Back from the Luton game

[SpaceCruiser]

Golbourne - I thought he had a decent game last night, though there was a period in the first half when he was just punting the ball up the field when Harper was in space and screaming for the ball....

[Silver Fox]

On the subject of the LOLuton fans, yep well done to them for supporting their team through such tough times (We'll see how that works out for them next year) But a definite LOL is deserved for their booing of SHunt for having the temerity to try to stand up to the man who defines journeyman lower league clogger, Kevin Nicholls. Maybe like those fans the ref had also seen the Cech incident on MOTD and decided in advance that our players deserved everything they got.

BTW that and Long's inability to finish his chances where my only beefs from last night. Thoroughly enjoyable although my mate now has the problem that his Canadian girlfriend, attending her first ever "soccer" game, will think that happens every week

[kwik-silva]

Great performance really, if Noel Hunt doesn't start Saturday I will be very disappointed.

Federici - 7 - not much to do, good distribution, made 1 great save
Kelly - 7 - solid
Pearce - 8 - commanding, fully deserved his goal, calm on the ball. No problems if he starts Saturday
Duberry - 7 - good when he was on the pitch, hopefully the subsitution was just a precaution
Golbourne - 7 - solid
Henry - 8 - Fantastic, some brilliant crosses, turned the Luton defence inside out
Karacan - 8 - Made some good bursts upfield, and very strong in tackles (notably the one that gave us a corner to score from)
Harper - 7 - I didn't really notice him, but his contributions weren't bad (including starting a move for a goal)
S. Hunt - 8 - Worked and worked, a great cross for his brother to score from and a good goal for himself
Long - 6 - He just didn't look good at all, maybe a chance to go out on loan now we've got 5 strikers? Although did set up one goal if I remember
N. Hunt - 9 - Brilliant, set up 3 and scored a brilliant header, deserves to get in the starting team before Doyle (guy in-front of me got his shirt )

Ingimarsson - 7 - Wasn't called into action alot, but was solid
Mooney - 6 - Didn't get the ball that I remember, made some good runs though
Sigurdsson - 7 - Didn't really notice him, but was good overall

Ref - 4 - Seemed like he left his cards at home, then booked Hunt for a nothing tackle

I think Karacan, Henry and Pearce all have to get on the bench at least with Hunt rewarded with a starting place

The funny thing is that our youth players look a better footballing team and show a lot more ambition.

Yeah, I agree, although this was against a league 2, almost definately in the conferance team. The way they passed the ball though was brilliant! Nothing like the first team strangely enough. Alot of the times it was just short and then go on a run, or play in triangles, which you were taught on the first day of school.

[Streets]

For those that think Harper does nothing can you explain why we looked off the pace after he went off??

We didn't. Karacan came into his own and if anything we looked better in the centre.

[strap]

Whilst I was delighted with that, really impressed I just can't see Coppell making any changes apart from the obvious one. You know these lads have come in played exactly how Reading demand and the played the sort of football I think everyone wants to see, yet we won't see Karacan saturday...Cisse back in. We won't see Henry as Kebe comes back into the side, We won't see Pearce, back come Ivar and Sonko. We MIGHT see Noel Hunt but Doyle will continue on his merry dump way. If I was a betting man, I would bet on Armstrong coming in at left back with S Hunt replacing Convey in our only change. Which in my opinion is absolutely tragic and sends out the completely the wrong message. Well done lads, you absolutely destroyed the opposition in the week put in the best individual performances of the season so I am dropping you again for someone who hasn't done anything to warrant selection.

Coppell there is the challenge, the youth have staked the claim, do you have the bottle to give these lads the opportunity they deserve or will you go back to Coppell's Clique for your selection Saturday? I know where my money is.

Not qualified to comment to such depth as I was banished to BBCRB due to work commitments. However, the commentary suggested this was a different RFC to the one we have been used to over the last 9-12 months. AP is so right in that the challenge for Sir Steve is to now drop the non-performers from Saturday and play people in form and who have the desire. Sadly, this is not going to happen. We all know that Doyle and Lita will start up front. We also know Cisse will be in midfield, with Kebe (!) on the wing, and we also know that Bikey, (who has had no pre-season as such with RFC due to Olypic duties), will stand in for Sonko if he is not in the right frame of mind etc. (I am assuming that his absence yesterday constitutes his one match ban for his red card on Saturday? Apologies if I am wrong on that).

So the likes of Pearce, Karacan, Henry, N Hunt, Golbourne et al can look forward to returning to obscurity orpossibly then bench, until LC3 comes round. Good old Sir Steve.

[kwik-silva]

Not qualified to comment to such depth as I was banished to BBCRB due to work commitments. However, the commentary suggested this was a different RFC to the one we have been used to over the last 9-12 months. AP is so right in that the challenge for Sir Steve is to now drop the non-performers from Saturday and play people in form and who have the desire. Sadly, this is not going to happen. We all know that Doyle and Lita will start up front. We also know Cisse will be in midfield, with Kebe (!) on the wing, and we also know that Bikey, (who has had no pre-season as such with RFC due to Olypic duties), will stand in for Sonko if he is not in the right frame of mind etc. (I am assuming that his absence yesterday constitutes his one match ban for his red card on Saturday? Apologies if I am wrong on that).

So the likes of Pearce, Karacan, Henry, N Hunt, Golbourne et al can look forward to returning to obscurity orpossibly then bench, until LC3 comes round. Good old Sir Steve.

Does the Olympics not count as pre-season? I think the ban was domestic, so yes, the 1 match ban is over.

[T.R.O.L.I.]

and we also know that Bikey, (who has had no pre-season as such with RFC due to Olympic duties), will stand in for Sonko if he is not in the right frame of mind etc. (I am assuming that his absence yesterday constitutes his one match ban for his red card on Saturday? Apologies if I am wrong on that).

Does the Olympics not count as pre-season? I think the ban was domestic, so yes, the 1 match ban is over.

I think the bit in bold kind of nullifies your first point.

And yes, the Sonko's ban was for last night's game so he is available for Saturday.

[kwik-silva]

and we also know that Bikey, (who has had no pre-season as such with RFC due to Olympic duties), will stand in for Sonko if he is not in the right frame of mind etc. (I am assuming that his absence yesterday constitutes his one match ban for his red card on Saturday? Apologies if I am wrong on that).

Does the Olympics not count as pre-season? I think the ban was domestic, so yes, the 1 match ban is over.

I think the bit in bold kind of nullifies your first point.

And yes, the Sonko's ban was for last night's game so he is available for Saturday.

Doh! (Must read peoples posts properly, this is why I fail in exams )

[andrew1957]

I thought it was a brilliant performance from all our young players last night - well done to all of them. I am sure we all hope some of them will be in the Championship side before long.

I agree with much of what has been said on here but just a few points.

Actually thought Harper had his best game so far this seaosn. I also thought Golbourne did really well and in some ways I am a bit sorry that his chances are again likely to be limited this year now we have Armstrong. Cannot help thinking that if he is given a chance he could well turn out to be PL standard in time.

Particularly impressed with Karacan and Pearce. If either or both start Saturday I would be delighted. I think despite being so young Karacan gives us some bite in midfield and some of his passes were great and what a superb run to get into the box to score. I have watched Henry for some time in the reserves/youth cup games and he looks a really exciting prospect to me but is still a little inconsistent. Kelly is also very promising and I think Sigurdsson will also go on to become a star.

As for Noel Hunt - a great performance. Having said that if I were SC I would give Lita and Doyle one more chance - but make it very clear that they do have to perform. I think that in the long run Hunt will bring the best out of Doyle. For some reason Doyle has never played particularly well with any of our other strikers. It always feels like we have two individuals up front whether he has been playing with Kits, Lita or long but I have a sneaky feeling that Doyle and Hunt will complement each other perfectly and make a lot of goals for each other. We shall see. I do believe this will be our preferred strike partnership for most of this season providing Doyle does stay of course.

[Tilehurst Mike]

A thoroughly entertaining evening's football and it was great to see so much enthusiasm, pace, aggression and movement off the ball and not a 'hoofball' to be seen. I would love to see this team play a few games together but know that Coppell will stick to his tried and tested 'faithfuls' for saturday.

I would settle for a couple of seasons of consolidation in the Championship, seeing this young team develop together if they continued to play football like this week in week out but appreciate that the opposition was poor last night.

Fair play to the Luton fans for continuing to support their team right to the end of a true battering

[SpaceCruiser]

not a 'hoofball' to be seen.

Are you sure? I could have sworn that there were a few towards the end of the first half.

[Stranded]

For those that think Harper does nothing can you explain why we looked off the pace after he went off??

We didn't. Karacan came into his own and if anything we looked better in the centre.

I disagree I'm afraid - once the double change was made we lost our way for a good 10 mins or so - admitedly at 4-0 we were always likely to take the foot off but we certainly didn't improve in the middle.

[kwik-silva]

For those that think Harper does nothing can you explain why we looked off the pace after he went off??

We didn't. Karacan came into his own and if anything we looked better in the centre.

I disagree I'm afraid - once the double change was made we lost our way for a good 10 mins or so - admitedly at 4-0 we were always likely to take the foot off but we certainly didn't improve in the middle.

Well I don't think so, I didn't really see anything that would mean we lost our way, Karacan showed alot of promise, and ability to tackle, which none of our other CM's have, and Sigurdsson looked fine in the middle

[Thomas L'Heureux]

For those that think Harper does nothing can you explain why we looked off the pace after he went off??

We didn't. Karacan came into his own and if anything we looked better in the centre.

I disagree I'm afraid - once the double change was made we lost our way for a good 10 mins or so - admitedly at 4-0 we were always likely to take the foot off but we certainly didn't improve in the middle.

There is no reason to believe we had a sloppy ten minutes simply because Harper was taken off. The game passed him by last night, and that was worrying given the quality of the opposition. Harps is such a bottle job when it comes to 50/50 balls - although I did see him win a loose ball between two Luton players - and isn't prepared to roll his sleeves up which is part and parcel of the lower leagues.

He got away with it for years when Sidwell was his partner in the centre, but now he is seen as the senior player and the leader of the team, and he's simply not good enough. He's dynamic, runs his socks off, and pops up with a goal or two each season, but I honestly feel he's run his course at this club. I'm in no way trying to slate him because he's been decent over the years, but I feel we need a new, fresher pairing in the middle of the park and I don't see Harper as one of the two.

With some experience Karacan will improve, and he showed some good touches and a willingness to dive into tackles also. He broke forward for his goal, and played the simple passes when he needed to. Add to that Marek who has a brilliant array of passing at this level, and I see no place for Harper. Marek's also willing to put a foot in (all be it at the cost of a yellow card) which is better to see from the stands when compared with a wofter who flaps his arms about instead of going in for the tackle.

Last night we were sloppy towards the end of the game because we were cruising at 4-0, and also went down to ten men when Kelly was taken off so had no focal point up front with Hunt dropping in to right back and his brother on the left of midfield.

Harper did diddly-squat last night in my honest opinion, and that also reflects his contributions against Forest, Plymouth, and Charlton. He shows some good touches at times, but he just doesn't put himself in the mix enough for me, and that is a massive part of English football outside of the Premiership.

[North Somerset Royal]

I agree with Stranded. Harper did an excellent job last night directing the youngsters on the pitch and when he went off we lost our shape to some extent and hoofball started to creep in. I am no Harper lover and I think there are a lot of weaknesses in his game but fair dos he was inspirational last night

[11.30 from paddington]

I agree with Stranded. Harper did an excellent job last night directing the youngsters on the pitch and when he went off we lost our shape to some extent and hoofball started to creep in. I am no Harper lover and I think there are a lot of weaknesses in his game but fair dos he was inspirational last night

'greed! Both away games have passed Harper by this season, but last night he was the conductor of a very good performance.

Just because he's not crashing the cymbals together, some people fail to notice his influence on a performance.

Harper at his best (which hasn't been often recently, I admit) allows us to play a passing game. He always finds space and makes himself available to the fullback to play those triangles, he tends to intercept opposition passes, rather than crunching tackles like Sidwell/Karacan. He plays the right pass, thinking a couple of passes ahead -this allowed the youngsters to shine last night. He is also a good finisher.

And I'm sorry, but we did lose our way in tems of possession after he went off. Too many times, we played the ball to Kelly in an isolated position, leaving him no option but to play it long.

He has attributes, that aren't showy, but are rare nonetheless - hence the interest from Premier managers.

As I said, this is him at his best, and unfortunately, there haven't been enough similar performances from him or the team over the last 12 months.

Saying all that - the youngsters were fantastic last night!

[BR2]

not a 'hoofball' to be seen.

Are you sure? I could have sworn that there were a few towards the end of the first half.

Quite alright for the occasional bit of hoofball Spacey but not when it becomes our main style of play.
Good to read the reports of how well the youngsters played and to hear that they played a passing game.
We will never know if Lita and Doyle might have scored hat-tricks last night but it will be interesting to see if Coppell goes with form players or out-of- form players on Saturday.

[brighton_royal]

I agree with Stranded. Harper did an excellent job last night directing the youngsters on the pitch and when he went off we lost our shape to some extent and hoofball started to creep in. I am no Harper lover and I think there are a lot of weaknesses in his game but fair dos he was inspirational last night

Seconded. Valuable player who had a large contribution to setting the pace of the match.

[Woodcote Royal]

For those that think Harper does nothing can you explain why we looked off the pace after he went off??

We didn't. Karacan came into his own and if anything we looked better in the centre.

I disagree I'm afraid - once the double change was made we lost our way for a good 10 mins or so - admitedly at 4-0 we were always likely to take the foot off but we certainly didn't improve in the middle.

Spot on.

Having had complete command of midfield, that disappeared with Harper as he headed for the touchline thus allowing Luton to take the initiative.

This is not to say that Karacan played a minor role in what was an excellent central pairing on the night just that, once again, it's not the game that passes Harper by when he's playing well but more his contribution as far as his detractors are concerned.

You never know, perhaps a little less time spent taking the p*ss out of an impressive Luton turn out would have help some appreciate what Harper brings to the team.

[SpaceCruiser]

not a 'hoofball' to be seen.

Are you sure? I could have sworn that there were a few towards the end of the first half.

Quite alright for the occasional bit of hoofball Spacey but not when it becomes our main style of play.
Good to read the reports of how well the youngsters played and to hear that they played a passing game.
We will never know if Lita and Doyle might have scored hat-tricks last night but it will be interesting to see if Coppell goes with form players or out-of- form players on Saturday.

Oh really? You're the one who is always moaning about us playing the long ball, you can't have it both ways if you're happy for us to play it occasionally and moan if we actually do it. In fact, I think we've always played like last night and I don't think punting the ball is actually a tactic that Coppell has us playing, like you would like us to believe.