Fans' Forum [01.05.24]

[BigFatPie]

I would have liked a few more questions directed to Rich Montague, but overall an interesting night.

Couple of points:

1. Not sure how many young loanees we’ll manage to land next season given RM’s admission that Ollie Tipton was signed as a cheap squad filler who they never envisioned playing many minutes.

2. Key word of the night was BALANCE - getting the balance of the team right; getting the balance between defence and attack right; balancing the squad better by getting players who can play several positions (I think Mansfield did this very well).

3. The management and owners are excited by Jatta and Macca working together (McGoldrick not mentioned once all evening).

Shame there were no questions about formations to get the best out of our attacking options or whether 3-5-2 will stay as the default formation.

4. Poor old SM will never be earning a living as an after-dinner speaker - always looking to bring the conversation to a close ASAP, after a couple of bland sentences. He really is the complete opposite of LW.

I’ve only watched the tail end and seen summations elsewhere but I’m glad the loans situation was brought up, our use of younger players on loan has been awful. Stockport and Mansfield both did a great job on that front this season.

Also thought it was a bit odd the head coach was perched on the end, maybe I’m overthinking it. I’ve yet to see a single reason why the club appear to have so much faith in him.

[OldBanksy]

4. Poor old SM will never be earning a living as an after-dinner speaker - always looking to bring the conversation to a close ASAP, after a couple of bland sentences. He really is the complete opposite of LW.

Good summing up. Dreadful. God knows what the players make of him.

[Old_pie]

4. Poor old SM will never be earning a living as an after-dinner speaker - always looking to bring the conversation to a close ASAP, after a couple of bland sentences. He really is the complete opposite of LW.

He can't speak too much because he hasn't got the rest of his management team with him.

The fault with the bland sentences is because the management speak cliche book needs updating.

Let's hope he can show qualities in areas that matter. It is becoming clear that there is some steel behind the owners and I don't think they will tolerate fools or failure for long, but they will give their employees a fair opportunity. AH or RT would have sacked RM already.

[Elite_Pie]

Decent event - important that the club engages with fans through nights like this, even if the quality of the questioning varies.

I had to put it on pause and have only just finished watching it, and found it mostly enjoyable. Even though there is supposedly an open ballot for places at these forums, it's noticeable that a few always manage to get selected and then ask multiple questions. Also the greyer your hair, the more likely you are to get a seat on the front row!

[LeftPeg_Pie]

Missed the first 25 minutes or so then binned it off at 9 o’clock. Big fan of Joe Palmer. Obviously knows what he’s doing; speaks brilliantly. Always nice to hear from the Reedtz’s too.

I enjoy listening to Montague, thought he was decent on the Magpie Circle recently too. Not sure why people are getting so grumpy about Maynard not being overly charismatic. So what? Never really brought into a manager needing to be that way, nor all singing and dancing on the touch line.

I think Fans Forums are excellent events and they could easily have swerved doing that at the end of what turned into a disappointing season.

I thought the discussion around performances not being quite where they should be across the season, based on the metrics, was interesting. I’d like to see the data they use to come to these judgments.

As always, some superb (not always for the right reasons) fan questions; yes, more often than not the sausage rolls are crap.

Personally, I thought the Kyle Cameron question wasn’t overly necessary. I’m not sure what the asker really expected in response. Maybe that’s because I’m not a great believer in the captaincy in football actually meaning too much in the first place. But each to their own.

[SmiffyPie]

Not sure why people are getting so grumpy about Maynard not being overly charismatic. So what? Never really brought into a manager needing to be that way, nor all singing and dancing on the touch line.

Glad you said that. There are some very critical people on here, so SM doesn't appear to be overly confident when talking in public, so what! Probably nervous about what he says in case some knobheads jump on his every word.

[jackal2]

I would have liked a few more questions directed to Rich Montague, but overall an interesting night.

2. Key word of the night was BALANCE - getting the balance of the team right; getting the balance between defence and attack right; balancing the squad better by getting players who can play several positions (I think Mansfield did this very well).

Yes that was noticeable.

Self-evidently the balance between attack and defence this season hasn't been right, and it's clear from the comments that the club is going to look for players who are physically more competitive and defensively more robust, which is the right thing to do. We don't lack for attacking talent and creativity, but the defensive foundation of the team needs to be much stronger next year.

[AllNottsAreWe]

I appreciate the members of the panel giving up their time for the event.

Apart from the CEO, none of them are comfortable in a front of a camera or have any charisma. I was pretty bored after about 15 minutes.
Apart from the Cameron question it was pretty safe stuff.

Fans asking about tea, coffee and sausage rolls....really ??

Like most fans I am only really interested in new players, ambitions for the season.
I like the off field plans however.

Didn't really learn anything new.

[maddogslater]

Maynard not an after dinner speaker or stand up comedian, get rid, because that's all that counts 😀
Half the managers in the Premier league can't speak English 🙃

[maddogslater]

Really ! Someone asked about tea, coffee and sausage rolls 😆 I've got to listen now to hear that whopper