Back from I Follow Luton

[Ascotexgunner]

The difference was that they didn't press us and let us play, it turns out we've actually got quite a talented team if teams let us play.

You got it in one. We are hopeless against pressing sides. Luton suprisingly let us play.
Until we can deal with that pressing game I'm not reading anything into this result other than that centre back pairing should be starting every game til the end of the season as it's clearly the future.

[Westwood52]

Bizarre game really.Luton hit the bar,have a good shout for a pen and then we ram in five in response.I just have this feeling that Luton were unbelievably bad defensively;however we fully exploited how bad they were.You only play what’s in front of you.
IMHO

Rafael 7 Not really tested.
Osho 6 Very nervous start,but then grew into it.Did a lot for( I think) the second.
Blackett 7 The best of Blackett,never under pressure.
McIntire 9 Never put a foot wrong.
Morrison 8 Very solid.
Rino 8 Heart beat of the team.
Gomez 8 Tightened up the midfield.
Swift 7 Bit Hollywood at times,but took on the responsibilities of being captain really well.
Meite 9 MOM.Four goals says it all.The second was taken really well.
Puskas 7 One great through ball.One of his best games,and got his goal.
Ejaria 7 Did well stringing the moves together.

Ref Seen worse.

Imagine giving Meite 9 after scoring 4 goals and Puscas a 7 after 3 assists and a goal.

Completely clueless supporter.

The first “assist “ was a fluke.Dropped Meite from a ten,due to the unnecessary blaze over the bar.

[Zip]

Let’s not forget this was only Osho’s second start in League football and he was playing out of position. I thought he did well after a shaky start. He needs a run in the side now until the end of the season. He could be a very handy back up to Yids as well as covering at centre back. I’d like to see him get a new contract.

Need to cut the wage bill. Utilising the academy has to be the way forward.

Yep

[Zip]

Rafael may not 'have had much to do' but, as Bowen pointed out, made a great save when we were 4 (or was it 5?) up. Maintaining that focus/concentration and pulling out a great save like that, despite having very little to do up until that point, is the mark of a good keeper. He also had that time when he came fast & strong for a ball in the air, completely focused on the ball and completely wiped out the challenging forward to take the ball. IIRC he also came out quickly to close down a Luton player and deny him the opportunity of a goal quite early in the game.

I'm also completely bemused by a comment such as 'looked to have been beaten on a couple of occasions, only for Luton to fluff'.

Dellor I can understand, but I'm struggling to understand why some of our supporters appear so critical of Rafael. He might not be as good as Martinez but he's still a very good keeper at this level.

I forgot about that save. Yes it was terrific. I think we do appreciate Rafael and wouldn’t be surprised if he wins PoTS.

[Zip]

If four goals only gets you 9/10 then something is wrong. Meite 10/10 for me.

McIntyre was very good in his own half and got a little unlucky a couple of times when he went up for corners. Aside from kicking the ball against a Luton player at the start of the second half, he looked every bit the first team player.

Not sure about Osho at right back - he's got the athleticism and a good touch but needs to work on his crossing and movement, both offensively and defensively.

I hated Tim calling Pele "Gomes", until they showed a close-up - hadn't realised that it says Gomes on his shirt before today, so fair play. On the other hand the meta-commentary ("last week someone called me a clown!") is tiresome, just do your job.

10 is perfection. If Yaks had buried that early chance then he gets a 10. Yours Ebeneezer.

[Snowflake Royal]

Rafael may not 'have had much to do' but, as Bowen pointed out, made a great save when we were 4 (or was it 5?) up. Maintaining that focus/concentration and pulling out a great save like that, despite having very little to do up until that point, is the mark of a good keeper. He also had that time when he came fast & strong for a ball in the air, completely focused on the ball and completely wiped out the challenging forward to take the ball. IIRC he also came out quickly to close down a Luton player and deny him the opportunity of a goal quite early in the game.

I'm also completely bemused by a comment such as 'looked to have been beaten on a couple of occasions, only for Luton to fluff'.

Dellor I can understand, but I'm struggling to understand why some of our supporters appear so critical of Rafael. He might not be as good as Martinez but he's still a very good keeper at this level.

I forgot about that save. Yes it was terrific. I think we do appreciate Rafael and wouldn’t be surprised if he wins PoTS.

Seeing as I appear to have been called out there surreptitiously, I'm not criticising Cabral and I'm perfectly happy with him. Don't think he's been a PotS contender but he's been one of the next tier below that.

Must have missed the great save, genuinely don't recall it.

[Zip]

Rafael may not 'have had much to do' but, as Bowen pointed out, made a great save when we were 4 (or was it 5?) up. Maintaining that focus/concentration and pulling out a great save like that, despite having very little to do up until that point, is the mark of a good keeper. He also had that time when he came fast & strong for a ball in the air, completely focused on the ball and completely wiped out the challenging forward to take the ball. IIRC he also came out quickly to close down a Luton player and deny him the opportunity of a goal quite early in the game.

I'm also completely bemused by a comment such as 'looked to have been beaten on a couple of occasions, only for Luton to fluff'.

Dellor I can understand, but I'm struggling to understand why some of our supporters appear so critical of Rafael. He might not be as good as Martinez but he's still a very good keeper at this level.

I forgot about that save. Yes it was terrific. I think we do appreciate Rafael and wouldn’t be surprised if he wins PoTS.

Seeing as I appear to have been called out there surreptitiously, I'm not criticising Cabral and I'm perfectly happy with him. Don't think he's been a PotS contender but he's been one of the next tier below that.

Must have missed the great save, genuinely don't recall it.

Second half ball inside our penalty box. Shot struck by Luton player. McIntyre raced across to put the block in but Rafael had it covered by spreading his body to keep it out.
Rafael is a contender for PoTS imo alongside Swift and Meite.

[WestYorksRoyal]

A lot of comments on how poor Luton were today, but they were unbeaten since the restart and looked like making a decent fist of their relegation battle. Many would have taken a point before kick off, so 5-0 is a great result. Let's give ourselves proper credit where it's due.

[JimmytheJim]

Great to see Ejaria's trickery surrounded by players lead to a goal. Bound to happen.

Great to see Blackett I thought he'd gone.

Great to see Osho, he really grew in confidence and was class.

Great to see Puscas score, you could see what it meant for him.

Great to see Pele, really a player I'd like us to keep but it's unlikely.

Great to see everyone doing well.

I prefer 5-0 wins to 3-0 losses, if I'm honest.

Glory hunter.

[From Despair To Where?]

Rafael may not 'have had much to do' but, as Bowen pointed out, made a great save when we were 4 (or was it 5?) up. Maintaining that focus/concentration and pulling out a great save like that, despite having very little to do up until that point, is the mark of a good keeper. He also had that time when he came fast & strong for a ball in the air, completely focused on the ball and completely wiped out the challenging forward to take the ball. IIRC he also came out quickly to close down a Luton player and deny him the opportunity of a goal quite early in the game.

I'm also completely bemused by a comment such as 'looked to have been beaten on a couple of occasions, only for Luton to fluff'.

Dellor I can understand, but I'm struggling to understand why some of our supporters appear so critical of Rafael. He might not be as good as Martinez but he's still a very good keeper at this level.

To be honest, I can remember a couple of times last season where Martinez faffing about with the ball instead of getting rid put us in trouble. I appreciate that was down to Gomes' tactics. Martinez was good but I think a lot of praise was down to him being a significant improvement on what went before. I can't remember any major fcuk ups from Rafael. He's more than capable at this level.

[Zip]

A lot of comments on how poor Luton were today, but they were unbeaten since the restart and looked like making a decent fist of their relegation battle. Many would have taken a point before kick off, so 5-0 is a great result. Let's give ourselves proper credit where it's due.

Very much this. We slate the players after a performance like Brentford. They deserve a lot of credit today. There were some really impressive passages of play today AND an end product.

[From Despair To Where?]

Good professional performance. All the talk before kick off was of us getting dragged back into the relegation mire. Suddenly, barring a major reversal of form from 2 or 3 teams, we look pretty much safe.

[paultheroyal]

Mid table team in mid table position. Ship steadied. Just need to keep the core together for next season. There's something to build on.

Basically that

Again convinced we can lose 15+ players and still have enough to tread water next season

I honestly wouldn't get carried away today. Luton were as poor as we played well

These sort of posts grind my gears. We won 5:0 FFS. Against a team scrapping for their lives, scoring goals and actually on a good run.

If you can’t get excited about a 5:0 win I suggest football is not for you.

[Humanistic]

Agree that McIntyre does look good - might have been said before, but IMO there are flashes of Dariusz Wdowczyk in his calm classy approach.

First time since 2013/14 we've had 2 players in double figures for league goals, too.

[Pepe the Horseman]

Mentioned it on the other thread, but under Bowen we bounce back from bad defeats. We've convinced ourselves that every time we lose a couple of games we're doomed, but since Bowen took over, we've managed to shake that off. We'll finish top 6 next season.

[Stranded]

Mentioned it on the other thread, but under Bowen we bounce back from bad defeats. We've convinced ourselves that every time we lose a couple of games we're doomed, but since Bowen took over, we've managed to shake that off. We'll finish top 6 next season.

44 points from 30 games under Bowen isn't it? If we had his return in the first 11 games we'd be on 61 now.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

I want us to keep Pele more than any of the others

[Zip]

I want us to keep Pele more than any of the others

We looked so much better in the centre of the pitch today. Would have been interesting to see how he would have coped with a much better Brentford side.

[3points]

Enjoyed that and glad I paid my £10, though it was touch and go whether I did or not. Plenty t be positive about, while Luton looked poor. As said before pleased for MacIntyre and Osho. Osho looked like he was unfamiliar as a right back, but grew into the game. Lots of potential. Interesting that Bowen even considered playing him there. Must surely be looking at whether he can provide a low cost option as back up right back (and possibly 4th or 5th choice centre back).

The midfield looked more balanced too, as noted. Shows me that Rinomhota has to be allowed a more free role, going box to box, rather than be pigeoned holed into a holding midfielder role. He’s got a bit of Danny Williams in him. We’ll definitely need a replacement for Pele assuming he goes back to his parent club.

Ejaria had his best game since the restart of the season too. Still not sure we need to take the option to buy though with Olise coming through strongly.

Nothing more to be said about Yaks. Pleased for him.

[Zip]

Enjoyed that and glad I paid my £10, though it was touch and go whether I did or not. Plenty t be positive about, while Luton looked poor. As said before pleased for MacIntyre and Osho. Osho looked like he was unfamiliar as a right back, but grew into the game. Lots of potential. Interesting that Bowen even considered playing him there. Must surely be looking at whether he can provide a low cost option as back up right back (and possibly 4th or 5th choice centre back).

The midfield looked more balanced too, as noted. Shows me that Rinomhota has to be allowed a more free role, going box to box, rather than be pigeoned holed into a holding midfielder role. He’s got a bit of Danny Williams in him. We’ll definitely need a replacement for Pele assuming he goes back to his parent club.

Ejaria had his best game since the restart of the season too. Still not sure we need to take the option to buy though with Olise coming through strongly.

Nothing more to be said about Yaks. Pleased for him.

Rinomhota can have that freedom if Pele is playing.