Hello everyone, and if you’ve moved to blue sky or are just reading this blog because you accessed it there, then welcome, I hope you enjoy it. I think I’m heading for my eightieth blog (*warning* this may be a guess) so please feel free to have a look around at previous work, this site will always be free as I’m just a fan sharing my two pennies and I’m really grateful for the nice comments and support you give the blog.
Anywhoodle… this season looks on the face of it, a hot mess. The championship is a cruel master and if you’re not well prepared (see our pre-season and last minutes signings), tactically naïve (can we all agree that our cover at attacking corners is going to repeatedly backfire?) and if you’re at odds (either players and manager, manager and fans, fans and owners) then chances are it won’t end so well.
We need a big improvement in every sense, we need to stop shipping stupid goals, start putting away chances and frankly to grow a sense of toughness that we currently don’t have, we’re a soft touch, lets face facts, survival this season might not be pretty but nobody will care too much if we are successful and back in the championship next season.
The manager? Well we’ll see. I don’t think he, like plump turkeys and Arsenal’s title chances, will be around at Christmas, but if he is, and it’s a big if, a lot has to change. Which led me to this blog. Who is the Michael Turner in this squad circa 2006? Not doing enough/great/the business but capable of being a game changer. In reality we need more than one, I’d say we need a defensive one and an attacking one, possibly a midfield one too!
So here’s three players who we really need to fall out of the Geovanni tree and hit every branch pretty soon. I hope you enjoy, feel free to tell me to shut my face on bluesky, x and any other forum you might find me on. Cheers folks.
The Underachiever
- Abu Kamara
We haven’t seen the best from this young man clearly, but cometh the hour and all that. To be honest, it’s more cometh the injury list as early on in his stint with us, Abu was behind Liam Miller, Mohamed Belloumi and possibly even Abdul Omur in the pecking order. Belloumi’s form in particular made him almost an automatic choice out wide, but two ACL’s later and Kamara is probably our most natural wide player.
What offers us hope? Well, he was by all measures dynamite last season as Portsmouth were promoted, scoring eight and weighing in with plenty of assists too. The Norwich “welcome” for him earlier in the season was for a reason, Abu thought, much to the chagrin of the big handed chicken feeders that he was too good to sit around on their fringes and wasn’t shy about letting them know. Well.. Abu.. if you’re ever going to show why they should have never let you go, the time is now.
The one thing I feel we’ve lacked is a quality deliverer of the ball from wide, if Bedia or Pedro get a higher quality of cross, they could both be match winners, but most of that quality has come from the now missing wingers or Sir Lewis of Coyle and Cody Drameh at full back. Abu proving himself as a genuine wide threat and taking the game to the opposition could turn around this season. Let’s hope he rises to the occasion.
The known quantity
2. Kasey Palmer
What I don’t think we have in mass is experience of this level. That’s shown at points, where we’ve lifted the “Ooh didn’t they play well cup” but in the big moments, done enough to lose. Coyle, Slater and Jones are examples of that within the current squad, but many (not all) of the players we’ve brought in have the bulk of their experience outside of the champ. A notable exception is Kasey Palmer. I’ll admit that I’ve been a little puzzled as to why he has been a fairly marginal presence this season. To me he’s kind of what we’re missing, he’s industry, he’s toughened up to this league and he’s non-stop. He hasn’t by all accounts ripped up trees when he’s played but I feel it’s a run of games he needs, if we’re going to see the best of him. In my mind, less is sometimes more, and it feels like we’ve tried to field lovely footballers, but you need a little more steel. Thus Kevin Francis complemented Theo Whitmore and more recently Jake Livermore murdered you for going near Tom Huddlestone.
I’d like to see Kasey get the chance, because hard work is definitely going to be a key asset in the situation we’re currently in. As the old man said many years ago about the (frankly terrible) team Mark Hateley assembled. “You don’t get out of a field in a Rolls Royce”… I don’t quite know what the question was, but in 1998-99 the answer was Gary Brabin. I’m prepared to stick my head on the chopping block to suggest that one of the answers this season could be Kasey Palmer.
The wildcard
3. Harry Vaughan
There… I said it. Harry F’in Vaughan. Barely a factor in nearly two years and with a hair cut like a kid in Year eleven that’s refused to go to the barbers because he doesn’t want to bow down “to the man”. Two seasons back young Harry burst onto the scene and looked some talent. My Luton supporting mate still asks about where the little lad is that ran the game against them. What’s the answer to that question? God knows…
I like you dear reader don’t really know why it went south for Harry. He’s been loaned out to Bristol Rovers and more recently has been successfully playing for the U21 team who have done a damned sight more winning than the first team have.
Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a bit left field, but sometimes when you’re stuck in a tricky situation a great idea is to promote within and like lads who’ve stepped up in the past like Jarod Bowen, Keane Lewis Potter or Josh Tymon, the feel good factor of a youth player making it gives everyone a lift, the fans, the club and the players.
There’s something there with young Harry, he’s got “it” the only question is can we nurture that and perhaps get him involved in a first team squad. Like I alluded to earlier wide play is a problem. Harry Vaughan might just be the answer that nobody saw coming.
Thanks for reading UTT.