Stuart's Home Woes

[menzinho]

I am slightly worried that we have a bit issue when it comes to playing at home under Stuart...

Overall in his 33 matches the results have been as follows; W13 D7 L13. Last season we only won 3 matches from 11 at home under Stuart. This season we’ve won 10 from 22, but 6 of these wins have been against the current bottom 7 in the league, we’ve then only managed 4 wins against the rest of the league! (1st-17th!). That’s not good and right now we are currently 20th in the home form table which measures the last 8 matches.

For the majority of Notts fans, this is where we see the team play more often. I’ve always thought generally fans are more lenient if your home form is solid but away form is patchy, but for us under Stuart it’s been the other way round. So now it's starting to put him under a bit of pressure...

Is it just me or do you think our home form is becoming a major issue?

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

Since their return to league 2, I don't think that, especially at home, Notts have solved the way to play against sides that press us hard at home, & are just happy to let Notts have possession & force Notts to break them down.

Every single side that visits ML more or less play the same way against us, & Notts are just so predictable in the way they play these sides too.

It is clear that Notts plan A is not working but there is not a plan B. Whether the way Notts keep playing is directed by the owners or not, in my opinion, I would make changes.

Take the side across the river, they've seen lots of success this season by soaking up pressure & hitting sides on the break with pace. Why can't Notts do that? Surely it's worth a try when plan A is not working.

We have a brilliant defence & strong defensive midfield. Why not try the Forest approach? Opposing sides would be very uncomfortable if Notts conceded possession & waited for them to make a mistake for a change.

[DangerousSausage]

Good post @menzinho, I knew our home form wasn't great but didn't think it was quite that underwhelming. And a good point against fan pressure too - Keith Curle broke records with our away from, yet got dogs' abuse because we were pants at home.

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

11 hours ago, DangerousSausage said:

Good post @menzinho, I knew our home form wasn't great but didn't think it was quite that underwhelming. And a good point against fan pressure too - Keith Curle broke records with our away from, yet got dogs' abuse because we were pants at home.

Thought I'd manage to forget the Curle home form. That was tormentuous.

Watching a Maynard team at home is both boring and frustrating.  There is an inevitability as to what unfolds. I watch more in hope that a home game might somehow be different from the 22 other games I've watched, only to see a familiar pattern unfold. It's clearly tactical. 

Perhaps it's a result of Maynard applying his formula from Wealdstone directly to Notts and expecting it to work the same. 

 

Whatever it is, I'm about at my limit to what I'm willing to continue watching without becoming disgruntled.

[Robbie 𝕏 @Robbie_NCFC]

7 hours ago, Super_Danny_Allsopp said:

Thought I'd manage to forget the Curle home form. That was tormentuous.

Watching a Maynard team at home is both boring and frustrating.  There is an inevitability as to what unfolds. I watch more in hope that a home game might somehow be different from the 22 other games I've watched, only to see a familiar pattern unfold. It's clearly tactical. 

Perhaps it's a result of Maynard applying his formula from Wealdstone directly to Notts and expecting it to work the same. 

 

Whatever it is, I'm about at my limit to what I'm willing to continue watching without becoming disgruntled.

Maynard is just carrying out the playing philosophy of the owners.

Stuart cut down the leakage of the goals under Williams but there is a fine balance between shoring up a defence against continuing to create chances and score goals.

And no one seems to be mentioning the huge injury list all season that Notts have suffered.

Our best player out of action for months and weeks at a time. I've wanted Notts to change their style to try to keep the opposition guessing, but that hasn't happened.

That's my frustration.

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

I don't recall any home game this season that I have witnessed Notts being outclassed or not deserving something from the game. I think my biggest concern is how Stuart Maynard doesn't push for a second goal to wrap games up or at least make them easier. This past Monday, it was obvious that we were in control and just needed something a bit different to convert one of the many chances we created.

Yes, we could have won 1-0 on Easter Monday, but there's always the element that a team might sting us.

I spoke to Jake (@super_pie) about this, and I told him I would have taken Kellan Gordon off for Jodi Jones instead of Conor Grant. He mentioned that he would rather have brought on Will Jarvis and not play Jodi at all due to fears of injury. I get the point, but we are heading into a crucial stage where he really needs match minutes, and his confidence with a return to form would be massive. Gordon has a decent cross, but he runs himself into danger and becomes a bit frustrating to watch because you know he has the ability to do more.

I think all season Maynard hasn't particularly used his subs well, but away from home I do think more often it's about positive changes. Except for Carlisle United, where we went defensive beyond a point, it was long balls for Jevani Brown to chase.

There's a lot of talk by the club on how good a coach Maynard is, but I wish we could see it more during games, and especially at home. We either go defensive, or overload ourselves with attacking options.

We rescued a point against Fleetwood Town earlier in the season, but I think we started with the wrong XI and I don't believe the changes in the game influenced our comeback. If anything, I felt at the time a change was needed to handle Fleetwood, who wasn't great but deserved their lead. The 0-1 loss to Gillingham, for me, is a prime example of how we could have got more from the game. Their only goal still annoys me, but Notts could have done much better.

Despite all this, I do think Maynard has done well at times, but I wished I could see more improvements with the changes. I swear he listens to fans, as when he would make 3 to five changes at once, he's now reverted to the 70th minute mark. We would have beaten Cheltenham if we had brought Jodi on earlier and injected a bit more quality.

There have been factors such as injuries, fitness, and other concerns which haven't helped, and I do believe at this level, most managers have negatives which become irritating, but Notts have played some good football this season at Meadow Lane. The club looks much better defensively, and finally our recruitment strengthened the areas we wished for. I do think it's a juggling act for Maynard though, and I hope we can secure a playoff place because I do think it would be a good achievement. I know we could have kept nearer the top, but with all the injuries and so on, it would have taken more than what this squad has. If we don't get promoted, I firmly believe we will be able to build and strengthen the squad to a point where we will be in the running again in the next campaign.