⚽ Match Thread vs. AFC Wimbledon 10.05.25 [EFL L2 POSF1]

[Lullapie]

No I want to win and I don?t want to be ugly.
The 2 are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes they might have to get mixed up a bit.
Would you really like Notts to play like Wimbledon?

I just want Notts to win. I seriously don't care how. I think most normal, honest people would think the same about their team.

We're not in a position to be football 'evangelists'. We pay our money each week and if Notts win, we generally go home happy.

I can quite honestly say that I have never watched or played in a game of football, where afterwards I've thought, 'well we had 80% of the possession, we had twice as many throw ins. We didn't commit a foul, whereas the other team committed 10 fouls and had 3 players booked and none of the opposition got hurt, but we finished up with 9 men because of injuries. We lost 6-0, but at least we have maintained the higher, moral ground'.

I like to see players like Brian Kilcline, put the opposition centre forward into the away team dug out with one tackle or players like Neal Bishop scaring the $hit out of the other team's midfield.

How many great teams have won anything, by playing schoolboy football? I struggle to think of any. Before the advent of modern football, ALL successful teams had their enforcers.

[matt_magpie]

I just want Notts to win. I seriously don't care how. I think most normal, honest people would think the same about their team.

We're not in a position to be football 'evangelists'. We pay our money each week and if Notts win, we generally go home happy.

I can quite honestly say that I have never watched or played in a game of football, where afterwards I've thought, 'well we had 80% of the possession, we had twice as many throw ins. We didn't commit a foul, whereas the other team committed 10 fouls and had 3 players booked and none of the opposition got hurt, but we finished up with 9 men because of injuries. We lost 6-0, but at least we have maintained the higher, moral ground'.

I like to see players like Brian Kilcline, put the opposition centre forward into the away team dug out with one tackle or players like Neal Bishop scaring the $hit out of the other team's midfield.

How many great teams have won anything, by playing schoolboy football? I struggle to think of any. Before the advent of modern football, ALL successful teams had their enforcers.

I think some people do care though, I wouldn?t want us lumping it 99% of the time as I saw under Nolan. People asked me what was the football like, I?d say ?dreadful? but we?re winning a few till we didn?t.

I?m happy with middle ground, mixing it up, a few tackles flying in. That?s what I remember in the Warnock days, it wasn?t all long ball as many outsiders believed, we had enforcers like Harding, we had guile with the likes of Donno, we had culture with drapes, a great finisher in Tommy, pace with Bartlett, it was just a really good mix and now we don?t have a mix, just very very similar players.

[magpie_mania]

There is no way their goal would have stood with VAR. It's not good enough to say the ref saw Platt being held off and thought it was ok! He was being fouled and being stopped from defending the goal. It pi55es me off so much when refs do the ego thing and get basic things so wrong, and buy gamesmanship stuff!!

When the TV commentators don?t think it?s wrong (he said the Wimbledon player played his part in the goal) then it isn?t going to stop. Need them to start calling it out.

[M0ufMk3]

Unfortunately too many ex players see the game as it has become rather than what it is intended to be. This is the danger with encouraging ex-players to become refs. They'll understand the game but they will have been frog-boiled into accepting what it is rather than what it should be, and so won't apply the laws. I do agree that VAR may well have chalked it off though.

[Notsohumblepie]

When the TV commentators don?t think it?s wrong (he said the Wimbledon player played his part in the goal) then it isn?t going to stop. Need them to start calling it out.

Phrases like " he won the foul" are just euphemisms for cheating .

Some of the jostling at corners , and shirt pulling is unbelievable.

I suppose if the team wore ultra tight shirts it might present a challenge , but bearing in mind the appendages that Vinnie Jones used to "attack" it might make things worse

[Davy500]

Phrases like " he won the foul" are just euphemisms for cheating .

Some of the jostling at corners , and shirt pulling is unbelievable.

I suppose if the team wore ultra tight shirts it might present a challenge , but bearing in mind the appendages that Vinnie Jones used to "attack" it might make things worse

Maybe notts should wear grey shirts so the opposition cant see them , this was used as an excuse by high flying man utd when they lost to southampton many years ago - lol

[lunaspie]

If the opposition couldn't see them they should have won 20-0.
They switched to blue at half-time because
a]Ferguson hated it.
b] it was deemed difficult to pick out fellow players in a dull colour with peripheral vision - they couldn't see each other - allegedly.

[slack_pie]

I was a bit surprised to read that you were more engaged with the club during the Nolan era Slack. That was seriously some of the worst, infuriatingly unimaginative football I have ever seen, anywhere. Though I do understand that it is very subjective, what people like and dislike it just surprised me to see you say it for some reason!

It has been turgid for long spells this season but I?d much rather this than watching some big lump just aimlessly lumping the ball forward to another big lump and invariably watching it come straight back at us. We have seen some absolute garbage for the last 30 years but Nolan?s brand certainly makes my top three of worst ever.

Yeah, I sort of surprised myself saying that. I wouldn't say I prefer the way we played back then, but I remember going into that playoff campaign against Coventry excited and nervous, and I was utterly devastated when we lost. There was a sense that Nolan had made a team out of a somewhat limited group, and there was a bit of spirit in the camp. He was also a natural leader. I went into this playoff campaign expecting us to lose.

We play "better" football now, but I'm getting frustrated by how easily we're bullied and the lack of bite and aggression we show. As someone else perfectly said, it's like the opposition come to ML week in, week out and steal out dinner money, and we're incapable of standing up for ourselves. I want my team to stand its ground and give a little back, especially home.

At Stall said on the recent Magpie Circle, opposition should hate playing against you. Do Wimbledon hate playing against us? Do we hate playing against them? Who's got it right?

[nw6pie]

We play "better" football now, but I'm getting frustrated by how easily we're bullied and the lack of bite and aggression we show. As someone else perfectly said, it's like the opposition come to ML week in, week out and steal out dinner money, and we're incapable of standing up for ourselves. I want my team to stand its ground and give a little back, especially home.

I think Richard Montague neglected the physical side of the game with many of his L2 signings. We’ve only got three players I’d really back in a physical battle - Bedeau, McDonald and Robertson, and even then the latter appears to be made of glass. Too many of our midfielders are outfought or outmuscled, and we’ve seen how Jatta isn’t powerful enough when playing with his back to the goal (it’s amazing how few free kicks he wins in that position, when you’d want him to be drawing fouls to get us up the pitch and to relieve pressure).

The question is whether we can get bigger, stronger athletes in while still keeping our current footballing philosophy, which I’d hate us to jettison. We just need to do it better.

[Boomerangpie]

I think Richard Montague neglected the physical side of the game with many of his L2 signings. We’ve only got three players I’d really back in a physical battle - Bedeau, McDonald and Robertson, and even then the latter appears to be made of glass. Too many of our midfielders are outfought or outmuscled, and we’ve seen how Jatta isn’t powerful enough when playing with his back to the goal (it’s amazing how few free kicks he wins in that position, when you’d want him to be drawing fouls to get us up the pitch and to relieve pressure).

The question is whether we can get bigger, stronger athletes in while still keeping our current footballing philosophy, which I’d hate us to jettison. We just need to do it better.

That?s how I see things too.

It?s not the usual we need a complete overhaul and clear out type post season, those used to be annual events at Meadow Lane regardless of the style adopted by the latest manager. We naturally need some adjustments, increased physicality, better balance, perhaps a slightly larger squad but not mass changes. Even if fans wanted that I?m not sure the contractual situation would allow.

Like nw6pie what i do not want is us to jettison our footballing philosophy and return to the days of all change every season in terms of manager, style of player, playing squad. This wasn?t only an inconsistent approach but it was counter productive as we went from one extreme to another and back