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[Guest roberto922]

I'll stick my neck out like a giraffe and say automatic promotion.

[Terras-FM]

If you dont go up your out the lambs lol

[coldkohmew]

12 games,5th most valued =)

[blowcrapup]

I wish I could see a photo of Gazza eating a huge cowboy hat washing it down with Beer or Vodka. Glad to see I'm back in training though. KUTGW

[ZJ]

Full time. Not only can Luton not score, they seem scared to try, several times in that match people chose passes when the better option was a shot, more points thrown away. Luton’s top league scorer is Soder on 3 goals, that puts him 45th on the goals scored by players list. Gazza decides to drop him into the reserves and give Dean a run up front. Hopefully Soder will find his scoring boots when he is against lesser teams.[/Quote]

Its the bane of the consistency attribute. I will be consistent, be it great or crap. Leagues and cup are on different consistency though, so I'm consistently good in one and bad in the other. Give me a run again if we have a cup game, I'll be good then, and let someone else do the league games. Keep me on the bench maybe for league games and let have have the last 30 in games we have already won if it doesn't matter. Hopefully I can score and hit back to positive consistency.

Also, crank up my finishing training a bit, I think I need to get them up a bit higher, hence me keep shooting straight at the keeper.

[brigadier]

Only played 6 games, not great.

[RUFC4eva]

unlucky to be injured but am glad the tutoring from geovanni worked

hopefully will make griffiths-smith a better player

[The Lambs]

I am back from my night away and I have just fired up FM08.

If you dont go up your out the lambs lol

I would be surprised if we do go up, I have no idea how you would survive in the Championship, so the best result would be to stay in League one for a season then go up next year.

Only played 6 games, not great.

Your getting constant average 6 or 7 scores.

Also, crank up my finishing training a bit, I think I need to get them up a bit higher, hence me keep shooting straight at the keeper.

Your shooting training is already on high and your development is going along nicely.

[ZJ]

I'm back as well, had 3 away games fri-sun and after 270 minutes of football I'm truly knackered. Also got the living daylights kicked out of me in the last game so hurting a bit everywhere

Looking forward to some virtual games coming up, its all I can handle right now!

[The Lambs]

I'm back as well, had 3 away games fri-sun and after 270 minutes of football I'm truly knackered. Also got the living daylights kicked out of me in the last game so hurting a bit everywhere

Looking forward to some virtual games coming up, its all I can handle right now!

You made a sub return to the squad and got a cracking goal.

3 games in 3 days, you nutter!

[The Lambs]

October 08/09 Key Matches and Events

That sounds really painful!

League: Luton 3-0 Yeovil

We beat Yeovil 1-0 away last season in the FA Cup third round. This season Yeovil are predicted to battle against relegation but are sitting comfortably in 9th place. This should be a home win or at worst a draw, but the ref is a worry, he has issued 14 yellow cards in 3 games, with our dirty squad we could be down to 9 men.

14 mins. Dean takes an early knock, but is OK to continue.

26 mins. Nakano gives their striker a good kicking in a nasty challenge, the striker will be ok after some treatment. Still no yellow cards and there have been some hard tackles put in by both teams.

27 mins. I spoke to quick, Delgado booked for a challenge, he was only letting the player know he was there.

30 mins. Chopper slides on his knees with both fists in the air after a spectacular strike. Delgado’s throw in reaches the edge of the six yard box and Chopper with the goal at his mercy slams it home for his first goal of the season. 1-0

45 mins. Luton need to kill the game off in the next 45 mins. Gazza tries to pump them up to go for another goal. Dean just needs to build his confidence.

50 mins. McClusky for Yeovil hobbles off in pain for some touch line treatment after a Jones tackle.

53 mins. Luton win a penalty, McCarthy puts a corner in the box and in the crush around the far post Holt is pushed. The Yeovil players go mental and are still protesting after the kick is taken. Stig is still our penalty specialist and steps up to keep his 100% record of scoring from the spot in matches.

70 mins. Time for fresh legs, Blanco, Frith and Piterzoon replace Dean, Hopper and Delgado.

77 mins. Blanco lays a back pass to Frith who rockets a shot towards goal, but it deflects off the defence and ends up back with Blanco who fires it home. Yeovil are protesting off side, sounds like sour grapes to Gazza.

87 mins. Frith is loving his attacking role and is causing the Yeovil central defence all sorts of problems.

A good result and we are still yet to concede at home.

Hoppers strike earns him MoM.

Nakano wins every header he goes for, his basket ball lessons are paying off.

Amazingly, despite our indifferent form, Luton are in 7th place, just outside the play off places with a game in hand on their nearest rivals. I am not sure that promotion is a good idea this season unless the team improves vastly over the year.

Luton get two match dates rearranged due to international call ups, as we are missing Jones and Page. Neither of them play and warm the bench for their respective countries.

Johnstone’s Paint Trophy: Luton 1-2 Southampton

We have a poor record against Southampton having lost to them in both our previous meetings, a friendly and a league game earlier this season. They are on a run of 8 wins in a row.

Page is still travelling back, so Cletus is in goal.

1 mins. Southampton start brightly with a speculative shot that sails over the bar.

9mins. So far it is all Southampton, Luton have to concede three corners to kill off the Southampton attack.

17 mins. Southampton hit the bar with a rocket of a shot from 35 yards out. Jones gets booked for a trip in a challenge for the rebound.

25 mins. Luton string together their first attack and Chopper blasts over from distance.

50 mins. Terrible mistake by Nakano, he leaves Bradley Wright-Phillips completely unmarked to try and close down the ball, a short stabbing pass by-passes him and leaves Bradley with a clear run on goal. 0-1. Looks like Nakano wants to win this year’s turkey award as well.

68 mins. A brilliantly crafted equaliser. McCarthy swaps the ball to the far wing where Crawford takes a few steps to control it and lashes it into the goal. That is probably McCarthy’s last touch of the game as Gazza had already informed the 4th official that he was making changes.

71 mins. Gazza forms the “I hate Bradley Wright Phillips club”. Wright-Phillips receives the ball in an off side position and lines up a shot, Jones throws himself in front of the shot and the ball deflects into the goal. 1-2

90 mins. With 4 minutes to go Gazza goes 4-4-2. There is an instant improvement in attacking options, but no goal.

Luton will try playing 2 up front for the next match.

League: Luton 3-3 Millwall

Millwall are ahead of us on goal difference, which is no surprise considering our problems in scoring.

Luton line up with 2 up front for the first time under Gazza, a very attacking line up. Soder is still in the dog house and does not feature.

3 mins. Stig fires one into the goal from 25 yards out. 1-0

13 mins. Unlucky for Luton. Pieterzoon gets skinned on the left and the ball is crossed, Jones loses his man and Grabbana and he hammers it into the goal. 1-1

17 mins. Page can only parry a free kick and it falls to Robinson who hammers it home. 2-1

22 mins. Millwall hit the bar with so much force the ball rebounds out as far as the half way line. Blanco chasing it down is fouled.

26 mins. Gazza is furious. Donaldson runs unopposed through the Luton defence and slots it home. 3-1

32 ins. Blanco has to receive treatment on the side lines. He should last until half time.

34 mins. Luton are back in it. Dean harries the Millwall winger on the half way line, stealing the ball he runs into the box evades two defenders and slots it home. His first ever goal for Luton is a cracking shot. 3-2

42 Mins. Hopper gets a smack in the face during a challenge, he looks dazed and will have to come off at half time.

Half time. The injured boys are replaced and Luton go back to 1 up front.

61 mins. Kah becomes the latest Millwall victim and is now also carrying a head injury. He is replaced.

80 mins, Luton are denied a penalty for a blatant foul, they surround the ref in protest. 3-3

90 +2mins. McCarthy floats the ball in from the corner flag and Stig heads it in to draw Luton level. 3-3

Hopper is out for a week with his head injury.

Team of the week

League: Huddersfield 1-1 Luton

Mid-table Huddersfield are up next in what should be a close tie, the home advantage should clinch it for them. Gazza is not sure about staying with the 4-4-2 after the defence’s spectacular collapse using it last week.

Dawson returns from his injury for his third game of the season.

13 mins. Dawson lashes the ball at goal from 30 yards out, the keeper pulls a great save off.

17 mins. Page runs out of the box to meet a long ball forward from Huddersfield, he dwells on the ball and is disposed by Heffeman who passes the ball into the empty net. What a terrible mistake by Page. 1-0

38 mins. Stig continues his brilliant recent form, a loose ball in the box falls to him and he slams it home. 1-1

77 mins. The game has been deadlocked, neither side finding the break through. Dawson now up front gets the ball in the met, but he is miles off side and goal hanging.

88 mins. Four yellow cards for Luton, the whole defence needs to be careful now.

93 mins. In the last minute of extra time, Dawson earns a free kick in the Huddersfield D, the Huddersfield crowd hold their breath. The shot from Small is weak and Huddersfield get the draw.

Poor game, again we have had to rely on corner for a goal.

League: Leicester 2-2 Luton

The second of three away games in a row finds us against a team we have history against, they have won against us in a friendly but we came out victorious in the FA cup last season.

2 mins. Both teams get early chances, but the best falls to Stig who gets his head onto another corner at the far post, he is really in form at the moment and is only inches away from another goal.

3 mins. Nakano trips DJ Campbell in the box and Leicester win a penalty, Oakley steps up to the spot and puts Leicester in the lead. 1-0

17 mins. Dawson takes a shot which hits a defender and scraps the upright on its way out for a corner, so close to an equaliser. Dean heads straight at the keeper from the corner and before anyone reaches the rebound the ref halts play for a Dawson foul.

37 mins. Luton are battling for the game and when Dean challenges for the ball in the centre circle he comes away from the tackle on top with a clear run at goal. The keeper comes out to meet him in the D and dean has the composer to dribble round him a shoot. 1-1

52 mins. Page has to make a triple save from Leicester after each shot is too powerful for him to hold. Luton are on the ropes.

62 mins. Holt goes down from a challenge holding his thigh, Gazza takes this opportunity to makes some changes. Proctor on for Holt, Delgardo replaces Pieterzoon who is having a terrible game and Kah comes on for dean up front to inject some fresh legs.

67 mins. Griffiths-Smith battles for the ball in midfield and wins the ball, making a pin point pass for Kah to run onto. Kah beats the offside trap and has the confidence to beat not only the keeper but two defenders who close him down as he slots the ball home. 1-2

74 mins. Kah almost has he head knocked off when a Griffiths-Smith blast hits him on the way to the goal.

76 mins. Dawson gets free and his shotis narrowly over.

80 mins. Chambers gets his head onto a long ball forward and it is in the net. Nakano was nowhere near him. 2-2 That was a bizarre goal and not intentional.

We still cannot win away from home, Nakano is still a liability at the back, but Sage is hit or miss as well.

League: Bristol 2-2 Rovers Luton

Rovers is the 3rd of the away games and are lying in midtable, which is where they are predicted to finish.

Luton have still not won away, having drawn 4 of the last 5 away games.

24 seconds. Disaster, Luton have not touched the ball and it is the net from a cross onto the head of Lapira. Luton were caught napping. 1-0

10 mins. Equaliser, McCarthy gets round the back of his man and crosses the ball, Dean is on hand to head it home. 1-1

30 mins. Luton are on top but are struggling to get the shots on target. Dawson forces the first save from the Rovers keeper.

35 mins. Luton are caught out by yet another ball over the top, Lapira shoots from tight angle and Sage cannot save it, he really should of done better in his last game before he is rotated out.

37 mins. An instant reply from Luton, a long range shot clips a defender and bobbles to Dean who takes a few touches before slamming it home, but what is this? The ref rules it out for off side. What a terrible decision.

50 mins. Another Luton shot is wide, they really cannot get the ball on target. 15 shots and only 2 on target.

65 mins. Soder gets a recall and both wide defenders are changed.

80 mins. Soder repays the gaffers choice, Crawford passes forward and Soder turns his man in the box and gets it in the net. Good goal! 2-2

Fixture List

First team Squad

Goal of the Month

No Young player of the month

No manager of the month

League Table

Player Stats

Overview

[rancer890]

Nakano is a strong contender to win another Turkey award.

KUTGW

[Guest roberto922]

My form isn't looking too good atm Unlucky Sanchez on your injury. I think we've got a serious chance at reaching the playoffs, the dream scenario IMO would be to lose in the final as we wouldn't go up but we would have the revenue from visits to Wembley.

[Blanco]

PLEASE DROP NAKANO!!!!!!

Another goal from me... did I pick up a serious injury in the second game or was I just dropped / ineffectual??

When I score we win - play me more often

[Guest roberto922]

As long as he doesn't go in DL I'm happy for Turkey to play but I want the award so I can improve my consistency

[rancer890]

Don't drop me please, I need the minimum appearances to qualify for the Turkey award.

[~Ian~]

A dislocated jaw sustained on the training ground? Lads, own up. Who punched Sanchez?

[rancer890]

I think it was probably Nakano.

[Guest roberto922]

His rival left back actually (Turkeys can't rival one of our best players before you pipe up Ricky )

[blowcrapup]

A dislocated jaw sustained on the training ground? Lads, own up. Who punched Sanchez?

It was a dare from Gazza. He promised to buy all the under 18s booze and cigs for the season if Sanchez could fit 11 gobstoppers in his mouth

[tomsmith1989]

Gutted I didnt get a game last month. If i'm staying out of the team could I possibly go on loan somewhere please??

[The Lambs]

Gutted I didnt get a game last month. If i'm staying out of the team could I possibly go on loan somewhere please??

You are in the team now, it was just your turn to be rotated out into the reserves.

[tomsmith1989]

You are in the team now, it was just your turn to be rotated out into the reserves.

Oh ok I see. Thats fine then. Kutgw!

[coldkohmew]

played another 5 more =)

[BamaToon]

Well, I have returned, a little earlier than originally expected, so tremble in fear at my triumphant (?) return.

Anyway, just skimmed through the reports and screenshots while enjoying some fine Caribbean rum. 15 appearances and a 6.8 rating for Delgado so far. Not bad at all, given the horrible showing early in the season. Glad to see him bounce back from that. I was afraid that he would tank after that.

Much more important though is the fact that the team is currently sitting 7th and just out of the playoff spots. 17 matches and 26 points gives us an average of 1.5 points per match. If my math is right, this current form would give us a total of 69-70 points on the season (depending on how you round the decimals), and I think I predicted 63 if I remember correctly. I'll gladly take 70 even if it means I don't get the prize for the closest prediction.

Soder with 8 goals in 13 matches thus far. That's better than a goal every two games. Awesome scoring rate for anyone.

Keep it up, lads. It's still early yet, but I feel confident in our chances to make the Championship...

[The Lambs]

Well, I have returned, a little earlier than originally expected, so tremble in fear at my triumphant (?) return.

Anyway, just skimmed through the reports and screenshots while enjoying some fine Caribbean rum. 15 appearances and a 6.8 rating for Delgado so far. Not bad at all, given the horrible showing early in the season. Glad to see him bounce back from that. I was afraid that he would tank after that.

Much more important though is the fact that the team is currently sitting 7th and just out of the playoff spots. 17 matches and 26 points gives us an average of 1.5 points per match. If my math is right, this current form would give us a total of 69-70 points on the season (depending on how you round the decimals), and I think I predicted 63 if I remember correctly. I'll gladly take 70 even if it means I don't get the prize for the closest prediction.

Soder with 8 goals in 13 matches thus far. That's better than a goal every two games. Awesome scoring rate for anyone.

Keep it up, lads. It's still early yet, but I feel confident in our chances to make the Championship...

Welcome back.

Caribbean rum, I love Havana Club rum and Mojito cocktails. I honeymooned in Cuba, so rum brings fun memories.

A few of the sign up players stated 70 points and 10th place, I think we might just creep to 7th place, shy of the play off places. A lot depends on how much you all increase by the half way point in the season.

That is the advantage that Luton enjoy at the moment, as the season goes on our whole team gets better, while the other teams can only buy the odd player to get better.

We will run into problems when you all start wanting to go to better clubs, a few of you are already "slightly concerned" after feeling the pressure of public expectations.

Do not be fooled by the goals scored, a lot of those are in cup games, our League scoring is a real problem.

[The Lambs]

November 08/09 Key Matches and Events

League: Luton 2-1 Hartlepool

At last a home game, Hartlepool are down in 20th and the media have us down as favourites. Cletus is back in goal.

30 mins. It is a long time to wait for some action, but the home fans finally get something to celebrate. Small swings a cross in and Dean loses his man and heads it home. 1-0]

58 mins. Soder comes onto the pitch and again he makes an instant impression, maybe we have found his roll as a Super Sub. Smith plays a ball into the Hartlepool defence and Soder picks it up, gets between the central defenders and slots it home. 2-0

94 mins. With all the injury time played, Hartlepool get a free kick on the edge of the box and beat Spuckler with a great shot. 2-1

League: Rochdale 0-0 Luton

Rochdale got promoted with us last season so we have met them before, in the previous 2 meetings only one goal was scored to give us victory in the away game. They are lying down in last place so we should win this game comfortably to break our terrible away form.

10 mins. Rubbish, that is the only way to sum up Luton’s opening to this game. Rochdale have pinned us in our own half.

20 mins. It is still all Rochdale, Luton of only managed to shots at goal and they have both been badly off target.

70 mins. Luton have worked their way back into the game, but the offence is having a very poor game. Gazza brings on fresh les up front.

Nil nil in a very poor game, we are terrible away from home, only Spuckler kept us in this game.

FA Cup 1st round: Millwall 2-2 Luton

We drew against Millwall last time 3-3 earlier in the league. Our away form does not seem to extend to our cup games, sp maybe we have a chance?

3 mins. And we are behind, they just cut through our defence like a knife through butter. 1-0

43 mins. Gazza gives up and leaves the dug out in search of a bar. Luton are terrible, a very average Millwall are tearing them apart. 2-0

Half time. Gazza briefly appears in the changing room to yell at the team before heading off to the bar again.

46 mins. The shouting seems to have made an impression. Proctor gets his head on to a Stig corner to give the travelling fans a glimmer of hope. 2-1

50 mins. Smith forces an awesome save as he blasts the ball from 30 yards out.

85 mins. A Crawford cross is met by Proctor at the far post in a carbon copy of his first goal, 2-2

Luton earn a replay after a much improved second half.

There is a two week international break next.

Pieterzoon international.

Soder international.

Holt international.

Proctor international, just look at the bench is this Engalnd or Luton? No subs made, weird.

Soder international 2.

Holt international 2.

FA Cup 1st round replay: Luton 4-2 Millwall

We get our replay against Millwall, 10 goals have been scored in the last two meetings of these teams.

Haowan return to the squad.

22 mins. Dean takes a shot and it deflects past the keeper. Great midfield build up play, Haowan has made an instant impression. 1-0

24 mins. Millwall make a great equaliser, Sanchez loses out in an aerial challenge for a corner ball. 1-1

39 mins. Haowan takes a free kick and lands a perfectly weighted ball into the box. Dawson makes great movement to get his head on it for a great goal. 2-1

40 mins. Millwall hit the post after Pieterzoon loses his man. That was so close.

42 mins. Penalty to Millwall, Stig fouls his man just inside the penalty area. 2-2 Stig will miss the next cup game after receiving a yellow for the challenge.

51 mins. Dean scores from a McCarthy corner. Great cross! 3-2

58 mins. Dean has risen to the challenge set by his boss, Haowan played a wonderful ball for Dean who was in space. 4-2

77 mins. Haowan gets injured in a challenge, smith replaces him.

Victory! After 3 games and 16 goals, Luton finally beat Millwall.

We earn a game against feeder club Stevenage in the next round.

Haowan will be OK for the next game.

League: Luton 3-1 Leeds

In form second placed Leeds will be a difficult opponent, Haowan is able to play in an unchanged side from the cup game.

2 mins. Terrible start for Luton as Leeds score from a corner. 0-1

24 mins. Luton are playing well and do not deserve to be behind. Dean closes down the keeper who shows him too much of the ball, Dean steals it from him and slots it home. 1-1

27 mins. A goal mouth scramble ends with Dean smashing the ball home from 2 yards out. 2-1

Half time. Great play by Luton, Dean is on fire at the moment.

55 mins. Despite starting the second half as the better team, Leeds find themselves another goal behind after Captain Stig heads in a Haowan corner. 3-1

Luton continues to dominate but add no more goals. That ended a Leeds unbeaten run of 8 games and makes it 10 unbeaten for Luton.

FA Cup 2nd round: Luton Stevenage

Our feeder club Stevenage got promoted into League 2 last season and are sitting nicely in 15th place. We have played them in a friendly this season and they drew with us 2 all.

6 mins. Luton are taking no prisoners and have had Stevenage penned in their half, the break through comes from Dean who breaks through the defence, the keeper parries the first ball, but Dean keeps his calm to score from a kind rebound. 1-0

23 mins. The Stevenage keeper is keeping Stevenage in the game, but a Haowan corner and a Proctor header puts them 2 down. 2-0

50 mins. Stevenage have a goal ruled out for a push in the box, I am not sure if it was a foul.

60 mins. Gazza makes some changes. Soder, Hopper and Crawford come on for Dean, Dawson and Pieterzoon.

64 mins. Haowan is tripped 25 yards out, he steps up for the free kick and it clips the wall on the way into the net. 3-0

72 mins. Sanchez takes the ball right up to the corner flag and crosses into the box, Soder makes a great run to get onto the end of the cross and put it int the net. 4-0

96 mins. McCarthy is taken down right on the edge of the box, he finishes the game on the side lines having his upper body check over, he will be out for a week with a bruised rib.

Haowan gets a deserved MoM.

Team of the week

Fixture List

First team Squad

Goal of the Month

Young Player of the month

No manager of the month

League Table

Player Stats

Overview

[cletus]

We should have had 10 points more at this point if only the away-form could have been a little better. 5 of those games should/could have been won Then we would be placed around 3rd-spot, but maybe you're right to stay one more season in League One. I'm still confident that we can go into the play-off at least. Beating Leeds at home shows that we can compete in the Championship, I think. I hope you have told Jonny Dean how glad you are for his latest performances?

Personally I'm very happy to have earned my first MoM in the away-match aginst Rochdale. Are you still gonna rotate the players? Why not play the strongest most of the time? (not quite sure how your rotationscheme works)

[The Lambs]

We should have had 10 points more at this point if only the away-form could have been a little better. 5 of those games should/could have been won Then we would be placed around 3rd-spot, but maybe you're right to stay one more season in League One. I'm still confident that we can go into the play-off at least. Beating Leeds at home shows that we can compete in the Championship, I think. I hope you have told Jonny Dean how glad you are for his latest performances?

Personally I'm very happy to have earned my first MoM in the away-match aginst Rochdale. Are you still gonna rotate the players? Why not play the strongest most of the time? (not quite sure how your rotationscheme works)

I agree that we should have 10 points more, we have stayed constantly 11 points off 2nd place, so we would be battling for that auto spot if we can turn around our away form.

Regarding the rotation policy, every month I asses how many games each player has played and then try and rotate them in so that all the players get a fairly even amount over the season. The GK and Defence go in bigger cycles as it is important not to change them too much and obviously the Captain or Vice Captain will have to appear in every match.

It is hard to keep it even as injuries and suspensions can change the team.

Why not play the strongest team? Simply because I do not want some players to fall too far behind the rest of the team. This will pay off when we start to lose the best players to other teams. in the transfer windows.

I am sure the strongest team could win most matches, but it would be dull reading for those players who do not get played.

[Terras-FM]

Jonny Dean is on fire told ya so

[Proccy]

Wow! Goals Goals Goals for Proctor!

I am your FA Cup saviour guys!!

[Sampa]

Gah, played awful that month.

Are you still gonna rotate the players? Why not play the strongest most of the time? (not quite sure how your rotationscheme works)

er, thanks...

[Terras-FM]

Goals Goals Goals for dean

[The Lambs]

Goals Goals Goals for dean

You are back in the reserves at the moment, Soder is on fire even more than you.

Don't worry it was just squad rotation, you will get another run.

[ZJ]

Woohoo, scored an international goal! Not happy with my overall performance for Luton but looking at your last comment it seems like its changing

Anyway, I'm all in favour of heavy rotation. We are very young players, if we started with the top squad every time nearly all of them would begin to feel the pressure and start to break down physically as well. Only players very high hidden attributes would be able to handle it so its a bit hit and miss. It also have the advantage of keeping our reputation down a bit so we don't get caught up by AI scouts too early and for our players to get to needy and want to transfer away.

Also good that many players are contributing with goals, some good performances from midfield this season.

KUTGW!

[Guest roberto922]

Looking good, I'm kinda hoping we don't go up this year though.

[The Lambs]

Looking good, I'm kinda hoping we don't go up this year though.

We are looking very strong for a play off place at the moment.

I am getting really annoyed with the away results, we have dropped so many points this season.

Genie thinks we are the 4th best team in the league at the moment.

I think we will lose our first player this transfer window, we have had some very low offers for players and a couple of them are getting upset that the offers were not accepted. I may send those players away on loan if they get too upset.

[BamaToon]

Well, woke up feeling slightly hungover, but seeing our latest league table makes me feel a bit better. In the playoff spots. If we can beef up our away form, we could be in with a shout.

[The Lambs]

December 08/09 Key Matches and Events

League: Luton 2-0 Southend

Southend have beaten us in a Johnstone’s Paint trophy match in the previous season, but we are a better team now so maybe we can have a bit of revenge.

This is a battle of 6th verses 4th.

26 mins. Another Proctor heading goal from a Haowan corner. 1-0

Half time. Southend are getting a mauling and Luton could easily be 3-0 up if not for some great defending.

49 mins. Small makes a fantastic run on the wing to the edge of the box and pops a ball left for Soder to tuck away. 2-0

58 mins. With Luton in charge, Gazza rules the changes and brings on Blanco, Nakano and Hopper on for Soder, Sanchez and Haowan.

Fantastic football by Luton, that was a promotion battling performance and is mud in the eye for the news papers who predicted us to be relegation favourites.

Haowan is going to be difficult to hold onto in the New Year transfer window. MoM goes to Proctor who is turning into a great defender.

Crawford is injured in training while lifting weights; he will be out for 2 weeks. It is only his second injury in his career.

League: Cheltenham 2-2 Luton

We are away to Cheltenham next, they are lying in 18th place and have already faced defeat in our earlier League One meeting.

19 mins. Luton start well but their best effort falls to Small who hits the post from 7 yards out.

23 mins. Spuckler pulls off a great save form a Cheltenham free kick, Frith reaches the parried ball first and with no pressure puts it out for a corner, why?

Half Time. Luton are on top of the game, but unless they start to score from their chances Cheltenham will grow in confidence. Not one Luton shot has been on target yet.

59 mins. Gazza makes some tactical changes and immediately the team starts to perform that little bit better. Some good wing play and a telling ball into the box from Haowan sets up Soder. The striker is under pressure from the keeper and two defenders but still manages to lob the ball into the net. 0-1 Cheltenham protest that the goal was offside, it is to close for me to tell even with the aid of replays.

62 mins. Soders pace almost results in another goal, but a sliding defender throws himself in front of the ball.

73 mins. Small pressurises Ripley on the wing into making a hurried back pass to the keeper. Soder leaps towards the ball like a panther and evades the keeper to slot it home for his second of the game. 0-2

83 mins. The Cheltenham fans are leaving the ground, but have reaon to pause in their exit when McCammon fires a shot off from 30 yards out that squirms under Spuckler. 1-2 Gazza was starting to think we might win an away game.

92 mins. Gazza loses the plot as Luton throw away another away lead. Liejer wins the jumping contest against Proctor to head the ball into the net.

insert lots of swear words here. I cannot explain how annoyed I am with this draw, we dominated the game completely and let in 2 very cheap goals.

League: Rotherham 1-1 Luton

Away match that we are expected to lose, I have given up on ever winning an away game this season, so I’ll put the kettle on and let the team throw away a perfectly good lead as usual, not that I am bitter or anything.

17 mins. Haowan in space on the edge of the box fires it into the near corner. 1-0.

30 mins. Rotherham equalise after beating the offside trap, what a surprise, not. 1-1

56 mins. Haowan falls over in the middle of the pitch and injures his shin. Gazza warned him not to play on roller blades.

Subs on Blanco and Hopper for Soder and Haowan.

Another draw in an away game that Luton dominated, we really cannot win away from home.

League: Luton 4-1 Walsall

We drew against Walsall at their ground in the first meeting of the season.

25 mins. A Griffiths-Smith goal, as he attacks a corner ball from deep and gets a diving header onto it, that is his first goal of the season. 1-0

41 mins. Soder gets his head onto a Small cross to continue his great run in front of goal.

53 mins. Captain Stig gets his head onto a far post corner, all three goals have come from headers. 3-0

58 mins. Walsall pull on back, a throw into to the box eludes the defence and falls to Andrews, he makes his chance pay. 3-1

Subs. Hopper, Kah and Nakano on for Haowan, Soder and Sanchez.

84 mins. Smith works the edge of the box and finds a scoring opportunity. A great goal by the midfielder. 4-1

Well won, take a moment to look at Stit and Smith’s passing attempts and success to see how we dominated this game.

Somehow we have closed the gap to 2nd place and auto promotion down to 8 points! We are unbeaten in 15 games now and have the best combined form in the league over the last 5 game. Am I a great manager or is the team carrying me?

Ho Ho Ho!

League: Leyton Orient 1-0 Luton

15th place Orient are expected to win this game, I expect us to dominate but draw!

16 mins. Completely against the run of play Orient score with their first shot of the game. 1-0 Typical away form.

Half time. Luton have been the better side, Gazza, who has obviously been drinking, loses the plot in the dressing room, he rants and raves, throws boots and kicks lockers.

If this rubbish form keeps up I am going to put the ass man in charge of all the away games. Gazza doesn’t even turn up for the after match team talk. Luton should never have lost this, only a MoM game from the Orient keeper keeps their clean sheet.

Fixture List

First team Squad

Goal of the Month

Young Player of the month

No manager of the month

League Table

Player Stats

Overview

[ZJ]

4 goals in 5 games, atleast my league form is picking up.

With regards to away form, its annoying, maybe try for a more counterattacking formation and/or ensure the fullbacks are more defensive so we always keep possession in the back 4.

Can't believe my Av. Rat is still so low despite scoring consistently. I think my rather low finishing means I miss the target too much and it draws down my rating. Hopefully it will improve with time. Keeping up my wish of 0.5 goals a game though.

[Blanco]

Bottom of the average ratings... Maybe that's due to the endless sub appearances...

Can I start a few games please???

[The Lambs]

4 goals in 5 games, atleast my league form is picking up.

With regards to away form, its annoying, maybe try for a more counterattacking formation and/or ensure the fullbacks are more defensive so we always keep possession in the back 4.

Can't believe my Av. Rat is still so low despite scoring consistently. I think my rather low finishing means I miss the target too much and it draws down my rating. Hopefully it will improve with time. Keeping up my wish of 0.5 goals a game though.

Counter attack will not help, our problem is shots off target. For example, we have just drew a game where the opposition had 3 shots with only 1 on target which gave them a goal. We had 20 shots, but only 4 on target for a 1-1 draw.

We also slaughtered them in every other stat, yet we draw. This happens in nearly every away game, we just do not make our superiority count.

Bottom of the average ratings... Maybe that's due to the endless sub appearances...

Can I start a few games please???

Don't worry about your rating in the first season, you are a year behind the others in development, so you will get a lot of sub games, but few starts. Your CA is rising nicely.

I can loan you if you want constant games, you would be an auto starter in the Stevenage squad in League one.

[rancer890]

Good update. Nakano doing ok. Who's interested in my services?

How are my chances of winning another Turkey award?

[Blanco]

Don't worry about your rating in the first season, you are a year behind the others in development, so you will get a lot of sub games, but few starts. Your CA is rising nicely.

I can loan you if you want constant games, you would be an auto starter in the Stevenage squad in League one.

I think that might be good for me, just till the end of the season if that's ok...

I think you mean League 2??

[tomsmith1989]

Another great update. I think the Walsall game has been my greatest moment so far. Unbelievable amount of passes in that game. Good stuff.

[ZJ]

Counter attack will not help, our problem is shots off target. For example, we have just drew a game where the opposition had 3 shots with only 1 on target which gave them a goal. We had 20 shots, but only 4 on target for a 1-1 draw.

We also slaughtered them in every other stat, yet we draw. This happens in nearly every away game, we just do not make our superiority count.

Seems I'm largely responsible for that, I seem to be missing a lot of shots

Are we still playing 4-3-2-1? How are the chances we are missing target with? Long shots or something else?

Hard to say without actually playing but I've had success solving this problem by changing to slightly more defensive outlook (decrease mentality/def line/tempo) once you have established possession superiority at the same time you play wider. Generally you just want to get the opposition to spread out more to create better chances instead of lots of half-chances which happens when you are dominating a game and they are parking the bus, especially since our 2 attacking midfielders and lone strikers will have little time on the ball and options. We are talking about moving the sliders about 1-2 ticks, not more. If it doesn't improve, its worth at try.

Might also just simple be that we are buckling under mental pressure away from home, we are just young. That will only improve with time.

Looking forward to the next update!

[The Lambs]

Might also just simple be that we are buckling under mental pressure away from home, we are just young. That will only improve with time.

That is as a good reason as any. We also play on long and wide pitches and a lot of the league don't.

[The Lambs]

I think that might be good for me, just till the end of the season if that's ok...

I think you mean League 2??

Have a look at the next months report and then make a choice.

[Blanco]

Have a look at the next months report and then make a choice.

When's it coming?

Did I do good?

Am I even playing?

Are you just having me on....?

So many questions.....

[RUFC4eva]

not bad 5th in the league and a goal for griffiths-smith in the walsall game