Match Discussion: Game 40 - The Ammies (H)

[Robbie]

Notts are defeated again at home.

 

So another defeat at home. All of our opponents play exactly the same against us and just wait for our defensive mistakes. It's getting so predictable now 

We are simply not strong enough for this league. We need strong tough players who will not be bullied around.

Notts certainly need a big clear out in the close season, otherwise  Notts will struggle next term 

[Dripsey3]

Salford deserved their win but that first goal......not sure what Cameron thought he was doing, a half arsed effort at a tackle. 2 shots on target for Notts. Not enough to win a game. 

[Robbie]

Post match, Stuart has his say.

I just don't believe in the analogy that a team can play well and lose. A team loses matches because they concede goals.

No point in having the vast majority of possession but their goalie hardly had a save to make, and our goalie had several saves to make.

I think it's going to be difficult for Stuart to get  positive results from these last 7 matches with nothing to play for.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

How many more times? How many more times are Notts going to give away goals at the Death? How many more times is Stuart Maynard going to say, We were the Better team in the First Half. We created Big Moments in the Game. We Performed to a Good Level.  Maybe BUT NOTTS STILL LOST. I'm sorry but I'm afraid I'm slowly losing faith in Stuart Maynard Yes we can point to Injuries and Bad Luck on occasions, but the Buck Stops with the Manager/Head Coach. How can the Magpies go to Newport and win 3-1. Then go to Bradford and win 3-0 only to come back to Meadow Lane and lose to teams, they shouldn't be losing too?

Even the most Ardent Stuart Maynard supporter must realize deep down he's out of his depth. All the excuses Well it's not his team, he needs time etc etc they just won't wash anymore Two wins and two Draws is it? Under his tenure it's just not good enough, I'm afraid come the Summer he along with the Vast Numbers of the Notts playing Squad need to be gone they are just Not Up To League 2 Standard. And while we're at it Get Rid Of The Recruitment Team, what they are getting paid for is Beyond Me.

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man

I've defended Stuart on many occasions but his post match interview was a bit bazaar for me. His insistence that the team played to a good level doesn't wash with me. We lost didn't we?

Notts beat Salford at their place so easily. We were top of the league in October playing much better than we are now.

The Notts collapse since then has been unprecedented, & I don't see how Notts are going to finish these last 7 games on a high. It will be tough for Maynard to keep his job now.

[DonnyNotts]

I think most have accepted that we are just now rolling along to the end of the season with no particular hopes or fears. I said at the start of the season that staying up was the main objective, then we made a fantastic start that had us all dreaming. Job done for me, though I would like to see a few more victories. Look forward to next season, not knowing yet who will be in charge and,  I'm guessing, a few different players.

[menzinho]

I wasn’t at the game but I got a message from a friend who said the best three players on the pitch (for us) were Macari, Robertson & Crowley – all signed this season so the recruitment team aren’t as bad as some make out.

Overall performance was poor and he said you'd have thought that was the last game of the season. I know it was a very outside chance of making the play-offs but there was surely some motivation there today. I think the most disappointing aspect was how we didn’t kick on after equalising – what happened there? Did we just sit back or feel like a draw would do? And then to not get at least get a draw is a real downer.

Very much feels like one step forward, one step back (after previously taking a few steps back). It’s not a great situation to be in a season just petering out (having nose-dived). It doesn’t get the fans excited for next season and the worry will be it'll be more of the same. It’s an odd situation because we’re not getting particularly outplayed by the opposition but at the same time we keep losing. Does this just mean some better players will fix it? I hope so...

Oh and @Fan of Big Tone I think the luck in that hat has worn out now! 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Menzinho

The reason why the Recruitment team are being called out is there were No EFL Standard defenders signed in January and in fact the defence as been poor for a Number of seasons. Yes Macari was signed but only because he was getting no where with Stoke and coming to the end of his contract there and he was already at Notts on loan so it was clear he was worth a gamble So one New Defender. Go back over the last few seasons and see  who the Recruitment team have signed and you will find a lot more Duds than Gems. Why weren't the Notts players that got the Magpies promoted Not Screened and their Data explored to see, if they were up to League 2 Standard ? The Recruitment team should have all their details on File and must have known, that a vast majority of players were Not Up to playing at this League's Level. So they must accept their share of the Blame for Notts Present Woes. Did they have anything to do with the Hiring of Stuart Maynard? Or was that just down to the Owners?

[Fozzy]

The main issue I have with Maynard is that he still can’t stop the goals from going in, but he has changed us from a side that attacks with insightful movement and passing with quick ball delivery into danger areas, to a side that plays plodding crab football that relies on either Jodi or Dan creating something. We’re better off going back to all out attack at home as this style of football in strangling the side and boring to watch.

Massive and expensive decisions need to be made in the summer as 50% of this side aren’t good enough to play league football for Notts and Maynard isn’t good enough to lead them.

I did think Robertson had a really good game today and was easily my MotM, without him we would have been overwhelmed in midfield and he seemed to be the only one willing to tussle with Smith.

 

 

 

[Robbie]

@Fozzy I agree, I've defended Stuart up to now, but some odd decisions like selecting Slocombe over Ashby-Hammond and Chicksen over O'Brien and putting Jodi on the right instead of being on the left, leaving Notts with a shape that didn't work in the first half.

Changing it at half time saw an improvement but we failed to take opportunity and Notts were sucker punched once again.

I want Stuart to succeed but I'm not so sure of him now.

[Morten Johansen]

The post match interviews are just making things worse for Maynard. Saying "I think we played well all game" after a match like this is quite bizarre.

"I thought Chicks was excellent". No he wasn`t.

Say it like it is. We aren`t dumb.

[Fozzy]

Bang on @Morten Johansen, he really isn’t helping himself and he will become a laughing stock if he continues with this style of interview. Many managers have tried it before at all clubs and it doesn’t wash with fans, you can’t treat us like idiots, especially when things are going badly. 

I think the owners will be forced to act by the end of the season as a manager that doesn’t have fan backing will just alienate them and we’re not about that as a club, and it will destroy all of Jason Turner’s legacy to bring the club and fans together.

He has 7 games left to save his Notts future, and probably needs to win at least four of them.

[Dripsey3]

I try not to think too far ahead but I'm already worried about next season, especially if SM is in charge and Langstaff leaves. We could be staring down the barrel of relegation yet again. It's not an easy fix, but it isn't an impossible task. If the defence is sorted, we are half way there. It has to be the number 1 priority, goalkeeper included. I'd rather SM is let go at the end of the season so he has no input for next season. Harsh? Absolutely but we cannot go back to the NL. No way. 

[Morten Johansen]

@Fozzy Exactly. Decisions need to be made and they won`t be easy.

[menzinho]

No recruitment team is ever going to get it perfect, but @Wheelbarrow repair man I think it’s a whole lot better than previous regimes. For years we had Che Adams playing next door and we signed Tyrell Waite instead! This season has had some issues and agree it could’ve been better.

I’ll assume we missed out on some defensive targets because I can’t imagine we didn’t try, credible journalists have said we bid for Keeley and offered Vancooten a contract over the summer but they didn’t sign. And it’s always harder to recruit in Jan as no-one is out of contract and we won’t over pay for anyone.

Sometimes data can only act as an insight to help make a judgement, I guess the club made the judgement over the summer that we need to just see if our players can play in L2 and having done so well last season it would’ve been bizarre not to at least give them a chance. And this team were in the play-offs when Luke Williams left...

As for the head coach I believe the Notts board deal with that and right now that is made up of the Bros and Richard Montague. Not sure the recruitment team as a whole has much to do with hiring coaches, maybe they help to identify targets but they won’t get a say.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

I Agree with some of your points menzinho , but I think the new contracts handed out in the Summer, were done so with the Heart Ruling the Head. As I have stated many times on this site, Luke Williams Man Management skills were much more Superior than Stuart Maynard's and he could get good performances out of mediocre players. Once Williams departed the Rot that had started to set in during the latter part of his tenure spread at an Alarming Rate under Maynard. It is wrong to lay all of Notts problems at Maynard's door, but Football is a Results game and Maynard hasn't got them hence all the backlash from Fans.

To be Honest I never read or heard about the players you mentioned that Notts tried to sign. But then again there must have been more than just two Defenders to be looked at? Anyway I expect a Massive Shake Up at the Lane this Summer.

[DangerousSausage]

When I'm watching on iFollow, there tends to be a goal when I leave the room. So around the 85th minute, and with us still looking the likelier team to score, I went for a toilet break. Soon after I hear Dave Bracegirdle raise his voice - it's a goal! I do a little fist pump, finish up, wash my hands and go back to my computer. Oh. Sorry about costing us the point, but I doubt it'll count for much now anyway.

I don't think we were as good as SM described (if we were playing so well, why change the formation at half time?), but nor were we terrible. We looked very purposeful at the start of the second half, but missed a few chances to take the lead and instead let ourselves down thanks to a moment of utter naivety at the end (coupled with the mystical powers of my toilet breaks). I'm not going to mention the defence because I'm just bored of it now. Going forwards, Jones has been excellent but we've become over-reliant on him now, which makes us predictable. And once again we get a changed selection and a different formation even coming off the back of a win, with Jatta and Langstaff evidently confused about who should be standing where. How can our players play as a fluid unit when they don't know what they're supposed to be doing? There's no wonder we can't build any momentum.

Five home defeats on the bounce is the worst since the implosion of John Sheridan's tenure (have we ever lost six?). I'm finding it increasingly difficult to envisage Maynard leading us into next season. We badly need some leadership and organisation at the back next season if we're to avoid getting dragged into the mire and potentially doing a Hartlepool next season.

[liampie]

the biggest issue i felt is that we did not threaten them enough, salford were poor but they controlled things and when they could pounce they did. their opening goal, it came from us being too casual on the ball. people are singling out kyle cameron who has not been great, but we should not be so sloppy to gift the ball away. we had every opportunity to make a game of it and get goals, but we are very cut throat. we over play it and rely on almost walking the ball into the net, we need to stop allowing teams to pack their goal with players because that just makes it unlikely for this to be successful.

there are times when we move the ball around and look very good, attacking with pace and determination but the moment we hit a defensive wall it just becomes a problem.