20/21 Matchday Thread

[SF_]

Glad I made a last minute decision to pay for this.

Still time for us to fuck it but we've been very good. First choice midfield & Ben Davies makes a big difference. Maguire has been great up top.

 

[SF_]

Tense end, Stanislas scores a good freekick then they add another in the 86th minute. Blatant handball on the halfway line in the build up for their second waved away by the utter c***, homer ref, absolute wanker he was tonight.

Looks like Bauer has potentially broken something though, season possibly over, hope Huntington still has the legs to do it week in, week out.

Midfield was class and Maguire, Sinclair & DJ's running was outstanding, the best all-round performance from us this season.

All three goals were really good but Sinclair's was sheer class, one touch, 40 yard lob.

 

[Craig]

Just relegate us now.

 

[SF_]

Yep, Bauer is out for the season. Achilles.

Gutted, just as we get him and Ben Davies back partnered together.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Despite injury worries Norwich are going to be naming a pretty strong side tonight I’d expect. Similar to the cup game where they were missing a lot of players but still put out a really strong 11.

Could really do with a reaction to the weekend where we were really poor but do think with a few players we are walking a bit of a tight rope when it comes to muscle injuries and the like so hope we freshen it up a bit. Feel like I’ve been saying it all season but could really do with Bree being ready to go from the start and Lockyer coming back in at centre half perhaps. In midfield I’d like Morrell to get a look in as well working with Dewsbury Hall and Pelly with Rea getting a rest. Pelly has been off a bit especially his touch in tight areas but I think we could do with his legs and drive with the ball on the counter tonight. Up front it’s a bit more limited options wise but would like to see Clark, Cornick Collins working together as a three, the wider 2 could really suit a more counter attacking game that I think could work for us as it did in the cup game earlier this season.

Perhaps that midfield is too light in hindsight but interested to see if it could work as all those 3 have differing attributes that I think could compliment each other.

 

[Atavistic]

I expect it to be the same 11 as Saturday, except with Buendia subbing in for one of Placheta, Martin and Vrancic. I'd like to see Farke gamble with one of the youngster's (Omotoye or Dickson-Peters) up front, but I fully expect him to start with Stiepermann again despite him proving on Saturday that he doesn't have the movement to make it work at all. Whatever the case, we need to be prepared for Luton to shake things up more in the second half and ensure we don't run out of steam like we did against Coventry at the weekend.

It's not what I'd like to see, but it's what I expect Farke to do:

GK: McGovern
LB: Sorensen
CB: Gibson
CB: Hanley
RB: Aarons
CDM: Skipp
CDM: Tettey
LW: Martin
CAM: Vrancic
RW: Buendia
STR: Stiepermann

With a bench of Barden, Zimmermann, Placheta (probably wisest to bring him on second half for pace against tiring legs), Omotoye, Dickson-Peters, McAlear and maybe a couple more academy products if necessary. Definitely a strong XI all things considered (minus the situation in the striker position, which is going to be resolved by Saturday anyway), but it's the lack of good options to change things up and rest tired legs that will be the problem (and indeed contributed to us dropping two points on Saturday).

Luton have had a decent if inconsistent season so far and have already beaten us once, so I'd be okay with a draw here, especially with Bournemouth dropping points last night. I could see us maybe nicking a narrow victory with the defensive solidity we've found this season, but we need to find a way to score from open play in Pukki's absence for that.

 

[Atavistic]

As expected, only change is Buendia starting in place of Vrancic, while Stiepermann somehow maintains his place up front despite offering nothing there on Saturday. Doesn't exactly ring high praises for the young strikers when that's the case, but hopefully it works a little better with Buendia back in the side.

 

[Atavistic]

Well, we seem eager to give Luton this win by giving them set pieces and being comically terrible at defending them as per usual. Very, very poor from us so far. No shape whatsoever and nothing up front for Placheta to connect his crosses to.

 

[chicowintry]

Well, we seem eager to give Luton this win by giving them set pieces and being comically terrible at defending them as per usual. Very, very poor from us so far. No shape whatsoever and nothing up front for Placheta to connect his crosses to.

There is no excusing the defending but neither of them free kicks were fouls. Not that it matters, it should and would’ve been a comfortable win for Luton either way.

Tbh though, I expected us to start dropping down the league weeks ago so that we’ve even lasted this long is good enough. With no strikers and McGovern in goal, we’ll do well to still be in the top 6 by Christmas.

Edit - and before anyone says it’s still a strong side... maybe on paper but when you’re playing twice a week every week (plus internationals) and not being able to be rotated... no it isn’t. They’re clearly fucked but can’t be rested because there is literally no one to replace them.

oh and before any Luton fans get upset, you’ve fully deserved both wins this season. This isn’t to take anything away from you.

 

[Atavistic]

Please bring Omotoye or Dickson-Peters on for the second half, Farke. Stiepermann has been completely anonymous and has offered absolutely nothing. Would much rather see him taken off and given a break to give him the opportunity to refresh for Pukki's return on Saturday and let one of the youngsters put themselves about and provide some actual striker's movement for Buendia and Placheta to work with.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Game far from done. Its Luton. Hoping you do tire as your movement is good with Tetty and Buendia finding space in midfield despite us having four in there.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Despite it being a 3 goal half it’s not really been a game of chances. Think we’ve done well at keeping Norwich relatively quiet, bar the penalty which came from a slip by Lockyer on halfway they haven’t been able to play through us yet. Game far from done with quality they have.

 

[Atavistic]

Well, it's over now. We were going to lose at some point with all these injuries, and I'm not at all surprised it's come against a Luton side who very clearly want it far, far more than we do. That was never, ever a penalty though. If anything, it was a foul on Hanley instead but this ref tonight has been poor in general.

For me, the important thing in this compact period of games without half the senior squad was that we get through them without losing too much ground on the top spots. Thankfully, Bournemouth lost last night and Swansea have also lost tonight, while Reading and Watford are both drawing as it stands. So, at least for now we're not losing any ground, but it's going to get no easier from here and I think it could be a while before we recover enough to get back to winning ways.

McGovern is an abysmal goalkeeper and I'd rather see us use young Barden than continue with a total liability in goal. He's conceded one fewer goal in two and a half games than Krul had done all season before getting injured against Stoke.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Was definitely a penalty in my view stopped the ball reaching Berry and Collins with his hand as he fell. Pretty nailed on and I’m not usually tooo one eye.

And if you don’t agree with that one then we should have had another one for handball shortly after, so evens out from your point of view.

 

[Atavistic]

Yeah, with all these injuries and tiring players a result like this was only a matter of time, but fair play to Luton for wanting it more and completely stifling all of our creative threats throughout the match.

Have to say that Farke was wrong for choosing Stiepermann up front again when he offered nothing there on Saturday, and surprise surprise he was completely anonymous again and left us without any creativity again; we were never going to score from open play with the team we put out and so it's proven for two matches running.

At least Pukki is back for Saturday, but I'm not sure how much it's going to help against a Wednesday side who've picked up some decent results since Pulis has come in. After watching that tonight, I'd gladly take a point against them on Saturday, even with the inevitable boost that having fans back will provide.

Only consolation is that the teams around us haven't fared much better this midweek so we remain top, but that's not going to be the case for much longer based on that awful performance tonight. With so many games to come and our players already this exhausted, I'll be delighted if we're still in the top 6 come January.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Good win just looked really solid throughout and managed to keep an albeit depleted Norwich side at arms length all evening. Still quite reliant on set pieces but getting the 3rd so early meant we basically just shut up shop for half the game. Dewsbury-Hall continues to impress just seems to glide about the pitch - he’s going to be a big miss when he needs a rest of worse gets injured.

Has to be said by the end both teams just looked absolute out on there feet and it became a bit of a schoolboy football game to be honest. Not sure how we will be ready for Saturday and I say that for both teams!

 

[BelizeHatter]

I dont know why Jones refuses to use subs late in the game when wr are desperately needing enegy to chase people down. It will def bite us one day

 

[BelizeHatter]

That said prob our best display of the season, and certainly lately, although as TFCH wisely notes we arent creating enough from open play

 

[Super_horns]

Good win for you guys.

Usual draw for us on the road.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

I dont know why Jones refuses to use subs late in the game when wr are desperately needing enegy to chase people down. It will def bite us one day

Thought this too. Only thing I could think I of was he wanted to keep players like Cornick fresh for the weekend as this game was more or less won. Bit odd when he was so keen on the 5 subs though.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Like 20 mins is gonna wipe the subs out for Sat? Yet after 70mins that extra 20mins can def wipe out plyrs doing 3 games a week.

I think hes more worried about disrputing the flow or mentality and upsetting the gameflow applecart. But that means he either doesnt trust the subs or the players out there....... so who knows? Hes an odd one.

Anyone else noticed he wears plasters on his finger tips to stop him chewing off his fingers in game. He shreds the plasters

 

[chicowintry]

lol at still being top (for a couple more days) with first-choice keeper, all but one full-back, all wingers with any reliability and all strikers injured plus enough others to not be able to rotate anyone.

Honestly... why we persist with McGovern as number 2 is beyond me... even a cone would be more effective. From one of the, if not the?, best keeper in the league to one of the, if not the?, worst. Almost conceded as many goals in 2 and a half games as Krul did in 12 and a half

I assume there’s no option to recall McCallum because we could really do with a full-back. Sorensen has done well to fill in an unfamiliar position but he looks tired. Need Hernandez and/or Cantwell back ASAP too - Josh Martin‘s inexperience showing and Placheta doesn’t appear to have any end-product.

Also, surely one of the youth strikers has to be a better option than starting every game a man down? Hopefully Pukki will be back - and somehow hit the ground running - at the weekend but it’s not going to do us any good running him into the ground.

Still, can’t grumble much. One defeat in 11 isn’t too bad I suppose.

 

[BelizeHatter]

That sort of form will take you up. Its a different beast of a season to any before. I doubt there will be runaways. The schedule, the gruel and grind, the necessity of chopping and changing teams and injuries will be a massive leveller to the top sides. Everyone needs to accept they may well get an unexpected spanking.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Well in the last week we've gone from the sublime to the ridiculous to the sublime again. If I'm honest, if I was offered 3 points from Cardiff and Norwich I'd have been very happy.

The fans made a massive difference yesterday - it was surprising how good the atmosphere was inside the ground even with 1,000 fans there. Farke felt that it had an impact on the game and the referee but apart from the penalty that we didn't get after the third goal, I don't really see what case he had.

No stone was left unturned - the procedures, which I was a little sceptical of in the afternoon seemed to work without a hitch. Everyone was very friendly and the fans behaviour impeccable. Fans all wore their masks throughout which surprised me - whilst it was asked of fans to do so, I don't think the guidelines made this mandatory. A bit of a faff getting out of the ground, but all of the stewards clearly had a working plan.

The selection was perfect - players in their correct positions and those underperforming dropped. I have been critical of Glen Rea for a while, but he put in a great performance last night in CDM.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall continues to impress - I can't remember the last time a player got 3 MOTMs in a row at Luton. He just seems to glide across the pitch - I think Leicester will be watching his progress very closely with a view to throwing him in full time.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Well in the last week we've gone from the sublime to the ridiculous to the sublime again. If I'm honest, if I was offered 3 points from Cardiff and Norwich I'd have been very happy.

The fans made a massive difference yesterday - it was surprising how good the atmosphere was inside the ground even with 1,000 fans there. Farke felt that it had an impact on the game and the referee but apart from the penalty that we didn't get after the third goal, I don't really see what case he had.

No stone was left unturned - the procedures, which I was a little sceptical of in the afternoon seemed to work without a hitch. Everyone was very friendly and the fans behaviour impeccable. Fans all wore their masks throughout which surprised me - whilst it was asked of fans to do so, I don't think the guidelines made this mandatory. A bit of a faff getting out of the ground, but all of the stewards clearly had a working plan.

The selection was perfect - players in their correct positions and those underperforming dropped. I have been critical of Glen Rea for a while, but he put in a great performance last night in CDM.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall continues to impress - I can't remember the last time a player got 3 MOTMs in a row at Luton. He just seems to glide across the pitch - I think Leicester will be watching his progress very closely with a view to throwing him in full time.

Not sure if accurate but when the point came up last night about Dewsbury Hall getting 3 man of the match awards in a row but my mind immediately jumped to Ian Roper being the last to do so.

Fair to say they are somewhat different types of player!!!

 

[Kenneth E End]

Ian Roper in the same breath as KDH. That’s an insult to the kid! I mean, who else has a mop of hair like Ropes.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Some pretty embarrassing comments from Farke coming out this morning after the game.

Moaning about the pitch which is apparently more fit for sheep than football,and saying Moncur goal was a once in a career type strike. Apprnetky the 11 fans in the boxes made the ref give the free kick for the second goal too!

Nothing wrong with the pitch at all and clearly shows his lack of homework if he thinks Moncur isn’t fully capable of that goal!

Be so good to get back into the ground and really start winding some of these ex Prem teams up.

 

[SF_]

Wycombe at home on Saturday

We're a much, much better side with Pearo & Davies in it, particularly from a possession point of view so that gives me some hope.

Bauer's season ending injury is a big blow but I have faith in Huntington, really hope Neil doesn't put his faith in Storey, Akinfenwa will shag him.

With Wycombe's height and size, I can see Stockley starting this one.

Rudd
Browne, Huntington, Davies, Rafferty
Pearson, Ledson
Sinclair, Johnson, Barkhuizen
Stockley​

 

[chicowintry]

Some pretty embarrassing comments from Farke coming out this morning after the game.

Moaning about the pitch which is apparently more fit for sheep than football,and saying Moncur goal was a once in a career type strike. Apprnetky the 11 fans in the boxes made the ref give the free kick for the second goal too!

Nothing wrong with the pitch at all and clearly shows his lack of homework if he thinks Moncur isn’t fully capable of that goal!

Be so good to get back into the ground and really start winding some of these ex Prem teams up.

I can only assume people are reading his comments and taking them literally with no nuance or context because he's really not that type. I mean, you're definitely misinterpreting his description of Moncur's goal. He obviously doesn't literally mean it's a "once in a career" strike or that Moncur isn't capable of scoring goals like it. It's a figure of speech. Also the comment about "11 fans in the corner" is clearly flippant too. He felt a lot of 50/50s went against us - find me a manager who doesn't. I must have missed the pitch/sheep comment (he talks pretty fast!) so don't know what to make of that - but it wouldn't be the first time he's tried to be humorous and got delivery wrong (people underappreciate how easy it is for things to get lost in translation between brain and mouth). Like I say, I've never really known him to be "salty" so I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

He said Luton deserved the win, that we didn't defend well enough and that Luton were the better side. This just smacks of being offended for the sake of being offended. A little ironic given your closing statement.

 

[BelizeHatter]

TFCH is our balanced Luton fan. Im the acerbic aggro one and Kenny the fantasy man.

So leave our Sumo alone or else......Youd actually won me over with a very plausible well thought out response in Farkes favour. Slipped and fell on the sheep turf with the last paragraph ;-)