I’m calling it…

[crazyfists]

I agree to a point as I was relieved on Tuesday when Slocombe opted to go long in the second half. But then listening to their manager, he admits our style of play cut through them almost at will, against the best defence in the league. We just didn’t score more goals.
I think too much is being made of our style, and IB’s reluctance to change it. Does any manager have that ability? For all the long ball managers we’ve had, I can’t remember any of them adopting a passing game when ‘hoof it’ wasn’t working.
I think a managers style of play is his blueprint. You can’t really change it. However you can change system and personnel. And I would say IB has done that more than any manager I can remember.

Good Post.

[laddo]

Excellent post.

I've had very similar thoughts as KTD on this matter. It's a fine line between string self belief , determination and a distinct footballing philosophy and approach and being one dimensional and plain stubborn for refusing to change. It's two sides of the same coin and which coin face is showing is depends upon results.

One thing I hadn't thought of was the lack of any examples of a long ball/direct manager suddenly instructing their side when losing to start playing short passing with nice triangles moving it through the thirds and getting runners off the ball lol.

Seems stubbornness and over reliance on Plan A is common

[kill_the_drum]

We possibly have a scepticism at Notts, as we’ve never had a successful manager that’s played football on the ground.
In my 35 years supporting Notts we’ve had 3 managers that have won us promotion. All of which favoured a direct/long ball style of play.
So maybe, and understandably, we just don’t trust this style of play. When we hit a bad run of form it’s then the ‘passing games’ fault. Ignoring we’ve got a long long list of failed managers that played ‘hoof it’ football.

[ncfcog]

And it did work, Td. I've never been a fan of playing out from the back at our level. Whether Burchy liked it or not the early release upset the press of BW and gave us an option to move forward quicker. I think it must have been Slocombe's initiative as till then our fullbacks were dutifully standing wide in our penalty area, it was Slocombe's gentle underhand waving them forward that did the trick.

Methinks our goalie was reading the game better than the manager, certainly better than the BW manager as his players weren't sure of our next moves.

Slocombe was playing it long second half BECAUSE of the BW high line. In the second half Lacey was shagged and Rawlo, despite his obvious defensive talents is not a ball playing CB. The options simply weren't there to play out from the back. If we had a fit Cameron and Brindley in there then playing out from the back would most definitely have continued.

[BigFatPie]

Our performance against Borehamwood was excellent, but if that game hasn’t persuaded IB and the owners that we need to invest heavily in a finisher during the summer then nothing will. Whichever league we’re in.

[jackal2]

We possibly have a scepticism at Notts, as we’ve never had a successful manager that’s played football on the ground.
In my 35 years supporting Notts we’ve had 3 managers that have won us promotion. All of which favoured a direct/long ball style of play.
So maybe, and understandably, we just don’t trust this style of play. When we hit a bad run of form it’s then the ‘passing games’ fault. Ignoring we’ve got a long long list of failed managers that played ‘hoof it’ football.

Forest fans are known at times to sing "We're Nottingham Forest, we play on the floor", often in simple remembrance of Brian Clough's philosophy, but sometimes as a stark warning to any manager who dares to start implementing a different tactic. It's basically telling said manager that the Forest/Clough footballing culture is non-negotiable, similar to the principles of West Ham.

Perhaps there's a sub-conscious desire amongst Notts County fans to go in the opposite direction to Forest on most things. Certainly in my time watching Notts, our identity has leaned towards the Warnock/Allardyce/Cotterill tradition of direct, physical football which has brought our (only) success, although Jimmy Sirrel's teams could certainly play good passing football as demonstrated by that famous goal at Ipswich and Mick Walker when he was in charge was very much a football purist.

I've got no objection to watching good football, but there are times I find it a bit too clinical and I'm raring to see someone put in a crunching tackle. There are times when the tippy-tappy approach looks pretty, but passionless, and the irritation is greater if it's also ineffective and we get overrun. The Arsene Wenger Arsenal teams of his later years in charge had this problem - flat-track bullies against lesser opposition, but smashed to pieces by the good sides who could mix it.

For my money, the great Liverpool sides of the 70/80s and Sir Alex Ferguson's iconic Manchester United sides got the balance right. Both played good, flowing, entertaining football with some really skillful players, but they also had the likes of Graeme Sounness, Steve Bruce and Roy Keane who could kick lumps out of any team that thought they could take liberties.

[the_anticlough]

I don't think that 'long ball/direct' label is accepted by slightly older fans who saw the top flight years under Wilko and Jimmy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXMlVJIJtS0

[jackal2]

I don't think that 'long ball/direct' label is accepted by slightly older fans who saw the top flight years under Wilko and Jimmy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXMlVJIJtS0

That's the goal I was referring to. I'm too young to have seen it live - I only started watching Notts in 1989 - but thanks to it being on TV it has become part of Notts County folklore, and it's certainly a footballing purist's goal.

[the_anticlough]

That's the goal I was referring to. I'm too young to have seen it live - I only started watching Notts in 1989 - but thanks to it being on TV it has become part of Notts County folklore, and it's certainly a footballing purist's goal.

Yeah, and not a one-off. That was our style then thru the promotion season til Larry Lloyd showed up three years after it started

[jackal2]

I suppose it's only natural for people to identify with the style they associate with success in their lifetime, especially in their younger, less cynical years as football fans. Neil Warnock and Sam Allardyce were the blueprints for me and although their football could be direct, it was also very entertaining.