Luton boss backs Town winger to come good after 'intermittent' start to the season
Luton boss backs Town winger to come good after 'intermittent' start to the season
Luton boss Matt Bloomfield has backed attacker Milli Alli to come good after what he described as an ‘intermittent’ start to the season.
The 25-year-old was snapped up by the Hatters from Exeter City back in January, having scored 12 goals in all competitions for the Grecians, and after taking a bit of time to adjust to life in the Championship, went on to finish the season in impressive form personally, netting four goals in six outings, including a late leveller to earn a 1-1 draw at Stoke City and then the winner in a 1-0 success at Derby County.
He also produced two unerring finishes of real quality during the final day debacle at West Bromwich Albion, Town beaten 5-3, which saw them drop down into the third tier of English football. Hopes were then high that Alli, who notched 13 times in 35 third tier appearances for Exeter, would be able to produce that sort of threat for the Hatters, but he hasn’t quite hit those heights yet, scoring just one goal, that in the 3-0 success at Burton, adding just one assist too, when finding Jordan Clark to score at Lincoln City recently.
Despite his limited output, Alli has still started every league game so far, as although he was taken off at Bradford midway through the first half having already been booked, has racked up 785 minutes on the pitch, the second most from any outfield player behind George Saville. He was substituted with 57 minutes on the clock at Blackpool on Tuesday night though, after losing the ball in opposition territory moments earlier, whic allowed the hosts to immediately transfer possession to their left, CJ Hamilton racing away to make it 2-0.
Luton did manage to hit back and grab a point with a stoppage time leveller from Gideon Kodua, but asked about his performances to date, Bloomfield said: “I think that we all had extremely high hopes for Mill and I think there’s a lot of expectation carrying on his shoulders in the early part of the season. He’s been intermittent, at times he’s done some really good stuff and some other times maybe looked a little bit tight with his game.
"He doesn’t look quite free at the moment, so I had a long discussion with him this morning about that. I definitely think there’s more to come from him, I think we’ve all seen enough from him last season to know that’s the case, but he’s someone we love, someone we believe in, and someone we know will come back strong again.”
With Luton only recently shifting to a back four, Alli moving out to the left wing, he had been selected as a wingback for the majority of the fixtures beforehand, primarily on the left, but also occasionally on the right, with one foray in a striking role quickly jettisoned against Wigan Athletic as well. Questioned as to whether his altered role has played a part in his indifferent beginning, Bloomfield continued: “I don’t think so, I think he’s now in what everyone would consider his best position.
"If you look back at the graphics of when we played with a back three, Milli was our highest receiver out on the left hand side pretty much every single game, so he was playing pretty much as a left winger. When we played a back three we wanted our wingbacks to be high and wide and attacking, that’s why we were playing that formation.
"I know at times it didn't look like that, through the state of the game, but he was pretty much our highest, widest receiver every game, so he was receiving in his natural position, albeit from a position as a wingback. So I wouldn’t say so, I just think it’s not quite been free for him at this moment in time this season, but I believe he will come back fighting.”
Another issue that has hindered Alli so far this term is his desire to have a crack from range, even if the situation doesn’t always call for it, as he has already attempted 19 shots, with an xg, that indicates the likelihood of scoring, way down at just 0.04%. Averaging 2.2 shots per game, he has only managed to get 21.1% of them on target too, although he remains the best dribbler at the club, with 2.1 per match.
Asked if the forward, who has still played just 61 games in the Football League after starting out in non-league with South Shields, Workington, Ashton United, Stockport County, Chorley and FC Halifax Town, could be more selective with his attempts to find the net, Bloomfield added: “Absolutely, of course. There’s lots of things we’re going over with him and that we feel that he can improve.
"He’s still not in his real prime I would say, he’s getting towards his mid 20s and there’s still loads more to come from him. Coming from his non-league background, he hasn’t got loads and loads of Football League appearances and years of experience behind him in terms of Football League. So he’s still learning, he’s still growing and there’s going to be moments where he could make different decisions, as with everybody right? None of us are perfect, so he’ll be fine.”