Luton Town pulled a blinder after Brighton and Hove Albion agreement - they landed a Hatters hero | OneFootball

Nathan Jones is one of English football’s marmite figures, but at Luton Town he is an undeniable hero.

Nathan Jones is one of English football’s Marmite figures, but at Luton Town he is an undeniable hero.

Over the course of two spells at the Hatters, Jones secured promotion from Sky Bet League Two and cemented his legacy as one of the club’s most consequential figures in recent times.

But, without the initial agreement that brought the manager to Luton, none of the history-making success that followed would have been possible.

Move from Brighton and Hove Albion a shrewd one

It was a shrewd move for Luton to bring Jones in originally, making the switch in January 2016 after a stint on the south coast.

At Brighton and Hove Albion, Jones was the long-standing assistant and even took caretaker charge in the Sky Bet Championship during the 2014-15 campaign. He led the Seagulls out for a couple of games in December of that season, winning one and drawing the other.

In getting the current Charlton Athletic boss to drop down into the fourth tier only two years after his caretaker stint at Brighton, Luton managed a clever piece of business.

Perhaps Jones could have held out for a first shot at full-time management further up the pyramid, in a showcase of just how well the Hatters did to convince Jones to sign on the dotted line.

At the time, Town were struggling towards the very bottom of the EFL. But, after joining on a two-and-a-half-year deal, Jones pushed Town well clear of danger and into a respectable mid-table finish.

He went on to take charge of 170 games in his first spell at Kenilworth Road, seeing the club to promotion into League One before leaving part way through the following campaign.

In that season, Luton were promoted once again, this time as champions, securing back-to-back successes and joining the Championship.

Jones secured his status of a hero in that spell alone. He managed a 51% win rate, securing victory in 89 games while only losing 39, according to Transfermarkt. It was a consistency that led to a 1.82 points-per-match ratio when he moved to Stoke City mid-way through the 2018-19 term.

Nathan Jones is an undeniable Luton Town hero

After failing to emulate his success further north, Jones returned to Town.

This time in the Championship, the Welshman pushed for success once again. After ensuring Luton avoided relegation in their return to the second tier, Jones steered them to 12th and sixth in his two full seasons back at the club.

Once again, he left in a promotion-winning season. In this instance, he took the jump up to the Premier League, managing in the top-flight for the first time. Southampton came calling for Jones, and he moved from Luton back to the south coast in November 2022.

By the end of the 2022-23 season, Rob Edwards had steered the Hatters to play-off glory and into the top flight, while Jones managed just 14 games at the St. Mary’s Stadium before being booted out.

Despite his return not fulfilling quite the same lofty example that his first Kenilworth Road reign set, Jones delivered two triumphant spells at Luton.

In his first, he set the gears in motion for the historic rise up the divisions, and in his second he steadily shifted the club through the Championship before they won promotion in the season he moved on.