On the evidence of recent seasons, it won't be too long now before some of the 92 Head Coaches bite the dust, and most of those will be in the bottom 2 or 3 of their divisions. It's very unfair and reactive but it seems to get earlier and earlier each season these days.

So here's the distasteful question....we're sitting on 1pt from 9, but what will it take for MP to keep his job out of 30, 10 games?

For sure, if we were sitting on 1pt after 10, he'd be a goner, and probably earlier than 10. But what does he need as a minimum in order to get another batch of games and move forward? My guess is a modest 8pts from 10 games W2 D2 L6, but that kind of haul would suggest borrowed time.

Lets hope that this question is completely redundant after the next two home games.

Edited yesterday at 16:501 day by theAnticlough

Whatever happens between now and the first ten games will give us a clearer idea of how the board and the Reedtz brothers see things. They’ve replaced an unpopular head coach who still managed a playoff spot with someone who hasn’t won a game yet.

I really want Martin Paterson to do well, but I’d be puzzled if we don’t see signs of progress by the ten-game mark. We can’t keep playing like a team that’s never played together before. If morale drops too far, the club might be left with only one obvious choice. We’ve got two big home games coming up. Two good results could make all the difference. I’d hate to think what might happen if they don’t.

I think that five games without a win will make it very tough for the Head Coach. By that point, even if we get another two draws & two points, it would only be three points in total, & Notts could be twelve points behind the leaders.

I think ten games would certainly be too long to change things if the Notts form hasn't improved , because by that time they will be near the bottom & maybe over twenty points behind the leaders.

The way things are, & I hope I'm wrong, I think automatic promotion is already out of the question. A playoff place is still possible if we can win our next two games at home which will give lots of confidence to the team.

And of course, we need at least three more quality incomings to improve the present squad.

I think Paterson is Pretty Safe despite his Record. Because he's Cheap keeps his Mouth Shut and does as he's Told. Several other Coaches were approached before him and turned down the Club, because they weren't Prepared to Coach the Squad under "The Model" Notts proposed. Patterson's only job is to Coach Players and the Director of Football picks the Team and Runs the Football side of things according to Rumours. Looking at the Results it seems the Rumours may have some substance to them. The D.O.F can Talk the Talk, but can't Walk the Walk.

@Wheelbarrow repair man, I don't agree. I think Paterson, although not disclosed, will only be on a year contract, so it probably suggests they we're happy to see what happens.

If nothing comes out of it, it's only a small loss in compo and if it works out, which it still might, it'll be seen as a masterstroke.

The DOF won't be involved in picking the team; buying the team and negotiating who we getm yes, but the tactics and final match day team decisions are the HC alone.

Hence why he's not completely safe.

Agree @piedestrian, unfortunately the pressure's building and needs the release of victory.

The players really have to dig him out of this hole but collectively they are going backwards. They need to reverse this by finding their best games.

As we've discussed on the other threads, the blame for this start is spread in a lot of directions. Unfortunately for MP though, he's the obvious pressure point, and he'll be the fall guy if we continue to drop points at the current rate. Really unfair, I'd hate to see this happen, because he hasn't done much wrong with the hand he's been given.

As I've Stated @piedestrian these are only Rumours, to be taken with a Pinch of Salt and Yet these Rumours and others in the same vein are going around the Lane, and there's No Smoke with out Fire. If the Brothers do Sack the Head Coach, who do they Replace Him with? Somebody else with a Poor Winning Record? One thing about Patterson is (like Maynard before him) he has No Man Management skills. Reading Comments from Notts Fans there seems to be a Large Part of the Fan Base wanting Luke Williams to be Reappointed. Like LW or Not, he knows the Club and during his time at the Lane, he built up a Excellent Relationship with the Fans and was Held in Great Regard by his Players. He was able to take Poor Players and turn them into Average Players, Average Players into Great Players and Great Players into Star Players, you only have to look at Players who served under him during his National League stint here at the Lane, most had a remarkable Season, which they failed to repeat once he had left. Williams leaving could have been better and that may have stuck in some Fans Throats, but Don't Forget the Great Jimmy Sirral left Notts then came back. How many Fans would have been against his Return if Social Media had been around Back Then? I think Williams return would only benefit the Club.

Another Rumour I've heard is that Martin Patterson, is on a Rolling Contract which the Club can cancel at anytime. Hence is this why he stated judge me after 10 games? So does that mean if he doesn't have the Necessary Points on the Board, he'll be Removed?

I don’t think we’ll be on 1 point after 10 matches, we still have enough quality in the squad and Jatta back and another potential number 9 signing will give everyone a big boost. I would say 3 wins from the next 7 matches is a minimum, but even then I'd be looking just as much at the performances as the results. If it's looking like things are improving and we draw some matches we could've won that'll be encouraging. If it gets to Christmas, the performances are poor and we are in a relegation fight I’d think he’d be gone so that’s around 20 matches…

That said I can remember Doncaster looking hopeless a few seasons ago, they were 22^nd at the start of February yet something changed/clicked and they completely turned their form around and finished in the play-offs that season and Grant McCann was in charge the whole time too.

As @Wheelbarrow repair man says, MP said judge me after 10 games. At the time it seemed he was very confident in his own ability to produce a successful team. Listening to his interview after the Barrow game I’m not so sure. It seemed he couldn’t confidently say he knew what the problem was and how to fix it. It reminded me a bit of John Sheridan during his overseeing 9 consecutive defeats. He always struck me as if he didn’t really know how to turn things around. “We just need to work harder on the training ground” comment doesn’t seem to work. Let’s hope MP does know and how and will succeed.

I don’t think things will suddenly get better, so it’s unlikely we’ll go on a winning run anytime soon. At the same time, I don’t believe we’ll lose every game between now and the tenth match either.

I expect we’ll pick up a win or two, maybe a draw and a defeat here and there. Just steady progress as the season gets going.

Sadly, I think the club has to stick with the decision they’ve made. Changing the manager now could do more harm than good.

Alan Hardy sacking Kevin Nolan for Harry Kewell was a terrible call. The Reedtz brothers backed Martin Paterson, and it might be a case of them hoping it works out by the end of the season so we’re in a better place for the next one.

If that’s the plan, then I think Stuart Maynard was treated unfairly. The club needs to start listening to fans more and stop relying only on stats and data to make every decision.

How about we wait for ten games first?

The Board caused Didz to leave, sold the best keeper in the league and we don't have AJ for another two games.

But apparently, its all MP's fault?

Let him get AJ back, give him 5 games with the totemic goalscorer, then judge.

So many opinions, two footed tackles and aspersions here based on 'rumours'.

No wonder the city is known as the Whispering City

Edited 9 hours ago9 hr by Scotty
Spelling

I think it's a fair discussion, and it is interesting to see the different thoughts.

The club seems to react a little slow to the obvious things, which make the biggest difference, only trying to correct them after the fact. With Alassana Jatta being out, surely it would have made sense that we had someone in addition to Matthew Dennis? Mai Traore is being thrown in attacking midfield, and as a striker last season he struggled, so it is clear that he needs time.

When Matt Palmer got injured in our first season back in the Football League, we tried to address it with the signing of Dan Gosling, which on paper looked good, but it became apparent why no other club had signed him before we did.

Stuart Maynard losing his assistant and coach is a big blow to what fans call for him to have: an assistant. But the club promotes within, and that ends up seeing Joao Alves leave when Maynard is sacked and replaced. So, the club brings in more support and changes the coaching focus. Hire a doctor to help with injuries and prevention, but there is so much dissension going on.

Among any signings in midfield, which wasn't the issue in the previous season but now requires them all to settle within a team that already had a good spine, the new players have a higher preference for being played.

It seems bound to hinder a newly appointed head coach who mostly has experience as an assistant. Who is appointed beyond 4 weeks of the sacking of Maynard and then has to get to grips with a pre-season tour in Germany, where Notts are obviously going to be the whipping boys to two very good second-division teams?

It's going to take time; we need to be supportive and patient.

Lots of good points @TheSkipper

I agree it has been a fair discussion on here - and by and large the posts have been sympathetic and supportive of Martin.

There's no point denying that he's under pressure though, just the facts of footy life

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by theAnticlough

Some fair points there @Scotty. We had a taste of how much attacking "threat" we pose without McGoldrick and AJ at Wimbledon in the playoffs. We wouldn't have scored if we'd still been playing now. On the other hand, MP has a fit Jones to call on, unlike most of last season.

The question in many people's mind is whether MP is getting the best out of the players and whether he knows what to do. I'm pessimistic on that score. Look at our set pieces - we've got JJ, who can put a fantastic ball in, and now we've got Cotter with his long throw. So where are the set piece routines from the training ground? Everyone seems to be making it up as they go along.

But it's very early and a win could help settle us down. The owners like to give people a chance, but they're also ambitious and have just sacked a head coach who took us to the playoffs. On the other hand, they stood by Ian Burchnall in spite of his really poor start and he eventually turned it around. I think if we're not in the top half at Christmas they'll pull the trigger, or possibly much sooner if we end up in the bottom four.