Magpie Circle Podcast Palmer & Montague

[Piethagoram]

 

[Robbie]

After watching it I didn't really learn much more than what I already knew. It was more of a confirmation of what I had learned in the statements issued about a week ago.

Having just watched the podcast I am confident that the club intend to recruit players in the summer that will improve the team for next season,

I am satisfied that the recruiters will have identified the type of players that the club need and the key areas where we need those new players 

My take is that the Club will continue to practise the financial sustainability model going forward and all recruitment will be based with that in mind.

Stuart Maynard will have a lot of say on the players he wants that will fit in to the existing model on how the team are expected to play.

The recruiting model that has identified and bought players like Langstaff, Scott, Macari, Jatta, Robertson and Crowley will carry on by the same model to identify similar talent that will strengthen the team in the most cost effective way.

I learned That the Club want to keep all their good players and if any club wants to make an offer Notts will only sell if the offer will hugely benefit the club

Looks to me that the plan is still to get to the Championship at some point in the future, but this will be achieved in a financially prudent & sustainable way.

[Piethagoram]

 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Having put aside the chance to repair more wheelbarrows and listened to the Pod Cast I am in full agreement with what Robbie  has said. There wasn't much extra to know what hasn't been already said in announcements from the Club. In Paul's opening where he said it's not going to be a Direct Question and Answer Question session. With the Greatest of Respect that is what was needed it was just Stal and Paul going over the same ground again with their Questions. The only thing I took from it is the Price of season tickets are going up to be level with the League 2 average and Not under the League's average as it is at the moment. Which means that Notts Fans could be in for a Large hike in the prices of their season Tickets. Paul was asked by Joe if he would be Happy to pay more money, for his season ticket to which he replied Yes, what answer do you think he'd get if Joe asked the average Fan?  Paul admitted that he's got extra money in his pocket, thing is Paul a lot of Notts Fans Haven't, and any significant increase in Season Tickets will result in Families watching their Budgets and if it becomes a Toss Up between Paying your Bills or watching Notts you know what's going to take Priority. For example season tickets for Me My wife and two Sons takes a large Chunk out of our Family Budget so an big increase will probably mean No Ticket for the wife and I'll have to Pick and Choose the matches I go and  watch. And there will be a Few Fans in the same Boat.

If you go and read the comments under the Pod Cast, there's a question on there which says I don't like the way we play, shall I renew my season ticket? Those are the sort of Questions that should have been asked. A few PON members had the type of Questions that need answering basically the Pod Cast didn't really ask anything New, and I certainly wasn't bothered about how long Richard Montague had known and had been working for the Brothers or which teams Joe Palmer's  has worked for before he became Notts C.E.O.  Further Richard Montague stated he was aware of the weakness of the Defence and in his next breath said Recruitment won't be on any Specific Areas???  So Much For Nothing Is Off The Table.

 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Another interesting point raised which (to me) seem a trifle Strange. Because of the "Model" Notts are Stuck with Stuart Maynard, while it was admitted that the Three Managers who achieved Promotion this season Challenor  Parkinson and Clough are all Managers/Head Coaches with League Football Experience and get their team to play in a Different Winning way to that of Notts, it would seem the Magpies will remain playing their Tippy Tappy Football Because of the "Model" and it came across that No Matter What , Notts are going to Stick to this Game Plan. Paul also spoke of Stuart Maynard's Win Loss record and to spread this Result Ratio over a Season, Notts will End Up with 41 points and be Relegated. And who exactly runs the team? Maynard or Montague? It came across to me it's Montague he signs the players and it's left to Maynard to integrate them into the team's style of play.

Another point which came up was that successful teams buy top players which cost money and it would seem Notts are going to try and match those Clubs but Do It On The Cheap. While I understand Notts need to keep a tight reign on their Finances Fans are going to demand success now that they've tasted it under Luke Williams and if they don't get it ticket sales are going to drop and things outside of  playing football  I.E The Nest will also end up losing money. It was also stated that the long term Goal (excuse the Pun) was Notts getting into the Championship. So if  it takes the Magpies every four years to get promoted then they should be a member of the Championship at the start of the 2032/2033 season. That is of course they're not Relegated and everything goes according to plan.

[Robbie]

 @Wheelbarrow repair man  I believe their financial sustainability model has to be respected even if we don't fully agree with it. 

I think that we do need to be patient and allow the powers that be at Notts to build a team to challenge for promotion by the way they see fit.

We took four years to get out of the National League but even so, attendances increased as did season ticket sales and other commercial revenue.

We have attracted new supporters who like our attractive open football, so I agree with the owners that continuing with this model is in the best interests of the Club.

We just need a number of stronger, physical players in defence and defensive midfield areas to compete in this league.

The key word is patience and trusting the owners to do the right thing. I'm confident that the team will be strengthened to challenge for the playoffs next season.

Even if we don't quite make it, if progress is still made, such as conceding less goals and being further up the table, I would still regard that as a success.

Mansfield took three seasons of trying to get where they are, so it is not outside the realms of possibility that it could take a similar time for Notts.

It is very easy for Football clubs to run up dept that soon becomes out of control. The owners are being cautious and pragmatic and that's a good thing in my opinion.

 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Robbie

While I fully agree that the Financial Stability of the Club is Paramount the New Fans whom the Magpies have attracted are used to success and if Notts don't deliver then those Fickle Fans will start to drift away, especially if Forest survive relegation and start to have some form of success in the Premiership, or even if they are Relegated to the Championship if they keep winning games and start challenging for a return to the Premier League some Fans will make their way to watch their Football over the Trent. The thing is Do Notts have a Fanbase Big Enough to support all the projects being proposed both on and off the Pitch? How many Fans would sooner have money spent on Players than a Paddle Centre or even the Nest? I think Joe Palmer is hoping for a massive turn out at the Nest, when the Euro's start, but will the Fan Zone's success run along side that of the England Team? Plus I don't think fans will be to bothered about watching England's group games at the Nest, when you can go and buy a few Beers a few nibbles and watch those games on your own large Flat Screened TV with a couple of mates in the comfort of your own home. Should the Three Lions get to the Quarter or Semi Finals then there may be a chance filling the Nest otherwise once England are Knocked Out there wont be many Fans going to the Nest to watch the Final (if England don't get there) when they can watch the game on their own TV. And the Euro's don't come around every year. I honestly can't see the place being Packed  Out To Watch The Darts.

You see None of these Questions were asked No Worries the Fans may have regarding different projects were answered, Such as how the Nest is going to financially support it's self? And as you yourself asked what about repairs to the Concourse? And simple things how about Hot Water in the Gents and hand dryers that work properly? Standing room at the Lane was touched on briefly and dismissed almost as quickly, if it's Not going to Happen then say so .Apart from a couple of things personally I thought the whole Pod Cast was a waste of time. It should have been fans asking direct one to one questions and getting one to one answers. Will the Fan forum at the end of the season be any better? Doubtful the last one most of the time was taken up with Luke Williams answering why Notts took short corners. What is really needed is a question time were things get down to the Nitty Gritty and Hard and awkward Questions are asked and Answered. But that Ain't Gonna  Happen. So is there any point to these Forums?

[Piethagoram]

I'm sure the Nest is low risk..... the warehouse could be resold on if things don't work out  as planned

Joe, is probably the first forward driving CEO, I have had in my lifetime.. and we have had some real stinkers... Winter, Richmond, Storrie.

 

 

[Robbie]

@Piethagoram I agree, the Nest is a low risk venture. There are so many money making things that could be held there, Darts, Snooker, Conferences, Weddings, as well as Matchday events. Like you wrote, sell it on, if things don't work out. I also remember going in the late sixties, when the Meadow lane terracing was falling to pieces, it was the same in the Cop too in places. Notts have come a long way since then 

@Wheelbarrow repair man You have legitimate concerns and many Notts fans will feel the same.

I think that the Owners and the board have to learn quickly from mistakes that have been made, about, mistaken loyalty, recruitment, on field player selection & tactics.  

As for the forum, we all knew that it was going to be strictly controlled when news came through that it would be recorded. With all these Audience participation events, they are still strictly controlled, even BBC question time is controlled.

It would have been better to have read out some questions from supporters, but again only a summary of fans feelings were mentioned.

As you know my concerns are about the ground itself, Toilets, Hot water, Permanent segregation in the Jimmy Sirrel Stand to allow more home supporters to sit there. 

Concourses need addressing, the covered up seats costing Notts with 3500 less people in the ground for a match that could sell out. That in itself could cost Notts up to £100K in lost revenue. 

Imagine if there were only 5 games a year where Notts could fill the ground. That's a potential £500K lost.

 

 

[DangerousSausage]

It was interesting to get an insight into the thought processes of the people running the club, but there were no major bombshells. The sudden appearance of party balloons on Paul Mace's screen was probably the best bit!

One of my main takeaways is that the head coach and his assistant seem to be more involved in player recruitment than I originally thought.

The bit about season ticket prices was very brief and a little awkward. Someone really needed to mention the cost of living crisis. I know it's JP's job to maximise revenue and put the club on a firm financial footing, but raising prices just because other clubs are doing it isn't a socially compatible thing to do. Go too high and we risk freezing out a section of our supporters, some of whom have only recently started going regularly. Football should be affordable. 

[menzinho]

Following on with the embarrassment with the defence comment. I guess they thought the “style” would continue into the FL, in terms of keeping teams off the ball simply means they’ll have less time to attack and score and that it would still work. I thought we’d concede more this season but did anyone honestly think it would be this bad? I underestimated the step up in quality, we’re good enough to be at this level, but we can’t steamroll teams (in general) like we did in the NL.

I still kind of think the goals scored is at the expense of our goals conceded too. We set out to attack, the team is usually overloaded with attackers and we push everyone high up the pitch. Both the GS and GC kind of need to be looked at the same time, I think there is a correlation between the too. We’ve still got a +3 GD, the funny thing is if we’d have had a season where we’d scored 50 and conceded 47 I don’t think anyone would have any real concerns…

Maybe I’m completely wrong here but I think it’s actually easier to fix by making some personnel changes and tactical changes. Usually scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in football so I’d rather, if I had to pick, have to sort the issues out with the defence.

Agree with the ticket prices, sounds like they are going up but I'm hopeful it's by a very small margin. I'm not sure a market research group consisting of just Paul, who is a successful businessman, is a fair reflection of the financial situation of all Notts fans! Yes, it was a bit awkward when he kind of unequivocally agreed with idea of raising prices...

Edited April 19 by menzinho