8 points from a possible 39.

A revealing statistic that compounds all the woes for Notts at the moment.

Twelve games under Stuart with just two away wins and two draws combined with 8 defeats.

Sure, our form was deteriorating under Williams & Luke never addressed the problems in defence that has plagued Notts all season.

But we have to be honest, the current Notts form is relegation form & it's only due to our great results up to October that we don't find ourselves in the bottom two.

These last 7 games are going to decide Stuart Maynard's future at Notts in my opinion. He needs to get Notts to finish with a flourish to possibly keep his job.

Can he do it? We should know much more after the last game on 27th April.

 

It doesn’t help that Luke Williams has jumped up to the Championship and in 14 games he’s got 17 points and moved Swansea up the table. He’s basically gone from managing in the NL to the Championship, Stuart Maynard has only stepped up one level and he’s not been able to hit the ground running. Who knows what would’ve happened had LW stayed maybe we’d have gone on a similar run, but given the fact he’s doing quite well at Swansea I think it shows he was able to get more from this group of players.

In terms of SM I’d like to see us get 4 wins from the remaining 7, I’d take 3 as long as we performed well and picked up something like 3 draws too. When you look at the remaining fixtures we play Swindon who are poor, Harrogate nothing special and it’s at home and the last two are against Colchester and FGR. Yes they’ve potentially got more to play for assuming one/both haven’t been relegated, even so they’ve been down the bottom of the league all season for a reason. We also get to play Stockport and MK at home. If we can play well and got something from either of these that would be a massive boost.

In LW last 2 home games we beat Morecambe 5-0 and Doncaster 3-0. We’ve had some pretty easy home games and off the back of the Bradford game Salford was a massive missed opportunity. If SM can’t get a home win in the next 4 games I would worry for him as that would mean the last home win fans watched was in December…

Edited March 24, 20242 yr by menzinho

I honestly don't think so Robbie, even if Notts went a mini run till the end of the season (which hand on heart I can't see happening), I don't think Maynard is up to the job ,the Step Up from Part Time Coach to Full Time with Notts as proven To Much for Him. Lets face facts he was brought in because the Brothers thought he would carry on playing the same system that Luke Williams had adopted which had brought so much success last season, and he was playing a similar type of football at Wealdstone. However has it's been stated repeatedly by other Fans and myself on PON Notts were found out  you only had to look at the Crushing defeat by Mansfield the Magpies suffered at the Lane to prove something wasn't right. But Williams persisted with his You score 3 and We'll score 4 game plan, once Williams left Jim O'Brien's only match in charge produce a 5-5 draw. Once Maynard came in Not only did he arrive when Notts Faced most of the League's top teams he had to find a way to stop the Magpies leaking Goals but still keep them scoring at the other end. It hasn't happened the Defeats Notts have suffered have drained the players enthusiasm and  belief in themselves as proven how good Williams could lift his players (How Fed Up am I writing those words) where as Maynard  can't because he's been trying desperately to prove he can hold down his position as Head Coach and his continual tinkering with the line up e.g playing Sam in goal instead of keeping Luca in the Goal Keeping position for the Salford match, and playing players in their wrong positions e.g. Jodi Jones, in my opinion it's been To Much for Maynard, I don't think he can Cope with everything which as and is being thrown at him.

Maynard of course must carry most of the blame for Notts lack lustre performances, but he certainly hasn't been helped by the Recruitment Team who's Failure to entice EFL standard defenders to Meadow Lane as also added to the Magpies Woes. And of course the tragic Death of Jason Turner ( as stated by your good self Robbie) must have also had a huge effect on every one connected with the Club. So in the Summer Stuart Maynard needs to be replaced with a Manager/Head Coach who knows this League. A Player who is a Leader on the Pitch must be found and appointed Captain. There are in my opinion 14 players worth keeping at the Lane next season. Three of which will probably be signed by teams higher up the Football Pyramid and three are young players who should be promoted to the senior Squad. And Jim O'Brien should be given a coaching role. Notts need to Re Build completely in the Summer or they could end up looking down the Barrel of a Relegation Gun.

Some good points there@Wheelbarrow repair man 

Luke has to bare some responsibility for not dealing with the defensive problems, but he was a great leader and was able to get that extra 105% from the team that was flawed defensively.

Performance has definitely gone down during these last 12 matches and I don't see an end to it unfortunately.

But I don't think we will see any changes if any with the management team till the season's end.

 

Giving your question regarding Stuart Maynard more thought Robbie, another worrying point is will the Brothers admit to their mistake in hiring Maynard? Because lets face facts their previous gamble regarding Head Coach appointment Ian Burchnall his tenure at the Lane didn't start out all that good either. Will they persist with Maynard hoping he'll come good or bite the Bullet and realize they made mistake and let him go? If it's the former and Notts fail to make any progress at the start of 2024/2025 season this may  cause a drop in Season Ticket Sales and they then could be a Mad Rush finding a New Coach and the wrong guy again may be hired, resulting in a season long Battle trying to avoid Relegation. I think it's time for a Fresh start at Notts during the up coming off season, a New Head Coach needs to be appointed along with a New Head of Recruitment and the Squad rebuilt it will cost money, but this will benefit Notts in the Long Term.

Macca Jodi Jones Dan Crowley David McGoldrick Matt Palmer Scott Robertson Lewis Macari Cedwyn Scott Jatta Sam Austin Geraldo Bajrami Luther Manakandafa James Sanderson and Tiernan Brookes. Are  (in my opinion) worth holding on to, however the first three will probably be signed by teams higher in the Football Pyramid and the last three should be promoted from the Youth Squad.  Jim O'Brien should be offered a Coaching Roll, the remainder should be released. Admittedly that leaves a Big Hole in the Notts Squad, but with the right Cash injection and a New Head of Recruitment plus the right Head Coach being hired hopefully Better and Happier Times will return to The Lane.

@Wheelbarrow repair man

I think you are right about Macca, Jodi and Crowley leaving, being snapped up by bigger clubs in League 1 & the Championship.

Although I would be sad to see them leave, the amount of revenue raised by their sale would be a tidy sum to recruit players that will compete well in League 2.

I would like for the Manager/Head Coach to pick the players that he wants rather than recruiters. I still believe the Manager knows best when it comes to recruitment. 

There could even be room for a Director of Football to help the Head Coach in his duties such as recruiting.

And we mentioned the sad loss of Jason Turner. I'm sure he would have had a big influence on who the Club recruited had he still been alive too. Would he have chosen Stuart? We will never know.

It's often been hard to say to what extent our troubles have been down to SM - it's clear to see that our poor results have been down to a combination of factors, some of them going right back to the reign of the PE teacher. The squad has quality, but is also unbalanced and has obvious weaknesses. All the same, earlier in the season we were swatting teams away that we're now struggling to deal with, and it's becoming increasingly clear that SM is not helping matters with some of his decisions.

Teams that win promotion often have to reinvent themselves to compete at the higher level and I could accept us going through a transition period to get there. However, I don't really see what we're aiming towards right now. If there isn't a big improvement in performances and results, I think it's quite likely we'll be looking for another head coach soon.

2 hours ago, Robbie said:

I still believe the Manager knows best when it comes to recruitment. 

I don't agree. Imagine we hire a manager who's out of his depth, who then fills the squad with sub-standard players on 2- or 3-year contracts before getting sacked. It's happened plenty of times before. I'm happy with the head coach not having the sole say on which players we bring in (which the manager didn't really either in the past).

Robbie

The more this Debate goes on the more it seems Fans are starting to come up with similar thoughts and ideas about Notts (well at least we do). The Notts C.E.O. stated before the January Transfer window that the club didn't need to sell players and hopefully, that is still the case however a decent offer coming in for our top players may be to difficult to refuse and I wouldn't think the Owners would stand in the way of say Macca from improving his footballing career in League 1 or the Championship. Then again the Club shouldn't let our top three go for a give away price. The sum of £1.5 million was banded about being how much Macca was worth, which is a Total Insult , reading about Premier League clubs offering to buy untried teenagers for £100 million, then Macca must be worth between £3-5 million. He is after all a proven goal scorer and will score goals at any level (Even the Premier) as long as his new Club play to his strengths. Both Jodi and Dan ( on current transfer payments) must be worth a £1 million a piece. Anybody reading this will think I've has gone off  my rocker, but think on this, there are Championship Clubs who pay over the top for mediocre foreign players an example of which cost Forest in the region of £10 million No Names. At least other Clubs can see what Macca, Jodi and Dan can do and they Don't Need Time To Adjust To The English Game. So £5-£7 million would enable Notts to invest in players to take the Magpies to the next level.

Yes a New Head Coach needs to be part of the Recruitment side of the Club. At the moment it's just this player seems right for the Squad, so we've signed him, Now You get on with Coaching him. That is Wrong.

The idea of a Director of Football is something I've been banging on about in other comment sections on PON for a while. Because of all the Backlash Stuart Maynard as been receiving I've stated a number of times get Neil Warnock back at the Lane in the Director of Football position his wealth of Footballing Knowledge and his Vast Experience could help with Maynard's transition into a Full Time Coach. Unfortunately it seems the Club have missed that Opportunity, But Never Say Never.

Dangerous Sausage we have a Manager/ Head Coach who is out of his depth and we have players Not Up To League 2 Standard on two to three year contracts that's why Notts Need A Complete Clear Out and Re build during the Summer off season. Or the Magpies Could Be Heading Back To The National League. Nuff Said.

8 minutes ago, DangerousSausage said:

 

I don't agree. Imagine we hire a manager who's out of his depth, who then fills the squad with sub-standard players on 2- or 3-year contracts before getting sacked. 

That's why a Manager should be recruited that has plenty of league experience & a large knowledge of the game and players that play for other clubs

I think you'll find that the Manager used to be backed up by his Assistant Manager, coaching team and a team of scouts that would keep tabs on players that were of interest. The Manager's team would select suitable players with the Manager overseeing that process.

Recruiters don't always get things right, but you can role off on your tongue Management teams in the past being good at recruiting.

As an example, Jimmy Sirrel, Neil Warnock, Clough & Taylor, Alex Ferguson, Bob Paisley, Bill Shankly, Malcolm Allison, & countless others have been successful in building successful teams.

I don't think that it really matters now SM is a dead man walking.  Even if he won the next 7 matches if he loses the first next season the pressure will be huge.  To be fair, I don't think he has really ever had any chance.  Things were stuttering before he joined, but instead of having a pre-season to try stuff out he has had to do it mid season.  Given that LW had been successful and was popular, and the team was still riding quite high, just coming in an making big changes wasn't really an option either.  But none of that matters, he has lost the fan base, and even if he hasn't lost the players, he will always be under pressure to win every match which is basically unachievable.

I'd avoid looking at the fees if we do sell one of our players over the summer @Wheelbarrow repair man cos I think you'll be very disappointed! We bought Macca for £50k, so if we did sell him for 1.5M we'd have profited £1,450,000. That's a mark up of 2,900% (if I've done the maths correctly). The closet kind of deal we can look at is Al-Hamadi who went to Ipswich from Wimbledon for "a fee of just over £1 million" according to East Anglian Daily Times. Whilst he's not scored as many he's 5 years younger than Macca...

And @Robbie I understand why fans would want a head coach to do the recruitment, like you say it's fine if you've got a head coach with a track record of good recruitment. I'm not sure this was LW's strength when he signed, he just wanted to coach. And with our current approach it allows head coaches to do just that, focus their time and energy on coaching the players and preparing for games. It must be knackering and time consuming to also have to fit the recruitment in. I'm sure our recruitment process is a collaborative effort in that the head coach definitely gets a say it's just he doesn’t spend all the hours researching/looking for players.

A big bonus is that if there’s a stand out player the club can also make an executive decision if there is no head coach in place like they did with Langstaff. If we’d have waited for LW to be appointed and then left the recruitment to him chances are Langstaff would’ve already signed for someone else… Pros and cons to both, but I think it's working well for us so far.

menzinho 

I'm not under the illusion that Macca would go for £3-5 million but that's what Notts should ask for him (in my opinion). And should Macca Jodi and Dan Crowley be Sold there should be some sort of inclusion in any Transfer deal, that should any of these players been Sold On  for example Derby buy Macca for £1.5 million then they sell him on to another Championship (should they get promoted) or even Premiership Club for a larger amount, then Notts should also benefit from that Deal. Because  should Macca start scoring 20+ goals a season in the Championship how Long would it be before Premier League Clubs come sniffing around, and Derby would be asking a high price for him, a hell of a lot more than £1.5 million and Notts deserve a piece of that Pie (Pun Intended).

Recruitment should be part of a Managers/Head Coach's job as Robbie mentioned the Clough/Taylor partnership the Mercer/Allison Busby Ferguson and of course Notts own Legend Jimmy Sirrel. There must be players any Coach would like playing for him and yes the recruitment team did buy Macca before LW was appointed Head Coach, but were anymore teams looking at him? Because if they were you'd think they'd try and out bid the Notts £50,000 bid for a Goal scorer of his ability.

Personally, I can’t see a bid over £1m coming in for Langstaff now that Maynard has stifled his (and Notts) attacking intent. JJ and Dan will only have a year left, so probably bids of £200-250K would possibly come in for them as only league 1 clubs would probably bid.

SM will go by the end of the season, he has to otherwise season ticket sales will tank. We’re boring to watch, 6 home games and only 7 goals scored whilst conceding 15, plodding up the field with the ball constantly going sideways and backwards, the players look frustrated and clueless as to what they should be doing.

1 goalkeeper and 5 defenders needed in the summer, three new centre halves and a couple of proper wing backs. Another couple of midfielders are also needed and another striker if we can get rid of Morias. 
Three things need prioritising, most new signings will need to be leaders, but they will also need to have pace and physicality.

We won’t get rid of all the deadwood though for another season, so I think 9 new signings are too many, we might sign 6 and any more will depend on who leaves.

I think we have to remember @Fozzy that even in a season where we've had defensive problems, Notts have still scored 76 goals with 7 games left and that figure beats every teams scoring record in league 2 last season including promoted clubs.

Macca is the leading goal scorer in league 2, Jodi leads in assists in the EFL and Crowley has scored 15 from midfield.

I think that Jodi and Dan's valuations will be much more than £200/250K each. Has to be at least twice as much, and Macca should be £ 2.5 million at least with add ons. Remember Macca still has 3 years to go on his contract 

Notts don't want to make the mistake of giving these 3 players away if they can help it.