Match Discussion: Game 1 - Sky Blues (A)

[PON_News]

Game 1 - Sky Blues (A)

Team: Coventry

Date: 05/08/17

Where: Ricoh Arena

What line-up should Kevin Nolan opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

[Chris]

I suspect Coventry will line-up against us in an attacking formation, so I would naturally expect them to play swift passing and direct football. They have a talented team, one I really don't understand as to why they ended up in League Two but then again they have owner issues.

As opening games come, this will beat Stevenage no doubt.

We just need to remain organised and move as a unit, Shaun Derry managed to get victories against similar sides when he first took charge of Notts (in his first full season). The key for us will be to avoid hoofing the ball, yet we need to be very careful with how we play the ball on the ground. If we move to fast, Coventry will intercept the ball and pile pressure onto us. If we move too slowly, we'll likely waste what chances we get due to rushing in the final third.

I'd suggest playing like we did against Forest in the pre-season friendly, allow them to move the ball around but close them down - then take the chances which come by moving the ball around well.

[liampie]

i would take a draw from this.

also i think we should start with either stead/ameobi up top or someone with faster legs and then one or the other. we should get chances, just need to be more alert in defence.

[upthepies]

Which Coventry City will we play on Saturday? One wanting to prove they are promotion contenders or a side adapting to this league? I could see them hammering us to be blunt.

[Joe Jones]

Probably one of the most difficult opening fixtures we could have got. A team that should be in the Championship, were it not for the mismanagement off the pitch, but they've strengthened this summer and will feel they have a point to prove - and will want to get back up the leagues as fast as they can. Honestly can't call it. It depends how up for it, how focused they are. I'm hoping we can nick a point.

[Elite_pie]

My prediction for Nolan's starting XI is:

Collin

Tootle, Duffy, Brisley, Jones

Milsom, Hewitt, Walker, Allessandra

Grant

Ameobi

Very difficult for a score prediction this early, but I'll go for 1-1 with 1,225 Notts fans in attendance.

[Northants Pie]

2 hours ago, Elite_pie said:

My prediction for Nolan's starting XI is:

Collin

Tootle, Duffy, Brisley, Jones

Milsom, Hewitt, Walker, Allessandra

Grant

Ameobi

Very difficult for a score prediction this early, but I'll go for 1-1 with 1,225 Notts fans in attendance.

The only change I'd make to that is Hawkridge for Hewitt

[Fozzy]

4 hours ago, Elite_pie said:

My prediction for Nolan's starting XI is:

Collin

Tootle, Duffy, Brisley, Jones

Milsom, Hewitt, Walker, Allessandra

Grant

Ameobi

Very difficult for a score prediction this early, but I'll go for 1-1 with 1,225 Notts fans in attendance.

I can see this also, the only thing he might do different is swap Walker for Grant and put Grant out wide. If he goes 442, I can see us getting beat 3-0, but we might nick a point with 4411. Unlikely though, so I will go for a solid 2-0 defeat.

[liampie]

if hawkridge plays he should be on the wing, milsom would be better in the middle.

[CliftonMagpie]

21 hours ago, Elite_pie said:

My prediction for Nolan's starting XI is:

Collin

Tootle, Duffy, Brisley, Jones

Milsom, Hewitt, Walker, Allessandra

Grant

Ameobi

Very difficult for a score prediction this early, but I'll go for 1-1 with 1,225 Notts fans in attendance.

Put Hunt in place of Duffy, replace Milsom with Hawkridge and it looks good.

Need to save Milsom for the second half when both teams become quiet, I would throw Forte on also and maybe Stead.

[upthepies]

We need some pace upfront alongside Shola Ameobi or Jon Stead at the very least.

Coventry will control the game if we pack the midfield and it would over crowd things, I see it being scrappy if this happens.

 

[TheSkipper]

I can see us winning 1-0.

I hope Jorge Grant can start, we need him in midfield but Robert Milsom could do the task. We cant sit back and invite them to play, this would be very negative and I would think Kevin Nolan wants to be more direct. It will be a case of retaining the ball for us, difficult start but winner able.

[liampie]

it might be close, i just hope collin comes eager to improve on from last season. i heard he was shocking against carlton town so this does not fill me with confidence, i just hope we defend well and attack. it would be boring for travelling fans to watch us park the bus.

i still think a draw is probably the best outcome for us.

[Anti-Red]

I am not expecting a win, I think a draw is highly likely but our chances seem quite slim to pick more than 3 points up against Coventry who are the home side.

Advantage favours them.

[BromPie]

Just got to go and think positively but I will be disappointed if the back four consists of Tootle, Duffy, Hollis and Dickinson.

[Elite_pie]

I've just read that we've sold our full allocation of 1,500 tickets for Coventry tomorrow, which means they will open another section as pay on the day is also available.  When you consider our pre-season hasn't been particularly inspirational, that's a fantastic show of support.  Not only will we have more away fans than some club's total home attendances in this division, it also means around a third of our average home support will be making the journey, which not many clubs could manage.

[Chris]

I think it's impressive!

The Ricoh Arena is going to be buzzing, I hope we can fill the atmosphere with singing and show Coventry just how well we are as fan base. It was mentioned to me that it's expected that we might get closer to the 2k mark, however 1,700 was the projected amount. It would be good if we could increase the attendance to that figure - yet I am just very excited about the game.

It should be an enjoyable match for all.

Pre-season is a way to get fit, the hard work starts from here on. COYP!

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

So... 1 down at HT. Some thoughts courtesy of ifollow:

The game - Fairly poor, a lot of long ball stuff which is kind of expected for the first game of the season. 

Coventry - Nothing really to note, but that Jody Jones looks a very good player and is the difference at this stage of the game. 

Notts - No real threat going forward. Defence has held up well apart from Jones, but Coventry haven't really threatened. If we are going to play counter-attacking football away, then we need some pace up front, Stead and Ameobi don't offer that and apart from Forte, I don't see anyone else who could provide that. 

Ratings based off a baseline of 5.

Collins - 6 - Commanded his area well, good block after a poorly defended free-kick. Couldn't do much about the goal.
Tootle - 5.5 - Steady, some good interceptions, struggled a bit when Jody Jones switched flank.
Duffy - 5.5 - Fairly steady, some good interceptions and challenges.
Brisley - 5 - Fairly steady, some poor distribution so knocked down .5
Jones - 2 - I could see he was standing off Jody Jones well before the goal, and he has been fairly poor defensively. I don't care how good the opposition is, but to give a winger that much space to practically pass it into the net is criminal.

Hawkridge - 5 - Not really in the game, some neat touches and lively but has a tendency to get bullied off the ball. Should maybe have finished his chance but a tad unlucky.
Walker - 5.5 - Looks good to me, you can see he is quite good technically and hopefully in O'Connor's absence he can be the one to pick the right pass. Out of the new signings, he has looked the best for me in the first 45, also doesn't look scared to get stuck in when needed.
Hewitt - 5.5 - Some neat work defensively, nothing really else to note. Throw-ins a potential threat.
Alessandra - 5.5 - Quite tricky, couple of bad touches but definitely looks a handful and looking forward to seeing more from him

Stead - 4.5 - Not much service, but hasn't done anything with what has come his way. Some bad touches.
Ameobi - 5 - As with Stead, no service, but unlike Stead he has done something with what has come his way and his presence is a threat to all L2 defences. 


Ifollow - 7 - OK, shame that the commentary has to be used separately and is delayed compared to the stream. Some jittering but overall OK.

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

FT, lost 3-0. Some thoughts courtesy of ifollow:

The game - We were very poor. We couldn't create anything, and the weak links defensively cost us.

Coventry - They played well, but I don't think they are going to be the best team in the division, which is worrying for us. Jody Jones killed us and looks a very good player.

Notts - 0 threat. Literally, nothing, 0 shots on target. Weak links defensively let us down at the back.

Ratings based off a baseline of 5.

Collins - 7 - We got beat 3-0 and the keeper still gets a good rating. That's not because they could've scored 6, but because what he could do to affect the game, he did well. Very good command of his area.
Tootle - 5.5 - Steady.
Duffy - 5.5 - Again, don't think he did a lot wrong.
Brisley - 5 - As Duffy
Jones - 2.5 - Improved slightly, but can't let him off being so far away from the winger.

Hawkridge - 4.5 - Never in the game, but unlucky not to score.
Walker - 5 - Perhaps unlucky to go off, but they were getting the better of it in the middle of the park.
Hewitt - 5 - Meh
Alessandra - 5 - Was lost up front, mainly due to 0 service. A decent debut though and somewhat promising.

Stead - 4 - Second touch is a foul.
Ameobi - 5.5 - Only player that looked like he could create something with flick ons and touches. Shame nobody else was on his wavelength.


Ifollow - 7 - Commentary caught up, then was a second in front, which is even more annoying than being behind, deffo need to combine these features. Apart from that, good service.

Ref - 9 - Let the game flow as much as he could, kept his cards in his pocket as much as he could, no complaints at all.


Bring on Chesterfield, I think....

[Chris]

I really struggle to see how they deserved to win 3-0, we didn't play 'well' but Notts wasn't completely out of it either.

We needed Grant to start, the defence still has issues but it's early days. I think most can be fixed but we need to keep the ball down and move much better. At times we actually looked half decent, then someone would kill our play. That's what I find disappointing.

The referee was extremely poor, yet we can't dwell on him - our players should have done better simple as that.

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

1 minute ago, Chris said:

 

The referee was extremely poor, yet we can't dwell on him - our players should have done better simple as that.

Cannot agree with that. Be intrigued to find out the reasons?

[Chris]

The referee? He allowed them to time waste, he made several poor decisions and whenever we broke - he'd quickly bring back play. When their players dived or went down easy, he awarded them a foul.

He really impacted the flow of the game, and gave them the typical a 'home' advantage.

[Northants Pie]

Its going to be a long season if thats how we intend to approach games.

By the sound of it our left back should have been left back in Nottingham.

A poor poor first game with yet again a poor plan A and absolutely no other plan.

 

[Northants Pie]

Trying not to be too cynical but if they (being the management team) sat up late all week planning to just hoof the ball into the stratosphere bypassing the midfield then January will have a familiar feel to the last few years.

The team talk must have been all of 5 seconds long, right lads just ******* hoof it and see what happens. When defending try marking space...

[Elite_pie]

2 hours ago, Super_Danny_Allsopp said:

Cannot agree with that. Be intrigued to find out the reasons?

I'd agree that the ref and his assistants were very poor.  The one thing in the ref's credit is that he wasn't card-happy, but he was regularly conned by Coventry players going down easily and actually assisted their time wasting tactics.  A few times they kicked the ball away after a free kick was given against them, and the ref seemed to chatting to players rather than watching the game.  They didn't affect the result, but their performances were on a par with our defenders!