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Thread: Learn the lessons - come back stronger

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    6,641
    Quote Originally Posted by jackal2 View Post
    Hey ho, it wasn't to be in the end, but this is team that finished 4th in League Two, so there are certainly some strong elements to this squad. We've got plenty of depth in the goalkeeping, midfield and full back positions, certainly enough to match any other team in this league.

    As Luton manager Nathan Jones said last night about how he responded to losing to Blackpool in the play-offs the previous season, it's all about looking at the areas that cost you those extra points and addressing those weaknesses in the summer.

    In our case the forward line needs a virtually complete rebuild. Ameobi is finished, Stead should be going but has triggered a foolishly given extension clause and should only be taking over the Alan Smith role at best. Forte has turned it on in the last few weeks of his contract but is a journeyman with a career history of inconsistent commitment and delivery, and the sundry strikers like Smith and Saunders offer nothing of note. So that's where the main surgery needs to be.

    Also, we must, must, must bring in two big, good quality centre halves to address a lack of depth we've had in that position for multiple seasons.

    Get those things right, and use the ball a bit better generally, and there's no reason why we shouldn't be solid top two next year.
    Superb post, looking forward to next season......could not be bothered to post earlier today, people arguing with Covo fans?..... feeding the trolls....they love it........a couple of decent strikers if Forte leaves and next season should see us getting promotion....hopefully

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    6,409
    Quote Originally Posted by jackal2 View Post
    Hey ho, it wasn't to be in the end, but this is team that finished 4th in League Two, so there are certainly some strong elements to this squad. We've got plenty of depth in the goalkeeping, midfield and full back positions, certainly enough to match any other team in this league.

    As Luton manager Nathan Jones said last night about how he responded to losing to Blackpool in the play-offs the previous season, it's all about looking at the areas that cost you those extra points and addressing those weaknesses in the summer.

    In our case the forward line needs a virtually complete rebuild. Ameobi is finished, Stead should be going but has triggered a foolishly given extension clause and should only be taking over the Alan Smith role at best. Forte has turned it on in the last few weeks of his contract but is a journeyman with a career history of inconsistent commitment and delivery, and the sundry strikers like Smith and Saunders offer nothing of note. So that's where the main surgery needs to be.

    Also, we must, must, must bring in two big, good quality centre halves to address a lack of depth we've had in that position for multiple seasons.

    Get those things right, and use the ball a bit better generally, and there's no reason why we shouldn't be solid top two next year.
    I’ll leave the 2nd Leg game out of this, but taking the season as a whole it’s been a good season.

    I think we can look at the many positives and use this as a foundation to build upon going forward. There is a feel good factor at the club again.

    Our home record this season has been the best it’s been for years, and our average attendance has gone up and also we’ve had a number of five figure attendances. It was a promotion form home record. We’ve gone from 16th in League Two to 5th and got an extra 21 points and so for the first time since we finished 7th in League One in 2011/12 we’ve had a big upturn in league position after 5 years of decline.

    It might be annoying that we were in the automatic promotion places for so long but fell away into the playoffs but consistency is key. If you want to get automatic promotion you can’t afford to drop off, you have to keep it up for the entire season. The thing we have learned even though we finished 5th was that we were not far off. Two wins and a draw short to be precise.

    What we need to learn and improve upon next season is getting more points on the road against the lower ranked teams in the league. We lost points to Barnet, Chesterfield and Grimsby. We need to figure out a way in which we can win the battle against teams fighting at the bottom end of the table.

    The loss of Ryan Yates was also key. If we get decent loan players then we are kind of subject to the mercy of the parent club. That’s where we can learn from because after he went we filled a gap with Hussin and Noble and had a wobble with two defeats at home to Crawley and Exeter.

    I feel as though as a squad we need to be mentally stronger. It was ironic that the first day of the season we suffered our biggest defeat of the season away at Coventry 3-0 and the last game we lost at home to Coventry by three clear goals. In between there were big games on TV which we failed to perform to our best. Whether it was nerves or anxiety this is something that will need to be worked on next season. The big games and the ones with the most pressure are the games that separate the best from the rest.

    We must also remember that this season was Kevin Nolan and Alan Harry’s first full season. For two novices in their roles I’d say they’ve done a very good job. I look at clubs like Accrington and Wycombe and Luton who have had managers there for a few seasons now and we can become like those if we stick by our manager. We can learn from our shortfalls this season and come back stronger for it. Both of them would have learned an awful lot more about themselves, their staff and players this season and be more experienced going forward.

    Hand on heart I don’t think we were quite ready for League One this season. The last thing I’d want is for us to get promoted and come straight back down. I’d sooner us go away regroup come back stronger and go again next season.

    One thing I do feel is a sense of pride again when going to Meadow Lane and it feels like we are a proper football club again.

    Keep the faith!
    Last edited by MAD_MAGPIE; 20-05-2018 at 07:29 AM.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    973
    Quote Originally Posted by jackal2 View Post
    I thought this when I heard the rumours of him re-signing. I thought it when he did re-sign. And I still think it now.

    We've got him for another year, but for me he's one of the most overrated players I can remember in my time watching Notts. I couldn't believe we were taking him back after correctly releasing him at the end of his first red card-strewn spell with us.

    I suppose you can say he hasn't got sent off again (yet), but he doesn't really cut the mustard as a battling midfielder or a creative midfielder. He increasingly reminds me of Mark Fotheringham, doing a lot of pointing and talking and not much else. If we had replaced Ryan Yates with a barrel full of hot air in the middle of the pitch, it would have contributed more.
    I think you can blame the owner for that one and the lad from Liverpool he needs to keep is nose out of the players coming in next season.

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    2,252

    Learn that we were swindled out of Promotion by A.......s referres

    Quite frankly the whole thing is a fix, to get FOUR key decisions wrong over 2 matches? We were playing against 12 men

    Nolan quite frankly must be devastated, everything he said in the post match interview is true

    In fact even going back to the League matches over the last few months, Nolan says we should had 8 more points, giving us automatic promotion

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    973
    Quote Originally Posted by tarquinbeech View Post
    Superb post, looking forward to next season......could not be bothered to post earlier today, people arguing with Covo fans?..... feeding the trolls....they love it........a couple of decent strikers if Forte leaves and next season should see us getting promotion....hopefully
    Notts will never get promoted with that back four/five they have been bad for 3 years

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