| Club: | Luton Town F.C. |
| Season: | 1988–89 |
| Manager: | Ray Harford |
| Chairman: | David Evans |
| Stadium: | Kenilworth Road |
| League: | First Division |
| League Result: | 16th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Third round |
| Cup2: | Football League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Runners-up |
| Cup3: | Full Members' Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Third round |
| Season Topscorer: | Roy Wegerle and Danny Wilson (12) |
| Prevseason: | 1987–88 |
| Nextseason: | 1989–90 |
During the 1988–89 English football season, Luton Town F.C. competed in the Football League First Division, in which they finished 16th to secure an eighth successive season at this level. They were holders of the League Cup for this season and maintained their defence of the trophy to the final, where they were beaten by Nottingham Forest.
Despite being League Cup holders, Luton did not compete in the UEFA Cup this season due to the continuation of the ban on English clubs in European competitions arising from the Heysel disaster of 1985.
Luton were unable to build on their top-ten finishes of the two previous seasons and finished the season in 16th, just two points clear of relegation. Luton did manage to reach the League Cup final for the second season running, but were unable to defend the cup as they were beaten 3–1 by Nottingham Forest. Survival was achieved on the final day of the season with a 1–0 home win over Norwich City; this was the first of three successive seasons where Luton would secure First Division on the final day of the season before finally being relegated in 1992.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Competition | Res | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Aug 88 | A | 1D | L | 0–1 | ||
| 3 Sep 88 | H | 1D | D | 2–2 | ||
| 10 Sep 88 | A | 1D | L | 1–2 | ||
| 17 Sep 88 | H | 1D | L | 0–2 | ||
| 24 Sep 88 | A | 1D | W | 2–0 | ||
| 27 Sep 88 | H | LC2 1st | D | 1–1 | ||
| 1 Oct 88 | A | 1D | D | 0–0 | ||
| 8 Oct 88 | H | 1D | W | 1–0 | ||
| 11 Oct 88 | A | LC2 2nd | W | 1–0 | ||
| 22 Oct 88 | A | 1D | L | 2–1 | ||
| 25 Oct 88 | H | 1D | D | 1–1 | ||
| 29 Oct 88 | H | 1D | D | 0–0 | ||
| 2 Nov 88 | A | LC3 | W | 2–0 | ||
| 5 Nov 88 | A | 1D | L | 1–3 | ||
| 12 Nov 88 | A | 1D | L | 0–1 | ||
| 19 Nov 88 | H | 1D | W | 4–1 | ||
| 26 Nov 88 | A | 1D | D | 2–2 | ||
| 3 Dec 88 | H | 1D | D | 0–0 | ||
| 10 Dec 88 | A | 1D | W | 1–0 | ||
| 17 Dec 88 | H | 1D | D | 1–1 | ||
| 26 Dec 88 | A | 1D | D | 0–0 | ||
| 31 Dec 88 | A | 1D | L | 0–4 | ||
| 2 Jan 89 | H | 1D | W | 6–1 | ||
| 7 Jan 89 | A | FAC3 | L | 2–3 | ||
| 10 Jan 89 | A | FMC3 | L | 1–4 | ||
| 14 Jan 89 | A | 1D | L | 0–3 | ||
| 18 Jan 89 | H | LC4 | D | 1–1 | ||
| 21 Jan 89 | H | 1D | W | 1–0 | ||
| 25 Jan 89 | A | LC4 Replay | W | 2–1 | ||
| 4 Feb 89 | H | 1D | L | 2–3 | ||
| 12 Feb 89 | A | LCSF 1st | W | 3–0 | ||
| 18 Feb 89 | H | 1D | W | 1–0 | ||
| 25 Feb 89 | A | 1D | L | 0–2 | ||
| 1 Mar 89 | H | LCSF 2nd | W | 2–0 | ||
| 11 Mar 89 | H | 1D | L | 1–2 | ||
| 14 Mar 89 | A | 1D | L | 0–5 | ||
| 18 Mar 89 | H | 1D | L | 0–1 | ||
| 21 Mar 89 | A | 1D | D | 1–1 | ||
| 25 Mar 89 | A | 1D | L | 0–2 | ||
| 28 Mar 89 | H | 1D | L | 1–3 | ||
| 1 Apr 89 | A | 1D | L | 1–2 | ||
| 9 Apr 89 | N | LCF | L | 1–3 | ||
| 15 Apr 89 | H | 1D | D | 2–2 | ||
| 22 Apr 89 | A | 1D | D | 0–0 | ||
| 29 Apr 89 | H | 1D | W | 3–0 | ||
| 2 May 89 | H | 1D | W | 5–2 | ||
| 6 May 89 | A | 1D | L | 0–1 | ||
| 13 May 89 | H | 1D | W | 1–0 |
Key: 1D = First Division FAC = FA Cup LC = League Cup FMC = Full Members Cup
Players arranged in alphabetical order by surname.
| Pos. | Name | League | League Cup | FA Cup | Full Members Cup | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| MF | Ian Allinson | 1 (4) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (5) | 0 | |
| DF | Dave Beaumont | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| MF | Kingsley Black | 35 (1) | 9 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 45 (1) | 10 | |
| DF | Tim Breacker | 19 (3) | 0 | 5 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 (5) | 0 | |
| GK | Alec Chamberlain | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| MF | Richard Cooke | 0 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (6) | 0 | |
| DF | Mal Donaghy | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| FW | Iain Dowie | 1 (7) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 (7) | 1 | |
| DF | John Dreyer | 16 (2) | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 (2) | 1 | |
| DF | Steve Foster | 36 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 3 | |
| DF |  Ashley Grimes | 12 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| FW | Mick Harford | 33 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 11 | |
| DF | Richard Harvey | 11 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 (1) | 0 | |
| MF | Ricky Hill | 33 | 3 | 8 (1) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 (1) | 6 | |
| DF | Julian James | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | |
| DF | Marvin Johnson | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| DF | Rob Johnson | 19 (2) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 (2) | 1 | |
| FW | Raphael Meade | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (2) | 0 | |
| MF | Darron McDonough | 9 (1) | 0 | (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (2) | 0 | |
| MF | David Oldfield | 15 (6) | 1 | 4 (1) | 2 | (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 (8) | 3 | |
| MF | David Preece | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 0 | |
| GK | Les Sealey | 32 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| FW | Roy Wegerle | 28 (4) | 8 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 36 (5) | 12 | |
| DF | Steve Williams | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| MF | Danny Wilson | 37 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 12 | |