Update this exiled Notts fan

[AmericanPie]

I missed most of this past season, I know the main just but I am keen to get some updates from fans who witnessed the campaign themselves.

If you would, I’d like you give me your quick review of last season from start to finish.

Which players stood out?

How did the three points of the season go down? (Start, middle, ending)

Are you overall pleased?

Also, how can Kevin Nolan improve this upcoming term?

@Elite_pie @Piethagoram @Chris @DangerousSausage

 

[liampie]

the start was good after the opening game, i did not go to coventry but i felt crushed that they beat us so easily. i was worried that things had not changed so much but then we just improved, being top of the league was impressive. approaching christmas i expected the bubble to burst but notts withstood the pressure of it. the new year is when things fell apart, the poor performances and run of form was disappointing.

thankfully some consistency did come and we had some good results against teams which pushed us back towards the autos.

i think forte needs to take much of the credit for getting us the goals we needed after being dropped from the team, he came in and he reinforced the squad.

im pleased overall, i did not expect to be anywhere near the playoffs at the start of the season.

i think kn could improve his decisions in the game, hes still learning but why he always waits until the 70 minute to change something is beyond me. i think he needs to be a bit less stubborn too.

[theMagpies]

The season was successful, there was ups and downs but this is to be expected. The squad didn't have the quality to retain a auto place, so it seemed likely that they would fall down. Losing Ryan Yates caused Jorge Grant to lose his form, then the quality to win games and gain confidence from doing well became harder.

Ryan Yates is who impressed me the most, his loss broke up the team spirit and dynamics of the squad.

It's hard to be 100% pleased, but I am content. The lack of signing a striker in the summer was disappointed by all accounts its all we actually needed, the decisions in the playoff games and failure to retain any of the automatic positions is a negative. Yet we would have taken where we finished at the start of the season and I am impressed with it.

Kevin Nolan is fine, every manager makes mistakes but provided he treats all the players fairly that will do me.

[BromPie]

Elliot Hewitt stood out for me due to his grit and determination, he will do much better this upcoming season with a steady partner by his side.

I’m very happy about this past season, it’s a good improvement from the last and somewhere to build on further.

[CliftonMagpie]

I cannot fault the way the season went, if we had signed a striker other than Mason Bennett I am still unsure if we had the proper players behind him but the bricks are in place to build on from where we finished.

With the new signings I am confident we will do better this season.

It's all about continued progress at the end of the day and I think we are finally getting it with Notts.

[Elite_pie]

22 hours ago, AmericanPie said:

I missed most of this past season, I know the main just but I am keen to get some updates from fans who witnessed the campaign themselves.

If you would, I’d like you give me your quick review of last season from start to finish.

Which players stood out?

How did the three points of the season go down? (Start, middle, ending)

Are you overall pleased?

Also, how can Kevin Nolan improve this upcoming term?

@Elite_pie @Piethagoram @Chris @DangerousSausage

 

An enjoyable season despite the fact that to me we never really looked a promotion side whatever the league table said.  In the first part we rode our luck a bit where refereeing decisions were concerned and over achieved to top the table, with Grant, Yates and Hewitt the stand out performers.  In mid season reality tended to bite, Grant's form started to dip and losing Yates was a big blow.  We recovered towards the end to claim a place in the playoffs where any luck we had early season with the refs was balanced big time by some really shocking decisions against us!  In my opinion Kevin Nolan worked wonders to transform a team that appeared to be heading towards non-league into promotion contenders.  We were rarely classy and stylish, but we had a team that battled to the end and gained many points through sheer grit and determination.  I was delighted overall to be competing at the top end of the league rather than the bottom.  As for the coming season, we seem to have made some good signings but I think we may still be a bit short in central midfield.  Alan Hardy has re-energised the club with some great offers which have seen a big increase in attendances and a real improvement in matchday atmosphere.  It's a bit of a different challenge Nolan for this time around in that expectations will be much higher, but if he can motivate the squad to perform as a group like last time, we could have another good season.

[TheSkipper 𝕏 TheSkipperNCFC]

It had all the drama last season but mostly for the right reasons. I think we all believed the squad was capable of automatics at one stage and when it started to crack, well it became harder to take but the players did incredibly well to lead the division for the amount of time that the club did.

The ending may be disappointing due to how the match officials screwed Notts over but I think the club will stronger now.

It seems to have made Kevin Nolan more determined to have a squad that can play in the right way and from here we can only improve with the right level of focus on the pitch.

[BigBill]

I only managed to see a handful of away games and this is where crucially we didn't do enough to pick up points. The home form during the 2017/2018 season was impressive, I went to games feeling confident that the players could win and get the three points we needed. In contrast to other seasons we have been better away from home, so I think Kevin Nolan had his priorities right.

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

I think the majority of fans just wanted to see progress made last season, so if we had a year of mid table stability - I do feel most would have been content with that alone.

The fact we had a season where it kept us on our feet for the right reasons, I think it was a massive change in the direction and it feels like we have our old Notts County back. The season started terribly at Coventry but Kevin Nolan demanded better. The team spirit and hard work paid off, we went top and it was surreal. I remember David Jackson asking me on Match Talk if I felt like the bubble would burst and that we as fans should enjoy it.

I really did, it was a magical season and its the first one whereby @super_pie has seen the club moving forward.

Yes we missed out on auto promotion and, got screwed over in the playoffs but overall it was a season which reinforce the believe of this club. We are on the up finally, we just need to stay together.

[ScottyP]

I can't add anything differently that has not been said already, in comparison to typical Notts seasons. This past year was one for the history books! Notts have the foundations in Kevin Nolan to move the club forward.

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

@Elite_piehas succinctly summed it up well as usual. The loss of Yates in January was critical. The "replacement waiting in the wings" aka Noble, wasn't match ready. Serious questions need to be asked as to why he wasnt loaned out to the National League beforehand. His appearances gave the impression of "damaged goods"...not the impact player we were expecting. The key shopping list of 3 players decided to go elsewhere, so the end of January was panic time...do we release Forte to save on wages /trade in exchange.... at the 11th hour Mason Bennett arrived with a medical history of a Danny Haynes hamstring

A team that is hard working but short on a playing style, that always concerns me when Nolan and Derry had played in games in the higher echelons. Nolan adopts Big Sam's tactical sense on placing great emphasis on dead ball situations. Any constructed goals from open play were limited in number... ( or maybe my powers of recall are floundering)

O'Connor brief reappearance showed what we had been missing, which Noble had failed to provide. Getting O'Connor's replacement right and an out and out winger are critical choices.

On a note of caution, spending big money in L2 for 2 strikers from the same level, does concern me given our previous experience with Idle.

Looking forward to August

 

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

The other "critical" point of the season was the Fitzsimons sending off. The return of Collins, who needed to consult a map if anything went  near the 6 yard line... Collins failed to take responsibility for crosses and I for one, am pleased for his departure

[AmericanPie]

Thanks for the updates 

I would still welcome more views on what occured last season if any others members are up for having a go.