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:
9. ML - Jaden Brown
Brown makes his Hatters debut in the opening game of the 2024/25 season, having signed from Birmingham City for £800,000. The Blues made a healthy profit there, having only spent £42,500 signing him from Sheffield Wednesday two seasons prior Photo: Jacques Feeney
10. ST - Rushian Hepburn-Murphy
Another new signing for the 2024/25 season, the former Aston Villa striker moves to Kenilworth Road for a fee of £275,000 from Crystal Palace who took a bath after paying £750,000 to sign him from Cypriot side Pafos two seasons earlier Photo: Lewis Storey
11. ST - Lyndon Dykes
Luton made the Scotland international their record signing when they paid £4 million to QPR for his services in the summer of 2023. He repaid that fee in his first season with 12 goals in 46 league appearances Photo: Ryan Pierse
12. Substitutes
Amongst the subs for the opening game of the season are Max Power (signed for £325,000 from Wigan Athletic), Joe Pigott (signed for £750,000 from Ipswich Town) and Lyndon Gooch (PICTURED - signed for £1.1 million from Sunderland) Photo: Laurence Griffiths