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Reply | Frey
at 13:21 24 Sep 2024
You’ve missed one:
Micky Fray.
That’s what I have been rolling with. Whether correct or not, I think the anglicised pronunciation of his first name is de rigour for a foreigner in the English football leagues. Surely the surname is agreed on? |
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Reply | Fans Forum 30/09/24
at 12:35 23 Sep 2024
People aren’t turning on him. They are just questioning this decision to hold a fans forum without the manager. Questioning the CEO isn’t a bad thing. It’s healthy. He appears to have done some good things to date but he does not appear to be a big believer in transparency. And transparency is almost always a good thing in business and leadership. The opposite: secrecy and opaqueness is rarely a good thing, unless you’re a government agency! [Post edited 23 Sep 13:03]
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Reply | The spine is there, the rest is not working
at 12:31 23 Sep 2024
Chair plays on the left, so he comes in for Saito.
Can Saito be repurposed to the right? Not sure.
Chair could play down the middle and Dembele play right with Saito left, but Chair had very rarely played there for us, so presume he’d rather play on the left to cut in. |
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Reply | The spine is there, the rest is not working
at 12:08 23 Sep 2024
It isn’t just players showing for a pass to feet although I completely agree that Madsen and Andersen failed to do this on Saturday anywhere near enough given their role in the side. Chair will obviously help in this regard because it’s probably his greatest strength.
However, I think the bigger issue is how quickly we try to move it. Dunne and Paal repeatedly took 3-4 touches (Dunne especially) which completely kills any ability to play out. It allows the press to cut off the ball down the line to feet of your wide player.
Equally, JCS repeatedly turned down passes forward to Saito, Frey, and occasionally Madsen which were on, but required half decent execution (20-30 yard passes) and a good touch by the receiver. Instead it’s back across to Cook or out to Paal, but so conservatively he has to turn his shoulders to face JCS meaning he needs an extra touch to play it forward.
Paal also is incredibly conservative in possession. In the first half especially, Saito, who had the beating of his full back, came short into space to receive a ball to feet so he could turn several times and Paal turned it down and went back inside. Millwall were coming across to close the passing lane down but a good pass would have beaten the press (worst result was a throw in to us) and got to Saito.
Perhaps he was wary of Saito retaining it? Therein lies another problem. I think the players don’t trust each other yet. With the top players we’ve had in recent decades (Ferdinand, Sinclair, Buszacky, Adel, Eze) their teammates want to get them the ball whenever the can as soon as they can. Chair is someone that fits that mould who is trusted today. But I’m not sure the back 4 and Field trust the rest of them not to cough it up immediately and create a counter for the opposition. So we turn down passes that are on.
I/We obviously want the back 4 and Field to be bolder. I think the full backs can certainly be braver with the touchline for support and because they are being extremely slow in possession as things stand. However, I think in general the team need to gain more trust in each other.
Dembele is obviously the player you would think most of the team would have the most confidence in to control the ball and turn without losing it. And for that reason, I think he needs to start central.
I’d play Field and Colback/Varane, with Dembele at 10, Saito on the left, and then either Andersen or Smyth out wide right depending on the oppo and their form. |
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Reply | Fans Forum 30/09/24
at 11:36 23 Sep 2024
Move the date then. I’ve already pointed that out. The club have chosen it. They could have chosen any date they liked, certainly not one the night before a game. Not hard to grasp that, surely? It’s not idea for fans either.
If he still doesn’t want to attend regardless of whether the date is near a game, then Nourry can inform him it is mandatory. Every manager has attended whenever they have been held, I believe. It’s not an unfair, demanding request for him to be present, and Nourry would be in his right to enforce attendance. I’m sure many previous managers didn’t want to be there!
I would suggest they have picked a date that gives them an out (“preparing for a game”) that some fans will swallow. The bigger reason is why pick the date to do that? Why not pick a date so Cifuentes can attend? And then you’re back to my two possibilities, unless you can provide me a credible third? |
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Reply | Fans Forum 30/09/24
at 11:22 23 Sep 2024
At no point have I claimed to be “ITK”, and nor have I posted a rumour.
I have simply stated my opinion as two the possible reasons for Cifuentes not being there, by the club’s design.
Provide a credible reason for Cifuentes no attending the fans forum that is not one of the two, remembering that the date could be any night the club want it (not near a game, for example).
It really is one of the two I posted. I don’t know which is it, nor which is better/less bad. |
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Reply | Fans Forum 30/09/24
at 09:00 23 Sep 2024
That is the obvious conclusion to draw.
If Nourry wanted Cifuentes there, he’d be there, whether it be on this evening or scheduling the thing for an easier date he can attend.
Either Nourry is a little dictator/control freak who doesn’t want anyone else answering questions because he is running the show OR he is worried Cifuentes’ answers might make it apparent there is not alignment between him and Nourry.
I don’t think there is a logical explanation outside of these two, given the context of every prior Fans’ Forum having the manager attend. It’s arguable which reason is better depending on your view. |
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Reply | The spine is there, the rest is not working
at 20:28 21 Sep 2024
Frey looks like a top all round number 9. Hold up play strong. Won’t get bullied. A threat from crosses and in behind. He’s not great at anything but he is good at a lot. We might have found our main man up top though. Crowd definitely warming to him. |
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Thread | The spine is there, the rest is not working
at 17:03 21 Sep 2024
We appear hard to beat.
Performance down the spine are strong:
Nardi
JCS & Cook
Field
Frey
They are all playing well. They are doing their job.
The rest is not right, and frankly Cifuentes needs to work it out.
We tried to play out the same way for 90 mins today with zero success. We did not create a chance from playing out from the back and rarely even broke the half way line. Pragmatism might be required.
Our “ballers” need to uo their game. Madsen is coasting and half asleep off the ball. Andersen is way below his level. Dembele had a great assist but offered little else. Smyth’s end product continues to be poor. Lloyd is green. Saito was good today but he blows hot and cold. Even Varane came on and was rolled twice in midfield being the wrong side.
A lot do the squad needs to seriously step up. They are performing below their known ability or expectation. We were far too static today and far too cautious on the ball. And that wasn’t on Field or the centre halves. Our ball players were not finding space to receive it. They simply did not do their jobs. And off the ball they were abysmal.
Cifuentes has not worked out our best team yet. But the spine is there…
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Reply | Everyone Likes Us vs No One Likes Them Match Thread
at 14:55 21 Sep 2024
Frey, Field and Nardi…all very good. Centre halves rock solid.
Full backs took far too long in possession to move it. Too many touches.
Madsen and Andersen were so poor both in possession and out of it. Madsen is asleep off the ball. Doesn’t know what it going on around him. Andersen was just awful on the ball.
We simply couldn’t play through them. |
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Reply | Everyone Likes Us vs No One Likes Them Match Thread
at 11:58 21 Sep 2024
That would be my guess. He’s going for it today. A very attacking line up. Looks like he’s planning/hoping to play though them.
I would like to see Andersen and Dembele interchange often. Dembele in the centre is so difficult to defend and Andersen’s right foot crossing from the right for Frey could work well. That was the connection for Frey’s first last season to home to Norwich. |
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Reply | Kick off times
at 11:17 21 Sep 2024
The really weird thing about today’s fixture is today in London we have QPR v Millwall on at the same time as West Ham v Scum. Met must be pleased about that. After the game, when they’ll be stretched keeping tabs on that, they have Tottenham at home (to Brentford), Fulham at home (to Newcastle), and then, at the 5.30pm ko, Palace at home to Utd. Isn’t that a mad bit of scheduling?! |
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Reply | Utterly Sick of It
at 00:34 18 Sep 2024
Agree. Couldn’t make tonight but said the same thing before the Luton Cup/League double. Then we went and won both…
We could conceivably get into the Qtrs of the League Cup with some focus and ambition, get a couple of big pays days in the process, bring some respect to the club, and have a big day out. Lots of clubs or our size have reached the latter stages of the cup competitions over the last 20 years.
Saturday is one of 46 league games in a league where everyone beats everyone anyway.
Our full strength may have lost anyway because Palace might have upped it. But you have to go for it. We should not be tossing off the cup competitions. It’s simple. Winning breeds winning. Better to win today or give it your best go and then look to get a result against Millwall. How many times have the club tossed off the Cup game midweek only to lose on the next Sat anyway?! Commercially it is better to win a cup game too. I just don’t get the mentality. Experiment/Rotate against Millwall. There’s a small upside there too as they won’t have prepared for it! |
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Reply | Devasated
at 20:53 12 Sep 2024
Sounds like you were a great brother and no doubt your brother hugely appreciated everything you did for him. RIP |
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Reply | Frey’s big start, Madsen’s quiet wins, Field’s conundrum - Column
at 00:19 12 Sep 2024
I’m in a minority here. And I rarely post much now.
I think off the ball work is hugely underrated by fans and the data lads haven’t got their heads around it fully yet. You don’t need to win a tackle, make a block or nail an interception to be good off the ball.
You need to track runners and close down space, and block off passing options. Macro “fan” football stats don’t capture this. I’m sure the “pro” stats do.
How many managers in a row have made Field a stalwart of their side since he signed? All 4. Marti even dropped Hayden and played Field at 6 for the run in last year. Look at the Leeds and WBA games, our best two performances, they had Field at the heart of it. He started our last 10 games for all these comments about Cifuentes’ trust in him. Colback, Hayden, and EBD didn’t.
It’s an easy narrative. I just personally feel many fans, including Clive (who I rated enormously) have it wrong and underestimate the off the ball work.
Watch him off the ball. IMO, he is elite. He is in a different league to our other players and players we’ve had since relegation.
Should he be better on the ball and/or become better on it?! Yes, absolutely. Just don’t underestimate what we have. |
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Reply | Frey
at 22:26 30 Aug 2024
Exactly. He may not be the quickest, but he knows how to play centre forward. His movement and anticipation is good. It was there for his first goal on his debut vs Norwich. You could see it then.
This season he is match fit and match sharp. He wasn’t last season. He’d not played football for over 6 months when he joined us. And then he picked up a niggle.
He’s fit now. He’s that bit quicker and sharper, and he’s so physical. Very hard to manhandle him. So the ball sticks well. And then he looks a proper striker in the box.
Note he did his own pre-season on his own dime, I believe, for two weeks before our pre-season started. The bloke is really making an effort. He’s the right sort. |
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Reply | Where's the Luton Town (w@nk w@nk w@nk) Match Thread Match Thread?
at 21:12 30 Aug 2024
Madsen is absolutely coasting here.
He has touched it once this half where he preceded to play a hospital pass backwards to Paal.
He began the half by not anticipating a very good headed lay off from Frey. Otherwise, not in the game at all. Oh, and again. This time a chest lay off lost.
No idea who is marking Morris at corners now. Was Colback earlier. Either way it’s pretty unforgivable not to mark their no. 9 properly. |
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