That was some debut from Rory Finneran. Is it one of the best debut's you have witnessed from a Notts player at ML?

For a while, that's for sure, @Robbie. What stood out for me was the stylishness of his play, kind of a cross between Steve McManaman and Andy Townsend.

This year, the Club are putting their foot down and saying no, injury will not wipe out our central midfield. What wouldwe say is the depth chart of our CM now (if all fit)?

First team - Robertson & Finneran

Reserves - Sanders & Campbell

Third team: Evans & Palmer

Edited August 30Aug 30 by theAnticlough

@theAnticlough I can remember a player we took on loan around the end of 1983, his name was Glenn Roeder who Notts loaned from QPR. He had a great debut for Notts, & made a big impression on the fans who tried to sign him by what you would call nowadays by crowdfunding. The fans unfortunately didn't raise the asking price. He played a further 3 times for Notts, but was sold by his parent club to Newcastle.

But Glenn was an experienced campaigner. Rory is only 18, so I think Rory's debut performance takes some beating.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I know I had some pre-judgement/concerns going into the game, but I felt he was very natural. I overheard a small group of fans suggesting his performance was too "safe" and "casual"; I think that is quite harsh. On your debut you want things to go well; you want the team to know you are capable and reliable.

I don't think his performances warranted harsh criticism, but some would have more focus on things.

On the ball he was calm, got stuck in and looked naturally at home in midfield. He looked very calm, and his passing was neat and tidy. Some of the sprayed-out balls to the wider areas made me realise what Newcastle United see in him. Defensively, he had no fear and looked like a very established player.

Would he have had a training session? Newcastle broke the news before Notts even did, but I think he looked well at home in midfield.

As far as baseline performances go, you want someone who can give a strong impression and that isn't to be overlooked by someone who is safe or calm on the ball. We admire Matt Palmer for this exact reason, so I was delighted for him. He looks excellent, and I think he will be more than a rotational player or backup, which was my concern upon the news.

In his interview I think it said "signed Thursday, trained Friday, played Saturday "

53 minutes ago, Robbie said:

@theAnticlough I can remember a player we took on loan around the end of 1983, his name was Glenn Roeder who Notts loaned from QPR. He had a great debut for Notts, & made a big impression on the fans who tried to sign him by what you would call nowadays by crowdfunding. The fans unfortunately didn't raise the asking price. He played a further 3 times for Notts, but was sold by his parent club to Newcastle.

But Glenn was an experienced campaigner. Rory is only 18, so I think Rory's debut performance takes some beating.

I remember being at those games.

Roeder was a pure footballing CB. Wasn't his calling card a step-over?! Unusual for a CB...The crowdfunding thing suggests that Notts fans have always appreciated skill and skillful players.

It's hard to come up with a better debut from memory. My mind went to a Lloyd Sam hat-trick, but that might not have been his first appearance....

He just oozes class - his touch and general play were levels above anyone else on the pitch, and he's only 18! Some of the balls forward he played - chef's kiss. We're looking crowded in central midfield (unless one or two of the injured players will be out for longer than expected - we'll see), but I can see why we didn't want to pass up this opportunity.

The most eye-catching debuts are generally from strikers. Brett Angell's hat trick springs to mind, but then he was an experienced striker who was well known in the lower divisions. I'd never heard of Finneran until about an hour before kick off.

There has been lots of praise for Rory's performance on Saturday. He's certainly going to get marked very closely by Doncaster on Tuesday if he starts the game for Notts.

It will be another test for him, but I think that he will be able to deal with it. He showed enough maturity beyond his years against Burton, that I'm confident that he can deal with any close attention. We will see.

Heard some comments that thought he was rubbish, I have to fully disagree. I think it’s one of the best debut I’ve ever seen in Notts shirt, he was two or three passes ahead of the game, the way he glides in and out both left and right past players was a joy to watch, his vision to find that pass was on another planet, fully justified playing the full 94 minutes, we’ve got to make sure we get the best of what we can with him because we won’t have him more than a season. He will be in the team of the season 100%.

I seem to remember Jonathon Forte scoring a hat-trick on his debut and I thought we'd got prime Ronaldo in League 2!

Back to Finneran, it was really impressive debut. I think the biggest compliment you can give him is he doesn't play like an 18 y/o, he looked like he'd been playing for years! He seems to be really highly rated at Newcastle and he's already played for Ireland that tells me a lot.

Really pleased he's here for the season, especially with our injury prone midfielders, he's probably going to have a big part to play.

Another important point about Rory Finneran. I think he will be comfortable either as a central midfielder or an attacking midfielder. I think that Notts will possibly use him in those two stress of the pitch when required.

Watching him on Saturday he seemed to be comfortable all over the pitch and his long balls and short passing was very accurate. I think that Martin Paterson will use him just as he did with Tom Iorpenda.