Match Thread vs. Exeter City (20/01/18)

[slack_pie]

I thought individually all three played reasonably neat and tidy football, with a couple of good quality passes thrown in, but it's deceptive. Ultimately, they lost the midfield battle for the first 60 minutes. The key question is which of those players have enough about them to join Elliott Hewitt and replace Ryan Yates in our proper two-mam midfield formation, which has been the root of our success for the last year.

Exactly - the three new signings all looked pretty good, with Noble really standing out, but at the end of the day we lost the battle. Yates and Hewitt were actually more effective, even though it wasn't always pretty. We played some really nice stuff today, particularly down the left with Grant and Jones linking up well, but it yielded nothing.

I've been saying for ages that we don't have the squad to gain promotion, and I'm sticking with that. I going to stick my head on the line and say we're more likely to finish outside the playoffs than we are to win automatic promotion. We just don't have enough quality where it matters. Stockley (their number 11) was the best player on the pitch, and ultimately that's why they left with 3 points.

[JoePass]

Exactly - the three new signings all looked pretty good, with Noble really standing out, but at the end of the day we lost the battle. Yates and Hewitt were actually more effective, even though it wasn't always pretty. We played some really nice stuff today, particularly down the left with Grant and Jones linking up well, but it yielded nothing.

I've been saying for ages that we don't have the squad to gain promotion, and I'm sticking with that. I going to stick my head on the line and say we're more likely to finish outside the playoffs than we are to win automatic promotion. We just don't have enough quality where it matters. Stockley (their number 11) was the best player on the pitch, and ultimately that's why they left with 3 points.

The Notts are going up.

[SmiffyPie]

It seems we have been packing the midfield every season just lately. Is it because good defenders and forwards at our level are like rocking horse ****?

[navypie]

The Notts are going up.

I would love to agree , but I can't . I think we will have a bit of a slide now . I would love to be wrong tough.

[jackal2]

It seems we have been packing the midfield every season just lately. Is it because good defenders and forwards at our level are like rocking horse ****?

They might cost more, certainly. But the way to afford them is to waste less on midfielders who barely merit a place on the bench, and by not signing mythical "ones for the future" who never are. How many seasons must we go on making these mistakes?

I think this is the most frustrating aspect of being a Notts fan in recent seasons. We are not Manchester United, so we cannot afford three teams of players. This means we need to get the best possible value out of every signing and ensure above all that the squad is balanced, which it hasn't been for a very long time. We only ever seem to be one key injury away from having a defensive or striking crisis.

[LaxtonLad]

Poor performance today, we just weren't 'on' it. Poor in defence and attack, even so we deserved at least a draw. The way Nolo had us set up today, ob didn't suit us! Huffed and puffed a lot towards the end with few actual shots on target.

I agree with you Gumpy, only one recognised striker at home is a poor start. Five midfielders who have been training together for only a week is asking a bit much, especially if you're expecting one of them to take a striker's role when the chance comes. That's ok if the other midfielders know what's happening and what's expected of them. When Shola came on it was a different story, Exeter's central defenders had had an easy time till then but they knew what to expect from his appearance and they got it, you might say he's not fully fit, but start with him and by the time he tires we could be a goal or two up - cue Alan Smith!

[slack_pie]

They might cost more, certainly. But the way to afford them is to waste less on midfielders who barely merit a place on the bench, and by not signing mythical "ones for the future" who never are. How many seasons must we go on making these mistakes?

I think this is the most frustrating aspect of being a Notts fan in recent seasons. We are not Manchester United, so we cannot afford three teams of players. This means we need to get the best possible value out of every signing and ensure above all that the squad is balanced, which it hasn't been for a very long time. We only ever seem to be one key injury away from having a defensive or striking crisis.

Couldn't agree more. Good teams have good strikers. Can you imagine one of the big Prem teams going for the title with a couple of veterans who are unlikely to score much more than 10 between them from open play? If we're serious about promotion, we need to address the glaring issues in the squad - the lack of a decent striker and the lack of defensive cover. Instead, year after year we end up with players like Callum Saunders, who will be playing non-league football as soon as their contracts with Notts are up.

Al of the teams around us have better strikers than us. If we had Stockley yesterday, we'd have won.

[upthemaggies]

If it's inevitable that we're going to drop out of the top 3 before the end of the season then I'd rather it be in the next month or so rather than towards the end of the season. It's the worst feeling ever to just miss out on automatic because you've messed it up at the death and then have to face the play-offs (as happened to us in 1988). You're much more likely to be successful in the play-offs if you've made a strong finish (as we did in 1990 and 1991).

2 wins in the last 8 league games is the worst run of the season, but yesterdays defeat was only the 2nd in 14 - so we're still difficult to beat. As long as Notts can keep picking up points we'll still be involved and there is still time to make improvements.

Losing our automatic spot would lower expectations and perhaps take the pressure off, which could help in the long run, but obviously you'd hope we can just keep it simple and hold onto top 3. Form since the end of September says we won't do that though, and the clubs below are now bunching up and ready to take our place.

[The-Mac pie]

Keep the faith fellow pies

[keldsyke]

For me the game was lost with the team selection if we would have started with Forte (who I don’t rate) along side Stead with Noor on the bench it would have been a completely different game up to the point Ameobi came on.

There’s no need to panic, I think it shows how important to the team Tootle and Duffy are. We need cover at centre half more than ever now, perhaps getting rid of Hollis before we had someone in was a mistake. One things for sure the centre back position is the first place we need to strengthen immediately, as I’ve said before one things for sure we may need to break the bank to get a decent centre half, but for me we sort that and we are bang on to keep the promotion push.