20/21 Matchday Thread

[That Fat Centre Half]

Dreadful game at the Kenny I’m afraid somewhat retrieved by 2 very good chances we created at the end of it when we learned how to pass the ball to the players in Orange! Not sure why it’s taken 44 minutes for us to pull them about a bit and move it quicker.

Harry Cornick final third decision making is questionable at best.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Time for Harry to get dropped. He is all speed and......... thats it.

Lets get Kaz in the left and switch Ckark to the right and have Harry off the bench

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Felt like a strange game but games against Wycombe often are. For most of the first half we played the game on Wycombes terms and although they did absolutely nothing in attack we were arguably worse, constantly taking the wrong option and not moving the ball quickly enough. When we did that we created 2 excellent chances but took us too long to figure it out.

Second half, Pelly basically won the game with a bit of magic - a fantastic strike. Could and probably should have had another one before there disallowed goal. I did think it was offside in real time from the initial cross in so not sure what the fuss was about, but the replays do show its close.

On balance a deserved win, think we had 3 off the line and a couple of other chances but didnt feel like we played all that well and was a messy game overall. Cornicks performance kind of encapsulated him as a player, so often the one getting in the right areas often through his own endeavour and skill but then wasting those moments. Argument for him man of the match as the main creator all day, and you could also just as fairly argue he was terrible.

 

[Super_horns]

Oh well - that is what happens when you have no natural striker and gift an in form strong home side the lead.

All huff and puff but no end product.

 

[Kenneth E End]

We more than deserved to win on balance. We would’ve kicked ourselves if we conceded from that Kashket chance. Two minds whether it was actually a penalty or not; Crainie allowed the referee to almost make a decision but that said thought Stewart was playing for it a little bit.

But we had more than enough chances to kill it off before we did.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

We more than deserved to win on balance. We would’ve kicked ourselves if we conceded from that Kashket chance. Two minds whether it was actually a penalty or not; Crainie allowed the referee to almost make a decision but that said thought Stewart was playing for it a little bit.

But we had more than enough chances to kill it off before we did.

Must have switched off at some point, when was this penalty controversy Ken?

 

[Kenneth E End]

Must have switched off at some point, when was this penalty controversy Ken?

Just before our second.

 

[BelizeHatter]

Bit lucky i think in the end despite a lot of missed chances. I cant see how that was offside for them, but angle is from halfway line. Clearly ref wasnt sure to go and see lino. What penalty shout?

Break should do us good as some players off colour despite an excellent return in points. Think Collo needs to relax a little as nothing is sticking with him and he gets frustrated and it then shows in his first touch. Winder if Kaz can produce that skillset, speed, trickery and danger for the whole game as we come alive once hes introduced. His centre of gravity is so low and hes so strong that big defenders cant manage him

 

[Kenneth E End]

It flew over my head in the first instance, but got to love Pelly for his pointing at the watch celebration! What a guy he is!

That said, I can't remembering Wycombe "playing" as much as they did yesterday. Yes, they tried to disrupt the play and flow of the game; the structure of the game was a mess during the second half as a result, but they didn't time waste from the first throw in this time. There were occasions when Luton were drawn into this, but fair play to the lads they stood firm.

Wycombe need to sign some players in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Bit lucky i think in the end despite a lot of missed chances. I cant see how that was offside for them, but angle is from halfway line. Clearly ref wasnt sure to go and see lino. What penalty shout?

The penalty shout on Adeniran before Kashket slotted in - Crainie was holding onto him and as a result, the Wycombe player went down.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

I watched it again and noticed it now too.

Think it passed everyone by as the talking point was the goal being ruled out. Think that was what the conflab with the lino was, wanted to understand if he gave the offside for initial ball in or on Kashket. If it were on Kashket who was clearly onside, I think the ref would have given them a penalty as the whistle was blown just before he scored so he couldnt give them the goal but could have gone back to the foul on the Wycombe player. As it was is was for the initial cross the foul was a moot point. Or that was my reading of it anyway. Kenny is right it was poorly defended by Cranie.

There wasnt too much time wasting yesterday, ive seen them do worse but when you are in the ground it always feels worse. They were very late coming out for the second half which the ref wasnt too happy with though! Dont really understand the logic of Wycombe so clearly pissing the ref off in such a way.

Just cant see where Wycombe will get goals from this season. Any team worth there salt at this level will feel confident in stopping Samuel causing any problems for them. He is a trier but thats about all you can say about him. Always felt Kashket had a bit about him but he doesnt seem to fit with the style and I think Ikpeazu/Akinfenwa are going to be easy to defend as they are too static and most championship level defenders can defend the big ball forward to them.

 

[SF_]

That was class. No DJ, Fisher or Barkhuizen either.

Absolutely dismantled Brentford in the second half. Text book Alex Neil Preston - aggressive, constantly pressing, first to every second ball.

We were ok first half too but two defensive lapses and two good finishes sent them in at HT 2-0 up.

Too many players to dish praise on in that second half, top team performance, we'll cause damage on the road if we keep playing like that.

Only had 15 minutes but Riis looked really good too, really mobile, physical, good with the ball at his feet and a bit of a shithouser.

Very fucking happy.

 

[SF_]

Scott Sinclair, 6 goals in 15 starts. Not bad.

 

[thewwfc]

Just cant see where Wycombe will get goals from this season. Any team worth there salt at this level will feel confident in stopping Samuel causing any problems for them. He is a trier but thats about all you can say about him. Always felt Kashket had a bit about him but he doesnt seem to fit with the style and I think Ikpeazu/Akinfenwa are going to be easy to defend as they are too static and most championship level defenders can defend the big ball forward to them.

All pretty fair. I've only seen one game with Ikpeazu as he got crocked straight away - he's not quite Akinfenwa Mk II and is far more mobile - he reminds me more of John Akinde who does at least run straight at defenders on a good day. But he's never been a highly prolific goalscorer *anywhere* he's been so it's not realistic to expect him to be our saviour.

I do think Kashket can work with a big man up front holding up the ball and setting him up, but we'll see.

We are definitely still looking out for signings (and we need them desperately) so I'm not despondent.

My view of this season:

If we go down with a non-embarrassing points total = that's OK
If we stay up = huge achievement

But it's always going to be a case of when, not if, we go down again.

 

[Kenneth E End]

All pretty fair. I've only seen one game with Ikpeazu as he got crocked straight away - he's not quite Akinfenwa Mk II and is far more mobile - he reminds me more of John Akinde who does at least run straight at defenders on a good day. But he's never been a highly prolific goalscorer *anywhere* he's been so it's not realistic to expect him to be our saviour.

I do think Kashket can work with a big man up front holding up the ball and setting him up, but we'll see.

We are definitely still looking out for signings (and we need them desperately) so I'm not despondent.

My view of this season:

If we go down with a non-embarrassing points total = that's OK
If we stay up = huge achievement

But it's always going to be a case of when, not if, we go down again.

Things do change in this division over a season - we had a run around Christmas last year where we couldn't buy an away goal let alone a victory. Between 28 Sep 2019 when we beat Blackburn and 15 Feb 2020 when we beat Middlesbrough, we got a grand total of nil points away from home.

I personally think however that Wycombe will struggle to get to 30 points this year and that we were far more equipped last year than Wycombe are this.

 

[Kenneth E End]

EFL figures show that 12,497 streams were viewed for the Watford v Luton Town game - more than any other match in the Championship in September.

There were 386,700 streams viewed across 106 games in the EFL and Carabao Cup last month on the iFollow service or club equivalents. The top figure in League One was 8,617 for Sunderland v Peterborough, while in League Two it was 6,223 for Bolton v Newport.

The highest number of streams in the Carabao Cup was 15,452 for Everton v West Ham.

 

[SF_]

Cardiff on Sunday, think its on Sky.

Hoping Riis will start this one, looked lively in his cameo.

Think Alan Browne has to quarantine and might miss out, Fisher might not be ready for this one either, so assuming we don't sell anyone.

Rudd
Rafferty, Bauer, Davies, Hughes
Pearson, Ledson
Barkhuizen, Johnson, Sinclair
Jakobsen

Ripley, Earl, Gallagher, Potts, Harrop, Maguire, Stockley​

 

[BelizeHatter]

Stoke at home, might have been interesting with fans

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Start of a crazy run of fixtures as well, playing Saturday/Tuesday all the way through to the next international break. Going to be tough as we struggled with the 3 game weeks all last season.

Hopefully the break has done us some good and we are ready to go as it’s going to be an intense period.

 

[Kenneth E End]

The schedule for the rest of the month is absolutely mental.

 

[thewwfc]

Us v Millwall - first game that I'll have been able to watch for a few weeks owing to family commitments.

Hoping we can get our first point(s) on the board. Or at least score a goal.

 

[Super_horns]

Us v Derby tonight.

Probably another low scoring game.

 

[Kenneth E End]

So Stoke City tomorrow. Would've been a tasty fixture if fans were in the ground. They gave us two pastings last season; it was the Joe Allen show on both occasions. But I'm far more confident this time around with a far better squad. That said would take a point if offered now.

I'd go with this side, subject to any international Covid disruption of course:

GK Simon Sluga
RB Martin Crainie
LB Rhys Norrington-Davies
CB Matty Pearson
CB Sonny Bradley
DM Glen Rea
CM Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu
CM Joe Morrell
LF Harry Cornick
RF Jordan Clark
CF James Collins

Subs: James Shea, Tom Lockyer, Luke Berry, Danny Hylton, Elliot Lee, Kazenga LuaLua, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Injured: Dan Potts, Brendan Galloway, James Bree, Eunan O'Kane
Not Used: Ryan Tunnicliffe, George Moncur, Sam Nombe

 

[Super_horns]

Well sometimes you get a really really poor game decided by one moment of magic.

That was it from Pedro.

All I can say is let's hope our remaining attacking players are fit/ready to play soon!!!

Not sure we'd get away with that performance v Blackburn or Bournemouth next week.

Derby were awful as well - troubled times for them.

I mean we aren't blessed with great attacking threat but they simply rely on Rooney.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

So Stoke City tomorrow. Would've been a tasty fixture if fans were in the ground. They gave us two pastings last season; it was the Joe Allen show on both occasions. But I'm far more confident this time around with a far better squad. That said would take a point if offered now.

I'd go with this side, subject to any international Covid disruption of course:

GK Simon Sluga
RB Martin Crainie
LB Rhys Norrington-Davies
CB Matty Pearson
CB Sonny Bradley
DM Glen Rea
CM Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu
CM Joe Morrell
LF Harry Cornick
RF Jordan Clark
CF James Collins

Subs: James Shea, Tom Lockyer, Luke Berry, Danny Hylton, Elliot Lee, Kazenga LuaLua, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Injured: Dan Potts, Brendan Galloway, James Bree, Eunan O'Kane
Not Used: Ryan Tunnicliffe, George Moncur, Sam Nombe

Wouldn’t say it was 2 pastings last season. Got a point in the home game that I don’t remember them doing too much in. Was a bit of a nothing game if I recall where they scored off a bit of poor defensive play early in the game and proceeded to be too scared to build on it eventually being punished at the end with a late penalty. Allen was definitely there main man though no doubt and the away game was definitely a pasting, in our peak “self destruct away from home” period.

Outside of Morrell I’m not sure any of the other new lads will have made the deadline to be involved. Still don’t think O’Neil is why they need to turn them around into a promotion contender so I’d hope history eventually shows it to be 2 mid table sides. Interested to see if Morrell starts and how he fits into the team.

 

[Atavistic]

Rotherham away tomorrow. Should be aiming to win this one, but the injury to Hernandez isn't exactly helpful and we still don't really know what mindset Cantwell and Buendia will be in now that the transfer window has closed.

 

[Kenneth E End]

If you compare this year and last in terms of our best XI, there is a real uplift in my opinion.

We certainly have the capability to get into that top 10 - the club in the last couple of days have shown that real intent to get to that next level.

Best XI last season:
Sluga, Bree, Bradley, Carter-Vickers, Potts, Rea, Berry, Mpanzu, Brown, Cornick, Collins

Best XI this season with everyone fit, perhaps we may revert to the diamond? Michael O'Neill has said in his press conference that he doesn't expect us to use it:
Sluga, Bree, Bradley, Lockyer, Norrington-Davies, Rea, Mpanzu, Morrell, Dewsbury-Hall, Cornick, Collins
...or Clark in the 4-3-3.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Might be in a spot of bother today.

Looks like Collins has picked something up and we are playing Hylton up front - who despite being something of a talisman and much loved has looked seriously below par for a long time now. An opportunity for him but hes looked done for a while now in my view and was surprised he was re-signed this season.

Disappointing that Bree seemingly still not fit either considering he was such a big part of the plans I think, had hoped the international break would have been good for him in particular. Only Morrell of the new boys features and on the bench.

 

[That Fat Centre Half]

Scrappy low quality game that I think in the first half we probably just about shaded. Second half we seemed to get caught cold though, decent ball in for the first goal but its a free header from 6 yards from our perspective and I think Pearson should have done better than let his man peal off him like that. Second is a mess of a goal that we should have dealt with but didnt and that was pretty much it done and dusted as Stoke saw it out with relative comfort in a game where they didnt really have to show much.

Overall thought we were ok, in the final 3rd i still think we dont look that great and too often take poor choices or the crucial pass is an inch or so behind someone. That sort of thing. Set pieces were appallingly bad today given the amount we had we should have made more of them, but we are normally ok from them so perhaps a one off.

Morrell looked really neat and tidy in his appearance at the end and looked to be progressive with his passes so thats a positive. Need to be a bit more ruthless and cutting in our final third play but think we have the foundation of a solid side at this level.

 

[Kenneth E End]

Really frustrating performance that from Luton; we more than matched Stoke for swathes of the game - in fact, we had 17 chances and 7 shots on target (even Sluga had a free header on target), whereas Fletcher and a real stinker from Powell killed the game. Two mistakes, two goals... that’s the Championship. Classic Stoke away performance. They weren’t that good and I thought were very beatable. That said you look at the quality of their squad and you can see why they’ve been underperforming last season.

If we keep playing like that, I think we’ll win more than we lose, but Hylton really needs to start stepping up now too. Joe Morrell was very useful in the middle.

Stoke really have a sign over us - they haven’t lost to us in 20 years! Final word for Sam Clucas and Nick Powell who seemed to spend more time on the floor than on their feet...