(In)Stability

[Mud Pie]

Legs, energy and power in the middle of the park

and vision/passing range/speed of thought(foot)

[KCNotts]

Here's where I think we are:
A very good keeper and decent defenders in place
Whoever comes in as manager (and I suspect it's already sorted but not announced for whatever reason) needs to abandon playing our two most threatening players in positions where they're miles from the goal when they get the ball
And knackered from chasing back defending

It's likely that AJ will be sold if we get an offer we can't refuse so there should be funds available

So what do we need:
Legs, energy and power in the middle of the park
And a couple of decent forwards - possibly young prospects from PL or Championship clubs

All is not lost

Agree with this. We lost the midfield battle against Wimbledon, like we did many times last season. We need some battlers and some leaders too. We are such a quiet, 'nice' team.

And for the love of god, if we insist on playing wing backs can we please sign some really good ones? One for both sides. The likes of Gordon just ain't going to cut it.

[matt_magpie]

Instability on the pitch? Really? Haven?t we been in the playoffs every season bar one under the Bros?
Instability is for example you?re in the playoffs one season and get relegated next season.
We have 2 months plus to get some players and a HC, let?s see how we look come August.
Under the Bros the football and table positions have improved and maintained largely, is the really issue for some the actual stability? As previously we never knew what we were getting, was it some sort of excitement of the unknown? but ultimately it was failure and on a large scale.

[maddogslater]

So why are people moaning about the potential managers on the bookies hot list and now moaning about Didzy leaving bringing up the loss of Crowley and Abbot etc etc ? amongst these mentions there seems to be much criticism of the owners about something that has not even happened !! is that not being a little dramatic ?

Agreed Doctor Pedro, they're called drama queen's, for most fans across the land the end of a disappointing season and looking forward to the new brings fresh hope, a bit like the ending to the film the Maltese falcon, the hunt for the precious bird goes on.

[Bohinen]

Can't see any hysteria apart from those getting hysterical about hysteria.

There's plenty of those on here.

[IPieWithMyLittleEye]

On the plus side we don't have HMRC trying to close us down and we are not turning over owners faster than we turn over managers, so financial infrastructure seems sound.

On the other hand it feels that we do not have a footballing identity. Almost a manager/head coach a year, backroom staff changing, barely a semblance of a dependable core squad. So whilst the business side seems sound the same cannot be said for the footballing side. Chasing value is at the cost of progression and instead of League 1 gates and football with the excitement of maybe getting into the Championship we face yet another season in the basement.

I fear another season without promotion and building the footballing side for future success may start to see a decline in other areas. The club might not rely on my meagre attendance record for survival but I would certainly have been down for more games had more been on offer.

All in all it feels all a bit unstable.

Notts as a club have a solid identity.
To buy under market value talent, as identified by Football Radar and to assemble that talent on the pitch to prove the effectiveness of the Football Radar product.

Notts are the shop window for what is the owners priority business venture. Notts results on the pitch will stand or fall by the data that is produced in Football Radar's head office.
I don't say this with anger, positivity or any other emotion. It's what it is.

My belief is, whatever you think about Maynard's performance as head coach, they had to sack him.
Anything less would have been an admission the signings provided to him in January were of insufficient quality, which would in itself be an admission the Football Radar identity process had failed.

That is club identity, no emotion , strictly data. Some will hate it, some will find it exiting. Most just want to watch winning football, however that comes.

[jackal2]

People talk about our recruitment as a weak point. Personally I can't remember a time when our recruiters this good.

Neither can I, except maybe the Munto 'moment' when we signed outstanding players with money we didn't actually have.

There's a feeling that the recruitment during the past season hasn't been as good, but I'm inclined to believe that some good players were being pretty badly used by Stuart Maynard. I think a lot more could be squeezed out of Traore and Jarvis by the right head coach, and maybe Whitaker could have been better used too, although I agreed with not extending his time here.

[upthemaggies]

That is club identity, no emotion , strictly data. Some will hate it, some will find it exiting. Most just want to watch winning football, however that comes.

Football bereft of emotion is meaningless. The lack of passion is now seeping into every crevice of the club. Between managers, people used be excited on here and full of optimism that things were about to change, but there seems to be a pervasive sense of resignation that it's going be yet another uninspiring clone.

Hate to say it, but as unhinged as he is, I'd love to have Fword's owner.
Wouldn't be unreasonable for somebody to respond to that with "Why don't you go and support them then", but that's not how it works unfortunately

[durhampie]

Hard to pass judgement until we've seen who the next coach will be and who we'll sign this summer. It does seem like a make or break kind of preseason, at least in terms of fan sentiment. But I do think we have a footballing identity and stability on the pitch. It's just not what some fans want.

I do think we're at a crossroads in terms of our strategy. We've moved on a lot of star players. The system works - sort of. But we're running out of momentum, both on the pitch and in the stands.

When I think back to the NL days, we had exciting players like Roberts, Langstaff, and Rodrigues. Even Wootton. Really top players for that level. Some of our recent signings haven't hit that level. We managed to sort the defence, but we now need to go out and sign some genuine stars to get us firing on all cylinders.

We also need a quality head coach, but that goes without saying. I think we'll learn a lot about where our owners are at and what our future looks like this summer.

The proof in the pudding will be which players we sign, and who the Head Coach will be. Those signings will tell you where we are going, or not going..

[Old_pie]

Notts as a club have a solid identity.
To buy under market value talent, as identified by Football Radar and to assemble that talent on the pitch to prove the effectiveness of the Football Radar product.

Notts are the shop window for what is the owners priority business venture. Notts results on the pitch will stand or fall by the data that is produced in Football Radar's head office.
I don't say this with anger, positivity or any other emotion. It's what it is.

My belief is, whatever you think about Maynard's performance as head coach, they had to sack him.
Anything less would have been an admission the signings provided to him in January were of insufficient quality, which would in itself be an admission the Football Radar identity process had failed.

That is club identity, no emotion , strictly data. Some will hate it, some will find it exiting. Most just want to watch winning football, however that comes.

The club may have an identity but not its football for the very reasons you cite and that is my point. A good team is better than the sum of its parts and has an ambition to succeed as a group. Anyone who is any good will move up with someone else rather than with us. Of course that is good business, at least in the short term. But as I am trying to say, it leaves the footballing side unstable. Just look at my 2025 NCFC calendar to date: Jan- Crowley, Feb-McGoldrick, Mar-Austin, Apr-Scott, May-Palmer. Players, coaches, backroom staff will know the environment at Notts allows them to grow and move on. Providing the recruitment continues to have more wins than losses then the club will have incremental, even if glacial, progress but this year it has been at the cost of promotion and I assume there is a financial impact on that.

The stars of the Sirrel and Warnock teams wouldn't get the chance to gel in today's environment. But my memories go back to the star selling days of the early 60's when Hateley, Astle, Roby were sold on and by the mid-60s we were in deep mire. And a Warnock or a Sirrel would have moved on in their first year of success.

This next 12 months will be telling as to whether the Bros intend to continue as a pair of safe hands or whether they can introduce a bit of flair and passion in their recruitment. Are they on a learning curve or will they not change their spots?

As you say

some will find it exiting.

and you've never said a truer word in error