After a 12th placed finish last season, the Hatters are looking to maintain their Championship status and establish themselves as a fixture in the second tier – something they should have no problem doing going by the latest edition of Football Manager.
The football management simulation game has been wildly popular since it’s initial release in 1992 and is now played by football fans and professional players alike.
‘FM’ is also used as a player database by football clubs due to their worldwide scouting network of around 1,300 scouts which developers use to ensure full accuracy across the game.
The ‘beta’ version of the game was released last week, giving players a chance to play an early access period while the final aspects of the game are being finalised.
The full version of Football Manager is released on November 9th.
Just for fun, we simulated three seasons into the future to see how Luton Town could line up for the opening day of the 2024/25 season – and the results were very interesting.
The Hatters established themselves as a top half team in the Championship with back-to-back eighth placed finishes before dropping down the table to finish 14th in the 2023/23 season.
They’ve kept a good amount of their current squad on the books through that time and added some quality players including a couple of international stars while also adding some top level experience to the dugout.
Here’s how our simulation had Luton looking for the first day of the 2024/25 season:
1. GK - Alfie Whiteman
After being released by Spurs at the end of the 2021/22 season, Luton snapped up the former England youth international who has gone on to firmly establish himself as the Hatters number one - so much so that he is drawing interest from newly promoted Premier League side West Brom Photo: Srdjan Stevanovic
2. RB - Tom Edwards
The full back did well on-loan at New York Red Bulls but couldn't establish himself in the Stoke City side which allowed Luton to secure his services for a fee of £575,000 in the summer of 2023. Photo: Lewis Storey
3. CB - Reece Burke
Signed by the Hatters this summer in real life, Burke has been a fixture of the starting XI at Kenilworth Road ever since - making 136 league appearances and scoring four goals in his three seasons Photo: Simon Bellis
4. CB - Sonny Bradley
Still a key player for the Hatters at 32, Bradley is just shy of 250 league appearances for the club at the start of the 2024/25 campaign Photo: Julian Finney