Re: How's Your FIFA Career Mode Going?
Luton Town FC
December 2016 - Season 1
Crawley Town 2 - 3 Luton Town (B-Team)
CRA: Della-Verde 3' Smith 30'
LUT: Green 26' McQuoid 39' Mpanzu 45'
The Luton B-Team came out looking to boost their morale against the bottom of the table side Crawley Town, but instead they were given a run for their money. Crawley's Della-Verde scored early in the match to continue the doubts that we all have on 18 year old King's abilities after such a shocking drop of form from the youngster. Green would equalize the match with an amazing free kick, but Smith put Crawley back in the lead in the following play. Crawley was celebrating what could have been the shock of the month but fortunately McQuoid came through to equalize the match and the young revelation Mpanzu put Luton ahead right before half time. Luton were able to hold the lead for the rest of the match, but fans were noticeably disappointed after how much of a struggle it was to defeat the worst team of the league. This match marked the first start for Mackail-Smith since his injury and it was clear that the Scotsman is still getting used to having the ball at his feet again after his shoulder injury.
FA Cup - Round 2
Luton Town 2 - 2 Coventry City
LUT: McGeehan 6' Pigott 85'
COV: Maddison PEN 29' PEN 45'
League 1 side Coventry City came down to Luton for the first round of this year's FA Cup, and both teams delivered an incredible nail-biter. Irish midfielder McGeehan put Luton in the lead and immediately showed Coventry that this League 2 side was far from a pushover, but the Hatters' captain Cuthbert fouled Maddison inside the box in the 29th minute after being juked and a penalty was awarded to Coventry. Maddison converted the penalty, and right before halftime Cuthbert committed another foul inside the box and caused yet another penalty. This time he was punished with a yellow card and Maddison converted the penalty once again. Coventry really made Luton suffer for the rest of the match as the Hatters grew more and more desperate with every second that passed. It was beginning to look like there was no way that Luton would be able to equalize the match, but Pigott put the ball into the back of the net in the 85th minute with a powerful strike to make it all level again! The sigh of relief from manager Chavez was very very noticeable as well as he sat down after celebrating with the bench. Luton players and fans suffered for 40 minutes, but they never gave up and they have now forced Coventry to a replay.
Luton Town 1 - 0 Hartlepool United
LUT: Marriott 38'
Hartlepool United had started the season off really well but have recently been struggling to find their form again. The attack, led by English striker Luke James, was still very dangerous but they were unable to break through what has become the best defense in League 2. Luton also struggled, but Jack Marriott was able to cut in from the right wing and power the ball into the keeper's far post.
The striker has been playing right wing due to lack of depth in the area, and the youngster has been playing extremely well recently almost as if Luton had a natural winger on the right flank.
Capital One Cup - Quarter Final
Luton Town 0 - 1 Norwich City
NOR: Brady 37'
Luton Town's amazing cup run has unfortunately came to an end at the hands of the Canaries. The only goal of the match came from Brady with a header during a corner kick and even though Luton Town left their souls on the pitch they were unable to make a comeback. Chavez seemed rather confident that his team could equalize and he held off on his final substitution, something that fans and journalists are bashing him for now since the final sub could have made an impact on the match. In the final minutes of the match, Norwich parked the bus and focused on holding the ball at the corner flags. This strategy may have been coward-like, but it certainly worked and the match ended that way with Norwich shielding the ball at the corner flag. The last of the lower league teams have now been eliminated, and only Premier League squads remain in the race for the title.
AFC Wimbledon 0 - 1 Luton Town (B-Team)
LUT: Mackail-Smith 90'
Chavez fielded his B-Team against his former employer AFC Wimbledon but even with the decrease of talent on the field both squads delivered a tight game. Luton had the most shots on goal and created danger consistently throughout the match but the Dons' goalkeeper Roos made sure his net was secured. We didn't see a goal until the 90th minute where the Scotsman Mackail-Smith netted his first goal since his return from injury. Luton were pressuring high up and the Wombles passed the ball back to the keeper. Roos looked up and tried to pass the ball to his centre back, but the pass was inaccurate and Mackail-Smith was able to intercept the pass and then take a shot on goal against the out of position goalkeeper. The Scottish striker roared in celebration, no doubt taking out the huge weight that was on his shoulder for not being able to score a goal since his injury.
FA Cup - Round 2 REPLAY
Coventry City 0 - 1 Luton Town
LUT: O'Brien 101'
Much like the first match it was too close to call and the two teams remained tied after 90 minutes with no goals in between. One of the surprises tonight was seeing Coventry's Maddison taken out at halftime, remembering that Maddison had scored a brace against Luton just a couple weeks ago although both goals were penalty shots. During extra time Chavez changed formations to a 4-4-2 Holding, using Mackail-Smith and Pigott up front, and the change of formation certainly caught Coventry off guard who had been accustomed to having to mark only one striker after 90 minutes. Luton's increased attack led to a corner kick where the Irish centre back O'Brien, who usually replaces Potts during cup matches, was able to anticipate the goalkeeper and head the ball into an open net!
Terrible mistake from the keeper but a remarkable run from O'Brien to anticipate the ball and put Luton ahead. Coventry was not able to break through the Hatters' strong back line and Luton secured their ticket to the next round.
Luton Town 1 - 1 Morecambe
MOR: Molyneux 16'
LUT: McCourt 45'
[color=red]LUT: Sheehan RED CARD 41'
First versus third on the league table, and they played like first vs third with very little to separate them. Morecambe hit first with a great goal from Molyneux off a free kick, and they continued to play very well to the point that Luton became desperate and Sheehan received a red card for a bad slide tackle. It seemed like all was lost for Luton, but right before halftime Paddy McCourt equalized the match with a free kick of his own. Nothing was able to separate these two despite Luton being a man down. The Hatters will be happy that they rescued a point with 10 men but disappointed that they are slowing down now that they have reached the top of the table.
Luton Town (B-Team) 3 - 0 Accrington
LUT: Mackail-Smith 6' McQuoid 43' 63'
Earlier this season Accrington played a hell of a match against Luton, but this time the B-Team completely shut them down. The Scotsman Mackail-Smith opened the scoring very early on in the match after the defensive midfielder Justin, who has been the B-Team's RB all season, made a run down the right flank and put in a low cross for Mackail-Smith to strike towards the net with his first touch.
Mackail-Smith made a quick decision to hit it as it was coming in and the ball soared into the top corner, a wonderful goal for the striker who is slowly returning to form. His partner up front McQuoid extended the lead in the 43rd minute with a powerful shot that hit the sidebar and ricocheted in to the net. McQuoid would later complete a brace in the second half to finish off Accrington. With Mackail-Smith getting back in form and McQuoid finding the net so much, has the B-Team become a squad to take seriously once again?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Football League 2 League Table
1. Luton Town - 47 points
2. Notts County - 45 points
3. Plymouth Argyle - 41 points
4. Wycombe - 40 points
5. Northampton - 40 points
6. Morecambe - 39 points
7. Leyton Orient - 38 points
---------------
8. Yeovil Town - 37 points
16. Accrington - 28 points
17. Exeter City - 28 points
---------------
22. Newport County - 20 points
23. Cambridge United - 19 points
24. Crawley Town - 16 points
Football League 2 Top Scorer
1. Collins (Northampton) - 13 Goals
2. Hayes (Wycombe) - 12 Goals
3. Thomas (Hartlepool) - 11 Goals
Luton Town Top Scorer
1. Joe Pigott - 16 Goals
2. Craig Mackail-Smith - 10 Goals
3. Josh McQuoid - 9 Goals
Luton Town Player of The Month
RB - Stephen O'Donnell (Scotland) (63 OVR 23yrs) (+1)
This month's POTM is undoubtedly the right fullback from Scotland O'Donnell. Even though the team struggled to resolve matches this month, one player that always stood out as being at the top of his game was O'Donnell. This is not something new either; we have noticed for quite some time now that even when the team is down on the scoreboard and the players looked disheartened, O'Donnell keeps on pushing sweating the jersey as it deserves to be. The team captain is the centre back Cuthbert, but his fellow countryman O'Donnell has also proven to be a good leader on the field and has even been named Vice Captain as a result.
Is The Pressure Too Much?
Luton Town have secured another month at the top of the table despite a difficult month so overall the team is still doing well. However from an individual standpoint, Pigott has taken a fall from form and he finished this month with only one goal which was scored in the 85th minute against Coventry. After Mackail-Smith was injured a couple months ago, Pigott was chosen to be a temporary replacement but the young target man soared past expectations and became the club's top scorer and even made it to the top 3 top scorers in the league at one point. However, now that Mackail-Smith is back, Pigott has not been the same in front of goal and we are beginning to wonder if perhaps the presence of Mackail-Smith has resulted in too much pressure for the youngster and is the cause for his drop in form. Internal competition is something that will always be present in a footballer's life and Pigott has proven that he can take the starting spot from his teammate, but does he have the composure to hold it when it's now he who is being challenged by his teammates? Only time will tell.
Conclusion
Really heartbroken to be eliminated from the Capital One by Norwich. I really saw them as a club that we could beat and I actually thought we had a chance at going to the semis. It wouldn't have hurt as much if we were still in the J. Paint but all we have now is the FA Cup. We have a packed schedule after January so I guess it's not that bad that we are eliminated, but more matches equals more opportunities for our B-Team to prove themselves. It's time to move forward though, and I've been anxious for January to come so that I can make transfers. That's all for this month, all I can say is that we anticipate to have a high dollar (high dollar for League 2) transfer coming in. Can't wait to kick off negotiations.
Thanks For Reading!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Luton Town FC
December 2016 - Season 1
Crawley Town 2 - 3 Luton Town (B-Team)
CRA: Della-Verde 3' Smith 30'
LUT: Green 26' McQuoid 39' Mpanzu 45'
The Luton B-Team came out looking to boost their morale against the bottom of the table side Crawley Town, but instead they were given a run for their money. Crawley's Della-Verde scored early in the match to continue the doubts that we all have on 18 year old King's abilities after such a shocking drop of form from the youngster. Green would equalize the match with an amazing free kick, but Smith put Crawley back in the lead in the following play. Crawley was celebrating what could have been the shock of the month but fortunately McQuoid came through to equalize the match and the young revelation Mpanzu put Luton ahead right before half time. Luton were able to hold the lead for the rest of the match, but fans were noticeably disappointed after how much of a struggle it was to defeat the worst team of the league. This match marked the first start for Mackail-Smith since his injury and it was clear that the Scotsman is still getting used to having the ball at his feet again after his shoulder injury.
FA Cup - Round 2
Luton Town 2 - 2 Coventry City
LUT: McGeehan 6' Pigott 85'
COV: Maddison PEN 29' PEN 45'
League 1 side Coventry City came down to Luton for the first round of this year's FA Cup, and both teams delivered an incredible nail-biter. Irish midfielder McGeehan put Luton in the lead and immediately showed Coventry that this League 2 side was far from a pushover, but the Hatters' captain Cuthbert fouled Maddison inside the box in the 29th minute after being juked and a penalty was awarded to Coventry. Maddison converted the penalty, and right before halftime Cuthbert committed another foul inside the box and caused yet another penalty. This time he was punished with a yellow card and Maddison converted the penalty once again. Coventry really made Luton suffer for the rest of the match as the Hatters grew more and more desperate with every second that passed. It was beginning to look like there was no way that Luton would be able to equalize the match, but Pigott put the ball into the back of the net in the 85th minute with a powerful strike to make it all level again! The sigh of relief from manager Chavez was very very noticeable as well as he sat down after celebrating with the bench. Luton players and fans suffered for 40 minutes, but they never gave up and they have now forced Coventry to a replay.
Luton Town 1 - 0 Hartlepool United
LUT: Marriott 38'
Hartlepool United had started the season off really well but have recently been struggling to find their form again. The attack, led by English striker Luke James, was still very dangerous but they were unable to break through what has become the best defense in League 2. Luton also struggled, but Jack Marriott was able to cut in from the right wing and power the ball into the keeper's far post.
The striker has been playing right wing due to lack of depth in the area, and the youngster has been playing extremely well recently almost as if Luton had a natural winger on the right flank.
Capital One Cup - Quarter Final
Luton Town 0 - 1 Norwich City
NOR: Brady 37'
Luton Town's amazing cup run has unfortunately came to an end at the hands of the Canaries. The only goal of the match came from Brady with a header during a corner kick and even though Luton Town left their souls on the pitch they were unable to make a comeback. Chavez seemed rather confident that his team could equalize and he held off on his final substitution, something that fans and journalists are bashing him for now since the final sub could have made an impact on the match. In the final minutes of the match, Norwich parked the bus and focused on holding the ball at the corner flags. This strategy may have been coward-like, but it certainly worked and the match ended that way with Norwich shielding the ball at the corner flag. The last of the lower league teams have now been eliminated, and only Premier League squads remain in the race for the title.
AFC Wimbledon 0 - 1 Luton Town (B-Team)
LUT: Mackail-Smith 90'
Chavez fielded his B-Team against his former employer AFC Wimbledon but even with the decrease of talent on the field both squads delivered a tight game. Luton had the most shots on goal and created danger consistently throughout the match but the Dons' goalkeeper Roos made sure his net was secured. We didn't see a goal until the 90th minute where the Scotsman Mackail-Smith netted his first goal since his return from injury. Luton were pressuring high up and the Wombles passed the ball back to the keeper. Roos looked up and tried to pass the ball to his centre back, but the pass was inaccurate and Mackail-Smith was able to intercept the pass and then take a shot on goal against the out of position goalkeeper. The Scottish striker roared in celebration, no doubt taking out the huge weight that was on his shoulder for not being able to score a goal since his injury.
FA Cup - Round 2 REPLAY
Coventry City 0 - 1 Luton Town
LUT: O'Brien 101'
Much like the first match it was too close to call and the two teams remained tied after 90 minutes with no goals in between. One of the surprises tonight was seeing Coventry's Maddison taken out at halftime, remembering that Maddison had scored a brace against Luton just a couple weeks ago although both goals were penalty shots. During extra time Chavez changed formations to a 4-4-2 Holding, using Mackail-Smith and Pigott up front, and the change of formation certainly caught Coventry off guard who had been accustomed to having to mark only one striker after 90 minutes. Luton's increased attack led to a corner kick where the Irish centre back O'Brien, who usually replaces Potts during cup matches, was able to anticipate the goalkeeper and head the ball into an open net!
Terrible mistake from the keeper but a remarkable run from O'Brien to anticipate the ball and put Luton ahead. Coventry was not able to break through the Hatters' strong back line and Luton secured their ticket to the next round.
Luton Town 1 - 1 Morecambe
MOR: Molyneux 16'
LUT: McCourt 45'
[color=red]LUT: Sheehan RED CARD 41'
First versus third on the league table, and they played like first vs third with very little to separate them. Morecambe hit first with a great goal from Molyneux off a free kick, and they continued to play very well to the point that Luton became desperate and Sheehan received a red card for a bad slide tackle. It seemed like all was lost for Luton, but right before halftime Paddy McCourt equalized the match with a free kick of his own. Nothing was able to separate these two despite Luton being a man down. The Hatters will be happy that they rescued a point with 10 men but disappointed that they are slowing down now that they have reached the top of the table.
Luton Town (B-Team) 3 - 0 Accrington
LUT: Mackail-Smith 6' McQuoid 43' 63'
Earlier this season Accrington played a hell of a match against Luton, but this time the B-Team completely shut them down. The Scotsman Mackail-Smith opened the scoring very early on in the match after the defensive midfielder Justin, who has been the B-Team's RB all season, made a run down the right flank and put in a low cross for Mackail-Smith to strike towards the net with his first touch.
Mackail-Smith made a quick decision to hit it as it was coming in and the ball soared into the top corner, a wonderful goal for the striker who is slowly returning to form. His partner up front McQuoid extended the lead in the 43rd minute with a powerful shot that hit the sidebar and ricocheted in to the net. McQuoid would later complete a brace in the second half to finish off Accrington. With Mackail-Smith getting back in form and McQuoid finding the net so much, has the B-Team become a squad to take seriously once again?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Football League 2 League Table
1. Luton Town - 47 points
2. Notts County - 45 points
3. Plymouth Argyle - 41 points
4. Wycombe - 40 points
5. Northampton - 40 points
6. Morecambe - 39 points
7. Leyton Orient - 38 points
---------------
8. Yeovil Town - 37 points
16. Accrington - 28 points
17. Exeter City - 28 points
---------------
22. Newport County - 20 points
23. Cambridge United - 19 points
24. Crawley Town - 16 points
Football League 2 Top Scorer
1. Collins (Northampton) - 13 Goals
2. Hayes (Wycombe) - 12 Goals
3. Thomas (Hartlepool) - 11 Goals
Luton Town Top Scorer
1. Joe Pigott - 16 Goals
2. Craig Mackail-Smith - 10 Goals
3. Josh McQuoid - 9 Goals
Luton Town Player of The Month
RB - Stephen O'Donnell (Scotland) (63 OVR 23yrs) (+1)
This month's POTM is undoubtedly the right fullback from Scotland O'Donnell. Even though the team struggled to resolve matches this month, one player that always stood out as being at the top of his game was O'Donnell. This is not something new either; we have noticed for quite some time now that even when the team is down on the scoreboard and the players looked disheartened, O'Donnell keeps on pushing sweating the jersey as it deserves to be. The team captain is the centre back Cuthbert, but his fellow countryman O'Donnell has also proven to be a good leader on the field and has even been named Vice Captain as a result.
Is The Pressure Too Much?
Luton Town have secured another month at the top of the table despite a difficult month so overall the team is still doing well. However from an individual standpoint, Pigott has taken a fall from form and he finished this month with only one goal which was scored in the 85th minute against Coventry. After Mackail-Smith was injured a couple months ago, Pigott was chosen to be a temporary replacement but the young target man soared past expectations and became the club's top scorer and even made it to the top 3 top scorers in the league at one point. However, now that Mackail-Smith is back, Pigott has not been the same in front of goal and we are beginning to wonder if perhaps the presence of Mackail-Smith has resulted in too much pressure for the youngster and is the cause for his drop in form. Internal competition is something that will always be present in a footballer's life and Pigott has proven that he can take the starting spot from his teammate, but does he have the composure to hold it when it's now he who is being challenged by his teammates? Only time will tell.
Conclusion
Really heartbroken to be eliminated from the Capital One by Norwich. I really saw them as a club that we could beat and I actually thought we had a chance at going to the semis. It wouldn't have hurt as much if we were still in the J. Paint but all we have now is the FA Cup. We have a packed schedule after January so I guess it's not that bad that we are eliminated, but more matches equals more opportunities for our B-Team to prove themselves. It's time to move forward though, and I've been anxious for January to come so that I can make transfers. That's all for this month, all I can say is that we anticipate to have a high dollar (high dollar for League 2) transfer coming in. Can't wait to kick off negotiations.
Thanks For Reading!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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