🗓️Pre-Season Friendlies 2024/25

[matt_magpie]

I think possibly and hopefully the fact we are mainly putting out 11s including trialists/youth players, playing away and with the heat probably means it’s unrealistic we’re going to put out energetic fluid performances.
We definitely need a striker and one for me that could play as a 10 also.
Midfield feels a bit unknown, read up a bit on Edwards and it appears he could be a very decent player but obviously no guarantee as with the young lad that’s just joined, I would say we do need another.
If LW as still manager I think there would be a lot less concern about results and players left to come in.

[Poultonmagpie]

Odd feel indeed.
Also a seemingly odd change of training venue to Grove Farm.
Lets hope it is because they are all on holiday. Have they had a reduction in staffing levels?
Apart from the players and coaching staff it feels like the Marie Celeste.
Hopefully 3 more signings before the end of the week to put our minds at rest.

Agree, extremely quiet in terms of any information, no pitch up date, season tickets sold, any up coming gigs at the Nest. Together with no new signings which at this stage of pre season is indicating that our transfer dealings are done!!

[durhampie]

This is JPs doing, We have a pitch fit for the premier League, A fan Zone to equal to any other, 100s more comfy seats for his hospitality mates, and a team thats not fit for the National League. It seems pretty much that we have done things the wrong way round...

[irishpete]

This is JPs doing, We have a pitch fit for the premier League, A fan Zone to equal to any other, 100s more comfy seats for his hospitality mates, and a team thats not fit for the National League. It seems pretty much that we have done things the wrong way round...

You get things on the pitch right first & foremost, that's the bread n butter. The rest will follow if successful.
I don't see one player we have signed that anybody said last season would like him at Notts. Actually, i haven't heard of any of the signings we have made to be frank

[The_Pie_Man]

We all know what’s coming, don’t we?

Making allowances for the dyed in the wool club apologists, who will rabidly defend the club’s actions no matter what and would happily watch paint dry so long as it was black and white (you know who you are) I get the feeling the majority of the club’s fan base is not particularly impressed with the summer’s events.

We have flogged our main asset and failed to replace him. Crowds will come expecting a promotion push and, at present, our squad does not appear good enough. If we’re not right up there from the beginning, the atmosphere will turn toxic and Maynard will be out the door.

There is enough time to boost the squad but I have precious little confidence in the recruitment team to achieve the right outcome. I give it until October before the crowd turns. Mid-table mediocrity awaits.

[durhampie]

We all know what’s coming, don’t we?

Making allowances for the dyed in the wool club apologists, who will rabidly defend the club’s actions no matter what and would happily watch paint dry so long as it was black and white (you know who you are) I get the feeling the majority of the club’s fan base is not particularly impressed with the summer’s events.

We have flogged our main asset and failed to replace him. Crowds will come expecting a promotion push and, at present, our squad does not appear good enough. If we’re not right up there from the beginning, the atmosphere will turn toxic and Maynard will be out the door.

There is enough time to boost the squad but I have precious little confidence in the recruitment team to achieve the right outcome. I give it until October before the crowd turns. Mid-table mediocrity awaits.

I think it will turn much sooner, if what i have seen so far.

[matt_magpie]

We all know what’s coming, don’t we?

Making allowances for the dyed in the wool club apologists, who will rabidly defend the club’s actions no matter what and would happily watch paint dry so long as it was black and white (you know who you are) I get the feeling the majority of the club’s fan base is not particularly impressed with the summer’s events.

We have flogged our main asset and failed to replace him. Crowds will come expecting a promotion push and, at present, our squad does not appear good enough. If we’re not right up there from the beginning, the atmosphere will turn toxic and Maynard will be out the door.

There is enough time to boost the squad but I have precious little confidence in the recruitment team to achieve the right outcome. I give it until October before the crowd turns. Mid-table mediocrity awaits.

Go on then I will be one of the apologists. There is a flip side to the argument we are not up to full numbers yet. The club could easily be up to them by now but there will be a constant wave a players come available once other clubs bring in players.

So that’s the conundrum do you wait till way into August and hope you may bring in a couple of very good signings with the minus being you might not get them and still end up with squad fillers? TBF It shouldn’t effect Augusts results missing a couple and it’s also not hard integrating a couple in later.

[upthemaggies]

You get things on the pitch right first & foremost, that's the bread n butter. The rest will follow if successful.

The lessons are there to be learned from the Pavis era and earlier. It was all going swimmingly for Pavis until he turned his attention away from the actual football. Nobody has done more than him than to try to put things right off the field, he literally re-built the entire ground, and that was the beginning of our downfall from which we still haven't recovered 29 years later. Two levels below where we were when the main stand was opened, supposedly the beginning of a new era. Well I suppose it was, it turned out to be easily the worst three decades in the club's history. No other 30 period comes anywhere close to matching the sustained depths of this one. Total disaster.

99 years ago we built what became known as the County Road stand having finished 9th in the top flight, FAC semi-finals a few years prior. Got relegated in the first season in front of the new stand and it wouldn't see top flight football again for 55 years. Altogether we had five 1st tier seasons in front of what it was built for in the 67 years it stood.

Dunnett's major contribution to the ground was the sports complex. The opening of the executive boxes as the finishing touch coincided with a double relegation and then we needed the Lifeline scheme to save the club from oblivion.

We should wait until we're properly established at a decent level before sorting out the non-football side of things, but owners just want some feature to show off when they sell up. It really wouldn't surprise me if Trew's main selling point to Hardy to bump up his offer was his wife's choice of decor in VIP areas whilst the club itself was on fire, I can imagine Hardy proudly showing off his 'Premier League' standard dressing room and the murals as we sank into non-league, No doubt the current owners will be distracting potential buyers with "The Nest" from whatever irreparable damage Maynard manages to inflict.

#newseasonoptimism

[KCNotts]

Let's break the signings down a bit. These are my thoughts:

Platt - should be solid, Bradford fans were very sorry to see him go. Decent signing.
Bedeau - people tell me he's a good player, seems to have done well at Morecambe. Solid enough.
Bass - should hopefully be a good signing.
Tsaroulla - not really convinced, seems to be a squad filler. Was hoping for better out wide.
Gordon - ex Mansfield, not that inspired, again was hoping for better.
McDonald - very strange signing. Squad filler, uninspiring.
Edwards - unknown quantity. Might be okay, might be another Liam Walker.
Hinchy - underwhelming...smells a bit like desperation after missing out on main targets?

I guess I was hoping for a little more. Not sure we have replaced what we have lost and there doesn't seem to be much here to excite or suggest we are ambitious to get out of the league. There is still time to get a few more in, but they will take time to learn the systems so they won't make an immediate impact.

[matt_magpie]

Let's break the signings down a bit. These are my thoughts:

Platt - should be solid, Bradford fans were very sorry to see him go. Decent signing.
Bedeau - people tell me he's a good player, seems to have done well at Morecambe. Solid enough.
Bass - should hopefully be a good signing.
Tsaroulla - not really convinced, seems to be a squad filler. Was hoping for better out wide.
Gordon - ex Mansfield, not that inspired, again was hoping for better.
McDonald - very strange signing. Squad filler, uninspiring.
Edwards - unknown quantity. Might be okay, might be another Liam Walker.
Hinchy - underwhelming...smells a bit like desperation after missing out on main targets?

I guess I was hoping for a little more. Not sure we have replaced what we have lost and there doesn't seem to be much here to excite or suggest we are ambitious to get out of the league. There is still time to get a few more in, but they will take time to learn the systems so they won't make an immediate impact.

I don’t think anyone gets overly excited with defenders. Bass was very well rated last season as was Bedeau, the response from Harrogate fans to McDonald was he was possibly their best defender so if he’s a back up it might be sensible, you missed Cundy who if is injury free should be way above this standard. Agree with the others bar Edwards, get a feeling he’s either going to be amazing or as you say, another Liam Walker. I’m just hoping we’re going to sniff out a couple of experienced players that have found themselves surplus to requirements at top end L1 or even possible struggling champ ones.