v Luton Town (a) - 12/4/2025

[Mattyblue]

Surely some will be disappointed as posts leading into Sheff Wed were of the ilk ‘that we need to keep losing to keep the pressure on the campaign’.

[roversfan99]

21 minutes ago, arbitro said:

Some of the posts I have seen are certainly leaning towards disappointment that we won.

Does it matter if it was backs to the wall or whatever? On Tuesday I saw signs in the second half of players gaining confidence after an awful run. Yesterday the confidence levels once again increased and I thought we were good value for the win.

We had ten men for over forty minutes so of course it was backs to the wall - what did you expect?

We could have actually scored twice more on the counter in the second half.

I'm one of the first to criticise when we are poor but yesterday we were anything but that.

When you say does it matter whether it was back to the walls, of course not. Football as much as modern hipsters try to convince people otherwise is purely a results game.

But obviously on here we look at things beyond just the result. The red card of course skews things because especially having the lead its always going to turn into attack v defence and it made the work of the defenders even more impressive. We have been a soft touch under Ismael so defensively it was certainly a step in the right direction. Luton were appalling, so many unforced errors and wild attempts to cross or shoot but the players worked so hard, dealt with what they had to and looked more of a Eustace team in terms of organisation as you said.

But before the red card, from an attacking perspective I am just saying that I didnt see a side with any confidence and I didnt see a side "on the front foot." We were passive and in the first half, we only had one shot and that was a speculative one from Ohashi that went nowhere near. The goal was an exception in terms of a fantastic bit of quality from Ohashi to make the finish look easy.

The standard of the performance I think has been exaggerated but the key to the win was going back to some of the principles that Eustace so impressively instilled before sadly we made his job untenable. Ismael does deserve some credit for at least going back to basics as it was likely to be a scruffy win to get us another win although its too late for it to mean anything much more than pride.

[roversfan99]

I agree with the comments about Gueye's cameo, I thought he was really frustrating and his body language and application was really poor. He has had cameos where most things have stuck to him and hes led the line well but often you see what we saw yesterday.

He has been a bit of a strange signing to say the least. He has never felt like a fit with the rest of the squad and I know people will say things like its good to have him as an option but I dont see much logic in signing 2 strikers who are so different because when you change one for the other you have to totally change your style.

He seemingly was a Gestede driven signing, I dont know if its just his inexperience showing, recruiting without a particular plan or pattern. Or if hes seen a bit of himself in him, but it feels like if we went forward trying to plan around him, it wouldnt suit anyone else, and if we dont he will be nothing more than an option as a late battering ram.

Ohashi has his limitations and has had long spells without a goal but he feels like a player who perhaps wouldnt start every game ideally but who could slip in without having to rework everything around him.

[Plastics]

I genuinely don't understand how people don't think some fans wouldn't want defeats in certain situations because of warped priorities and long term preferences that would necessitate big changes. This would not be unique to Rovers fans as it's common for clubs in varying degrees of crisis or simply for people wanting managerial or player change. I've seen people online  from different clubs wanting goalkeepers to do poorly to hasten their dropping as it delays their exits and prolongs the time it takes for a club to find someone better. Same even goes for top clubs wanting to finish a position or three further down the league so they can get a new big name in as 4th-6th would endanger the managers position but wouldn't be catastrophic. At the time, a minority of arsenal fans would have taken a season outside of the champions league to shift Wenger, for example. You don't have to agree with the line of thinking but it's short sighted to believe that it's not possible that a minority of fans may be thinking a specific way. Especially in a situation that we find ourself in now where there is little to play for and losses are less catastrophic now than they would be at the start of next season. 

[Plastics]

As for Gueye he has very rarely been a successful impact player. There have a been a couple of times where its worked but generally speaking he's always struggled to settle and usually he's been quite anonymous. He's a much better starter than an impact player, for whatever reason. So whilst there's plenty to read into with yesterday's underperformance (according to people on here, I didn't see), be it annoyance at not starting the last couple of games, being unsettled by the change in manager or whatever, one poor sub appearance isn't too much proof of anything beyond his general substitute form.

 

I'm hoping he's back to being a presence soon and it's just temporary 

[arbitro]

12 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

When you say does it matter whether it was back to the walls, of course not. Football as much as modern hipsters try to convince people otherwise is purely a results game.

But obviously on here we look at things beyond just the result. The red card of course skews things because especially having the lead its always going to turn into attack v defence and it made the work of the defenders even more impressive. We have been a soft touch under Ismael so defensively it was certainly a step in the right direction. Luton were appalling, so many unforced errors and wild attempts to cross or shoot but the players worked so hard, dealt with what they had to and looked more of a Eustace team in terms of organisation as you said.

But before the red card, from an attacking perspective I am just saying that I didnt see a side with any confidence and I didnt see a side "on the front foot." We were passive and in the first half, we only had one shot and that was a speculative one from Ohashi that went nowhere near. The goal was an exception in terms of a fantastic bit of quality from Ohashi to make the finish look easy.

The standard of the performance I think has been exaggerated but the key to the win was going back to some of the principles that Eustace so impressively instilled before sadly we made his job untenable. Ismael does deserve some credit for at least going back to basics as it was likely to be a scruffy win to get us another win although its too late for it to mean anything much more than pride.

Confidence doesn't just magically appear. We were absolutely shorn of confidence and the first half against Sheffield Wednesday was probably the lowest point in that respect. Whatever happened at half time did the trick and you could see players growing in confidence after Dolans goal.

Yesterday we built on that which I thought was really apparent. 

I recall two wins and performances last season which were of a similar ilk albeit against better opposition. In terms of defending, counter attacking, stats and professionalism yesterday reminded of Leeds and Leicester last season. We were universally praised for those games but I'm not seeing anywhere near as much praise for yesterday.

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

Understand why people feel so flat. We have won a game long after a significant tumble from being in the play offs to totally out of contention with a number of games left, accelerated by the appointment of Ismael. A win is always satisfying but it does have a feeling of far too little, too late.

So you didn't enjoy us scoring and winning yesterday? 

Did you not jump up yesterday when we scored? 

Yes recent result have been poor and no one has said otherwise but I am pleased by Tuesday comeback to draw and yesterday win. Also delighted for those supporters who went yesterday and pleased we won for them

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

Regarding the performance, it was very much a smash and grab. It was a back to basics, backs to the wall performance but its fair to suggest that going forward we were very poor in the main but thankfully Ohashi took the one reasonable chance we did create superbly. 

smash and grab? really? 

First half performance was about solid and tight denying them space and stopping them knowing that we only needed one goal to win this game. We were strong at the back and discipline even more so after the red card. Ismael and the players adapted so much. Also didn't we have 2 more chances second half. Luton are a direct team and we kept Ishiah Jones Quiet and he even took Morris would suggested the game plan was working and they didn't have a plan B Luton. 

Do you think that the game plan was wrong and what would your game plan been? 

12 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I agree with the comments about Gueye's cameo, I thought he was really frustrating and his body language and application was really poor. He has had cameos where most things have stuck to him and hes led the line well but often you see what we saw yesterday.

He has been a bit of a strange signing to say the least. He has never felt like a fit with the rest of the squad and I know people will say things like its good to have him as an option but I dont see much logic in signing 2 strikers who are so different because when you change one for the other you have to totally change your style.

He seemingly was a Gestede driven signing, I dont know if its just his inexperience showing, recruiting without a particular plan or pattern. Or if hes seen a bit of himself in him, but it feels like if we went forward trying to plan around him, it wouldnt suit anyone else, and if we dont he will be nothing more than an option as a late battering ram.

Or Gueye's confidence is abit low at the minute. Could have scored if Dolan had pass instead of shooting

[Exiled_Rover]

30 minutes ago, Plastics said:

As for Gueye he has very rarely been a successful impact player. There have a been a couple of times where its worked but generally speaking he's always struggled to settle and usually he's been quite anonymous. He's a much better starter than an impact player, for whatever reason. So whilst there's plenty to read into with yesterday's underperformance (according to people on here, I didn't see), be it annoyance at not starting the last couple of games, being unsettled by the change in manager or whatever, one poor sub appearance isn't too much proof of anything beyond his general substitute form.

 

I'm hoping he's back to being a presence soon and it's just temporary 

He laid one on a plate for Forshaw and had a tap in if Dolan ever learned to look up.

His performance yesterday is being blown wildly out of proportion. 

[RTM08]

1 hour ago, arbitro said:

Some of the posts I have seen are certainly leaning towards disappointment that we won.

Does it matter if it was backs to the wall or whatever? On Tuesday I saw signs in the second half of players gaining confidence after an awful run. Yesterday the confidence levels once again increased and I thought we were good value for the win.

We had ten men for over forty minutes so of course it was backs to the wall - what did you expect?

We could have actually scored twice more on the counter in the second half.

I'm one of the first to criticise when we are poor but yesterday we were anything but that.

I'll never be disappointed that we've won a game and am pleased with the win, but I'm not going to pretend that anything has changed like others seem to think, especially considering the wider picture. We play like that against most of the clubs in the leagues and we're coming away with nothing, and its likely next season the squad is even worse. 

23 minutes ago, arbitro said:

Confidence doesn't just magically appear. We were absolutely shorn of confidence and the first half against Sheffield Wednesday was probably the lowest point in that respect. Whatever happened at half time did the trick and you could see players growing in confidence after Dolans goal.

Yesterday we built on that which I thought was really apparent. 

I recall two wins and performances last season which were of a similar ilk albeit against better opposition. In terms of defending, counter attacking, stats and professionalism yesterday reminded of Leeds and Leicester last season. We were universally praised for those games but I'm not seeing anywhere near as much praise for yesterday.

You've answered your own question.

[arbitro]

2 minutes ago, RTM08 said:

I'll never be disappointed that we've won a game and am pleased with the win, but I'm not going to pretend that anything has changed like others seem to think, especially considering the wider picture. We play like that against most of the clubs in the leagues and we're coming away with nothing, and its likely next season the squad is even worse. 

You've answered your own question.

I was referring to the performances against Leeds and Leicester, how we went about the game and how we set up. Can you not see the similarities between yesterday and those games? That was my point. 

The marked difference from yesterday and pretty much all the recent games has in my opinion been a return of confidence for many players. 

I see the bigger picture too but I enjoyed that yesterday, the players attitude, the team spirit, the way we went about it but most of all the win. 

[davulsukur]

3 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

 

 

I didn't think he got anything on it when I was watching it but I slowed the twitter video down to x0.25 speed and it does look like it. 

In which case, that's an incredible save.

[Herbie6590]

2 hours ago, arbitro said:

Bloody hell mate after the run we've been on can you not just enjoy the win.

I'm beginning to think that some are disappointed we actually won yesterday.

John Eustace for one…😆

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

4 hours ago, arbitro said:

Some of the posts I have seen are certainly leaning towards disappointment that we won.

Does it matter if it was backs to the wall or whatever? On Tuesday I saw signs in the second half of players gaining confidence after an awful run. Yesterday the confidence levels once again increased and I thought we were good value for the win.

We had ten men for over forty minutes so of course it was backs to the wall - what did you expect?

We could have actually scored twice more on the counter in the second half.

I'm one of the first to criticise when we are poor but yesterday we were anything but that.

Any Rovers win puts a smile on my face. When we lose my weekend is spoiled. 

[Herbie6590]

We had a bit of a hiccup with the POTM function but it’s fixed now (h/t to @StubbsUK & thank you to everyone who voted anyhow…your POTM for yesterday’s game against Luton Town is Yuki Ohashi…

[roversfan99]

3 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

So you didn't enjoy us scoring and winning yesterday? 

Did you not jump up yesterday when we scored? 

Yes recent result have been poor and no one has said otherwise but I am pleased by Tuesday comeback to draw and yesterday win. Also delighted for those supporters who went yesterday and pleased we won for them

smash and grab? really? 

First half performance was about solid and tight denying them space and stopping them knowing that we only needed one goal to win this game. We were strong at the back and discipline even more so after the red card. Ismael and the players adapted so much. Also didn't we have 2 more chances second half. Luton are a direct team and we kept Ishiah Jones Quiet and he even took Morris would suggested the game plan was working and they didn't have a plan B Luton. 

Do you think that the game plan was wrong and what would your game plan been? 

Or Gueye's confidence is abit low at the minute. Could have scored if Dolan had pass instead of shooting

I never said that the game plan was wrong. We won the game, obviously it was right.

I was just saying that I dont think the performance was as strong as some have claimed. Unsure if you watched and if so what you thought, but I dont think we looked confident and I dont think we were at any point on the front foot. The only real chance we created (bar Dolan's half chance at the end on the counter) was the one for Ohashi which was excellently taken. We had one shot in the whole first half and it was a pot shot from Ohashi into the stands.

A lack of confidence from Gueye doesnt forgive poor application or stroppiness on the pitch. But either way, I know you think he has been a good signing, I personally dont. I dont think he is that good full stop, but he certainly doesnt symbolise joined up thinking by Gestede. To have your main 2 strikers that require totally different styles if you change them doesnt make much sense. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 minute ago, roversfan99 said:

I never said that the game plan was wrong. We won the game, obviously it was right.

I was just saying that I dont think the performance was as strong as some have claimed. Unsure if you watched and if so what you thought, but I dont think we looked confident and I dont think we were at any point on the front foot. The only real chance we created (bar Dolan's half chance at the end on the counter) was the one for Ohashi which was excellently taken. We had one shot in the whole first half and it was a pot shot from Ohashi into the stands.

A lack of confidence from Gueye doesnt forgive poor application or stroppiness on the pitch. But either way, I know you think he has been a good signing, I personally dont. I dont think he is that good full stop, but he certainly doesnt symbolise joined up thinking by Gestede. To have your main 2 strikers that require totally different styles if you change them doesnt make much sense. 

I thought the idea was to play both of them towards the end of the game if and when we need a goal.  Obviously that has very rarely happened, if at all.

[rigger]

4 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I never said that the game plan was wrong. We won the game, obviously it was right.

I was just saying that I dont think the performance was as strong as some have claimed. Unsure if you watched and if so what you thought, but I dont think we looked confident and I dont think we were at any point on the front foot. The only real chance we created (bar Dolan's half chance at the end on the counter) was the one for Ohashi which was excellently taken. We had one shot in the whole first half and it was a pot shot from Ohashi into the stands.

A lack of confidence from Gueye doesnt forgive poor application or stroppiness on the pitch. But either way, I know you think he has been a good signing, I personally dont. I dont think he is that good full stop, but he certainly doesnt symbolise joined up thinking by Gestede. To have your main 2 strikers that require totally different styles if you change them doesnt make much sense. 

I thought that was known as having a plan B. Rather than playing plan A with different personnel.

Edited Sunday at 16:31 by rigger

[roversfan99]

1 minute ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I thought the idea was to play both of them towards the end of the game if and when we need a goal.  Obviously that has very rarely happened, if at all.

If that is the idea, it was a poor use of resources to spend a big chunk of the budget on someone with such a limited use.

[roversfan99]

1 minute ago, rigger said:

I thought that was known as having a plan B.

We need a better plan A first. You dont just sign all different types of players.

[M_B]

27 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I never said that the game plan was wrong. We won the game, obviously it was right.

I was just saying that I dont think the performance was as strong as some have claimed. Unsure if you watched and if so what you thought, but I dont think we looked confident and I dont think we were at any point on the front foot. The only real chance we created (bar Dolan's half chance at the end on the counter) was the one for Ohashi which was excellently taken. We had one shot in the whole first half and it was a pot shot from Ohashi into the stands.

A lack of confidence from Gueye doesnt forgive poor application or stroppiness on the pitch. But either way, I know you think he has been a good signing, I personally dont. I dont think he is that good full stop, but he certainly doesnt symbolise joined up thinking by Gestede. To have your main 2 strikers that require totally different styles if you change them doesnt make much sense. 

Depends if you play them together though.

[roversfan99]

4 minutes ago, M_B said:

Depends if you play them together though.

We dont. And if we did, we wouldnt have a sub.

Just seems a poorly thought out signing.

[M_B]

12 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

We dont. And if we did, we wouldnt have a sub.

Just seems a poorly thought out signing.

 I can't say that I see it that way, it seems a bit of a one dimensional way of thinking. 

It also assumes that players can only play one way, which may be true. But that would be down to the quality of the player, rather than the footballing logic behind the signing. I

[roversfan99]

17 minutes ago, M_B said:

 I can't say that I see it that way, it seems a bit of a one dimensional way of thinking. 

It also assumes that players can only play one way, which may be true. But that would be down to the quality of the player, rather than the footballing logic behind the signing. I

I think the quality as well as the type of player makes it a questionable signing.

[chaddyrovers]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

I never said that the game plan was wrong. We won the game, obviously it was right.

Ok thought you were unhappy how we played and how we won that game.

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

I was just saying that I dont think the performance was as strong as some have claimed. Unsure if you watched and if so what you thought, but I dont think we looked confident and I dont think we were at any point on the front foot. The only real chance we created (bar Dolan's half chance at the end on the counter) was the one for Ohashi which was excellently taken. We had one shot in the whole first half and it was a pot shot from Ohashi into the stands.

I posted what I thought before, we were solid, organised and discipline performance. Making sure we didn't cut open and conceded first. I'm not over concerned about the lack of chances being created yesterday cos My biggest concern was conceding early goals. Yesterday we didn't, score first and won the game. 

 

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

A lack of confidence from Gueye doesnt forgive poor application or stroppiness on the pitch. But either way, I know you think he has been a good signing, I personally dont. I dont think he is that good full stop, but he certainly doesnt symbolise joined up thinking by Gestede. To have your main 2 strikers that require totally different styles if you change them doesnt make much sense. 

You want your strikers to bring different qualities and in Gueye and Ohashi bring that. We can also played them together like we did against Luton at home or on Tuesday against Sheffield Wednesday, You want different options and both of them give us that. In some games you want Gueye to start and hold the ball up and put crosses in and in some games you want to press from the front, you want your striker to make clever runs in behind/down the channels. You need plan A, B and C if you asked me 

40 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

We dont. And if we did, we wouldnt have a sub.

Just seems a poorly thought out signing.

we have played Gueye and Ohashi at times haven't we? Luton at home, Derby away or Cardiff at home or Sheffield Wed at home

[dingles staying down 4ever]

18 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

I think the quality as well as the type of player makes it a questionable signing.

Actually think it is the ability of the other members of the squad to adapt to the strengths of either forward which makes it questionable. If we had pace down the flanks or players with crossing ability then both Yuki and Gueye would both benefit but we haven't so both have their weaknesses show up more.