After a narrow win against Fleetwood Town in the Capital One cup, Notts will no doubt be wanting to leave an impression on Peterborough United. The suspension to Manny for his second bookable offense leaves a slight dilemma for Notts, especially with Liddle also being out after being red card at Sheffield United.

Now do we put Sheehan into a centre back position and allow young Tempest to play left back (my personal preference) or do we try to feature Hollis if he's anywhere near being ready after his injury?

I personally wouldn't risk putting an unfit Hollis into the mix, not even if he was near 100% because for myself I think it would be better to rest him to avoid further injuries.

We've also seen two forwards score, whilst the young McGregor seems quite capable of featuring in our squad and he is almost certain to start against Peterborough after his impressive debut.

My team would consist of;

Bart
Dumbuya - Leacock - Sheehan - Tempest
Campbell-Ryce - McGregor - Zoko (as a deep laying attacking midfielder) - Haworth
Haynes - Showunmi

I would like to see what Haworth offers and although this would mean dropping Labadie and Fotheringham, I feel it would allow us to throw them on as surprise.

Sadly I see the game being very tough and I am unsure I can Notts will win, I certainly can but my gut tells me it would be in their favour and so I won't be predicting the score. Thoughts?

Hope we can put in a good performanceand not have anyone sent off

Another tough test,playing a relegated side.Peterborough were a funny side last year and although at the bottom end of the table did manage some unexpected good results.Notts certainly don't need another player sending off.This is a hard one to predict.I'll think about it a while.

we need to make sure we can create play, so i would mix between creative and players who can attack.

 

i think we need to be wary of bookings as mentioned previously, along with injuries. i hope we got out with our strongest formation and do our home work, im not as confident about this but i think we could draw. a win would be nice though!

Does anyone know what's wrong with Bell?

After Manny was dismissed yesterday, I were very concerned and felt it was a silly thing. I still do, although I do think we have options. It is possible Labadie could drop into the centre back position, now some might not realize but the lad does have some experience in this position and he's stated in the past that he is happy to play where ever.

I like Joe's points, I would give Zoko a chance.

Was it @weymouthPIE who suggested Arquin is more of an impact player? I would tend to agree, I hope we use him as a substitute. 

This will be a hard game, no doubt about that.

 

Bart
Dumbuya - Leacock - Sheehan - Tempest
------------------Fotheringham--------------
Campbell-Ryce - - - McGregor - - - Zoko
Haynes - Showunmi

That would be my pick.

I was trying to put someone on the wings that offered a bit more defensively - but we don't seem to have anyone. Bell is injured/recovering and I didn't really see Haworth as a quality option. 

I think to win this we're gonna have to be as tight as we can defensively, with C-R and Zoko whipping in some good balls from the byline for Enoch or some decent balls over the top for Haynes.

Does anyone know what's wrong with Bell?

he is lacking match fitness supposedly, the only why to get match fit is to play him a bit.

think it's likely we will draw this, i do hope we avoid losing but i expect it.

I'm really hoping we can get 3 points from this one. We need to play good attacking entertaining football. I don't want to see us passing it around at the back and not getting forward. Really looking forward to the game

For me, as you will see in my preview it will be something like:

 

                          Bart

Dumbuya Leacock Sheehan Tempest

       Fortheringham Boucard

Campbell-Ryce            McGregor                <----- **

          Showunmi    Haynes

 

<----- ** I think McGregor will be tucked slightly infield so in effect we don't have a left-midfielder as to allow more direct and counter-attacking football. 

I do not know the starting 11, though I think the score will be 3-1 to them.

Only saying this because Peterborough are lethal against poor at picking up their markers and with our issue at the back, I fear a lose is on the cards.

I would avoid playing 3 at the back, they will destroy you.

Typical side who enjoys dominating, you need to get physical with them. this does not mean you have to get bookings, just man up and stand your ground. At all costs avoid them breaking you down the wing, they have players who can put balls about.

good luck notts

We just need to go into the game 1) prepared 2) confident and 3) just try to pass it.

If we can play attacking, yet keep our back line strong and of course the midfield need to do their part of the defending it will make for a very interesting game. I would certainly hope we would avoid 3 at the back, I don't like it and I think the majority of the fans would rather a make shift player come into the mix. Calm play but push to be inside their box or at worst just try to sit in their half..

No parking the bus especially if we take the lead.

I can't wait to find where my seat is!

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today,nothing serious but my preseason optimism for our 2 teams seems to have deserted me.I obviously hope we both win but I'm going for us both to draw.

Official teams

 

 

Notts County:  Bialkowski, Dumbuya, Sheehan, Leacock ©, Tempest, McGregor, Labadie, JCR, Fotheringham, Haynes, Showunmi.

Subs: Spiess, Thompson, Boucaud, Haworth, Arquin, Zoko, Coombes. 

 

 

Peterborough: Olejnik, Alcock, Ntlhe, Zakuani, Bostwick, Assombalonga, Tomlin, McCann, Rowe ©, Kearns, Barnett.

Subs: Day, Knight-Percival, Payne, Sinclair, Gordon, Little, Swanson.

1-1 so far, with Peterborough on top practically the whole time (according to Uncle Col)

Bart playing well.

A post from a Notts fan (not naming) on FB after we went 3-1 down:

"what an joke of a club.... we need an new owner, new scout, new manager and new player!!"
 

What is it with Notts fans moaning and where do we find fans like the above?!

A post from a Notts fan (not naming) on FB after we went 3-1 down:

"what an joke of a club.... we need an new owner, new scout, new manager and new player!!"

What is it with Notts fans moaning and where do we find fans like the above?!

It's a ridiculous thing to say and best ignored, I am sure there will be quite a few on "you know where" will be spouting off not that I will be reading them.

I thought that Peterborough were a very strong side and we won't meet many teams that good this season, the first two games were always going to be really hard but we regroup and move on.

We were always going to struggle with our defence depleted like it was and we weren't helped by the ref, how he didn't see that handball I don't know, it was blatant I saw it from my position on the half way line.

Today is one of those days where you just have to hold your hands up and admit you were beaten by a better side. In my opinion Peterborough are still a Championship standard side, they shouldnt be in this league, and this was the worst possible game to have a defensive crisis on our hands. Sheehan partnering Leacocok at CB with Tempest going to LB was what I thought would happen and we made the best of what we had available I suppose. Some fans are complaining and saying Chris should have brought in a natural CB from the youth team but I think that could have been disasterous.

 

What gets me is how we've gone from being top 6 contenders to relegation certainties after two losses to two promotion favourites. That's Notts fans for you, fickle as anything some of them. We go again next week. I think even the most optomistic of our fans was worried about today. Walsall next, Smith will be back, and after that Liddle will be back. Granted we've not amde the best start but there are positves. We do appear to be a bigger threat going forwards this year, just conceeding a few all of sudden but when our natural defence is back that could soon change. No panic at all from me We lost a football match, these things happen

@Super_Danny_Allsopp I've asked myself many times myself, the answer I do not know!

We played well, now I might get slaughtered noramlly for suggesting this (elsewhere) but we looked calm at a point and was passing around nicely. Communication seemed to be a problem towards their come back and the midfield drifted, at times when we attacked I certainly felt would get back into it and I have to say the lads played like they wanted too.

Our attacks allowed them to counter, a smarter more organized team who know how punish sides made the most of this. Their second signaled this and the referee was just poor, normally it's seen like our way of explaining the game but he really was.

I'm not sure about their penalty, although my view of the free kick was that it wasn't a foul. We need to pick up marks and get tight!! I can't stress this enough, although I see the positives. Tempest made one mistake, I don't know if he was trying to nod the ball back to Bart or if he guided it but that is my only fault with him and he's learning. He put an impressive performance in, at least in my opinion and I'm sad to see his one mistake might cause misjudgement elsewhere.

We looked dangerous, although we looked stronger in the first half. Second half was slow, we came back into it in the 70 minute and show them that we can attack/play nicely.

The referee didn't give us the first penalty call, I swear it was! I've looked at an image I took and I swear there's contact. He seemed to give us more decisions towards the end of the game, it seemed like he was trying to make up for some of his poor calls. It's either that or he's a really shocking referee but he clearly wasn't "good". Had we have won, my views wouldn't have changed on him.

44 games left, so it's not so worrying this lost.

The thing that worries me a little bit is that Notts takes too much goals. Ok today there was a defensive emergency. But I think there's a problem from last season. Every time Notts scores or takes a goal, it seems the players lose concentration. How many times Notts has scored and took goal a couple of minute later?? This is wrong, I think Kiwomya has to work very very hard to correct this trend!!! Is its correct to say 'take goal'?

Two lost games with two big teams.

But...hey last season we were one of the most dangerous contender for the promotion at the beginning. Now it seems the aim is to avoid the relegation in a easy way. I haven't written my prediction earlier. I think this gonna be a very hard season. Big players have gone. Many young guys. Many good players come. It's a good squad, but I think the playoff places will be too far. I hope for the first 10 places.

I think the work is for the future, but the most important thing is to correct the concentration of the players.

We played some good football in spells but not a match for Peterborough! It might have been different if Liddle had been playing and a stronger back four. Their penalty was questionable, initially looked like a dive but would have to see it again. If the ref had given a clear cut penalty to us, it could have been 3 2 with a potential comeback. However no chance after Greg Tempest's error at the back. I feel for him as he was clearly gutted! Put him back in midfield next game and rebuild his confidence.

We played some good football in spells but not a match for Peterborough! It might have been different if Liddle had been playing and a stronger back four. Their penalty was questionable, initially looked like a dive but would have to see it again. If the ref had given a clear cut penalty to us, it could have been 3 2 with a potential comeback. However no chance after Greg Tempest's error at the back. I feel for him as he was clearly gutted! Put him back in midfield next game and rebuild his confidence.

 

 

I agree, Greg was really struggling today in that position, such a shame as he was brilliant in midweek against Fleetwood. The trouble is we had no real options but to put Sheehan as centre back and Tempest as left back. We have no "strength in depth" it's an old cliche but that is what we are sadly lacking and the unfortunate absence of 3 centre backs for whatever reason was clinically exposed by Peterborough. Fair play to them they are a good team and as someone else pointed out they probably shouldn't be in this division. I'm an not worried because of these two defeats, we have played well enough in the two games to show that we can do well in this division with a bit of luck and a full squad at our disposal.

I agree, Greg was really struggling today in that position, such a shame as he was brilliant in midweek against Fleetwood. The trouble is we had no real options but to put Sheehan as centre back and Tempest as left back. We have no "strength in depth" it's an old cliche but that is what we are sadly lacking and the unfortunate absence of 3 centre backs for whatever reason was clinically exposed by Peterborough. Fair play to them they are a good team and as someone else pointed out they probably shouldn't be in this division. I'm an not worried because of these two defeats, we have played well enough in the two games to show that we can do well in this division with a bit of luck and a full squad at our disposal.

I'm not too worried either and I definitely enjoyed the way we tried to move the ball forward quickly. However I don't want to see players arguing over who takes penalties. That should have been decided before the game! Leacock sounded very disappointed in his after match interview and that's good to see he cares as the Captain. It's important to put things right at Walsall and get some points on the board.

http://prideofnottingham.co.uk/community/gallery/album/25-/

Match Report will published tomorrow sadly now, we might have some more photos.

Same old rubbish on the facebook page. I cant believe people are already wanting the manager out, but the thing is now fans expect us to sack the manager after a couple of defeats in a row as thats the way its been in recent years. Chris is a good coach and he oozes enthusiasm for the game, whatever happens its crucial that we keep him at the helm and try and gain some stability. It's doubly important if our ethos is going to be in bringing through young talent and building them into the first team. Nobody at this club knows those youngsters better than Chris