Match Discussion: Game 32 - The Gills (H)

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

 

[Fozzy]

Well, that was a tough watch.

Never created one clear opening in the first half as Crowley’s goal was all his own work, Gillingham just did the basics well at the back, which is something that we are incapable of doing and we couldn’t break them down.

Stone is without a doubt, the worst keeper I remember in a Notts shirt for many a year. Immobile, flat footed, and glued to his line for crosses. That third goal was totally shambolic, we’ve just got to find a way to ship him out in the summer.

I’m pretty sure the season is done for us now, without Matty we just have no idea what to do and we can’t move the ball quick enough without him. We’re physically too small and get so easily bullied by bigger sides and our players just can’t cope with it, only Robertson was willing to get stuck in and try to win the ball, the rest of the side appear to be scared of getting hurt!

Going to take us at least two seasons to be in a position to challenge for promotion, we need a lot of personnel change.

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

Really gutted tonight with the nature of our performance.

I always thought that these series of matches against the top sides would be defining for our prospects this season, and it is proving to be.

I have tried to be positive over the chances of us making the playoffs this season. I still think we can. On my model a few weeks ago we needed 10 wins and a couple of draws minimum to get into the playoffs.

I believe 76 points would be enough and I still believe that, but from now on we can only afford 4 more defeats on that model and we have to win at least 10 and draw at least two.

The trouble is, we've had this problem with leaking goals all season and there seems no end to it.

This suggestion might be unpopular, but I think we need to change our style of play a little now, and for the next few matches, graft out some results by going more defensive, even if it doesn't look pretty.

Our present style clearly ISN'T working, so there has to be a plan B.

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Fozzy said:

Well, that was a tough watch.

Never created one clear opening in the first half as Crowley’s goal was all his own work, Gillingham just did the basics well at the back, which is something that we are incapable of doing and we couldn’t break them down.

Stone is without a doubt, the worst keeper I remember in a Notts shirt for many a year. Immobile, flat footed, and glued to his line for crosses. That third goal was totally shambolic, we’ve just got to find a way to ship him out in the summer.

I’m pretty sure the season is done for us now, without Matty we just have no idea what to do and we can’t move the ball quick enough without him. We’re physically too small and get so easily bullied by bigger sides and our players just can’t cope with it, only Robertson was willing to get stuck in and try to win the ball, the rest of the side appear to be scared of getting hurt!

Going to take us at least two seasons to be in a position to challenge for promotion, we need a lot of personnel change.

I applaud you for your honesty. It is still possible to make the playoffs, but I agree it's getting unlikely.

[Fan of Big Tone 𝕏 @mainstandpie]

What did everyone think of Warner’s contribution, I wasn’t overly impressed I thought he was bullied by their big forward for the first goal and didn’t cover himself with glory for the second one either.

[Fozzy]

8 hours ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

What did everyone think of Warner’s contribution, I wasn’t overly impressed I thought he was bullied by their big forward for the first goal and didn’t cover himself with glory for the second one either.

Yet another young, inexperienced defender. Will be a good player in a couple of years but at the moment he is making the mistakes you would expect a young player to make. Would be good alongside an experienced, vocal partner, oh wait, we don’t have one of those. 
Again, the recruitment team have ignored our defensive needs in the window.

[Dripsey3]

I'd happily settle for mid table if it meant SM and his system were fully bedded in for next season. We'll struggle to hit 50 points the way things are going. That may turn around later in the season. The last thing we need is more instability so SM is here for the foreseeable future so we should back him. 

[Fan of Big Tone 𝕏 @mainstandpie]

50 minutes ago, Dripsey3 said:

I'd happily settle for mid table if it meant SM and his system were fully bedded in for next season. We'll struggle to hit 50 points the way things are going. That may turn around later in the season. The last thing we need is more instability so SM is here for the foreseeable future so we should back him. 

Agreed, some of the social media crowd have already lost patience but as you say we don’t need instability he’s definitely got my backing and I’m confident he’ll pull it round.

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

 

[DangerousSausage]

I thought we started the match well, we looked creative and incisive. It didn't translate into many clear-cut chances, but that was due in no small part to Gilingham's deep, well-organised defence. When we took the lead it was well deserved.

In days gone by, a single goal would be enough to win a home game, or at least get a point. This season, we need a hatful to stand a chance. What followed after the goal was a horror show, a very basic equaliser visibly shook the team's confidence and we never recovered it. They made it hard for us, and we made it easy for them. Now we need to get our remaining points from the strugglers and get used to the idea of the bottom half of the table, as that's where we'll be finishing.

I thought Robertson had a decent game and could prove a good signing given time. Warner has the makings of a decent player, but anyone expecting this raw youngster to save our season needs to give their head a wobble.

11 hours ago, Robbie said:

I think we need to change our style of play a little now, and for the next few matches, graft out some results by going more defensive, even if it doesn't look pretty.

That's exactly what we've done under Maynard, the midfielders are tracking back and shielding the defence much more than under LW. None of that compensates for players not challenging for headers or loose balls.

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

My immediate response to yesterday's performance in the form of a tweet.

Spoiler

The opening of the game was good, Notts looked bright and eager to start it off well.

There was something positive about how direct our play unfolded, the way we kept calm even when we had to come back. I think it always looked likely that we would score the first goal. The run by Jodi Jones to make the space, to which Dan Crowley perfectly struck the ball - it was a superb goal. From there, our problems began. Gillingham instantly didn't sit on the score and wanted to get back into the game. That level of desire from Gillingham was impressive.

Notts are very standoffish when it comes to defending. Nobody were marking the cross from Gillingham which led to their leveller.

I felt at the time that Jodi Jones needed to be a bit braver with trying to win the ball, however, I also believe that Macaulay Langstaff should have tried to fill the space in front, instead of thinking to cover Jodi. It's one of those situations where you would ideally see that someone more defensive would see that space and attempt to plug the gap. John Bostock was watching the space but the ground he covered would have been more vulnerable had he moved.

The cross was very good, the defence should have handled it better, but there was an element of misfortune.

There was little Aidan Stone could have done and the comments I heard during the game directed to him, it added to the frustration. From there, Gillingham surged off the back of the confidence gained from the goal, and you could see how they wanted more - whilst Notts just stepped back.

Notts' defence was very weak with Gillingham's second goal.

Again, we didn't show any spatial awareness and nobody attempted to cut out the cross. There's been an element of this for a while now, we simply ride our luck and the way the ball comes in there's just not enough pressure from a defensive point of view. We can't just stick a foot out, the danger of giving a penalty away is quite high but no attempts to block the ball? It's obvious we are once again ball watching.

Kyle Cameron could have got a little tighter to the player that flicked the ball on for the goal, that may have made a difference. Yet, you could make the point that Aden Baldwin just watched the ball pass him by. Look, we see things differently from the stands and to the players it happens so fast - whilst we need to be better. I accept that these issues will occur; my point in commenting is to discuss and bring awareness to them.

Unfortunately, again Jodi just isn't watching his man and reacts a little slow to the threat. I have made the point recently that I wished to see more from him in regard to his defending, we are blessed by his ability but as the last hope in our defence his positioning, marking and reaction should have been better. Our whole defending should have been better, so it's not just one plater - it's collectively, but it comes from being aware of the threat and how the play is opening up before us.

We concede goals, there's 'major issues', if we narrowly lose praise is given to how things have improved 'defensively'. Simply, right now it's very early days and I would agree that our issues were set in well before Stuart Maynard arrived. I really hope fans can give him the time needed to get grips, quite a lot expressed to me that they feel he's out of his depth and I personally think it's too early to point the finger there.

I think calls for making changes are deserved; if this is formation based or tactical, so be it. I do feel like our game management needs to be picked up, with our squad working harder. Another point I read yesterday, is how losing Luke Williams may impact our mentality but if this is the case, we need to put it aside and move on.

I wasn't impressed with David McGoldrick, Notts seems afraid to take him off, but he was appearing at least to me to be very tired, but his home performances haven't been great as of late, and maybe he would benefit from a bit of a rest? Dan Crowley and Jodi Jones were very good, by far our best threats going forward. We need to get Macaulay Langstaff more into the game, the guy doesn't stop running and my earlier point about his defending, it's good he's trying to cover, but I still think we need him further up the pitch.

If we give him instructions to go back, then he's responsible for defending, ideally someone else would be doing this, but I feel currently there's little play to get him involved.

I was wrong about Aaron Nemane, he was poor and his crossing a lot of the time was just smashed in hope of causing trouble. I don't think he was the only one, a lot of our crossing was wasted.

Jaden Warner wasn't an issue for me, yes he made one slip, but that's because of the rain. The ball bounced a bit weirdly, and it just seemed to slip. I think in the first half he looked far better than he did in the second. By that point, Notts were struggling to make simple passes and that's pressure. Gillingham stuck to a game plan, adapted to their setback and responded exactly how I wished Notts would.

Defensively, they grew in the game and did very well.

Around the 70th minute mark, Notts started to get into the game and a goal at this point could have rescued a point. I didn't feel if this did happen that we could go on to win, but I did feel like we might be able to get a third. Gillingham were unlucky not to have got a 4th, the moment when the ball went from post to post was a very nerving moment even at 3-1. I'm afraid despite the pressure from us to try to get something, we just lacked any real quality to get the goals required.

My final point, yes, the game was very disappointing and difficult to watch. We are in this together, whilst I may have my personal views on performances and what went wrong, I won't tweet this to the players because it's counterproductive. I would hope if any of them read this post, they would see I am trying to be fair. We lost, we moved onto the next game. It's very cliché, and I repeat it, but I feel it's very true in this situation. Stuart Maynard's first win should restore some of the confidence in the camp, but working on the mistakes made by poor defensive decisions and position would be a starting point. We are better off no matter where we finish this season, I have faith we can learn from this and pick up within time but as fans we need to be a little patient.

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

Spot on from @ARLukomski

 

[menzinho]

Very frustrating and disappointing, you don’t mind losing to a good team but Gillingham didn’t really put us any much pressure for the majority of the game. We didn’t play particularly well either but to give them 2 goals from their only 2 attempts in the first half is so bad.

@Chris pretty much covers the whole game and my thoughts too so thanks for saving me the time to type them all out!

Just in terms of the wider picture I think given the record-breaking season we previously had it’s easy to get carried away and think we can replicate that in the league above the truth is no-one has ever had back-to-back promotions in years, maybe even never (I’ve not checked that far back).

But we know the main problems are goals against, particularly conceding on the counter and balls into our box and there’s a real lack of depth to the squad too. Injuries haven’t helped either and Matty Palmer’s injury has pretty much confirmed to me he’s probably the most important player in our squad.

Lots of teams have been trying to get promoted from this league for years, Mansfield have spent a good 7 seasons at it (and spent a lot of money) they might finally get promoted this season… There’s absolutely no reason for us to panic though and the Bros certainly won’t be. I think it would’ve been very harsh to gut the majority of the team last season without at least giving them a chance to prove themselves. This season will be a valuable learning curve for us.

Edited February 10 by menzinho

[gtownjohnno]

We have had them before... Iam talking about 'vampire goalkeepers'.... Stone is a classic case...... Absolutely frightened to death of crosses.......!!!!!!!!!! 

[liampie]

i can understand the frustration because it was poor to see how we performed after taking the lead, i would not say we settled for that goal but it was like we went through the motion of having scored to concede and then being afraid to go again.

gillingham did well, they knew where we was weak and the first two goals show how teams are noticing the aerial threat.

as a team we do need to mark better and try to win the ball back once we have lost it, we can pass around and have large amounts of possession but when we concede due to not pressuring the opposition it does make it more frustrating as a supporter. i am glad fans decided to leave, without venting their frustration after the game. there may have been some who did, but i heard no booing and no offensive comments.

[JustLikeJuve]

The match underscores our need to improve game management. We attempt to regain possession everywhere except our own half, which is crucial. Our players let the opposition advance. Goals hurt the team, and it’s almost expected that if we score first, we’ll likely concede soon after. This suggests a mental issue. If we can break this pattern, Notts might score a second goal, changing the game’s dynamic. If we concede, we’re inviting more goals, and then it’s game over. It’s quite vexing.

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

Extremely poor.

 

Stone isn't the keeper we need. 

 

All this talk about defending as a unit, but the back 3 plus keeper can't clear basic crosses to the back stick.

Mcgoldrick was poor again. Not sure how his second touch at times is so poor.

Langstaff poor. Some very good chances he squandered.

Bostock looks lost and / or knackered.

Nemane is such a strange footballer. He has all the skills and attributes, but his decision making is shocking.

 

It's easier to say who I thought had a decent game; Baldwin, Jones and Robertson. 

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

 

[liampie]

@Piethagoram i do think signing a striker for that amount of money could have been used to bring in more quality in much needed areas but i dont think we can write off alassana jatta. i do think his height may be a blessing, but again, the money could have been better spent.

[Joshua]

If you’ve backed Notts before the Reedtz brothers’ era, you’d be familiar with this situation, and it’s disappointing. I fear we’re falling out of the promotion race as teams typically hit their stride at this stage, and we’re not. The midfield was largely to blame for the goals. People can keep pointing fingers at Aidan Stone, but no goalie could have stopped the opportunities Gillingham created. With three centre backs, insufficient wide cover, and a static approach to middle pressing, Notts faltered due to a lack of ruthlessness. Fixing this will take time, and Stuart Maynard needs to be afforded that time.

[JohnTheBost]

The performance wasn't too great, but we can't blame Stuart Maynard for it. The players should improve their defending, and the club must work on getting fans back as their support can be an advantage. Yesterday had many topics to discuss, but I'm glad the Kop stayed committed. Except for Scott Robertson and Dan Crowley, the midfield lacked consistency and quality. Jodi Jones had only occasional good moments, so I don't consider him despite his efforts.

[DonnyNotts]

Crest of a slump

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

Agree  @JohnTheBost  I'm not going to target any individuals why we keep conceding goals like we do, but it is a team problem, and I anticipate changes for Newport.

We have to defend and attack as a team. Players have to cover where gaps are left when on the attack. We have to start challenging attackers further up the pitch.Those who are not working hard enough need to be rested.

I want us to shut up shop against Newport and hit them on the break. We've just got to stop trying to score 5 or 6 every game. We need to ensure we don't concede first.

[RetroPie 𝕏 @Retro_Pie]

The defending was really poor yesterday, and it's been a growing issue. It felt inevitable that we'd face scoring challenges since we can't just outscore every team at this level with our tendency to concede goals easily. I usually stay for the entire game, but I left around the 75th minute. Losing is fine, but we didn't seem likely to score a second goal. I preferred leaving early to head home rather than freezing further watching that. It's not Stuart Maynard; the players aren't learning from repeated mistakes. Let's look ahead to the next game and hope for improvement.

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

Agree @RetroPie some are blaming Stuart, but how can it be his fault?

Luke had half a season to sort it and didn't.

The players are just not learning from their mistakes.

I see changes coming against Newport on Tuesday.

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

The over riding issues is that our defenders / GK cannot defend. The 2nd worst defence in the NL last season for defensive resilience. How many times this season defenders back off, make mistakes. This is not about 3 or 4 at the back, it's about individual quality or lack of.