New Manager?

[Observerpie]

Maynard looks to me to be an excellent 'coach'. Notts are well organised, defensively solid, regain shape well and our attacking patterns can be excellent.
I would also guess (I don't have any statistics) that our results with 3 or more of our best attacking players available - Jatta, Didzy, JJ and Crowley - have been very good and have others have said would likely put Notts in the automatic positions.

Crowley was sold from under him, and also missing for sections in the first part of the season plus JJ has barely played and aside from the first 5 games he hasn't been match fit.
First team players like Macari and Austin have also had long spells on the sidelines. Robertson could have been a very effective foil for Palmer and Abbott too, but he's not been fit either.
So I think Maynard needs to be cut a large amount of slack given the injury list.

He's been given replacements yes, none picked by him I would assume so we can't criticise his recruitment.
None of the replacements have come in ready to play at our level, all are learning.
In my opinion Jarvis and Whittaker look like they are improving game on game. I have no idea what level either will get to but I think Maynard deserves a some credit for improving them with his coaching?

What a coach does Monday - Friday is 95% of the job and for the most part I think he's doing a good job. I'd give him an 8/10 for this.

All the above said though, I think during a match he's been poor. Very slow to make changes in personnel or
hange system even when its obvious that chances need to be made. He's reactive rather than proactive and that can be massively frustrating for match going fans. This is probably only 5% of his job, but it's 100% what fans witness and our judgement is clouded because of this. I'd rather him a 4/10 for this.
He massively needs to improve during the match day 90minutes. He's a young coach in his first professional job, hopefully he can add these strings to his bow?

Against Crewe on Saturday he even made Notts changes before the Crewe dugout made theirs and we hadn't even gone behind! I almost passed out. So you never know, hopefully he is learning?

Excellent post.

[cjpieman]

At the start of the season if someone had said with eight games to go we would be two points off automatic most people would have taken that. Especially even more so if it would have been said that JJ and Crowley would be missing for large parts of the season. It would be seen as a very big positive.

Form has taken a dip since we had that peak over Christmas and New Year after the Salford game and is literally polar opposites. Form needs to improve as well in the last eight games otherwise we will be at risk of falling out of the playoffs at the last hurdle. That’s where the frustration and disappointment would come because we’ve been up there all season. Let’s be positive and hope it doesn’t come to that worse case outcome.

If any of Walsall, Bradford, Wimbledon, Port Vale, Doncaster or us can win four or five of the remaining games those are the teams who will likely get automatic promotion.

In hindsight I agree we needed a replacement in January for Cowley to be another Didzy type by that I mean an experienced attacking player who had played at a higher level and might have got a few goals. Especially with the setback to JJ’s recovery. Similar to when the club brought Mark Ellis in to be an experienced head on a stick at the back except he chipped in with goals as well.

We are still in the mix and with eight games to go we need a win at Newport next week for starters to set us up for the midweek home game against MK Dons.

With 8 games to go i believe 6 wins will secure promotion, any team getting to 80 points will do it this year i think.

So either Maynard lets the shackles off and tells him team its win or bust with the remaining games or you get someone else in who isn?t carrying around Maynards baggage / noose around his neck and say the same to him?we need to win at least 6 games.

I predict we may just scrape into the playoffs with 3 wins and 3/4 draws? cant see us beating anyone else over 2 games from the top 7 though.

[upthemaggies]

With 8 games to go i believe 6 wins will secure promotion, any team getting to 80 points will do it this year i think.

So either Maynard lets the shackles off and tells him team its win or bust with the remaining games or you get someone else in who isn?t carrying around Maynards baggage / noose around his neck and say the same to him?we need to win at least 6 games.

I predict we may just scrape into the playoffs with 3 wins and 3/4 draws? cant see us beating anyone else over 2 games from the top 7 though.

Walsall currently the only team in the division without a win in the last 6, despite being top, maybe sums this league up right now.

Since late January Walsall's PPG has been 0.92, the joint 2nd worst in that time. They could well drop out, but over the last 12 (quarter of the season), Colchester, Bradford, Port Vale, Doncaster, Grimsby and Wimbledon (in that order) have all picked up more points than us. Over the last 6 we are 20th.

We will most likely see an up-turn in form for Notts at some point, but it's a question of whether or not it will come too late and - if an up-turn does come - will we be able to sustain it under increasing levels of pressure/jeopardy. This was always the main concern with Maynard, he has no experience as a manager of this sort of situation.

[the_anticlough]

Excellent post.

It is a really good post.
I agree on the Maynard sections but maybe not on the substitutions

The coaches bread and butter is the main game plan and the team selection and set up. He gets a chance to prepare for all that as much as he wants all week. He then picks his best XI available, and non-preferred players get to be subs, and if things work out Ok that holds for 75% of the match

Substitutions are more about replacing tired and ineffective players with fresher players who can execute the original game plan and position better than the players who are tired or having a bad game. You don't often see them coming on with a load of new instructions - that's all been done in advance. I think in-game adjustments and mythical 'Plan B's are overrated in the minds of fans. I don't think modern coaches are willing to throw out their game plans too much for something reactive that they haven't really prepared the team for.

If IPie is saying he's a bit slow to act on replacing tired or failing players he might have a point, but I think fans should drop this idea of the master tactician changing a game with his sheer tactical genius and focus more on the game plan and first team selection. For example, that dreadful first 10mins against Barrow or sticking with players that don't deliver for too long.
Outfoxing the opposite coach by suddenly going 4-4-2 just ain't going to happen, but tweaks to improve the main game plan and set up will.

[Glad2BeAPie]

I can only see another season in this division looking at April's fixtures. Just can't see 6 wins from them, unless we have a massive upturn in form of which I'm not confident of.

[midshipman]

Thanks for all your replies we do not see the training we can only judge from what we see on the pitch. From the teams performance he seems unable to get the team to play at a high tempo for any length of time If we can play at a high tempo for a good proportion of the match we would walk this league. The slow tempo we are playing at present gives the opposition plenty of time to get back pack the defence and try to hit us on the break. They are happy to let us keep passing it around in the defence possession is no good if it does not create chances and goals. Can he inspire the team or deliver a kick up the back side we do not know. Even after a good first half they often come out looking half asleep what does he tell them at half time ? It's not working.

[legs77]

Walsall currently the only team in the division without a win in the last 6, despite being top, maybe sums this league up right now.

Since late January Walsall's PPG has been 0.92, the joint 2nd worst in that time. They could well drop out, but over the last 12 (quarter of the season), Colchester, Bradford, Port Vale, Doncaster, Grimsby and Wimbledon (in that order) have all picked up more points than us. Over the last 6 we are 20th.

We will most likely see an up-turn in form for Notts at some point, but it's a question of whether or not it will come too late and - if an up-turn does come - will we be able to sustain it under increasing levels of pressure/jeopardy. This was always the main concern with Maynard, he has no experience as a manager of this sort of situation.

Stats can be twisted anyway you want them to be the only stat that really matters is where we sit after 46 games.

You are right Maynard doesn?t have any experience of this as a head coach but neither did Luke Williams and it turned out well for him and us.

Imo a season isn?t really defined on whether we go up or not it?s whether we think we have made progress and can push on next season but that?s a decision for the owners, you could sack him bring in somebody with a few promotions on their cv and they are a complete disaster.

[jackal2]

Thanks for all your replies we do not see the training we can only judge from what we see on the pitch. From the teams performance he seems unable to get the team to play at a high tempo for any length of time If we can play at a high tempo for a good proportion of the match we would walk this league. The slow tempo we are playing at present gives the opposition plenty of time to get back pack the defence and try to hit us on the break. They are happy to let us keep passing it around in the defence possession is no good if it does not create chances and goals. Can he inspire the team or deliver a kick up the back side we do not know. Even after a good first half they often come out looking half asleep what does he tell them at half time ? It's not working.

I see a team that wants to be too safe and to play at a pace that feels comfortable for them, and that's where the Head Coach/Manager needs to say, "I'm not going to allow you to play in your comfort zone, I want you to push the pace and take risks in areas of the pitch where you can afford to take risks".

To my mind we've gone from one extreme 18 months/two years ago where the likes of Baldwin and Cameron and the goalkeeper were doing ridiculous things close to their own goal, to the other extreme now where wingers/wingbacks receiving the ball three quarters of the way up the pitch in attacking positions are passing the ball backwards rather than taking on their man, and where we often don't have enough players willing to pile into the box and get on the end of any decent service that does arrive.

[upthemaggies]

You are right Maynard doesn?t have any experience of this as a head coach but neither did Luke Williams and it turned out well for him and us.

LW seemed to be seriously struggling mentally at the end of the promotion season and the team very nearly lost its' nerve. Notts fell over the finishing line, nobody can say we powered through it. That probably was due to his lack of experience, and that was tier 5 not tier 4. We obviously fully deserved to go up with the points amassed, but came very close to losing it under pressure.

We might yet stumble over the line again this season and credit has to go to Maynard if we do, but with our gates, supposedly the best owners ever and the relatively poor competition of this division, Notts should be in the driving seat. Instead we're looking over our shoulder still worrying we might not even secure a play off place.

[legs77]

LW seemed to be seriously struggling mentally at the end of the promotion season and the team very nearly lost its' nerve. Notts fell over the finishing line, nobody can say we powered through it. That probably was due to his lack of experience, and that was tier 5 not tier 4. We obviously fully deserved to go up with the points amassed, but came very close to losing it under pressure.

We might yet stumble over the line again this season and credit has to go to Maynard if we do, but with our gates, supposedly the best owners ever and the relatively poor competition of this division, Notts should be in the driving seat. Instead we're looking over our shoulder still worrying we might not even secure a play off place.

You seem to be putting in some sly digs in here firstly our owners have done what they said from the start no 5 years plans or yapping on SM and they do have a proper plan.

As for Williams struggling maybe he was maybe he wasn?t but nerves get to everyone he got us over the line and made the brave decision of subbing a keeper people say it?s easy but in the heat of the battle it isn?t that easy as not many do it he did and it worked.

I don?t go along with this we should be in the driving seat it is entitled talk the only teams who deserve it are the top 3 after 46 games no such thing as a weak league either if everyone is beating everyone that is what fans should want an open division no a boring shut out.

I agree we might not get in the play offs yet it?s very possible people need to remember where we were 5 years ago at Swindon that should humble people, I see so,e saying our ?natural? level is league one no such thing either you are where you deserve to be.