Next Luton Manager Odds: After Matt Bloomfield

Des Buckingham has been out of work since being sacked, somewhat harshly, by Oxford United in December. His track record as a manager though is terrific with the young but experienced manager having enjoyed tangible success in a variety of roles both abroad and in the UK.

The biggest achievement the 40-year-old former goalkeeper has to showcase is the job he did with Oxford.

Taking over in November 2023, he guided the unfancied U’s to a fifth-placed finish and playoff glory beating Peterborough and Bolton on route to the Championship.

Once in the second tier, his side made a strong start to the campaign, particularly at home, but he was dismissed despite the club sitting outside of the relegation spots.

With a coaching background and philosophy that has the potential to unlock a ceiling far above the lower end of Championship football, any League One club with ambition will likely be keen to have a chat with Buckingham, and given Luton’s recent journey it is far from impossible that the two parties share a long-term vision.

When Rob Edwards was relieved of his duties in the middle of last season, Steven Schumacher was one of the names in the frame to replace him.

He has since taken a job at fellow League One club Bolton but, if Luton need to make a change in the dugout his name is one that is likely to resurface. Whether or not they can get him out of Bolton, of course, is something that would need to be decided at the relevant time.

On the surface though, Schumacher ticks a lot of boxes for what any top end League One side is after. His record at Plymouth, in particular, was incredible as he guided them to the title with an impressive haul of 101 points ahead of Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich in 2022/23.

With a 41% win ratio following in a 32 game run at Stoke City, Schumacher has probably got enough in the bank where a side with ambitions of promotion and stabilisation in the Championship would give him the job.

We suspect Luke Williams won’t be out of work for too long, which could pose a problem for Luton depending on if and when they call time on Bloomfield’s tenure at Kenilworth Road.

If, however, that decision comes sooner rather than later, then a move for Luke Williams could easily be on the cards.

Williams, who did have a spell managing in League One in his first coaching job, bypassed League One when joining Swansea from Notts County and, on reflection, he could have benefited from a spell in between the two tiers.

Williams, who was born less than an hour's drive from Luton, has enjoyed a good start to his managerial career. He’s broken several records at Notts County, where he guided them to National League promotion before looking set to push for back-to-back achievements in League Two before being snapped up by Swansea.

With the Swans, he averaged 1.2 points per game across a 58 match period; crudely enough for a lower-midtable finish.

Now more experienced as a manager, Williams would fancy himself to be a success at League One level, and he might have to take one of the more attractive jobs there, with Championship offers perhaps few and far between for him after an ‘okay but nothing more’ job at Swansea.