Notts Future Prospects: Recruitment, Defensive Fixes, and Trust in Luke Williams

[JohnTheBost]

If you look outside of our fan base, Notts are still being praised, and although some are pointing out the awful defending, most say this is the price of transition back into the football league. Maybe some of it is self-doubt, a lack of confidence within individuals, and maybe some teams have just deserved the results more. I know we can get frustrated, but look how far we have come. The recruitment will fix the defence, and Luke Williams will then get us back on track. Provided we stay up, why lose our heads over a poor run of results?

[JackMagpie95]

Some fans only care about the present instead of the future. Football is like every sport. If you win, it's seen as a success, and what isn't is a run exactly like we are facing right now. Luke Williams has never had this uphill fight with Notts. It will take time and commitment. The very least die-hard fans can do is give him their backing and support. Trust goes a long way; 6th at this stage isn't a bad thing. We need to take stock and account of this. I am even more thankful to be back in the EFL.

[The Heff]

You would expect a professional team to do their homework, and by this I mean know, going into games, how they can punish us. Most, if not all, of the goals we give away come from trying to pass when very few options exist going forward. We play ourselves into tight angles and just pass back. Luke could do with getting us to be a bit more fluid and instruct the players to shake off their marker because there's not enough movement in the middle of the pitch. It's very easy to blame defenders and the keeper, but most defenders are known for their passing ability. We need to cut out going back and just make space to take the ball a few yards more forward. John Bostock had the ability to distribute the ball to either side, while everyone can link with each other. It would take the pressure largely off the defenders because currently it's like a wave when the shore's coming in. It's never-ending, and this leads to errors, poor judgment, and bad defensive decisions.

[ExiledPie]

I’m tired of encountering negativity online. It’s not beneficial for me, and it certainly isn’t for Notts. I understand and share the frustration with the defence, but we need to move on. We won’t win every match, and if we persist in feeling frustrated by every occurrence, no progress will be made.

[NottsTastic]

I think many fans tend to overreact, but that doesn’t negate our poor defensive performance. I can’t take calls for Luke Williams’ dismissal seriously, but those who are demanding improvements and expecting them to come from the defence have valid points.

[Fan of Big Tone]

8 hours ago, NottsTastic said:

I can’t take calls for Luke Williams’ dismissal seriously

I haven’t seen any calls for Luke to be sacked but I’m not surprised some football fans are very fickle and some are just thick! I honestly wouldn’t give them the time of day let alone spend time explaining why he shouldn’t be sacked. It’s totally ridiculous.

[liampie]

@Fan of Big Tone oh i have seen some and they tend to be the first people to complain too.

notts are in a good position still, this is a testing time for luke williams but to be fair, its a good experience for him to learn from. other clubs fans wont be as invested as our own but even then we need to remember that when luke gets things to click, he is more than capable of taking us higher up. with him still learning, we need to worry then.

[Morten Johansen]

The club`s vision in terms of how the team should play is clear: we want attractive and dominating possession-oriented football. They appointed LW, and he has delivered brilliantly.

The issue is that the football style is only suited for a handful of the squad. The team is extremely vulnerable to injuries on key players due to one simple reason: the differences between the injured player and the backup player are massive, and becomes even bigger due to the chosen style of play.

There is a huge mismatch between LW`s preferred tactical approach and the team`s ability when key players are out. With all due respect, Austin/JOB/Gosling simply can`t replace a Matty Palmer or a John Bostock. The midfield suddently goes from dominating to inferior. This becomes even clearer in the tactical setup LW has implemented, which to be fair, is quite complex for a League Two club. And I love him for that.

However, we can`t "blame" everything on injuries. There has to be some sort of flexibility from LW, at least some tweaks in key situations.

We haven`t been able to use the midfield properly after Matty`s injury, even after Bostock`s return. Should there be a larger emphasis on going long in stressed situations, even if Langstaff will lose 90 % of the headers? Then we would at least be able to fight for the second and third ball and establish play between our best players, which are upfront. Should JJ be more included in the built up in central areas? Just look how the last game changed when he was more included.

Hopefully we can achieve a draw against Stockport and get a double win against Doncaster and Morecambe before New Year. I`m forever optimistic!

[menzinho]

I do feel the defence gets a hard time at times, I agree with @The Heff the midfielders are just as culpable as the defenders at times, when they get pressed they pass it back simply giving the responsibility to the defender. So when a defender gets pressed they can only really play it back to the goalkeeper. He'll play it out to another defender, who passes it to midfielder… If they don’t go forward it can become a vicious cycle!

We’ve kind of sorted the individual errors and awful decision making from the Wimbledon/Shrewsbury games but in the last two games we’ve just lost that dynamism and the whole team’s ability to quickly win the ball back isn’t quite there. I think the general health of this squad this season is definitely hampering us now, especially as we are running with a small squad. Bostock is still clearly struggling as he only managed 60 minutes against Harrogate, so the midfield is in a right state at the minute. This is not a dig at O’Brien, he’s been great for us, but when you are suddenly relying on him to be the main man in midfield something has gone very wrong. Gosling looks to have been a proper cross your fingers and hope for the best signing and so far with January less than 2 weeks away it's not worked out.

But it’s definitely not all doom and gloom, far from it. We’re still in the play-offs and whilst it would be amazing to get promoted, not getting promoted isn’t the be all and end all. We’re not in some race against the clock to get into league 1. I think when you get promoted you want to do it like last season when you are comfortably one of the best teams in the division, that way you have a better chance of continued success. There’s no point going up only to come straight back down. The Reedtz Bros have shown they like to build, and it’s absolutely the right way of doing things and that takes time. Luke Williams has shown last season he’s 100% the right man for the job and I’m certain we’ll have a few fresh faces in January. The club is the best position it’s been for years, probably the best in my time supporting Notts.

[CliftonMagpie]

I don’t think we’re doing too badly, despite recent results being poor. It’s more about the performances. We’re not winning ugly, and the attractive football we used to play that allowed us to control games has diminished, but that’s football. We can’t demand Luke Williams’ dismissal, but we can question decisions, the players’ attitudes, etc. It’s all about making fair comments, not immature ones.

[Joshua]

Recruitment will solve most problems. It’s not too hard and some players might leave. I believe we can manage with the team we have, but we need changes. Any new additions will push someone down the order. I value all players and it’s sad to see anyone go, but to improve, there are one or two defenders who aren’t necessary.

[Chris]

Luke Williams isn't going anywhere.

Yes, I have seen serious calls for his position, but I think that is mostly caused by frustration. It's not really needed, but it's part of the game. I think there are many factors as to why we are struggling, injuries, pressure, a lack of fortune, Williams being linked to vacant positions.

It's how we handle these disruptions and with a small squad, it will always be difficult.

The January transfer window is a perfect opportunity to get this right, signing players to fill what we are currently lacking would go along way to allowing us to kick on.

[Robbie]

Luke Williams is the best man to get us challenging for promotion.

Don't forget, we are still in a position to challenge for promotion in 2024.

We have to take note that we have stepped up a level. We have to compete with every team in this league no matter where that team is in this league they will all be tough. We've already seen it in the first half of the season. All the teams are capable of beating each other in this league.

Teams have studied us and they have their plans to exploit any weakness we have. We just have to ensure their plans don't succeed.

I've no doubt Luke will sort things out in the new year with the right recruitment to strengthen our squad.