Luton Town v Bristol Rovers

[Maple Hatter]

A seperate thread for the Luton masses as we face the blue half of Bristol.

Got a feeling there will be a few goals in this game tomorrow. Both teams create enough chances and you feel its just a matter of time before these are converted. The latest I heard on Hylton is that he may feature. Seems NJ want to make sure he is fully fit before playing him. Have badly missed him up front not just the goals he is capable of scoring but his link play. Means Collins on the bench and Lee up front. Nothing wrong with our form really and the step up to league one hasn't been too much of a problem. Jn fact some of our players have thrived at this level, namely Pelly and Lee. Will be interesting to see how we line up in midfield. Have lots of options and no doubt NJ will look at the oppositsion strengths and weaknessess before decidind his starting XI.
Rovers find themselves in the bottom four having gone four games without a win. Five of their games have finished 2-1. What are the odds on a similar score tomorrow.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Without wishing to become repetitive I really think home form is key this season so important to win this I feel. Bristol Rovers dont seem to have started too well but as I posted on the general match thread might count themselves unlucky if you look at it from a purely statistical perspective so we need to be wary perhaps.

As for the team, hope Lee goes back up front, I just think he is better there and neither Collins or Cornick look like getting a goal for me. Really need Hylton back.

Its a home game so I think you can get away with playing Shinnie as the 10 but I wouldnt mind seeing Grant given a go there as I think he has the attributes to do well there. He has shown he can score goals at a level below and he does look threatening at times. Would be nice to have some goal output from that position which we dont seem to get from Shinnie. Also would really like Okane to come in but depends on his fitness of course.

 

[Maple Hatter]

Shinnie for all his abiltiy has failed to impress this season, as was the case for part of last season. Seems very lightweight to me and is easily shrugged off the ball. Given space he can run and create chances but in a game with a packed midfield he struggles with the physical aspect of the game. He's just one of those frustrating players that we all know can deliver. Unfortunately its not often enough and we have other players who for me can make more of an impact. Also hope that O'Kane is fit. Would like to see him have a run as its quite clear he is a player who is a class above this league.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Without wishing to sound wise after the event but I wasnt particularly enthused when we signed Shinnie permanently he tailed off hugely last season and wasnt in the side come the end. Like you say he has clearly got great ability but he is too easily muscled out of games. You can essentially write off 50% of the games with him as he is next to useless away from home as a result of that.

 

[GEORGE]

Come on you Blues

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Still no Hylton today then as Lee moves back up front. Bit concerning this to be honest, he is so important for us but little injuries have been hanging around a long time. Makes it all the more weird we didn’t get a forward in. Still no Okane in the starting lineup, need to get him fit quickly as he is a big upgrade over Rea in that defensive midfield position.

Sheehan still on the bench too. Bit surprised, thought he might come back given Bradley looks very uncomfortable to me.

 

[BelizeHatter]

I'm not convinced weve signed OKane for the defensive role. We are a much better flowing and defensive side with McCormack there but but Jones loves Rea and he is now Capt now.

I love Jones and I'm sure he will be proven right over a donkey fan like me, but we're making some odd decisions thru the spine of the team

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

As dominant a first half as some of the thumping wins of last season, been all over them but just haven’t had the right finishing touch. Hope we don’t regret those misses but we are playing ever so well.

Can’t help but think that if we had a slightly more dynamic striker up there than Collins we might be winning. Can’t have too many complaints playing like that though, great stuff.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Always rated Shinnie you know.

 

[BRFC_Gas]

..bout time

 

[Judge Dredd]

Very comfortable win really, Shea never made a save of any difficulty as Rovers offered little threat. We should have won by a few more really.

Looked a bad injury to O'Kane which is a bit gutting. Potential break of some kind by the way the physio seemingly reacted to a visual. Hopefully not but didn't look great.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Should have been way more comfortable, have to credit the Rovers keeper for giving them a chance right to the end although even in that spell in the extended extra time there was little actual threat.

Looks like the last we will see of Okane which is a huge shame. Looked really nasty

 

[Kenneth E End]

Again, another result that flatters the opposition. If we took a bigger chunk of our chances we'd be in that top 6 easily.

Bristol Rovers look a very limited side and to be honest, I can't see anything else other than a relegation dogfight for them this season. They had no threat up front at all, so in terms of difficulty factor its probably not fair to say the defence has improved on previous weeks just yet.

Eunan O'Kane's injury looks to be a very bad one, and I expect when he gets sorted in the L&D Hospital he'll be back up to Leeds. Gutted because he would've been a massive player for us.

Other than that it was a pretty comfortable win in all areas and as I say, there were a lot of chances that went begging. 57% possession with 18 chances with 10 on target - perhaps we will eventually run into a keeper that has an off day once in a while! Rovers on the other hand had 3 chances in the whole game and 0 on target.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Suspected broken leg for Eunan O'Kane.

 

[Maple Hatter]

Always rated Shinnie you know.

Me too!

Decent performance today and about as convincing a 1-0 win you will ever see. Disappointed with Rovers who offered very little in attack. Their players just didnt seem interested in making a game of it. Should really have won by a lot more, although I felt the disallowed goal was a bit harsh. Some lovely confident touches today from our midfield which proves they are gaining in confidence. I'm still convinced we'll find our shooting boots. A team that scores as many as we did last season and still creates a lot of chances will eventually get its act together.
Slagged off Shinnie in my preview but happy to proved wrong. Decent performance and a well taken goal which I hope will kick start his season. We all know what he can do.

 

[Hatter86]

Can only echo what others have said. Dominant home performance which should have been a few more. Perhaps once Hylton is back we will start beating sides by the margin our play has deserved.

Need the away form to pick up now, if/when it does we will shift from mid table to playoff contender you'd think.

Gutted for O'Kane, hope it's not as bad as bad as it looks. O a selfish level we do now look really short in midfield, could really do with Berry coming back soon.

Rovers probably the worst team I've seen this season. Unconvincing at the back and not a lot going forward. Also feel that their support was poor, disappointing from a club I've always felt were well supported. Did give O'Kane a good reception as he went off.

Onwards and upwards, come on you Hats.

 

[Judge Dredd]

Did give O'Kane a good reception as he went off.

The majority definitely did but a small minority of idiots actually tried to get a slow handclap going while he was having oxygen and a brace applied. Some people are fecking special.

 

[Kenneth E End]

The majority definitely did but a small minority of idiots actually tried to get a slow handclap going while he was having oxygen and a brace applied. Some people are fecking special.

Well some Luton fans have a habit of singing: "let him die" when some opposition players are on the ground - I find that a bit disgusting if I'm honest. Every club has idiots.

 

[Ciderup]

Bristol Rovers look a very limited side and to be honest, I can't see anything else other than a relegation dogfight for them this season. They had no threat up front at all, so in terms of difficulty factor its probably not fair to say the defence has improved on previous weeks just yet.

This makes the red 3/4 of Bristol very happy.
Well done Hatters.

WTF are you doing saggies? All joking aside, I knew you were a bit worried, but, judging by the comments of a few gasheads I know, you're paying absolute rubbish! Is that correct?

 

[Kenneth E End]

So rumours rumours... personally I think this is tittle tattle but I heard it when walking out of the ground earlier. Hylton isn’t injured and there has been shall we say a breakdown in communication.

 

[Gassy]

Stupid line up and formation - which was obviously proven when we made a sub in what 27 minutes? And typically he takes off the only player with a bit of spark this season to bring on Tom Nichols ffs who has scored 1 in something like 59 games.

We need to drop twats like Craig and Upson who literally do nothing on the pitch. Every single time a ball is crossed into the box it’s a free header because simply Lockyer and Upson don’t mark or even attempt to head the ball. They just watch. Game after game.

DC says every fucking game that players don’t perform that’s on me - they will be dropped etc - but no matter what happens, Lockyer and Craig are guaranteed to play. They are not L1 footballers. Just wait for the next line up the those 2 donkeys will play in the middle yet again. Our last 2 games we only drew because we scored a freak own goal and the other our first clean sheet of the season. Lockyer comes back for 1 game and suddenly we’re gettig battered for 90 minutes and 1-0 actually flatters us. Just watch him captain the next game again though, unbelievable.

The support right now is dwindling fast - fans are fed up with this team, especially the new signings who frankly don’t give a shit. I’ve never like signing players that got a team relegated but Upson is proving how he sent MK Dons down last season. There is growing unrest with off the pitch matters too - how can our budget only manage to get us the reserve 32 year old left back from Stevenage?!

Shocking in all departments to say the least. We’ve gone from a team challenging for the play offs the last 2 seasons to the worst team since relegation to the conference.

 

[Super_horns]

I presume our lad Alex J isn't get much playing time?

 

[Gassy]

I presume our lad Alex J isn't get much playing time?

DC doesn’t like playing loan signings unless he has to so you can only expect him to come on as a sub in the last 10 minutes when we’re losing.

It’s a shame as him and Reilly look our 2 best strikers - both full of energy but they don’t play.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

So rumours rumours... personally I think this is tittle tattle but I heard it when walking out of the ground earlier. Hylton isn’t injured and there has been shall we say a breakdown in communication.

I think it’s more likely that he’s got a serious underlying injury than anything else. Can’t see teams being interested in a player who hasn’t been properly fit since about February.

Either way it would be a shame. Collins put a shift in yesterday but he’s not in form and doesn’t look up the level to my mind. When he’s out of form/confidence I notice he tends to drift out wide which is exactly the place you don’t want him to be considering he is pretty much a pure box player.

 

[Gassy]

Oh by the way - O’kane, how long out will he be?

Watching on iFollow they zoomed in and they were having to cut his boot open to free his foot.

 

[mowgli]

Oh by the way - O’kane, how long out will he be?

Watching on iFollow they zoomed in and they were having to cut his boot open to free his foot.

Christ that sounds awful,i hate seeing any player getting a bad injury like that and hopefully he'll make a full recovery and playing again.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Oh by the way - O’kane, how long out will he be?

Watching on iFollow they zoomed in and they were having to cut his boot open to free his foot.

Apparently a clean break, so Jonesy was hoping for weeks rather than months. We have him until mid January, so we may yet get to see him in a Luton shirt again.

 

[Kenneth E End]

I mention earlier in the thread about every club having idiots. Well it seems to be a bit of a higher % in Leeds based on their forum posts:
"Hope it ends his career"
"A no mark player"
"Hope it fucking hurt"
"The Lord works in mysterious ways"

And this is their own player. I'd like to think that he would have a home here if we wanted it when he recovers, but obviously he'd have to take a huge cut in wages from his reported £15k a week!

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Stupid line up and formation - which was obviously proven when we made a sub in what 27 minutes? And typically he takes off the only player with a bit of spark this season to bring on Tom Nichols ffs who has scored 1 in something like 59 games.

We need to drop twats like Craig and Upson who literally do nothing on the pitch. Every single time a ball is crossed into the box it’s a free header because simply Lockyer and Upson don’t mark or even attempt to head the ball. They just watch. Game after game.

DC says every fucking game that players don’t perform that’s on me - they will be dropped etc - but no matter what happens, Lockyer and Craig are guaranteed to play. They are not L1 footballers. Just wait for the next line up the those 2 donkeys will play in the middle yet again. Our last 2 games we only drew because we scored a freak own goal and the other our first clean sheet of the season. Lockyer comes back for 1 game and suddenly we’re gettig battered for 90 minutes and 1-0 actually flatters us. Just watch him captain the next game again though, unbelievable.

The support right now is dwindling fast - fans are fed up with this team, especially the new signings who frankly don’t give a shit. I’ve never like signing players that got a team relegated but Upson is proving how he sent MK Dons down last season. There is growing unrest with off the pitch matters too - how can our budget only manage to get us the reserve 32 year old left back from Stevenage?!

Shocking in all departments to say the least. We’ve gone from a team challenging for the play offs the last 2 seasons to the worst team since relegation to the conference.

You matched our diamond midfield to try and get more of a foothold in the game, the player who came off was a wide player who wouldn't fit into that formation so I get why your manager made that change. It didn't work though.

Thought I recognised the full back, was the Stevenage full back who played when we beat them 7-1 last season. He cant like playing at the Kenny much! Odd to see him playing in League 1.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

O'kane has fractured his left tibia and fibula. Having surgery up at the L&D today and then headed back to Leeds.

https://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/2018/september/eunan-injury/

So i think we wont be seeing him again. Real shame as he looked a cut above in the brief appearances I saw of him, hope he gets back at some point this season.