Originally Posted by
nw6pie
Having slept on it, I’m struggling to remember a game when I saw a Notts side carved open so repeatedly, both through the middle and (mainly) down the left-hand side. A thoroughly depressing evening that needs to serve as a wake-up call to the management, players and club. A few scores...
Slocombe - Made one excellent save in the first half to keep us in the game, fumbled one free kick but wasn’t otherwise tested too much because their finishing was generally dire - 6
DKE - Made a few ***** interceptions, wasted a great crossing opportunity, but one of the few bright spots - 6
Barnett - Other than the deflected assist for the first goal, woeful. Let’s hope it was a one-off because he looked like he’d never set foot on a pitch before - 2
Lacey - His worst performance n a Notts shirt. Struggled all night against a physical opponent, looked like he’d run a marathon the previous day - 4
Rawlinson - Same as his partner, really, some very iffy moments in the six-yard box. Maybe should have scored at the other end, but was blocked off. Used up a lot of luck last night - 5
Doyle - Night summed up when, under no pressure, he gifted possession to the opposing centre forward 30 yards from goal. He’s been part of the problem all season, but Ardley refuses to see it. Should be sat on the bench, but is still untouchable in the manager’s eyes - 3
Reeves - Gave the ball away far too easily, struggling to remember any positive contribution he made - 3
Ruben - Should have scored with the free header, but otherwise the game passed him by - again. Why is he still getting cramp when he plays for 90 minutes, what’s the problem here? - 3
Enzio - Put a shift in, but had zero influence in the final third, which is what we pay him for - 5
Knowles - Also worked hard but never looked like scoring. Couple of air shots in the box when he needed more composure - 5
Wootton - The only contender for man of the match. Two excellent headers and held the ball up well. Highlights that Notts have become a two-man team - and one of them had been injured for four months - 8
Subs - JOB shouted quite a lot, but not sure he did much else. Effiong had a disastrous cameo, looks like a man with zero confidence who used to be a footballer.
Ardley - To be outfought and outplayed by Kings Lynn once is a misfortune, for it to happen twice looks like carelessness. He acknowledges that we’re playing poorly at the moment, but what’s he going to do to change that? We still don’t have a settled formation, are still lightweight and slow in the middle of the park, don’t create much (can’t wait to see the stats from last night) and look a million miles away from being a promotion contender. And he’s already banging on about the fixture overload, even though it’s pretty much the same for all clubs. Right now, this looks like being another wasted season.
Finally, a word of praise for Kings Lynn, who really took the game to Notts, scored a worldie and battled back when it must have been so disheartening to play so well in the first half and somehow go in 2-1 down. I hope they get to carry on this season, but if not we should definitely be trying to sign Carey, who was excellent throughout.
As upthemagpies said in another post, this game was a nadir for the club, a sign of how far we’ve sunk this century. It looks a long way back right now.