Match Thread vs. Coventry

[SwalePie]

Notts allows Jones too much space and it's 1-0 to Coventry

[BanjoPie]

:(

[the_anticlough]

Might as well see what Saunders can do. If he's a striker who likes to get in behind the defence, he'd pair up well with Shola

[DomdomPie]

Yeovil getting beaten 5-1!

[BanjoPie]

5814 Early days - but league table looks familiar :)

[tarquinbeech]

Poor half from Notts....very little skill factor....Shola and Stead not collecting the long ball, we cannot seem to hold the ball up when Covo swarm all over the forwards....our best chance fell from a break from midfield, nice pass to Shola's feet who gets in a half-shot, blocked and the rebound fell to an unmarked Hawk (I think, because the shirt numbers are unreadable...grrr) who tried to place his cross-shot inside the post and hit the base of it.

Covo's goal came from Jones going walkabout leaving his man unmarked on the edge of the 6-yard box....he had time to "fake" a shot before slamming it home....poor defending I'm afraid

Please Notts, keep the ball on the ground and break from midfield

[countygump]

5814 Early days - but league table looks familiar :)

If we can scratch a draw out of this game, I'll be more than pleased. Covo are gonna be there or thereabout come seasons end.

[SwalePie]

Almost 2 down there but shot wide :(

[BanjoPie]

Perhaps time for Grant to come on in place of Walker and Milsom for Hewitt

[BanjoPie]

Where is everyone?????

[jackal2]

Walker off after less than an hour, no real impact.

[eyepie]

Only four teams from L2 have failed to score so far. Sadly we are one of them.

[jackal2]

Only four teams from L2 have failed to score so far. Sadly we are one of them.

Luton aren't! 7-1! :O

[Oldstripy]

1727 Notts fan at game

[Carlton_Pie]

Walker off after less than an hour, no real impact.

Give the bloke a chance!

[jackal2]

Give the bloke a chance!

It wasn't a criticism, simply a statement of fact on today. Coming from a very different league you might question whether he should have been dropped in at the deep end first game of the season.

[the_anticlough]

Grant on for Stead. Has to be a good thing

[BanjoPie]

Gets worse - 5815

[Big Bob]

Sounds like old times

[jackal2]

0-2 stick a fork in us, we're done! >:(

[BanjoPie]

Oh Dear - "we're all doomed"

[Carlton_Pie]

Beaten by a better team

[eyepie]

23rd already

[BanjoPie]

"Bring Smith on"

[SwalePie]

Beaten by a better team

My commentary is miles behind. Only on 81 mins here

[Big Bob]

Yes. Back to normal

[BanjoPie]

Bring Hollis on to play up front - might just nick a goal

[irishpete]

Lets see what the spin dr says about this performance.He was saying before the game the players were "fired up" for this,well god help us if they were,if thats the kind of performance they can produce.Forgot the WOW players need time to gel or it's only the first game.:D

[frenchmagpie]

Look at the positives. At least we're not under pressure to maintain the unbeaten run.

[eyepie]

Look at the positives. At least we're not under pressure to maintain the unbeaten run.

A good way of looking at it.

[eyepie]

Luton sneak another one in.

[jackal2]

Beaten by a better team

A team which finished 23rd in League one last season, 11 points off safety. Coventry are a big name, but that's all these days.

[BanjoPie]

Ffs !!!!!!! - same old problems

[SwalePie]

Can we sign Jody Jones?

[irish_pie]

Ffs !!!!!!!

Brilliant start indeed :(

[irishpete]

3-0

[Carlton_Pie]

A team which finished 23rd in League one last season, 11 points off safety. Coventry are a big name, but that's all these days.

They are still a better team than Notts

[jackal2]

Can we sign Jody Jones?

Coventry signed him for an undisclosed fee. Probably less than the £100k we wanted to pay to get Noble back. :confused:

[irish_pie]

I cant seem to remember a time when we actually had a goal difference that wasn't in the minus

[Old_pie]

Wow!

[irishpete]

I will be the 1st, Will Nolan see the season out?:D

[sidders]

I will be the 1st, Will Nolan see the season out?:D

A bit unfair, Pete. Nolan will have learned a helluva lot from this game. Like.... ?

[MAD_MAGPIE]

So we continue to still concede at least two goals a game, and give away goals late on.

3-0 on the opening day is a deflating start. It would be good to know thoughts of those who were at the game.

[keldsyke]

I will be the 1st, Will Nolan see the season out?:D

Pathetic

[legs77]

Leaving the best player in Grant on the bench is not exactly smart no doubt it will be dressed up.

Cant blame Hollis today either im prediction is we will finish 15th as the squad looks devoid of quality and Alan Smith still getting on the bench shows that.

Changes will be made next week obviously with good reason.

One positive is we aren't Yeovil !!!

[jackal2]

The boys are ready to (be) fire(d)!

[countygump]

Leaving the best player in Grant on the bench is not exactly smart no doubt it will be dressed up.

Cant blame Hollis today either im prediction is we will finish 15th as the squad looks devoid of quality and Alan Smith still getting on the bench shows that.

Changes will be made next week obviously with good reason.

One positive is we aren't Yeovil !!!

You could see the story unfolding with every player we recruited. Hate to say I told you so, so I won't, but I did !!!

[tarquinbeech]

Poor game from Notts....one game plan which was firing 50 foot dropping balls into Stead and Shola who had Covo players swarming all over them.

Our only decent chance was a break from midfield, ball to Shola's feet, blocked half-shot fell to an unmarked Hawk who hit the post.

Please note Notts....all three Covo goals came from players bursting from midfield, overlapping wingers in acres of space....and calm finishing

Last point....why did our goalie persist with punting the ball from goalmouth to goalmouth with zero results?....Notts seriously need a plan B when it's bleedin obvious that it wasn't working.....9 corners to 2 tells you a lot about why we lost this game badly.....if you've got wingers, ffs....USE THEM Notts.

[jackal2]

You could see the story unfolding with every player we recruited. Hate to say I told you so, so I won't, but I did !!!

Too early to be drawing too many conclusions, but I've shared your concern throughout the summer.

Did anyone really imagine we would be starting this season with Stead and Ameobi still as our first choice strikers in their mid-thirties, and Callum Saunders as the biggest challenger for their place? I would have released Stead in the summer. We've probably squeezed the best remaining drops of quality out of Stead's career over the past two seasons and it was time to let him go to the US and invest the wages in a bright new star.

I wouldn't call this a reality check, because I think a lot of us already knew the reality.

[Russ_OTF]

That was an absolute shambles.

Same old problems.

Defence absolutely absent. Whole side looked drastically unfit. No pace in the side whatsoever.

Gameplan was hoof to the geriatrics upfront and hope for the best.

Stead may aswell retire. Cart horse.

[Russ_OTF]

Walker looked completely lost aswell. Looked a complete amateur.

[Robertomac]

Dan Jones was abysmal, at fault for all 3

[irishpete]

Grow some for fecks sake Keldsyke,it was tongue in cheek,hense the smiley

[The-Mac pie]

First game of a new season..
Garbage Notts.
However seasons were not lost on a first game defeat
Nolan got his selection wrong
There is no way on this earth that walker should be our starting eleven.
Ahead of grant and Milsom??????
The 1700 or so that travelled will be utterly disgusted I'm sure..
But let's try some it's only the first game.
Gulp!!
And hope things shape up better soon.
But Nolan needs to look at team selection for sure.
Keep smiling fellow Notts fans.
Things can only get better

[Carlton_Pie]

You could see the story unfolding with every player we recruited. Hate to say I told you so, so I won't, but I did !!!

What have you told us? We've lost 1 game...we are allowed to lose and wont win every Saturday

[countygump]

What have you told us? We've lost 1 game...we are allowed to lose and wont win every Saturday

OK then. Expect the same on Tues, Scunny are a good side and we are not.

[tarquinbeech]

Dan Jones was abysmal, at fault for all 3

I'm waiting to see the replay on iFollow later......Jones defo went walkabout for the first, he suddenly realised their winger was completely unmarked, tried to close him down (but ended up a yard short) then the winger still had time to line up the ball, take a "fake" shot....then fire it home

[BanjoPie]

Poor game from Notts....one game plan which was firing 50 foot dropping balls into Stead and Shola who had Covo players swarming all over them.

Our only decent chance was a break from midfield, ball to Shola's feet, blocked half-shot fell to an unmarked Hawk who hit the post.

Please note Notts....all three Covo goals came from players bursting from midfield, overlapping wingers in acres of space....and calm finishing

Last point....why did our goalie persist with punting the ball from goalmouth to goalmouth with zero results?....Notts seriously need a plan B when it's bleedin obvious that it wasn't working.....9 corners to 2 tells you a lot about why we lost this game badly.....if you've got wingers, ffs....USE THEM Notts.


That is a bit worrying - I thought KN would want to play football not 'hoof-ball' - IMO that Keepers should always throw/pass the ball to their own players, if you build from the back, you are in possession. Makes sense to me, why can't the likes of Collin & Nolan see that?

[tarquinbeech]

That is a bit worrying - I thought KN would want to play football not 'hoof-ball' - IMO that Keepers should always throw/pass the ball to their own players, if you build from the back, you are in possession. Makes sense to me, why can't the likes of Collin & Nolan see that?

I thought so too, but the number of times Collin lumped it straight into the oppo box was unreal.....Stead and Shola had 2 or 3 Covo players climbing all over them before the ball stopped bouncing so I'm not sure it was really their fault.....as I said earlier, our only decent chance came from a midfield break and passes to feet.....weird

[Robertomac]

I'm waiting to see the replay on iFollow later......Jones defo went walkabout for the first, he suddenly realised their winger was completely unmarked, tried to close him down (but ended up a yard short) then the winger still had time to line up the ball, take a "fake" shot....then fire it home

Agreed on the first, and he failed to close him down, despite being 6yds from goal.

For the second, it looked like he allowed the pass to go past him too easily, although in the interest of fairness I'd like to see it again. He just looked too laid back like he wasn't going to stretch to reach it.

The third, he failed to get the ball past the first man on the free kick and then got turned inside out trying to make amends.

Shocking debut.

[BigFatPie]

Weird team selection, Stead is past it, Coventry are likely to be contenders.

Too early to panic, but from what Hardy said today, summer recruitment clearly didn't go to plan. I hope there's a fair bit left in the budget.

[Robertomac]

What did Hardy say?

[BigFatPie]

He said that they'd got very close to quite a few players, but had been let down either by the players themselves or their agents.

I think he used the phrase "eye-opener".

[Proudpie]

Will be bringing in at least one more possibly a striker
One ?
We need another 5 or 6 to have any hope of the playoffs
We have clearly gone for cheap options hoping they come good
"Happy with the business we have done so far"
Must be easily pleased then
Shocking display today

[nw6pie]

He said that they'd got very close to quite a few players, but had been let down either by the players themselves or their agents.

I think he used the phrase "eye-opener".

Sounds like he was very naive, then, and will hopefully learn now that actions speak louder than words.

Let's hope we haven't wasted the rest of the budget on squad fillers and can still get the dominant centre half and pacy forward that we still obviously need. Shola and Stead should be not be starting together, especially away from home. And if you're playing wingers, your middle two better be tireless and get the ball out to them.

I'm guessing 0-3 is our worst start to a season since the Craig Short spell in 2010. Let's hope for better next Saturday (and play some of the squad players on Tuesday). Looks like all of the players need more minutes in their legs.

[tarquinbeech]

Sounds like he was very naive, then, and will hopefully learn now that actions speak louder than words.

Let's hope we haven't wasted the rest of the budget on squad fillers and can still get the dominant centre half and pacy forward that we still obviously need. Shola and Stead should be not be starting together, especially away from home. And if you're playing wingers, your middle two better be tireless and get the ball out to them.

I'm guessing 0-3 is our worst start to a season since the Craig Short spell in 2010. Let's hope for better next Saturday (and play some of the squad players on Tuesday). Looks like all of the players need more minutes in their legs.

Totally agree, Shola and Stead are too much of a likeness to be starting together....quality strikers back in 1995 but there is no pace or movement between them....we need someone nippier, smaller,...... picking up the knock-downs.....today Covo just pick-pocketed them all afternoon

[nw6pie]

Totally agree, Shola and Stead are too much of a likeness to be starting together....quality strikers back in 1995 but there is no pace or movement between them....we need someone nippier, smaller,...... picking up the knock-downs.....today Covo just pick-pocketed them all afternoon

If Forte is out of favour with KN, we need to try and move him on and free up a wage for a striker who can be a fox in the box. Let's hope Stead proves everyone wrong, but as it stands he should be coming off the bench, not starting.

[irishpete]

I think this result shows what a foook up pre season was.i would have thought in the last couple of games you would start with a settled 11 or there abouts,not send part of the first team to one game & the rest to another & play "class of 18" so close to the start of the season.
One thing AH said about last season was the team had no pace & the signings would rectify that,by all accounts not yesterday.If you don't see pace in a team away from home,it tells you something.

[Proudpie]

When we appointed Kevin, my friend who knows his football just said "why ?"
He is another rookie, very good player but little managerial experience.
He hasnt addressed the key areas of weakness that we have had for several seasons:
Chronic lack of pace
Woeful defence
Only workman like midfield
No goal threat
If we can see it why cant a top level player ?
I have spoken to KN several times and he seems like a genuine top bloke with no arrogance or aloofness
I really want him to be successful at Notts
Time will tell

[Elite_Pie]

1727 Notts fan at game

Just noticed that we took more fans to Coventry than the total attendance at the Morecambe and Accrington games.

The worrying thing is that despite their pitiful support, both of them are 3 points ahead of us!

[the_anticlough]

When we appointed Kevin, my friend who knows his football just said "why ?"
He is another rookie, very good player but little managerial experience.
He hasnt addressed the key areas of weakness that we have had for several seasons:
Chronic lack of pace
Woeful defence
Only workman like midfield
No goal threat
If we can see it why cant a top level player ?
I have spoken to KN several times and he seems like a genuine top bloke with no arrogance or aloofness
I really want him to be successful at Notts
Time will tell

Top post. I couldn't believe how poor the team looked on paper but wanted to believe, it being the first game and all that. I don't think Nolan will ever let us slump like we did under Sheridan, Derry etc (or should we just say Trew) but he's making big mistakes and we have to hope he can learn from them...

Don't be too impressed by names. Just because a player once cut it at the top level means nothing once your level's fallen. Stead and Smith were a ball and chain last season and will be even worse this. The same might be true of sons of ex-players. We'll see
Don't force square pegs into round holes for too long. Hewitt will never offer enough in midfield to play all season for a team that wants promotion.

With what we have, the best tactic until we get a better striker might be to go 4-1-4-1 pick Allesandra, Hawkridge, Grant and Walker (Milsom holding) Looks like a prem formation, KN should be impressed by that.

[durhampie]

He said that they'd got very close to quite a few players, but had been let down either by the players themselves or their agents.

I think he used the phrase "eye-opener".


So we had to settle for a bunch of useless trialists.

[Freeman25]

With what we have, the best tactic until we get a better striker might be to go 4-1-4-1 pick Allesandra, Hawkridge, Grant and Walker (Milsom holding) Looks like a prem formation, KN should be impressed by that.

Nah, 4-2-3-1, Milsom and Hewitt or Curtis doing the defensive midfield duties, Hawkridge, Grant and Allessandra in an attacking 3, interchangable and Shola up front holding the ball up and playing those three in, easy money.

[ancientpie]

He said that they'd got very close to quite a few players, but had been let down either by the players themselves or their agents.

I think he used the phrase "eye-opener".

I'm not trying to make excuses for our lack of quality signings but I do tend to think that we forget that both AH & KN are both novices at this & perhaps this close season should be viewed as a learning curve for both.I heard them interviewed on radio red at the end of last season saying that they would only sign players who were desperate to join the club & anyone who needed time to think about it could forget it, no surprise then that it as come as an "eye opener" that quality signings (ie those with multiple choices) have not been queuing at the gates to sign for a club that nearly got relegated last season.

[Freeman25]

Nolan also pointed out in an interview that incoming strikers were scared to come to Notts because they see Shola and Stead and worry that they won't be able to break into our first team...

Stead and Ameobi aren't too similar in football terms imo though, Ameobi is a very good target man, I think you'd struggle to find a better one in League 2, his ball control/first touch, hold up play and his ability to win the ball in the air is all excellent, Stead doesn't really show any of those qualities, he's a better finisher and he's good at poaching goals in the box, the similarities they do have are physical - they're both old, tall and slow.

[KeepTheMagpieFlyingH]

Nah, 4-2-3-1, Milsom and Hewitt or Curtis doing the defensive midfield duties, Hawkridge, Grant and Allessandra in an attacking 3, interchangable and Shola up front holding the ball up and playing those three in, easy money.



For Shola to play the 3 mentioned in..the 3 mentioned would need pace! If the 3 mentioned had that kind of pace..Ameobi wouldn't be 30-40 yards from goal looking to thread passes..he'd be in and around the box causing havoc.

[Freeman25]

Stead has no pace and Shola managed to play him in 3 times in about 10 minutes yesterday, he also got lucky with a deflection and inadvertently played in Hawkridge when he hit the post in the first half. They don't need to be Usain Bolt, they just need to be mobile, which all three are in comparison to Stead.

[KeepTheMagpieFlyingH]

Stead has no pace and Shola managed to play him in 3 times in about 10 minutes yesterday, he also got lucky with a deflection and inadvertently played in Hawkridge when he hit the post in the first half. They don't need to be Usain Bolt, they just need to be mobile, which all three are in comparison to Stead.

Exactly..Stead gets played in 3 times because Coventry City and Mark Robins are happy to leave that space behind because they're confident that either their defenders are quick enough to cover or the keepers capable of sweeping. If Notts had any pace at all to worry about that space wouldn't be there.

That space was there yesterday and will be there against a lot of teams..because no manager worth his salt is going to sit deep against Notts County.