I don’t think I’m the only one saying this, but next season Notts should stick to friendlies at Meadow Lane and skip the German tour. Doing it three years in a row doesn’t seem helpful. Those games abroad didn’t just affect how fans saw things, they left us looking a bit off and not quite ready. In past years, the team looked sharper and fitter in pre-season.

It’s not about playing big-name teams. Pre-season should be about getting minutes, trying things out, and helping players get back to full fitness.

If we’d stayed local this summer, the club might’ve had more time to sort signings and get the squad settled. Sending trialists to Germany didn’t help, and having the team ready earlier would’ve made a difference in that first match.

Hopefully Notts can line up three home friendlies that fans will enjoy, plus a few more nearby. That would be a better way to prepare.

I don’t think it’s helped us this season. There were plenty of things that needed improving, and for some reason Notts never seems keen to host friendly games. Maybe it’s because they don’t expect a big turnout, but I think these short tours in Germany cause more problems than they solve.

One issue is the lack of media updates. The media team were clearly travelling and busy, but from a fan’s point of view, it felt like we were left in the dark. It didn’t come across as very open or organised.

Better planning would make a big difference. I still believe we need a more grounded pre-season, with more games played at Meadow Lane. It would help new signings settle in and take some pressure off when it comes to building the squad.

I was surprised we pretty much repeated the same pre-season as last year, just with different German teams. It felt like a missed chance to do things better.

Looking back, it’s easy to see where things could have gone better. I agree that the German games left us looking a bit unprepared and not as sharp as we’d hoped. It didn’t help with match fitness either.

We weren’t close to the level of the first two teams we faced, so it only really tested the defence. The midfield didn’t get much out of it, and it’s hard to build confidence that way. Playing attacking football is important, especially in pre-season. The Cardiff friendly was much more useful. It gave us a proper challenge and helped the team get into a better rhythm. That’s the kind of game we need more of.

I agree with the sentiment here. I can understand why Notts would want to make the pre season friendlies more high profile to maybe make the fixtures more competitive & make money out of the fixtures.

But I do believe that it is important for the players to play against sides at home that will have a similar style & approach to what Notts have

I used to love the County Cup Competition where the holders would get a bye to the final and the challengers would play each other in a semi final first. Those games used to be competitive.

I do wish it would be reinstated so we could get a pre season game against Mansfield & Forest which ended with a possible trophy.

It’s a good idea to have a few games in central Europe. It gives fans and players a chance to bond and brings something different. But the first two matches didn’t offer much of a challenge, and that took the edge off the trip. I’ve always liked a more competitive set of friendlies, with most of them played at home. It helps build momentum and gives fans something to look forward to.

I also hope we skip Alfreton next year. It feels like we’ve played them five seasons in a row now, and it’s probably time for a change.

18 hours ago, Randall said:

In past years, the team looked sharper and fitter in pre-season.

Really disagree. Team much fitter this season and I believe the German tour helped in that

Interesting post @Randall. I'm not at all biased, but I think Notts definitely need to come to Mannheim next year! 😉

The tour wasn't perfect though. We were very early in our preparations and travelled with a new head coach and an experimental team. To compound that, the first two sides we played were significantly above our level, so we ended up chasing shadows and didn't learn a lot. We learned more about our team against Stuttgarter Kickers than we did in the other two matches combined. I think it would have been better to play Stuttgarter Kickers plus another team at about our level, and then a stronger team to finish with. An itinerary like FSV Frankfurt - Kickers Offenbach - Darmstadt would have put us through our paces, and hopefully we'd have been more competitive for the final game. But it all depends on calendars too.

The advantage of Germany is that it's fairly close and there are a lot of teams we can play. English teams in the same division don't tend to play each other in pre-season. A tour of Scotland or Ireland would also be a team bonding opportunity and there would be no visa issues for certain players, but there's also a smaller pool of competitive teams we could play; in Scotland we would need to find Championship teams bare minimum.

I don't think fitness is an issue at all, during the tour it was clear that they were working extremely hard on fitness (they had a full training session on the pitch in Darmstadt straight after the final whistle, after the home team had long gone). The problem is that there were too many trialists and a number of our new players hadn't joined yet or were not fit, so the games didn't really help us gel as a team. With some better planning it can be a more useful exercise in the future.

@Randall . Here Here, I don't honestly see the point of the preseason trips to Germany. Keep the Squad on Home Soil. Surely having matches at the Lane along with games with nearby Club's is better and easier for the Fans to watch and travel too. Games against neighbouring Clubs preseason would also help Fans bond and feel closer with the Club and new players. Notts don't need to go abroad (it would also cut out the cost of team travel and putting the Squad up in hotels and cut out Visa Problems), Preseason games against the likes of Derby, Forest, Leicester, Mansfield would be more rewarding. IMHO.

I can understand that fans who want to see pre season games are disappointed when the squad goes on tour but playing devils advocate I think the idea is for the squad to travel together have some time away and bond with each other, I do think it’s a good idea to go on tour whether that’s Germany or elsewhere but then again I’ve never been too bother about seeing pre season matches.

4 hours ago, Piethagoram said:

Really disagree. Team much fitter this season and I believe the German tour helped in that

During pre-season, and especially in the first five games, things weren’t quite right. Martin Paterson has said himself that he changed the starting lineup and took players off at times because they weren’t fit enough. Fitness is getting better now, but if you look back to when Luke Williams was in charge, the squad was in much better shape. Players were made to run laps around the pitch both before and after matches, even before they were allowed to shower.

I was surprised when the club chose to set up friendlies in Germany. I understand why some people support the idea and why others might not. Playing strong teams, even if they are in the second tier, is a good way to test ourselves. But by that point, the squad should have been mostly complete. That would have helped the players settle in and get used to each other.

Fitness has clearly been an issue. You could see it from the first match, although things are slowly getting better. Injuries have played a part, so that needs to be considered. Still, this pre-season felt poorly planned.

It might explain why the Director of Football has now left. When things behind the scenes aren't running smoothly, it often shows in the decisions and results.

I can imagine it’s much easier to arrange friendlies abroad than it is to get strong teams from the Premier League or Championship. Those teams would offer a more competitive style, but I don’t mind the idea of playing in Germany. I do think the squad should have been mostly sorted by then. It would have helped with team bonding and getting players used to each other before facing tough opposition.

The four weeks with hardly any updates, before Martin Paterson was named head coach, made it clear how unprepared we were for pre-season. It felt like things were left too late and that showed in how the team started.

I'm looking forward to perhaps Bavaria for next pre season.... 1860 Munich for example! Munich bier kellers' beckon!

I'm sure Dennis has improved by playing against good German defenders... there is little point in playing the likes of Rolls Royce where one is expected to score at least 10 each pre season.

Also playing good teams allows one to analyse your own weaknesses

Yes, @Piethagoram. But I agree that having a prepared squad for these kinds of trips is much more useful. If the team isn't ready, the benefits are limited. A striker won't get better if they hardly touch the ball or have few chances. Playing against stronger teams can help defenders, but it doesn't do much for attacking players.

Some of those games were tough to watch. They must have been draining and had a real effect on team morale. Even though they were only friendlies, the frustration would have built up.

I think Germany might be off the cards for a bit, especially if Jatta is still with us, he wasn't able to go first time he joined when we had a mini-trip over there too.

On the whole I think going away is good, it's great for team bonding as it forces the players to spend more time together and therefore they get to know each other that bit quicker. The massive issue was Jatta’s visa and that almost overshadowed the whole pre-season. It caused a right hoo-ha because his agent wasn’t happy, Jatta then didn’t play for the B team and we all freaked out expecting him to leave before the window shut.

The teams we played in Germany were equivalent to Championship sides and a League 2 side. We then played Port Vale and Cardiff League 1 sides and Alfreton a National League North side. I don’t think the level of opposition was too bad overall, as @DangerousSausage says maybe changing one of the better teams in Germany to a League 2 level side would’ve been better.

Agree with @magnum.p.i.e about Alfreton though, I think it’s just one of those that gets picked purely due to location.

Some things carry on for too long, and others just need a change. I think both of these apply to the club playing in Germany. At our level, it ends up being expensive for fans to travel. While it’s a unique experience, I feel like it’s had its time now.

It’s something the club should only do every few years. That way, the squad can be better prepared, and the staff can do more by staying local. We should focus on teams that are closer to our level. Port Vale and Cardiff were good choices and made more sense for where we are.

If the preparation is done properly and the recruitment is sorted in good time, I don’t really have a problem with it. The concern is that if you go too early, you might end up taking trialists just to fill the squad.

It could be a nice reward for some of the younger players, and it also gives new signings a chance to settle in and get used to the team. If we do go ahead with the tour, I just hope it starts a week or so later. That would give us time to organise friendlies around it and make sure everything runs smoothly.