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Post by braminghamrover on Feb 22, 2021 12:04:47 GMT
To me the general tenor of the opinions expressed in this thread smack of short-termism. Taking a longer view I would say that we are experiencing this season the levels of performance and results that we had hoped to see the season before. Why we didn't is down to the financial changes that have taken place during our long absence from the Championship caused by roughly half of the clubs having spent some time in the Premiership with its heightened requirements and benefits both on and off the field. The Championship is no longer the league we left behind. Perhaps the club knew that but I think that supporters only remember what they remember. The effect is that it took us a year to get where we thought we'd got a year earlier. The point has been well made that our squad still contains players from L1 and L2. It is not possible, contractually, to change this wholesale but it will change over time, five or six per season. There is also the question of the six million or so that the more established Championship clubs have had for much longer than us. That we survived by the skin of our teeth in that first season was a triumph against the odds. If we do a bit better this season by limping over the line a few games before the end then that will be progress on a par with my expectations. By and large, what Jones has done this season is to fix the defence (I know I know, it didn't look like it at Stoke). This is what all new managers do, it's easier to stop people playing than it is to introduce flair especially when the club is being run on strict economic lines. I'll never forget a similar time in the past when the Town were on one of their upswings and we signed Brian Lewis. He showed us what we had temporarily forgotten, a difference in class from what we had become accustomed to. We saw it the other day with Cardiff's first goal. Leaving aside the defensive error in leaving players unmarked on the edge of the box, the finish was a thing of beauty. We saw a glimpse of the kind of talent that is needed to reach the upper level of this division.
My summary so far is that the Town are going in exactly the right direction. This is not the time to lose our nerve. It's a bloody difficult journey but we must remember that we are fighting on two fronts, on the field with established Championship clubs and off it with dear old Kenilworth Road and the Power Court project that must affect what we can do squad-wise. We must also remember where we came from. It's not possible to become a high-flying Championship club overnight. Each year we can stay in this league reduces our chances of relegation. We have to do the hard yards.
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Post by proudhattersince74 on Feb 22, 2021 12:42:11 GMT
BMS: "It’s been abundantly evident for a while that Rae has been really struggling but NJ persists in both selecting him and playing him in exposed positions, with, oddly enough, the same outcome."
As far as I can observe (as I don't have access to the data which may or may not flag up, "Oh 5h1t, I messed up again") Rea struggles when he doesn't have a specific threat/player to mark, tackle, block or track. When he is a 'free spirit' with more space then he appears to drift in and out of the games (as well as drifting in and out positionally) far too much for my liking. Effectively, in those situations, he marks empty space rather than a player. However, give him a man marking job to stop an influential opposition playmaker and I don't think anyone else in the squad would match up to his anticipation and ability to close them down.
Another downside to being free to roam is that, because he is in space, others start playing the ball to him in expectation that he can pass it to another team mate! Whilst that is simply be a part of football, Rea has shown way too many times this season that he simply isn't that type of midfielder. His most effective role being where he makes a tackle/interception and lays the ball 5 yards to KDH/Pelly/Moncur/Berry. Just don't expect him to play anything more than 20 yards with any degree of accuracy.
Rea has plenty of strengths at CDM but we look much more vulnerable when NJ expects him to play CB or in front of the back line whilst NOT imitating a barnacle stuck to the back of an opposition player.
Apart from anything else, why does NJ persist with experimenting with three at the back when we have always struggled to make it work given this particular squad? It's always Rea that makes up the three and it doesn't frickin' work! Without fast and capable wing backs, we are far too deep and usually quite narrow (as Pearson and Potts tend to get sucked into the middle instead of marshalling out to the full widths of the pitches) so we still get sucker-punched by flying wingers/wingbacks crossing the ball into our penalty area with limited resistance.
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Post by bms on Feb 22, 2021 13:03:04 GMT
Lots of excellent points made in this thread. Here’s hoping for a mini miracle on Tuesday night to raise our spirits 🤞🏻
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Post by greeno on Feb 22, 2021 13:09:34 GMT
To me the general tenor of the opinions expressed in this thread smack of short-termism. Taking a longer view I would say that we are experiencing this season the levels of performance and results that we had hoped to see the season before. Why we didn't is down to the financial changes that have taken place during our long absence from the Championship caused by roughly half of the clubs having spent some time in the Premiership with its heightened requirements and benefits both on and off the field. The Championship is no longer the league we left behind. Perhaps the club knew that but I think that supporters only remember what they remember. The effect is that it took us a year to get where we thought we'd got a year earlier. The point has been well made that our squad still contains players from L1 and L2. It is not possible, contractually, to change this wholesale but it will change over time, five or six per season. There is also the question of the six million or so that the more established Championship clubs have had for much longer than us. That we survived by the skin of our teeth in that first season was a triumph against the odds. If we do a bit better this season by limping over the line a few games before the end then that will be progress on a par with my expectations. By and large, what Jones has done this season is to fix the defence (I know I know, it didn't look like it at Stoke). This is what all new managers do, it's easier to stop people playing than it is to introduce flair especially when the club is being run on strict economic lines. I'll never forget a similar time in the past when the Town were on one of their upswings and we signed Brian Lewis. He showed us what we had temporarily forgotten, a difference in class from what we had become accustomed to. We saw it the other day with Cardiff's first goal. Leaving aside the defensive error in leaving players unmarked on the edge of the box, the finish was a thing of beauty. We saw a glimpse of the kind of talent that is needed to reach the upper level of this division. My summary so far is that the Town are going in exactly the right direction. This is not the time to lose our nerve. It's a bloody difficult journey but we must remember that we are fighting on two fronts, on the field with established Championship clubs and off it with dear old Kenilworth Road and the Power Court project that must affect what we can do squad-wise. We must also remember where we came from. It's not possible to become a high-flying Championship club overnight. Each year we can stay in this league reduces our chances of relegation. We have to do the hard yards. Well said, this is my perspective too.
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Post by ickle2 on Feb 22, 2021 13:14:41 GMT
NJ said when signing a number of players they were for the future. I think we have several who should/will be ready to play a major part next season. It is obviously very important to get a couple of wins in the near future just to get confidence back into a few players and then ensure safety preferably 4/5 games before the end of the season.
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Post by rutlandhatter on Feb 22, 2021 13:24:59 GMT
As BMS has said, there are a lot of excellent points on this thread. This season, since Lockyer has established himself and, dare I say, Pearson has been playing full back, not only has our defence been stronger but in turn that has given the whole team confidence. Losing both players in one game was a blow, and we don't seem to have a ready made replacement, either in terms of playing personnel or system. As a consequence Rae gets played out of position which means Pelly is played out of position and so it goes on. We need to play our players in the positions which suit them best and play to our strengths and if we concede 3 provided we score 4 it won't matter. As to the Conference/League 1 debate --I'm for the Conference every time, even if I'm depressed at 5pm every Saturday afternoon. I'm not a masochist but I want to see Luton build for the future and that means an academy set up that is simply not sustainable in League 1. We might have a few years of footballing pain but the result at the end of the day will be worthwhile. And for the here and now? We need another Steve Rutter. Our style of play, and fortunes, improved after he joined us. I've no idea why but we need that sort of influence (skill/knowledge?) in our coaching staff to make a difference because, clearly, Jones alone is not enough.
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Post by shatter2 on Feb 22, 2021 14:45:13 GMT
As BMS has said, there are a lot of excellent points on this thread. This season, since Lockyer has established himself and, dare I say, Pearson has been playing full back, not only has our defence been stronger but in turn that has given the whole team confidence. Losing both players in one game was a blow, and we don't seem to have a ready made replacement, either in terms of playing personnel or system. As a consequence Rae gets played out of position which means Pelly is played out of position and so it goes on. We need to play our players in the positions which suit them best and play to our strengths and if we concede 3 provided we score 4 it won't matter. As to the Conference/League 1 debate --I'm for the Conference every time, even if I'm depressed at 5pm every Saturday afternoon. I'm not a masochist but I want to see Luton build for the future and that means an academy set up that is simply not sustainable in League 1. We might have a few years of footballing pain but the result at the end of the day will be worthwhile. And for the here and now? We need another Steve Rutter. Our style of play, and fortunes, improved after he joined us. I've no idea why but we need that sort of influence (skill/knowledge?) in our coaching staff to make a difference because, clearly, Jones alone is not enough. We'll all be depressed back in the Conference Gale!😁
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Post by proudhattersince74 on Feb 22, 2021 15:41:15 GMT
As BMS has said, there are a lot of excellent points on this thread. This season, since Lockyer has established himself and, dare I say, Pearson has been playing full back, not only has our defence been stronger but in turn that has given the whole team confidence. Losing both players in one game was a blow, and we don't seem to have a ready made replacement, either in terms of playing personnel or system. As a consequence Rae gets played out of position which means Pelly is played out of position and so it goes on. We need to play our players in the positions which suit them best and play to our strengths and if we concede 3 provided we score 4 it won't matter. As to the Conference/League 1 debate --I'm for the Conference every time, even if I'm depressed at 5pm every Saturday afternoon. I'm not a masochist but I want to see Luton build for the future and that means an academy set up that is simply not sustainable in League 1. We might have a few years of footballing pain but the result at the end of the day will be worthwhile. And for the here and now? We need another Steve Rutter. Our style of play, and fortunes, improved after he joined us. I've no idea why but we need that sort of influence (skill/knowledge?) in our coaching staff to make a difference because, clearly, Jones alone is not enough. We'll all be depressed back in the Conference Gale!😁 Unless we play Norwich
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Post by shatter2 on Feb 22, 2021 16:03:32 GMT
😁
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