7,872

[Elite_Pie]

I'm usually pretty good on attendance predictions, but I was over 1,100 out last night. I had factored in around 200 away fans and there was less than half that, but that still leaves over a thousand home fans not turning up. Why? We can't blame the weather so what do we blame? After much thought I put the blame on one thing - the football we offer is bloody boring. We attracted new fans by playing attractive attacking football even if it was in the division below, but since that brilliant first half against Walsall at Meadow Lane it's been mostly like watching paint dry. Last night was a perfect example, we were playing poor out of form opposition, but we were so dull and predictable we allowed them to take the initiative. Until the Abbott penalty shout on around 20 minutes, we were a goal down and hadn't put a single cross in let alone had an attempt on goal. The atmosphere was like a morgue because there was absolutely nothing to cheer unless you are a fan of constant pointless sideways and backwards passing in the middle third. I'm sure the stats will say we deserved to win, but only because we actually started to attack in the last 25% of the game. For the first 75%, we were tame, timid, dull, sterile and boring. We were missing our three most potent threats from the first part of the season (McGoldrick, Crowley, Jones) but why are we asking inferior players to do what they did? What we are trying to do at home just isn't working but still we persist with 'our style'. It's driving people away, so try something different FFS. I'm not clever enough to offer a solution, but surely a change in formation or tactics is worth a try? I'm not calling for a change of head coach because I can't see it happening under these owners, but at the moment we are not worth the admission fee to casual supporters.

I don't usually do essays like this and mostly get over defeats quickly so well done to anyone who has made it this far, but last night is still getting to me. If we simply carry on the same way hoping it comes good I think we'll sleepwalk to a tame defeat in the playoffs when the big prize of automatic promotion is still within our grasp, losing a fair bit of the momentum we have done so well to build. I hope this game will turn out be a defining point in our season in a good way.

[queenslandpie]

I'm usually pretty good on attendance predictions, but I was over 1,100 out last night. I had factored in around 200 away fans and there was less than half that, but that still leaves over a thousand home fans not turning up. Why? We can't blame the weather so what do we blame? After much thought I put the blame on one thing - the football we offer is bloody boring. We attracted new fans by playing attractive attacking football even if it was in the division below, but since that brilliant first half against Walsall at Meadow Lane it's been mostly like watching paint dry. Last night was a perfect example, we were playing poor out of form opposition, but we were so dull and predictable we allowed them to take the initiative. Until the Abbott penalty shout on around 20 minutes, we were a goal down and hadn't put a single cross in let alone had an attempt on goal. The atmosphere was like a morgue because there was absolutely nothing to cheer unless you are a fan of constant pointless sideways and backwards passing in the middle third. I'm sure the stats will say we deserved to win, but only because we actually started to attack in the last 25% of the game. For the first 75%, we were tame, timid, dull, sterile and boring. We were missing our three most potent threats from the first part of the season (McGoldrick, Crowley, Jones) but why are we asking inferior players to do what they did? What we are trying to do at home just isn't working but still we persist with 'our style'. It's driving people away, so try something different FFS. I'm not clever enough to offer a solution, but surely a change in formation or tactics is worth a try? I'm not calling for a change of head coach because I can't see it happening under these owners, but at the moment we are not worth the admission fee to casual supporters.

I don't usually do essays like this and mostly get over defeats quickly so well done to anyone who has made it this far, but last night is still getting to me. If we simply carry on the same way hoping it comes good I think we'll sleepwalk to a tame defeat in the playoffs when the big prize of automatic promotion is still within our grasp, losing a fair bit of the momentum we have done so well to build. I hope this game will turn out be a defining point in our season in a good way.

Odd post for you chap like you say, as you are usually succinct and to the point and also have answers. last night was entirely predictable really. Unfortunately and whilst I have backed him thus far I think we have to start looking at the tactics of Mr Maynard and who is being played where. Whilst the injuries are what they are the team is not playing to its strengths and an under strength Notts should certainly not be allowing Barrow with all due respect to pretty much dictate the game in the way they did for long periods. A team that had not won away from home since last September! If you keep doing what you have always done you will usually get what you always got is the simple fact of the matter. We are now doing what we have always done without the sparks in the team that allowed us to get away with it previously and the performances are consistently poor especially at home. Attendances say it all and you are spot on. Anyway I am off to hide from a Cyclone. QP.

[M0ufMk3]

A few notes from someone who admittedly doesn't get to go very often.
- there are some managers whose teams get a lot of injuries who carry on blaming bad luck. Postaetc at Spurs for example. Is Maynard another and why does the same managers attract the same levels of injury absence.
- it has really got quite turgid (observation when poss, reading this board when not) and it seems to be from when the other coaches left. Is Maynard a manager of coaches but not a coach himself? He seems wedded to inverted wingbacks which is different from inverted wingers. I don't particularly like either but inverted wing backs are being asked to tackle with their wrong foot when defending, and put in killer inswingers when attacking with the greater accuracy that demands (as the ball is going away from the target player).
- a lot of talk about missing out on promotion and what might happen if we get through. This is starting to sound like the Nolan side. Thise who look solely at league position thought Nolan did a good job. In reality it was absolute garbage with the prospect of a miserable season to follow had we gone up. In terms of ref decisions we were robbed in the Cov games but in reality they were miles better than we were. If we get promoted this year then the year after we will be back in L2. If we don't then next year we will be back in the Conference. It is that bad.

a few edits but: Whilst it is wins, losses, and draw which determine the league position, past performance is a much better indicator of future results than past results are. A team which manages to win when playing poorly is more often a luck team than a resilient one. We are Notts fans and we've seen poor teams get half decent results in the past. And we've seen the complacency arising from points on the board and the failure to address the performance issue. We are in danger of being like the frog being boiled

[hissingdwarf]

My 16 year old lad said to me tonight (we didn’t get last night as I’ve got an ear infection and didn’t fancy sitting in the cold!) regards the attendance.
“We were down to 7k last night. Looks like the rollercoaster is going into a major dip.”

“?”

“People just don’t want to watch the ball being passed around for no reason for 70 minutes. There’s no excitement now. When we were promoted, we had momentum on and off the pitch. Now we’re sinking into the typical Notts routine. Look good for a bit and then it hits you that we’re pretty bog standard, if not worse. At this rate we’ll be down to 5k and it will have all been for nothing.”

He nailed it for me.

[Boomerangpie]

Looks like uninspiring football must be on display throughout the league. A Quick Look shows just 5,107 bothered to go to Vale Park and 4,854 at Blundell Park. As we know Vale are right up there with us and have been in great form as has Grimsby yet both well down last night

[matt_magpie]

I think 2 reasons, Barrow at home doesn?t seem the most attractive to the casual and secondly we?ve been poor at home for a while performance wise I think it?s as simple as that. Maybe time for 4231, 433 to try and get around these teams that low block.

[marky]

I've been saying for months that our current level of attendance would start to drop off, people have far better things to do than watch crappy League 2 football the standard is garbage. It says it all that I'm actually upset most of our games are on TV as I rarely enjoy watching Notts matches. I can tell you now the match on Saturday will be crap irrespective of the result.

[Elite_Pie]

I think 2 reasons, Barrow at home doesn?t seem the most attractive to the casual

Not a reason at all. Two weeks ago we played Colchester on a colder Tuesday night, were they attractive opposition to the casual fan? The attendance was nearly 1,600 more, which says we were over 1,000 home fans down last night.

secondly we've been poor at home for a while performance wise I think it's as simple as that.

Yes, that's pretty much what I said. We've become boring to watch to the casual fan.

[ancientpie]

Not a reason at all. Two weeks ago we played Colchester on a colder Tuesday night, were they attractive opposition to the casual fan? The attendance was nearly 1,600 more, which says we were over 1,000 home fans down last night.



Yes, that's pretty much what I said. We've become boring to watch to the casual fan.

Not disagreeing at all as some of the home games lately have been a hard watch but does anyone know if the kids were off school when we played Colchester? if not it was an alarming drop. COYP

[Mapperleypie]

The previous 2 home games before Tuesday were like watching paint dry. We got 4 points from them but probably didn't deserve any more than 1. If you had turned up for those two as a casual fan you would have wondered why fans had been telling you we played nice football.

It's gone completely off the boil at Meadow Lane & we look like a mish-mash of a team going through the motions with no real direction or creativity. It's awful stuff. Nobody really wants to pay to watch that.

As an aside Colchester was during half-term which may have helped the attendance somewhat.