I do like visiting Nottingham for a game; simply a great place to visit with so many superb ale houses; let’s hope wherever we end up next season, that County are in the same league as us for 2017/18. Socially, from beginning to end a really great day out for around 2,000 travelling Hatters fans: we just need a bit of tweaking with that part in the middle of the day out, the football.
So after a good lunchtime get-together along Canal Street, it was to Meadow lane after first breaking up the walk with a quick refreshment at the excellent Vat & Fiddle. Now Meadow lane is to my mind a really nice redeveloped league ground with a decent view from all seats and just as I like, the away supporters are housed down one side of the pitch rather than behind the goal. It’s a good ground and always a pleasure to visit. As for the team selection, Nathan made a couple of changes for the game with Potts dropping to the bench, Sheehan moving to left back and Mullins taking the vacated centre-back berth. Gray also stepped down to the bench to make way for Danny Hylton's return from his one match suspension. I suppose that the Sheehan to full back move was welcomed by many supporters, I certainly fancied it would give us a touch more forward thrust. All in all the selection appeared a touch more balanced than last week’s side for the Mansfield game. In keeping with last week, we had absolutely masses of possession in the first half but unlike last week we looked a touch more dangerous in moving forward especially every time that Gilliead had possession. Message to Nathan: let's get Gilliead's loan extended to cover the entire season; the guy is just pure class at this level. A nice touch during the game was the planned and well supported minute’s applause to honour the life of a 19-year-old County supporter called Georgia Nelson who passed away last Monday having slipped into a diabetic coma and never awoke. It seemed that all Luton supporters were on their feet joining in the mark of respect with their fellow County supporters; a sympathetic and touching tribute. Although we were playing our possession football further up the pitch than last week, we still were not really creating much more than half-chances; maybe on another day one of those half chances may have found the net. At least we looked safe at half time as we passed County to death and slaughtering them 0-0 by the break. Maybe we should chuck away this goal scoring concept, 3 points for a win etc and move to awarding points as in Strictly Come Dancing, surely Len would have had us well ahead at half-time! However, in all honesty it was not a busy first half for the County goalkeeper despite us dominating the game. Would we be able to push on in the second half? Would Nathan make any changes? Personally, I would have sacrificed the ineffective Cook for Pelly but no, no change at the break. We started the second half again looking the better more composed side but composure and possession don't by themselves win games, the odd goal or two is helpful and we just were not really creating those chances. Even with possession football you can't keep hold of the ball for the entire game and County enjoyed some possession and pressure themselves and may have taken the lead if it were not for an excellent blocking tackle by Mullins just a few yards from goal: great defending by Mullins who did pick up an injury in making that block. Oh no, had disaster struck, County were awarded a penalty after the referee called a foul on Cuthbert defensive play at a corner: surely after dominating so much of the game we were not going to lose the lot! However, a splendid penalty save by Walton firstly diving to his right and then with his left hand turning the ball around the post for a corner. I will remember that save for a long time; just totally brilliant. With our spirits raised and the army of travelling Hatters totally behind the team could we push on and grab a goal. I must admit that as at last introduced Pelly broke free on the right, I thought the time may have come but the referee inexplicably called play back for a foul. I rarely complain about referees but he surely got that one wrong. So, in the end, we settled for a point that I suppose taking into account the penalty was just about ok against a County side that whilst not looking brilliant are up there with us in the play-off positions. I have to say that at the end I was happy enough to hear the referee call time and send us on our way with a point especially as when that penalty was given I guess that all of us Hatters fans feared the worst. A few thoughts: Well, just what does undefeated for seven league games really mean with a haul of 11 points in that seven-game run. Well, our form and points collection at the third way mark of the season point at a play-off place. Not bad in many respects with a fairly young squad: our youngest ever at Hartlepool at about 21 and even yesterday at 24. The question is can we step things up a touch build on our possession play and turn draws into victories? We are 4th in the league: second meanest defence in L2, 4th top scorers in L2. So the choice is yours in terms of glass half empty or half full. Personally, my glass is half full as I see a decent Luton side that just with a touch of tweaking could turn some of those five recent draws into wins and grab a top three spot. What would that tweaking be? Well, one for sure would be to stick with Pelly who along with emerging star Gilliead and McGeehan all in front of midfield holder Rea: we simply win more games with Pelly's power in the team so Pelly a starter for me. We play Pelly and our chances of winning simply improve. The other problem position has been wing play at left back and maybe Sheehan can do something there, if not then Jack Senior. I did not really understand the logic of Nathan's first two substitutions. Yes, I would have had Pelly on but surely in place of Cook who was just not effective in just about the entire game. Over the weeks I have seen glimpses of a talented side of Cook but maybe he is going to need more time to really settle with the club in a similar way to the departed favourite Lawless who had a very inconsistent first season with us. As in so many games this season, the midfield have just not got it together working as a unit. In so many games we have one or two of the midfield really playing well and the other simply very anonymous. Whilst Rea did the holding role well yesterday and Gilliead once again was outstanding I felt McGeehan and Cook were some way off their best. This is not a bash McGeehan or a bash Cook comment as neither were really bad, just simply the frustration that we need far more from our mid-field if we are to turn periods of dominant possession football to creativity and hopefully a victory The Sunday Rant: Well, a couple of rants. Firstly I feel a touch critical of NJ who to my mind should have introduced Pelly much earlier; in fact, I would have brought him on shortly after half time for Cook. Also sticking with Nathan, was Gilliead that tired that he really needed to be replaced? I thought Gilliead still looked our greatest threat when he was removed from play! Then again with Nathan, why take off Marriott and replace him with Olly Lee? Was Nathan settling for the point and still haunted by the Stevenage chase for victory that ended in defeat? Now I very rarely rant about a referee; it’s up to our team to negate any refereeing shortcomings by cracking on to win the game but yesterday I thought the referee was a bit whistle happy; give me Trevor Kettle any day. I felt he was really in error not letting Pelly continue his run down the right after being fouled when he so clearly had the advantage but small margins etc turn games. A few thoughts on individual performances Walton: he was never really troubled and looked comfortable and in control all afternoon. What a superb penalty save that was; one that really joins Andy Dibble in the hall of fame for great penalty saves by a Luton goalkeeper. O'Donnell: I thought he had an overall decent game both in defence and in trying to move the ball down the wing. Cuthbert: his good season continues; very commanding game, rarely beaten in the air and strong in the tackle: all in all he had a fine game; well maybe apart from the penalty. Mullins: played well alongside Cuthbert and made one particularly excellent block to kill a shot on goal and picked up an injury in doing so. Sheehan: did not look that comfortable or indeed confident at left back. He was not bad but maybe I expected a little more. Defensively he was ok and marginally better than Potts going forward. Rea: decent enough game from Rea in front of the back four and made some telling interceptions but against that there were a few stray passes particularly in the first half. Gilliead: a really tremendous first 60 minutes when the Notts County defence just had no idea of how to cope with him. He faded a little later in the match but I would still have kept him on the pitch a touch longer. Cook: sorry, just did not do enough to justify his place in the team for the full 90 minutes. I was warming to Cook a few weeks back but at the moment I don't feel he adds any real creativity to the side. Just to be clear, I am not saying he had a bad game simply that he was so very, very ordinary and just not creative and I am assuming he is in the side to be creative. McGeehan: I agree that Cameron is still a relatively young developing player with lots to offer but it’s a question of which Cam will turn up, the power house as seen in Stevenage away or the fairly anonymous Cam with the poor first touch who is slow to get the second ball. We could have done with the Stevenage version yesterday but that’s not the Cam that turned up at Nottingham; just simply very ordinary and chasing rather than bossing. Yet, how can you leave him out of the side with that great goals contribution from midfield? Marriott: fairly decent performance chasing everything that came through to him. Almost gave us the lead in the first half with a shot that went just wide of the goalkeeper’s right-hand post. Why ever did NJ send Lee on in place of Marriott when we had a chance of going for all three points? Whilst Jack was not ripping the County defence to pieces he was a threat whilst ferocious Olly is hardly a threat; maybe NJ had settled for the point by that time? Hylton: all the usual chasing and closing down on the defenders; good to have him back in the side. The Subs/Game Changers: Pelly: when introduced our creativity index rose by a few points. Lee: did well enough. Vassell: not long enough on the pitch to make an impression. The Teams: Notts County: Colin, Dickinson, Duffy, Hollis, Forte, Milsom, Laing, Richards, Rodman, Campbell (O'Connor, 57), Collins (Oliver, 57) Luton: Walton, O'Donnell, Mullins, Cuthbert, McGeehan (Vassell, 90), Hylton, Cook, Marriott (Lee, 75), Gilliead (Pelly, 85), Rea, Sheehan. Unused subs: King, Potts, Smith, Gray Bookings: County: Duffy, Hollis, Milsom. Luton: Rea & Hylton. Referee: Michael Salisbury not the best but I am not a referee basher. Attendance: 6,313 and that included 2,033 travelling Hatters; what a splendid turn out.
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In pre-season, I was looking at some of the L2 squads being assembled as players were brought in. At the time I notice the ongoing giant's recruitment campaign going on at Mansfield as they pursued their physical approach to the new season; not a fixture I was at all looking forward to. I just don’t care much for games against Mansfield a most ugly side that even the local folk of Mansfield can hardly be bothered with for their home games, at least the ones with little travelling support hovering around 2500.
Nathan made one change to last week’s winning line-up at orient with Jake Gray coming in for the suspended Danny Hylton which meant Cook would be playing in a more forward role. I would not say anybody was massively surprised with the selection nor would I say there was a feeling of delight. Surely it would have been more sensible to have either Vassell or the tricky Banton in the starting 11 against this team of “fourth division giants”. What the heck was Marriott likely to achieve up front as the one recognised striker on the pitch for us. Also does NJ just not think Banton is up to it? Surely Banton deserved a place on the bench after such a great performance against WBA a couple of weeks back and according to reports a good display at Barton in the week. A touch bewildered, I took my seat in the stand not exactly filled with expectation for basically a team with one striker playing against this horrible Mansfield bunch. We started with a slightly odd formation that saw Dan Potts and Stephen O’Donnell pushed right forward on their respective flanks. Glen Rea as expected in the holding midfield role and Gray looking more like a right back that a midfielder. The whole approach seemed to be based on maintaining possession, being patient and hopefully drawing Mansfield out and creating some space to play the forward ball. However, despite that tip-tap football, Mansfield seemed perfectly happy, why should they want the ball? When Mansfield did lump the ball forward a move produced a cross over our penalty area and a totally needless corner brought about by zero communication between goalkeeper and defender that meant the ball was unnecessarily headed out to concede a corner. From that corner, the giants prospered from our usual set piece weakness and a soft poorly defended goal conceded; a couple of unchallenged headers and bang; it’s 1-0 to Mansfield. Wow, were Mansfield going to be happy now, just sit back and let Luton play tip-tap and keep an eye on little Jack was the game plan, “we only came for a point, maybe we will get three”. We did not really change much that first half just continuous sideways, backwards going nowhere passing. It was not good stuff and I started to think of a Yardbirds song from the 60’s: over under sideways down, backwards, square and round, over under sideways down; when will it end, when will it end? Well, that as close as I can recall to the lyrics of that Yardbirds number and it certainly described the first half for me. What an entirely forgettable first half with only Gilliead showing the endeavour and will to actually get forward and run at the opposition. On the left flank, Potts did try one forward run but it was just embarrassing for the poor lad just does not have a clue when it comes to wing-back play. For me, the highlight of the first half was Cuthbert bellowing to O’Donnell “get your head to that f***ing ball”. We were so desperately missing the “pain in the arse, chase everything Hylton”. I really did expect some changes in the second half; surely NJ would introduce Pelly and Vassell to add some pace and power to run at these lumbering giants but no, the same 11 came back onto the field. Thankfully we seemed to have a touch more purpose about us in the second half but really we were not getting that far as the clock ticked away with less than 30 minutes left when a ball dropped to Sheehan in the Mansfield penalty area. Unfortunately, Sheehan made a complete mess of it and hooked the ball over the bar; was it going to end in another disappointing home performance? At last, on 68 minutes Nathan had seen enough and made a desperately needed double substitution bringing on Pelly and Vassell for Cook and Potts. Straight away we changed our shape with Sheehan going to wing back & Rea centre back. We started to look like we had some width and powerful running on the field at last and Mansfield were now getting a touch panicky as we now wanted to run at them and reduce this “Yardbirds” stuff. Maybe we were going to get something from this game, maybe Nathan had left it a touch late to chuck his diamond away for the afternoon? We were now looking much more like a side capable of doing something against a very basic and physical lower league outfit, the sort of team we really should be taking apart if we are really going to occupy one of those top three spots at the end of the season. At last a goal was looking a possibility and thankfully that goal came from a bobbling long range shot from Cameron McGeehan. I think the ball skimmed off the turf at least twice before nestling in the bottom right corner of the Mansfield net. McGeehan does have his critics but his goals from midfield are so often vital to our side. Now the task was to press on and win the game; we almost got that winner from a Cuthbert effort well saved by the keeper. It was getting better, we were getting closer, but why had Nathan left it so late to make these changes? Then with the last kick of the game, we almost got the winner when Marriott, who was actually getting some service now, hooked the ball so narrowly wide of the goal. I only wish we had another 10 minutes on the clock to play, if we had then I reckon we would have collected all three points. So there it is, the horrible home fixture with Mansfield out of the way for the season; please let's not draw them at home in the cup. The Sunday Rant: I absolutely hate this so called low carat diamond formation at home; just so frustrating. Under JS we played a lot of long ball without having the players suited to that game. Under NJ we use his “diamonds are forever” approach but again like JS, we don’t have the players, in this case, wing backs, capable of really effectively playing that formation at least at home. In away games, it works well as we can wait for the opposition to come at us and then try to hit them on the counterattack but at home, it’s just too slow, ponderous and predictable without the necessary wing backs to make it work. We do have those wingbacks in my view in youngsters Justin and Senior but both have injuries. I like Nathan and think he will lead us into a brighter future and a promotion or two but currently, I just wonder if he is trying, at least in home games, to play a championship style of football with L2 players against sometimes smart, sometimes physical L2 sides. I do now question the use of Sheehan as a centre back, great tackling, anticipation, and brave blocking but he is often dwarfed by the opposition strikers. Would it be better to use his undoubted skills at LB and have Mullins or Famewo in the centre with Cuthbert? Danny Hylton; oh, how we miss him when he does not play and there is nobody remotely close to stepping in for him as a striker. Sticking with strikers, just how pissed off must Banton feel for yet again not even getting a place on the eight-man bench? I am not being overly critical of NJ including CMS on the bench when match fit but surely Banton with his close control and pace would have been a better bet yesterday? Clean sheets, yes they would be nice but truly I could happily live without them if we simply have it within us to create chances for Marriott and Hylton and we score one more goal than the opposition. Finally, as jimmy Greaves used to say “it’s a funny old game": from the 22 L1 & L2 games played on Saturday there were only two home wins; how unusual is that? A few thoughts on individual performances: Walton: made a couple of smart saves but to my mind, he showed the inexperience of a youngster when he really should have shouted “leave the ball” to our defender, Sheehan I think, who needlessly headed the ball out for the corner that led to the Mansfield goal. O’Donnell: what you see is what you get, pace, effort willingness but a touch of a lack of sense at times. Cuthbert: yet another very good game from Cuthbert; got MOM from the sponsors. Sheehan: mostly a decent performance could have or should have scored. As a central defender in L2 I reckon he is struggling a touch against the big guys. Potts: defending fair enough at this level but as I say week after week just not capable of wing back play that is so desperately needed in Nathans formation. Rea: decent enough game and is capable of making the kind of tackle that Olly Lee can only dream about. Gray: played deep early on but moved up in the second half and might have scored but his shot was very tame. He had a fairly poor game in my view but that’s what we will have when we remember that he is only a youngster developing his game: confident he will become more consistent and a good player for us. McGeehan: played deeper for much of the game, always looking for the ball but things he tried, like others in the team, just did not come off apart from that very welcome equaliser. It’s all too easy to be critical of McGeehan but where would we be without his goals from midfield? Gilliead: our one bright star during the whole 90 minutes; willing to take players on, win the ball and at least try to press the opposition; surely has to start every game? Cook: neither bad or good; never made that much of an impression on the game. Marriott: worked away as best he could with just very little created for him until the two 68th minute substitutions were made. Create chances for him and he will at least convert some of them into goals. The Subs: Pelly: at last somebody willing and able to run at the opposition with pace and power. His passing did not always work as he wished but at least the Mansfield lads started to panic and space began to be created. Vassell: not a bad effort but needs more time on the pitch and a goal if he is to make a second year with our club. Ferocious Olly Lee: came on at about the 80th minute and those around me shared a quick joke of would he have time to get booked as the clock was ticking down: yes, he did have time and he collected his 6th yellow of the season. Teams: Luton: Walton, O’Donnell, Potts (Vassell 68), Cuthbert (C), Sheehan, Rea, Gilliead, Gray ( Lee 80), McGeehan, Cook (Pelly 68), Marriott. Subs not used: Craig King, Jonathan Smith, Johnny Mullins. Mansfield: Shearer, Bennett, Benning, Collins (C), Pearce, Clements, Hoban , Green, Hurst, Kyle Howkins, Rose . Bookings: Mansfield: Thomas 60, Rose 72; Luton: Ferocious Olly Lee 90. Referee: Graham Salisbury; fairly reasonable but I thought he should have clamped down on the Mansfield time wasting much earlier that he actually did. Attendance: 7,787 (295 Mansfield). I have to say that Orient is one of my favourite away days offering a trip to the ever so colourful east end with its total traffic mayhem, great old pubs and great choice of fast street food.
Pre-match a drift down from Walthamstow Central to that lovely old Victorian Pub the King William IV and a glass or two of what must surely be the best value beer in London, relay nice ales and all at under £3 a pint; what is there not to like! Yes, East London is what it is, crowded, incredibly slow crawling traffic but vibrant and alive: always a pleasure to visit. As I always say, following the Hatters especially away from home, is much more than the 90 minutes of a game, maybe that’s only half of the occasion. The other half is the very enjoyable and wonderful spirit, comradeship and banter shared by the many like-minded folk that follow our great club. Orient, have a very nice tidy ground with pleasant welcoming supporters, a good place to visit. The ground is fairly old but has been modernised and to me, toilets apart, seems really fit for purpose and well run. Looking back it just seems so silly that Orient with their relatively small numbers of very Loyal supporters made all that PR fuss a few years ago about wanting to move to the Olympic stadium, simply daft, plain daft. The gate was given as 5471 but if you take away the official & home end attending Hatters that gives under 4000 home supporters plus those free view balcony dwellers. Orient in truth have a nice tidy little ground with decent seating and the wisdom to place way supporters down one side of the ground, love it! As it turns out I missed the Justin episode in the warm up where he tweaked a muscle and had to be replaced before KO by O’Donnell; a bit of a surprise but at least it happened before we kicked off and did not rob Nathan of any tactical use of his game-changers for later in the match. Prior to this enforced change Nathan had decided to draft Cook, Gilliead and Rea into the team at the expense of Pelly, Gray and the suspended Lee. Personally, I think that it must have been a close call for Cam retaining his place as his form has been way below what he is capable of delivering. The game itself was a fairly lively affair with both sides probing away; we did not sit back and Orient were not afraid to come forward. A nice Orient move almost gave them the lead as the Ex-Mansfield striker Ollie Palmer dived low to head the ball just outside of Walton’s left-hand post. In one sense that would have been some goal and in another sense fairly slack defending from the Town but I have to remember we are in the 4th tier of English football and things just aren’t going to be perfect all of the time. Our side were putting some attractive moves together and enjoying the extra space afforded to away teams compared to what we are used to working in at Kenilworth Road. We were seeing some attractive football with Cook, Marriott, Hylton and Gilliead heavily involved. In fact, Gilliead was looking particularly good. He has the will to get back and seek the ball and then the skill to take on defenders and create opportunities; I hope that this, his second start, is followed by more regular opportunities in our starting line up. In fact, it was that hard working Gilliead who won possession and then sent the ball over for Marriott to very cleverly make space in order to have a pop at goal which was pushed out by the Orient keeper only for McGeehan to pounce with a simple tap the ball into the open net: 1-0 to the Hatters. Great joy and I have to say what great scenes of celebration and support from the 1400 or so travelling hatters. After we had taken the lead, I can’t really say that I remember Orient coming anywhere near close again in the first half; ok, there were crosses into the box etc but really just so ably dealt with by our defence and that had the superb Rea playing as holding mid-filed. Thinking of that holding position, surely it’s time to abandon the experiment of playing the willing Olly Lee in that role: Lee certainly has some footballing gifts but holding midfield just ain’t one of them. The second half started with Orient trying to push Luton back but not really creating anything much in the way of a threat to our defence apart from a Massey deflection that crept the right side of the post as far as us hatters fans were concerned. Our second goal came about from some good work by Marriott on the right-hand side of the penalty cutting in yet instead of having a shot himself he played it to the better placed Danny Hylton who thundered the ball into the back of the net: great play Jack, great play Danny. I should also mention that Marriott did really well in a breakaway when cutting in this time from the left he made just enough space in the area to blast a shot at goal that hit the post and the alert Cook almost got a finishing touch to but Orient were saved by some decent reflex work from the keeper. Also in another swift flowing breakaway move the impressive Gilliead cut in from the right and sent in a powerful shot that went over the bar, it could so easily have been 3-0 at that time. So there we go nicely cruising along with a two-goal lead and the usual question was can we see the game out and keep a clean sheet; well I suppose that’s two questions really but the second question was answered when Orient pulled a goal back. You have to give credit to Orient who tried to create what they could but playing against a town team with Rea patrolling so well in front of the back four just severely limited their opportunities. True, O’Donnell did try to use his appalling back-pass technique to let Orient back in the game but we got away with it; not a bad player our O’Donnell but for me, nowhere near the player that Justin is for our team. After the final whistle went, Nathan came over to his barmy army to once again demonstrate that Jones speciality, the self-administered CPR technique; just marvellous stuff and let’s enjoy it while we can, simply great supporters and a great club. Overall, a really decent away performance in the style that is so typical of NJ's team approach involving, for the most part, organised defending and swift counter-attacking that has brought three wins and only two defeats in seven away games. Ok, you could rightly argue that we were poor in the Crawley defeat and in the Cheltenham draw but we really should have had all the points from the away games at Stevenage and Pools: not orange tinted specs simply an often critical but hopefully fair view of a travelling fan. It must also be said by the absolutely marvellous travelling support for the Hatters at Orient as they backed their team from beginning to end and thoroughly enjoyed the sharing of passion with Nathan at the end of the game: loved it! A few more thoughts: For holding midfield, it really has to be Glen Rea over Olly Lee and that’s by some very great distance in my book. I quite like Olly but I would rather see him used when required in front of Rea and not in place of Rea. O’Donnell did well enough for most of the game but just how does Nathan get that suicidal back-pass routine out of O'Donnell's character? Just why does he do it? Is Jack Marriott out of form? Well, an easy question to answer; he had a bloody good game at Orient. He was involved in both goals and hit the post in a really decent move; definitely along with Danny Hylton our first choice striking partnership. Gilliead has had two starts in the league team and some substitute appearances. Strangely his two starts have both been away from home at Pools and Orient and in both games, he played very well indeed with the ability to carve open the oppositions defence. Surely these qualities are also needed in our home games because it is at home where we seem to struggle most as the opposition managers set to stifle our more creative types yet apart from double marking, I can’t see how they could easily stifle Gilliead. The Sunday Rant: Just a quick thought on Cameron McGeehan: don't sulk your way to the bench when you are subbed, better to accept it and acknowledge your travelling supports who generously applauded you as you left the pitch. Why do I keep having a go at Cameron a guy who wades in with plenty of goals from midfield? Well, the reason is that I feel he needs to have a real look at himself and make some adjustments to his approach to the game that would enable the real quality player within to emerge. Incidentally, I could easily write the same about Pelly. To my mind with a focused McGeehan & Pelly operating midfield we would be near unstoppable in this league. Some thoughts on Individual Performances: Walton: did everything asked of him and made a couple of very decent saves and commanded very well in the air. ODonnell: came into the side for Justin who picked up an injury in the warm-up. As is so often the case with O'Donnell, a complete mixture on offer; one decent defending and a couple of neat suicidal attempted pass backs. Cuthbert: another commanding game on his return to his former club: the guy is in really decent form. Sheehan: in addition to some good defensive work he managed a couple of worthy efforts from range on the Orient goal. Potts: not a bad defensive game but his style of play seems to always stall forward moves that he is involved in. If we played 4 4 2 then I think he would be a good fit but he is just not a wing back. Rea: for me, Rea was really absolute class as he carried out his midfield ball-winning role. Most definitely for me the preferred option for that crucial holding role in midfield. McGeehan: scored that all important first goal and had a better game than he had last week. However, still not performing to the level we know he is capable of. Cook: he got involved in most of our forward moves and did not disappear from the game as he challenged for possession and took defenders on. Overall one of his more consistent games. Gilliead: this lad is real class and can unlock the oppositions defence. in my view he had a terrific game and should definitely start against Mansfield next week. Marriott: oh how I wished he had managed to score to reward his endeavour. As well as setting up Hylton's goal, he cut in beautifully from the left to send a shot against the post. Hylton: well what can you say? Simply the forward we have been missing and the total pain in the arse for all opposition defenders; the sort of player you would simply hate to play against. He was just great yesterday as he constantly gave the O's defenders a really tight time; challenging for every ball in the air, skilful on the ground and smart enough to see opportunities to bring others into play. The Subs: Well only Smithy of the subs used had enough minutes to merit a comment and as ever you know what you will get from this great club man; total but total commitment. I don’t really see Smith as a starter these days but I do see him as a truly valuable member of the squad who will get plenty of game time coming off the bench when we need to close things down a little. The Teams: Luton: Walton, O’Donnell, Cuthbert (c), Sheehan, Potts, Rea, Cook (Mullins 90), Gilliead (Gray 90+2), McGeehan (Smith 84), Hylton, Marriott. Subs not used: Banton, Vassell, King (GK) Orient: Cisak, Hunt, Erichot, Parkes, Kennedy, Massey, Atangana (Dunne 75), Janse, Semedo, Simpson (McCallum 68), Palmer. Cards: Yellows for Hylton and O’s Smedo for a touch of silliness rather than dirty play. The referee for the day was a bit of a surprise in it being Trevor Kettle and once again; was that a late change as I thought another referee, Ollie Yates, had been named for the game? I have to say that Mr Kettle refereed the match well; no moans from me. Well it was nice to be back at the Kenny for a league game; I know it’s only two weeks since the last L2 game at home against Doncaster but it seems and age and many miles ago. After two drawn away games and an absolutely splendid EFL performance from our youngsters on Tuesday the senior 11 returned to Kenilworth Road on Saturday to take on Crewe. It’s been a while since we played Crewe. The last league game between the two was on 29th Match 2008 at Kenilworth Road when we ran out 2-1 winners. Well, a lot has changed since that time for both clubs as they headed in opposite directions within English football.
Following Tuesday's excellent performance by “another 11”, I at least expected to see Zane Banton on the bench but sadly not, maybe he picked up an injury on Tuesday but if he was fit then surely he had earned a spot in that 18. In fact going back to last Tuesday, some of us were speculating before the game how that group of players would fare in L2. Now we were not for a moment saying NJ should have fielded that group of players against Crewe, it’s just that there was so much creativity that evening. We certainly have the players to be a really effective L2 side and without a doubt, due to the young age of some of these talented lads, we should have a great future. It’s just a question of being able to set ourselves up with a really effective formation/tactics that get the best out of the players that take to the field. My personal view of L2 is that there are some smart managers there and some of them, such as ex-loanee Joe Davis dad, Steve Davis, really study the way we play and set up to nullify our creativity and passing to our pair of strikers. Staying on that theme, just as Grimsby did, Crewe set out to negate our midfield set up with very little room given to the likes of McGeehan who just did not really get into the game. McGeehan’s first touch, not the strongest part of his game at the best of times, was poor yesterday and with the close attention he was getting from the Crewe, players he just could not rise above it and get his game going. For me his form has been sliding away since that 2-1 defeat at Stevenage: he was really powerful and influential in that game. Maybe a spell on the bench might sharpen him. The midfield as a creative unit failed to really get to grips with the game; ok that middle unit was better than they were at Cheltenham when they went missing for most of the game but still some way off where they need to be. Very early in the game a super through ball from Justin to Marriott carved open the Crewe defence and Marriott running through guided the ball into the net but the assistant referee decided that Marriott had been offside. I was sitting high up in the main stand on the Oak Road side of the half way line and thought Jack was onside but there you go! Shame as it was a lovely move and I did think at the time that it’s a good job that Mike Newell is no longer at Luton! We then went through a period of real possession football with lots of one-touch passing patiently waiting for a moment to make a telling pass but yesterday that telling pass or anything truly creative was as rare as Fosters been mistaken for beer at a beer festival. Then we had a moment of real magic when Pelly receiving the ball from Potts moved past his defender and sent in a beautiful chip ball to the right side of the area to Gray who coolly squared the ball across the area for Danny Hylton to tap the ball home for the opening goal. I think was a real quality move and gave Danny his 7th goal of the season; yes, a great move and a great goal for the player the numpty brigade call a liability. Crewe, are a very decent side and they themselves pushed forwards on a good number of occasions in the first half and indeed brought a couple of good saves from Walton. So we reached the break a goal to the good: I was feeling reasonably comfortable with that position yet the ever present questions remained, could we prevent the opposition from scoring or even increase our lead and put the game to bed? It’s all about opinions of course but I would say that we just about deserved our first half lead against this very decent football playing Crewe side. In the second half Crewe started well and carved out some good moves including one that brought one of those moments to remember as Cuthbert made a truly exceptionally well-timed tackle in the penalty area to deny a close-range shot on goal; just one fraction of a second out with that tackle and it would have been a penalty and maybe the dreaded early bath for Cuthbert. Crewe continued to press and sadly for us they were finding too much space in midfield where just about the entire Luton midfield department struggled to either win or retain the ball: McGeehan had still not got into the game, Gray’s passing had become a touch sloppy, Pelly after some early decent work looked as if he needed a couple more Duracell inserting and Lee’s decent form shown in the first half headed south. Crewe’s good work was then rewarded on 64 minutes as a beautiful cross by Cooper with the outside of his left foot found the unmarked Ryan Lowe to head the ball home, It was a good goal by Crewe but one that our new star Justine needs to learn from as he had needlessly drifted centrally and given Lowe far too much space. After that Crewe equaliser, the Crewe threat seemed to diminish and we began to push forward but all too much huff and puff without a real creative cutting edge. Nathan did make substitutions bringing on Gilliead for Pelly (a couple of minutes before the Crewe equaliser), I would personally have taken McGeehan off as he was AWOL. We then in the 80th minute had a double substitution, Rea and McQuoid for Lee and Marriott: poor Banton was watching this about 8 yards away from me in the main stand. We might have snatched it late on with a cross that Hylton made contact with a Cuthbert’s excellent knock-down from a corner but the ball went over the bar. In the end, a fair result in my view from a couple of the better sides in L2 yet to show consistency in form and points gathering. My overall impressions: Crewe are undoubtedly a good L2 side Sadly for the 2nd consecutive game, our midfield were tactically negated by another decent manager. You could say that our midfield collectively had an off day and whilst there is some truth in that, I feel a fair bit of credit has to go to the Crewe manager Steve Davis and indeed in Grimsby’s case a few weeks back, Paul Hurst. Maybe a bit more variability is needed from our team in the way we set up; have we become too predictable? Not really a time for the doom merchants I would suggest: only the out & out attacking Doncaster have scored more goals than us, we have only lost three from twelve games and only four sides have conceded less goals than Luton. With young players and a young manager we need to be patient as we have another 74% of the season to come or in games, 34 games to play and we are in 5th place in a very competitive league. Some impression on individual performances: Walton: had to make a few smart saves and had a decent game. Justin: again a decent game but he will no doubt hold his hand up for drifting into the centre and leaving goal scorer Lowe unmarked. Cuthbert: exceptional; won just about everything in the air and that saving tackle in the second half was just superb. Sheehan: kept trying to drive the team forward; overall a decent game. Potts: decent enough game especially on defence but as said so many time before he has yet to learn to effectively play that terribly demanding wing back role. Lee: a fairly decent first half but drifted in the second half. Pelly: most of the decent glimpses of excitement and creativity came from Pelly but they were only glimpses and often he just looked to be out of energy. Gray: I have seen him play much better than this; odd bits of decent play but overall not a good day. McGeehan: really given no time at all by the very effective Crewe marking; his first touch was poor and we really need him to get back to the decent form he showed earlier in the season. However, full marks to Crewe for totally and fairly removing McGeehan from the game. Marriott: unlucky with that disallowed goal; works like hell but desperately needs the creative service of the midfield that just did not happen anywhere near enough yesterday. Hylton: well-taken goal and like Marriott really needs better service than provided yesterday. The Subs: Gilliead: so nice to see somebody trying to take on the opposition and get down the flanks. Maybe he should have started the game. Rea: solid enough in his 10+ minutes. McQuoid: tried a couple of runs and in one of them should have really passed instead of going for glory. The line ups: Luton: Walton, Justin, Cuthbert (c), Sheehan, Potts, Lee (Rea), Gray, Pelly (Gilliead), McGeehan, Hylton, Marriott (McQuoid). Subs not used: O'Donnell, Smith, Vassell, King (GK) Yellows: Lee, Pelly CREWE: Garratt, Turton, Guthrie, Davis, Lowe (c), Dagnall, Cooper, Bakayogo, Bingham, Hollands, Kirk Yellows: Bakayogo An average sort of gate with a total of 7716 which included 254 travelling Crewe supporters who respectfully joined in the minutes applause for two recently deceased hatters players. Probably a briefer set of match notes than usual for this unpopular competition but although I say briefer, lord knows what will happen once I start whittling away as I just enjoyed the evening so much; anyway, let’s see where how we go with a couple of notes.
Dither, dither, should I go or should I stay, yes it certainly was a clash between political morals and the wish to watch the young stars of the future, something I enjoy so much. Anyway, with a friend from London calling to tell me to say he was going, my watch the youngster's argument was in complete control; job done, no more clash! After all, I used to drive down to see all of the FAT games when we were in the Conference, “go on young man, give it a go”! So it was off to Luton, a pleasant meal and a couple of beers with friends and off to the Kenny. What a quiet walk it was up Hazelbury Crescent and when we reached the ground one of the ground staff predicted an attendance of about 800; well as it turned out the gate was 1441. Well I am so glad I went to witness a superb display from our oh so talented youngsters against a WBA EFL side that contained a number of players with considerable experience: Swedish international Jonas Olsson, Callum McManaman, Craig Gardner and Wales keeper Boaz Myhill and of course some development players from the excellent West Brom development set up. Nathan, never been one to tinker, only made eleven changes from the starting eleven fielded at Cheltenham. The pleasing fact is that our young players on the night were simply better than the team of expensive players and WBA. Within this side we have what must surely be next season's centre back pairing of the ever so cool Musonda and his left-footed centre back partner Famewo; these guys are young, already outstanding at this level and will only get better and better. Believe me, we are so very fortunate to have our equivalent of the Manchester united class of 92; yes it’s not Beckman, Scholes, Butt and the Nevills but it’s the class of 2016 in today’s real world of the lower regions of the football league. Nathan must be totally delighted to have such a talented batch of youngsters knocking on the door for a first team place. From our class of 2016, let’s call it the class of 16, we already have the excellent Justin, who did not play last night, and Famewo having this season made the starting eleven debuts for the first team in the first team. One of the most exciting parts for me about last night's game was to see how comfortable the youngsters were in “one touch” passing the ball between each other; Musonda and Famewo obviously know each others game so well and the cover for each other just brilliantly having been brought up through the ranks together. On one of the rare moments that Famewo was beaten, there behind him was the super Frankie to make a superbly timed saving tackle; excellent stuff. On the left, at full back, we had a first game for Jack Senior and I think many were impressed by his all round game. On the flimsy evidence of one game, I would say that Nathan has found a wing back capable of delivering quality crosses and supporting the attack. Senior seems to be a good tackler and definitely one for now rather than the future and so he should be as he is pushing on in years, almost 20 I understand. Early days, but would the combination of Justin and Senior as full backs give Jones what he needs in his favoured diamond position? Sadly as much as I like Dan Pott’s defensive qualities he simply is not a wing back at the moment and I have doubts if he will ever get there but he himself is only a young chap and may eventually do it. Our keeper Craig King, probably not as tall as the Truro Giant Walton, but nevertheless built like a brick shithouse, as they say, had his confidence boosted in the first half saving a penalty that I thought was rather harshly awarded by the referee; great for him well done Craig. The Referee was, in fact, a touch fussy but no moans from me as he was consistent for both sides; yes, don’t be mean, he was ok. Moving away from the defenders, we used a tactic that we did not use at Cheltenham, we used our midfield and how very well we used them. Jake Gray was involved in most things, Gilliead constantly probing with his close ball control and long range shooting, Bakinson showing us how a ball-playing holding midfielder should really play, mind you having 5ft long legs is a distinct advantage when it comes to winning the ball. Finally, in the midfield group, we had the reliable old man Smith who miraculously managed to drag his very senior ageing body around the pitch and keep up with the youngsters for the full 90 minutes. Up front, the experience McQuoid did his stuff and made one or two excellent passes. We also had the “I am going to show I have grown up” Zane Banton. I thought that Banton had a really excellent game with his pace and tight close ball control. Banton should have had his name on the score sheet but a shot from him hit the post after receiving a great pass from SOD; that did not make Banton’s head drop and he continued his fine display; a really fine game from Banton. The goals; yes, two very well worked goals that were both nice strikes, one each from Gilliead and Gray, another couple of youngsters. By the way, what a lovely player the on-loan Gilliead is to watch; just a delight: it would be lovely to keep him with us. A final thought: projecting forwards a year or two, I feel we will have a very, very good and valuable side with so many young riches in the team. Overall a super night’s football and politics aside, I am so glad I went along. As ever, a few thoughts on individual performances: King: good handling, good kicking and a very decent penalty save. He has really filled out since I last saw him; now I can start to understand why NJ took Walton on a year's loan; based on what I have seen, King could be our keeper next season. The only downside this evening was that he was not tested at crosses but maybe I am a touch greedy. O’Donnell: looked good going forward and any crosses were not over-hit: there is hope! Musonda: elegant game: calm, composed, classy; he seems to have so much self-belief for such a young man. Famewo: He had a very good game indeed. I have now seen Famewo play quite a few times and he really impresses me. Just simply a question on when will this 17-year-old be one of the first names on the team sheet Senior: had a good game defending and also looked to be a decent wing back with some excellent forward running overlaps: yippee, Nathan may have a left back that will actually flourish in his preferred diamond formation. Bakinson: hope you were watching Olly Lee, this is how a quality passing holding midfield player plays. His long legs made some super timely tackles and when he passes the ball he actually finds a teammate. Gray: as ever, Gray really works hard in every area of the pitch and is very decent going forward: I rate the guy. Smith: gave us his usual fully committed Smith performance, encouraged the youngsters and played like a captain. Gilliead: Short report to Newcastle’s Mike Ashley: “although we have tried to bring out the best in him we just don’t feel he will make the grade. Rather than the cost of sending him back Mr Ashley, would you like us to dispose of him? In return, we can send you back our collection of 100 grotesque Sports Direct mugs”. Now the truth: what a bloody good player he is, great game with some super shots from range but don’t tell Mike Ashley. Banton: excellent game and given that awful MOM stuff: I don't kike the concept on MOM. He had a very good game and has really earned a place on the bench this Saturday. McQuoid: passed the ball well and did all that was asked of him; a good experienced man to aid this young team. The Subs: Vassell; gave us just what you would expect, bags of pace but desperately needs a goal to his name Hinds and Snelus: great to see them get their first team appearances but not enough minutes to make a meaningful comment. What a wet and dull day for a trip to the lovely town of Cheltenham; we got pretty soaked on heading to the ground; never mind, all under the banner of enjoyment. Still, rather wet, we trudged on for a game of what on certain days may be called football in these parts but in truth, to watch Cheltenham play must be a difficult choice if you like the finer game even in L2; very basic football but such football that we have difficulty in overcoming. Last time we played here the game was poor and the only item that sticks in my mind from that game was the famous McNulty rugby tackle. On Saturday again the game was poor, at least from a Hatter's perspective, and the only point to lodge in my mind was a really well worked individual goal by Hylton but more of that later. Pre-match, a large group of travelling hatters met up in the Kemble Brewery Inn; a really delightful pub tucked away in a back street of the town. They had a good range of some absolutely lovely ales on the hand pumps and what a nice touch from a hospitable landlord in providing free sandwiches for us thirsty hatters. Altogether a great lunchtime and unfortunately probably much more of a highlight of the day than the bits and pieces performance we turned in on the pitch. Nathan decided to make three changes from the team that started at Hartlepool with predictably “card collecting” Danny Hilton returning to the side along with Cook and Cuthbert having had his body bolted back together again after being stretchered off last Saturday, returning in the place of that star of the future Akin Famewo. In the Cheltenham line up they had our ex-player Asa Hall, remember him, and on the bench the fragile and sometimes exciting Amari Morgan-Smith who showed such promise at Luton before being well and truly Buckled.
The match began with Luton looking comfortable enough on the ball and stroking the ball around in a fairly untroubled way: all neat stuff but in terms of threat on goal not really going anywhere. The defence were coming well enough with the high balls pumped in by Cheltenham but sadly our team were just not really creating anything in the way of chances. Poor Marriott must have despaired at the lack of service that came his way in the first half; it’s hard to remember any reasonably creative stuff from the midfield in that first 45 minutes. Come on Hatters, we can do better than this surely. With no changes being made at half time would we get more of the same tidy yet ineffective play? Would Cook, who did very little in terms of creativity or protecting his defence, be able to impose himself on the game after a word from Nathan? Would Olly Lee win a few tackles and pass to a team-mate when he is pressured? OK, I know that's an unlikely one so let's move on. To be fair we did look a touch better in the second half and again passed the ball around well enough but never really looked as if we were going to rip our lowly hosts apart. After all that tip tap passing we just could not create a move to present our striker with anything of an opening to have a go at. Our midfield remained gloriously ineffective. Why should they be? Well, it's hard to say really as some of the players who played on Saturday created just so many chances in the last two games against what I see as far better opposition but maybe it’s getting toward time to look at the midfield and look at the narrow way we tend to set ourselves up. Cameron McGeehan charging about wide looks about half of the player compared to when he is playing in a central more forward role. Turning to Cook, he just did not get into the game to any extent over the whole 90 minutes. Lee suffered great confusion about which side to pass the ball to but to his credit always made that pass be it right or wrong. I will keep saying it to the extent that I bore myself but Olly Lee is NOT a creative holding midfield player; Nathan says Lee needs to improve and grow in that role but let’s be honest, Olly is not going to get any faster or develop a mental toughness that Brian Horton or Kevin Nicholls had; it’s just not going to happen. Then we have Pelly who produced a mix of good powerful play and some quite poor passing. So that’s the midfield unit just not functioning anywhere near where we need it to. Our Danny Hilton, what a great lad he is, decided to create his own opportunity by cutting in from the right, making his way into the penalty area and thoughtfully crashing the ball into the net to give the town a goal lead. Great stuff Danny; just how can some armchair idiots call him a liability especially the vocal keyboard warriors that don’t even get to a game? It’s also worth noting that a couple of the Cheltenham players rather cruelty targeted Hylton's phantom mask and did cause him some pain. Maybe it was accidental, maybe it was tactical, who knows but I thought it happened too frequently to be "just by chance"! The real question now was could we keep a clean sheet or would again against an allegedly inferior side, be dragged back to level pegging? Well as the second half progressed we got our answer when we failed to defend a corner and bang, we are dragged back to 1-1; maybe Mr Kettle should have booked a couple of Cheltenham players for being tall, simply unsporting, they have some very tall guys in their team. We really need to be a bit tougher at these set pieces a fact that NJ is well aware of; let’s hope continued work on the training ground improves things. Cheltenham in their quest for a winner threw on our old “made of glass” Amari Morgan Smith, I did like him at Luton when fit, along with a couple of other subs. Jonesy countered with Smith and Gilliead. I reckon Nathan wanted to avoid doing a Stevenage and come away empty-handed but at the same time to use the fresh legs of Gilliead to maybe create a winner. Well each side did have the odd chance but honestly, it was Cheltenham who probably came the closest to getting a second and we have Walton to thank for a very good save or two that kept us level. At the end of the game I was happy with a point from a game in which our young team had not been at their best; it happens, and we move on. So there we have it, two points from consecutive away games that keep us handily placed with 18 points in fourth place; no disaster by any means. However, I hope Nathan does learn from this performance/set up. We have some very good players and I reckon he will be able to take on board a few fairly obvious weaknesses and move forwards. A few random thoughts: Plus points: from the game: overall the defence and particularly Walton, the return of Hylton and young Justin’s excellent form. Negative points: Olly Lee is just not a holding midfield player; the disappearing Cook and the almost complete lack of service for Marriott from our midfield. I have read a couple of comments on boards criticising Walton 'should be more commanding in the air", well everybody is entitled to a comment but I do find it helps a touch if you take the bother to occasionally go along to a game before making a fool of yourself. For those supporters disappointed with 18 points from 11 games well it's worth remembering a couple of things: Firstly: NJ has been fairly brave and we have a young and still learning side that I am sure he will tune this over the next few games. Secondly, if we keep collecting points at the current rate of 18/11, we will certainly be in the play off places come the end of the season: so all in all, not a disaster to be in 4th place; not a bad place to be. Yes, we can do better and we will in my opinion, so onwards to next Saturday’s home game against Crewe; hope to see you there. A few thoughts on individual performances: Walton: played well and came out to collect the high lumped balls very cleanly. Also Walton made a couple of really very good saves. In my opinion, he gets better game by game BUT DONT TELL BRIGHTON! Justin: what a class defender this young man is. Not only did he defend well but he also supported the play down the wing so well; here to stay I would have thought. Nathan please get him on a three year contract and for that matter same deal for Famewo. Potts: gave his usual determined defensive performance but just like last week, the week before that etc he is just not a wing back suited to this demanding formation. Cuthbert: I thought he played well and probably not his fault that the ball was knocked back to him far too frequently which is a bit of a waste as Cuthbert is a solid basic L2 centre back and not a creative passer. Sheehan: gave the good all round game we expect to see from him; quality player. Lee: well what can you say? I don't think that Olly is a bad player in a more forward role but he clearly is just not a holding midfield player; sorry Nathan it's time for a rethink on this particular experiment: not fair to Lee and not fair to the team. Pelly: a mix of powerful skill and overnight passes: not his best day and not his worst but with other midfielders being below their best we could have done with a more consistent Pelly today; please wear footy boots Pelly and sling away those flip-flops. McGeehan: we suspect that he could be a class player after all he was terrific at Stevenage but just did not get to that level of performance today. Cook: not his best game in fact quite poor as he simply drifted in and out of the game with the drifting out part, unfortunately, predominant. Marriott: worked away without the type of service he really needs in order that he may thrive. Without service just how the heck can he have a good game? It would be really harsh to criticise him based on the lack of decent passes made for his undoubted talent to exploit. Hylton: what a clever player who in my opinion had a very decent game and apart from his goal, never gave the Cheltenham defence a moment's rest. Subs: Smith: gave everything as per usual in his brief appearance and probably showed that NJ reckoned a point was worth holding onto.. Gilliead: no real time to make much of an impact I have to mention the man with the whistle Mr Kettle; he did just fine in my opinion: OK he might have been a bit tougher on the treatment dished to Danny Hylton but I would not really criticise him for that. Apart from when he called what should have been a corner to us wrong, he was fine. The Teams: Luton: Walton, Justin, Potts, Cuthbert, Sheehan, Lee, Cook, Pelly (Gilliead 82), McGeehan, Hylton, Marriott (Smith 76). Cheltenham: Griffiths, Barthram, Downes (C), Pell, Waters (Amari Morgan-Smith 74), Wright, Munns (Dayton 81), Hall, Cranston, O’Shaughnessy, Dickie. Bookings: Cuthbert, Waters, Downes, Pell (not Pelly). Referee: Trevor Kettle. Attendance: 3,660 and that included a very credible 923 following Luton: well done to all who travelled. |
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December 2017
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