After a five year absence from the Football League following a triple demotion and financial trouble, Luton Town returned to League Two as champions of the National League, finishing on 101 points.
The Hatters secured promotion and the title following after nearest rivals Cambridge United failed to win; Luton eventually ended the season 19 points ahead of them.
Luton lifted the prestigious title after many years of hurt after a comprehensive victory over Forest Green Rovers, with the final game being a late 1-0 win over Hyde United. Alex Wall’s strike with twenty minutes remaining ended a turbulent few years for John Still’s men and they could celebrate.
Here is the squad that started that Hyde game and where they are now.
Mark Tyler - Peterborough United (goalkeeping coach)
A veteran of the English game, Mark Tyler was the starting goalkeeper for Luton Town on that day in Hyde.
A man who spent the majority of his career at Peterborough, spending 15 years at the Posh and chalking up over 400 appearances, Tyler moved to Kenilworh Road in 2009.
Tyler started all of Luton Town’s games in the 2013/14 season when they lifted the title and stayed on for another three years after the promotion, leaving the club as a stable League Two outfit.
He’s now currently back at his original club, Peterborough, where he is a goalkeeper coach.
Andy Parry - Retired
A right-back who didn’t make many appearances throughout the title winning campaign, Parry started the final game of the season before being replaced in the 54 minute by Andy Charles.
The Scouse defender started out as a youth for Blackburn Rovers before spending the rest of his time in non-league prior to his move to the Hatters. He starred 18 times in Luton’s Championship winning side before continuing to be a makeshift full-back in his duration in Bedfordshire.
Parry ended his career in 2020, with his last appearances as a player came for Southport.
Scott Griffiths - Retired
London-based defender Scott Griffiths starred in every one of Luton’s games in that title-winning seasons.
A graduate of Southend United’s academy, he spent time in non-league before moving to Peterborough United and his time at Dagenham and Redbridge. He signed for Luton and played for the Hatters until the end of his career.
He retired in 2016, and ended his career after a brief loan spell at Woking.
Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu - Luton Town
A mainstay in an excelling Luton side in the Championship, Mpanzu signed half-way through the title-winning campaign.
After spending time at West Ham United as a youth, Mpanzu was snapped up by John Still and instantly integrated into the Hatters squad. Originally a centre back, overtime he transitioned into a midfielder, where he still plays.
The Luton 17 has continued to be an ever-present for the Hatters, achieving a further two promotions to League One and then the Championship, where he is a regular starter for Rob Edwards.
Alex Lacey - Hartlepool United
A tough tackling defender and one of the clubs youngest ever captain’s, Lacey was injured for the most part in the title winning campaign.
Featuring 21 times for the Hatters, Lacey was part of Luton’s youth set-up before being called up to the first squad in 2010. He played in Luton’s first season back in the Football League before switching to Somerset, signing for Yeovil Town.
Lacey moved onto Gillingham, Notts County and now appears for Hartlepool United and has the task to keep the club in the Football League.
Steve McNulty - Bootle
Another stalwart under John Still, Steve McNulty started the Hyde game and played the season as a back-bone of the side.
McNulty was a heartbeat of the Hatters defence after his arrival from Fleetwood Town and was a major move as he left his home comforts to play down south.
He became skipper and lifted the trophy with pride high above his head as the captain who led Luton back to the Football League.
He stayed on for an extra two years, before joining up with former boss Micky Mellon at Tranmere Rovers, where he would lead the club back to the Football League after their demotion to the non-league game.
McNulty joined up with Steve Watson at York City, appearing 26 times and he was part of the team who made it to the play-offs, but the Minstermen were soundly beaten by Altrincham, before McNulty joined Witton Albion as a player-coach, linking up with old football counterpart Carl McAuley.
He moved onto Chester in 2021, reuniting with Steve Watson although he was heavily linked with the Bootle job until Brian Richardson was appointed.
As of August 2022, he is the manager of Bootle, and after a tough beginning, his Bucks side sit a few places and points outside of the Northern Premier League Division One West play-offs, with a standout moment beating Macclesfield 2-1 away from home.
Jake Howells - Retired
An England and Wales youth international, Howells started his career at the Hatters and was an instrumental part of the midfield that won the title.
The midfielder who could fill up a defensive line, Howells was at the tender age of 22 when he achieved 250 appearances and dispatched six out of six penalties in a season where he netted 8 times in 35 appearances as Luton romped to the title.
He stayed in Bedfordshire until 2016, when he moved back into the non-league game, playing for teams such as Eastleigh, Dagenham and Redbridge, Billericay Town, Hemel Hempstead and Kings Langley before hanging up the boots.
Cameron McGeehan - Oostende
The second player to wear the Luton number 19 that campaign, Northern Irishman McGeehan racked up 18 appearances in the second half of the campaign.
After joining Luton half-way through the title winning season on-loan from Norwich City, McGeehan initially was signed on a one-month-loan, but that was extended until the end of the season after impressive performances. McGeehan netted 3 times in his 18 games that season.
He returned to Luton the following season on-loan again before making the deal permanent, penning a two-year deal at Kenilworth Road and his final season saw the Hatters achieve another promotion, this time being promoted to League One.
He joined Barnsley after Luton, and now plays his football in Belgium, playing for Belgian First Division side K.V. Oostende.
Mark Cullen - AFC Fylde
Cullen joined Luton in the title-winning season, and was used more off the bench and started 12 times.
The forward finally achieved a permanent move away from Hull City following a string of loans and despite the form of other players in the squad which restricted Cullen to cameos mostly off the bench, he found a bright spark of form towards the end of the campaign, netting 3 times in 5 games including a crucial equaliser against Luton’s nearest challengers, Cambridge United.
He stayed in Bedfordshire for one more season after promotion, being promoted to a regular starter and he took this chance, becoming Luton’s top scorer.
Cullen earned a move up the pyramid, joining Blackpool and he stayed at the Tangerines for a number of years, helping them from free-fall to stabilise in League One, before joining Port Vale, Hartlepool United and now plies his trade in the National League North as a regular at AFC Fylde.
Andre Gray - Aris
A man who has turned out to be a regular in a Premier League side and a Jamaican international, Gray was by far and away Luton’s leading scorer in the 2013/14 season.
After spending many years in non-league and impressing with AFC Telford United and Hinckley United, Gray moved to Luton - initially on loan - and was made permanent after impressing. Gray chalked up 30 goals in 43 appearances in the title-winning season, winning Young Player of The Season, the Golden Boot and a spot in the National League Team of The Season.
He didn’t stick around after that season, moving to the Championship with Brentford, and another impressive season caught the eye of Sean Dyche and Burnley, where he won the Championship title and stayed on in the Premier League.
Gray moved to Watford, where he spent 5 years but wasn’t as prolific as he then moved onto Queens Park Rangers and now plays in Greece, starring for Aris and has impressively notched up 6 goals in 20 appearances in the Greek Super League.
Matt Robinson - Dagenham and Redbridge
After going on trial initially with the Hatters, Robinson put pen to paper on a permanent deal and was a pivotal part, when he featured, of the Luton squad who romped to the title.
Robinson began his career at Luton and the Leicester-born forward featured sporadically throughout the season, starting a quarter of Luton’s games that season, including the Hyde game, where he netted twice en route to the title.
He was restricted to many loans before leaving the Hatters permanently in 2016, signing for Dagenham and Redbridge. He remains a starter at the Daggers and is playing a key part as the London-based side are reaching the business end of the season with a play-off push a formality.
From the heights of Premier League football to the depths of the 8th-tier of English football, the career paths of the Luton players following the exceptional 2013/14 National League title winning campaign have been drastically different.
