10 Golden Rules To Rebuild Our Club By...

[DaveSmithRules]

I've mentioned some of this on other threads, but following our relegation I'd really like Notts to take this as a chance to rebuild and create the kind of identity that you see sustain other successful smaller clubs.

Here's some of the kind of rules I'd like to see us implement as soon as possible:

1) A SENIOR SQUAD OF NO MORE THAN 25 PLAYERS
This season our squad of 40-odd helped take us down. We've been doing this for seasons now. Never again!

2) GIVE OUR YOUNG PLAYERS A CHANCE
Stop stockpiling journeymen in front of them. Bird, Etete, Crawford, Patching and Osborne all need regular squad places next season. Young loanees from the leagues above us can work too, but it's a better idea to give our own a chance first.

3) BRING IN PLAYERS ON THE WAY UP
Scout hungry players from the leagues below us. Not has-beens on the way down.

4) INSTALL A FAIR WAGE CAP & BALANCE
If Vaughn was on £5k a week this season then there will have been players who played more games for us than him on a fifth of his wage. That kind of disparity just breeds contempt between players and kills team spirit.

5) PRIORITISE FITNESS
There's really no excuse for professional sportsmen to be in such bad shape as ours were this season. Do we have a fitness coach at the club? And if we have doubts about the fitness of potential signings, then don't sign them!

6) PRIORITISE SCOUTING
Do we have people out there looking for the best talent in the two leagues below us? And have them looking for people specifically in the positions we need, rather than signing 18 centre-mids because someone recommended them.

7) WORK TOWARDS AN EVEN BALANCE SHEET
This one will kill us if we don't get it right soon. If Accrington and Exeter can do it, why can't we? With Hemmings, Enzio & Kellet etc still on the wage bill we probably can't get there for a season or two. But we can work towards it.

8) TRY AND SET CONSISTENT FORMATIONS ACROSS THE 1ST TEAM, RESERVES AND YOUTH
We may already do this? But if our manager next season wants to play 442 or 433 or 352 then we should get the other teams to adopt that format too. It's less important for the reserves and youth teams to win games than it is to breed 1st team ready players.

9) DON'T ABANDON SENIOR PLAYERS AFTER A FEW BAD GAMES
Vaughan, Kellet, Dennis, Enzio - all expensive signings and yet barely a full season between them. If they have a bad game or two, stick them on the bench and give them 15mins here and there to get their mojo back.

10) GIVE US SOMETHING TO CHEER AT HOME
Our fans were brilliant this season, especially towards the end. But we saw so little fight in so many games at home. We need and deserve more at Meadow Lane next season.

What other rules would you like to see installed as part of the fabric of our club?

[Old_pie]

No owners on social media.
No 5yr plan to the Championship
No marquee signings

[ForeignLegion]

11) Eating and drinking permitted on the monorail

12) Monorail effluent station to be built next to City Ground.

[Big Bob]

I've mentioned some of this on other threads, but following our relegation I'd really like Notts to take this as a chance to rebuild and create the kind of identity that you see sustain other successful smaller clubs.

Here's some of the kind of rules I'd like to see us implement as soon as possible:

1) A SENIOR SQUAD OF NO MORE THAN 25 PLAYERS
This season our squad of 40-odd helped take us down. We've been doing this for seasons now. Never again!

2) GIVE OUR YOUNG PLAYERS A CHANCE
Stop stockpiling journeymen in front of them. Bird, Etete, Crawford, Patching and Osborne all need regular squad places next season. Young loanees from the leagues above us can work too, but it's a better idea to give our own a chance first.

3) BRING IN PLAYERS ON THE WAY UP
Scout hungry players from the leagues below us. Not has-beens on the way down.

4) INSTALL A FAIR WAGE CAP & BALANCE
If Vaughn was on £5k a week this season then there will have been players who played more games for us than him on a fifth of his wage. That kind of disparity just breeds contempt between players and kills team spirit.

5) PRIORITISE FITNESS
There's really no excuse for professional sportsmen to be in such bad shape as ours were this season. Do we have a fitness coach at the club? And if we have doubts about the fitness of potential signings, then don't sign them!

6) PRIORITISE SCOUTING
Do we have people out there looking for the best talent in the two leagues below us? And have them looking for people specifically in the positions we need, rather than signing 18 centre-mids because someone recommended them.

7) WORK TOWARDS AN EVEN BALANCE SHEET
This one will kill us if we don't get it right soon. If Accrington and Exeter can do it, why can't we? With Hemmings, Enzio & Kellet etc still on the wage bill we probably can't get there for a season or two. But we can work towards it.

8) TRY AND SET CONSISTENT FORMATIONS ACROSS THE 1ST TEAM, RESERVES AND YOUTH
We may already do this? But if our manager next season wants to play 442 or 433 or 352 then we should get the other teams to adopt that format too. It's less important for the reserves and youth teams to win games than it is to breed 1st team ready players.

9) DON'T ABANDON SENIOR PLAYERS AFTER A FEW BAD GAMES
Vaughan, Kellet, Dennis, Enzio - all expensive signings and yet barely a full season between them. If they have a bad game or two, stick them on the bench and give them 15mins here and there to get their mojo back.

10) GIVE US SOMETHING TO CHEER AT HOME
Our fans were brilliant this season, especially towards the end. But we saw so little fight in so many games at home. We need and deserve more at Meadow Lane next season.

What other rules would you like to see installed as part of the fabric of our club?

You forgot rule 11... Stop being so crap

[SwalePie]

No more than one and a half managers per season from now on...

[60YearsAPie]

No more than one and a half managers per season from now on...

An important factor in our demise is that only 9 seasons in the last 25 has a manger been in place for the whole season.

[SwalePie]

An important factor in our demise is that only 9 seasons in the last 25 has a manger been in place for the whole season.

Crazy isn't it?

[60YearsAPie]

Crazy isn't it?

Any even crazier stat is that in 19 of the last 25 seasons we've won less than half our home games.

[51Magpie]

The OP's 10 Rules should be framed and put on the wall in the chairman's and manager's offices. They could be tweaked a bit here and there, but if we'd followed anything like that prescription we'd be in League 1 and not the Natonal League. I suggest there should be something in there about being more strategic (and I don't mean a five-year plan to get to the Championship). If you look at teams that have had successive or near-successive promotions, they've usually got a core of players who know they're not going to be cleared out or retiring after promotion is achieved. Likewise, as we've found, it's not good to be trying to motivate players against relegation when it's clear that they're going to be on their way in the summer anyway.

[Bohinen]

2) GIVE OUR YOUNG PLAYERS A CHANCE and 3) BRING IN PLAYERS ON THE WAY UP make 9) DON'T ABANDON SENIOR PLAYERS AFTER A FEW BAD GAMES irrelevant. I think 9 is the ony one I disagree with. People have to earn their place, keeping senior players happy has relegated this club.

[LaxtonLad]

Any even crazier stat is that in 19 of the last 25 seasons we've won less than half our home games.

This one is really mystifying. We have a first-class stadium (for Leagues 1 & 2) and have had excellent home support and increasing attendance yet we find dominating visiting teams almost impossible, and you can't blame Alan Hardy for that, he's only been here for two years.

[queenslandpie]

I've mentioned some of this on other threads, but following our relegation I'd really like Notts to take this as a chance to rebuild and create the kind of identity that you see sustain other successful smaller clubs.

Here's some of the kind of rules I'd like to see us implement as soon as possible:

1) A SENIOR SQUAD OF NO MORE THAN 25 PLAYERS
This season our squad of 40-odd helped take us down. We've been doing this for seasons now. Never again!

2) GIVE OUR YOUNG PLAYERS A CHANCE
Stop stockpiling journeymen in front of them. Bird, Etete, Crawford, Patching and Osborne all need regular squad places next season. Young loanees from the leagues above us can work too, but it's a better idea to give our own a chance first.

3) BRING IN PLAYERS ON THE WAY UP
Scout hungry players from the leagues below us. Not has-beens on the way down.

4) INSTALL A FAIR WAGE CAP & BALANCE
If Vaughn was on £5k a week this season then there will have been players who played more games for us than him on a fifth of his wage. That kind of disparity just breeds contempt between players and kills team spirit.

5) PRIORITISE FITNESS
There's really no excuse for professional sportsmen to be in such bad shape as ours were this season. Do we have a fitness coach at the club? And if we have doubts about the fitness of potential signings, then don't sign them!

6) PRIORITISE SCOUTING
Do we have people out there looking for the best talent in the two leagues below us? And have them looking for people specifically in the positions we need, rather than signing 18 centre-mids because someone recommended them.

7) WORK TOWARDS AN EVEN BALANCE SHEET
This one will kill us if we don't get it right soon. If Accrington and Exeter can do it, why can't we? With Hemmings, Enzio & Kellet etc still on the wage bill we probably can't get there for a season or two. But we can work towards it.

8) TRY AND SET CONSISTENT FORMATIONS ACROSS THE 1ST TEAM, RESERVES AND YOUTH
We may already do this? But if our manager next season wants to play 442 or 433 or 352 then we should get the other teams to adopt that format too. It's less important for the reserves and youth teams to win games than it is to breed 1st team ready players.

9) DON'T ABANDON SENIOR PLAYERS AFTER A FEW BAD GAMES
Vaughan, Kellet, Dennis, Enzio - all expensive signings and yet barely a full season between them. If they have a bad game or two, stick them on the bench and give them 15mins here and there to get their mojo back.

10) GIVE US SOMETHING TO CHEER AT HOME
Our fans were brilliant this season, especially towards the end. But we saw so little fight in so many games at home. We need and deserve more at Meadow Lane next season.

What other rules would you like to see installed as part of the fabric of our club?

Other than 9 ( those players were stuck with except Vaughn who didnt deserve it) the others werent fit enough I think I would like to see you send that to the South Africans via Scoop who is now best mates with them.

[sidders]

An important factor in our demise is that only 9 seasons in the last 25 has a manger been in place for the whole season.

In fact get rid of the manger and the straw. Modernise the set-up with a cradle from IKEA

[SwalePie]

In fact get rid of the manger and the straw. Modernise the set-up with a cradle from IKEA

Strong and stable plan.

[since41]

It'll never work without three wise men though.

[SwalePie]

It'll never work without three wise men though.

Two wide men might help too.

[jscarr]

Some things I'd add

- Have a style of play in mind and look to bring in a manager that plays that way. Incase if things don't work out, the next manager will still be able to utilise the players we have.
- Managers to be given at least a full season - (Unless absolutely catastrophic)
-Look to build positive relationships with larger clubs in our region, so we can recruit their best young players on loan deals.
- Have a decent level of aerial ability in the squad to help at set pieces
- Avoid signing injury prone players

[DaveSmithRules]

2) GIVE OUR YOUNG PLAYERS A CHANCE and 3) BRING IN PLAYERS ON THE WAY UP make 9) DON'T ABANDON SENIOR PLAYERS AFTER A FEW BAD GAMES irrelevant. I think 9 is the ony one I disagree with. People have to earn their place, keeping senior players happy has relegated this club.

I hear you. I guess what I want us to avoid in future is to bring in expensive players like Kellet and then only give him 3 lots of 3-4 games over a year. Which we did this season.

He's still fairly young and clearly got some talent. But I think he's stuck between a rock and a hard place on a big contract with a club that don't want or know where to play him.

We need to avoid carrying passengers like this in future, but then if the other rules were followed about fitness, recruitment and a system of play we probably wouldn't be doing that anyway.

[DaveSmithRules]

Some things I'd add

- Have a style of play in mind and look to bring in a manager that plays that way. Incase if things don't work out, the next manager will still be able to utilise the players we have.
- Managers to be given at least a full season - (Unless absolutely catastrophic)
-Look to build positive relationships with larger clubs in our region, so we can recruit their best young players on loan deals.
- Have a decent level of aerial ability in the squad to help at set pieces
- Avoid signing injury prone players

Yep. I agree with all these too.

[Chinola]

Actually have a scouting network

[jscarr]

Yep. I agree with all these too.

It's all common sense. It's crazy how some clubs, including ours our run.

[60YearsAPie]

An important factor in our demise is that only 9 seasons in the last 25 has a manger been in place for the whole season.


In fact get rid of the manger and the straw. Modernise the set-up with a cradle from IKEA


Strong and stable plan.


It'll never work without three wise men though.

:rolleyes:

[MagpieMike]

How about:
Only employ wingers who can run, cross the ball, and find the net.
Sign a dead ball specialist for free kicks and corners
Only sign players committed to live close to the club

[60YearsAPie]

How about:
Only employ wingers who can run, cross the ball, and find the net.
Sign a dead ball specialist for free kicks and corners
Only sign players committed to live close to the club

Can anyone remember us having a regular free-kick and corner taker in the past as poor as Doyle has been this season?

[MagpieMike]

Can anyone remember us having a regular free-kick and corner taker in the past as poor as Doyle has been this season?

Nope. Sheehan back as left back and free kick and corner taker anyone?

[Chicken Balti Pie]

Nope. Sheehan back as left back and free kick and corner taker anyone?

Why would he drop to the national league from the championship?

[i961pie]

Can anyone remember us having a regular free-kick and corner taker in the past as poor as Doyle has been this season?

Yes Liam Noble, although I do remember him scoring from a free kick