As the title says: IF Notts gains promotion, what needs to be done now to prepare?

Start scouting for a new midfield pairing. Not sure whether JoB will get a start, but Doyle will and should retire and Rose and been inconsistent at best. Is Crawford the answer? I personally don't think so. Glad he's getting a few games now, but is he strong enough to deal with league 2 opposition and still be effective?

A up and coming young back up goalkeeper.

Striker. I'd love Dennis to get a starting spot from day one. No more sub all the time. Thomas will be too old and shouldn't command a starting spot next year. If Ardley isn't going to use Dennis as the partner for KW then we need a top draw striker plus another up and coming striker. Is the new lad the one? Time will tell.

 

If promotion isn't achieved this season, preparing now for the next campaign is a must.

Objectively the two scenarios are different, so I will stick to the question as it was asked. The centre of midfield needs work, a replacement for Sean Shields is needed. Notts needs to have 4 wingers who are good enough, Cal Roberts, Enzio Boldewijn and Sam Osborne would easily make the grade but a 4th is required. In the centre of midfield, the club needs to find someone defence to take over from Michael Doyle and someone creative to fill in the void we have now.

Jim O'Brien, Regan Booty and Tom Crawford are the only players I would keep, meaning 2 more would be needed.

Defensively, at left back needs addressing with a strong rotational player/backup.

Maybe a centre back is required.

The rest I feel is good enough to form the squad in League Two.

Jim O'Brien is good enough to be a first-team member if Notts gain promotion this season.

Hanging onto Michael Doyle would be a mistake, 39-years-old isn't the person to lead the club forward and with all due respect I am hoping he retires at the end of the season. He would be good to have around as a coach if the club could afford and, support him with that.

The core needs to be....

Kyle Wootton
Cal Roberts, Regan Booty, Tom Crawford
Dion Kelly-Evans, Damian McCrory, Alex Lacey and Pierce Bird.

Connell Rawlinson I feel is good enough to be a part of the defence.

Mitch Rose I would try to move on personally.

Ben Turner is too injury prone but could do a job as a backup/rotational player when height is required.

Kristian Dennis is a good squad player to have.

Enzio Boldewijn is worth one last gamble to see if we can get the best out of him.

Wes Thomas and Scott Wilson are worth retaining in my opinion.

Jordan Brindley depends on his wages and if he can be a contestant part of our team.

Sam Slocombe is perfectly fine as number 1 but he needs a strong back up which Ross Fitzsimons and Joe McDonnell are not.

There's room to really turn this into an exciting squad, I would be tempted to gamble on injecting a bit more youth into the team. As it's exciting to see the likes of Roberts, Booty and Crawford, one day this could be the heart of our midfield if it works out. Yet Crawford would need a strong experienced midfielder by his side and I honestly believe Jim O'Brien could do that.

For it to work though, I do feel we need to be quick to recover at the back which is where younger, quicker minded players would be required.

Good discussion!

Neal Ardley will be having to keep in mind this very problem, whilst making sure he's tracking players that can deal with the physicality of this league. I feel the squad is for the most part fine, it just needs strengthening in the weaker areas with either grafters or quality players.

Centre of the pitch is an area that needs improvement.

7 hours ago, hissingdwarf said:

A up and coming young back up goalkeeper.

Notts could fill the void with a good upcoming keeper who is happy to sit as an understudy to Sam Slocombe.

The club could do with another quick young striker and an experienced midfielder. It's many miles away from being a competitive squad within any league, Neal Ardley just needs to make sure he knows what areas need the quality and hard work.

In exactly the same way we should prepare if we don't win promotion - not by making wholesale changes, but by evolving the squad that we've got and improving in a handful of positions. Some succession planning for Doyle would be a good idea, even if he does sign for a further year.

I would like to see how things pan out, so with this in mind I would keep an eye on players for every position. We don't know if someone will want to leave, or end up joining another club or something along these lines.

Tom Crawford for example is showing his worth right now,

Mitch Rose seemed a better league two player than a national league midfielder, so I think he has time to come good. It's all about having players who compliment each other.

The current squad would compete in League 2 IMO. OK, it would be towards the bottom but not relegation fodder by any means. The future is bright under the current owners, Notts will be a league club sooner rather than later. I'm convinced of that. 

Whether we go up or not, the only area in desperate need of change is the middle of the park. Change the CM options and we should be fine. Personally I would also replace Boldewijn, he is just a luxury we could and can do without.

Prepare the squad to be able to play all those teams we did last year without going on a downward spiral.

On 08/03/2020 at 17:30, CliftonMagpie said:

Good discussion!

 

Centre of the pitch is an area that needs improvement.

It's just a white dot........ Perhaps put a black stripe across the middle of it...!!!!! 

i think most of the squad are good enough, some players will need to make a move but there should not be that many coming in compared to recent seasons.

On 09/03/2020 at 11:48, Fozzy said:

Personally I would also replace Boldewijn, he is just a luxury we could and can do without.

Good point. I think Enzio will be out in the summer - NA will be on the lookout for a more reliable performer. Assuming we won't be keeping Shields, that would leave us with Roberts and Osborne on the wing, so we'll definitely need more strength in depth there.

Nobody will buy Enzio from us, I would be Ardley will back him because he's part of the up form now. If Ardley stands by him now, which he has all season I believe he will be a regular starter next season.

Just the odd tweak and, adjustment at the back. Get the centre sorted, job sorted.