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:
5. LB - Dan Potts
Potts is going into his tenth season with Luton in 2024/25 but, despite starting the opening game of the season, has been transfer listed by the club who favoured for former Huddersfield Town defender Naby Sarr in his position in the 2023/24 season Photo: Nathan Stirk
6. RM - Ryan Fredericks
Fredricks, who has won two caps for Scotland since switching his international allegiance, cost the Hatters £550k from West Ham in the summer of 2023 and had four man of the match performances in his first season with one goal and seven assists Photo: Alex Pantling
7. CM - Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu (c)
Mpanzu has missed just two league matches in three seasons and is now going into his 12th full season with Luton. He won his first cap for DR Congo against Kenya at the age of 30 in 2024 Photo: Harriet Lander
8. CM - Bongani Zungu
The South African international was signed from French side Amiens, who signed him from Rangers, in the summer of 2023 for a fee of £875,000 and scored three league goals in his first season for the club Photo: Ian MacNicol