Town travelled to Sheffield hoping to end a run of 12 straight defeats on the road. And Matt Bloomfield’s new look side – one debutant starting, three on the bench – came away with a point after a positive first half.
Kaminski was man of the match for the second game running, and after half time it was all Wednesday, but there was a lot of commitment on show, particularly from McGuinness and Andersen. It does seem as though all the squad changes are in attacking areas, with the exception of Naismith on loan. Whereas many Luton fans would have said the problems were at the back, in particular down the flanks.
Monday sees deadline day and it is likely we will see at least four players leave, with one perhaps two more attackers coming in. Woodrow, Pelly, and Holmes weren’t in the squad this weekend, and there has already been mood music about the future of Victor Moses.
The Wednesday manager boasts a fine head of hair and had a lot to say after the game. He wouldn’t be incorrect to label this Luton side as largely reliant on set pieces and long balls. Whether that is still the case in September after Matt has had a chance to work his magic will be interesting to witness.
Two root causes of the current predicament, two points off the bottom of the Championship.
First a total failure to rebuild the Premier League side for a completely different battle in the league below. Despite noises to the contrary that we were incredible well set up for a successful season. The pre-season was half-cooked, the signings arrived late, and were lacking in quality and appetite for this level.
That first failure hamstrung super Robbie Edwards. He couldn’t work miracles with a disillusioned squad. And then facing that fact, the club moved far too late to change the manager, and it is asking a ridiculous amount to expect Bloomfield to turn it round this season.
You have to reserve judgement on the people being brought in to the squad in January, but the sad fact is they don’t have time to prove themselves. The Stoke signing scored on his debut. As did the fella at Millwall. Everyone needs to make an instant impact. Realistic? Of course not, but that’s the position the club have got themselves in.
11 days for patterns to develop on the training ground before four games in 10 days.
But for now – onto a manic Monday.
#COYH
Town: Kaminski, Walters (sub Hashioka 72), Johnson, McGuinness, Andersen, Lamine Fanne, Clark, Aasgaard (sub Naismith 87), Doughty (sub Alli 72), Brown (sub Bowler 64), Morris.