Maynard left exposed?

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

No director of football

No additional coaching staff

January transfer window signings too lightweight?

Captain lacks vocal authority?

[menzinho]

The loss of the coaching staff isn’t great, argue amongst yourselves whether or not you rate them but now Stuart can only really lean on Joao Alves for advice and he's at the very early stages of his coaching career. I’m surprised we haven’t added another first team coach, it’s been over a month since both Saunders departed.

Richard going is a blow but I can’t see how it directly affects the current on-field issues. Perhaps there’s been a slight downturn in morale, but I’ve no idea how close he was with the current players.

Crowley going for me has been a blow, ok by all accounts some players weren’t overly impressed with him and if he stayed he’d have left for free in the summer. That said replacing a player of his quality in January is far from ideal, we’d have had to have paid over the odds for someone and we know the club doesn’t operate like that. We’ve taken a bit of a gamble with Whitaker who shows promise but I agree that right now he’s nowhere near the same level.

I'm not always sure you need a captain to scream and shout to be honest, no-one has really had an issue with Palmer in that role. We do have a younger squad now though, take today for example Matt Palmer was oldest player in that starting line-up, maybe a tad more experience is needed.

Also I feel we rely too much on individual performances, we suddenly seemed to get back on track when Crowley returned from injury. And now look at us with McGoldrick (and Jones) out, it’s like we are just waiting for them to produce moments of magic. Look at the assists for this season, right now both Palmer and Abbott are joint 1st on 4 (only because Crowley has now left) the rest of our attacking midfielders and wing-backs have got either 2 or 1 - that is shocking, especially when we are 35 games into the season. Same goes for goals, we rely too much on Jatta and McGoldrick, Jodi is still our 3rd top scorer and he hasn’t been fit for months!

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

Yes, the Saunders brothers going & coupled with Richard Montague leaving has been a big blow to Notts.

We have to remember that all those people in authority at Notts would have supported each other when preparing for a match & would give feedback after a match had been played.

There would have been a lot of preparation & plans made on how to deal with a specific team. Plans would have been laid to change the shape of the team during the match if things were not going to plan. The Saunders brothers knowhow would have been important in this preparation.

With these three important people leaving Stuart has suddenly lost all that support & It must be affecting the team to.

But another big thing that has affected Stuart's plans & made it terribly difficult for him, is the number of players that have been injured & that figure seems to remain consistent at around 6 players.

Kudos to Maynard for keeping the team competitive despite all of these injuries, but I do think that these injured players coupled with a poor January transfer window, where the recruitment was very weak, is also affecting Stuart's ability to keep selecting a competitive team.

In conclusion no one is  discussing why the Saunders brothers & Montague may have left when they did, but them leaving for me is the biggest reason why the team may now be struggling, & I'm surprised the Reedtz brothers haven't tried to address this.

[DangerousSausage]

We have a number of things going on behind the scenes, but from the outside it's questionable whether or to what extent they are affecting happenings on the pitch.

I doubt the lack of a DoF has affected things too much. His job now would be to scout players to bring in in the summer; now we've got the squad for the rest of the season, it's up to the coaching team to work with it. I can't help wondering whether the Saunders brothers leaving has had a negative effect. However, we do have a habit of bringing in players with a lengthy injury record, and we were over-reliant on one of them for assists last season. He's now been injured for months, and our top scorer from last season has left. If you couple that with the off-the-pitch departures, we're doing well to still be in the running for the top three.

Whatever the truth of it is, we certainly need new faces on and off the pitch in the summer.

[Pies79]

I am concerned about Richard Montague leaving and hope we have someone in place ready for summer signings abd do feel we seem very light on coaching staff.

As much as I hate to say it and although not making much of an impact for MK, I do feel we miss Dan Crowley and our down turn in performance probably since January does seem to coincide with his departure.

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

I agree @Pies79. I'm just wondering if the leaving of the Saunders brothers, along with Montague are linked in some way. 

I have discussed on here & I see you brought it up to about Notts changing their style like going direct on occasions.

We know that the Reedtz brothers want to play out from the back. I wonder if there was any dissatisfaction with having to be so rigid with the style.

It may not be the case, but those three all leaving within a short time does get one thinking.

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

I don't think the current situation has anything to do with Matt Palmer not having any form of authority as captain, but I do think David McGoldrick brings a level of experience and desire to win due to his successful stints higher up in the football pyramid. It's important that we don't start trying to pick faults where they don't exist, as for me the problem doesn't stem from him.

I keep suggesting how I feel Stuart Maynard is weak at turning things around, making positive decisions to influence games which are out of reach, and despite the better second half, I would still point this out, but some of it must fall onto the players shoulders.

Maynard has a difficult job, as any football manager does, but I think he needs to be braver in implementing changes before games are out of reach. I think he's quite good if things are going to plan, or we are simply outclassing teams, but he struggles if teams make it difficult. We can take the lead, and maintain it or even come back; but what we struggle with is stopping the momentum when it has swung too far in favour of the opposition.

Not all decisions have to come from making changes, giving players clearer instructions in the game, or understanding why a team has the edge. Sometimes, it's none of this; it's simply that we are not creating good enough chances, and what can a manager do to change this? Instructions and quicker insights are one thing, as is ensuring that the majority of players are able to implement changes. Creatively, we can be a joy to watch, but a large amount of the time it is like trying to force chances.

I think the departure of the Saunders brothers gave us a chance to bring in additional quality and, more importantly, an assistant who can give Maynard EFL experience.

Personally, I think this role would be vital in assisting Maynard, as it is fair to say he is still learning and no League Two manager is perfect. He's got a lot of positives, but the negatives do seem to outweigh the positives in situations when our form is poor. I don't know if it's because he's stubborn, lacks understanding, or a mixture of many things, but I do wish he could be more practical, as games are playing out to ultimately fix what would allow us to salvage or win games.

A good assistant, who fits in, along with another coach, could make a difference. It might be that nobody was available, but, all due respect to Joao Alves, I just don't think he is the right person to step up. I might be being cynical, but I think the decision is more about affording a larger playing budget and at the cost of moving forward properly.

At no point am I blaming Alves; he is a good coach, but I do believe his position should have gone to someone who could give stronger support to Maynard at what is a crucial point. Knowledgeable assistants can make a big difference, and I just feel appointments like this tend to lead to mispairings and eventual sackings. I want nothing more than success for everyone within the club, but I still have my feelings and I just don't see the benefit.

Many people, after Alves stepped up, were telling me how good he was, a result of the media putting out the interview with him, and I am sorry, most know nothing about him but what was said in that video.

Lastly, I think signings do take time and Charlie Whitaker looks to be a good coup if we can continue to bring the best out of him and mould him further. Dan Crowley became one of those players I would refer to as a "get-out-of-jail-free card". One of those on whom the club relies too much, but Whitaker is a fresh canvas, and although he is not at the level Crowley is, I do think he could be a big part of our squad in the coming years.

Maï Traoré needs time, but I can see why Notts has said that he needs time. He might not have settled just yet, and it's somewhat unfair to judge him, but he hasn't made the impact Alassana Jatta did, and what I have seen so far, he seems to be struggling more than he does well.

Not all signings will have an instant impact, and we have to keep trying to get the most out of him, but I have to wonder, could the fee have been spent on a striker that could have made a quicker impact, considering we desperately need goals from someone in this role. Jatta and McGoldrick can't do it alone, and whilst we have goals across the team. If you consider our creativity and lack of converting some good chances, someone more potent could be a boost rather than needing valuable time to become good. Time spent chasing promotion can be detrimental compared to fading out of the form that took you to the top places.

Traoré may do better next season, but I am unsure how he will improve without being given more time in the starting XI at the cost of someone who might contribute more. I do think he's a promising signing; it's just the 'promising' that right now stands out.

[ARLukomski 𝕏 ARLukomski Instagram declanweliczko_arlki]

So many questions need answering 

- Why haven't we replaced our assistant head coach?
- Why haven't we replaced our first team coach
- What is Didzy's actual injury and why was he a week away just before Fleetwood and now it's another week?
- What is Sam Austin's actual injury and why is he out so long?
- Why was Lewis Macari scheduled to be out till the end of March and came back 4 weeks earlier? Does this say something about the timeframes our medical staff are projecting?
- Why have our performances not been convincing this season? Slow passing, slow intensity, inconsistent press, running with the ball into space, the will to run through brick walls for the club to win.
- Why have we not re-invested the money we have made off of transfers?

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

Nice summing up of the current situation @Chris.

As far as the new signings are concerned, I agree that Whittaker & Traore have potential & need time to eventually make an impact.

However, I don't think that Johnson & Jarvis have been particularly good signings for us.

I think that the four signings needed to be players that could have made an instant impact for Notts because with the injuries it was essential for Notts to strengthen the squad for the run in.

But that hasn't happened. Bear in mind, Notts released Brown & Martin but their replacements to date, (Traore & Jarvis) haven't been any better when Notts needed an improvement.

[liampie]

to be fair, we looked in a good place when the january transfer window wrapped up. i think its always a setback when you lose staff and coaches who work so closely with the setup and whilst i think the saunders can easily be replaced i dont think the club should have rushed to appoint joao alves but its not his fault. he will be the easy target for why stuart maynard might not have the support or experience by his hand and in a way, i think the club has made a decision which is more negative to a manager learning efl football in only what would be his second season (which is not even a full second term).

clubs dont like to admit when they are wrong, but they should look at giving maynard the best possible assistant. i am sure alves will make the grade one day, but we need someone who can advise maynard when he needs it like in times like this.

there was rumours yesterday that neil warnock might be approached in some form of support role, but i think thats people who put 2+2 together and come up with 5.

i think we need to stick together and help secure a few back to back wins, as that would be the biggest boost to morale.