A message to all players looking to respond to a surprise dropping. This – West Ham United loanee Gideon Kodua rescuing Luton Town at Blackpool – is how to work your way back in.
The former West Ham Under-18 captain was left out of Matt Bloomfield’s squad for the 3-1 defeat at Lincoln City on September 20th.
Bloomfield, while a huge fan of a winger he has worked with twice before at Wycombe Wanderers, even went on to explain that Gideon Kodua’s absence was due to tactical reasons rather than any fitness issues.
But what a difference a week-and-a-half makes.
Left out at Lincoln, heroic at Blackpool. After turning the game on it’s head and securing a point for the under-pressure Bloomfield at Bloomfield Road – there’s a quiz question right there, by the way – the Luton Town faithful feel that the time has come for Kodua to be given a run of starts for the first time in a Hatters jersey.
Luton Town fans baffled by the handling of West Ham United loanee Gideon Kodua
To say the West Ham United loanee has responded to that Lincoln omission, well, Bloomfield was right when he predicted that the Luton fans will fall head over heels for Kodua this season.
He is, to put it simply, the kind of player who makes things happen. Not every dribble is a success, of course. But on a night like this – Luton had fallen 2-0 down four minutes before his second-half introduction – Kodua’s willingness to think outside the box and do something a little unexpected proved to be the difference between an exasperating defeat and a relieving draw.
Bloomfield called Kodua ‘a dribbler, a creator’ earlier in the campaign. The 20-year-old’s ability to turn on the ball and drag his team up the pitch was ‘one of the reasons why we wanted him here’.
All those attributes were in evidence shortly after his introduction. Kodua picked up possession inside the centre circle and immediately set off towards the Blackpool goal. His fizzing shot bounced just wide but it was a sign of intent, certainly.
Into stoppage time, and with Blackpool’s lead halved, Kodua drew a foul with a clever change of direction. For a youngster to step up and take the first penalty of his senior career – and score it with 91 minutes on the clock – was testament to his self-confidence.
“Bloomfield owes Kodua big time! Just saved his job, man,” one Luton fan wrote on X, while others feel that a first start since mid-September should be his reward away at high-flying Stevenage on Saturday.
“Don’t want to see [Millenic] Alli ahead of Kodua for a long, long time.”
“An absolutely massive paper-over-the-cracks job. What does it say about Bloomfield’s judgement that Kodua has played so little this season and yet he’s clearly been one of our best players whenever he’s played?”
“The judgement of the coaching staff is seriously bad. Can’t believe how little Kodua has played this season in relation to what he’s shown on the pitch.”
“For Stevenage away; start [Jordan] Clark, Kodua, and [Lasse] Nordas.”
“The subs deserve a lot of credit. Completely changed the game for Luton. If the game was 10 minutes longer, we probably win it. A lot to think about, for Bloomfield silly errors cost us again today. Clark and Kodua have to start on Saturday could argue so does Nordas.”
“Kodua and [Shayden] Morris on the wings on Saturday, please.”
Matt Bloomfield hails Kodua but more League One minutes are needed
Given that Luton came down from the Championship with a host of players who would walk into most League One XIs, that Bloomfield has won only half of his ten third-tier fixtures so far has understandably raised plenty of questions regarding the former Wycombe coach.
But who knows, perhaps that last-gasp Kodua penalty will prove to be a turning point. Not only for Bloomfield but for the West Ham loanee too.
“Gids is a boy we think so highly of,” Bloomfield told reporters on the West Coast. “As soon as he came on the pitch, he’s showing that resilience and the strength we know he’s got.
“He is still a young boy, developing. So, we have to be a little bit patient with him at times. But yeah, to show that courage and that heart to step up in a moment when we really needed it, fair play to him.”
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