How things have changed table wise over the last few matches. Notts now find themselves in eighth place, twelve points behind leaders Bromley & more importantly four points behind Walsall who are in third place.

Notts have only scored one goal in their last four matches, even though Paterson is playing Jatta & leading scorer Matt Dennis together.

Injuries to key players have not helped. Influential midfielders Palmer & Robertson have been a big loss, Jones is not in the best of form, & as a result Notts are not creating the movement from the back that can create chances for our leading scorers.

The transfer window is upon us & Notts have already brought in two players, one of those should challenge for a first team place. So the question is, are you confident that Notts can still achieve an automatic place or is a playoff place more likely now?

Here is the current League 2 Table.

I think those that say it depends on the transfer window are close to the mark. We need a couple of immediate, quality first-team contributors to have a shot.

By definition, promotion seasons require promotion-level players for the respective league. Not the whole team, but you need at least seven and then the rest can be below that but aren't weak links.

We might be on the wrong side of the line there. Palmer and Robbo were playing like promotion-level players, but when they're out we're so obviously not a promotion team.

We have Platt/Rodmac, Bedeau, Tsaroulla, Dennis, Jatta,

Robbo and Palmer, fit and on best form take you to the 7. Macari is border line. And Iorpenda when playing CM.

IMO We need that GK alternate and the promotion-level AM

[For reference, our NL final. team in 2023 - Baldwin, Cameron, Palmer, Nemane, Jones, Rodrigues, Langstaff were the 7.

Bostock almost. Rawlo, Austin, Chicksen, made up the numbers but didn't let us down]

@theAnticlough  has it spot on IMO. In any team game you need 1/3 very good, 1/3 good and 1/3 competent or there abouts for success.

I'd take Belshaw for one but the playmaking, number 10, attacking midfielder whatever will be crucial for a chance of automatics. We need more than just the spirit and grit that MP has installed to unlock tight defences.

Sadly JJ looks out of sorts and I can't see any of the young loan signings or any player without significant experience being able to provide the answer.

I like the sound of Browne and Enoru but they are probably both for the future, or at least 10 games down the line in Enoru's case as coming from part time is a big ask.

Could be an exciting January!

We can, but it all depends on some smart business during this window. The spine of the team is lacking, from the goalkeeper through to the number 10 position, and if we don't bring in players who can improve us immediately it will catch up with us.

Now the table. This is the table at this point last season:

In terms of points there's little difference all in all, it's going to be close once again. Note that none of the top three teams eventually went up (two of them didn't even make the play-offs). We were above three of the four teams that eventually won promotion (and the other one was only above us on goal difference). We blew it in the second half of the season.

Bradford eventually won automatic promotion on just 78 points, Vale got 80. We're currently on course for 75 despite our limitations. An injection of quality and flair could give us the push we need to get that to 80+.

My other point in response to @theAnticlough is that it isn't always obvious who will be a promotion-level player. You mentioned Tsaroulla; Gordon came with him, who was also a promotion winner at Crawley yet has struggled to hold down a place for us. On the other hand, Dennis arrived to a lukewarm reception and Rodmac went under the radar. In the NL, Langstaff was a great prospect but it was by no means guaranteed he'd make the step up (I remember Sean Canham), while Rodders needed a fair amount of time to acclimatise. None of this is an exact science. Let's hope whoever comes in gives us a good shot and success and let's get behind them!

It's a stretch now mathematically. Four points is easy to claw back when you're at the bottom, but at the top, over only half a season, you need a fantastic run of form. You can't afford a bad month. Yes, Bradford did it last year so there's hope, but we don't quite have the players, the ruthlessness, or the luck with injuries. And the first two signings in this window have been 'ones for the future'.

We're now 7/1 at the bookies i.e. a 12.5% chance.

More realistic to hope MP can find the right formula in time to put up a good fight in the play-offs.

I tend to agree with @Sheffield Pie with his summing up of Notts's chances of automatic promotion. A couple of good additional signings might give an opportunity of making the playoffs at least.

There are up to 16 teams above and below Notts that will be challenging for either a automatic promotion place or a place in the playoffs. Half a dozen of those teams could go on a decent run. One of those teams has to be Notts which at the moment is a bit of a stretch.

Promotion is definitely achievable, but it’ll come down to a few key things. Consistency is the big one — cutting out the dropped points against teams in the bottom half and turning draws into wins.

Keeping the defence tight while maintaining our attacking style is crucial, especially away from home. Squad depth will also matter as the season wears on, so smart rotation and avoiding injuries could make the difference.

If we stay in touch with the top seven, build momentum at the right time, and hit form going into the run-in, there’s no reason we can’t push for the play-offs — and once you’re in them, anything can happen. Come on you Pies 🖤🤍