Hopes & Fears for the 2024/25 Season

[menzinho]

It's almost time until the proper football resumes again but over the pre-season it’s very easy to sometimes just get wrapped up in perceived negatives after losing a few friendlies and equally it’s easy to get carried away with the excitement of all the new signings.

So what are your biggest reasons to be hopeful about next season and equally what is giving you cause for concern? You can have as many points as you like – but just try to balance every negative point with a positive one too! - No massive lists of just negatives, plenty of that on social media

So here are mine to kick us off!

Reasons to be concerned:
1. Losing an amazing goal scorer in Macca
2. An injury hampered pre-season could result in a slow start
3. Our attacking wingbacks may still leave the new defenders with a lot of work to do

Reasons to be hopeful:
1. We’ve added 4 dominate centre backs who should make us better defensively
2. Jatta looking very sharp over pre-season and he’ll be even more settled now
3. Palmer and Robbo as a midfield pairing 

[Chris]

Life after a top class goalscorer will always be a difficult thing to navigate, but we do have goalscorers - even though I wished we would sign someone to breed further confidence. We need to keep in mind it took Macualay Langstaff some time to adjust and get his first EFL goal. Jatta has had a bedding in time from last season, which he has fully blossomed and should be fine to take our main striker position.

The injuries are very common, most won't be serious and hopefully will become less as the season becomes under way.

I think it's a very fair summary, which time will only tell. I don't see much concern about our pre-season; the starting XI looks strong. We just need to dig hard to make sure results go our way, if we can build on a good start then things should transform over time.

Personally, I am more optimistic about the season, but these are potential concerns.

• Stuart Maynard is handling pressure of achieving good results and performances - against balancing those who want him to fail or have little faith in his ability.
• How the defence integrates into the squad.
• Life with Matty Palmer as the club captain and protecting him from further absence.
• Overcoming the challenges of a potentially tough beginning can be a daunting task. (Some fans refuse to give any time or accept draws).

[Robbie]

Positives

1. Nine new players have joined the club.

2.New Goalkeeper & four new centre backs to improve Notts defence.

3. Plenty of cover in central midfield & left, right wingback.

4. Jatta has had a great preseason.

5. Palmer & Scott will be available after injury.

6. On paper Notts should be tighter in defence & still a threat up front 

Negatives.

1. Big blow, Macca left.

2. The team has leaked goals in preseason which is concerning.

3. Notts haven't replaced Macca so only three senior strikers on the books.

4. Not sure if Scott & Palmer are up to full fitness yet.

5. I'm concerned that Nemane & Jones are good going forward but not good at defending.

[DonnyNotts]

Hoping for promotion, realistically would settle for play off

[Fan of Big Tone]

Positives

• We have excellent owners, the club has stability
• We (hopefully) have signed players that will shore up the defence.
• Palmer will be back playing at some stage
• Jatta is looking good already

 Negatives

• Pre season results haven’t been great
• Fans are impatient and will get restless if we start badly creating toxicity
• No real ale in The Nest 
• oh and Macca has gone  

I’m a glass half full type and I think we’ll have a good season but we may need a little patience at first while the team gel.

[TheSkipper]

From a productive point of view, the results haven’t been great in pre-season, but more value will have been taken from the games. Most featured two teams, usually one weaker than the other. It showcases which players can make a difference and who has limited capability. These are vital things going into a season.

Positives:

• Depth in terms of quality
• Possible game time for youngsters who get a chance
• Goal scorers across multiple positions
• Plenty of creativity
• Improved defence
• A solid young keeper
• Jatta in good form
• Matt Palmer will be a massive plus once match fit
• Scott Robertson/Palmer duo
• Curtis Edwards’ experience

Negatives:

• Fairly small squad again
• Potential pressure on youngsters
• Matt Palmer might still need time to come back fully (match fitness wise)
• Some injury concerns for potential players
• Lack of defensive cover out wide
• Unsure if the squad can handle the demand of fixtures
• Will Stuart Maynard be able to afford to rest players?

[Piethagoram]

Positives

New goal keeper

New pitch

Off pitch projects, much need and enhancing club's image

Negatives

Stone still with us

Slocombe a liability as re confirmed pre season

Need to find another striker

 

It's not going to be an easy league...so many goodish teams. 

Need a cup run for the coffers too

[cheeky~k8]

Just really ending mid table is  better than pushing for promotion then struggling, especially as we have just lost macca and needed to rebuild some of the squad and importantly the defence.

[DangerousSausage]

I hope we'll do well, I fear we'll do badly

On the negative side, losing Macca is obviously a blow and means one of our other strikers needs to step up. I'm concerned that Platt is a "head it, kick it" centre half who might struggle with our style of play. To complement our wing backs who are great going forwards but poor defensively, we have signed more wing backs who are great going forwards but poor defensively. Palmer will take some time to get match fit. 

On the plus side, we now have a year of L2 under our belt and have made targeted improvements with players who are proven at this level. New attacking players could break our over reliance on Jones and make us less predictable going forwards, and we're almost certain to be more solid at the back.

I'm quietly confident but not euphoric. We should have more than enough in our locker to compete for the top seven at least. If we don't, the atmosphere could turn quickly. 

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

Positives

1) Chris & Alex still own the Club.

2) Better Defence (on paper anyway)

3) Top Notch Playing Surface.

4) Jatta's looking sharp (hopefully will get into double figure s goal wise)

5) Matty Palmer is getting back to full fitness. (Hope is injury doesn't have any lasting effect on his game)

6) Cedwyn Scott (as above)

7)  Hoping for a Higher Finish than 14th.

Negatives

1) Macca's Gone.

2)  Stuart Maynard is he the Right Coach to Push Notts Forward?

3) Still Playing Tippy Tappy Football, which doesn't work in League 2

4) No Leadership on the Pitch.

5) Still leaking to many goals in Matches

6) Notts haven't got the Strike force they've had in the last couple of Seasons.

7) Notts getting Relegated back into the National League.

 

[liampie]

only concern i have is if stuart maynard does not get off to a good start, i really want to see it work out for him and i do think hes a good coach but i just hope notts are not too big for him. the pressure of managing us could be a worrying point.

[Blake]

I’ve only been watching for a few games, but I think things are going well. Defensively, we’re getting better, and our team looks strong in every area. I’m worried about the fans who don’t like Stuart Maynard. They’re negative and create a bad atmosphere. I think they’d still be negative even if we were top of the league.

[Piethagoram]

A good friend has access to the Opta stats

Expected points after the Bromley win, would see Notts finishing 3rd, Doncaster would be 2nd, Walsall league winners.

Although we have improved our defence, vis a vis last season,  the stats still indicate we have a mid table defence. This could be down to the way we play, like the keeper not executing the perfect pivot pass, which we get punished for.

 

 

[Robbie]

My only concern putting to the side my positives and negatives is that if Bass gets injured, the Goalkeeping cover is suspect to say the least.