Shades of Luton 3 Bournemouth 2 from last season in the Hatters' last minute win against Norwich on Boxing Day - a result that gets Rob Edwards' reign as boss up and running and has @OakRoadHatter dreaming of another top six push in the second half of the campaign.

Assessment of the Luton season so far?

It always boils down to expectations when looking at how a season has gone but I have been largely impressed by what I have seen so far. To be part of the play-off chasing pack after what has been a campaign full of chaos is something I am happy with, but ultimately, and probably like most Championship fans, there has been plenty of opportunities to have bolstered our points tally further. Our physical approach has bullied teams at the start of games, however, there have been issues with keeping hold of a lead.

Luton’s league results so far…
Luton 0-0 Birmingham
Burnley 1-1 Luton Brownhill 50 — Potts 5
Luton 0-1 Preston Potts 18
Bristol City 2-0 Luton Wells 5, Conway 27
Swansea 0-2 Luton Campbell 14, Morris 72
Luton 1-1 Sheff Utd Morris 10 — Burke 53
Cardiff 1-2 Luton Sawyers 85 — Freeman 47, Osho 62
Luton 1-2 Wigan Morris 39 — Lockyer og 80, Aasgard 88
Luton 2-2 Coventry Morris 4, 15 — Gyokeres 11, Hamer 61
Luton 2-0 Blackburn Morris 58, Burke 67
Hull 0-2 Luton Jones og 6, Lansbury 44
Luton 3-3 Huddersfield Adebayo 18, 37, Clark 45 — Morris og 11, Rhodes pen 32, Jackson 70
West Brom 0-0 Luton
Luton 3-1 QPR Adebayo 18, Dunne og 77, Freeman 90 — Horvath og 90
Norwich 0-1 Luton Morris 62
Watford 4-0 Luton Davis 3, Troost-Ekong 45, Pedro 57, Sarr 79
Luton 1-1 Sunderland Morris 45 — Embleton 78
Luton 0-0 Reading
Blackpool 0-1 Luton Berry 57
Stoke 2-0 Luton Powell 3, Lockyer og 13
Luton 1-1 Rotherham Berry 90 — Lindsay 1
Middlesbrough 2-1 Luton Akpom 38, Crooks 90 — Clark 33
Luton 2-1 Norwich Campbell 61, Woodrow 90 — Pukki 69

Thoughts on Jones’ departure? Any bitterness? Starting to get a bit Martin Allen and Barnet this isn’t it?

Some fans will have some stronger feelings on Jones leaving for Southampton but I cannot help thinking that he has deserved a shot at Premier League football. Not too many British managers get an opportunity to manage in the Premier League, and with his Stoke City stint seemingly acting as a barrier for other clubs to take a chance on him, it is good to see that Southampton have recognised the excellent work he has done at Kenilworth Road. That is all whilst taking off my Luton Town hat. As a Town fan, of course, it came as a big blow but it also represented an opportunity to go in a slightly different direction, whilst the opportunity at the time was an attractive one.

Rob Edwards, good idea, bad idea?

I see it as a very good idea with the future in mind, with our board once again getting it right. It did not work out for him at Watford, and given that he was not afforded the time to build anything at Vicarage Road, it would be harsh to associate him with the club down the M1. He is a manager that has succeeded using a 3-5-2 formation that focuses upon width and frontline physicality, which makes him a very good fit at Luton.

What’s he changed so far?

Not very much, which is a good thing considering where Jones left us. We are still pressing with intensity and our side leave everything out on the pitch, whilst we are still rather direct from the defensive third, however, we have played some good bits of football just outside of the area. That is probably the most noticeable difference at the moment, as the early signs suggest that our build-up play in the final and middle thirds will vary to what we saw under Jones.

January activity?

Under Jones the Premier League loan market was not really an option to us, so it will be interesting to see if the stance is maintained now that Edwards has arrived. On top of the priority list has to be a central defender as our defensive department has been completely demolished through injury, whilst we were unable to add backline reinforcements after losing Kal Naismith and Peter Kioso in the summer. A young, combative and technically good holding midfielder would also be a bonus but I do not envisage us doing much business.

Ins >>> Carlton Morris, 26, CF, Barnsley, £1.8m >>> Cauley Woodrow, 27, CF, Barnsley, Undisclosed >>> Matt Macey, 26, GK, Hibs, £104k >>> Alfie Doughty, 22, LM, Stoke, Undisclosed >>> Louie Watson, 21, CM, Derby, Undisclosed >>> Aribim Pepple, 19, CF, Calgary, Undisclosed >>> John McAtee, 23, AM, Grimsby, Undisclosed >>> Luke Freeman, 30, AM, Sheff Utd, Free >>> Ethan Horvarth, 27, GK, Forest, Loan

Outs >>> Peter Kioso, 22, RB, Rotherham, Undisclosed >>> Kal Naismith, 30, CB, Bristol City, Free >>> Elliott Lee, 27, CM, Wrexham, Free >>> Danny Hylton, 33, CF, Northampton, Free >>> Aribim Pepple, 19, CF, Grimsby, Loan >>> John McAtee, 23, AM, Grimsby, Loan >>> Admiral Muskwe, 23, CF, Fleetwood, Loan >>> Elliott Thorpe, 21, CM, Burton, Loan >>> Dion Pereira, 23, LW, Bradford, Loan >>> Carlos Mendes, 23, AM, Fleetwood, Loan >>> Robert Snodgrass, 34, RW, Hearts, Free

Strong points and weak links?

I think as the first meeting showed at the start of the season, our frontline is a real strong point, with the physicality of Morris and Adebayo causing havoc for defences during the first part of the season. Beyond that, we have a number of forwards who all represent a different mould, with Harry Cornick, Cauley Woodrow and Cameron Jerome all providing Edwards with something completely different.

As for a weak point, it is definitely our defence. We have actually defended well this season amidst all this adversity, however, Gabe Osho’s red card against Norwich creates even more defensive dilemmas ahead of Thursday.

I thought you were terrific last night against Norwich, really excellent. It felt a lot like the Bournemouth game which happened at a similar point of last season when you were in a similar place in the league - is your hope/expectation for another play off push?

There was definitely a Bournemouth feel to that Norwich game on Boxing Day and there can be lots of similarities drawn to how the first half of last season played out to this one. Those play-off places are for anyone at this stage and there is definitely scope for Luton to mount another top-six push. Before our win at Norwich, I thought the rest of this season would be for Edwards to settle in, however, now, there is no reason why a push for the play-offs should not be the ultimate objective.

Links >>> Luton Town official website >>> Hatters News — Blog >>> Luton Outlaws — Message Board >>> Supporters Trust >>> Oak Road Hatter —Blog

The Twitter, @OakRoadHatter, @loftforwords

Pictures — Action Images

Action Images

TacticalR added 13:03 - Dec 29 Thanks to @OakRoadHatter. You seem to have take Jones' departure in your stride. It looks as though Luton have considerable power in their front line, something we lack. Having said that, we have scored the same amount of goals as Luton this season.
0

CraigSchneider added 01:05 - Jan 12 Hello, Jhandi Munda is a game that in order to win large sums you need to have the necessary experience as well as know all the top tricks and nuances about this game. That is why I recommend you https://pppltd.in/tips-and-tricks-in-jhandi-munda which contains all the best and most useful tips on the game. I highly recommend it.
0

Blogs 31 bloggers

Queens Park Rangers Polls