Match Thread vs.Grimsby 23.05.22

[BCnotts18]

Thankfully I wasn't at the game last night but nevertheless, I can't help but feel that the moment that second Grimsby goal went in will be seen in the future as the beginning of the end for Notts as a somewhat relevant football club. We've been on a precipice ever since we dropped into the fifth tier, but last night's result and the knock on effects of it such as key players departing and the financial consequences, combined with both our Nottinghamshire neighbours climbing up the ladder and the lack of support that may provide, could well tip us over the edge once and for all and I genuinely fear for the future of the club as a result.

I know we've failed in the playoffs in this league twice previously and we've still managed to retain some semblance of the club we once were in the aftermath of those defeats, but with the manner of last night's defeat and the fact that any decent players we have will be out the door as soon as they can, the best outcome I can envisage for next season is upper/lower midtable (akin to Torquay) followed by a continual decline into the abyss or, as a worst case scenario, we suffer another Coventry-esque hangover whereby the season devolves into chaos and the unthinkable happens.

Either way, I am not sure how long the likes of Torquay, Wrexham and Stockport have been stuck down here but I am almost certain we will spend just as long, if not longer, in the depths of non-league.

Apologies for being so negative guys, its just times like this when you start to question why you even bother with football; I'm pretty certain its 1% jubilation and 99% abject misery.

[Davy500]

After just getting back from the match

IB = 3 out of 10

I posted long before this match, how IB was a poor manager , a bad replacement for Ardley, who in his time at Notts has not sorted out any problem, i also predicted Notts would be found out quickly in this play off process

Tonight another poor start, why are notts always so slow to start in play off matches. For the first 30 mins Notts were invisible, if grimsby would have had decent strikers we would have been slaughtered
Its all very well Notts playing tippy tappy attractive football, but lets be frank tonight Notts would never have scored if the match was 8 hours long, unless it was a penelty
What angered me in the 6 added on mins Notts got deeper and deeper, inviting pressure , and a mistake from clown Richardson , absolute disgrace

I also questened the Owners when they first took over, they purchased this club as a National league Club, they are happy with the club being a national league club, they have no ambition to return to the football league by investing in money or proven players or managers, it is all an experiment and a LONG TERM PLAN for them
Trust me we are staying in the National league for the forseeable future

[Davy500]

As for !% jubilation and 99% misery that is certainly true now

Just gald i saw Notts in the 80,s and 90,s when they were unbelievably a top side team twice, seems the stuff of dreams now

[BCnotts18]

As for !% jubilation and 99% misery that is certainly true now

Just gald i saw Notts in the 80,s and 90,s when they were unbelievably a top side team twice, seems the stuff of dreams now

I've literally had one good season support Notts with that being 09/10 and I can barely even remember that. I genuinely cannot fathom how we can be so consistently terrible. Most clubs have peaks and troughs but Notts have been in a perpetual downward spiral for decades.

Anyone know of anyone who Notts could have annoyed enough over the last 30 years for them to curse us? Thats the only explanation I have for us being so constantly sh!te for so long.

[Davy500]

I've literally had one good season support Notts with that being 09/10 and I can barely even remember that. I genuinely cannot fathom how we can be so consistently terrible. Most clubs have peaks and troughs but Notts have been in a perpetual downward spiral for decades.

Anyone know of anyone who Notts could have annoyed enough over the last 30 years for them to curse us? Thats the only explanation I have for us being so constantly sh!te for so long.

Yes the 09/10 season, i remember the players had heart, battle, and aggressiveness and leadership all things the current team are missing, take hughes for example not only was he a natural scorer, but he was often helping out in defense
The warnock years had hard tough no nonsense characters, not nice tippy tappy players that run away when hard work is required, or common sense , also warnocks idea play in your oppents half, kick the ball in to the stand etc

[drillerpie]

Be interested to see some stats on how often we won possession in open play, because we play a lot of tippy tappy football but don't seem to ever win the ball off the other team.

If I weren't such a technophobe I'd post a Guardiola 'what is tackles?' GIF here!

Slocombe had a good game IMO taking a lot of pressure of us with claims from crosses, plus a couple of good saves, but keepers only really get man of the match for really spectacular performances.

[drillerpie]

I notice Brunt the anonymous got on when DKE would have been the obvious choice.

I thought Brunt had a decent game to be honest.

[drillerpie]

Joint 4th top goalscorer. Of course we could win the league with him.
Wootton is leaving to go and play in the EFL next season.
We are playing in the NL next season for one reason only, which is we concede too many goals.
Wootton will leave a huge hole that the club are going to do very well to fill, without spending a lot of money.

We concede too many goals often because we're chasing goals at the other end because we need too many chances to score a goal, and he's a big part of that.

I wouldn't take too much notice of the goals tally in the sense that he's playing for a team that is a center forward's dream. You only have to look at Ruben and Cal's goal tallies from wider/deeper to put that in context. Wouldn't be surprised if Sam's goals per minute tally was comparable as well.

I remember similar conversations about replacing Doyle at the end of last season, as if we were losing a Viera / Iniesta / Winston Churchill hybrid, rather than a way past his peak midfielder who excelled in pointing, shouting, not tracking runners, not winning 50/50s and giving the ball away.

As it happened we replaced him quite easily with someone not many were excited about, who is now probably player of the season in Doyle's old position.

I'm calling it with Wootton too.

I wish him the best of luck, genuinely, because he's a hard working honest player. He's probably good in the dressing room too. But I'm optimistic we can find a no 9 who has enough pace so we can actually play him in behind (imagine!), who bullies defenders, and who has more killer instinct in front of goal.

[irishpete]

We were on a "run" the last 7 games because we won 6 out of 7. These teams were in the bottom half of the table. Not one victory was a convincing performance. We should have been "all guns blazing" last night, after the so called run. I thought success builds confidence. For some reason it doesn't at Notts & was the same under Ardley. Something wrong at the club mentally possibly.
The Owners will start to find out how things turn sour next season if we don't hit the deck straight away. Fans patience will start to wear thin.

[irishpete]

We concede too many goals often because we're chasing goals at the other end because we need too many chances to score a goal, and he's a big part of that.

I wouldn't take too much notice of the goals tally in the sense that he's playing for a team that is a center forward's dream. You only have to look at Ruben and Cal's goal tallies from wider/deeper to put that in context. Wouldn't be surprised if Sam's goals per minute tally was comparable as well.

I remember similar conversations about replacing Doyle at the end of last season, as if we were losing a Viera / Iniesta / Winston Churchill hybrid, rather than a way past his peak midfielder who excelled in pointing, shouting, not tracking runners, not winning 50/50s and giving the ball away.

As it happened we replaced him quite easily with someone not many were excited about, who is now probably player of the season in Doyle's old position.

I'm calling it with Wootton too.

I wish him the best of luck, genuinely, because he's a hard working honest player. He's probably good in the dressing room too. But I'm optimistic we can find a no 9 who has enough pace so we can actually play him in behind (imagine!), who bullies defenders, and who has more killer instinct in front of goal.

Can't wait 'til he goes. 20 goals should have at least 25/30 with the attacking play. Not agile enough. One of the reasons our build up play up front so slow. All he does is hold the ball up. Sam more mobile