Chris Buckley: 2 pressing concerns about Notts County squad that must be addressed

Four games into the 2017/18 League Two season I can honestly say how good it is to be back, with the club in a new direction and the players largely showing that we can move forward as a club – especially after the disappointing opening day defeat against Coventry City.

Performances against Scunthorpe United in the League Cup and against Wycombe Wanderers in the league highlight the much-improved atmosphere and work ethic at Notts.

With many of the new signings getting to grip with the expectations of Kevin Nolan, the togetherness in the early games shows just how different things are – whilst to a degree it shows just how much further the club could go.

I’d even say that the Magpies have exceeded my expectations, and I’m not overly disappointed about missing out on going top due to the draw against Accrington Stanley.

Yet despite it being very early into the new season, there are some concerns which will hopefully be dismissed after 7-10 games.

The first concern is the squad size - well, more the fact we seem to have signed players that are more ‘quantity’ rather than ‘quality’.

This said, some seem to be able to be future first-team players, yet it’s just difficult to see how they will do it here at Notts – as there seem to be limited chances and it’s important for young professionals to gain match time.

I realise that there’s a section of fans that believe many of the younger signings are simply development players, yet for me I would have rather seen us opt for the quality that can bring further stability back to the club – maybe even reinforce the chances of gaining promotion this season.

Another concern is the inability to reward players who perform well, whilst backing inconsistency – this is a two-sided coin but for me having players fighting to start is only a good thing. Yet the competiveness isn’t good when there’s little to no rewards.

Take the Jonathan Forte situation for example – this has the potential to be a much bigger problem and if it happened under the previous regime I would be certain it would have more of an impact on the team morale.

I saw a poll on Twitter, I think it was started by NewarkPie, and the response in favour to see the out of favour player Forte start.

Now, I do think Nolan is trying to foster some consistency and keep certain players’ morales high – yet the whole ‘I had a frank and honest conversation’ is pretty weird.

Considering Jon Stead, he hasn’t really contributed anything and the fact that the majority of fans seem concerned that he’s simply lost his legs. Personally, I thought he would gain motivation from simply sitting a game or two out.

Can we really keep starting every game with him and Shola Ameobi up top? Coventry was a stark reminder that even in League Two you require pace to stand a chance.

And this is where having young faces and hungry professionals eager to step in would be a realistic way forward. Up front we have little options on paper - despite Jonathan Forte showing us that he can score, will he make any impact playing the odd 15 minutes here or there?

Nobody knows what Callum Saunders has to offer, yet I don’t think he’s even made the bench in a league game – someone correct me if this is wrong.

And the fact that a large portion of fans want Notts to sign a striker, even going as far as saying the club should wave their chequebook at players (*cough* JJ *cough*). We have seen in previous seasons that this simply isn’t an easy thing to do.

So in a nutshell, I hope the club can avoid issues regarding players who are phased out of the first time or have limited chances to play, whilst ensuring that the quantity we have are in a position to be quality, another situation which we require to be wary about.

Overall it’s very early doors, and this complete performance by Notts doesn’t seem that far a way. Yet we need to be more lethal upfront, and more clinical at the back.

Additionally it would be welcoming to see Notts being able to pass and retain the ball, as this would have ensured the outcome of the Accrington game would have been much different.

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