Luton Vs Colchester

[That Fat Centre Half]

Hopefully have the correct section of the forum now!

After what was by most accounts a decent performance and win against Blackpool we come back to home for a 2 game stand over Christmas. Colchester are mid table but have had a bit of an upturn in fortunes over recent weeks so will be looking to mount an assault on the play off places and will no doubt be looking to make a statement by picking up 3 points against us to really push themselves into the picture at the top.

This is exactly the sort of game we have to win if we want to break back in to the leading pack in the division but its proven difficult for us to do, especially at home this season where I think we have had some pretty frustrating results. If I were to permit myself to look a tad further ahead to the 2nd Jan, we really do need to go into the Portsmouth game having picked up maximum points from these 2 home games if we have any designs on getting into the top 3. For me we really have reached the stage of the season where its put up or shut up time for us, we've got a good talented young side who look to play but we need to start converting that promise into consistently picking up 3 points rather than rather frustrating draws.

Am liking the look of the new system, the diamond was getting a bit predictable and stale so good that Jones has recognised this and adjusted accordingly, was beginning to get a bit concerned that he was getting rather dogmatic in his approach and would refuse to change.

I am still a bit non plussed as to how we have the best defence in the division up to this point as we dont pass the "eye test" for me at the back but lets hope that continues and Jack the Hat continues on the goal trail that he kicked off against Blackpool. If Marriott starts firing in front of goal again then I think we could be a real force to be reckoned with.

 

[Chippy]

Home win this time. Saw signs at Blackpool that I haven't seen all season.

3-1 Luton, and the train will leave the station etc

 

[oakroader]

Home win this time. Saw signs at Blackpool that I haven't seen all season.

3-1 Luton, and the train will leave the station etc

 

[Judge Dredd]

Trains not running from London is a real shitter. Anyone know how much a taxi might set me back?

 

[Hatter86]

Trains not running from London is a real shitter. Anyone know how much a taxi might set me back?

We paid £100 back to Luton after missing last train back from St Pancras the other week. That was 03.00am though.

If you can bring yourself to use a bus and don't mind the journey time, return tickets on the Greenline are £12 from Brent Cross or £17.00 from Victoria.

 

[Kenneth E End]

We paid £100 back to Luton after missing last train back from St Pancras the other week. That was 03.00am though.

If you can bring yourself to use a bus and don't mind the journey time, return tickets on the Greenline are £12 from Brent Cross or £17.00 from Victoria.

The night of the EU referendum I had to get a shared cab back from West Hampstead via St Albans on the meter because all the rail lines had broken down - £155 lighter. I wouldn't ever be thinking about getting a cab for that distance!

 

[Judge Dredd]

Blimey, taxi is out then! Probably be double rate on Boxing Day too. That bus looks a good shout, thanks!

 

[BelizeHatter]

So disappointing....... Woke up early, complete with hangover, way before I should have, to tune into the boys game and boom. Nothing. Guess its easy to lose track from afar. I dont recall a Saturday around Christmas going begging in previous years

 

[BelizeHatter]

Even more disappointing ..................Cant see us as contenders for automatic promotion - which tbh I was skeptical about anyway. Too easily nullified it sounds

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Real poor game between 2 distinctly mediocre looking sides that looked like it was petering out to a 0-0 before our usual trick of not clearing a corner. Decent finish but poor defending.

Our atttacking play today was absolutely dire, thought that was what a Jones was trying to instil here, it doesn't look like it, were just anemic going forward.

Think that's auto promotion chances out the window.

We aren't half as good as Jones thinks we are.

 

[Bosox]

I just don't understand how Jones can look at the midfield we had today of Lee, McGeehan and Gillead and think that is a promotion winning midfield. Never mind winning you a game those three could win a tackle between them.

 

[dedwardp]

Four wins and four clean sheets from the last five, unbeaten in five. Seems a long time ago now when we were bottom at half-time in the Cheltenham game!

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Midfield was a bit of a joke today, completely ineffectual. God knows how that midfield played so well at Blackpool, didn't look like it would ever work today!

Also, not sure if I've missed one. It when was the last time we scored from a corner? We seem to have a lot of "routines" that amount to fuck all.

 

[djs]

Well that was bad.
Really bad.
Bad with a capital B, a capital A and a capital D.
Actually I can't even begin to describe just how bad that was.

PS
If Nathan Jones believes even a small part of what he says in his post match interviews then he needs a severe looking at by a group of highly specialist psycho something or others.
I wish that he would realise that he has got at his disposal a group of division 4 footballers, and to try to get them to play in a way and a system similar to Man City is a bit silly really.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

That the thing though, we don't play like Man City. City actually try to play with a bit of tempo, we are incredibly slow in possession of the ball and take an age with it.

Don't get me wrong I want us to play a passing game and I don't get overly annoyed like some when we play a backward pass once in a while but we lack incision or urgency in our play at home. It's all so slow and ponderous.

Playing 10 passes along the back 4 and keeper and then losing it the first time we actually play a forward pass doesn't automatically mean we are a good team to watch or indeed give us a divine right to win games.

Concerningly I think Jones does actually think that.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Am I allowed to show a bit of positivity behind all the bed wetting and say that I don't think we were that bad today? Certainly didn't think we deserved to lose.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Don't think we deserved to lose, but only because Colchester were just as bad as us not really down to anything we did. I don't really see what positive you can take from the day though.

 

[djs]

In the spirit of positivity, I do agree that we didn't deserve to lose.

However, that is only because Colchester didn't deserve to win. Neither did we. To be honest neither side even deserved a draw.

And by the way, we WERE that bad today. Apart from Mr End's post above, I've yet to see or hear from anyone else who thinks otherwise.

Apart from Nathan Jones of course, but what's new?

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Depends on what your definition of "that bad" is.

In the context of some of our home performances this season I think we've played worse at times, Grimsby, the huffing and puffing to break down Mansfield, Solihull first half come to mind, but that we have so many distinctly average games to contextualise another distinctly average home performance against isn't exactly cause for optimism is it?!

 

[barnet_pls]

Don't worry, you've only got Barnet next. We never win at yours.

 

[Kenneth E End]

In the spirit of positivity, I do agree that we didn't deserve to lose.

However, that is only because Colchester didn't deserve to win. Neither did we. To be honest neither side even deserved a draw.

And by the way, we WERE that bad today. Apart from Mr End's post above, I've yet to see or hear from anyone else who thinks otherwise.

Apart from Nathan Jones of course, but what's new?

In my opinion, there was only 1 side that was going to score yesterday and it wasn't Colchester.

The officiating by the way, was a complete joke yesterday, unsurprisingly by Mr Gavin Ward. There were two clear penalties missed yesterday - a handball by James Justin in the first half and (I think) Danny Hylton felled after we conceded. There were two corner decisions that were completely wrong. He also decided that a foul was one despite being 20 yards further away than the assistant standing right next to the incident. Apparently Col U only committed 5 fouls in the whole 90 minutes which I find astonishing.

 

[cufc17]

In my opinion, there was only 1 side that was going to score yesterday and it wasn't Colchester.

I don't think Luton will threaten the automatic spaces this season, way too inconsistent.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Disagree with Kenneth, must be forgetting the real bad miss by Johnstone scuffing it straight to Walton from all of a couple of yards in the first half and the frankly laughable air shot by Garvan, both at least the equal of the chances we missed.

I felt the air shot in particular was a rather nice summation of the quality in the game!

 

[Kenneth E End]

I don't think Luton will threaten the automatic spaces this season, way too inconsistent.

At the moment this is true, however in this league everyone seems to beat everyone. No team will run away with it.