I believe that City were the better team over the two games & very probably over the season but our relative league positions proved that the best team doesn't always win. To me there were 4 major mistakes by the officials' I ignore the Brisley incident because both players could have walked, 1. the stamping after 21 minutes if it had been spotted then no doubt a straight red, 2. the pen sat at the opposite end I argued with those around me that the ref was much closer than us & must have seen something that we couldn't. 3. Fortes goal, tv proved that he was onside but not by much so annoying but without VAR understandable, 4. Covs 3rd, again tv proved it offside but it was close so VAR required. Without these decisions we would probably have been going to Wembley & heavens forbid if we had been given 4 similar decisions we would definitely be booking our seats & this forum would be alive with Covo fans telling us how lucky we were.
Durham - you are right. I sat listening to a couple of people who thought we were "robbed". However, most people - particularly the discerning and less blinkered fans - accepted we were second best virtually all night and there was only ever going to be 1 winner on Friday night irrespective if any refereeing decisions. Our defence was clumsy and "leaky", the midfield until O'C appeared was non existent and the forwards were hopelessly ineffective. He was a beacon of light but was unable to compensate for some of the inept dross that surrounded him.
We had a bright spell for 10/15 mins at the start of the second half then ran out of steam and ideas again. Coventry were, quite simply, miles more composed, assured and clinical, end of story really.
Last edited by Pies4u; 21-05-2018 at 06:33 PM.
I'm with Elite, not one Notts fan has said we played better but if you take away the wrong calls then we'd have been up on aggregate judging with what we know. Yeah Coventry might have scored 5 in the last ten mins, we'll never know but Notts would have had a really good chance of progressing themselves. The thing is Coventry fans and Durham seem to think that pretty football was the only way to win, if that's the case how come we were top for a long time and still finished above Coventry? I said myself on here in the week leading upto the second leg that we never play well really, we're grinders and the other team usually plays better than us but guess what, we more often than not get the result in our favour which is why we finished 5th. If we had of been 3-2 up after Fortes disallowed goal (which we should have been) then we had a great chance of Wembley.
Also Durham since when has deserving anything mattered? You get what you get and we didn't get what we should have got. We all want Notts to play like Barca but I believe they should be proud of their season. I think once we get rid of the next manager we should give Durham a go as manager, it's going to be the only way he'll be able to accept that maybe it's not as easy as it looks getting a mismatched squad of bottom league players who you didn't sign and nearly got relegated last season, to top of the league and end up in the playoffs. Personally Nolan has worked wonders with what he has at his disposal. All I would say in accordance with Durham is that Forte should have been played through the middle more earlier on in the season.
How can you say there was only going to be one winner on Friday night whatever the decisions as when Forte scored we were in the ascendancy, playing better football than Coventry and the crowd was up? There's no way there would have been "only one winner" whatever happened, that's tripe. Yes Coventry played better but again I'll ask do the prettiest team always win? I don't think Man Utd are more entertaining than 4 teams below them but yet they're the closest team to Man City by playing pragmatically like Notts do. People unhappy with Notts style of play are confusing that with match dynamics which were quite obviously changed due to the officials. Plus you're going on like Coventry are amazing, it was big boot to number 9 and flick on which got them most of their success, thing is they have McNulty and we can't even get McVitie.
I challenge you to find one single post where I have said we deserved to win the game you dumbass. You won't be able to, because it's something I've never said. What I have said is that both teams deserved the chance to win based on goals scored rather than errors from the officials. We were indisputably denied that chance, although I doubt someone as pigsh!t thick as you will ever manage to work out why.
F*cking hell, yet another fan of figure skating! Being "second best virtually all night" only ends in defeat if the opposition are good enough to take advantage. Without being gifted three goals, Coventry just weren't good enough. If the officiating had been competent the Forte goal would have put us 3-2 up. Deserved or not, that would have been the match situation.
"The best team always wins. The rest is gossip" like Jimmy said.
To all fans - re: "easy on the eye" versus "hoofball"
In just a days now we have the world cup finals.
No doubt there will be some excellent footballing sides there. But if England win by paying long balls / hopeful boot & run / "hoofball" how many of you will be complaining / wailing / gnashing teeth / "what poor football we play" ?