No doubt we are all feeling down after the result and performance yesterday. Having just watched the full match replay and comparing it to what I watched at Meadow Lane yesterday, I see reasons for optimism. Firstly we need to put things into perspective. It's only the second game in and we had 7 players making the league home debut. They need time to gel. Also Paterson is still learning what players can and can't do. he might for example realise that Palmer and Norburn can't pay together, this would allow for another creative player to start. Luker and Hall look like the creative spark we are missing and with Iorpenda height and physicality we will not be bullied in midfield. If Jatta had been playing yesterday, I think we might have taken one of the chances we had. Also let's not forget that although Salford were better with the the ball than we were, they came with tactics determined to waste time, stifle and frustrate, which is so anti football and horrible to watch. I am confident we will learn from this. Paterson said judge him after 10 games. It may well take that long for things to work out. So lets all cheer up and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

The Preseason isn't that the time for the players to Gel? To get to know each other? Time for a Head Coach to get to know his player's Strength's and Weaknesses and work out his Tactics? Thus enabling the Magpies to Hit the Ground Running, at the Start of a New Season?

I like your Glass half Full attitude @macpie , there was a lot of Positives before yesterdays Game and many Fans (myself included) thought the Magpies would kick off with a Win, only for Notts to turn in a Performance like that. And the longer Notts fail to produce a Win, the worse it will be for them, to get out of a losing Rut. The Biggest problem for the Magpies they've lost three Top Players from last season, Didzy Crowley and Bass, with the possibility of a Fourth in Jatta, and none have been replaced by like for like players. Before the Close of the Transfer Window, like it or Not, the Brothers need to Bring in a New Goalkeeper and a Striker and MP needs to make some Tough decisions and Drop players who are Not Performing even if in the Past they were certain to be one of the first names, on the Starting XI team sheet. MP also needs to take Jodi to one side and get him to change his attitude he's turning into a Prima Donna, throwing his toys out of the Pram, if a Decision doesn't go his way, Jodi (and all other Notts Players) should know by now that Officials at this level aren't going to Give You Anything. They need to get up Brush themselves Down and get on with the Game. Moaning and Groaning at the Ref is only going to get you a Yellow Card and those Yellow Cards will end up in a Ban, which means the Team will suffer More.

newport would have disappointed the lads, going into the salford game they would have wanted to put that right but it did not work out. we need to make sure the communication levels are higher and during training we need to get the players used to each other. it was not the worst game, but the goals that conceded add to the frustration. i know when we can control games, we will be able to dominate and create chances.

we just need to work on the formation a little, make sure the midfield are picking up the ball and that in front of them everyone is making movement.

i think we will have a bit more doom and gloom due to wigan but things should pick up.

3 hours ago, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

The Preseason isn't that the time for the players to Gel? To get to know each other? Time for a Head Coach to get to know his player's Strength's and Weaknesses and work out his Tactics? Thus enabling the Magpies to Hit the Ground Running, at the Start of a New Season?

I like your Glass half Full attitude @macpie , there was a lot of Positives before yesterdays Game and many Fans (myself included) thought the Magpies would kick off with a Win, only for Notts to turn in a Performance like that. And the longer Notts fail to produce a Win, the worse it will be for them, to get out of a losing Rut. The Biggest problem for the Magpies they've lost three Top Players from last season, Didzy Crowley and Bass, with the possibility of a Fourth in Jatta, and none have been replaced by like for like players. Before the Close of the Transfer Window, like it or Not, the Brothers need to Bring in a New Goalkeeper and a Striker and MP needs to make some Tough decisions and Drop players who are Not Performing even if in the Past they were certain to be one of the first names, on the Starting XI team sheet. MP also needs to take Jodi to one side and get him to change his attitude he's turning into a Prima Donna, throwing his toys out of the Pram, if a Decision doesn't go his way, Jodi (and all other Notts Players) should know by now that Officials at this level aren't going to Give You Anything. They need to get up Brush themselves Down and get on with the Game. Moaning and Groaning at the Ref is only going to get you a Yellow Card and those Yellow Cards will end up in a Ban, which means the Team will suffer More.

The problem with pre-season as a time to gel @Wheelbarrow repair man is that players only get 30 or 60 minutes and don't play with the same players each time. So once Paterson picks a settled 11 they will need time. However that being said, yesterday we seem to be playing with no plan or strategy. We seem to be a team of strangers. That of course is not surprising with 7 players making the league home debut. Maybe the head coach is trying to change things too quickly. Let's see where we are after 10 games.

@McPie I generally agree with what you say. Problem now for Paterson is that you can bet your bottom Dollar that a lot of teams will study the match & will set up as close as they can to the tactics Salford employed.

The Head Coach has to try to counter this & I hope he does, because unfortunately, Maynard didn't succeed in countering the very high press & physicality despite Didzy & Jatta being in the side.

@McPie thank you for your “glass half full” post it’s nice to hear some positivity, fans these days seem to be to impatient, if we aren’t winning every game by at least two clear goals then everyone wants the head coach sacked, players shipped out, new signings etc., I agree that the team needs to gel and be given time to learn how each other plays, once we have a settled side that have played with each other for a number of games then hopefully we will see things start to get better.

Whilst I agree with FofBT - it is early season, things can take time with new personnel & management etc - there was very little on the pitch to be optimistic about yesterday tbh.

The lack of shape, structure and the fact that we ended up, effectively, with 7 midfield players and no strikers was a major concern for me.

Luker showed a bit of spark and scored the goal, that was a significant improvement on anything the starting XI produced!

In a sea of mediocrity and dross, that was the only highlight apart from the more robust approach when we were out of possession, which was far too prevalent for my liking.

We need to far better than that, massively so, if we are going to restore faith, optimism and provide something to feel positive about.

Of course there is always room for optimism & I am sure that the team will improve as the players gel together.

I do believe that there wasn't a lot wrong with the team that fished sixth last season & could have easily been improved by adding just five new additions.

The team just needed 2 good goalkeepers, two good AMs & a good striker. I think that 11 new additions were unnecessary & this has had a big affect on the cohesiveness of the team.

And after all those additions, we still need a good goalkeeper, a playmaker & a decent proven goalscorer.

It's difficult to handle a social media account representing the fans when the club doesn't start well; it's not something you can get used to. Just mentioning anything can trigger people, and I know a lot of it comes down to knee-jerk reactions.

I am a very positive-minded person when it comes to Notts; I can see us improving, but it will only be harder with the bad feelings from within our own supporters camp.

Notts has to do its part in lifting the spirit, but we as fans need to stand collectively and try to be encouraging. It's not always easy, but I am still encouraged by the Newport performance. We should have won that game easily, even though people are saying it's just Newport. Winning games leads to confidence; it makes decision-making easier because when things aren't so merry, you have doubts in the back of your mind.

The young loanees came on and gave us something going forward; that is encouraging.

All the complaints about taking Matthew Dennis off: he wasn't involved in the game, and I think it's highly likely Salford would have gotten a third before we even came close to scoring had these changes not been made.

There's an element of fitness, and new arrivals, which could be the reason why we haven't quite gelled on the pitch.

The training ground is where Martin Paterson can fix a lot of this, but every game from now until the end of the season, we have to try to forget about the previous results. People want us to play well, but say that winning ugly doesn't matter. I have always been of the mindset that good performances lead to good results.

I don't focus too much on not playing well, because I tend to think about what could improve us.

16 hours ago, Robbie said:

@McPie I generally agree with what you say. Problem now for Paterson is that you can bet your bottom Dollar that a lot of teams will study the match & will set up as close as they can to the tactics Salford employed.

The Head Coach has to try to counter this & I hope he does, because unfortunately, Maynard didn't succeed in countering the very high press & physicality despite Didzy & Jatta being in the side.

The opposition teams have been doing that since we got back into the EFL... .This season we haven't got the HC or players to counteract them!!!!

For all is said & done, the powers that be at Notts will do what they think is best for the Club. It doesn't mean that we supporters should agree with everything they do.

If the Club had been struggling in the bottom half of the league last season, I could easily understand why the club would want a big clear out & a significant recruitment of new players.

But we finished sixth, just 2 wins away from getting promoted on goal difference. Notts took it to the last game of the season.

Was a 22 player turnaround really necessary? Surely we had the makings of a successful squad & it has been gutted. I still think that just 5 more players, with around 5 leaving, would have strengthened an already decent squad.

Even though I think the turnaround has been too big, & it will probably get bigger by the end of the window, the owners are clearly trying to strengthen the side & I applaud that.

I just think the club may have gone two steps back to go three forward that's all. Time will tell if I'm right or wrong. I hope I'm wrong.

A positive.....when we went down two nil, and we made a subsitution I said "Let's see if he can make a goal from a subsitution". Within ten minutes the sub had scored.

A question.... what is the Plan B when there is a high-press like Salford had on us on Saturday? Cloughie was the first to do it on the first season back back in League 2, when the stags beat us 4.1. since then, when a team emulates them with a high press, we have little options, and as evidendenced on saturday, team can conjure a goal by putting us under pressure, forcing errors from defence and goalkeepers alike.

what is Plan B in that scenario?

2 hours ago, Scotty said:

A positive.....when we went down two nil, and we made a subsitution I said "Let's see if he can make a goal from a subsitution". Within ten minutes the sub had scored.

A question.... what is the Plan B when there is a high-press like Salford had on us on Saturday? Cloughie was the first to do it on the first season back back in League 2, when the stags beat us 4.1. since then, when a team emulates them with a high press, we have little options, and as evidendenced on saturday, team can conjure a goal by putting us under pressure, forcing errors from defence and goalkeepers alike.

what is Plan B in that scenario?

As I understand it Scotty, when the opposition play with a high press, they leave space behind which we need to exploit. The problem is when players in that situation panic and just hit the ball long aimlessly, you concede possession and usually the defenders use that space to start another attack. It would seem rather that just hit long balls aimlessly we need to find a way to pass forward through the lines to players who can received the ball on the half-turn and use the space to our advantage. Of course we are talking about league 2 quality players so this is not easy. That's why league two games are often a war of attrition. The survival of the fittest and strongest and not always pretty to watch.

@Scotty . I Don't Think Notts have a Plan B, and that's been obvious since Notts have returned to the EFL. However in past seasons the Magpies have had a Decent Strike Force, which have gotten Notts out of many a Sticky Situation. This Time Around Notts have No Credible Strike force and Teams have already started to work out the Notts system, because the Magpies still play Tippy Tappy Football, that's why the Owners should have appointed a Head Coach with Vast EFL Experience on his C.V. and left him to Run the Team his way, without Interference from the Director Of Football or any other members of the Notts Higher Ups.

Some may not see it this way. I think that Martin Paterson turned to a plan B in a subtle way when he substituted three players in the second half of the Wigan match.

When he replaced Jones, Cotter, & Grant with Gordon, Hall & Dennis, it gave the Notts side much more imputus, movement & intensity.

The team looked much more balanced & cohesive. The problem was, as I saw it, he should have made those changes half way in first half & the result might have been different.

Was it a plan B to change the shape or formation? No. Was it a plan B to go more direct? No. But it was a plan B to make Notts more effective going forward by giving them more movement, urgency, & making their attacks more effective.

Whether it was by accident or design, it nearly worked.