Give the manager more time

[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.

[jackal2]

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?

Look for solutions within their model, and rightly so. It served us brilliantly last season, and it did reasonably well at the start of this season, but at the moment we've hit a wall and some weaknesses are being exposed by opponents who are consistently of a better quality at this level. This is perfectly normal. If you aspire to move up through the levels, you'll hit barriers like this many times along the way.

We've got some outstanding attacking players, and many who are very good on the ball. We don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, we've just got to gradually add some grit and know-how to what we've already got, particularly in defensive areas where I think the obsession with possession has perhaps blinded us to the frailties of some of our previous recruits. We need some players who are at their best when we're not in posssession, to win the ball back and give it to the ones who can play.

I already see signs that we're beginning to address this problem with more combative players like Robertson and Macari, but we'll need more, including a bit of grizzled experience and height in the centre-half positions. Jaden Warner has height, but he hasn't yet accumulated the experience to dominate anything. Several times over the years when a Notts team has been struggling a bit, at least part of the answer has proven to be a really big, dominant, experienced centre half - Colin Foster, Anders Jacobsen, Gary Strodder, Graeme Lee being examples. I think we might need that again.