Just a thought...

[SwalePie]

I've been wondering since full time whether playing 4-5-1 and throwing the last two games has been a deliberate ploy to appease those who have had bugger all to whinge about lately.

Perhaps now that they have had a chance for a good moan and a quick 'told you so' or two and got back to that comfortable and familiar 'waiting for the wheels to fall off' vibe, we'll now switch straight back to 4-4-2 and get back on track, having made everyone happy for at least some of the time?

Great club management if so.

Bring on the Swansea!

[DomdomPie]

This actually cheered me up a bit. Thanks Swale!

[jackal2]

You could be right!

Seriously though, I don't think there's any desire to criticise the manager unduly. There are a couple of rants, but I think from most posters the frustration simply comes from seeing six points sacrificed unnecessarily. Years ago the anger came from having a team that just wasn't good enough no matter what we tried, but this manager and his players have shown all season that they are good enough and they have a way of playing that works, so why suddenly change it?

[maddogslater]

never seen the board so busy

[drillerpie]

You could be right!

Seriously though, I don't think there's any desire to criticise the manager unduly. There are a couple of rants, but I think from most posters the frustration simply comes from seeing six points sacrificed unnecessarily. Years ago the anger came from having a team that just wasn't good enough no matter what we tried, but this manager and his players have shown all season that they are good enough and they have a way of playing that works, so why suddenly change it?

I think Hardy and Nolan are now suffering from the fact that our trajectory this season, and more particularly our history, mean that as Notts fans we tend to regard success in this league and even League One (Trew when he was still popular, Short, Curle could probably all testify) as being a minimum requirement.

What they have achieved has been phenomenal by any measure, but if we're honest we can't appreciate it fully because we think we should be at the top of League One or fighting to stay in the Championship. Criticism is only ever a couple of bad results away at Notts County in this division.

[uysapie]

I think Hardy and Nolan are now suffering from the fact that our trajectory this season, and more particularly our history, mean that as Notts fans we tend to regard success in this league and even League One (Trew when he was still popular, Short, Curle could probably all testify) as being a minimum requirement.

What they have achieved has been phenomenal by any measure, but if we're honest we can't appreciate it fully because we think we should be at the top of League One or fighting to stay in the Championship. Criticism is only ever a couple of bad results away at Notts County in this division.

They set the standard up to Christmas, all we want is for them to maintain it.

[jackal2]

I think Hardy and Nolan are now suffering from the fact that our trajectory this season, and more particularly our history, mean that as Notts fans we tend to regard success in this league and even League One (Trew when he was still popular, Short, Curle could probably all testify) as being a minimum requirement.

What they have achieved has been phenomenal by any measure, but if we're honest we can't appreciate it fully because we think we should be at the top of League One or fighting to stay in the Championship. Criticism is only ever a couple of bad results away at Notts County in this division.

You could be right in many cases. Notts County in terms of club size and support probably belongs in League One, although I think we've got used to some fairly modest expectations in recent years.

In the current instance though, my frustration doesn't reflect a belief that we have a God-given right to be promoted or anything like that, but simply that Nolan seemed to have already found the perfect answer to this league and suddenly is deviating from it. I genuinely don't know why he would change now, unless he had some personal dissatisfaction with the fairly direct style we were using. Personally I liked it much more than what I've seen in the past two games, which seems a bit "nice" and ineffective. I grew up on a diet of 'smashmouth' football under Warnock and Allardyce, and it works. Stick to what works Nolo!

[drillerpie]

They set the standard up to Christmas, all we want is for them to maintain it.

It'll be great if they can, but they set a standard based on over achievement, certainly compared to expectations, probably compared to the squad too.

If we miss out on promotion this is a not a fan base that can be happy with a near miss in League Two, as most of us remember seeing Notts in the top flight. That is unfortunate as Hardy and Nolan probably deserve more slack, but that's the way it is.

Anyway they've both given me reasons to trust their judgement over the last year, I'm pretty sure they'll figure it out.

[drillerpie]

You could be right in many cases. Notts County in terms of club size and support probably belongs in League One, although I think we've got used to some fairly modest expectations in recent years.

In the current instance though, my frustration doesn't reflect a belief that we have a God-given right to be promoted or anything like that, but simply that Nolan seemed to have already found the perfect answer to this league and suddenly is deviating from it. I genuinely don't know why he would change now, unless he had some personal dissatisfaction with the fairly direct style we were using. Personally I liked it much more than what I've seen in the past two games, which seems a bit "nice" and ineffective. I grew up on a diet of 'smashmouth' football under Warnock and Allardyce, and it works. Stick to the same formula Nolo!

Agree about the style of play, I would actually prefer hell for leather football to tiki taka even if tiki taka got wins at this level, which it rarely does. As you and Jacob succinctly pointed out on another thread the experiment is not working and needs to stop. They both seem to be clever guys, I'm sure they'll figure it out.

[jackal2]

Agree about the style of play, I would actually prefer hell for leather football to tiki taka even if tiki taka got wins at this level, which it rarely does. As you and Jacob succinctly pointed out on another thread the experiment is not working and needs to stop. They both seem to be clever guys, I'm sure they'll figure it out.

I was ever so slightly concerned by Nolan's defensive reaction in the interview tonight, but to be fair to him it's difficult to be objective just after a game with a microphone stuck up your nose. I just hope he doesn't get into the Keith Curle mindset that it was more than his job and coaching badges were worth to acknowledge that the fans (on occasion) were right. Without a shadow of doubt we all appreciate what Nolo has achieved so far and we all want him to continue to succeed for Notts and himself, which is the source of some of the frustration from the past two games.