A dissapointing result for Notts today. Just like last season, I don't think that Notts could cope with the Salford tactics.

It didn't help when Notts gave them two easy goals, conceding from a corner by allowing a free header & giving possession from our keeper's poor pass to a fellow player that Salford just latched onto so easily to score.

The goal that Notts scored was well worked & well taken by Luker, but I think it is clear that after so many incomings & outgoings, it is going to take time for all these players to gel together.

On this evidence there is still a lot work to do for Martin Paterson. I think we will see slightly different line ups, till Martin can be comfortable with his starting eleven.

I think we may have to wait up to ten games to see what could be the finished article when it comes to the matchday squad.

It's clear we are missing a proven striker, an experienced playmaker, a very good goalkeeper & Alassana Jatta.

The most disappointing thing was that we hadn't learnt from the last 2 matches against Salford, they pressed us man for man and we got pinned in. If you can't pass your way out of a press you have to bypass it, but not just knock it long for them to win it back with ease every time. The space was out-wide, we needed two wide attackers to give us an out-ball and actually challenge their back 3 rather than it just be Dennis on his own.

At least that is Salford out the way, but my word we are so bad against them it's so frustrating.

7 minutes ago, Robbie said:

On this evidence there is still a lot work to do for Martin Paterson. I think we will see slightly different line ups, till Martin can be comfortable with the starting team line up.

I think we may have to wait up to ten games to see what could be the finished article when it comes to the matchday squad.

This is for sure.

The shocker today was Norburn - the kind of performance that will stay with some fans, Harry Arteresque.

Looking for positives, I thought Palmer followed up last week with another game looking like his old self. Well done, Jayden Luker for the goal and some other good moments of play. Bennetts was our best player IMO

i dont think we ever got going properly, good spells very early on but we played into the mistakes and for their first goal nobody paid attention for their header. we should not make it that easy, roos disappointed but the booing at him was a joke. the subs made a difference but it was not good enough. referee had no control of the game, Salford are masters of the dark arts. we should have done better but its still early days.

Yeah, the referee.

I was listening to Stall today. He mentions so many rules-related issues in the modern game which are spot on, you just can't argue against them.

Taken together though the game at L2 level is a real mess and we'll eventually reach a breaking point.

But you can't have any faith in the authorities to even understand the issues. They're the same people who have brought in the ridiculous 8 seconds or a corner rule, which as Stall says won't be implemented anyway.

8 f****g seconds is 8 seconds of our match fee going down the drain...If the two goalkeepers take it to the limit 10 times each then I want that part of my ticket refunded :) How about they play the ball immediately 'without delay', like in the NBA. The fact that the rules-making don't think like this at all, makes me think we'll be suffering for some time yet with all the playacting, time-wasting and dark arts in general.

I think the only way to stop the playacting & the time wasting is to stop the clock when the ball goes out of play or when there is any stoppage in play for injuries & substitutions or a free kick or penalty is given.

I know that it is a radical step, but do we really believe that there was just 5 minutes to add at the end of this match? More like 10 as far as I'm concerned.

How do you digest that without seeming too critical?

Well, it wasn't the performance or result that we would have hoped for; Salford are very well organised and know exactly when to press. They allowed us to look interesting for the first 10 minutes, then took control and looked good for their lead. There were things that happened which I think the officials missed, and I wasn't very impressed with that, but Notts contributed to its own difficulties.

For the first 45 minutes, I think Salford didn't really have to work all that hard because of how poor Notts were. We did defend quite well, but as a "passing" team we easily lost the ball, knocked it around without any real purpose, and looked quite disconnected.

There was little focus on attacking into space, and Salford were quite spread out. I always feel we don't try through the centre of the midfield enough; even when it's begging to be played there, someone will smash the ball to the flank, and we end up losing possession.

I don't think the first half was all negative; we did defend quite well, and Barry Cotter blocked so many efforts which could have caused further issues.

My issue with the ref is the lack of control; he didn't hurry up throw-ins, and he allowed Salford to time-waste in a very obvious manner. He missed blatant pushes, and I mean physically throwing arms out to make our player(s) fall. If we wanted to play quickly, he wouldn't let us. If Salford kicked the ball away, he didn't speak to the players. It seemed he wouldn't give us obvious free kicks, especially in the second half.

We got our acts together when we came back out for the final 45 + 5 minutes of added time, where we never really looked to have that edge. Jodi Jones tried and looked sharp at times, but not quite the same. Speaking of Jodi, he really disappointed with his effort of rolling around like he was seriously hurt. That had me thinking the worst of him, like he had done something serious. The referee told him to get up, something which the official hardly bothered with Salford with, while Jodi went running away, arguing, and ended up being yellow-carded for dissent.

It's shameful behaviour, and it's part of the reason why I didn't like him at Coventry City. Good player, but at 27 years old, you can't do that. He was 18 at Coventry; I thought he had cut it out of his game, but he tried it on, and it's not right.

The substitute changes, Martin Paterson, made a difference to the game; we grew into the game and started to dominate. It's just before that, the little things we did which invited danger; Salford's second goal is one of the softest I have seen us gift to a team. That is frustrating, but leaving it so late to try to draw or more, it wasn't great. I don't think the referee changed the game, but I honestly believe he was poor.

We need to manage games better; for all the times last season we struggled with physical teams, there were zero signs of improvement, and I know we need match fitness, etc. Yet I think it's the most disappointed I have felt in the beginning of a new season from Notts. Keanan Bennetts looked good; I thought Conor Grant held play up well, but we need more fight and more desire to attack.

I was at the game but can't wait to see the "highlights".....just to see if my assumptions about our new keeper are valid.....!!!!!!!! If the corner was delivered to the edge of the 6yard box.....and how much pressure he was put under for the freeby he gave to Salford!!!!!!

Well Salford are turning into Notts Bogey Team. That's the Third home match on the Trot Notts have Lost. Including last seasons Doncaster and Wimbledon Defeats. How much Longer are the Magpies going to insist on playing from the Back? It doesn't work in this league . This has been stated from the time since Notts were promoted from the National League it's No Good playing Pretty Tippy Tappy Football if Notts are going to get Beaten. A couple of more Defeats and the Knives will be Out for Martin Paterson. It's No Good trying to take positives out of this Game, it just won't wash with certain parts of the Notts Fan Base. They want to see Notts win games especially on their own Turf.

It's only the second match of the Season, the Teams got to Gel the Head Coach needs to find out his Best Starting XI, all this has been pointed out But some Fans I've been around won't listen. Notts have a Director Of Football who hasn't got a Clue, a poor Head Coach a Recruitment Team who only sign Has been's Free Agents and Loanees. Is it any wonder Jatta's Agent wants him to leave Notts? There's the Stink of Defeat around Meadow Lane. Just a Few Comments from the Notts faithful from Fans who have been going to the Lane for many along year. And until Notts Start Winning Games, I Guess This Attitude will continue.

If you can't bear to see the latest league 2 table look away.

I Know it's only the Start of the Season, but it's worrying to see two teams tipped for Relegation ( Newport and Harrogate) both above the Magpies.

I thought the referee was poor but we really do have to stop blaming the referee for all of our ills.Salford came with a plan and it worked perfectly for them & badly for Notts.

I talked about the timing of substitutions in another thread. Why wasn't the shape of the team changed half way through the first half when things were not working for Notts.

I don't think you can wait till the second half when things are not working. Maynard was guilty of waiting to long to respond. I would like to see Martin to be proactive when using the Subs, not waiting till the last 30 minutes.

@Robbie How many times was that Excuse Trotted Out Last Season? Poor Referees and Officials.

What can you say about that? First thoughts: that was like watching the very worst of what we served up under Steve Thompson. What a huge step back from the last few seasons.

Ok, it's early days, we've got a lot of new players and they need to settle in and develop an understanding. It won't happen overnight, but we also can't afford to let a quarter of the season pass us by before it magically clicks (if it ever does).

We completely failed to deal with their high pressing because our passing was neither fast nor precise. How can it be when the players don't know where each other are and there are massive gaps between them? On a few occasions when we had the ball, our player had no choice but to run into a blind alley because no one else was showing for the ball. That's really worrying.

We only really pepped up a bit in the last 20 minutes, when Salford started sitting a bit deeper. I think Grant helped us hold up the ball a bit more and sustain a bit of pressure, but even so we rarely looked like scoring.

On the plus side, Bennetts looked a good player and never gave up even when we were struggling to get a foothold in the game. He could be an important signing. I agree with @Chris that Jones' tantrum after not getting a penalty (which would have been extremely harsh) was ridiculous, it makes him look like a toddler and he needs to cut it out. Unnecessary yellow cards like that lead to suspensions.

I don't think Roos was to blame for the first goal. He stayed glued to his line for just about all crosses, he really made me nervous, but the corner would have been too far out. That's on the defence for losing their man. The second goal was a complete joke of course. I'm very nervous about this signing after having seen that.

My feeling after seeing that is that we've thrown the baby out with the bathwater and gone backwards. I hope I'm wrong.

On leaving the ground, overheard someone saying that's as bad as Colin Murphy times ( H/T @DangerousSausage )

Have we abandoned our football philosophy? Closing minutes, only Platt seemed to be in a position to pass and no one else wanting the ball!

Have we abandoned our footballing philosophy?

No, but we sure have lost the knack to put it into practice.

3 hours ago, gtownjohnno said:

I was at the game but can't wait to see the "highlights".....just to see if my assumptions about our new keeper are valid.....!!!!!!!! If the corner was delivered to the edge of the 6yard box.....and how much pressure he was put under for the freeby he gave to Salford!!!!!!

3 hours ago, gtownjohnno said:

I was at the game but can't wait to see the "highlights".....just to see if my assumptions about our new keeper are valid.....!!!!!!!! If the corner was delivered to the edge of the 6yard box.....and how much pressure he was put under for the freeby he gave to Salford!!!!!!

Can't blame Roos for the 1st goal...perhaps Matty Platt should have challenged the scorer????....but Roos is completely to blame for the 2nd....perhaps a visit to the opticians would help him....obviously he didn't know Salford played in vivid red shirts!!°

@DangerousSausage,Bennetts? Should have stayed down and gone off at Half Time, Only a year left to put up with him

Best comment of the day behind us was, They like the Safe Standing area but they put the barriers rhe wrong way round 😂😂

If we compare it to the last time we played Salford at home, that was a 3-1 loss and just as bad and disjointed performance so I feel like it’s hard to guage if we are going backwards/forwards or just lingering around the same place. I don’t like Karl Robinson but he absolutely has us sorted, if Salford go on a bad run later on this season he’ll be counting down the days until we rock up in Manchester.

I will say that Roos isn’t a keeper that gives you a feeling of confidence. He didn’t have that much to do but still looked shaky and because he doesn’t like to come for crosses teams are going to exploit that. Matty Young in goal for Salford is 18 y/o and looks a lot more commanding.

Is a Norburn Palmer midfield partnership going to work? I feel like the want to do the same thing and that’s take the ball and just dictate play. Neither want to drive forward with the ball or break the lines like an Iorpenda (and Abbott last season) does.

On a positive note I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Cotter, Bennetts, Iorpenda, Luker and Dennis they all look like good footballers and over the course of a long season I think they’ll be prove to be good additions.

Yes, Notts didn’t play well and the match didn’t go our way, but Salford are always tough like that. They deserved the win. Our players gave it a go and started to pull things together near the end, but it wasn’t enough. I’m disappointed, of course, but I still think we’ll be alright. We just need that first win to get going.

Palmer and Norburn, It’s like Gerrard and Lampard. To be brutal I think we’ve been sold a complete dud in Norburn. Palmer has been far better in both games so far. This considering Matt was miles off it last season.

Players performance so far

Roos, You can see why he wasn’t snapped up by anyone else

Cotter, Great engine, The right side is his

Bedeau, 8/10 every week

Platt, Has lost his outlet now Bass gone, looks hesitant going forwards and selecting the pass

Aljofree, Great on the ball, must be used on corners at both ends

Bennetts, Explosive but no end product

Iorpenda, Will run through walls, unfortunately we don’t have more like him

Jones, Looks lost in the 10 role, can’t see him staying if he’s not happy, He’s better than a lower League 2 team

Dennis, No better than his namesake Cristian

Palmer, newly found mojo,

Norburn, player over the hill

Luker, lively

Hall, Will be a belter when he gets a run

Grant, so much potential but no consistency

Paterson, makes the talk all about blaming players, his players. Another Fullerton

Meadow Lane is becoming like a crap restaurant, you go there with optimism it’s going to be good. 10 mins in and you want to go home

40 minutes ago, Garry Lee said:

Palmer and Norburn, It’s like Gerrard and Lampard. To be brutal I think we’ve been sold a complete dud in Norburn.

Gulp, anyone would be forgiven for thinking that on the evidence of yesterday.

He's only coming up to 33 next, so let's pray he's not the latest David Vaughan, Harry Arter, Dan Gosling. At the post-match meeting, it's Gagliardi who will have to squirm in his seat, not MP.

When older players drop off from the level they were playing at, often through injury or age, the temptation is a think the drop is a level or two down. This can be a fatal error. The professional leagues in the English pyramid are pretty tightly bunched in terms of level and the depth of quality stretches down into the NLs. So when a player like Gosling for example drops off from Watford's required level - the combination of age and injury impact sends him plummeting all the way down to Westfield.

Let's hope Norburn is not one of these cases, or you'll be right, we bought a dud and we lost the receipt :)

One things for sure though, we should hesitate to play them together. Each need youth, legs, running and athleticism next to them

Too many new faces in the starting 11. Seven is too many for me. Make's the team so disjointed at the moment.

I'd put Slocombe for Roos (until another goalie is bought), McDonald for Aljofree, Hinchy for Norburn & Jones back on the left wing.

Grant has his detractors but he'd be in my starting 11, Hall in the attacking Midfield role I'd even consider going to a back four.

Nobody’s blaming the result on the referee or the officials. People are just pointing out that the referee had a poor game, which is fair enough. It’s silly to say that mentioning it is just making excuses. A lot of these comments seem to be coming from people who weren’t at the match, so they won’t have the same feel for how things played out.

The simple truth is that Salford City were well organised and played quite well.

We gave away two goals, and for most of the match our performance felt off. That’s what made the difference. If Notts had played more attacking football, things might have turned out better. But the midfield didn’t really get going, and Matthew Dennis up front didn’t get much of a chance to show what he can do.

There’s no need to panic. It’s only two games in, and the players will need to improve when facing physical sides. The main thing is, if we’re going to play with a lone striker, he needs proper support from midfield. It also shows that we could do with another striker who’s comfortable leading the line. Dennis looks promising, but he seems more like someone who plays off a main striker rather than being the one up top on his own.