18 Feb 2024 19:24:11
Some close calls today and we withstood a good amount of pressure. Varane had a great game as did mainoo and rasmus.
Onana not so pretty
Shaw was obviously not fit dalot was OK.
Maguire and lindelof equally poor.
Mainoo is amazing for his age.
Casimero a yard or 2 off the pace. Lucky not to get sent.

Bruno his usual ill huff and puff and give the ball away. Wasteful in the extreme.
Rashford did nothing of note, a couple of decent runs and poor finishes Jumped out of a few tackles. Imo he tracked back quite well. Not involved really.
Garnacho was all action always looking to be involved. Final ball was horrendous and sloppy. Always trying and nearly always failing today. But unlike rashford he was always looking to make something happen. Today he failed but he won't if he keeps leaving. 19 he is.

Rasmus. Really good. Could and should have hot a hat trick but in the main he was good with back to goal and with inter play around the box.
Mctom had 15 mins too long imo
Evans really good.
Amrabat no impact.
Missed too many good chances but unlike earlier in season we didn't fold.
Good 3 points imo.

1.) 18 Feb 2024
18 Feb 2024 19:48:56
I dislike rashford more and more. He bottled a header on the edge of his own area today, turning his back into the Luton player.
We still have a very weak core group of players in this squad.
Bruno in injury time when we’re seeing out the clock took a shot from a silly angle. Sums him up.

Mainoo, Garnacho and Højlund are definitely the positives from this season.

2.) 18 Feb 2024
18 Feb 2024 20:05:05
What did Lindelof do wrong Ken? I’m not saying he’s the answer to anything, but he was steadily unspectacular.

3.) 18 Feb 2024
18 Feb 2024 21:31:06
Wazza he came on at lb and crosses reigned in. He did not make 1 overlap run that I can remember. Like maguire today he was offering nothing positive imo. If your not dominating defensively or offering offensively as a fb then that's below average. Just my own yardstick.
I read malacia will be OK in a week or so. He will give more balance than an out of position lindelof.
I thought Evans did well today it turned out us as a low block so it suits him defending high balls etc.
Dalot tried to get forward and should have scored.
Delighted with the 3 points we made hard work if a game we should have won by 3 or 4.

4.) 18 Feb 2024
18 Feb 2024 21:46:40
So many players need upgrading in next few transfer windows - and I think that should include Onana.

Obviously he’s had to adapt to a weak and unsettled defence week upon week but his displays never seem assured or inspiring security between the posts.

Look at what Peo did with his keepers when he first arrived - several times…

And Liverpool only became serious contenders after signing Allison.

However, FFP will make United focus on the more pressing changes needed this Summer (2 x centre back, 2 x midfielder, forward and right wing) but wouldn’t surprise me if Onana only stayed another year.

5.) 18 Feb 2024
18 Feb 2024 22:04:53
Bit harsh on Lindelof who's actually covering a position he is very unfamiliar of. hasn't got any pace to play fullback.

Varane was solid. I read a stat and he is a better header of the ball than Van Dijk who's considered the benchmark.
From all our defenders it obvious he's best overall. Martinez is second and Evans is third.

Jonny Evans was very solid. If there's a squad space, another year would be great as he can help the newer guys settle in and can come in any game and give a solid 7/ 10 performance.

Rashford is disrespectful. there's a video going round with Barkley just jogging around Rashford and him just sitting. On the other hand guys like Hojlund, Bruno and Garnacho are working their ___ off. I don't think we would miss him that much, Amad or Antony or Pellistri will not a massive drop, and will probably cross more than he does.

Bruno, is having his worst season. He has forgotten how to shoot.

Mainoo, the moment he moved to DM we suddenly looked better moving the ball forward. Casemiro can possibly be a more freer midfielder and Mainoo can play deeper.

Hojlund is a star, and I hope the wingers start crossing soon.

Onana. No keeper should be undroppable.

Dalot is not the best player in our squad. But the lad plays with heart, and is always available. Keeps improving slowly.

I 100% agree on what TW said, as long as the players managed by Ole stay, we won't be title contenders. You could have 2-3 exceptions but majority need to go.

6.) 18 Feb 2024
18 Feb 2024 22:10:02
I thought Rashford was pretty good today, created two good chances for himself running past players, which he typically stops doing when he's low on confidence and created two very good chances for Garnacho. He was also tracking back pretty consistently for the full 90 despite the whole game being played at an incredible pace. It was far from a complete performance but he put a real shift in and he created chances. If that shot he took with left foot in the second half had nestled in the corner, there would be plenty on here saying he had a great game.

I thought Garnacho was pretty good too, just missing that end product. He is clearly not the finished product, but he's got years to reach that stage, and he is already looking much more threatening overall compared with a few months ago.

Mainoo and Hojlund were fantastic though. Hojlund looks faster and stronger with every passing week. Aside from Haaland, I don't think there are many, if any centre forwards in world football that can hold off centre backs as easily as he can, and also beat them for pace as easily as he can. Combine that with his stature, and how his finishing has improved, we might have a really centre forward on our books. Mainoo just makes the game look so easy, such a gifted player.

Varane also had a great game, still our best out and out defender, and I think Onana was solid today, there wasn't much more he could do about the goal other than close down the Luton player as the ball dropped.

We struggled hugely in midfield until the hour mark because they pressed Bruno and Casemiro so effectively and Casemiro really struggled to keep up with the pace. Casemiro was lucky not to get a red card, yet at the same time unlucky to get a yellow card in the first place. That's three challenges in about four games that he has pulled away from and still been penalised.

Luton were always going to be tough, especially at home, since it is a very small pitch, which makes it much easier for them to press so high and get so many players around the ball as soon as they lose it. They started to tire around the hour mark, they struggled to keep up that intensity, and we had more control and created far more chances. We were still pretty shaky at the back, but that can be expected with Evans at centre back and Lindelof at left back, though I think they just about managed alright, Evans especially was pretty solid.

Overall, we started fast, then we were second best until about the hour mark, after which we created far more chances and we should've put the game to bed. Credit to Luton, they were terrific, they had a plan, and they stuck to it, which was all the more impressive given how quickly they were 2-0 down.

7.) 18 Feb 2024
18 Feb 2024 22:45:02
Evans was fantastic, and in with a shout for MOM for me, which is saying something given he came on at half time.

We just need wins right now. And it is a good win. People will look at the table and say we should be stuffing them. Tell that to Liverpool, newcastle, arsenal, brighton, chelsea who all struggled against them. This epl is a tough league now, and luton are much better than shef utd and burnley. I would go as far to say mid table goes down to 18th these days.

Truth is we should have scored 5 or 6, but final ball and finishing meant the game was tight. We are still not looking to create for others in the final 3rd. Without martinez, shaw and cassemiro we struggle in possession.

4 wins in a row and we are catching those above us. At times it is scrappy, but we are doing it and the club is moving forwards after a very poor injury ravaged first half of the season. Long may it continue.

8.) 19 Feb 2024
19 Feb 2024 00:02:47
Onana isn’t my type either but I thought he was fine today, the goal was unlucky as it bounced straight to the striker, other than that he was good with his feet which he has actually been really good at all season. His shot stopping seems to be his negative at times but much better the last couple of games.

9.) 19 Feb 2024
19 Feb 2024 06:49:32
Onana fine today and the pass to Dalot where he should have scored is an example of what he can offer when someone makes the run and he sees it!

10.) 19 Feb 2024
19 Feb 2024 07:26:43
Ken Lindelof wasn’t making overlapping runs because we barely had possession. Yesterday was very much an Ole performance, sitting in and trying to catch them on the break.

We won so I won’t be too upset about the performance but we are crying out for a midfielder who can put his foot on the ball and retain possession. We can’t seem to string three passes together to allow the team to settle higher up the pitch, and that is why you didn’t see Lindelof - a natural CB - making any overlapping runs.

A special mention to Ross Barkley who was fantastic yesterday. We did let him play which was frustrating, but he was doing exactly what we needed someone to do: orchestrate.

11.) 19 Feb 2024
19 Feb 2024 08:12:04
You only have to look at 2 white Utd jerseys towards the end of the match, Hojland's was covered in muck and sweat while Rashford's was like an advert for washing powder.

12.) 19 Feb 2024
19 Feb 2024 09:53:20
No idea why Onana's getting stick. I thought he was very good yesterday: distributed well and claimed a few crosses to stem the tide.

13.) 19 Feb 2024
19 Feb 2024 10:02:27
Wazza dalot was making runs. I know he is out of position.
You think he played lb well iv don't I think he played it very poorly.
The caveat is he is not a lb so that is the reason but he came on and did very little of what a lb should do imo. He defended crosses badly. He defended them well from the other side as that's playing to his strengths. As a lb yesterday imo he did poorly on the defensive side and worse on the attacking. While he was on we missed a hateful of chances so to say we didn't have the ball is not right we actually enjoyed more possession in the 2nd half than the 1st. Luton enjoyed 58% possession Ystradgynlais over 90 mins but had 60% in the 1st half so obviously less in the 2nd.