⚽Match Thread vs Harrogate Town FC 26.10.24 [EFL L2]

[uysapie]

Seemed like one way traffic for most of the game but we need to improve our finishing. Their goalie did make some excellent saves though.

[nw6pie]

They were so oddly set up today. Away teams either come to Notts and go full press or the ‘low block’. Even though our back three were pretty much camped on the half way line when we had the ball, Harrogate just left space everywhere.

That interview highlighted why Harrogate put in such a passive performance. They came thinking a point was the most they could get and the manager seemed a little bit in awe of us - the squad, the pitch, the stadium, the fan base. Mind you, being unable to muster 200 fans for a Saturday match does make you realise that they are overachieving for their resources.

[kill_the_drum]

I’ve certainly noticed this season that opposing managers/fans show us a lot more respect than some of our own fans.
I must admit there’s been games where I’ve thought we weren’t quite at the races but opposing fans comment on how good we look.
I think we just expect that we will play everyone off the park for 90 mins and call it a poor performance if we don’t.
Barrow was a good example, many fans saying we didn’t deserve anything from that game despite being the much better team for 50% of it. And most Barrow fans on social media called it there best performance of the season with a draw being a fair result.

[matt_magpie]

I’ve certainly noticed this season that opposing managers/fans show us a lot more respect than some of our own fans.
I must admit there’s been games where I’ve thought we weren’t quite at the races but opposing fans comment on how good we look.
I think we just expect that we will play everyone off the park for 90 mins and call it a poor performance if we don’t.
Barrow was a good example, many fans saying we didn’t deserve anything from that game despite being the much better team for 50% of it. And most Barrow fans on social media called it there best performance of the season with a draw being a fair result.

That’s what I said last week about some fans with NL syndrome and it’s not necessarily an insult but since Burchnall and especially at home we’ve played teams off the park, week in, week out.
The difference then though and our players said the same last season, a lot of those teams legs had gone after 60 minutes but they realised in L2 it was less the case.

[jackal2]

Good performance and result yesterday. It's easy to take it for granted because we're used to it now, but the way we dominate possession and win the ball back quickly comes from a long time spent developing this style by successive coaches, and a club philosophy that this is the way we want to play, particularly at home. When we do it as well as we did yesterday it really is - to use Pep Guardiola's expression, "defending with ball" - because Harrogate couldn't get enough possession to do anything really.

One slight caveat and criticism is Stuart Maynard doing the "coaching by the manual" thing in taking off a striker and replacing him with a defensive midfielder on about 75 minutes, when hitherto we had been in complete control of the game. We lost some fluidity and control after that point and had a couple of scares in the last few minutes, the only time Harrogate ever looked to be in the game. I do wish coaches (not just Maynard by any means) would make substitution decisions based on what's actually transpiring on the pitch and the momentum of the game, not what it says in "the book". On another day it could have cost us at least two points.

On a positive point, when we talk about squad depth and being threadbare, it's got to be a good sign that we went into yesterday's without both of our most gifted players - Crowley and Jones - and yet produced a performance as complete as that for the first 80 minutes. Josh Martin I thought showed either a lack of ability or courage, but Javani Brown did some great work linking play up, and Nick Tsaroulla seems to have decided that it's on him to "be" Jodi Jones, doing a fantastic job in the past two games.

[Med Pie]

Why are none of our post match interviews, available on Youtube or anywhere free for that matter, everyone else's are?

[Med Pie]

Seemed like one way traffic for most of the game but we need to improve our finishing. Their goalie did make some excellent saves though.

Their keeper made three, top saves in a ten minute spell late on but we should have been three up inside twenty minutes. Though we are looking more solid at the back, we must take our chances against the better teams. Some of the crossing was poor today with a few, over hit passes, makes me wonder what kind of ball they train with!

[OchPie]

Why are none of our post match interviews, available on Youtube or anywhere free for that matter, everyone else's are?

They are free to watch but require an account on our site. Same as the extended highlights.

[Med Pie]

Good performance and result yesterday. It's easy to take it for granted because we're used to it now, but the way we dominate possession and win the ball back quickly comes from a long time spent developing this style by successive coaches, and a club philosophy that this is the way we want to play, particularly at home. When we do it as well as we did yesterday it really is - to use Pep Guardiola's expression, "defending with ball" - because Harrogate couldn't get enough possession to do anything really.

One slight caveat and criticism is Stuart Maynard doing the "coaching by the manual" thing in taking off a striker and replacing him with a defensive midfielder on about 75 minutes, when hitherto we had been in complete control of the game. We lost some fluidity and control after that point and had a couple of scares in the last few minutes, the only time Harrogate ever looked to be in the game. I do wish coaches (not just Maynard by any means) would make substitution decisions based on what's actually transpiring on the pitch and the momentum of the game, not what it says in "the book". On another day it could have cost us at least two points.

On a positive point, when we talk about squad depth and being threadbare, it's got to be a good sign that we went into yesterday's without both of our most gifted players - Crowley and Jones - and yet produced a performance as complete as that for the first 80 minutes. Josh Martin I thought showed either a lack of ability or courage, but Javani Brown did some great work linking play up, and Nick Tsaroulla seems to have decided that it's on him to "be" Jodi Jones, doing a fantastic job in the past two games.

I think the substitution was to protect McG as much as anything else, he's played three in a row now and they didn't look as if they would score in a month of Sundays. We need him available for the 'Donny' game, does anyone know what the issue with Crowley is? Apologies if I've missed it.

My only grumble, is about the speed at which we move the ball or rather, the lack of it. Palmer takes an age to pass the ball, often losing the opportunity and initiative, one, two or three touches before he moves the ball is just, too slow. There is a time to slow the game down but he does it all the time. The whole team, generally, need to move the ball quicker, too much dawdling around when on occasion, no touch is needed, move the ball on first time. The midfield too, need to be quicker to get forward in support if we break.

Tsaroulla looks a real threat and Palmer is a one man wall in defence, very assured and with a keeper who also instills confidence we won't concede many this season. We're managing to keep picking up points with a weakened team and a bit of luck but a bit more dynamism wouldn't go amiss IMHO.

[Med Pie]

They are free to watch but require an account on our site. Same as the extended highlights.

I have an account to buy tickets, is that a different account to that required?