[Archived] Not The Luton Town Preview.

[todd_could_take_tyson]

Two strange moves by Samba..hm, not looking good..

Yeah lets all slay Samba after a mokoena style pass

[West Sussex Rover]

Excellent game. Derbs and Warnock looked class... COME ON ROVERS!!!

[BigDom]

Excellent result and performance

Great to have Ryan back in the team and was very impressed with Warnock....great link up play with MGP

[cn_barlow]

Two strange moves by Samba..hm, not looking good..

he looked a bit casual at times.

Still his distribution looked better that Mokoena's!!

Dowie thinks we're gonna win the cup...so thats us out in the next round!!

[Daremz]

Warnock MotM to be honest

Derbs class

MGP lively tandem with Warnock.

Really impressed, although we must not forget, Luton are not good. They're bad.

[todd_could_take_tyson]

really really impressed with Warnock, he looks head and shoulders above Gray and Jay although lets not forget he wasnt tested defensively.

Anyone notice in midfield Bentley always avoids passing to the axe, Its clear to see the players dont trust passing to Mokoena when opposing players are pressing us. Mokoena is a accident waiting to happen, and will cost us points if Hughes starts him in the premiership

Zurab was poor defensively though at times.

La Samba looked very casual with not a care in the world as if he'd smoked a ton of Congo's finest

[krislu]

he looked a bit casual at times.

Still his distribution looked better that Mokoena's!!

Dowie thinks we're gonna win the cup...so thats us out in the next round!!

Yes, he looks miles better than Mokoena. Would have liked to see him a bit more aggressive though, he seemed a little to slack imo..

I guess time will tell, Nelsen on the other hand was very good!

[G Somerset Rover]

Great result-we completely controlled the game for 90 Minutes.

Also I was pleasantly suprised with Warnock-he had a cracking debut. And Derbs as well-looks like we've finally found our local hero!!

Oh and Nelsen-God that man is sooo good. Watch us become much more resiliant from here on in.

Wembley here we come!

[Exiled in Toronto]

I thoroughly enjoyed that. 2 great finishes from Derbs, and I think he should be looking to start ahead of Nonda from now on. And how great to see a real left back - I'd forgotten what it was like.

I also think Mokoena is getting an unfair press today on this board. Sure, a few passes misplaced, but mostly played the simple ball well. However, I somehow don't think Hughes picks him for his passing ability. I thought he did the Savage job very well, closed down players fast. Not once did Luton get to run at our centre backs, and when one of our centre halves got pulled wide, I liked the way the Axe dropped into the back four. I for one am going to side with Hughes on this issue.

[RevidgeBlue]

Two strange moves by Samba..hm, not looking good..

He played some nice crisp passes out of defence when he first came on, then played a couple of sloppy ones.

Looks as if he likes to play his way out of trouble and I thought it was an encouraging cameo.

Excellent performance from MGP as well as from Warnock and Derbyshire.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

I am so glad that game was shown before a nationwide audience,Derbyshire and Warnock really impressed.A really professional and even ruthless performance as you will ever see from Rovers.

Bring on the 5th rd!!!!!

Couldn't help but feel sorry for Mike Newell though...he looked a very dejected man

[frosty]

What a performance from the lads, great to see Derbs get a couple

Also, Warnock looked very solid and likes to burst forward like he did for McCarthy's goal.

Up the blues

[Jan]

The South African commentator said of the Axe " he's not good on the ball (with the ball at his feet), but he'll win you tackles"

[rover6]

Warnock definitely looks the part. You can't go over the top with the praise because he wasn't really tested defensively but on the ball, especially in the opposition half, he looked very impressive. You can tell why he started off his career as a left midfielder. He's one of those tenacious left-backs who will always dive in for the ball if there's a chance of winning it and that's great to see.

Nice goals from Derbyshire and he was always a threat with his pace and movement. I thought Benni McCarthy did very well linking play and allowing Derbs to push up and look for balls over the top.

Downside - yes, Mokoena. Sorry, but it is embarrassing to see the guy in the Rovers side. He won a few headers and was always looking to close down people but his ability on the ball was generally poor. In the second half, Bentley had to drop deep and start picking the ball off the back four because Mokoena was offering no outlet whatsoever.

I noticed that whenever the full backs got forward, Mokoena dropped back and filled in. However, his reluctance to get on the ball and his inability when he does is detracting from the passing football that Hughes wants the team to play. At times, when we have possession, it's like playing with 10 men. It seemed far too often that the CBs would rather pump an aimless ball forward than give it to Mokoena.

Hughes has got to get real and find someone else for the role.

[adopted scouser]

And that Poof from Preston had us down to lose 2 - 1.

Arse

[FourLaneBlue]

The presence of Warnock should help with our defensive record. Lucas did his best at left back but it isn't really his position and you could tell that at times.

Derbyshire is getting better by the game and, although he misses plenty, he always seems to be the right place which is vital for a striker to succeed at a high level.

[Bobby G]

I think people are being a bit too harsh on Mokoena today. Yes he was crap last time around but today he was alright.

[Roar of the Rover]

Is it me or has Derbyshire scored more than Bellamy?

I so wanted him to get his hat-trick!!, but anyway great performance from the lads.

[Presty On Tour]

I think people are being a bit too harsh on Mokoena today. Yes he was crap last time around but today he was alright.

his 2nd half was much better, i just get nervous when he has the ball so imagine what his team mates feel like.

it's blatantly obvious passing isn't his strongest point but his contribution to the side is to protect the back 4 and fill in the spaces when the center backs get out of position which he did in the 2nd half.

[Al]

Good to see "Lawro" had his finger on the pulse with his prediction.

There's no pulse where he keeps his finger.

[todd_could_take_tyson]

I think people are being a bit too harsh on Mokoena today. Yes he was crap last time around but today he was alright.

He was ok against a very poor Championship side

[Scotty]

Good, professional performance from everyone in the team today against inept opposition.

Derbyshire played very well but won't get anything like that space in the Premiership. Bentley controlled the game in midfield just as well as Tugay ever has, but again, he was given all the time in the world to do so. Great to see Nelsen back, Warnock looked promising, and Samba's a big unit. Mokoena also played well but that won't matter to his critics on here as they desperately try to justify their views.

All in all it was as comfortable a game as we could ever have wished for.

[ad0102]

I also thought the axe did his job today. His role is a defensive one to help us get a clean sheet, which we did comfortably today.

As far as I am concerned he got a new contract because he is happy to be a squad player who does not expect to be in the team every week. He is only playing most weeks due to the long injury list.

I was really please with us today, not like us to win so comfortably. Like everybody else I was impressed with Warnock.

[Jimmy Jupiter]

There's no pulse where he keeps his finger.

Very good

As for the match it was brilliant to see Nelsen back and even more pleasing it didnt seem like he'd been out of the side for 6 or so months.

Derbyshire looks really promising, i'm getting more excited now he's scored goals that aren't tap-ins

Luton were dreadful but all of our back four coped really well, Henchoz is pretty poor at distributing the ball but he was very good at what he's paid to do - defend.

Warnock seemed enthusiastic, faded after 60-70 mins but before then he was one of the best players on the pitch.

Mokoena was by far our worst player, but he wasn't as bad as people make out. However the chap who mentioned Bentley was unwilling to pass to him was spot on, which is a worry.

[Modi]

I was quite happy Matty didn't get a hatrick - I had MGP to score the last goal.

Major positives (regardless of the opposition)... Nelsen back, Warnock looks good, Zurab sound at RB, Pedersen really in his stride now, Derbyshire is firing, and the team really showing a hunger for the win.

That's 8 wins out of last 11 games. If we keep that up, we'll probably be in the last 16 of the UEFA, last 8 of the FA Cup and top 7 in the Premiership.