Salary less than Son Heung-min…Luton Town spend 13 billion to ‘PL promotion miracle’ →From 5th to 1st in 9 years!

Luton Town have clinched promotion to the Premier League for the final time this season.

Luton Town defeated Coventry 6-5 on penalties in the 2022/23 Championship (Division Two) Play-Off (PO) Final at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on Monday (April 28) after a hard-fought 1-1 draw following 120 minutes of extra-time.

Luton, who finished third in the Championship this season, defeated Sunderland in the PO by a combined score of 3-2 in the first and second legs to reach the final and defeat Coventry to secure their first promotion since the reorganization of the Premier League.

In the first leg, Luton took the lead through Jordan Clarke in the 23rd minute, but Coventry’s Gustavo Hamer equalized in the 22nd minute to draw the game 1-1 and send it to extra-time.

Luton looked to have the game wrapped up 11 minutes into extra time when Joseph Taylor beat the last defender to score. However, the goal was disallowed after video assistant referee (VAR) showed a handball foul on Taylor in the process of taking the ball away.

With neither team able to score in overtime, the match went into a bloody penalty shootout.

The penalty shootout ultimately came down to the final kicker. Luton’s number six, Daniel Potts, converted with his left foot, while Coventry’s number six, Pankati Dabo, missed with his right foot. Promotion to the EPL eventually went to Luton.

The promotion marks the first time in 31 years that Luton Town, who tasted the bitter taste of relegation when they finished 20th out of 24 teams in the Football League First Division in the 1991/92 season and were in the second tier at the inauguration of the Premier League in 1992/93, have returned to the top flight after a difficult time that saw them drop to the fifth tier in 2009.

The nine-year journey from the fifth tier to the top flight has seen Luton write their own name in promotion mythology.

After winning the semi-professional fifth tier in 2013/14, Luton were promoted to League Two (fourth tier) in 2014/15, then won promotion to the third tier by finishing second in League Two in 2017/18, before winning League One (third tier) in 2018/19 to join the Championship in 2019/20. Finally, this season, the club won promotion from the Championship to the Premier League.

According to statistics company Opta, this is the first time since Wimbledon FC (1977-1986) that a club has reached the top flight from the fifth tier in nine years.

Aside from the promotion, Luton Town’s modest team wage bill also caught the eye.

According to football economics site Capology, Luton Town’s players earned £7.82 million this season. That’s less than what Tottenham striker Son Heung-min earned this season (an estimated 17 billion won), and less than a quarter of Chelsea’s £215 million ($352.6 million) total payroll, the highest in the Premier League.

It’s not the highest salary in the second tier either, with fellow promoted club Burnley earning over £23 million and Sheffield United over £16 million.

Luton Town celebrated their promotion by raising the gates to their stadium. The club took to social media to reveal the entrance to their Kenilworth Road stadium, which, unlike many Premier League clubs, appears to be tucked away in a residential neighborhood, making it difficult for non-fans to recognize it as a stadium entrance.

Luton Town’s official social media account also showed off the stadium, saying, “It’s amazing to think that this stadium will be in the Premier League next season 안전놀이터.”

There will be a lot of interest in what promotion to the Premier League will mean for the Luton Town organization.

Luton Town have clinched promotion to the Premier League for the final time this season. Luton Town defeated Coventry 6-5 on penalties in the 2022/23 Championship (Division Two) Play-Off (PO) Final at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on Monday (April 28) after a hard-fought 1-1 draw following 120 minutes of extra-time. Luton, who finished third…