Positivity thread

[MagpieNate]

I know this is going to be too soon for some and maybe easier for myself to stomach, as I couldn’t attend so was able to switch the radio off at 4-1 and get on my my day. But, today really only confirmed what we already knew.

Mansfield are a top side this year. I stand by what I said at the start of the season. Finish above then and you will be promoted.

We haven’t yet got the squad depth to compete at this level all year.

We likely will need to adapt our system and the players in it to become a compact side.

You either believe in our owners recruitment strategy and the Luke Williams’ tactical brain or you don’t. I firmly believe in both. Maybe we’ll be lucky with injuries and get promoted without any changes. Maybe we’ll fall away from the top 3 and if so I have no doubt we’ll be active in January to improve the squad.

**** start to the weekend but not the end of the world.

COYP

[marky]

I still think we can be promoted this season but I'm not as confident as I was before today.
Mansfield have now played all the other teams at the top and haven't lost any of them so it looks like they'll go up.
That's my effort at positivity anyway.

[Carlton_Pie]

I know this is going to be too soon for some and maybe easier for myself to stomach, as I couldn’t attend so was able to switch the radio off at 4-1 and get on my my day. But, today really only confirmed what we already knew.

Mansfield are a top side this year. I stand by what I said at the start of the season. Finish above then and you will be promoted.

We haven’t yet got the squad depth to compete at this level all year.

We likely will need to adapt our system and the players in it to become a compact side.

You either believe in our owners recruitment strategy and the Luke Williams’ tactical brain or you don’t. I firmly believe in both. Maybe we’ll be lucky with injuries and get promoted without any changes. Maybe we’ll fall away from the top 3 and if so I have no doubt we’ll be active in January to improve the squad.

**** start to the weekend but not the end of the world.

COYP

100% this.

We lost a game of football, we weren't very good but the opposition were.

We don't need to rip it up and start again, just be patient and trust the recruitment model to improve us.

[countygump]

I know this is going to be too soon for some and maybe easier for myself to stomach, as I couldn’t attend so was able to switch the radio off at 4-1 and get on my my day. But, today really only confirmed what we already knew.

Mansfield are a top side this year. I stand by what I said at the start of the season. Finish above then and you will be promoted.

We haven’t yet got the squad depth to compete at this level all year.

We likely will need to adapt our system and the players in it to become a compact side.

You either believe in our owners recruitment strategy and the Luke Williams’ tactical brain or you don’t. I firmly believe in both. Maybe we’ll be lucky with injuries and get promoted without any changes. Maybe we’ll fall away from the top 3 and if so I have no doubt we’ll be active in January to improve the squad.

**** start to the weekend but not the end of the world.

COYP

OK, I'll play. I'm positive we were cr@p today. XD>:);D

[The_Don_ORiordan]

We needed to strengthen following promotion. Only one area hasn’t been, and it shows.

We need to pick up as many points until January when this can be addressed and hope we don’t get a lot more injuries.

That’s as positive as I can get today.

[Elite_Pie]

There are plenty of positives to take from the season so far, but not a single one from today's game.

[OP67]

We're still above Mansfield and will be at the end of play today.

No stopping Stockport though.

[OP67]

We needed to strengthen following promotion. Only one area hasn’t been, and it shows.

We need to pick up as many points until January when this can be addressed and hope we don’t get a lot more injuries.

That’s as positive as I can get today.

Spot on, how can LW not see that when we've been saying it for years?

[jackal2]

Take today's result out of the equation and if you had told most of us at the start of the season that we would be in the top three (or thereabouts) in mid-October with 24 points on the board and we would have been delighted. Every team on an upward journey gets reality checks and learning opportunities along the way, and today was an example. It tells us not to get carried way, but also how far we've come.

Losing 1-4 at home to Woking a couple of years ago didn't stop us getting to where we are now.

[upthemaggies]

Fword won't be adding anything to their points tally this weekend.

[uysapie]

Spot on, how can LW not see that when we've been saying it for years?

Misguided loyalty to players who arn't good enough and not realising the the step up in quality in this League?

[Iremongersrighthand]

I guess we need to see a reaction against Gillingham next week.

[BigFatPie]

Put the 80 grand we got off the Slags today towards a new centre half?

[Carlton_Pie]

Spot on, how can LW not see that when we've been saying it for years?

They did strengthen the top end of the pitch and the Club strategy was not to completely rip the squad apart following promotion.

We also need to remember the owners strategy, it has never been to over spend but incrementally improve the team year on year which has been very successful so far. I don't expect Notts to be promoted this season but improve year on year until we are good enough.

[durhampie]

100% this.

We lost a game of football, we weren't very good but the opposition were.

We don't need to rip it up and start again, just be patient and trust the recruitment model to improve us.

We are still playing the same way as we did in the National League with pretty much the same defence, and we have now been found out. LW seems to be reluctant to change what we do, and its about time he realised that playing short corners achieves sod all. Also, was he right in saying Forest Green Rovers were a good side ????
Hopefully, when the January window opens, we will sign 2 new 6ft 5 defenders, a new goal keeper and a ball winning midfielder, not some other midget. I feel sorry for Macca, he never gets any decent service, as we are mostly knocking the ball around our own penalty area..

[Magpies1959]

Maybe a sesson of consolidation will be better for us, meaning we can add players needed more gradually, rather than having to replace eight or nine players at once.
I still think we will be around the play offs though.

[Carlton_Pie]

We are still playing the same way as we did in the National League with pretty much the same defence, and we have now been found out. LW seems to be reluctant to change what we do, and its about time he realised that playing short corners achieves sod all. Also, was he right in saying Forest Green Rovers were a good side ????
Hopefully, when the January window opens, we will sign 2 new 6ft 5 defenders, a new goal keeper and a ball winning midfielder, not some other midget. I feel sorry for Macca, he never gets any decent service, as we are mostly knocking the ball around our own penalty area..


Agree with those signings required and I'm sure they will come but not all at once. We've hardly been found out sat 2nd after being promoted to the division

[PedroTheFisherman66]

We missed Cameron! Rawlinson left of a back 3 ...never again please.We should have had chicksen there !! Every time Rawlo got the ball it was only going one way back across the back line that were already being closed down !!

[durhampie]

Agree with those signings required and I'm sure they will come but not all at once. We've hardly been found out sat 2nd after being promoted to the division

We have been very lucky. Forest Green Rovers , Tranmere and Swindon all were unlucky not to have taken points from us. Then there was Sutton, who haven't won a game since and then the shambles at Colchester... We have been top of the league purely by luck...

[nw6pie]

We missed Cameron! Rawlinson left of a back 3 ...never again please.We should have had chicksen there !! Every time Rawlo got the ball it was only going one way back across the back line that were already being closed down !!

I actually thought Rawlinson did okay today playing out of position, Brindley was the one who kept going backwards in the back three. Given that Chicksen wasn’t even on the bench, I assume he was injured and we had very few options on the left (especially with Randall injured again).

[marshall55]

Spot on, how can LW not see that when we've been saying it for years?

Luke doesn't recruit, he's given what he's got and told to get on with it.

[Davy500]

We missed Cameron! Rawlinson left of a back 3 ...never again please.We should have had chicksen there !! Every time Rawlo got the ball it was only going one way back across the back line that were already being closed down !!

Just got back from the match
Well we were not at full strength today as Cameron and Jones were out and Baldwin went off early in the second half, all key players that got us promoted in the first place

We started well, scored the goal then just sat back, a little like Barrow the week before. The amount of times the ball was passed back to Slocambe was crazy. There was no urgency to get forward, nothing
I said at half time to other supporters , if we carry on messing about we will lose, what made it worse the damage came from 2 set piece corners, its basic bread and butter you got to get to the ball first, yet we Notts were just standing watching

Positive is , i think Mansfield were fortunate to win 4-1 mainly due to 2 poor set pieces , we had key players missing, and one just hours before the match, we were the architects of our on downfall backing off, chalk it up to a bad day at the office, we move on

[1955pie]

[QUOTE=OP67;40371440]Spot on, how can LW not see that when we've been saying it for years?[/QUOTE
Luke doesn't recruit, he's given what he's got and told to get on with it.

This is what worries me. If the club don’t come up with what is required then he will be off.

[macse15]

Perhaps he sees the bigger picture and won’t throw his toys out the pram after every bump in the road

[legs77]

Perhaps he sees the bigger picture and won’t throw his toys out the pram after every bump in the road

Yep and I knew some of our fans would react like this when we had a blip/beating.

Some have an arrogance we should go up but we've been in these lower leagues for years and its not easy.

Im confident we'll finish top half but some will see it as failure but I dont you need to build a platform which we have done each season under these owners.

Last thing we want is fans getting angry and our owners walking away this model they have is good.

[Magpies1959]

Top of the league, purely by luck. Comedy gold.
This is hopefully as weak as we are going to be, against the best side we have played. I am not sure how you defend a corner straight onto the head of the tallest player on the pitches head.
I thought Rawlinson was great today, on his weaker side.
A lot of misplaced passes in midfield, and poor clearances from SS, handed Mansfield the initiative, too many times.

[legs77]

We have been very lucky. Forest Green Rovers , Tranmere and Swindon all were unlucky not to have taken points from us. Then there was Sutton, who haven't won a game since and then the shambles at Colchester... We have been top of the league purely by luck...

Yeah ok FGR unlucky 🤣🤣🤣

Tranmere were playing 10 men dont forget and we bossed the game.

Swindon are a good side for this level watch that first half again and tell me we should have been 5-0 up nevermind 3-0.

Sutton played against 10 men for 75 minutes lets not forget but it could been what we needed.

Colchester agreed we were crap

[Carlton_Pie]

[QUOTE=marshall55;40371485]

This is what worries me. If the club don’t come up with what is required then he will be off.

When have the owners not backed the manager?

[Magpies1959]

Just to add, I thought our fans started to show their true colours today, by turning on the team, very embarrassing after all the credit they have put in the bank.

[macse15]

Agree 1959! (Don’t say that very often! lol). It’s natural to be disappointed but this is when you support the team/ the club not tear them to shreds

[nw6pie]

Just to add, I thought our fans started to show their true colours today, by turning on the team, very embarrassing after all the credit they have put in the bank.

Fans get frustrated when their team isn’t playing well, not sure if ours are that different to those of other clubs. That said, there are some real miserable buggers near me in the Pavis Stand who seem to derive their only pleasure from moaning for 90 minutes.

[Elite_Pie]

I am not sure how you defend a corner straight onto the head of the tallest player on the pitches head.

Simple, you offer a challenge rather than give him a free header.

[Davy500]

Just to add, I thought our fans started to show their true colours today, by turning on the team, very embarrassing after all the credit they have put in the bank.

I cant speak for others. But for me just a bad day at office, we were missing several key players, just seem to give up after taking the lead, and poor defending from set pieces credited the stags with a good win- for me i dont buy all this nonsense stags are best team ever, they just got lucky today, most times they dont, and it will not be long before they are beaten prob by a team in the bottom half of table - thats football
As i said we move on ..

[SwalePie]

We have been very lucky. Forest Green Rovers , Tranmere and Swindon all were unlucky not to have taken points from us. Then there was Sutton, who haven't won a game since and then the shambles at Colchester... We have been top of the league purely by luck...

That has to be comment of the day!

[Magpies1959]

EP, so you offer a challenging but can't get higher than the tallest player on the pitch, are you happy. Sometimes, set pieces are unstoppable. I am not saying our defending set pieces couldn't improve, but their second goal was perfection.

[Davy500]

EP, so you offer a challenging but can't get higher than the tallest player on the pitch, are you happy. Sometimes, set pieces are unstoppable. I am not saying our defending set pieces couldn't improve, but their second goal was perfection.

Even the stags supporters said this on their forum, how they were fortunate the ball had just dropped on for them in both halves

[matt_magpie]

That has to be comment of the day!

Absolute gold

[Bunks5]

Top of the league, purely by luck. Comedy gold.
This is hopefully as weak as we are going to be, against the best side we have played. I am not sure how you defend a corner straight onto the head of the tallest player on the pitches head.
I thought Rawlinson was great today, on his weaker side.
A lot of misplaced passes in midfield, and poor clearances from SS, handed Mansfield the initiative, too many times.

Goalkeeper could come off his line and punch the ball away from danger….simple!

[durhampie]

Yeah ok FGR unlucky 🤣🤣🤣

Tranmere were playing 10 men dont forget and we bossed the game.

Swindon are a good side for this level watch that first half again and tell me we should have been 5-0 up nevermind 3-0.

Sutton played against 10 men for 75 minutes lets not forget but it could been what we needed.

Colchester agreed we were crap

We were also crap at Barrow..

[Elite_Pie]

EP, so you offer a challenging but can't get higher than the tallest player on the pitch, are you happy. Sometimes, set pieces are unstoppable. I am not saying our defending set pieces couldn't improve, but their second goal was perfection.

Pretty much every team we play has taller players attacking corners.

Their second goal wasn't perfection, it was piss poor defending.

[OP67]

Goalkeeper could come off his line and punch the ball away from danger….simple!

Exactly this, remember the days keepers would clear the ball with a punch and clatter the player just for good measure. Neither of our keepers command the area and just leave it for the defenders!!

[Magpies1959]

Not a brilliant set piece at all then..

[countygump]

Exactly this, remember the days keepers would clear the ball with a punch and clatter the player just for good measure. Neither of our keepers command the area and just leave it for the defenders!!

We've had some cracking keepers at Notts in the past. I'd snap your hand off for Archie Mair, ATMIT XD

[Elite_Pie]

Not a brilliant set piece at all then..

Looking at the replay, Baldwin offers a half-hearted challenge but waits for the ball to come to him where their player actually attacks the ball with intent. If you want to see it a brilliant set piece then do so by all means, to me it was pathetic defending.

[legs77]

We were also crap at Barrow..

Reading your comments im getting more confident with how good we are.

We are so bad yet we are 2nd in the table cant wait till we play well we might finish 1st !

[PedroTheFisherman66]

I actually thought Rawlinson did okay today playing out of position, Brindley was the one who kept going backwards in the back three. Given that Chicksen wasn’t even on the bench, I assume he was injured and we had very few options on the left (especially with Randall injured again).

1st half possibly.. 2nd half we had been sussed.Every time it ended up at Rawlinson feet he couldn't play it out wide because of his limitations. His only option was to play it back across the already hampered back line.it seems we didn't have the personnel to play a back 3.We should have gone 442...I also font know why he didnt give Morias a Run out when the game was gone, he needs game time !

[queenslandpie]

We are still playing the same way as we did in the National League with pretty much the same defence, and we have now been found out. LW seems to be reluctant to change what we do, and its about time he realised that playing short corners achieves sod all. Also, was he right in saying Forest Green Rovers were a good side ????
Hopefully, when the January window opens, we will sign 2 new 6ft 5 defenders, a new goal keeper and a ball winning midfielder, not some other midget. I feel sorry for Macca, he never gets any decent service, as we are mostly knocking the ball around our own penalty area..

Forest Green won 5-0 today against a team who put4 past us. So I would trust Lukes opinion over yours my friend.

LW does not hire the defenders. If you haven't worked that bit out yet I am a little surprised. We will look for a certain type of defender and I bet we have looked a lot and not found what we are looking for who will play in L2 as we ask so much more from the defenders than most teams at this level do. As a result they have other significant imperfections that are considerably highlighted when playing one of the if not the best team in the division. We do need new defenders but 2 new "6ft 5 defenders"....will you be moaning when they stating booting it aimlessly forward?

[queenslandpie]

That has to be comment of the day!

The ramblings of an idiot based on that post. I saw all of those games and we got the points we deserved in each one. How anyone could think any different is absolutely beyond me. Schooled today mind you.

[durhampie]

Reading your comments im getting more confident with how good we are.

We are so bad yet we are 2nd in the table cant wait till we play well we might finish 1st !

We have become a one trick pony team, and any decent opposing coach will Know how to beat us.. Substitutions are always made on the 65th minute, and more often than not they are followed by conceding a goal...Our corners are a complete waste of time, and the ball generally ends up back with our keeper.. On throwing's no one moves for the ball, its the same every game..

[legs77]

We have become a one trick pony team, and any decent opposing coach will Know how to beat us.. Substitutions are always made on the 65th minute, and more often than not they are followed by conceding a goal...Our corners are a complete waste of time, and the ball generally ends up back with our keeper.. On throwing's no one moves for the ball, its the same every game..

Everyone knows what Man City will do stopping it isnt easy though is it.

We were poor today and got what we deserved no dressing it any other way.

Its not the end of the world and its worth remembeting most teams wont be as good as Mansfield.

[queenslandpie]

Postivity thread. Sun is shining. Sunday morning and no hangover. walked dog. No kids commitments. My 11 year old is a Notts fan at last after a bit of trying. She became keen when I took her to the navigation earlier this year to watch Notts Wrexham. She's getting a shirt for Christmas. Luke Williams is our manager, we have fantastic owners and nearly 17k at Meadow Lane.

[ncfcog]

Just posted on Elons new toy that Wrexham at home is my 58th Birthday weekend. Like most on here I’ve seen pretty much everything football can throw at you as a Notts fan. Wouldn’t change a thing.

[uysapie]

Glad that I missed this one.

[i961pie]

Misguided loyalty to players who arn't good enough and not realising the the step up in quality in this League?

That often happens to teams that get promoted to the prem. they stick by their squad or buy championship quality players and struggle or go straight back down.
There was a thread on here recently asking are we missing Reuben and Reuben who? Mainly because Crowley is playing so well but of course we are missing him he is a very talented player. The question is he missing us? Obviously not he’s stepped up 2 leagues from where he was last season playing against and with better players and his team are 1 point off the top with a game in hand. I would have loved to have seen him playing for us this season we miss his creavtive skills.

[Proactive not Reactive]

We have become a one trick pony team, and any decent opposing coach will Know how to beat us.. Substitutions are always made on the 65th minute, and more often than not they are followed by conceding a goal...Our corners are a complete waste of time, and the ball generally ends up back with our keeper.. On throwing's no one moves for the ball, its the same every game..

Again you made stupid comments on here and just to add to that we made two subs today 57 minutes(for an injury) and 75 minutes
Corners aren’t a waste of time LW has explained why we don’t lump it in the middle and we have scored goals by keeping possession.
Today movement from Palmer,Bostock and McGoldrick at throw ins was a lot better.
We are generally a one trick pony possession based football team and won’t change from that whilst we have our current owners(so when we lose and you have your general moan you can keep saying that 😜) our plan B is going long to McGoldrick which didn’t work because of the size of the Mansfield defence and plan C is the defenders come forward with the ball to create space which they didn’t do nearly enough today (whether that was LW’s tactics or lack of bravery on the players parts)

[MAD_MAGPIE]

Misguided loyalty to players who arn't good enough and not realising the the step up in quality in this League?

Anyone who knows a Sheff Wed fan will tell you what happens when you rip up the team that gets you promoted. They have done that and it’s killed the momentum and they are bottom of the championship and have lost their manager. So it looks like a season of struggle for them. I’m not saying we would have ended up in the same situation it’s a fine balancing act.

We only see what players bring to the pitch and not what they bring to the team in the dressing room. A dressing rooms culture is massive. Likewise the budget is what it is. What was the point of not offering players contracts who got us to where we are to buy in similar quality players? Again that kind of thing used to happen in the past under previous owners. Massive turnaround of players coming in and out of the door who were no better than those that left.

I believe the club did right had morales and principles and showed loyalty to those who stuck by us in our NL days and got us to this level. The club have given them a platform to prove they are capable at playing at this level. If it proves that we need to strengthen then gradually I believe that will happen with the recruitment we make.

It’s season one back in the EFL. Let’s be patient like we were in the NL and in time I believe we will get stronger and better to the point that we will get promoted to league one. Yesterday showed that in a one off we fell short of competing with the best at this level. The season is 46 games long and that is when the full judgement can be made as to how good we are at this level.

[Magpies1959]

That misguided loyalty has seen us to the top of the league. Even if these players cannot prove good enough over a period of time, it sends out a good image of the club, which would make it more of an attractive proposition for future recruitment.

[tommopie8]

That misguided loyalty has seen us to the top of the league. Even if these players cannot prove good enough over a period of time, it sends out a good image of the club, which would make it more of an attractive proposition for future recruitment.

I wouldn't call it misguided loyalty, I'd just say that too much is being expected of players who should be bit-part players to bulk the squad up.

Yesterday we were missing Randall, Chicksen, Bajrami, Scott, Jones and Cameron.

That's all our natural left-sided options ruled out. Bostock went off injured so he's potentially to be added to the list.

We knew we were guaranteed to play at least 51 matches this year and we've gone far too lean and we're already feeling the pinch. The bench yesterday looked weak when compared to most we had last season. In this league, against yesterday's opponents - it's basically tying LWs hands behind his back. However, he had Adebayo who is infinitely better than Nemane at winning headers and by the time he was introduced we'd already given Mansfield the game from 2 set-pieces after going long repeatedly towards Nemane.

LW reiterated the lack of involvement he had in recruitment over the summer and if I was turning around yesterday and looking at what options I had in the second-half I wouldn't be best pleased.

[upthemaggies]

Sticking with the squad that got us up has traditionally worked out better for us than making a lot of changes to the regular 11 from day 1....

1971 Willie Carlin was the only new player that started regularly,
1973 Probert
1981 Chiedozie and Lahtinen
1990 Chris Short (followed by Harding and Regis at the end of September),
1991 Dryden
1998 Liburd, Owers, Murray, Tierney, Garcia, Fairclough - also Chris Billy who strangely left in September.
2010 Nelson, Harley, Pearce, Chilvers, Judge, Spicer, Burgess

The last three of those post promotion seasons were the one's where we struggled, 91 being the top flight season of course.
The difference these days is that there is a transfer window, so if it doesn't work out there's nothing you can do about it until January. Also we had young players coming through the ranks before the 2010s.

[Davy500]

Anyone who knows a Sheff Wed fan will tell you what happens when you rip up the team that gets you promoted. They have done that and it’s killed the momentum and they are bottom of the championship and have lost their manager. So it looks like a season of struggle for them. I’m not saying we would have ended up in the same situation it’s a fine balancing act.

We only see what players bring to the pitch and not what they bring to the team in the dressing room. A dressing rooms culture is massive. Likewise the budget is what it is. What was the point of not offering players contracts who got us to where we are to buy in similar quality players? Again that kind of thing used to happen in the past under previous owners. Massive turnaround of players coming in and out of the door who were no better than those that left.

I believe the club did right had morales and principles and showed loyalty to those who stuck by us in our NL days and got us to this level. The club have given them a platform to prove they are capable at playing at this level. If it proves that we need to strengthen then gradually I believe that will happen with the recruitment we make.

It’s season one back in the EFL. Let’s be patient like we were in the NL and in time I believe we will get stronger and better to the point that we will get promoted to league one. Yesterday showed that in a one off we fell short of competing with the best at this level. The season is 46 games long and that is when the full judgement can be made as to how good we are at this level.

First of all i do not agree mansfield are the best at this level, there is no evidense to back this up
i do agree with you that we will get stronger bit by bit, it took us 4 yearts to get out of the NL, i would be astounded if we are not in League 1 in 4 years, we have the right owners with a clear plan and vision for the future, they will adress the weaknesses in our squad as time goes on, so a bump in the road yesterday and in other games, will have little significance in the long run

[Davy500]

That often happens to teams that get promoted to the prem. they stick by their squad or buy championship quality players and struggle or go straight back down.
There was a thread on here recently asking are we missing Reuben and Reuben who? Mainly because Crowley is playing so well but of course we are missing him he is a very talented player. The question is he missing us? Obviously not he’s stepped up 2 leagues from where he was last season playing against and with better players and his team are 1 point off the top with a game in hand. I would have loved to have seen him playing for us this season we miss his creavtive skills.

Reuban has only stepped up one level as he would have been playing for us in L2 this year

[Large_Fries]

Reuban has only stepped up one level as he would have been playing for us in L2 this year

Have our players stepped up a level from last season? Are Oxford not a level above us?

[jackal2]

Postivity thread. Sun is shining. Sunday morning and no hangover. walked dog. No kids commitments. My 11 year old is a Notts fan at last after a bit of trying. She became keen when I took her to the navigation earlier this year to watch Notts Wrexham. She's getting a shirt for Christmas. Luke Williams is our manager, we have fantastic owners and nearly 17k at Meadow Lane.

And we're only one win and one Stockport defeat away from going back top of the league in a season where most (realistic) Notts fans would regard safety as the first aim and a position anywhere in the top half of the table to be a good first season back. Even if we are destined for a dip in form, we've already got more credit (i.e. points) in the bank than most would have expected at this stage.

I think there was even a positive to be taken out of yesterday's game in terms of informing the next round of recruitment. Mansfield showed that they could play football as well as us, as you expect from a Nigel Clough team, but where they were better than us was their physicality. They had taller, stronger players in a number of positions and it was therefore an excellent tactic to go man-for-man. They won virtually all of the headers and most of the challenges on the ground, and if you do that, the opposition will never have enough control of the ball to pose a consistent threat. They bullied us, not least at the corners leading to two of the goals. We looked a physically smaller and ultimately weaker team.

The lesson from that, as we seek to build a team that can not only win promotion from League Two but also thrive in League one, is that we need to recruit some players with more height and physicality down the spine of the team. I'm not talking about a 'bunch of cloggers' - every player we sign must have the ability to control and pass a ball or they wouldn't work in our style - but small, gifted players like Dan Crowley need enforcers around them to win the ball and then pass it to creative talents like him. If Crowley is our Bernardo Silva, we need a Rodri too. We also need a truly dominant centre-half, which Mansfield have for example in Aden Flint, and a traditional centre-forward who can win and hold the ball high up the park and allow us still to play against those opponents who prevent us playing out from the back. Slocombe's distribution yesterday left something to be desired, but to be fair he really had no target to hit.

If yesterday's experience leads us to recruit players of this type, gradually over the next two or three transfer windows, then we can evolve into the type of team that beat us yesterday, without compromising our philosophy of playing attractive football. Under the Reedtz brothers it has all been about sustainable evolution rather bank-busting revolution, and so it should continue. Yes, we want to win promotion as soon as we can, but when we achieve it, we want to have a team ready to compete in League One, and yesterday showed we're not at that stage yet.

[durhampie]

Again you made stupid comments on here and just to add to that we made two subs today 57 minutes(for an injury) and 75 minutes
Corners aren’t a waste of time LW has explained why we don’t lump it in the middle and we have scored goals by keeping possession.
Today movement from Palmer,Bostock and McGoldrick at throw ins was a lot better.
We are generally a one trick pony possession based football team and won’t change from that whilst we have our current owners(so when we lose and you have your general moan you can keep saying that 😜) our plan B is going long to McGoldrick which didn’t work because of the size of the Mansfield defence and plan C is the defenders come forward with the ball to create space which they didn’t do nearly enough today (whether that was LW’s tactics or lack of bravery on the players parts)

When have i ever said that we should lump the ball forward ? This is you making stupid comments again.. We need to stop passing the ball aimlessly around the back and move it forward more quickly. If you were at the game you would have seen TAR told to get ready to go on, The clock said 66 minutes. The substitution was delayed due to on goings on the pitch. Otherwise It was LW intention to make the substitution at his normal time....

[matt_magpie]

When have i ever said that we should lump the ball forward ? This is you making stupid comments again.. We need to stop passing the ball aimlessly around the back and move it forward more quickly. If you were at the game you would have seen TAR told to get ready to go on, The clock said 66 minutes. The substitution was delayed due to on goings on the pitch. Otherwise It was LW intention to make the substitution at his normal time....

Tbf we were going proactively long first couple of home games as I remember as I was quite surprised and it seemed to mix up things nicely.
It was a bit deflating yesterday but they’re a long established well performing team/club at this level now.
Both us and Wrexham have shipped some goals with Wrexham having the big centre backs and playing longer too.

I think reality is a lot of teams were far less equipped in the NL in comparison to some of the L2 outfits and we are just adjusting and finding out the hard way at times.
That said both us and Wrexham are up there which is a credit to both clubs and now it’s how we learn and adapt and where we will find out if LW is truly as good as we think, if we finish top 7 I will say he is.

[irish_pie]

The worst weekend of sport I can ever remember in my life, my national team out of the qualifying for the Euros, my Rugby team out in the quarters of the world cup and Notts hammered by our 6 fingers friends from over the road...a weekend to forget :(

[The Dug Out]

Drogheda United have rejected two bids for defender Conor Keeley, there was a rumour that we had done a deal with him as he was a free agent when the Irish league finished, wonder if hes in the pipeline for january?.

[Davy500]

And we're only one win and one Stockport defeat away from going back top of the league in a season where most (realistic) Notts fans would regard safety as the first aim and a position anywhere in the top half of the table to be a good first season back. Even if we are destined for a dip in form, we've already got more credit (i.e. points) in the bank than most would have expected at this stage.

I think there was even a positive to be taken out of yesterday's game in terms of informing the next round of recruitment. Mansfield showed that they could play football as well as us, as you expect from a Nigel Clough team, but where they were better than us was their physicality. They had taller, stronger players in a number of positions and it was therefore an excellent tactic to go man-for-man. They won virtually all of the headers and most of the challenges on the ground, and if you do that, the opposition will never have enough control of the ball to pose a consistent threat. They bullied us, not least at the corners leading to two of the goals. We looked a physically smaller and ultimately weaker team.

The lesson from that, as we seek to build a team that can not only win promotion from League Two but also thrive in League one, is that we need to recruit some players with more height and physicality down the spine of the team. I'm not talking about a 'bunch of cloggers' - every player we sign must have the ability to control and pass a ball or they wouldn't work in our style - but small, gifted players like Dan Crowley need enforcers around them to win the ball and then pass it to creative talents like him. If Crowley is our Bernardo Silva, we need a Rodri too. We also need a truly dominant centre-half, which Mansfield have for example in Aden Flint, and a traditional centre-forward who can win and hold the ball high up the park and allow us still to play against those opponents who prevent us playing out from the back. Slocombe's distribution yesterday left something to be desired, but to be fair he really had no target to hit.

If yesterday's experience leads us to recruit players of this type, gradually over the next two or three transfer windows, then we can evolve into the type of team that beat us yesterday, without compromising our philosophy of playing attractive football. Under the Reedtz brothers it has all been about sustainable evolution rather bank-busting revolution, and so it should continue. Yes, we want to win promotion as soon as we can, but when we achieve it, we want to have a team ready to compete in League One, and yesterday showed we're not at that stage yet.

I felt a bit sorry for Slocambe yesterday, finally gets his chance to reclaim no 1 shirt, and a very poor display from the rest of the team
Even in the first half, i have never seen the ball passed back to the keeper on so many occasions , Slocambe must have been one of our busiest players-

[durhampie]

Drogheda United have rejected two bids for defender Conor Keeley, there was a rumour that we had done a deal with him as he was a free agent when the Irish league finished, wonder if hes in the pipeline for january?.

I was told it was a done deal. He is 6ft 6in, just what we need...

[1955pie]

Drogheda United have rejected two bids for defender Conor Keeley, there was a rumour that we had done a deal with him as he was a free agent when the Irish league finished, wonder if hes in the pipeline for january?.

His contract finishes at the end of November, so if he is still interested it could be sooner.

[marky]

His contract finishes at the end of November, so if he is still interested it could be sooner.

Can't be any worse than what we have defensively at the moment.

[Davy500]

Believe me it could have been worse, we could have been in the NL still, and got battered 4-1 by Wealdstone

[Proactive not Reactive]

When have i ever said that we should lump the ball forward ? This is you making stupid comments again.. We need to stop passing the ball aimlessly around the back and move it forward more quickly. If you were at the game you would have seen TAR told to get ready to go on, The clock said 66 minutes. The substitution was delayed due to on goings on the pitch. Otherwise It was LW intention to make the substitution at his normal time....

I didn’t say you said lump it forward,I said there was no point lumping corners into the middle as you were moaning(shocker) about the short corners.
I was at the game and saw TAR was ready earlier but not 9 minutes ? but even if LW’s preferred time of substitutions is 20-25 minutes of the 2nd half I would say that’s a very popular time(Used to be my favourite time as a manager) because you pick what you think is your best side for the day so you give them the first half(unless it’s been disastrous) then you give them 15-20 minutes after your team talk to see if they have taken on board what you have said.
Then at 65-70 minutes there is still time for the sub to influence the game

[durhampie]

I didn’t say you said lump it forward,I said there was no point lumping corners into the middle as you were moaning(shocker) about the short corners.
I was at the game and saw TAR was ready earlier but not 9 minutes ? but even if LW’s preferred time of substitutions is 20-25 minutes of the 2nd half I would say that’s a very popular time(Used to be my favourite time as a manager) because you pick what you think is your best side for the day so you give them the first half(unless it’s been disastrous) then you give them 15-20 minutes after your team talk to see if they have taken on board what you have said.
Then at 65-70 minutes there is still time for the sub to influence the game

He normally makes either 2 or 3 substitutions around the 65 min mark, this usually disrupts the pattern of play and we end up conceding a goal. And you are happy with that....His ridiculous mass substitutions have cost us the services of Scott for the whole season

[CamPie]

He normally makes either 2 or 3 substitutions around the 65 min mark, this usually disrupts the pattern of play and we end up conceding a goal. And you are happy with that....His ridiculous mass substitutions have cost us the services of Scott for the whole season

Not taking either side of the argument about sub timings, as I don’t really know the best time, but to me for a tactical sub to be effective you need to give them time - so either half-time or 2/3rds of the way through makes sense. I took a look at NCS stats to see if the goals against supported Durhams point here and we’ve actually scored 9 and conceded 5 in the 61-75 minute segment of the game, but we have also conceded 6 and 2 scored in the last 15 minutes. So not sure that supports the argument either way of the team being disrupted.

[legs77]

He normally makes either 2 or 3 substitutions around the 65 min mark, this usually disrupts the pattern of play and we end up conceding a goal. And you are happy with that....His ridiculous mass substitutions have cost us the services of Scott for the whole season

Where have you got Scott is out for the season from ??

Also he makes changes probably based on our pressing style and the data that we monitor during the game.

You cant flog the same 11 every game as you will burn out and squad players not be happy if never selected.

[Magpies1959]

Nah let's burn all our top players out, to muscle injuries, as we have such a massive squad to pick from.
Please explain, why mass substitutions cost us Scott being out for the foreseable.

[durhampie]

Nah let's burn all our top players out, to muscle injuries, as we have such a massive squad to pick from.
Please explain, why mass substitutions cost us Scott being out for the foreseable.

LW put on the last of our remaining substitutes with 25 + minutes of the game left. Scott injured his knee shortly after coming on and should have been taken off straight away. He was left on as we would have had to play the remaining game with 10 men. His injury became worse, and now he wont play again this season.. Any decent coaching staff would have taken him off earlier and prevented a more serious injury..

[matt_magpie]

LW put on the last of our remaining substitutes with 25 + minutes of the game left. Scott injured his knee shortly after coming on and should have been taken off straight away. He was left on as we would have had to play the remaining game with 10 men. His injury became worse, and now he wont play again this season.. Any decent coaching staff would have taken him off earlier and prevented a more serious injury..

And you have medical proof of this?

[durhampie]

And you have medical proof of this?

Torn Knee ligaments is long term recovery...

[matt_magpie]

Torn Knee ligaments is long term recovery...

No what I’m asking is are you saying medically it got worse staying on and the staff knew this would happen?
It’s pretty serious allegation if you are suggesting that.

[SmiffyPie]

No what I’m asking is are you saying medically it got worse staying on and the staff knew this would happen?
It’s pretty serious allegation if you are suggesting that.They wouldn't have known what injury it was but they would have known it was serious. Throwing all your subs on with so long to go was a bold move which has backfired in the long term.

[matt_magpie]

They wouldn't have known what injury it was but they would have known it was serious. Throwing all your subs on with so long to go was a bold move which has backfired in the long term.

So you’re saying a medical professional knew it was serious and him or LW decided to keep him on? That’s serious negligence of an employees health, quite serious if true.

[durhampie]

No what I’m asking is are you saying medically it got worse staying on and the staff knew this would happen?
It’s pretty serious allegation if you are suggesting that.

You dont have to be a medic to know when someone is injured..

[Davy500]

Postivity thread. Sun is shining. Sunday morning and no hangover. walked dog. No kids commitments. My 11 year old is a Notts fan at last after a bit of trying. She became keen when I took her to the navigation earlier this year to watch Notts Wrexham. She's getting a shirt for Christmas. Luke Williams is our manager, we have fantastic owners and nearly 17k at Meadow Lane.

Positive is- if LW is better than Nolan over the season, we have avery good chance of promotion ..and LW has better owners

[i961pie]

Reuban has only stepped up one level as he would have been playing for us in L2 this year

Read what I said again, he has stepped up 2 levels to where he was LAST SEASON.

[Proactive not Reactive]

Durham would still prefer the 1950's before subs were introduced when men were men .. unfortunately he doesn't understand the modern game.
I would suggest that you go down to Lady Bay and watch Notts train and you will understand a lot more of what LW and the training staff do .. and more importantly what they are trying to achieve.

[durhampie]

Durham would still prefer the 1950's before subs were introduced when men were men .. unfortunately he doesn't understand the modern game.
I would suggest that you go down to Lady Bay and watch Notts train and you will understand a lot more of what LW and the training staff do .. and more importantly what they are trying to achieve.

What as training got to do with leaving an injured player on the pitch.....

[matt_magpie]

You dont have to be a medic to know when someone is injured..

Not what you suggested was it though? You said they knew it was serious and left him off which makes no sense, firstly the player won’t be able to contribute anyway and secondly the player could take legal action if that’s the case.
Let’s face it they didn’t detect it was serious and left him on to see if it eased which would have happened with subs or not.
You’re just avin a pop at LW as you seem to want to all the time now.

[durhampie]

Not what you suggested was it though? You said they knew it was serious and left him off which makes no sense, firstly the player won’t be able to contribute anyway and secondly the player could take legal action if that’s the case.
Let’s face it they didn’t detect it was serious and left him on to see if it eased which would have happened with subs or not.
You’re just avin a pop at LW as you seem to want to all the time now.

I'm not having a pop at LW, Its just that with knee injuries you dont risk carrying on, in case you do more damage.. Ive worked with physios at the QMC for over 10 years, so i should know when some one is injured..

[Proactive not Reactive]

What as training got to do with leaving an injured player on the pitch.....

I was referring to your theory that LW makes ALL of his subs in the 65th minute.
You don't like his team selections ,his substitutions, his rotating to name a few things
The best manager we have had for years and all you do is slag him off.
Notts have a physio on the bench !!
I've had 8 knee operations, including screws and gortex ligaments and a replacement knee - do I think I know more than the physio - NO

[matt_magpie]

I'm not having a pop at LW, Its just that with knee injuries you dont risk carrying on, in case you do more damage.. Ive worked with physios at the QMC for over 10 years, so i should know when some one is injured..

Well if that’s the case the physio or LW is negligent. As a medical professional I do not believe for one minute the physio went against his medical ethics of leaving the player on because we had no subs. His direction would have been this player needs to leave the pitch immediately as it’s serous and will deteriorate.

[durhampie]

I was referring to your theory that LW makes ALL of his subs in the 65th minute.
You don't like his team selections ,his substitutions, his rotating to name a few things
The best manager we have had for years and all you do is slag him off.
Notts have a physio on the bench !!
I've had 8 knee operations, including screws and gortex ligaments and a replacement knee - do I think I know more than the physio - NO

From what you say you dont know too much about anything..

[durhampie]

I was referring to your theory that LW makes ALL of his subs in the 65th minute.
You don't like his team selections ,his substitutions, his rotating to name a few things
The best manager we have had for years and all you do is slag him off.
Notts have a physio on the bench !!
I've had 8 knee operations, including screws and gortex ligaments and a replacement knee - do I think I know more than the physio - NO


I dont know where you get all of that crap from, but i haven't slagged LW off. I have even once compared him Pep, although I have sometimes criticised his team selection, But so has nearly every other poster on this site. On the matter of substitutions i think you will find we do generally make our subs around the 65th minute, But you wouldn't know that with not being there..

[Davy500]

Read what I said again, he has stepped up 2 levels to where he was LAST SEASON.

He would have stepped up one level anyway from LAST SEASON

[Proactive not Reactive]

I dont know where you get all of that crap from, but i haven't slagged LW off. I have even once compared him Pep, although I have sometimes criticised his team selection, But so has nearly every other poster on this site. On the matter of substitutions i think you will find we do generally make our subs around the 65th minute, But you wouldn't know that with not being there..

I’ve been to every home league game and a couple of away games plus everything else watched on the dodgy …judging by your comments you have had eye patches over your eyes
You have called LW blind numerous times your favourite being tinkerman lamenting him playing Bostock lamenting him for playing Nemane lamenting him for not playing Scott
Lamenting the club for signing McGoldrick etc etc
I think you hold the record on this forum for how many posters disagree twice on this thread Doctor 👨*⚕️

[Proactive not Reactive]

Quote Originally Posted by durhampie View Post
We are still playing the same way as we did in the National League with pretty much the same defence, and we have now been found out. LW seems to be reluctant to change what we do, and its about time he realised that playing short corners achieves sod all. Also, was he right in saying Forest Green Rovers were a good side ????
Hopefully, when the January window opens, we will sign 2 new 6ft 5 defenders, a new goal keeper and a ball winning midfielder, not some other midget. I feel sorry for Macca, he never gets any decent service, as we are mostly knocking the ball around our own penalty area..

[Proactive not Reactive]

No you never slag LW this was posted by you on Saturday- there was also the negative comments about his subs and corners two posts afterwards

[thefulltenyards]

If Luke Williams is a tinker man and has a habit of changing his team using his modest squad more than someone feels he should, then the results doesn't support this view or even close.

He's lost less than 15% of his games in all competitions and only 10% of league games. Seriously how can anybody seriously criticise his team selection and tinkering when it has worked and resulted in positive results 85%-90% of the time.

His tinkers have resulted in a victory 2 in every 3 games that is quite simply superb even at National League level where you are favoured most weeks.

Supporters should always propose their preferred lineups, formations etc but criticism makes a whole lot more sense when results aren't forthcoming. I can't believe any one has criticised this under Williams and Harley. There is no evidence to support your complaint