⚽Match Thread vs. Mansfield Town FC 03.02.24 [EFL L2]

[kill_the_drum]

Anyone seen a replay yet of the four big events Notts-wise from the Stags game - the off-the-line clearances early on, the Flint header onto his own bar, the Jones miss and the Macca penalty shout. I noticed Macca having a long chat with the ref after the latter incident, presumably telling him why he got it wrong.

Those “highlights” on Notts’ YouTube site are a bit of a joke in terms of reflecting the game, but one thing they do show is how easily Crowley was dispossessed just before their goal. Although it was a good finish, we only have ourselves to blame for giving him the chance to shoot.

I know a stags fan that was behind the goal.
He said the ball was well over the line!
It just felt like it was never going to be our day on Saturday!

[1955pie]

I know a stags fan that was behind the goal.
He said the ball was well over the line!
It just felt like it was never going to be our day on Saturday!

He could just be saying it to wind you up.

[applepie2]

Yes, the highlights and the extended highlights were a bit “selective”, as if chosen by a Stags fan! I also watched the whole replay, masochist that I am. We shouldn’t have lost. So near to scoring, and their defender had his arm round Langstaff’s neck for the clear penalty. I couldn’t see the ball when it hit the ground for the goal line incident.

[crazyfists]

Well i obviously wont have to come on here again for a few years ,not whilst you are hiring managers from the bargain basement ,you got lucky with signing that striker from non league though he was non existent again against a good team you should cash in on him sooner rather than later before everybody realises he does nowt against a decent team anyway anyway enjoy your season all in all not been too bad for a newly promoted non league side

Well good luck to you in the league above as you're definitely on course to go up. I'm not sure we'll take ten (I believe you came up in 2013?) seasons to join you though so I look forward to the rematch. In regards to Macca then you would say lucky, I would say good scouting but of course there's an element of luck in every transfer. As I'm sure you know, most poacher type strikers need good service which wasn't there on Saturday but with Jones easily on course to beat the EFL record then it often has been. Maybe on Saturday, the combination of a squad built over a decade and the referee letting Cargill foul time and time again was preventing this happening. We definitely hope Macca stays though but any decent offer would be great for a 50 grand investment.

It was a good game though and you also did well for a team coming up from non league a decade ago. All the best and enjoy the rest of your season.

[kill_the_drum]

He could just be saying it to wind you up.

He wasn’t.

[MancMagpie]

We could have defo won that game on another day. It just wasn't happening for us.
I'm still remaining positive though. Maynard has improved the defence within a matter of weeks. Only conceding 1 goal in 2 games against 2 of the top 3 is pretty decent.
I'm hoping we'll start to fire again within the next couple of weeks and put together a decent run. In the meantime, results could be quite mediocre.
However, at this moment in time I do have faith in SM despite being winless under him. The thing is, most of the time a new manager 'bounce' is successful for teams that have sacked their previous manager and not 'sold' them. So, for me, there was always going to be a transition period.
SM has clearly tweaked things defensively and I see that as a good start.
Onwards and upwards.

[TSANHO]

We could have defo won that game on another day. It just wasn't happening for us.
I'm still remaining positive though. Maynard has improved the defence within a matter of weeks. Only conceding 1 goal in 2 games against 2 of the top 3 is pretty decent.
I'm hoping we'll start to fire again within the next couple of weeks and put together a decent run. In the meantime, results could be quite mediocre.
However, at this moment in time I do have faith in SM despite being winless under him. The thing is, most of the time a new manager 'bounce' is successful for teams that have sacked their previous manager and not 'sold' them. So, for me, there was always going to be a transition period.
SM has clearly tweaked things defensively and I see that as a good start.
Onwards and upwards.

Yes, some good points in there, especially regarding the new manager ‘bounce’. It’s kind of in reverse, isn’t it? Most of the time when a manager leaves the fans and players are probably relieved but in our case that’s not true so SM was always going to come into a difficult situation, albeit in a strong position.

I only managed to catch the last 15 minutes v Mansfield, which by the sounds of it must have been the worst bit as it never looked like we were going to score. Clear penalty on Macca though.

[matt_magpie]

We could have defo won that game on another day. It just wasn't happening for us.
I'm still remaining positive though. Maynard has improved the defence within a matter of weeks. Only conceding 1 goal in 2 games against 2 of the top 3 is pretty decent.
I'm hoping we'll start to fire again within the next couple of weeks and put together a decent run. In the meantime, results could be quite mediocre.
However, at this moment in time I do have faith in SM despite being winless under him. The thing is, most of the time a new manager 'bounce' is successful for teams that have sacked their previous manager and not 'sold' them. So, for me, there was always going to be a transition period.
SM has clearly tweaked things defensively and I see that as a good start.
Onwards and upwards.

Exactly, anyone who’s trying to judge him after 2 games after the team has had so many indifferent results in the previous 2 months really needs to get a grip. I imagine it’s the people that are underwhelmed that he was previously part time but there’s 2 ways to look at that.

[slack_pie]

Exactly, anyone who’s trying to judge him after 2 games after the team has had so many indifferent results in the previous 2 months really needs to get a grip. I imagine it’s the people that are underwhelmed that he was previously part time but there’s 2 ways to look at that.

Yeah, I think some people will use the fact he was previously part time as a stick to beat him with if results aren't great, but in reality, even the most experienced manager would struggle to come in and replace a popular and successful predecessor during this tough run of fixtures. Maynard needs time and support. As far as I'm concerned, the rest of this season is about him making the necessary tweaks to make us better, so we can approach next season as genuine promotion contenders.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

Yeah, I think some people will use the fact he was previously part time as a stick to beat him with if results aren't great, but in reality, even the most experienced manager would struggle to come in and replace a popular and successful predecessor during this tough run of fixtures. Maynard needs time and support. As far as I'm concerned, the rest of this season is about him making the necessary tweaks to make us better, so we can approach next season as genuine promotion contenders.

Exactly where I’m at with it all. I can see why some fans maybe anxious for us to get promotion this season. Fear of losing players like Macca and Jones despite them being under contract. Of course it would naive to think they may not go but like with LW will they be the right ones to prize them away?

Also the fact Wrexham are up there looking like they might be passing through league two and us not keeping up with them. They’ve got a far bigger budget. Then add in Mansfield to which them being a division higher than us again would be a bitter pill to swallow. They’ve been trying for four years under Clough to get out.

We are in the mix for the playoffs and if we can stay within the mix that will do for me this season. If we dip and fall out of them to mid table then it would be shame but only because of the fact we’ve been in the playoffs most of the season so far and it will feel like we’ve fizzled out.

It’s completely impossible to judge SM after two games as well. I think upon reflection only conceding two goals against Barrow and Mansfield has to be a big positive. So the necessary defensive tweaks have worked and yes goals scored maybe less to start with as it’s a trade off. The thing is in both games we were hard to beat which is the first priority. The approach we had at Mansfield and the chances created in the first half on other days would get us wins on the road against other teams in the league.

SM has a period now to settle in, get to know the squad implement the tweaks and playoffs would be a nice bonus. If anything it’s a good thing he’s in the building now rather than say if LW had gone in the summer.