The Voice - Match preview #29: Luton Town vs Bradford City Saturday 7th February 2026 12:31pm

Anyways.. the way things are panning out I think we'll miss out on the playoffs and probably finish 9th-11th.
I hope i'm wrong but in any event we have had a great season and we have the foundations to build for next season having not spent a great deal in the January window.
We should be able to attract a better quality of OOCs and free agents and maybe pick up a couple of gems cheaply in the summer.

 

Don't worry, we would have to get past a two legged semi final first....!!

 

I think come the end of the month we will have a bigger picture of whats going on
We have probably got our toughest games out of the way and the teams either in the play offs or challenging as it stands have to come here
Not great yesterday but after the last two away gsmes it was a hell of a lot better not hard i know but it was an improvement though.

 

Peterborough are playing out of their skins at the moment

 

They're not though, won 4 lost 4 in the last 8..
Just because they scored 6 against a very poor and L2 bound Wigan side doesn't make them world beaters.
Doncaster came to us unbeaten in 4 and we more than matched them.
We just need to take every game as it comes.

 

Jeeeeeez the likes of Cardiff and Lincoln are playing out there skins one win against a piss poor team isnt the same is it ???

 

Yeah, their last 90 minutes they've been superb.

 

I'd take that now if it was on offer.

 

It’s the usual park tactics.

Take one result in isolation(they lost the previous 2 before the Wigan game) big them up so if we beat them we are brilliant and if we get beat then its “I told you so”

It’s so predictable
And so easy to pick holes in.

 

Hoof ball to Cook. Hoof ball to Kavanagh. Hoof ball to Swan. Hoof ball to Humphreys. Hoof ball to Mullin etc.
Unless these PROFESSIONALS have been brought up on hoof ball I think we may have to rethink our style of play!

 

I know there are some on here that rubbish xG but other than Lincoln, the current top 7 very closely resembles the xG top 7, showing what a good predictor it can be.

wycombe deserve to be higher, and we’re likely to drop out of playoffs very soon!

 

Tactic? For what. When we got outplayed by Lincoln I was probably the only one to say we would beat Doncaster. I know Peterborough have picked up a lot since early season and it won’t be easy but we didn’t play that badly yesterday and we are a match for anyone at home

 

I believe our xG was higher than Luton's yesterday.

If we can move away from the hoof and start playing football again more consistently then we will do better. The Humphrys goal and the Wheatley chance is how we need to be playing, on the shoulder of defenders and using pace to get behind them.

 

You predicted that a team with one of the best home records in Europe would win at home? Give yourself a slap on the back fella, you deserve it.

 

Now, as you know I don't contribute much anymore but thought I would pop in to give you all my tuppence worth on yesterdays game as I was sat just behind the directors seats and along with 8 or 9 friends of mine who are Luton Town supporters.

So ...

Our midfield is stunningly bad right now, quote from one of my friends while in the Eric Morecambe lounge after the game, "We haven't played that well all season. Our midfield had all the time in the world to do what they wanted. But to be straight that is probably the weakest midfield we have faced."

Chatting to a senior member of the Luton Town board after the game he was genuinely surprised at how poor we were.

Here is how I saw it.

Right now, they are right.

Our defence is being exposed constantly. Our strikers are getting no service. In the middle of the park the opposition seem to have time and space to look up, pass, and move. As it's Super Bowl Sunday I will use a Gridiron phrase. It seems we are playing Zone Defence. In the middle we look like we are marking space, not players, and so we are not winning (or competing for) many of the 'second balls'. As many have said on here. It is clear other managers have now figured out our, two in midfield, two wings backs formation. They flood the middle, use quick balls, on the ground, triangles, short balls, through the gaps and they are on the backs before we know what has happened.

Creatively we bypass the midfield. Our backs go long to the forwards/wing backs. Now that is a tactic which can work and Mullins often got into the channels yesterday and won the ball but our midfield was so slow in supporting, coming up to take up the chance, that Luton were able to nullify us.

But, if we fix our midfield, firm it up, block it up, stop the opposition playing through it, then I firmly believe our defence and strikers are good enough to get us into the play-offs.

We did perk up when Wheatley, Sarc and Humphries came on but it was too little too late. Though if Wheatley had put away his chance it would have been a very interesting end to the game.

Picking on a couple of players.

Sadly I would say that Pointon needs to be given a break. The spark has gone from his game and on the last few showings, to use another old phrase, he couldn't beat an egg and is offering nothing. He is a talent, still young, so let's not burn him out.

The Tyreik Wright experiment should now be shelved. Aside the wonder goal against Doncaster he has, I would like to say, flattered to deceive, but he hasn't flattered or deceived, he has simply failed to deliver for close to two seasons. I don't understand Alexanders fascination with the player. Along with Pointon, he needs to go off for a bit of RnR.

Time to bring in Sibley, Lapslie or Evans and stock up the middle a bit.

Maybe even a bit of that old 4-4-2 and grind out the results.

Anyway, we move onto the Posh who it seems may not be as easy a game as we thought a couple of days ago after their confidence boosting win yesterday.

Lovely to see you all again and if you're in the Midland Road stand on Satdi give me a wave.

Chin up chaps,

Norman.

 

Cracking write up that Norn.

 

I know had i not looked at there form would have thought they would have been on some kind of decent run when in reality its nothing but bog standard midtable form.

Does try to put a great spin on it though like we should be bricking it and a loss against a team in average form is no disgrace

 

Every fan who watches the matches, any neutral observer, any old armchair tactician who isn't senile can see where it all falls down. You and many others, myself included have said ad infinitum that our away troubles can be negated by bolstering the midfield. The only people who don't see it is the management team, which, to me, is mind-boggling.
Sort it out and we'll stop the majority of the losses and pick up at least a point on our travels and perhaps the odd win.
We have a decent home record but we need to apply the same thinking at VP where we get away with it more when teams sit back but the Burton game showed that the extra man in the middle can make all the difference and have our central 2 chasing shadows.

 

If wing backs are marked out of the game they become just full backs. We would be better with a flat back four with an extra midfielder for away matches. I know GA would say it happens in play but it’s difficult to reorganise mid match. With the signing of Evans I think we have the players to do it.

 

Yep.
If it happens in play, I must have blinked when it did yesterday.
Pennington wandered into midfield when we were attacking, to back up Neufville but when Luton attacked we were outgunned in there.