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Reply | Frey
at 11:43 9 Jan 2025
6 in 16 league and cup, so a little better than 1 in 3, plus an assist. Not a bad ratio, especially when you think what a state the team was in overall earlier in the season. |
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Reply | Frey
at 10:50 9 Jan 2025
Great analysis Westway.
I think Frey is underserved by how weird he looks running - he's a big unit and he looks slow, but the first goal on Monday he starts the move from inside our half and finishes it standing practically on the touchline, he can hustle when he needs to. He's not exactly Paul Smyth but I don't think he's markedly slow for a Championship striker, and he helps himself out by having good instincts for positioning. He has good vision and passing to go with the strength too, he's a surprisingly complete player. |
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Reply | New goalie for development squad
at 10:20 9 Jan 2025
Exactly, it's a development squad, you sign players to develop. We have a clutch of them at the minute, but some of them won't work out, and you won't keep hold of all the ones that are good - keepers don't get rotated the same way outfielders do, so if the first choice is fit and playing well you aren't getting a look in. Shepperd types are happy to just be in the squad and show up to training and occasionally make the bench, but you'd hope most of these lads want to play regularly, and some of them will decide that if Nardi and Walsh are ahead of them they're going to go elsewhere and do that rather than waiting around. |
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Reply | Development squad
at 10:12 9 Jan 2025
I think it's very telling that when it was clearly not working with Madsen or Andersen, Marti took a chance on 18 year old Kieran Morgan (signed for the dev squad, zero competitive minutes in his life) and not EDB. He can't even get off the bench in most games.
Think it's worth repeating with Bennie that he was a dev squad signing who is only showing up at all because we have space on the bench and he's willing to come on as a sub wherever he's needed. He's being used exactly as you'd expect for his experience, getting a handful of minutes here and there to let senior players have a rest when we're closing out games - in a world where Chair and Dembele had both been fit we'd probably have never seen him at all. |
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Reply | Development squad
at 09:52 9 Jan 2025
EDB was a one-year extension wasn't it, not a whole new contract? I think the feeling last season was that he was only being kept out because we were so dependent on having two of Field/Hayden/Colback in the middle and Andersen was first choice playing ahead of them, but he's a player who in theory suits Marti's preferred style so we wanted to keep him for this season. As it turned out we signed Madsen, Varane, and Morgan (to very different levels of success...) and the attempt to shift styles didn't work, so we're still dependent on the two in front of the defence (which all of Field/Varane/Colback are better than EDB at), which only leaves room for one in the 10 role where Morgan is playing well enough to keep out two much more experienced players in Madsen and Andersen, never mind EDB. The couple of times he has played he hasn't looked great, either. Bit of a weird player - he has some of the good attributes of all the players around him but not enough of any of them that you'd pick him over them.
It's a bit of a cliche to say a player could use a loan but EDB is 24 and has only played in a handful of competitive games; he could desperately use some time in a team where he was getting picked every week just to find out what his real best position is and whether he can cut it in men's football because he's never going to get anywhere playing in one-off cup games and making occasional 60 second cameos. |
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Reply | Cifuentes and Dunne Nominated For Monthly Awards
at 09:30 9 Jan 2025
Yeah, I was very surprised. If you're being very picky I guess you can say either that the ball comes off the defender or there's the question mark over Frey handling it first but it's not like it's gone cannoning off somewhere from a deflection, Morgan places the ball exactly where Frey is and the Luton player never has control of it at any point. As you say, it's a straightforward assist. |
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Reply | Cifuentes and Dunne Nominated For Monthly Awards
at 09:23 9 Jan 2025
Morgan doesn't seem to have been credited with an assist for the Frey goal anywhere, which probably drops his score quite a bit. Is that because it glances off the defender first? There wasn't much contact. |
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Reply | Development squad
at 15:17 8 Jan 2025
Bennie was signed for the dev squad to begin with, he's only 18 or so. Marti seems to like him and he's been willing to cover a few positions (I think in one game he covered both left and right back, neither of which is his natural position?) so he's gotten some first team minutes but I don't think it was anyone's plan for him to be a regular feature this season.
Santos has fallen firmly out of favour and no idea what's going on with EDB, Marti seemed to rate him when he first joined us but as time's gone on he's fallen further and further behind. |
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Reply | Kieran Morgan - Looks So Comfortable.
at 14:16 7 Jan 2025
He plays with so much energy and purpose. A lot of PL academy types come down to the Championship and have technical ability but no desire to run or impose themselves on games. Morgan is the complete opposite, he wants the ball and wants to take it forwards, he's prepared to run, and he doesn't mind mixing it physically in a tough league like ours. Seems like a good character.
I think his success (and Lloyd's and Kolli's) speaks to a strong culture at the club, too. A couple of little things stood out to me last night - the way Fox was speaking to and about Morgan in the MOTM presentation at the end, Chair picking Lloyd up after that second miss. Feels like a squad that's very together. |
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Reply | Rs Vs Lootown Hatters Match Thread
at 22:41 6 Jan 2025
Could easily be bitter in his situation but he always comes across genuinely thrilled for the club and for Marti. Top man |
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Reply | Rs Vs Lootown Hatters Match Thread
at 22:15 6 Jan 2025
Rob Edwards looking like he might cry and having a proper whinge about Smyth being treated for a cut inflicted by one of his players elbowing him in the face. Classy |
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Reply | Rs Vs Lootown Hatters Match Thread
at 21:27 6 Jan 2025
Seems to be reffing entirely by how loudly the Luton players yell at him now.
Looks like Dunne will go to right back now and Edwards move back into defence. |
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Reply | Rs Vs Lootown Hatters Match Thread
at 20:22 6 Jan 2025
Really ned to put one or two of these away soon, Luton look rubbish and we're playing well but it doesn't matter how good the performance is if you don't put the ball in the net at some point |
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Reply | Champ Survival
at 18:29 5 Jan 2025
Yeah January could be big and the Hull owner seems like he's in a hurry to spend and get where he thinks they ought to be. I have no idea what the PSR situation is at any of these though, do Hull have much room? I thought they spent a lot in January 2024 too but I can't remember what their summer was like. |
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Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 90 | | Comment Votes: | 0 | | Prediction League: | 10 | | TOTAL: | 100 |
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