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Post by shatter2 on Oct 28, 2022 11:04:43 GMT
It's been a while since a 3 o'clock Saturday Kick Off at home but we have one tomorrow against the Black Cats.
They've served their exile in Div One and started off ok in the Championship but have fallen back a bit lately.
We need to come back from our poor display on Sunday and show it was just a blip.COYH!!
Sunderland Trivia. In 1976 I lived in a town called Launceston in Tasmanian. I supported the local team Launceston Utd and a coach was organised to travel down to the islands capital Hobart to watch Sunderland play a Tassie 11. Many of the tourists team were players who had won the FA Cup a year or so earlier, including Luton favourite Vic Hallom.
The Black Cats easily won with a score from memory in double figure to nil.
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Post by shatter2 on Oct 28, 2022 11:11:26 GMT
It's been a while since a 3 o'clock Saturday Kick Off at home but we have one tomorrow against the Black Cats. They've served their exile in Div One and started off ok in the Championship but have fallen back a bit lately. We need to come back from our poor display on Sunday and show it was just a blip.COYH!! Sunderland Trivia. In 1976 I lived in a town called Launceston in Tasmanian. I supported the local team Launceston Utd and a coach was organised to travel down to the islands capital Hobart to watch Sunderland play a Tassie 11. Many of the tourists team were players who had won the FA Cup a year or so earlier, including Luton favourite Vic Hallom. The Black Cats easily won with a score from memory in double figure to nil.  Sunderlands 1973 Cup winning team. |
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Post by braminghamrover on Oct 29, 2022 0:20:26 GMT
I recall the glory years of the 50s when the ‘Bank of England’ team got steamrollered 8-2, 6-2 and 7-1 at Kenilworth Road I think it was and then the shock of going up there for an FA Cup tie and losing 3-0 ( I think it was).
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Post by lutonloyal on Oct 29, 2022 7:57:13 GMT
Today will be my 1,941st LTFC game attending and the 1,262nd at Kenilworth Road.
This will be the 19th time I've seen the Black Cats (previous nickname The Rokerites) at our shrine from 1970 - 2018. I'm afraid my record is not a great one. In those 18 clashes to date I've seen just a third (Six) Luton wins and only 2 draws (including the last time in 2018) - and TEN defeats! Too many matches to go into detail. Of my first six KR clashes I saw 5/6 Sunderland wins. But I have to write, one of those defeats is up there in my all time top 10 LTFC moments:
1973-74 Div 2, Luton 3 (Jimmy Husband 2, Barry Butlin) Sunderland 4 (Hughes, Towers, Ashurst, Halom) Att: 20,285
I had only returned home from living in Adelaide, Oz 1972-74 13 days prior. Determined to catch our last three games and see if we could achieve promotion to the top flight Div One - a mere 7 + years after I began supporting Luton - when we were 2nd bottom in Div FOUR!
Seeing us beat Millwall 3-0 at KR (three stabbings on the actual Oak Road terrace vs Millwall - some things had never changed! ) Though not all the victims were Luton fans.
This left us just needing a point at WBA on 27/4/74, a day after my 16th Birthday. We achieved that point (thanks Barry Butlin) and so began the promotion party vs the Rokerites.
A best home league gate of the season (inc only a handful from Wearside) created the best atmosphere on the Oak Road I've ever experienced. 5,000 Hatters in the Oak packed to the rafters. With my new LTFC Orange/White/Navy bar scarf tied to my left wrist and Orange Luton Silk Scarf to the right, I was literally up in the roof girders to watch an utter classic.
Three times Sunderland led in an epic first half and THREE times we equalised, for both teams to go off to a standing ovation at HT 3-3. There was no way that frantic pace could continue and only one 2nd half goal settled it - a 77th min winner by ex Hatter Vic Halom. We lost 4-3, but frankly didn't mind and I was one of 000's of Town fans who ran onto the pitch at Full Time to celebrate this major achievement.
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Post by 8two on Oct 29, 2022 8:12:46 GMT
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Post by Lake on Oct 29, 2022 13:19:15 GMT
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Post by 8two on Oct 29, 2022 17:40:31 GMT
We shouldn't be dropping points to teams like Sunderland  . To be fair we were fortunate just to get the one. If games were won on attempts on target then we were well beaten. I've said it before and I'll say it again. We win too few balls that are above head height in the midfield. Good as Campbell and Clark are on the deck, that's one too many little-uns competing for balls that neither are capable of winning. Lansbury unfortunately is made of glass and things went pear shaped with his departure. Nice to see Pelly back but I guess he is still someway off a run of 90 minute games. Sponsors MoM was Lockyer, yes a defender for a home match, mine was Horvath which says everything about the performance. |
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Post by lutonloyal on Oct 30, 2022 9:36:43 GMT
The classic match of two halves. We were the better side 1st half and until Lansbury went off I thought we controlled the game. Sunderland looked a poor side first half hour, totally different to their 2nd half.
But a one goal lead rarely seems enough for modern Luton Town. The substitutions from both managers changed the game. Mowbary's Sunderland subs were far quicker and they dictated from then on. Our subs made little to no effect - NJ did his usual trying to hang on to a 1-0 lead - rather than going for a killer winner like we did vs QPR after they made it 2-1.
Fair result, we move on. Good atmosphere in front of the sell out 10,060 our biggest 2022-23 gate to date. I've always had a lot of time for Sunderland fans.
Personally, my MOTM was Alfie Doughty. A pleasure to see a player take opponents on and his cross for Carlton's well finished goal was sublime.
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Post by Wimbo on Oct 30, 2022 12:18:00 GMT
Overall a point yesterday was a fair result IMO. We had a good opening period but then Sunderland really came into the game and to be honest, I was very relieved for us to go in a goal up at HT. It was good to see two sides really going all out for the win; credit to both managers.
The Sunderland winger Clarke, ex-Leeds & Spurs & still only 21, was incredibly tricky; lovely player to watch in full flow a sort of Peter Barnes from years gone by. I don’t think Sunderland will have any worries about survival this season. As for us, to our great credit and accounting for illness, injuries etc I feel the players do well & well done NJ on the 300-mile-stone; you are a class act.
Where could we improve? Well as Lizard says we are a wee bit on the short side in midfield but perhaps that may be corrected a touch when Pelly has the rust removed after being out for such a long time; he won’t be up to 100% for a while yet I suspect.
Oh, on another site, I saw some moans about Bradley but maybe some folks missed a couple of superb tackles he made. He is not the fastest over 10 yards but needs full respect for his contribution to our team over the years.
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Post by biscot boy on Oct 30, 2022 16:47:40 GMT
I agrre mainly with the points made, however I feel if they have had a striker of the class of Morris to finish off the supply from their wingers then Sunderland would have won by probably two goals at least. I think we are ok for this season but next year could be tricky.
We have a considerable number of players who are either injury prone or near the end of their Championship level careers and will have to be replaced. IMO NJ needs to make a decision about the younger players currently out on loan. They are either good enough to be in the team or not. We cannot keep signing 8 new players each season and only around 2 being good enough. I think next season we will need an extra 6 new players in the squad capable of being considered as starters. For the life of me I could not understand when we were 4 goals down at Watford and Campbell was exhausted why Watson was not given around 25 minutes, he was rated by Rooney at Derby and what is the point of signing him if we do not play him?
No matter what happens we desperately need a midfield player with height who can tackle and use the ball. The injury to Pelly has really emphasised the need and he has been sorely missed.
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Post by bms on Oct 30, 2022 20:09:50 GMT
All of the above comments are wholly valid and we all seemed to be watching the same game.
I’ll just add the following FWIW.
Fellow passengers on a train journey this week were young players from Hayes and Yeading - it was only ten years ago that we were still in the same league as them. I make the point only to emphasise the level of achievement that all at the club have brought about since our Conference days. We are competing, not just participating, at this level despite one of the lowest budgets and wage bills in the Championship. Of course it will be a challenge to sustain all this but NJ, Mick and co have done brilliantly so far - long may it continue.
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Post by proudhattersince74 on Oct 30, 2022 21:51:38 GMT
This season has more than emphasised that we are short of replacement players when our spine is impacted by injuries. Losing Burke and Bradley earlier in the season and then losing Burke again recently has seen Potts step up (and step up well) but we have seen how vulnerable the central defence is without A-team holding midfielders just in front of them.
Regularly losing Lansbury together with Pelly's long term injury means we are throwing relatively short players up against taller and far more robust/pacy opposition midfielders ... we do not win enough 60-40 tussles on the ground let alone 50-50s. Plus Osho's enforced absences (due to injury and suspension) have hurt us more than first appears. I'm sure Osho would have been Lansbury's replacement vs Sunderland.
I believe I can safely say that Freeman is somewhat of a luxury when the battle lines become intense. Freeman's selection over Berry when Lansbury went off is still baffling me now, especially having seen how passive he was vs Watford. His inability to cover ground within our style of play simply allows the opposition to drive straight at our defence and causes Campbell or Clark to get sucked towards the middle of the park to cover his absence. I do hope Freeman isn't going to be a Jordan Cook type 'project' for NJ. Don't get me wrong Freeman has some great ability with the ball at his feet but he needs space to operate and there are too many good teams that will simply deny him time/space to show just how creative he can be ... as for when the ball isn't at his feet, he looks to be a passenger.
Hard work and gritty determination to play for each other will get us so far. But when the opposition bring the same determination and team ethics but can then add some true technical ability to the mix, we are found wanting. Sunderland had the best technical players on the pitch (and their bench!), players who were blessed with pace, strength and power. We had them on their heels for the first 20 minutes but ran out of steam and that's when their technical ability and willingness to run at us with the ball at their feet started to tell. They didn't resort to long punts and give away possession ... we did!
Our budget will only allow us to acquire certain standards of players so we won't be able to change that until we find a money tree to pay players £15K pw and afford big transfer fees. I fully agree with NJ's comment that our budget only allows us to chase players who are either athletic or skilful ... but not both! Otherwise they'd be earning a fortune at bigger clubs and well out of our wage structure. It is what it is!
COYH
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. To be fair we were fortunate just to get the one. If games were won on attempts on target then we were well beaten.
