Match Discussion: Game 42 - The Dons (H)

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

1 minute ago, Super_Danny_Allsopp said:

 

Luke Williams is the reason we have a L2 team to support next season and not a National League team. Let it be clear; if the team performed for LW like they have for SM, we'd be back in the pit of misery next season.

 

 

Of course he is the reason we are in League 2 and we will be always thankful to him for that, however, he failed to identify that the team that got us promoted was not fully good enough for league 2, whether it be mistaken loyalty or other factors.

Luke lost 9 of his last 15 games in charge at Notts. Then he skidaddled leaving it to another Head Coach. 

Luke's failure to rectify the problems in our defence, when he had lots of time to do so, has gone a long way in costing us a playoff place, because Stuart was left with what is Luke's team apart from Warner, Robertson, Jatta & Ashley-Hamnond. 

[DangerousSausage]

Nice surprise to see a good performance, and when viewed in isolation a point against a team that's flying and well in the running for automatic promotion is a more than decent result.

Now I'm going to wade into the above discussion. Luke Williams was not solely to blame for our poor defensive record - our summer recruitment erred too much on the side of giving our promotion winners a chance in L2. By the time the January transfer window opened, it was very obvious that this had been a mistake, but LW had already left by then. Despite that obvious issue, the vast majority of the points we've picked up this season were under LW (42 in 26 games), and those points are the reason why we aren't in for a very uncomfortable April.

As things stand, I don't see how we can justify the huge risk of keeping SM on for next season. Points-wise we have been the worst team in L2 since he was appointed, and it's not all down to bad luck. In particular his "strategy" of dropping back when we take the lead has cost us lots of points recently.

All that said, I still want us to win and punch the air when we score. I'd like nothing more than for Stuart Maynard to prove his doubters wrong and I'll never understand the mentality of people who want to see us struggle.

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

14 minutes ago, DangerousSausage said:

 

As things stand, I don't see how we can justify the huge risk of keeping SM on for next season. Points-wise we have been the worst team in L2 since he was appointed, and it's not all down to bad luck. In particular his "strategy" of dropping back when we take the lead has cost us lots of points recently.

Agreed. This is the most frustrating part of SMs tenure for me. It seemed LW had a handle on our defensive frailties, and by that I mean he knew all about them and focussed on attacking or at least keeping the ball and not allowing the opposition to attack us too much. That seemed to be the high level plan, with varying success.

SM seems to try and sit back, which inevitably leads to failure as our defence is dog toffee. This essentially is creating stress in the weakest part of our structure and being repeatedly surprised when it buckles.

[Ohh Tommy Johnson]

17 hours ago, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

Robbie

I didn't know about the Jones baby but sleepless nights are something he'll have get used too, and hopefully won't effect his training to much in the future. The problem is Notts had a decent sort of result today but it's still Not Enough (in my opinion) for Maynard to keep his job. It seems if Notts get a Result i e the victories at Newport and Bradford and todays draw some Fans think the worst is over but what usually happens in the following match the Magpies drop back into the same Old Routine  it also seemed that once Notts had gotten in front they reverted back to their tippy tappy Football instead of going in for the Kill and once again the Dons third goal their player had acres and acres of room, by easily beating the offside trap, then it was thankyou and another goal for the opposition how many times have we Fans seen that this season? The Bigger picture should be looked at and not just the Odd Good Result. After all 9 points out of 42 isn't anything to write home about. The Form of Jatta is certainly a Bright Point amongst the Gloom at Notts and hopefully he can carry on with his Goal Scoring Prowess in the Future.

I think it was more than the usual sleepless nights - by all accounts there were complications and he hadn't slept much if at all as a result. 'Normal' sleepless nights may seem like a godsend right now!

I wonder if our small squad and injuries is increasingly playing a part.  Chicksen was playing with a sore achilleas  that he has been carrying all season, Didzy clearly isn't fit, now Bostock, Ausitn went off injured again and numerous other players have been struck down with niggles or illness.  That smacks of fatigue and if Maynard is having to select a patched up team each game, then it isn't surprising that performance is up and down.  

 

Edited April 2 by Ohh Tommy Johnson

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Dog Toffee, that's a New One never heard that before. But I have an Idea what it Means (Ha Ha).

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

On another aspect, Jaden Warner isn't the "star" he was made out to be. I believe he played them on for their 3rd goal and although he has pace, L2 physicality has shown him wanting. 

If Norwich observers are onlooking, they may decide that he is not what they thought they had, as a player

[True Magpie]

The team must function as a unit. We launch attacks collectively, but our defence is often disorganised. It’s simple to pinpoint errors, but there’s a lack of quick reaction to prevent the recurring mistakes that Notts commit. MK Dons wouldn’t have been close to a point had there been more awareness in the game.

I heard numerous complaints about the defence that led to their first goal, but it was an excellent piece of play. I believe we allow too much space behind the ball, with players content to leave the defending to those ahead of the ball, which is part of the problem we encounter. However, there was nothing that the goalkeeper could have done about it and defensively, you have to accept these types of goals.

The second goal for MK Dons was a bit unfortunate due to the deflection and bounce of the ball. However, there was a lack of defending and their third goal was extremely straightforward considering their player was clean through. Notts should show resilience in getting back into the game.

[Joshua]

I found the game enjoyable. MK Dons took their opportunities, even though they didn’t seem particularly impressive until they scored. Their goal was beautiful, but it was a pity that their player behaved so unprofessionally with his celebrations and antics. He should have been sent off, not just for that, but also for several fouls he committed during the game.

I didn’t see them causing us any trouble, and I thought that us scoring a goal just before the end of the first half would give us a boost going into the second half. It seemed like the players had been spoken to, as they came out with more determination. I also disagree with Stuart Maynard. I thought we performed better in the second half than in the first, but overall it was a good performance.

Aaron Nemane can be a shadow of himself, but when he gets into the game, he’s unstoppable. I wish Jodi Jones would work on his crossing, as many of them tend to be overhit and end up being wasteful. Adam Chicksen setting up Jatta was a real highlight. That was a great goal to celebrate.

It was typical of Notts to collapse at crucial moments, with individual mistakes costing us the full amount of points. The players should take confidence from having played well against MK Dons, a team that believes they are much bigger than they actually are.