I didn’t watch all of Portsmouth’s shock win over Leeds yesterday, but, from what I did see, Pompey rode their luck at times and Leeds should have had a penalty. However, what was clear within seconds of tuning into the match was that there was a confidence, urgency and belief about the home side that I’ve just not seen in our matches with the four teams that have dominated the Championship this season.
After yesterday’s result, Portsmouth aren’t going down – I think you’re looking at Oxford downwards now and it’s revealing comparing the results of our six relegation rivals against Leeds, Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland with our utterly miserable, played seven, lost seven, goals for two, goals against twenty one.
Plymouth, who look doomed to their fate after their 3-0 home loss to Sheffield Wednesday, can take some hope from their win over Sunderland at a time when they were flying at the top of the table and they also drew 2-2 wirh the team we played on Saturday in the return fixture, so they’ve got four more points against the top four than we have. Luton in twenty third on the other hand, have the same played seven, lost seven record as us. Derby in.twenty second have a single point, from a 0-0 draw at Burnley,.from their seven games, but it’s noticeable that they’ve tended to suffer narrow losses ro rhw top sides.
With the three teams above us, Stoke, who face Leeds and Sheffield United, plus Derby, in their final three games, have beaten Sunderland and are another team to have drawn 0-0 at Burnley. Hull have turned winning at the top clubs into something of a specialty of theirs in recent weeks and have taken points off all of the top four while amassing eight in their games against them. Hull have played all of their matches against the top four now and, looking at their remaining fixtures, they have to be the most likely of the bottom six to survive, On balance, I rate Hull’s survival prospects higher than Oxford’s as well, but you look at Gary Rowett’s team and think two more wins may well see them safe. Three of Oxford’s remaining matches are against Sheffield United, Leeds and Sunderland, who they entertain on the final day of the season, mind and with just one point, from a 0-0 draw with Burnley of course, to show from their five matches so far against the top four they could still be sucked into the bottom three.
So, although Luton are with us on no points at the bottom of the league table of results against the top four, our horrendous goal difference in these fixtures leaves us needing to get a very unlikely point or three in our game at Sheffield United to stand a chance of not finishing last.
When it comes to results against the other members of the bottom seven, our record is poor in away games with just draws at Stoke and Plymouth to show from the six matches. However, the one stat to give us hope is our home record against the bottom six – we’ve beaten Plymouth, Derby and Hull and we’ve still got the other three left to play.
The first of these three games are played tomorrow when a Luton side that have only a single point to show from their last fifteen away matches visit us. Luton were widely tipped for at least a top six finish this season, but, right from the moment they lost their opening game 4-1 at home to Burnley, the team which coped best in the Premier League out of the 22/23 promoted sides have looked like they may find life in the Championship harder than most relegated sides do, but I don’t think anyone would have predicted how much they would struggle.
Luton are so bad away from home that the consequences of defeat for City tomorrow could be very far reaching – morale among supporters would plummet and we’d be in territory where I wouldn’t be surprised if Vincent Tan decided another change of manager was needed. I wouldn’t agree with a decision to get rid of Omer Riza following a defeat tomorrow, but, as I say, I’d be half expecting it.
Anyway, on to the quiz, seven Luton related questions going back to the sixties with the answers to be posted on here on Wednesday.
60s. This winger was a one cap wonder who would have wondered what he’d done to deserve such lofty comparisons if he had seen some of the graffiti which appeared in London especially in the three or four years following his one season spell at Luton that Wikipedia describes as “uneventful”. Maybe it would have been more justified earlier in his career when, after starting out as an amateur playing for a team which, in, a round about way, became part of the “Redbridge” in Dagenham and Redbridge FC, he signed for a First Division club that was fairly nearby and became a first team regular with them. His one cap, against Wales, came in the middle of a nine year spell in the top flight with his first pro club and Luton were the only other UK side he played for as he emigrated for a while to play in Australia – who am I describing?
70s. I can never remember what makes you a Kentish man or a Man of Kent. Suffice it to say, this winger was from that county and started out with a non league club from there that City got to play in the early stages of the FA Cup when we were in the lower divisions. Luton were his first league club and he made close to fifty league appearances for them in the couple of years he was there without managing to find the net. The only four goals of his pro career arrived at his next club where he was very much a regular over four years for a team of trolls. The club earned a promotion while he was there, but he was one of the casualties of playing at a higher level and when his contract wasn’t renewed, he moved across country to represent flying scavengers for a season – the rest of his career panned out as a lengthy sort of tour of non league clubs in his native county, but can you tell me who’s being described?
80s. Petula initially takes her lilo to the pool and somehow transforms into centreback! (4,7)
90s. This forward once scored the winning goal in a Merseyside derby and played briefly for Luton during this decade – he also has a connection with City. He has worked extensively as a coach and has had some spells as a caretaker manager, one of which ended with him being given the permanent job with some White Tigers. However, his stay at this club as full time manager was very brief because a chance to manage in the Football League came along, only for him to be allowed to take charge of just friendly matches after his new club were prevented from playing competitive fixtures. So, he left the club without taking charge of a “proper” game and has, apparently, not been able to find a new club since. – can you name him?
00s. Sketched twentieth century car.
10s. His father played for Wolves and Watford and, as a fifteen year old, he was an unused sub for Luton in an FA Cup tie when they were a non league team. He had to wait a long time to make his first team debut for Luton because soon after he signed for a Premier League team for a six figure fee. He made his Premier League debut as a teenager and it was against City, but who is he?
20s. Surely not the one time World Champion known as “the Shoe” at full back!
