Score, scorers and attendance prediction vs. Sunderland 04.12.18

Sunderland 2 - 3

Stead (pen), Dennis, Turley winner in 94th minute

166 Notts fans

Do we think Ardley will take his strongest squad?
I think he will use the game to look at players he has no idea about but he likes the look of in training, the likes of Etete, Patching and Osborne and hopefully he will add players returning from injury, like Toots.
It’s a bit of a free hit for Ardley, a no pressure game to try what ever he wants. Does he start what he sees as his strongest side? Does he wait for Mansfield so that they are guessing as to what we are about? In that sense it could be an advantage to us.

So with all that in mind a battling 3-1 loss.

As a manager he should want to win every game. I hate this tournament in it's current format but I'm not too stubborn about it to realise it is probably the last opportunity of any kind of success and additional revenue for the club this season so I would be disappointed if he fielded a weakened side, that said any side he puts out right now would be classed weak in comparison!

Question: Is it a sudden death game? If yes then I think it will be a spirited effort but miss out on pens which means half the squad will be knacked for Slags away.

The priority is 50+ points, not generating a bit of pocket money when our future is in doubt. Hopefully NA will use the game to best help him achieve that target.

In our situation we need to hit the ground running under NA, so a win would be a huge boost. However, it didn't do much in SC's brief reign when we beat Donny!

2 - 2 but then we lose on penalties

Quote:

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Originally Posted by magpie_mania

In our situation we need to hit the ground running under NA, so a win would be a huge boost. However, it didn't do much in SC's brief reign when we beat Donny!

2 - 2 but then we lose on penalties

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Sunderland 7-0 Notts
Can't see anything other than a complete hammering... obviously hope I am wrong.
50 pies

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Notts78

Do we think Ardley will take his strongest squad?
I think he will use the game to look at players he has no idea about but he likes the look of in training, the likes of Etete, Patching and Osborne and hopefully he will add players returning from injury, like Toots.
It’s a bit of a free hit for Ardley, a no pressure game to try what ever he wants. Does he start what he sees as his strongest side? Does he wait for Mansfield so that they are guessing as to what we are about? In that sense it could be an advantage to us.

So with all that in mind a battling 3-1 loss.

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I don't believe that Ardley will start with a second string. He only has this one competitive game to assess what he considers his best starting line up, before we meet Mansfield, and also to work on a style of play that he thinks will work best.
Personally I hope we win and that confidence may quickly grow from a good performance and result. One thing is for sure, we must look to the long term and be patient. Notts to win: 2-1.

But we don't want the likes of Stead and Hemmings starting and risk further injuries before the Stags game, maybe coming on for the last half hour for a run out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by i961pie

But we don't want the likes of Stead and Hemmings starting and risk further injuries before the Stags game, maybe coming on for the last half hour for a run out.

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I agree. Pleased it is not my decision, and just shows how difficult a job our new manager has.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by i961pie

But we don't want the likes of Stead and Hemmings starting and risk further injuries before the Stags game, maybe coming on for the last half hour for a run out.

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Why dont we leave these decisions to The Manager - just a thought like!