New Manager?

[countygump]

Today was nowhere near *very poor* but 10 points from 10 games is. Theres a few vacancies to fill and I cant imagine there wont be another come the end of the season given the dross thats been served up at Meadow Lane over the last 14 months.

Hes had some bad luck recently but Maynard has never got to grips with playing the way the owners want to play while also producing entertaining, winning football at home.

Actually, I think that's a fair comment.

[PedroTheFisherman66]

For those who want SM out, who do they want in? Names please, not ?someone who will shout on the touchline.?

They will range from , Warnock, Ardley and Williams - one dinosaur , one **** and one left us for pastures new !!
Stick with Maynard , get our injured players back, fit and see how we perform then. I'm hoping we will get a fully (match) fit first eleven ready to take take us through the play offs. Automatic has gone, we need to hang on to a play off spot so our proper eleven will see us through to promotion !

[jackal2]

Automatic has gone

If you're saying that based on recent performances and results, then maybe, but we're only two points off third place with eight games left and teams around us are slipping up time and time again like we are. Win six of the remaining games and I'd say it's still very much within reach. The question is, have the team got the desire and the gonads to go out and make it happen?

[jacobncfc]

I am and have been for the entire time he's been here desperate for SM to succeed, he seems a lovely bloke, but I'm at the point where I'm more ****ed off with this team than I was with the team that got us relegated to the Conference, or any number of the boring mid-table League Two sides.

I could accept they were just a bad set of players, but this is a good squad. It has everything you could want really - the defence is pretty good, the strikers score goals, the midfielders are creative etc etc.

Every time we play with any urgency we look quite good. Today we had them on the ropes in the last ten minutes, unfortunately the eighty minutes beforehand we spent slowly passing it around between our goalkeeper and back three. I'm not buying the criticism of the January business, for me there is absolutely everything in place other than a manager who can get the team playing with the pace and intensity you need for a League Two promotion push.

[jackal2]

I am and have been for the entire time he's been here desperate for SM to succeed, he seems a lovely bloke, but I'm at the point where I'm more ****ed off with this team than I was with the team that got us relegated to the Conference, or any number of the boring mid-table League Two sides.

I could accept they were just a bad set of players, but this is a good squad. It has everything you could want really - the defence is pretty good, the strikers score goals, the midfielders are creative etc etc.

Every time we play with any urgency we look quite good. Today we had them on the ropes in the last ten minutes, unfortunately the eighty minutes beforehand we spent slowly passing it around between our goalkeeper and back three. I'm not buying the criticism of the January business, for me there is absolutely everything in place other than a manager who can get the team playing with the pace and intensity you need for a League Two promotion push.

Maynardball does remind me of Ardleyball too often, I have to say. I think if Luke Williams was in charge the pace of passing would be faster and the general approach would be more adventurous. Too much of the time, Maynard's team looks too safe, and frankly dull and negative.

I refer back to my comment in post #22 above, Promotion is there for any team in the top six that takes the initiative and grabs it, but we've got to play far more high tempo, attacking football than we have in recent weeks to make the most of the ability in the team. The manager either needs to deliver the required kick up the arse to the players, or perhaps receive one himself from somewhere.

[Woodypie]

They will range from , Warnock, Ardley and Williams - one dinosaur , one **** and one left us for pastures new !!
Stick with Maynard , get our injured players back, fit and see how we perform then. I'm hoping we will get a fully (match) fit first eleven ready to take take us through the play offs. Automatic has gone, we need to hang on to a play off spot so our proper eleven will see us through to promotion !

What multiverse is it that absolutely anybody would want Ardley back? Why have supporters got to suggest who are next manager should be, don't some Danish guys linked to Notts have a business that should sort that out? Yes, automatic promotion is gone and I don't have any faith that Maynard has the nous or balls to navigate the playoffs. But, we are Notts....

[jacobncfc]

Maynardball does remind me of Ardleyball too often, I have to say. I think if Luke Williams was in charge the pace of passing would be faster and the general approach would be more adventurous. Too much of the time, Maynard's team looks too safe, and frankly dull and negative.

I refer back to my comment in post #22 above, Promotion is there for any team in the top six that takes the initiative and grabs it, but we've got to play far more high tempo, attacking football than we have in recent weeks to make the most of the ability in the team. The manager either needs to deliver the required kick up the arse to the players, or perhaps receive one himself from somewhere.

If I had to make a prediction, I think the Williams thing will happen again. Might not be this year or next year, but the platform is there for a manager who can get things moving a bit quicker and a bit sharper to come in and deliver a 100+ point season with this set of players. But I really doubt it will be SM.

[Woodypie]

They will range from , Warnock, Ardley and Williams - one dinosaur , one **** and one left us for pastures new !!
Stick with Maynard , get our injured players back, fit and see how we perform then. I'm hoping we will get a fully (match) fit first eleven ready to take take us through the play offs. Automatic has gone, we need to hang on to a play off spot so our proper eleven will see us through to promotion !

Plus, I'd sooner have a dinosaur in charge than an amoeba any day of the week.

[MagpieMeltdown]

For those who want SM out, who do they want in? Names please, not ?someone who will shout on the touchline.?

I don?t think anyone on here is employed to make those kind of decisions, or have the database to come up with names.

I?d like to leave it to the Bros, and hopefully the next one will be more of a Williams than a Burchnall or Maynard.

[drillerpie]

Agree. I think nailing opinions/expectations at the beginning of the season is an odd an pointless thing to do in football as football is such a moving feast.

Given last season, if we would have been offered 6th with 8 to go, everyone on here would have snapped your hand off. After Salford away, the same. After 25 points from 30 post-Salford, there is frustration around which, to an extent, I get.

Maynard is a good coach. There are some parts he can be critiqued on, he certainly is not the finished article, but he is not at the stage of his career to be so. People do not like them, but if you look at it statistically, on probably 95% of the metrics we are one of, if not the best teams in the league; defensively, offensively, in and out of possession. All that does not happen by chance.

With us being sixth, we are slightly underperforming when compared with those metrics. So, you dig into the disconnect.

Our biggest issue is converting our chances. AJ has 20 but could conceivably have 30 or beyond. Didzy has 14 and could have at least 20. You take Jodi and his output out of the equation (14 league appearances all season) and the sale of Crowley (a goal contribution ever other game in his time at Notts), with even one of those in consistently, we would be in the Top 3. With both, I think we would be top.

As it stands, the pivotal moment of the season was selling DC and not bringing someone in with more experience a the top end of the pitch as Whitaker, Traore and to a slightly lesser extent Jarvis can be put into the gamble category with regards hitting the ground running.

I completely agree with this. Jury is out on Maynard obviously, but I think the expectations at the start of the season were almost all lower than where we are now and that was before we knew we would play most of the season without Crowley and Jones. Most games we create enough to win and same can be said for yesterday with the pens not given and McGoldrick with a great chance to curl one in to the far corner. I've only seen us outplayed twice which was against Salford and Wimbledon and in both cases we just couldn't compete physically.

I completely get some of the criticism of Maynard and by no means agree with everything he does (I would've left Whitaker on yesterday for example) but I think a lot of the criticism comes from him following Williams who was charismatic and associated with success but in the cold light of day Williams took a squad that had been honed for 4 seasons to be one of the best to ever grace the National League and did well to push a ridiculously good Wrexham team all the way but finished second, and we undoubtedly had the second best squad in that division. After that we fluked our way through the playoffs (controversial take) thanks to moments of individual brilliance. Fair enough - great memories and fortune favours the brave and all that, but being honest we shouldn't have been losing to Boreham Wood with that squad and 95 times out of a hundred we don't score last minute wonder goals.

He started very well in League 2 but things were not great at all when he left. We were laughably unable to deal with high pressure man to man marking and were conceding goals left right and centre. We were almost a caricature of possession football gone wrong and not even good to watch. Suicidal build up play, strict patterns to follow and turning over the ball regularly in dangerous positions. I think Williams' style was great for the NL with a vastly superior squad but not good for normal well-matched teams. Hand on heart i honestly can't say we would be doing better than where we are now with these players and Williams on the bench. Is there a manager out there who could do better than Maynard with these players? Probably - it would be foolish to deny that. But at the same time I don't think we get rid of Maynard and bring in A N Other and watch everything fall into place.