Why Notts Will Sell Macca

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

As the season drags on to it's end and the off season approaches all manner of issues need to be resolved at the Lane. Perhaps the Most Important is Recruitment and Transfers, and its in the latter that I wish to Focus one name that springs straight to mind is Macca, the impact this guy has had at Notts is Nothing Short of Incredible Amazing Top Quality etc etc. The accolades from Notts Fans could possibly fill a page on this site. He caught Notts attention with 32 goals for Gateshead, then 42 for Notts during their return to the Football League, he currently sits on 25 this season for the Magpies. These sort of Goal Scoring feats aren't going to go unnoticed by Clubs higher up the Football Pyramid in fact it was rumoured by the media that Macca was on his way to Sunderland Birmingham Derby to name but three Clubs who were interested in obtaining his service,, during the January Transfer Window, and I am More or Less certain that an offer which Notts won't be able to refuse will come in and Macca will be gone from the Lane. As much as that will have a massive effect on the Club and Fans alike surely No one will begrudge Macca a chance to prove his scoring abilities at a Higher Level.

Of course I wouldn't expect Notts to give Macca away, the Owners must ask for at least between £2-£3 million plus add ons, appearances , goals scored and a percentage of any future Transfer Fee higher than what the Magpies sold him to any other club for. Then once all Taxes and other fees have been paid etc the remaining monies should be invested in New Players, or what the Owners deem necessary for the Club's Future. Well those are my thoughts now it's up to other PON Members to express their reactions. 

[Robbie]

An excellent summary @Wheelbarrow repair man

Sadly, I think you are right and Jodi and Dan might go with him but there may be remaining fitness issues with some clubs concerning Jodi so he might stay. 

I think Dan may go to a league one club although with Dan he's great at going forward but not so good defending.

I would have been concerned about our attacking prowess if Macca leaves a few months ago but Jatta has been a revelation since he arrived, and I'm sure he is a 20 goal plus a season striker if given the right service. 

We do have Cedwyn Scott making a comeback too so with Jatta, Scott and Didzy available next season, I still believe we have a good chance of scoring plenty of goals.

£2 - £3million would be a great amount for Notts if we could get it.

 

[Ohh Tommy Johnson]

I would expect Jodi to go.  He is way too good for L2, and wouldn't be here if it weren't for those injuries.  I hope he finds his way to the Championship and stars there.  Crowley blows a little hot and cold, I could see him staying for at least one more season.

If you had asked me 6 weeks ago I would have said Macca was a dead cert to go, and I think the balance of probabilities are such that he probably will still go, but in recent weeks he has shown himself not to be as clinical in front of goal.  Personally I never thought he was very clinical, but we made so many chances and he was clinical enough that it didn't matter.  Now we create less it is more obvious,  I am not convinced we will see much over £1m, or even that much as I suspect we won't see much interest from above L1... all speculation though.

The positive thing is we still have Cedwyn Scott (and I hope we give him an extension)..  I have always though he is the better striker of the 2, but was a year or two behind Macca in terms of development... that is probably 2 or 3 years now of course, but I think he is more clinical in front of goal.  The view at Gateshead was he was the better of the two.  I suspect he will work better with Jatta too. 

If Crowley steps up to fill the creative gap, or Randall comes to the party, or we get a new creative outlet, then I am quite excited that going forwards we will be fine.  Let's face it our attacking recruitment has been very good, Morias and possibly Randall (who has had terrible luck) notwithstanding. If we can get some decent presence at the back then maybe we won't need to score 80+ a season just to get a 0 goal difference!!

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

The other two of our main Trio who seem destined to depart the Lane come the seasons end Jodi and Dan, of the three I think Dan Crowley will be the one to stay (Perhaps)

Jodi Jones maybe in an awkward position, that is Loyalty to a Club who took a risk on him  signed him and gave him a chance when it seemed No Other Club would Go anywhere near him or if the right offer came in, a move to another club in the League above and the increase in Money that comes with it and with a New Mouth to feed Money will certainly get the nod over loyalty. If Notts had gotten Promotion or at least been in the Mix of the Playoffs Jodi might have stayed. If he does decided to stay then a long term contract should be offered to him.

Dan Crowley another Gem found by the Recruitment team (see they can do well at times) has been excellent this season, but I think asking him to defend is wrong and with him at times being played out of position, if he had a Bad Game in that position an arm round the shoulder and a bit of Luke Williams magic and he'd be ready for the next game. Maynard doesn't or can't do that, maybe because he's still learning his trade to becoming a full time Coach. Despite Dan having a stellar season I'm still not sure if he's on any other teams radar  (unlike Macca and Jodie) and that could keep him at the Lane. However should an offer that's acceptable come in for him then Good Luck to the Guy. But if the Club can hold onto him, he's another who should be given an extended contract.

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man

Another good summary of the situation with Jodi and Dan 

It was always going to be an impossible task to replace Ruben but Dan has been an excellent replacement, and you are right, Luke tended to get the best out of him too.

Jodi has been an absolute revelation since he came into the side on a regular basis too.

I don't know about you, but I always thought that we looked a little unbalanced with Didzy in the side, now I know he's been a great player in his career, but now Jatta is available, I prefer the Macca/ Jatta partnership which gives us more balance and more options.

But would Didzy be satisfied as a bench player if Langstaff left, because I think Scott might be a better fit with Jatta when Scott is fully fit?

Chicks was a such a monumental player for us last season but fell out of favour with Luke in favour of Jodi, but if Jodi left, could there be a ***** of light open for Chicks again?

I know it's only one game, but Chicks performance on Monday was encouraging. 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Robbie

When Didzy joined Notts he was given a two year deal I believe so next season will be his last (maybe) Should Macca go (which seems likely) it would seem  that Cedwyn and AJ will be the strike partnership, however  should Scott still not be fully fit for the start of the New Season Didzy will get his chance to cement his place in the starting line up along side Jatta.  But even on the bench Didzy can still be an impact player and I would imagine he would be happy just to be in the match day squad, he's coming to the end of his career and he'll know he can't go on forever and the time as come for him, to pass on the Baton to a younger Strike Force.

Regarding Chicks he did have a good season last year and his playing time this season has been limited due to injury but one good game like a single swallow does not a summer or season make. Plus I don't think he's the right player to replace Jodi should the New Dad move to pastures New. It's been said in another fans topic there is No room for sentiment  and I think Chicks could do a decent job for any National League Side.

[True Magpie]

I’m uncertain if the club could draw offers exceeding 1.5 million. I suspect it might be significantly lower with additional conditions such as extra money after a certain number of appearances and goals. That being said, I’m not concerned that Macaulay Langstaff would want to leave, nor do I think Jodi Jones would. Both appear quite satisfied and loyal. Being settled provides them with a lot of stability, and I can only see either of them leaving if the right club approaches them. Jodi’s injury problems might discourage more appealing teams.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

I  understand your points True Magpie, but it also comes down to ambition of both players would they both be content staying at Notts when they have an opportunity to advance their careers?

Firstly Macca he strikes me as a Loyal sort of player, but kicking around in the Lower Leagues is that going to challenge him and spark any ambitions he may have playing at a higher Level? No I don't think so, if Notts had been there or there about's regarding Promotion this season I would say the chances of Macca staying at the Lane would have been much better. Another thing that most Fans seem to have forgotten about, is the players agent and the sort of sway they might have over Macca and What If  Luke Williams could convince the Swansea owners that Macca is worth a risk, could you see him turning down a chance to play in the Championship? Like many others I would hate to see Macca go but if he does Good Luck to him a Footballers career is a short one and they need to look towards their Future.

Jodi does seem to have hopefully thrown off his injury problems of late and Loyalty is a Big thing but as I've said  (as with Macca) a footballers working life is a short one and sorry to say nowadays Money is all that matters to most players, that's not to say Jodi would leave the Lane just for the Sheer hell of it but his family will always come before football and if a bigger club comes in for him offering him more money then he's going to Go. And like any other player he'll want to display his talents at the highest possible Level.

[Joshua]

@True Magpie I agree with you. I believe the players will continue to perceive our ambition. We topped the table this season with significant momentum, but unfortunately, our defensive quality was lacking. When we were hit with injuries, it made things considerably harder.

I can understand Macaulay Langstaff’s desire to challenge himself at a higher level. He has expressed contentment playing for Gateshead after being discovered playing with his friends. Yes, Notts showed interest in him, but I think the difference between us and Gateshead is our potential scalability with the right management and players. We could potentially be a Championship team one day. To lure Langstaff, they would have to be similar to us when he was in the Gateshead squad. Many Championship teams are very unpredictable due to the money spent, and it’s easy for a player to get lost.

As for Jodi Jones, he clearly enjoys playing football. I believe he will have the mindset to stick with us as we strive to return to League One. Oxford United couldn’t bring out the best in him after he left Coventry City. He was very loyal to them, and he’s rediscovered a lot here. With the birth of his daughter, he might prefer to settle down and continue to enjoy his football.

[menzinho]

If Macca really wanted to leave he would've turned our contract offer down and either asked the club to sell him or he'd just wait until he could leave on a free. So I too think he's quite happy to stay for the time being.

No-one knows if his contract has a release clause in or what the valuation is. The £1.5m figure was banded about over the summer, he's likely to finish the season on 25 goals (hopefully more) so yes there probably will be interest in him and I think the valuation won't be far off that. However we're under no pressure to sell him and he won't be cheap if clubs are serious about signing him. We won't sell to league 2 club and the only way most league 1 clubs will be able to sign him is if they sell a player for a couple of million. And it's probably still a bit of risk for Championship clubs with him jumping two levels. I think a lot of it all comes down to who moves where over the summer, and which clubs ultimately have the finances to buy him.

Edited April 2 by menzinho

[Fozzy]

I would be amazed if we got a £2m offer for Macca, well not without a lot of add ons such as appearances and goals scored. He’s 27 now, not proven above League 2 and doesn’t have a great goal scoring record against the top sides this season, in fact I don’t remember him scoring against any of the top 7 sides this season in the league.

I can see him staying as Notts won’t get the money they’ll want.

Jodi could possibly go to a league 1 club, but I doubt he would go higher as he doesn’t have the pace needed now. I think he enjoys playing every week rather than warming a bench, so he might also stay.

[Robbie]

@Fozzy it would give me much pleasure to see Macaulay sign an extension to his contract with Notts & for Jodi and Dan to stay too.

In the attacking department including the Strikers & attacking Midfielders we have no problem if they all stay.

That makes recruitment much easier with a new goalie, who can command his area, good at distributing & a good shot stopper in addition to Stone & Brooks.

Two tall, strong and physical defenders in addition to a strong, tenacious & hard defensive midfielder.

Out of the defenders we have I'd keep Cameron, Chicksen, Baldwin & of course we have Macari too.

In midfield I'd retain, Palmer,  Austin, Bostock, O'Brien as player coach and Robertson.

Those players, including Nemane, Jones, Scott, Langstaff, Jatta, Didzy and Crowley would make the basis of a good side to make a challenge next season.