Macca to Leicester?

[Mud Pie]

Notts fans always enjoy a good moan, and given the standards we have set this year, I expect a whole lot more next year!

twas ever thus!

[uysapie]

Talking of Macca

https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport...igious-8485352

[CamPie]

Interesting. I thought clubs would be falling over themselves to secure his signature but - outside of our own bubble - it seems the rest of the football world isn't so convinced there isn't much of a step up between tier 5 and tier 4.
Yesterday on talkSport they were anticipating that Wrexham would be facing a reality check and that they'd have to spend a lot more to be challenging again next season. Stockport aside, clubs that have gone up from the NL since we've been in it have struggled to make much of an impact, none have yet managed to get promoted to tier 3, so maybe they are right and this will also generally apply to individual players who haven't previously graced this level.

Barrow
2022/23 - 9th/24
2021/22 - 22nd/24
2020/21 - 21st/24

Harrogate
2022/23 - 19th/24
2021/22 - 19th/24
2020/21 - 17th/24

Sutton
2022/23 - 14th/24
2021/22 - 8th/24

Hartlepool
2022/23 - 23rd/24
2021/22 - 17th/24

Stockport
2022/23 - 4th/24

Grimsby
2022/23 - 11th/24

But none of those teams went up with 111 and 107 points - that’s why we and Hollywood are fancied and getting backed due to exceptional promotion seasons.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

Interesting. I thought clubs would be falling over themselves to secure his signature but - outside of our own bubble - it seems the rest of the football world isn't so convinced there isn't much of a step up between tier 5 and tier 4.
Yesterday on talkSport they were anticipating that Wrexham would be facing a reality check and that they'd have to spend a lot more to be challenging again next season. Stockport aside, clubs that have gone up from the NL since we've been in it have struggled to make much of an impact, none have yet managed to get promoted to tier 3, so maybe they are right and this will also generally apply to individual players who haven't previously graced this level.

Barrow
2022/23 - 9th/24
2021/22 - 22nd/24
2020/21 - 21st/24

Harrogate
2022/23 - 19th/24
2021/22 - 19th/24
2020/21 - 17th/24

Sutton
2022/23 - 14th/24
2021/22 - 8th/24

Hartlepool
2022/23 - 23rd/24
2021/22 - 17th/24

Stockport
2022/23 - 4th/24

Grimsby
2022/23 - 11th/24

Some of the clubs in that list are not historically football league clubs and are playing at their highest ever level like Harrogate and Sutton. Barrow got back after a 48 year absence. Hartlepool lost Dave Challinor to Stockport so they've not really recovered since or been able to kick on.

Stockport and Grimsby are the most like us. But neither of those two had seasons as good as ours and Wexham's when they got promoted. So I think both us and Wrexham can be competitive in L2 and be challenging for the playoffs. However Cameron, Nemane, Ruben's futures at the club are not publicly known at the moment and who knows what will happen with Langstaff. So we will see what the squad looks like come kick off in August.

Notts County in League Two in 2023 is a completely different club to Notts County in L2 in 2019. All the noise coming out of the club from players is about how it's set up like a League One or Championship club. If that infrastructure is in place then we should be an attractive prospect for players, especially with our fan base and stadium.

Let's look at Luton, Shrewsbury, Lincoln, Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham who in the past ten years have gone up from the National League and into League One.

It's also worth noting that L2 has lost two of the top three goalscorers in Sam Hoskins and Kristian Dennis because Northampton and Carlisle have been promoted. So expect Bradford to be up there with Andy Cook the golden boot winner signing a new three year contract there.

[i961pie]

It was no coincidence that Maccas goals dried up at the same time Reuben lost form. If he went to a higher club he would probably get the service he needs from a better class of player.

[slack_pie]

Some of the clubs in that list are not historically football league clubs and are playing at their highest ever level like Harrogate and Sutton. Barrow got back after a 48 year absence. Hartlepool lost Dave Challinor to Stockport so they've not really recovered since or been able to kick on.

Stockport and Grimsby are the most like us. But neither of those two had seasons as good as ours and Wexham's when they got promoted. So I think both us and Wrexham can be competitive in L2 and be challenging for the playoffs. However Cameron, Nemane, Ruben's futures at the club are not publicly known at the moment and who knows what will happen with Langstaff. So we will see what the squad looks like come kick off in August.

Notts County in League Two in 2023 is a completely different club to Notts County in L2 in 2019. All the noise coming out of the club from players is about how it's set up like a League One or Championship club. If that infrastructure is in place then we should be an attractive prospect for players, especially with our fan base and stadium.

Let's look at Luton, Shrewsbury, Lincoln, Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham who in the past ten years have gone up from the National League and into League One.

It's also worth noting that L2 has lost two of the top three goalscorers in Sam Hoskins and Kristian Dennis because Northampton and Carlisle have been promoted. So expect Bradford to be up there with Andy Cook the golden boot winner signing a new three year contract there.

It looks like a tougher than average L2 next season, and I think we might be surprised be the step up. We'll be playing teams that are better than Boreham Wood or Chesterfield pretty much every week, without tinpot clubs to smash four past week in week out.

I think we'll do OK, but any talk of automatic promotion seems a bit crazy to me. I'd be happy if we sneaked seventh on the last day of the season, but realistically, even that is a big ask. Mansfield have had a top-three budget for years now, and they couldn't get into the playoffs this season even with a proven manager at the helm. Do people think we're already better than teams like Mansfield?

[laddo]

That's a very interesting question and we will obviously find the answer come next May. Unsurprisingly I don't know their side and didn't see them play last season. Their results show they are a talented but streaky inconsistent side, going on good runs followed by disappointing periods more than once.

Tbh Mansfailed have underperfomed for a long time now, they have a generous long standing chairman who has backed his managers with sufficient finances, they have a talented manager who has successfully operated at L1 and Championship level. I don't know the ins and outs (nor want to) and am only commenting from a distance admittedly but those two things combined should have now given them promotion to L1 or at least more playoff appearances at L2 level. I'm still surprised the unpleasant Mr Steve Evans didn't manage to take them up, as that is what he does at almost every lower league club he managers.

If I had to guess why they haven't had more success under Radford I would guess it comes down to substandard recruitment, or their is a curse on Field MFI.

[slack_pie]

That's a very interesting question and we will obviously find the answer come next May. Unsurprisingly I don't know their side and didn't see them play last season. Their results show they are a talented but streaky inconsistent side, going on good runs followed by disappointing periods more than once.

Tbh Mansfailed have underperfomed for a long time now, they have a generous long standing chairman who has backed his managers with sufficient finances, they have a talented manager who has successfully operated at L1 and Championship level. I don't know the ins and outs (nor want to) and am only commenting from a distance admittedly but those two things combined should have now given them promotion to L1 or at least more playoff appearances at L2 level. I'm still surprised the unpleasant Mr Steve Evans didn't manage to take them up, as that is what he does at almost every lower league club he managers.

If I had to guess why they haven't had more success under Radford I would guess it comes down to substandard recruitment, or their is a curse on Field MFI.

They did some Trew-style chopping and changing for a while, recruiting the youth team coach as manager and then sacking him a few months later. That can't have helped. But they've had Clough for a while now, and from what I can see, they have a strong L2 squad that's good enough to challenge at the top. They'll get there eventually, but it just goes to show that L2 isn't a walk in the park. We can't just expect to turn up and turn teams over.

It's way too early for predictions, but I suspect we'll have a shaky start as we acclimatise to the new level. We might even have to adjust our style when we realise that decent teams can take advantage of our high line. But we'll eventually pick up some momentum and finish top half.

It all depends on who comes and goes over the summer though.

[Robertomac]

Comparing the standard of one division to another is almost impossible. I watched all the playoff games and thought the standard in L1 and L2 was pretty poor. I'm probably living in fantasy land but thought that we look a much better side than all the teams I saw. In some respects, certain teams looked more like my perception of a non-league team if you'd asked me 5 years ago - lots of knocking it long into the channels and no-nonsense defending.

The only thing I keep thinking is that we managed to finish 5th under Nolan in L2 having been in the automatic spots for much of the season. That team was pretty dreadful really and got to within 2 games of promotion. I remember when we were top of the league and winning games, I never thought we looked the part - polar opposite to this season, Munto and Big Sam.

[MAD_MAGPIE]

Comparing the standard of one division to another is almost impossible. I watched all the playoff games and thought the standard in L1 and L2 was pretty poor. I'm probably living in fantasy land but thought that we look a much better side than all the teams I saw. In some respects, certain teams looked more like my perception of a non-league team if you'd asked me 5 years ago - lots of knocking it long into the channels and no-nonsense defending.

The only thing I keep thinking is that we managed to finish 5th under Nolan in L2 having been in the automatic spots for much of the season. That team was pretty dreadful really and got to within 2 games of promotion. I remember when we were top of the league and winning games, I never thought we looked the part - polar opposite to this season, Munto and Big Sam.

It’s a good point about the Nolan playoff season and the question we could ask is whether this team is better or not than that one? The style of football is certainly a lot different but what it was is effective at that time.

For years people used to say that you couldn’t progress in the lower leagues or even non league playing “pretty” football without the physicality that those leagues demanded. The Cowleys at Lincoln were probably the last to adopt the traditional lower league style and do it well. It brought them success as a result.

I think the culture is changing in this country and we are starting to appreciate good football and also it is being proven that if you can play a good style of football in the lower leagues then it can be successful.

Doncaster at one point were referred to as the lower league Arsenal when they rose up to the championship.

I don’t expect us to turn up to league two and be in the top three. It would be foolish, arrogant and disrespectful to the league we are going into. There will be tougher challenges ahead but based on Stockport I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think depending on who stays and who comes in that a top ten finish would be out of reach.