Cheltenham Town v Luton Town 1/10

[Kenneth E End]

First match of October and looks like it'll be the first properly wet and cold match of the season! Didn't get to Hartlepool on Tuesday and won't do today, but I think if we can get 4 points out of those two games, it'll be a very good return. The league, as per the stage of the season, is extremely tight.

We had an extremely young team out on Tuesday - the youngest in our history for a League game, especially in the defence, however hopefully those who missed out then will be back available (bar Mullins).

This is the team I'd go for:

Subs: King, Famewo, O'Donnell, Cook, McQuoid, Gilliead, Lee

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

You can't really play Smith at the base of the diamond, he isn't tactically disciplined enough to anchor a midfield, he's more of a "hunter gatherer" type charging around trying to win the ball high up the pitch. His passing, which has improved this season i feel, is also not good enough to dictate play their either so I think Lee will start by default really. Other than that Kenneth you may well have everything else right!

Think Tuesday was a decent point, but given we want to challenge this year I'd be a little disappointed to come away from these 2 games with 2 points so I really hope we win this one. 4 points would be a decent return.

Good to have Hylton back, even if it is just for 1 game before he goes and gets suspended again!

 

[Kenneth E End]

There's also no reason why Famewo shouldn't retain his place, but its difficult enough fielding one first team pro in a defence, let alone two.

James Justin will play today, but Stephen O'Donnell really needs to up his game going through the rest of the season - you can't win anything with kids!

 

[Judge Dredd]

From what I've seen so far Justin is just outright better than O'Donnell already, I think SO'D's days are numbered.

One day people on here/Outlaws/facebook will stop suggesting Smith for the base of the diamond! TFCH covered why it will never happen as long as Jones has a hole in his arse. But yeah, other than that I'd go for the same team, assuming Cuthbert is genuinely fit, no need to rush him back early with the youth more than capable of stepping up.

I'd have Vassell on the bench over McQuoid too, I think McQuoid will be off sooner rather than later as he just doesn't offer enough when he has been given chances. He definitely has quality but rarely influences games either way which is a shame. Depending on what state CMS comes back in I imagine we'll be looking to bring in another striker come January.

 

[Kenneth E End]

We need another striker come January - outside Marriott and Hylton, there is no genuine competition other than what seems to be a chronically unfit Craig Mackail-Smith, who probably won't be back until maybe December(?) I hoped that McQuoid would step up to the plate at Crawley, but he, like everyone else didn't turn up.

As a side note, the referee for today's game if the infamous Trevor Kettle, who I thought had retired after last season. This was posted on a referee forum last week:

Kettle gets two games after the shambles at Walsall. Best wishes to the teams involved!!
In other news, Kettlewatch moves to Cheltenham..... :sarcasm:
Can we observe a minute of silence for Cheltenham and Luton?

 

[Si Robin]

As if I wasn't looking forward to today's game already, you now tell me that the ref is Trevor Kettle.

God help us today.

On a side note, I hope the Luton fan who came to the game the last time we played each other is there today. I'd like to apologise and inform him that he was 100% correct about Paul Buckle.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Couple of familiar faces in the Cheltenham squad - Asa Hall played in our first two non-league seasons and Amari Morgan-Smith, who we thought highly of, but was ultimately made of glass.

Dan Holman I see is going to be unavailable - he always seems to score against us, whether it be for Braintree or Histon or whoever.

 

[Judge Dredd]

My abiding memory of that last game was how terrible the match was. Highlight being McNulty's full-on rugby tackle in the second half!

 

[Hatter86]

I agree that Smith cannot anchor the diamond and until Rea is fit, you pretty much have to put Lee there. Unless you are going to put Tyreeq Bakinson however Im not sure that would be his position either.

Disagree slightly regarding the forwards. I quite liked Josh McQuoid when he had a run last season and reckon he could do it again given the chance. Jones wants a smaller squad and I dont see him adding another striker to Hylton, Marriott, McQuoid, Vassell, Mackail-Smith and Zane Banton.

I also think O'Donnell has a part to play. Justin may be better technically and more defensively sounds, but you can't ignore O'Donnells quality going forward and sometimes we are going to need that. Playing a diamond we have no midfield width so on occassion it's going to have to come from somewhere.

Need to be winning these sorts of games, with all respect to Cheltenham.

 

[Si Robin]

My abiding memory of that last game was how terrible the match was. Highlight being McNulty's full-on rugby tackle in the second half!

One of Buckle's positive results if I remember correctly. I always put the lad down as bitter because we got a point.

 

[Bosox]

I also think O'Donnell has a part to play. Justin may be better technically and more defensively sounds, but you can't ignore O'Donnells quality going forward

What quality going forward? Never understood that one. His chief quality seemed to be running forward fast and then punting the ball high, wide and out of play. Can't cross, can't shoot (other than the one miracle that will probably win goal of the season) and defensively he is awful. Give me Justin any day and unlike others I'm delighted to see some 'kids' finally breaking into the 1st team. People have banged on about our great youth system for years but what's the point if we never get to see them, finally that is changing.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Agree with Bosox about SOD, his "quality" such that it is, is being an athlete and getting up and down the pitch, that's it.

Defensively poor, his crossing now something of a running joke and gives the ball away far too often to be classed as a good attacking full back. He will play a part because you can't expect Justin at his age to be playing all the time with the amount of ground that position covers in this system, but he certainly is very much 2nd choice from now on for me.

 

[Hatter86]

Im not saying he should be first choice, just that his days aren't numbered as some have suggested. And he does have an excellent engine and provides an outlet for us. So much of our attacking play against Wycombe came down his flank which was by far our best performance of the season. Im aware of his limitations and at the moment Justin deserves to be first choice. However we have 1 natural wide man in Gilliead and play a narrow diamond. At some point we will need the width O'Donnell gives us.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Cheltenham Town 1-1 Luton Town
Danny Hylton - 6th of the season, around the keeper after Cheltenham had been the better side.
Cheltenham equalise.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Sounds like another goal from a corner were we haven't cleared our lines, happening a lot this season.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Its never easy winning away and last season was a bit of a rarity having such good travelling form, but I think Luton will be disappointed with not holding their lead and winning today. Cheltenham are probably a better team than their position suggests, but we need to be beating these sort of teams to have realistic ambitions of automatic promotion.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Considering that by most accounts we havent played that well today a point isn't terrible by any means.

But for me we failed a test of our credentials today, to my mind really good teams come out of weeks like this with 4 points. Disappointing we haven't closed the game out too having gone ahead as well.

 

[Si Robin]

That was the Cheltenham I remember from last season. We were brilliant from the off today and definitely deserved the 3 points. If we had someone who could be that little bit more composed in front of goal then we certainly would have.

More performances like that and we'll be completely fine this season.

 

[djs]

Great, that's another afternoon that I will never get back. We were awful. That's all I can be arsed to write.

 

[Si Robin]

Would also like to add that, to a man, all of the Luton fans in the pub beforehand were brilliant today. Travelled in decent numbers and got behind their team well.

 

[djs]

Careful, you'll get yourself banned from here posting comments like that.

 

[BelizeHatter]

lol. Our rep is gradually improving

 

[oakroader]

salt of the earth we are