Kevin Nolan completes.....

[Pie_Scribe]

The big problem with Derry's start was that the quality in the team pretty much all came from loans, and they were all up in January. The players that did well got better offerings in January, and the old quantity over quality approach was used to fill the spaces, hence the inevitable ending to it all.
I'm not going to get my hopes up TOO much just yet though, but I do think we're in a better position this year. We've got a manager who's worked hard on putting a fighting spirit into a team many saw as beyond hope, and who's put just the right amount of strengthening into the squad, apart from up front, which is probably the hardest slot to fill when you're after real quality. Most importantly though, the few loans we have are season long, so there shouldn't be any chance of someone snapping them up halfway through the season.
Overall, I think we're in with a chance, if things keep going as they have. We had a shaky start, but the players got what they needed to turn it around, and quick, and get one of our best runs in a while. It could all go wrong at any time, of course, as it can for any team at any point, but I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts, and hope that my finances allow me to get down the lane to experience it in person for a change.

[SolSigns]

hope that my finances allow me to get down the lane to experience it in person for a change.

Oh, I hear that. The last game I went to (Plymouth at home last season) cost me nearly £5,000!

[60YearsAPie]

Thanks, both. All the stats are interesting at the end of that fred, but the set I thought was most unexpected was 60years:

= the teams in the top 7 after 5 games are significantly more likely to be in the mix at the end of the season. I wish I knew how he got the figures for that, but I wonder if they also show that a team's position after 10 games is an even more reliable indicator.

Not cast iron obviously, and the Derry/Abbott season shows how an early high position can mask underlying flaws, but still. If I was a betting man, I'd think carefully about the early season positions. As it is, I feel even more confident about my prediction that Nolo's Notts will get second place this season! UPIES!

Here's the top 7 after 10 games for the last 4 seasons and where they finished after 46 games.

The team in 2nd after 10 games didn't make the top 2 at the end of any season, although they did make the play-offs.

[SolSigns]

Good work that man! Where are you getting the figures from, 60?

My maths is rubbish, but if you take the 13/14 season as an outlier, then the teams in the top 7 after 10 games have a 70% chance of a shot at promotion - greater if you factor in automatic promotion, but that's a bit beyond me

All that said, this is Notts we're talking about and we've got two difficult games before we get to 10.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

Some good stats and topics covered on this thread so thanks to those who have contributed from my original post thus far. I wanted to highlight the point that Kevin Nolan has done a very good job for us so far and to show people that he has been the best signing we have made this year. He will be the last person to get carried away by anything.

I think with us Notts fans we've seen that many false starts it's good in a way that we remain cautiously optimistic at this stage. For me it tends to turn badly for us when the clocks go back like last season and the Derry season.

The four clean sheets for me is massive. I'd like to know how far back it is that we achieved a run like that. How long and how many years have myself and others on this board been bemoaning about conceding two goals a game.

Ultimately this good run will come to an end and then that will be the test as to how we bounce back. But in the meantime let's enjoy collecting points and get nearer to the magic 50 points first.