An often-heard expression among football fans is “winning is all that matters” It’s felt that playing good football and not winning is futile. “It doesn’t matter how we perform as long as we win.” Of course, for any team to be successful winning is essential. However is it too simplistic to say it doesn’t matter how we play as long as we win?

Well to win trophies and achieve promotions, winning is vital. However, can a team play poorly for 46 games in a season and expect to get promotion? Yes good teams, champions find a way to win when they aren’t playing well, but they have to play well for a good number of games to be successful. Teams who consistently play poorly are more likely to be relegated than promoted.

So good performances are also needed. The question is how can a team that plays good entertaining football also become a winning one? Certainly players with skill and technical ability are needed. They need to have the skill set that fits into the head coaches playing philosophy. They need a measure of physicality, mental strength and a never say die attitude. As a team there needs to be a clear playing identity.

In answer to the question, yes winning matters, but it’s not all that matters. The performance  against Fleetwood shows we are beginning to develop a winning mentality. Let’s hope MP is able put these ingredients together to make us not only a team that wins,  but a team that is good to watch!

If a team aims to be successful, it has to win lots of football matches & avoid defeat against the other top teams in the league.

No team is ever going to play well for 46 games of the season. Maybe a third or more of those games they won't be allowed to play well.

Those are the games where a successful team finds a way to win. That's why it's very important to have a sold defence & central midfield, with a competent goalkeeper behind them.

And yes, I believe winning is more important than the performance, but if the team keeps winning whether they play well or not is still the sign of a great team.

Great teams find a way to win when the going is tough & they have been totally outplayed in games. And Notts were on the recieving end of exactly that on several occasions last season.

Back in the day, JJ (@Joe Jones) discussed this on a PONcast and asked via social media what fans thought. We got quite a lot of comments back and the majority seemed to agree that winning is the most important thing. I respect opinions, but for me I think performances are just as important as is keeping key in form because ultimately you can't rely on winning games without having something more crediable to back it up.

No team has ever earned promotion from just winning alone, some have managed to secure it by getting important wins when the form or perormances haven't been that good.

For me, winning games is important but form and indidual performances when they are what can be described as "match winners" or "star players" and have the ability to back those titles up with their recent displays helps a team perform much better. All it takes is for a handful of players to have an off day, and the squad will be effected. Yet, if you have 3-4 players who are on fire then your chances of deserving to win games is much higher.

I can say, fans do tend to say winning is all that matters, but it doesn't stop people from scrutinising performances or still being utterly negative.

I thought the first half we played acceptably against Fleetwood, but I have seen comments suggesting we were poor, and boring in that part simply because we didn't score but I think a nutural would find the game to have been exciting despite the score line and lack of quality at times.

2 hours ago, McPie said:

However, can a team play poorly for 46 games in a season and expect to get promotion? Yes good teams, champions find a way to win when they aren’t playing well, but they have to play well for a good number of games to be successful. Teams who consistently play poorly are more likely to be relegated than promoted.

So good performances are also needed. The question is how can a team that plays good entertaining football also become a winning one? Certainly players with skill and technical ability are needed. They need to have the skill set that fits into the head coaches playing philosophy. They need a measure of physicality, mental strength and a never say die attitude. As a team there needs to be a clear playing identity.

In answer to the question, yes winning matters, but it’s not all that matters.

Good post @McPie, especially the part above.

Most fans have seen enough football over the years, not to need to speculate on this. Successful teams are more often than not those that can perform well and take the game to the opposition, overrun and outplay them. We've also seen there's another way. Sometimes resolute teams that can defend really well without being all that talented offensively can succeed too. For the first, most common category, a team will have to be otherworldly to succeed if it doesn't have a decent defence. Many of us had our hearts broken in 1982 with Brazil, maybe the greatest collection of attacking talent ever.

For fans sake I don't think you should set out to be George Graham's Arsenal. Design your team to attack, and if you need to fall back on a solid defence, it's great to have that in your locker.

Winning is always welcome, and snatching results from teams who thought they had it wrapped up is part of the game. But if Notts wants to be one of the top sides in this league. and ready for the next, we need to rely less on luck and more on the quality we’ve got. Gritty wins are fine, and sometimes the football won’t be pretty, but that doesn’t mean the performance was poor. Holding onto a lead, staying organised, and doing the hard work to see out a result matters just as much as creating chance after chance.

We should accept that not every match will be a showcase of flowing football. What matters is building a team that can win in different ways, whether that’s through skill, structure, or sheer determination. If we want to be serious contenders, we need to focus on consistency and control, not just hoping for a lucky bounce or a late goal. The signs are there, and if we keep pushing the standard, Notts can be both effective and enjoyable to watch.

One thing to consider is that we are coming off an ex-manager and team that was one of the worst 'clutch' performers we've seen. Especially during that crucial run-in when we seem to lose close match after close match and if anyone was going to impact the game late it was always going to be the opposition.

We've got to win at least a few close matches which are in the balance. Hopefully, our share or more than our share this season.

Beating Fleetwood at home 1-0 is a nice result and we'll all take the win but it doesn't suddenly mean we're George Graham's Arsenal. On another day, the fact that our defenders, WBs and CMs couldn't dominate the ball, will come back to bite us. Fleetwood had enough of the game to get a draw. Great, we might have shaken off being the soft touches we were, but to rack up the wins and stay high up the table we're going to have to play high quality football on a consistent basis.

22 hours ago, McPie said:

In answer to the question, yes winning matters, but it’s not all that matters

Agree with this.

As football fans, we want to go to a game and be entertained watching free flowing football, players performing week in week out, executing game plans perfectly and giving the fans something to admire. But, unfortunately, that can't always be the case there will be days where the players have an off day or the opposition make it tough for the team to get anything going which at that point if they grind out a win despite not being at their best, being second best in the game or having that one lucky break any football fan would take that even with a bad performance. They may not be overly impressed with the match itself but they'd be a little bit happy to have gotten the win.

But, if a team doesn't get the win but the players have played exceptional and it just happened to be on a day that it was just against them, fans may come away disappointed because they didn't get the win but they won't be deflated because they acknowledge the fact that the players gave it their all and were just unfortunate not to get the result.

Wins matter, of course they do, but you still have to play well to earn them. It’s not about sitting back like a small team hoping to nick a result against a Premier League side. We should be aiming to play our own game and score through good football. Some fans seem happy just to win, even if the performance isn’t great. I don’t mean to upset anyone, but that attitude feels a bit like fairweather support. It’s easy to cheer when things go well, but it’s just as easy to turn when they don’t.

The same people calling for the Reedtz brothers to leave, blaming certain players, and moaning about Martin Paterson are often the ones who say winning is all that matters. Then, when we lose, they complain we didn’t play well enough. It’s a bit of a cycle. Calling the squad rubbish after one bad game doesn’t help. Football is tough, and it’s not just about results. Playing well and earning the win means more than just scraping by.

Because of the poor start, some fans are trying to make it sound like winning is the only thing that counts. But we all know that even when we win, people still find something to complain about. That’s football, isn’t it? We feel every moment, celebrate every goal, and ride the highs and lows together.

1 hour ago, Benji said:

It’s not about sitting back like a small team hoping to nick a result against a Premier League side. We should be aiming to play our own game and score through good football.

Precisely this. If the team sits back absorbing pressure, what fan can really go to a game and enjoy seeing that? Even if the team comes away with the win. You might get a win here and there but more time than not they'll come away with a loss because there's only so much pressure a team can absorb.

However, as mentioned previously, if a team sticks to the game plan and performs to their game fans will still like what they saw even if they come away with a loss probably not as much as getting the win but they can still come away saying the team played well.

I want to feel confident week to week. It’s not enough to win games by luck or last minute goals. We need a plan that shows in every match, from the first whistle to the final whistle. That means defending well, moving the ball quickly, and finishing chances with calm. The Fleetwood game gave a hint of this when the team stayed compact and pressed at the right times. If we can repeat that level of focus across most fixtures, the mood around Meadow Lane will improve and the results will be steadier. Fans will stay patient if the team looks organised and purposeful.

Notts must think long term as well as short term.

A clear system that suits the players helps recruitment and development. We should back the squad with smart signings that add pace, technical ability, and grit.

The club has a spine: but a reliable goalkeeper, would compliment the solid centre backs, and the midfield that can control tempo. The manager should use youth when ready, but not rush players into big roles. By firm planning and steady progress, Notts can climb the table and play football that makes supporters proud.

From this thread I take a simple view. Winning matters, but the way we win matters more. A team that shows resilience, shape, and shared purpose earns respect even on tough days. We need to see improvements in ball retention, transitions, and finishing. The fans notice when a team fights for every ball and sticks to its plan. If Notts can maintain that approach, the results will follow and the atmosphere will lift. It is not a sudden fix, but a steady build. That is how we become a strong side that people want to watch again and again.

Notts winning matters, but it isn’t everything. We need to win with a clear plan and solid football, not just hope for a late goal. The best teams combine grit with good play.

i am not sitting on the fence with writing this, but...

i think there is a time and place for winning ugly, and winning is very important but so is the level and consistency of good performances. it all depends on the factors and situation, but performances wont always be deserving of winning or all that good. you have to take into account why things happen, such as if we have injuries, backlog of fixtures and performances are not great, so be it. if we are playing a team in better form, win ugly. even local games like against chesterfield and grimsby i would not mind if we were not 100% in.

teams we should be doing well against, really should be good performance but winning is what gets promotions.