Give the manager more time

[Chicken Balti Pie]

I think a rethink is needed in personnel. Our goalkeepers play the ball short. If a grown adult can't pass the ball then something is wrong so why not focus on their keeping ability? In ice hockey, a bit stat for goalies is their save percentages, I reckon ours must be very low as I can't remember the last time I felt confident and on target shot from the opposition would be saved?

If we play three at the back, why do all three have to be ball playing centre backs? At least one needs to be a brute who will dominate, ideally two of the three really, stops them from pulling defenders out of position. One ball playing centre back will still have the midfield, the wing backs and the keeper to play to, in total football, the idea is to have at least two options so why do we have to have all our centre backs to be effectively tallish midfielders?

[slack_pie]

I think a rethink is needed in personnel. Our goalkeepers play the ball short. If a grown adult can't pass the ball then something is wrong so why not focus on their keeping ability? In ice hockey, a bit stat for goalies is their save percentages, I reckon ours must be very low as I can't remember the last time I felt confident and on target shot from the opposition would be saved?

If we play three at the back, why do all three have to be ball playing centre backs? At least one needs to be a brute who will dominate, ideally two of the three really, stops them from pulling defenders out of position. One ball playing centre back will still have the midfield, the wing backs and the keeper to play to, in total football, the idea is to have at least two options so why do we have to have all our centre backs to be effectively tallish midfielders?

When was the last time our keeper kept us in the game with a MotM performance? I feel like it's been years.

[upthemaggies]

In the last ten years, with us currently on 1.94 against per game, only two teams in tier 4 have finished with a worse record than that, Morecambe on 1.98 in 2015/16 and Scunny 1.96 in 2021/22.

McP liked possession base football. No idea what our percentages were but 2007/08 we averaged 1.15 goals against (exactly the same as Thompson's full season), 2008/09 it went up to 1.50.
Munto with Kasper was 0.67 against, our best ever ratio at any level.

Up front, if Notts were to maintain the 2.03 goals per game ratio to the end of this season, it would be the highest scoring ratio seen by any club at this level since 2010, which also happened to be Notts with 2.09.

[jackal2]

I think a rethink is needed in personnel. Our goalkeepers play the ball short. If a grown adult can't pass the ball then something is wrong so why not focus on their keeping ability? In ice hockey, a bit stat for goalies is their save percentages, I reckon ours must be very low as I can't remember the last time I felt confident and on target shot from the opposition would be saved?

If we play three at the back, why do all three have to be ball playing centre backs? At least one needs to be a brute who will dominate, ideally two of the three really, stops them from pulling defenders out of position. One ball playing centre back will still have the midfield, the wing backs and the keeper to play to, in total football, the idea is to have at least two options so why do we have to have all our centre backs to be effectively tallish midfielders?

Good points.

Our recruitment so far - which has unearthed some very good players - has probably over-balanced towards players who are good in possession, at the expense of players who are good out of possession.

As you say, there's a feeling that our selection of goalkeepers has focused too much on what they can do with the ball at their feet and their general distribution, rather than the fundamentals of goalkeeping which are to catch balls, stop shots and command the penalty area.

Likewise, we've got an overload of ball-playing centre-backs who unfortunately are not good (enough) at winning headers, closing down attackers, making tackles and generally dominating their own penalty box.

No matter how much we want the team to play in a certain style, retaining possession wherever possible, you've still got to have the right balance of ball-players and destroyers. The main job of defenders and goalkeepers (and defensive midfielders) is to get the ball off the opposition and keep it out of our net, and the current 'group' doesn't have enough of those types.

[jackal2]

...or to put the above in Neil Warnock parlance, "We're soft as sh**!"

[Mapperleypie]

If we play three at the back, why do all three have to be ball playing centre backs? At least one needs to be a brute who will dominate, ideally two of the three really, stops them from pulling defenders out of position. One ball playing centre back will still have the midfield, the wing backs and the keeper to play to, in total football, the idea is to have at least two options so why do we have to have all our centre backs to be effectively tallish midfielders?

The problem with the possession from the back style of football is if you do have a weak link in the back 3/4 in regards to how they are in possession they become as very easy target for the high press.

You would imagine recruitment are looking at just this for the summer as the defence has not been strengthened in any way from the NL and it shows.

[slack_pie]

The problem with the possession from the back style of football is if you do have a weak link in the back 3/4 in regards to how they are in possession they become as very easy target for the high press.

You would imagine recruitment are looking at just this for the summer as the defence has not been strengthened in any way from the NL and it shows.

The problem is, if we continue with the possession-based style, is it possible to find defenders at L2 level who are comfortable on the ball, good at defending, and up for the physical battle? You'd imagine that players that possess all of those qualities would be playing football higher up the pyramid.

If we insist on signing defenders who can 'play', we'll inevitably end up with ones who aren't the best defensively.

I think we need at least one no-nonsense defender whose job it is to win headers, get a foot in, and boot the ball out when needed. The last player we signed like that was Mark Ellis on loan, and he made a tangible impact pretty much straight away.

[Mapperleypie]

The problem is, if we continue with the possession-based style, is it possible to find defenders at L2 level who are comfortable on the ball, good at defending, and up for the physical battle? You'd imagine that players that possess all of those qualities would be playing football higher up the pyramid.

Absolutely this.

The system so far has been to recruit players that have either just or in the last few years been released by a Premier League academy. This often means they are decent on the ball but can lack the grit required for league 2 (and the NL - but got away with it due to the quality of the opposition).

A bit of a re-think might be required or we may need to splash some cash on a couple of defenders in the summer.

[the_anticlough]

It’s a fair question.
First thoughts - it was going swimmingly, riding high, until losing a key cog in the machine, and not being able to replace him in a timely manner.

Then, can we imagine the owners and all the other leaders of the club getting together and deciding ‘right, let’s go in a completely different direction?’ Or would they be more likely to look for solutions within their model, even if that means big changes in personnel over time?

[BanjoPie]

It’s a fair question.
First thoughts - it was going swimmingly, riding high, until losing a key cog in the machine, and not being able to replace him in a timely manner.

Then, can we imagine the owners and all the other leaders of the club getting together and deciding ‘right, let’s go in a completely different direction?’ Or would they be more likely to look for solutions within their model, even if that means big changes in personnel over time?

Why change a system that has been so successful? - just needs re-adjusting to suit L2. When watching so many successful clubs you can see that Notts are playing the modern game. Long may it continue for me anyway I doubt the Bros would want to change their model probably, they would rather change their club.