
Therefore, when Luton started the season below standards in League One, it wasn’t surprising when the manager got sacked with the team sitting 11th in the table.
At home, Luton looked solid, if uninspiring, however the problems came away from home, with Bloomfield winning two of his six away games, averaging a whopping 1.16ppg (points per game) before his departure.
However Luton’s away problems this season only ramped up after this, with the arrival of Jack Wilshere.
Wilshere has been a controversial manager at Luton to say the least, with many fans being unimpressed with the job he’s doing, with there being virtually no improvement from when Bloomfield left the club.
At home, the improvement is clear, with the former Arsenal man only losing two home games as Hatters boss, coming in his first game against Mansfield Town and this weekend against Reading.
However the away rut has intensified under Wilshere, also only winning two away games out of a possible eleven!
This means under Wilshere, Luton have averaged just 0.73ppg, evening out to a pathetic 17 points if this form was converted over an entire season.
The 34-year-old has shown himself to be an uninspiring manager away from home, coming under fire for his tactics on the road in a disappointing season for the Hatters.
Unfortunately for all Luton fans, the problems go back a lot further, not just this season.
The 2024/25 season was one of the most embarrassing in Luton history, becoming one of the only teams in England to get relegated consecutively from the Premier League to League One.
Here, the problems were the same as they are in the 2025/26 season, okay home form and horrible away performances.
The season started with somewhat of a Premier League hangover, with the Hatters only having three wins in the league by the time November rolled around.
However it was once again the away games that were letting Luton down at this point, only winning ONE away game before Rob Edwards departure in January 2025.
Luton had played 14 league away matches at this point, only picking up four points on the road, averaging 0.28ppg under Edwards.
At this point Luton gambled on a somewhat inexperienced manager in Matt Bloomfield, signing him from Wycombe where he was a club legend, however things didn’t go as expected.
Luton were relegated, with Bloomfield only winning two out of his nine away games, a ppg average of 0.89.
However, Bloomfield had slightly turned the tide away from home, as in his last ten away games before his departure, Luton averaged 1.4ppg away from home, not the best form, but a heavy improvement on what came before and after him.
This shows that maybe Bloomfield was starting to turn Luton’s fortunes around on the road, however when the club were underperforming to the extent they were in League One, his sacking was expected.
However, I believe the main reason for Luton’s torrid away form comes much before this, on the best day in recent Luton history no less.
27th May 2023. Luton fans know the story. Fankaty Dabo sent the ball into the Hatters fans and the biggest fairytale in football was complete.
The problem was what happened next.
The Premier League is the pinnacle of football, and any fan wants to see their team play in it, however it caused more harm than good for Luton on the pitch.
Here, Luton endured a series of losses on the road, but it wasn’t the heavy losses that I believe have rocked the team away from home, instead it’s the closest games that caused the ripple effect that is still effecting the team to this day.
Here, I will outline the two results that I believe were the most significant, and why.
Going 4-2 up at St James Park is a dream for any side, let alone a newly promoted side, especially after going behind twice!
However, I believe this game is the start of Luton’s away downfall, as this result not only battered the mindset of the players, but the club as a whole.
A two goal loss thrown away just four days after destroying Brighton 4-0 was a major blow, especially after going unbeaten throughout January.
There is no doubt in my mind that if Luton held on in this game, the run of form then converts into survival, but this draw caused a destructive shift in momentum.
The next win away from home didn’t come until September of the next season, and only one more win in all competitions followed this Newcastle game.
This draw meant the team looked insecure whenever a lead was taken away from home, almost waiting to see when the opposition will score rather than pushing for a win themselves, a problem that is still evident over two years later.
This point was emphasised in the next month, when Luton travelled to Bournemouth…
This game was a horrible one for a combination of different reasons.
Firstly, it was a rematch after the original game was abandoned due to Tom Lockyer tragically collapsing on the pitch for the second time.
Secondly, Luton led 3-0 at half time, but in the away end there was a weird feeling that this wasn’t enough. It wasn’t.
Something about Luton’s side felt different this day, whether it was them playing on another level due to the sentimental level of the game due to Lockyers collapse in the original fixture in December or another reason, in the first half they were simply unplayable.
But it all fell apart.
Dominic Solanke scored shortly into the second half, and the team crumbled. Bournemouth went on to score a famous victory, and Luton were broken.
This game was a seismic shock to Luton, whether it was letting go of a 3-0 lead or whether it was losing a game that meant so much after the previous events between the teams, it felt like the final nail in the coffin for Luton’s time in the Prem.
From here, everytime the team step onto the pitch away from home they look nervous, scared almost that a collapse of similar fashion will happen no matter the scoreline.
To think that the away form is the only problem at the club would be naive, however there are steps that can be taken to fix the away form.
There have been occasional good results on the road for the Hatters in the past few years, 1-0 at Derby and 3-0 against Stockport being the most prominent, however as the form shows, these are anomalies rather than the expectations.
Firstly, to try and fix the form a true rebuild of the team must happen, and this doesn’t start by only changing the players.
The recruitment team must change, three years of sub-par transfer windows isn’t good enough, and managers have to be more involved in recruitment.
Jack Wilshere said in December 2025 that he “hopes to be involved” in recruitment meetings about the January transfer window, but surely meetings had to have occurred before this?
Secondly, CEO Gary Sweet needs to step away from the playing side of operations at Luton, with the move to Power Court intensifying, he needs to prioritise either the football or the stadium, not both.
Third of all, the team need to start playing with more confidence. The club have had most of their recent success when playing as the underdogs, however this simply can’t be the case anymore.
The players have to start playing with the confidence that they will step onto the pitch away from home and comfortably win games, and give the fans something to shout about on the road.
The fans also have to get behind the team more on the road. Understandably, things have been quite toxic on and off the pitch for a while, including unsavoury scenes after drawing at home to Burton.
But currently, the fans are going away from home expecting losses rather than positive results, and this should change.
Whilst some fans may not agree with this, which is completely fair, giving the players some confidence from the stands is the least we can do.
Will the results turn around this season? Most likely not. Will they change in future? Hopefully.
As fans, the best thing we can do is get behind the team wherever possible, Kenilworth Road, Brisbane Road, Wembley Stadium, no matter where it is, the sentiment should still be the same.
The club are going through tough times, but if any club has proven that tough times don’t last it’s Luton Town, and things will hopefully turn around sooner rather than later, and the fans can have away games to remember once again.
