Ex-Notts Player Signs For...

[SwalePie]

Man Utd have shown that you can spend more money on players than anybody else over several seasons, but if you don't have the right man in charge then you will still fail to reach your target.
The season before last I was fed up of hearing Spurs fans griping, now they seem relatively content despite losing Kane because they have a manager they can all get behind.
We literally need Maynard to be the next Allardyce, there's no other example of a Notts manager starting so badly and coming good. This game being what it is, you can't rule that out with certainty, but I think we got very lucky with LW and asking for lightning to strike twice in quick succession is a big ask of the gods.

Agree mostly but I'm not sure we 'got lucky' with Luke Williams. He was selected for the job after all. We can't always just be lucky when things go right and incompetent when they go wrong.

[upthemaggies]

Agree mostly but I'm not sure we 'got lucky' with Luke Williams. He was selected for the job after all. We can't always just be lucky when things go right and incompetent when they go wrong.

LW succeeded, I think, for reasons they were not expecting, that he had the personality to transcend the restrictions placed upon him and man-manage and inspire the fans as well as the players as if he was a manager in the traditional sense, not just seamlessly filling a space as a cloned jigsaw piece just to hold some corner section together whilst the owners and the recruitment team set about completing the rest of the picture all by themselves.

That the whole thing fell apart once LW was linked and then left for another club revealed the model for what it was and had been since the owners arrived, not adequate to get out of tier 5 (with Ardley and then Burch both failing) and not adequate to challenge in L2 (once LW had left). In that sense the club has fallen short at every step of the current owners reign other than during the period LW was here. LW made all of the difference between success and being left frustrated at missing out.

Clearly they've now had a re-think in terms of recruitment of playing staff, opting for experience. Whether or not they will need to extend the more traditional approach to recruitment to the point of bringing in an experienced manager, or at least one who's played at a professional level, depends on Maynard being able to work with decent L2 standard players (which he hasn't done before) as well as having the nous to navigate the business end of the season and get a promotion challenge over the line (also something he has no prior experience of).

[Old_pie]

Agree mostly but I'm not sure we 'got lucky' with Luke Williams. He was selected for the job after all. We can't always just be lucky when things go right and incompetent when they go wrong.

He was a good appointment but surely he was above expectations?

[SwalePie]

LW succeeded, I think, for reasons they were not expecting, that he had the personality to transcend the restrictions placed upon him and man-manage and inspire the fans as well as the players as if he was a manager in the traditional sense, not just seamlessly filling a space as a cloned jigsaw piece just to hold some corner section together whilst the owners and the recruitment team set about completing the rest of the picture all by themselves.

That the whole thing fell apart once LW was linked and then left for another club revealed the model for what it was and had been since the owners arrived, not adequate to get out of tier 5 (with Ardley and then Burch both failing) and not adequate to challenge in L2 (once LW had left). In that sense the club has fallen short at every step of the current owners reign other than during the period LW was here. LW made all of the difference between success and being left frustrated at missing out.

Clearly they've now had a re-think in terms of recruitment of playing staff, opting for experience. Whether or not they will need to extend the more traditional approach to recruitment to the point of bringing in an experienced manager, or at least one who's played at a professional level, depends on Maynard being able to work with decent L2 standard players (which he hasn't done before) as well as having the nous to navigate the business end of the season and get a promotion challenge over the line (also something he has no prior experience of).

Interesting opinions as always UTM. Obviously none of us know, in reality, what decisions are or were made or how and based on what. Let's hope the model, whether changed or not, delivers success in the coming season.

[SwalePie]

He was a good appointment but surely he was above expectations?

Well his performance was certainly above my initial expectations, that's for sure, but I have no idea what the owners expectations were. I imagine he was even above theirs, however high they were.

[matt_magpie]

Looks like Ed Francis could be going to Exeter for a fee, sounds like he’s had an extremely good season at Gateshead. I wanted him to stay but I guess he needed football which he may have actually got with Palmer getting injured.

[irish_pie]

Looks like Ed Francis could be going to Exeter for a fee, sounds like he’s had an extremely good season at Gateshead. I wanted him to stay but I guess he needed football which he may have actually got with Palmer getting injured.

Great move for the guy... always liked him but he was kinda in Palmers shadow a lot which was to be expected... always gave 100% so can only wish him all the best 👍

[Russ_OTF]

Great move for the guy... always liked him but he was kinda in Palmers shadow a lot which was to be expected... always gave 100% so can only wish him all the best 👍

We missed the boat on this one. He was the right signing but at the wrong time.

[nw6pie]

Looks like Ed Francis could be going to Exeter for a fee, sounds like he’s had an extremely good season at Gateshead. I wanted him to stay but I guess he needed football which he may have actually got with Palmer getting injured.

I remember him mainly as someone who never had much of an impact on games. I’d have been underwhelmed if we were re-signing him, but he must have done very well at Gateshead - especially as he was injured for part of the season.

[ThaiPie]

LW succeeded, I think, for reasons they were not expecting, that he had the personality to transcend the restrictions placed upon him and man-manage and inspire the fans as well as the players as if he was a manager in the traditional sense, not just seamlessly filling a space as a cloned jigsaw piece just to hold some corner section together whilst the owners and the recruitment team set about completing the rest of the picture all by themselves.

That the whole thing fell apart once LW was linked and then left for another club revealed the model for what it was and had been since the owners arrived, not adequate to get out of tier 5 (with Ardley and then Burch both failing) and not adequate to challenge in L2 (once LW had left). In that sense the club has fallen short at every step of the current owners reign other than during the period LW was here. LW made all of the difference between success and being left frustrated at missing out.

Clearly they've now had a re-think in terms of recruitment of playing staff, opting for experience. Whether or not they will need to extend the more traditional approach to recruitment to the point of bringing in an experienced manager, or at least one who's played at a professional level, depends on Maynard being able to work with decent L2 standard players (which he hasn't done before) as well as having the nous to navigate the business end of the season and get a promotion challenge over the line (also something he has no prior experience of).

What the (swear word) are you talking about Upthemaggies.
When the Reedtz brothers arrived 26th July 2019, Notts County had just been relegated out of the football league for the first time in their history. They also were under a winding up order and couldn't sign players.
The Reedtz brothers stated "our ambition is to bring Notts County back to the Football League as soon as possible"

Listening to you trying to rewrite history and claim the current owners just happened to get Lucky with LW, is the biggest load of (mild swear word - part of male anatomy), ever!

In case you hadn't noticed, they are rebuilding the club on and off the pitch.

We have a (swear word) awesome club and I am surprised you want to look for a black cloud in every silver lining.

[slack_pie]

LW succeeded, I think, for reasons they were not expecting, that he had the personality to transcend the restrictions placed upon him and man-manage and inspire the fans as well as the players as if he was a manager in the traditional sense, not just seamlessly filling a space as a cloned jigsaw piece just to hold some corner section together whilst the owners and the recruitment team set about completing the rest of the picture all by themselves.

That the whole thing fell apart once LW was linked and then left for another club revealed the model for what it was and had been since the owners arrived, not adequate to get out of tier 5 (with Ardley and then Burch both failing) and not adequate to challenge in L2 (once LW had left). In that sense the club has fallen short at every step of the current owners reign other than during the period LW was here. LW made all of the difference between success and being left frustrated at missing out.

Clearly they've now had a re-think in terms of recruitment of playing staff, opting for experience. Whether or not they will need to extend the more traditional approach to recruitment to the point of bringing in an experienced manager, or at least one who's played at a professional level, depends on Maynard being able to work with decent L2 standard players (which he hasn't done before) as well as having the nous to navigate the business end of the season and get a promotion challenge over the line (also something he has no prior experience of).

LW definitely had that missing ingredient that our previous coaches didn't - personality and the ability to inspire players and fans alike. Ardley couldn't do that, nor could Birchnall, and I don't think Maynard seems the type either. Whether or not we can be successful without that missing ingredient remains to be seen, but it seems to me that to gain a true edge over promotion rivals and get over the line, you need someone a bit special to lead the group.

[Hoppie]

Ed Francis to Exeter in L1 🧐

[DaveSmithRules]

Ed Francis to Exeter in L1 🧐

It's a good move for him. More details here > https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football...s/c4ng3pz4n0po

If we'd kept hold of him last season he may have got a lot more game time because of Matty Palmer's injury. But good to see him move on and even higher up the pyramid. Also proof that the radar model works, even sometimes indirectly.

There are internet rumours going around that Gateshead might be about to spend a bit of that windfall buying Tiernan Brooks off us. Interesting that they might be becoming a bit of a feeder club for us, which is fair enough when you consider we got Macca and Cedwyn off them for a tiny fraction of what they are worth now. I also have a soft spot for the fact they play in black and white too.

[matt_magpie]

Ed Francis to Exeter in L1 🧐

Pleased for him, he needed to go to get game time and I always thought he was decent for Notts.

[BCnotts18]

Declan Dunn signs for Eastwood CFC. I went to school with him and he was a significantly better footballer than anyone else I played alongside at 16. Just goes to show how ridiculously good the very best players are compared to the average person.