Newcastle United 4-4 Luton Town (03/02/24) | Reaction: pg40

[Pancrate1892]

3 hours ago, TK-421 said:

Probably already been mentioned, but its 13 years today to the 4-4 at home with Arsenal. 

I'm still annoyed about the Leon best disallowed goal

(Despite the 2 dodgy pens we got and the van persie one chalked off) 

[Guest]

I wouldn't take Barkley here but it's been one of the great stories this season going to Luton and doing so well the last month or two. 

[jack j]

Did Luton have quite a clear cut chance at 4-4 down the side of livramento or have I imagined it?

Any clips of it be appreciated

[Kanj]

We all talk about having a squad and having different types of players, to use tactically and situationally. Sure he doesn’t get into the team when everyone is fit but everyone is rarely ever fit at once, and tactical game plans call for something else. 
 

Sure hindsight is easy to view from, Barkley has done well for Luton playing every day and not a single team got near him but Luton after some shite spells elsewhere…but, there have been many of us who’ve been saying for ages that we thought the club would try and take advantage of some talented players on a free who are in need of new opportunities, clean slates and proper coaching. 
 

Barkley as a sub or rotation option for us here even when everyone is fit would have made a ton of sense and if he didn’t pan out at his cheap wages you boot him. 
 

feel like ando right now and want to yell “just put it in the net!” - our fans on here are allergic to suggestions that we could have possibly taken a chance on someone else and that our recruitment team are human and can make mistakes. 

 

 

Edited February 5 by Kanji

[Kanj]

2 minutes ago, jack j said:

Did Luton have quite a clear cut chance at 4-4 down the side of livramento or have I imagined it?

Any clips of it be appreciated

yes. A ball over the top late that their winger volleyed low and was saved by Dubz 

[Colos Short and Curlies]

I still don't quite get what happened after we scored our 4th. Foot on the peddle for another 10 mins and we'd have got 5 or 6. Instead we seemed to fall back in to 'it will come' territory.

 

Probably looking at Luton/Forest having taken 10 points from us after Saturday, that's almost a quarter of their combined points so far.

[huss9]

2 minutes ago, Colos Short and Curlies said:

I still don't quite get what happened after we scored our 4th. Foot on the peddle for another 10 mins and we'd have got 5 or 6. Instead we seemed to fall back in to 'it will come' territory.

 

Probably looking at Luton/Forest having taken 10 points from us after Saturday, that's almost a quarter of their combined points so far.

i think we did go for it -  a few great balls into the box.

lutiom managed to recever the ball though and kept it for 3-4 minutes and completely took the sting out the game. really well managed by them, wothout having to take it into the corners 

[Gallowgate Toon]

Barnes had 2 decent chances after his goal and then the Bruno cross too but Luton shithoused excellently to take the sting out.

 

We were through another time too but the ball bounced and Murphy headed it to nobody iirc.

 

I think Luton played a massively risky strategy all game, tbh. We had players free nigh on 1v1 quite a few times in the game but the passes didn't arrive or the final ball was poor (mainly first half).

 

Refreshing though after years of promoted teams sitting deep and countering.

[jack j]

8 minutes ago, huss9 said:

i think we did go for it -  a few great balls into the box.

lutiom managed to recever the ball though and kept it for 3-4 minutes and completely took the sting out the game. really well managed by them, wothout having to take it into the corners 

Aye they frustrated the fuck out of us

That bit where they just left the ball on the touchline when it was their throw in was genius

Whos the ref gonna book for time wasting if there isn't anybody with the ball or even near it

 

[Pancrate1892]

Are Luton one of the only teams to play two up top? Would seem suicidal on paper but they still managed to flood the centre of the pitch. 

I wonder how long 4-3-3 will be the preferred formation for most teams

[Mazzy]

Some people seem more angry/disappointed with this draw than they did with the actual loss against Luton or the loss against Forrest and Bournemouth. 

[Gallowgate Toon]

39 minutes ago, Pancrate1892 said:

Are Luton one of the only teams to play two up top? Would seem suicidal on paper but they still managed to flood the centre of the pitch. 

I wonder how long 4-3-3 will be the preferred formation for most teams

They play 3-4-3 don't they? Or 3-4-2-1? 

[Tsunami]

57 minutes ago, Colos Short and Curlies said:

I still don't quite get what happened after we scored our 4th. Foot on the peddle for another 10 mins and we'd have got 5 or 6. Instead we seemed to fall back in to 'it will come' territory.

 

Probably looking at Luton/Forest having taken 10 points from us after Saturday, that's almost a quarter of their combined points so far.

We tired noticeably late on. Could have scored a couple just after our 4th but we then fell off a bit of a cliff. Bruno was limping from around 85 mins on.

[Pancrate1892]

43 minutes ago, Gallowgate Toon said:

They play 3-4-3 don't they? Or 3-4-2-1? 

Abebayo and morris are definitely forwards, don't think either are wing forwards.  Doughty seemed to be playing more as a left winger than wingback but definitely not as advanced as the other 2. Don't know the lad who give burn a 'challenging' afternoon 

[80]

1 hour ago, Mazzy said:

Some people seem more angry/disappointed with this draw than they did with the actual loss against Luton or the loss against Forrest and Bournemouth. 

The circumstances are very different. I'm not throwing my toys out of the pram anytime soon, but I think performances should be taken much more seriously from now on than they were Nov-Jan. Even in spite of the injuries, players have much more recovery and preparation time, so there's less excuse for falling apart as we did against Luton away.

 

I say less excuse, there's still a bit of wiggle room as we'll still have a hangover from that 3 month period, but that will fade in time.

[The College Dropout]

2 hours ago, Colos Short and Curlies said:

I still don't quite get what happened after we scored our 4th. Foot on the peddle for another 10 mins and we'd have got 5 or 6. Instead we seemed to fall back in to 'it will come' territory.

 

Probably looking at Luton/Forest having taken 10 points from us after Saturday, that's almost a quarter of their combined points so far.

Luton lost their nerve at 4-2 by trying to sit in and protect their lead. Like a boxer that thinks they just need to stay on their feet in the last 3 rounds to win. They got knocked down twice and reverted back to the attitude and tactics that got them the lead and they saw it out comfortably.  
 

 

Agter the Murphy chance we all hoped for an onslaught but it never came.  Games like this with your Willock’s, Tonali’s, Isak’s, Joelinton we win. 

2 hours ago, Mazzy said:

Some people seem more angry/disappointed with this draw than they did with the actual loss against Luton or the loss against Forrest and Bournemouth. 

People made excuses for Luton. The tired excuse is gone and we had a few options off the bench. Also losing 1-0 away in the PL to a relegation battle team is bad but it happens. But conceding 4 goals at home to said team is crazy. 
 

 

I find this chat so interesting. For me this was a ‘chickens coming home to roost’ moment. Everything that happened has happened before or has looked like coming. IEdwards deserves a lot of credit.  He played to our weaknesses and exploited us.  They looked like landing a punch on us at will whenever they wanted.  
 

 

[The Prophet]

I wouldn't say the tiredness excuse is completely gone, when this was our third game in a week with next to no rotation, but it certainly will do over the coming games.

 

Would help if we could put out a balanced team a genuine LCM and a striker.

 

Of course neither of these excuse some of the genuinely poor defending and tactical decision made during the game. It was a bad day at the office for a few, including Eddie.

[Kanj]

We're far too chaotic and lose control. Fab and Dan Burn on their bike far too often and when they do we have absolutely nobody covering for them and boom, they are on the break.  

 

Keep saying this, but our summer window - we need a few more experienced senior heads. I said it last season, I said it this past summer and I'll keep saying it. The matches we lost/draw in the CL were avoidable if we could have kept our calm and saw  things out, or kept our  calm and worked out a way to win. 

[madras]

6 minutes ago, Kanji said:

We're far too chaotic and lose control. Fab and Dan Burn on their bike far too often and when they do we have absolutely nobody covering for them and boom, they are on the break.  

 

Keep saying this, but our summer window - we need a few more experienced senior heads. I said it last season, I said it this past summer and I'll keep saying it. The matches we lost/draw in the CL were avoidable if we could have kept our calm and saw  things out, or kept our  calm and worked out a way to win. 

I think we needed legs to do that more than experience.

[The Prophet]

6 minutes ago, Kanji said:

We're far too chaotic and lose control. Fab and Dan Burn on their bike far too often and when they do we have absolutely nobody covering for them and boom, they are on the break.  

 

Keep saying this, but our summer window - we need a few more experienced senior heads. I said it last season, I said it this past summer and I'll keep saying it. The matches we lost/draw in the CL were avoidable if we could have kept our calm and saw  things out, or kept our  calm and worked out a way to win. 

 

With Lascalles and Ritchie off and Wilson possibly on his way, they'll have to overhaul the senior leadership in the playing staff. I'd like to see Botman pushed as a younger candidate, with perhaps one or two coming from recruitment.

[Guest]

18 hours ago, Gallowgate Toon said:

Barnes had 2 decent chances after his goal and then the Bruno cross too but Luton shithoused excellently to take the sting out.

 

We were through another time too but the ball bounced and Murphy headed it to nobody iirc.

 

I think Luton played a massively risky strategy all game, tbh. We had players free nigh on 1v1 quite a few times in the game but the passes didn't arrive or the final ball was poor (mainly first half).

 

Refreshing though after years of promoted teams sitting deep and countering.

 

Yeah, too easy to say we took our foot off the pedal. Luton managed injury-time in particular brilliantly. I hope they stay up.

[Lush Vlad]

26 minutes ago, Optimistic Nut said:

 

Yeah, too easy to say we took our foot off the pedal. Luton managed injury-time in particular brilliantly. I hope they stay up.

It’s like when people say we just sit deep and stop playing after we score. I’m sure it is sometimes partly due to our tactics, partly down to players being knackered of late, along with less risk taking and having something to defend. But I would say it is equally or more down to the opposition changing their approach, formation, making subs etc. 

 

I can see the gripes with sometimes being too reactionary with our own changes to combat these shifts in games. But I feel like that is a different argument. 
 

I don’t think we score and Howe suddenly tells them to drop 10-20 yards and stop doing what worked.

 

How many football games do you watch all over the world. Where the first half is totally different to the first. Because of changes in system and personnel? 

[loki679]

37 minutes ago, Lush Vlad said:

How many football games do you watch all over the world. Where the first half is totally different to the first. Because of changes in system and personnel? 

 

I can honestly say none.

[Hanshithispantz]

16 hours ago, The College Dropout said:

Luton lost their nerve at 4-2 by trying to sit in and protect their lead. Like a boxer that thinks they just need to stay on their feet in the last 3 rounds to win. They got knocked down twice and reverted back to the attitude and tactics that got them the lead and they saw it out comfortably.  
 

 

Agter the Murphy chance we all hoped for an onslaught but it never came.  Games like this with your Willock’s, Tonali’s, Isak’s, Joelinton we win. 

People made excuses for Luton. The tired excuse is gone and we had a few options off the bench. Also losing 1-0 away in the PL to a relegation battle team is bad but it happens. But conceding 4 goals at home to said team is crazy. 
 

 

I find this chat so interesting. For me this was a ‘chickens coming home to roost’ moment. Everything that happened has happened before or has looked like coming. IEdwards deserves a lot of credit.  He played to our weaknesses and exploited us.  They looked like landing a punch on us at will whenever they wanted.  
 

 

The "tiredness excuse" isn't gone though, because we're still obviously hamstrung by injuries and suspensions.

 

People have been ignoring the obvious handicaps we have for months in order to try and sound like Mr Football Manager, but whatever Howe wants to try and do is going to be effected by the fact another injury or suspension and we're back to being absolutely fucked. The season is a write off, and it was nice beating Villa and a spark of hope for a final crack at the top 4, but realistically it's not going to happen.

 

Barnes being back helps a lot, but it doesn't cure things. Bruno get's another yellow and who plays in midfield? Miley or Longstaff pull up in training and there's nobody to cover, we'll probably have to play Gordon or Almiron in the middle, leaving us lighter up top. We have basically no wiggle room and it's been like this for months, you don't think that will effect how we apply ourselves in training and on the pitch?

 

People are literally praying for any example of something they've stated to crop up so they can confirm their biases though. "Look everybody, I've been telling you all that we need a proper six, the gap between midfield and defence is too big! Look everybody I'm a football manager!" "Hey everybody, Dan Burn is 6ft 7, Saka is going to roast him, and if he doesn't, I'll wait until next year when it does happen to let you all know how clever I am, because I know that Dan Burn is slow, and fast players will be able to run past him "

 

That's what's annoying, ignoring the bigger picture and taking glee from the opportunity to tell everyone how a real football manager would do it. Howe has obviously made mistakes (leaving Burn on was mental), and he's clearly struggling to manage a massive injury hit squad, but this would happen with any manager.

 

 

Edited February 6 by Hanshithispantz

[Shearergol]

15 minutes ago, Hanshithispantz said:

The "tiredness excuse" isn't gone though, because we're still obviously hamstrung by injuries and suspensions.

 

People have been ignoring the obvious handicaps we have for months in order to try and sound like Mr Football Manager, but whatever Howe wants to try and do is going to be effected by the fact another injury or suspension and we're back to being absolutely fucked. The season is a write off, and it was nice beating Villa and a spark of hope for a final crack at the top 4, but realistically it's not going to happen.

 

Barnes being back helps a lot, but it doesn't cure things. Bruno get's another yellow and who plays in midfield? Miley or Longstaff pull up in training and there's nobody to cover, we'll probably have to play Gordon or Almiron in the middle, leaving us lighter up top. We have basically no wiggle room and it's been like this for months, you don't think that will effect how we apply ourselves in training and on the pitch?

 

People are literally praying for any example of something they've stated to crop up so they can confirm their biases though. "Look everybody, I've been telling you all that we need a proper six, the gap between midfield and defence is too big! Look everybody I'm a football manager!" "Hey everybody, Dan Burn is 6ft 7, Saka is going to roast him, and if he doesn't, I'll wait until next year when it does happen to let you all know how clever I am, because I know that Dan Burn is slow, and fast players will be able to run past him "

 

That's what's annoying, ignoring the bigger picture and taking glee from the opportunity to tell everyone how a real football manager would do it. Howe has obviously made mistakes (leaving Burn on was mental), and he's clearly struggling to manage a massive injury hit squad, but this would happen with any manager.

 

 

 

I 99% do agree with this, but I still truly believe that a “proper” DM will get the best out of Bruno and Tonali/Joelinton/Willock. It will help us control games. Good post though.