Rumours presented as fact

[drillerpie]

Obviously the jury is very much still out on SM and a few results need to be strung together to bring the atmosphere back to where it was months ago, but I think we can put a couple of rumours (some of which have become as good as fact on here based on little or no evidence) to bed.

The players are not trying for Maynard because he is too small / has too annoying a voice / doesn’t know how to speak to footballers and /or There was a dressing room bust up as players who have played at a higher level have rebelled against Maynard and his staff, on behalf of the entire squad.

I've always thought the not trying was a silly one as the effort has clearly been there. There have actually been some improvements in this regard like our players now try to block crosses at source and they shout at each other in the pleasingly manly style when a runner is not tracked or a pass is misplaced. There were also a few primal screams from our players at the final whistle. They are trying.

Regarding the bust up, a few posters (including regulars) implied they knew what happened but couldn't say anything, and alluded to the seriousness of the incident. Last night Jodi Jones hugged Maynard at the final whistle and they walked on the pitch with their arms round each other and big smiles on their faces.

Maybe people were telling the truth, a bust up really happened but now they're over it. Maybe a bust up never happened and was invented to harm Maynard's reputation and others went along with it and pretended to be in the know to get Internet clout. Who knows?

Jatta is lightweight, can't score with his head, is not L2 standard, and is only here as an accounting formality to enable us to route a 150k charitable donation to Viborg.

Bullet header for his first and emphatic finish for his second. He must now be our most prolific goalscorer per minute on the pitch (albeit from a tiny sample size) and looks an all round great addition.

He gives us an extra dimension. He doesn't win that many headers from our goal kicks but he poses a big problem for centre halves as they have to wrestle him while they're heading it, inatead of picking a pass with their header. This means we have a lot higher chance of picking up the second ball. He is lightning quick and if a defender gets rolled as we saw last night, they are not going to get anywhere near him for a recovery tackle.

He even got a foot in a couple of times while pressing and turned possession over.

What happened in the second half last night is why I said the morning after the Crawley game I would've liked to see him come on to play on the counter with Macca. Slide him a decent ball to run on to and he will make life very uncomfortable for defenders. The 'Gambian beauty' could still turn our season around if we play to his strengths.

[Robertomac]

For it to be established as a fact, according to NCM rules, you just need to follow your post with 'FACT' or for one that's beyond doubt, 'FACT, end of'. No further evidence is required 😉

Good post. The jubilation at the final whistle was clear and the players looked as pleased for SM as vice versa. I know it's only one win, but it was a commanding performance and for once, the luck seemed to fall in our favour.

I did notice that JJ didn't look happy when he came off and seemed to snub SM somewhat. Not surprising when you consider that was the 3rd occasion he'd brought him off when in a winning position. But, after the final whistle, SM and JJ walked on to the pitch together and any frostiness seemed to melt away.

[kill_the_drum]

Ultimately managers are judged purely on results, but over a small sample that can be unfair or misleading. I feel/hope that is the case with SM.
I’ve said the same in a few threads that no coach on the planet can stop the individual errors, and they are what have caused most of our results. You look outside of that and I’ve still seen a team that work hard, move the ball well and look like they care.
The problem is, a lot of fans didn’t want him and that will surface whenever we don’t win.
If we somehow made the playoffs and lost in the final, the comments about him will still be the same. It will never be the players fault, it will always be SM.
Negativity breeds negativity, and it makes anyone’s life/job harder and less enjoyable. If SM isn’t good enough, that will eventually reach its obvious conclusion. But as supporters, why can’t we just support and give him and the players every chance to thrive?!

[maddogslater]

I think most fans want to support him and for him to do well but just need a bit of help to
Last night was a good start 😌

[Pietastic]

What a relief to read some balanced thoughts. Bloody love the Pies and totally agree we have always looked like we are trying - I cannot tell you how many Notts's teams over the years have looked disinterested, clueless or watching them has made me lose the will to live. This team are a million miles from that hence personally I can't stand the black and white (no pun intended) negativity. If (big if I know) we beat sulky Salford on Sat suddenly we are on a very decent run at just the right time....

[tied_up_in_notts]

I thought there was a touch of the Justin Fashanu's about Jatta's headed goal, the way he powered in at the back post. Nobody was going to stop him scoring that - when was the last time we had a physical presence like that up front?

[applepie2]

Yes, nice to see that he can head the ball. He came a long way to meet a great cross to the far post, lovely goal of its type. I really enjoyed his emphatic finish in the last minute as well.

Just watched the full replay, and we looked better than I thought from my position last night. Perhaps because I could see the trickiness of the pitch better.

[matt_magpie]

Great post, I never signed on to players not respecting him because of his background. McKenna at Ipswich never played pro and has a history in youth development not managing senior teams.

I’ve no doubt at times he’s got things wrong with changing the formation a bit too much but at least he’s trying a plan B, I.e if their constantly hitting long diagonals to catch out the winbacks defending he’s changed it.
Facts are it was a massive loss to the group to lose LW. Maynard was always going to have to find his feet. The squad is weak in certain areas and put all it together with some tough games too it was never going to be plain sailing.

[legs77]

I agree with original post been no bust up ALL the players went to him last night and every single one looked delighted.

Players at L2 level HAVE to try as they dont earn life changing money whether they are good enough for this level is a different question.

I thought Maynard took Jones off to protect him as well as tighten up as a few Bradford players tried to "do him" and Jones snapped a few times.

Maynard badly needs a home win now.

[BigFatPie]

Obviously the jury is very much still out on SM and a few results need to be strung together to bring the atmosphere back to where it was months ago, but I think we can put a couple of rumours (some of which have become as good as fact on here based on little or no evidence) to bed.

The players are not trying for Maynard because he is too small / has too annoying a voice / doesn’t know how to speak to footballers and /or There was a dressing room bust up as players who have played at a higher level have rebelled against Maynard and his staff, on behalf of the entire squad.

I've always thought the not trying was a silly one as the effort has clearly been there. There have actually been some improvements in this regard like our players now try to block crosses at source and they shout at each other in the pleasingly manly style when a runner is not tracked or a pass is misplaced. There were also a few primal screams from our players at the final whistle. They are trying.

Regarding the bust up, a few posters (including regulars) implied they knew what happened but couldn't say anything, and alluded to the seriousness of the incident. Last night Jodi Jones hugged Maynard at the final whistle and they walked on the pitch with their arms round each other and big smiles on their faces.

Maybe people were telling the truth, a bust up really happened but now they're over it. Maybe a bust up never happened and was invented to harm Maynard's reputation and others went along with it and pretended to be in the know to get Internet clout. Who knows?

Jatta is lightweight, can't score with his head, is not L2 standard, and is only here as an accounting formality to enable us to route a 150k charitable donation to Viborg.

Bullet header for his first and emphatic finish for his second. He must now be our most prolific goalscorer per minute on the pitch (albeit from a tiny sample size) and looks an all round great addition.

He gives us an extra dimension. He doesn't win that many headers from our goal kicks but he poses a big problem for centre halves as they have to wrestle him while they're heading it, inatead of picking a pass with their header. This means we have a lot higher chance of picking up the second ball. He is lightning quick and if a defender gets rolled as we saw last night, they are not going to get anywhere near him for a recovery tackle.

He even got a foot in a couple of times while pressing and turned possession over.

What happened in the second half last night is why I said the morning after the Crawley game I would've liked to see him come on to play on the counter with Macca. Slide him a decent ball to run on to and he will make life very uncomfortable for defenders. The 'Gambian beauty' could still turn our season around if we play to his strengths.

I think you’re talking about two different things there. The first highlighted paragraph is people more than likely pretending to be in the know and making stuff up, not good. In terms of bust ups I do find it a bit curious that McGoldrick was initially out with a dead leg but hasn’t been seen now for 3 or 4 weeks, and with a lack of any other info people will look for other explanations especially when results are poor.

The second is fans generally giving their honest if premature opinions on a new player. That seems reasonable to me, and something I’ve done myself, albeit with the caveat that he might well come good. Fingers crossed that’s what he’s doing.