21/22: The Official Luton Town v Swansea City Match Thread

[Itchysphincter]

I would have sacrificed him at halftime today but it’s no coincidence that Potter, Cooper and Martin all see him as central to the plan. We’re struggling with movement but it’s not down to Grimes, he’s exposed by it.

I'll freely admit that my disdain for Grimes could be totally irrational and unjustified. I don't think so, but it's possible.

He looked OK under Potter. No more than that, but it was enough. In fairness to Cooper, he did have him on the bench a few times and we looked better for it, but it didn't stick. He just seems totally unsuited to the way RM wants to go about things, but maybe he'll adjust given time.

Grimes had Fer alongside him with Potter and all of a sudden Fer was gone, and Olsen his sideways option also disappeared. All of a sudden he was the main man. Ntcham can be Grimes’s Fer, or Pratley or Shelvey or Bodde. Problem for Grimes now is that Downes can do both his job and Fulton’s job, so it’s a dilemma. It will come down to consistency in the end.

 

[eteb]

its wierdd, i was absolutely sure we would be in trouble after the first half, but after the second i am optimistic - with piroe, oba and nitcham we have a bloody good front 3. I think we are lacking a fosu type to play instead of patto but other than that the squad is good. Maybe another experienced player in our target age range (up to 25) with pace and we'll be good

 

[JackSomething]

its wierdd, i was absolutely sure we would be in trouble after the first half, but after the second i am optimistic - with piroe, oba and nitcham we have a bloody good front 3. I think we are lacking a fosu type to play instead of patto but other than that the squad is good. Maybe another experienced player in our target age range (up to 25) with pace and we'll be good

That's the benefit of coming back from 3 goals down rather than losing a 3 goal lead. Can you imagine the reaction if it had been reversed? Carnage.

 

[K23]

I hope RM is man enough to hold his hands up and says he fcked up with his starting selection and now has a better idea of who to bench.

I despair when I see logic like this. How would the first half be guaranteed to be different because the second half was?

Ntcham was knackered on Weds and needed a rest - similarly Walsh looked tremendous when he came on Weds, yet it was clear he wasn't up to pace from the off - unsurprisingly. Same for Williams - rave reviews about his debut so not unreasonable to start with him.

Decisions have to be made in real time and reactions to those at a later time. Just because reactions happen to give a better outcome, it doesn't make them interchangeable.

This fallacy is known as Monday Quarterbacking in the States.

You can despair all you like buddy, but everyone I spoke to before the game knew that starting lineup was wrong, nothing to do with hindsight. If Piroe is fit, he starts, if Ntcham is fit enough for 60 minutes, he starts, and hopefully, we won't be chasing a game against average opposition by the time he goes off. This is just common sense not whatever stupid fecking phrase it's called in the States. For me, Cabango starts too, as he doesn't get bullied.

 

[mrploppy]

I despair when I see logic like this. How would the first half be guaranteed to be different because the second half was?

Ntcham was knackered on Weds and needed a rest - similarly Walsh looked tremendous when he came on Weds, yet it was clear he wasn't up to pace from the off - unsurprisingly. Same for Williams - rave reviews about his debut so not unreasonable to start with him.

Decisions have to be made in real time and reactions to those at a later time. Just because reactions happen to give a better outcome, it doesn't make them interchangeable.

This fallacy is known as Monday Quarterbacking in the States.

You can despair all you like buddy, but everyone I spoke to before the game knew that starting lineup was wrong, nothing to do with hindsight. If Piroe is fit, he starts, if Ntcham is fit enough for 60 minutes, he starts, and hopefully, we won't be chasing a game against average opposition by the time he goes off. This is just common sense not whatever stupid fecking phrase it's called in the States. For me, Cabango starts too, as he doesn't get bullied.

"If fit" is the key though. Piroe (and Ntcham probably), by RM's own admission, is not "fit enough" to be playing Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. Ideally, neither would have played yesterday - or maybe just a cameo appearance at the end. If RM plays a not fully fit Piroe, and he ends up pulling a hamstring and we're without him for 6 weeks, we'd be screwed. Managers, and the sports scientists in their team, know this. Fans, generally, do not.

 

[K23]

You can despair all you like buddy, but everyone I spoke to before the game knew that starting lineup was wrong, nothing to do with hindsight. If Piroe is fit, he starts, if Ntcham is fit enough for 60 minutes, he starts, and hopefully, we won't be chasing a game against average opposition by the time he goes off. This is just common sense not whatever stupid fecking phrase it's called in the States. For me, Cabango starts too, as he doesn't get bullied.

"If fit" is the key though. Piroe (and Ntcham probably), by RM's own admission, is not "fit enough" to be playing Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. Ideally, neither would have played yesterday - or maybe just a cameo appearance at the end. If RM plays a not fully fit Piroe, and he ends up pulling a hamstring and we're without him for 6 weeks, we'd be screwed. Managers, and the sports scientists in their team, know this. Fans, generally, do not.

Yes, of course, if fit but the point is, Piroe, Ntcham & Cabango ALL came on for the start of the 2nd half and were therefore all clearly deemed fit enough to play 51 minutes so if they'd played the first 45, just maybe we'd have been 3 up at half time instead of 3 down as we'd have had a much better team on the pitch right from the kick off. Anyone tiring during the 2nd half can be subbed so we could see the game out but starting with a weakened team and then sending your best players on at half time to try to rescue a game makes no sense.

 

[monmouth]

I think K, that RM hoped he wouldn’t need to bring them on at all and his initial picks would do the job. He now knows all about that, so it could end up a valuable lesson. He did say he wanted them fit enough to be on the pitch always.

Water under the bridge, we dodged a bullet and proved that with our A Team we can potentially swat these dog teams, as long as we play with attacking intensity. All in all, yesterday might, in hindsight, turn out a good day.

 

[mrploppy]

"If fit" is the key though. Piroe (and Ntcham probably), by RM's own admission, is not "fit enough" to be playing Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. Ideally, neither would have played yesterday - or maybe just a cameo appearance at the end. If RM plays a not fully fit Piroe, and he ends up pulling a hamstring and we're without him for 6 weeks, we'd be screwed. Managers, and the sports scientists in their team, know this. Fans, generally, do not.

Yes, of course, if fit but the point is, Piroe, Ntcham & Cabango ALL came on for the start of the 2nd half and were therefore all clearly deemed fit enough to play 51 minutes so if they'd played the first 45, just maybe we'd have been 3 up at half time instead of 3 down as we'd have had a much better team on the pitch right from the kick off. Anyone tiring during the 2nd half can be subbed so we could see the game out but starting with a weakened team and then sending your best players on at half time to try to rescue a game makes no sense.

And, if he'd started with Piroe and Ntcham, and we were losing at HT (don't forget Luton were full of energy in the first half) - what then? Leave them on, in the hope they could win us the game? Then they're playing too many minutes for the fitness level they're at.

 

[Longlostjack]

Difficult with defensive midfielders. A lot of work involves closing down potential threats/ passes and impossible to see that on TV. He’s good at shepherding a player outside and not letting them get a cross in. That’s one thing you can see on the box.

 

[Longlostjack]

I just don't see any class in anything Grimes does. We should have bitten Everton's hands off if they were interested.

I doubt Everton were interested. £3m from Fulham was absurd money though. Should have bitten their hands off for that.

Difficult with defensive midfielders. A lot of work involves closing down potential threats/ passes and impossible to see that on TV. He’s good at shepherding a player outside and not letting them get a cross in. That’s one thing you can see on the box. But yes - could have been invested in a speedy left back.