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What Neal Ardley sees vs. The Fans


Chris

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I just had to disable a post over on our Facebook group, rightly or wrongly - I just felt it would lead to a bigger meltdown or just inner fighting as it seems there's always going to be two sides.

At this stage, I don't think sacking Neal Ardley would solve any long term issues.

I believe the lack of a long term plan has caused a lack of stability and, whilst I will always admit I find Ardley to be frustrating. I just don't see how we can move forward with this type of negative vibe within the supporters base which seems to be mostly down to losing games. Football is a funny game, we all see differently but this does disappear when we are winning.

We have discussed the manager in length in the past and, listening to the managers comments on the radio, I can see why some have doubts.

Insisting that Adam Long didn't do anything wrong against Hartlepool, it might be just a protective comment but it did sound as if he really struggled. Pierce Bird did fine in the last game, so it does seem harsh.

I don't remotely feel that the return of Michael Doyle impacted the squad, I honestly believe that Hartlepool would have done their homework and we just failed to match them.

Aside like them, they like to pin teams back and use the midfield as the outlet to control the game. I mentioned this in the match discussion, Charlie Slater and Mark Stallard mentioned that their defence looked like it could be exploited, with Charlie referring to one of them appearing to be a "flapper", great piece of commentary that. It does describe what he would have seen quite well to the folks at home.:rollonfloorlaughing:

Would Nathan Tyson make a difference? No, people forget that he scored for a completely different team who might have made changes to accompany him in their line-up.

Changes which are unlikely to happen with Notts.

Callum Roberts is still an exciting player, I have mentioned that Tyson could have been given a chance out wide but I'd have Roberts there any day of the week.

Constructively, can you point out what you feel Neal Ardley sees compared to your own views?

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i wished some fans could just ignored comments that they dont like, at the same time those who always want the manager out gets boring.

i think neal ardley could do a lot more to improve games as they happen, he seems to make changes which make it harder for us. taking kristian dennis off due to him not featuring much seems a bit bizarre but more service to the strikers could have helped, rather than limiting the options up top.

this is a common thing with ardley but i dont want notts to sack him.

there is a time when a manager needs to be moved on and now is not that time.

mark stallard and charlie slater both made a comment about sam osborne. i think ardley is stubborn with his own plans, his own vision and that does cost points. the players just dont lift themselves when it takes a lot more work than some are willing to put in.

what ardley sees in training might not always be best for games, we just need to be smarter.

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I think there's a large amount of impatience in modern football.

Nathan Tyson is a non-topic for Notts, he wouldn't have scored against Hartlepool and would have seen little time on the ball.

Neal Ardley does seem to have his own mind made up, a lot of managers do. I think if a manager can admit he made mistakes then the chances of learning from mistakes will be limited. Has he learned from his mistakes? No.

I wouldn't call for his head due to this, as he does look better with his own players.

I just wished he used the squad at his disposal more, Sam Osborne is direct and that would have helped but until Mitch Rose is dropped, I think set backs will happen. What one player does to start over another is very baffling.

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I enjoy reading opinions, issue is some are rash to post and don't explain much.

Just argue.

Neal Ardley has done a good enough job so far, he's not the to please us fans. His job is to bring success and I am mindful of the shortcomings when the club hits a blip.

I am sure we can all learn from things.

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I do wonder if some fans just want to see Notts fail.

There are a few who are just so negative on social media, @Wilfordpie is right some just can't explain or post anything other than stuff to cause arguments. Neal Ardley is far from perfect but the squad is still developing. Some just need to remember its one game, and support the club when results don't go our way.

Ardley on the other hand needs to pick players who perform well in games, training is only part of it.

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It might be worthwhile seeing if the club could exchange Mitch Rose for someone more creative, him and Michael Doyle just isn't consistent enough. If you add Jim O'Brien then the midfield is to old IMO.

Neal Ardley needs to stop tampering with the defence, Pierce Bird should be ahead of anyone else.

I think Dion Kelly-Evans has shown that he needs to sit out covering at left back, he's quite poor against natural wing backs.

Ardley is just stubborn and it's easy for some fans to pick out an argument, if anyone seriously wants him gone at this stage, well they need their heads checking.

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Neal Ardley sees the team train, we as fans do not.

He's aware of the players attitudes, what makes them tick and will have studied the opposition. Notts won't win every game, Ardley won't make every correct call and he will get things wrong.

Provided Notts aren't near the relegation during his reign under the new era.

These types of games need to be forgotten, I am sure the players will want to put it right. You can't celebrate a win, if you overreact by a poor defeat in my opinion.

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I think this exact topic was highlighted in the after match presser. When asked about Bird being dropped, Neil alluded to the fact Bird wasn't good enough or committed during training and football is a 7 day sport with the culmination of the result at the end.

I respect that and think players need to show commitment in training as well. They are in a privileged position and should be expected to earn their wage all week. 

 

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8 hours ago, hissingdwarf said:

I respect that and think players need to show commitment in training as well. They are in a privileged position and should be expected to earn their wage all week. 

Same needs to be addressed during games I feel, just because they do the right stuff leading into games, it shouldn't give them a free pass to be inconsistent in the starting lineup.

Provided players work hard, I am happy.

I do feel some of those who are out of form look disinterested, and unable to improve as they should.

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On 22/02/2020 at 19:14, Joshua said:

I do wonder if some fans just want to see Notts fail.

There are a few who are just so negative on social media, @Wilfordpie is right some just can't explain or post anything other than stuff to cause arguments. Neal Ardley is far from perfect but the squad is still developing. Some just need to remember its one game, and support the club when results don't go our way.

Ardley on the other hand needs to pick players who perform well in games, training is only part of it.

Some do seem hell bent on it, but are the first to moan if they're not the ones voicing the issues.

This happens with every club.

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If any Notts fan genuinely thinks Nathan Tyson could score a hat-trick in our squad, they're deluded.

Neal Ardley won't admit he has made mistakes, he's one of those managers. I am sure he will be working to fix the performance issue, but I do feel some players need freedom whilst others need babysitting on the pitch. Ardley doesn't seem a strong talker with this regard.

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I am glad that Neal has tried to implement an identity on Notts and focused on a passing style of play which we can grow from season to season. However the way we go about this could do with tweaks.

It's good to see that we only use the long ball as a last resort and that we always try to play with the ball at our feet.

Firstly, we need to play our wingers as wingers and not as central attacking midfielders. When we played Halifax away, Boldewijn and Shields were hugging the touchline and it caused them all sorts of problems. When they are told to stay inside the wing, their impact on the game is limited. When the wide men are told to play like this, the RB or LB struggles for an option when they receive the ball. Our wingers are dangerous and can produce if we used them as much as we did against Halifax (A) and Maidenhead (H). 

Notts need to attack more in numbers and be more expressive and positive when pressing. I watched the highlights from the Hartlepool game and when Pool went forward, they attacked in 6's or 7's. At most, we had 4 forward when attacking. We seem too bothered sometimes of minimising the risk of losing rather than maximising the chance of victory. We have the players to win games at this level and we've got one of the best defensive records in the league. There is no need to worry so much about the defending. We are well organised at the back. Notts must focus on play going forward. Don't get me wrong, we have played some lovely football at times this season but we must do it 7 or 8 times out of 10 in a game rather than 5 or 6. More runs should be made as well and the strikers must come deep to give the centre midfielders or wingers an option when playing through the centre. 

We play two defensive midfielders and whilst that is fine on occasions, on the whole I do not think Rose and Doyle work particularly well together. Doyle is the anchor man and sits deep but Rose is not an O'Brien/Booty type midfielder who runs forward. He's more of the disruptor, putting in tackles and winning the ball back. Whilst he has shown a few signs that he can play this role and perhaps we can make him that type of player over time, JOB and Regan have shown they have better creative qualities when we attack. 

I enjoy seeing a Notts team pass the ball but we need to do it with more purpose, especially in games like Dover and Woking, if we are to break the opposition down.

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I pretty much agree with everything @ARLukomski says, so thanks for saving me the time and effort from having to type it all out! 

Teams can take two approaches to stifle us. Press and win the ball when our defenders/central midfielders have it on the edge of our box (Barrow). Or just sit back with everyone behind the ball knowing if we pass the ball slowly we’ll struggle to open them up (Pretty much every team in the league).

I agree and wish we could change things up a bit more often when things aren’t going to plan. Change the formation, play wider, play midfielders higher, get dangerous players running with the ball more often, look to get the ball forward quicker, play some balls in behind.

As for Ardley and the fan perception, at the start of the season because of what went on the summer the expectations for Notts were so low. However Ardley's managed to assemble a brilliant squad, and he’s improved us again with the likes of Lacey and Roberts and so the expectation level has completely changed.

I can understand why fans get frustrated but I don't expect us to win every week. There are some good teams in this league, it's more competitive than I think most imagined it would be and maybe some people just don't want to admit this - "cos we are Notts County and we are massive". We've had more good performances than bad this season but one loss and fans seem to forget this. We’re still in contention for the play-offs and if at the start of the season you said we would have a chance of promotion every Notts fan would’ve absolutely taken it. We could potentially have two trips to Wembley this season!

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8 hours ago, menzinho said:

I can understand why fans get frustrated but I don't expect us to win every week.

I don't think most expect this, I think it's some and younger fans who don't know what supporting a club like Notts is really like.

They get involved when we are winning/doing well.

And don't understand why we aren't doing well the season(s) after, it will be a test for the new owners to balance some fans expectations because them saving us will sadly only last for a certain amount of time.

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On 29/02/2020 at 22:38, ARLukomski said:

I enjoy seeing a Notts team pass the ball but we need to do it with more purpose, especially in games like Dover and Woking, if we are to break the opposition down.

If Notts moves the ball quickly and with purpose, the team looks like a very good side.

Issue is those individual mistakes.

I think Neal Ardley sees the bigger picture but doesn't understand some of what happens before his own eyes. He's very defensive of some of the players.

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