"They have let football down today." That was the opinion of Kevin Lennon, a spokesperson for the Loyal Luton Supporters Club in 2008. The FA and the Football League had just shocked English football by handing The Hatters two separate points deductions, which accumulated to 30-points.

The FA handed the club a 10-point deduction and a £50,000 fine for the Luton owners breaking agent regulations, while a 20-point deduction was given by the Football League for Luton ending administration without the permission of HM Revenue & Customs through an Company Voluntary Agreement. HMRC were hostile to the idea of LTFC2020's, the new owners of Luton, offer of paying creditors 16p in a pound. The league has since removed the need for a CVA.

The anger and frustration was intoxicating. A LTFC2020 director, Stephen Browne, said at the time: "Once again, the club suffers from the mismanagement of the past. Once again the faithful supporters are left high and dry. Once again a policy of honesty is not at all recognised by the football authorities who claim they want to clean up the game. Once again the Football League fail, as who was it that cleared the previous owners as 'fit and proper' in the first place?"

Mike Newell, the Luton manager, questioned the board for what had happened to £13m in transfer revenue, but was seemingly sacked in 2006. The current Luton chairman, accused the club of giving agent 'bungs' in turn for player contracts. After new owners arrived, the club were put into administration.

Luton anguished in the 2000s with three separate insolvencies in a 10-year period. It was one of the most distressing football events relating to a single English club in recent time. The decade of turmoil left a club in ruins and on the brink of exiting the Football League. By the time Luton started the new 2008/09 season, they only had six professionals. Despite an enormous effort to survive, The Hatters were relegated and became a forgotten club to the professional football elite.

Consecutive play-off final defeats at Wembley meant Luton remained in exile; paying the price for other people's disregard. Luton's redemption tale began on 26th January 2013 when they became the first non-league side to defeat a Premier League outfit - Norwich City. That same season, they won the Conference with a blistering 101 points and 102 goals.

Back-to-back promotions between 2017 and 2019 means they have finally returned to the Championship. It's the first time they will be in the second division since 2006 - when the world ultimately fell apart around them. The journey Luton Town endured during their twelve-year exile is an experience only a limited set of fans have felt. Like so many clubs, the fans picked up pieces and rebuilt a community club that recorded an impressive 60,000 hours and 3,500 engagements with young people every week in 2016.

Luton Town is back in the Championship, and they did it by themselves.