Notts vs Derby thoughts

[ARLukomski 𝕏 ARLukomski Instagram declanweliczko_arlki]

Thought we gave a good account of ourselves. Palmer and Francis look like an excellent central midfield pairing. The best I've felt about our midfield for a while. Francis has a great left foot and a good pass on him, whilst Palmer has such good intelligence when in possession and out of it. He knows when to press and when not to, when to bring the ball forward and make the clinical pass. Superb piece of business.

Taylor looks strong. Had a good battle against his opposite number who seemed to be equal with him for pace. Got into some good attacking positions and linked up well with Cameron and Francis. Cameron looked comfortable on the ball and a threat in the air. With Nemane, it's about getting game time into his legs and getting him minutes because, he's a bit behind the other players in terms of preparation.

Created good opportunities with plenty of slick passing. Encouraging signs all over. Still need a striker but IB said that one looks like it's virtually wrapped up now, in his post match interview.

[Elite_pie]

It's hard to know how strong the opposition were, but I would take more positives than negatives from the game.  The scoreline flattered Derby, there was no obvious gulf between the teams. Disappointing to concede in the way we did from the corner for their first because we were just starting to get on top in the 10 minutes before it. Matty Palmer looked good, and JOB played well.  A lot more there than I expected, it was quite a good atmosphere for a pre-season friendly.

[Chris Website URL Visit Site 𝕏 fmcj10 Instagram fmcj10]

I don't think losing 2-0 to Derby is a bad result, it gives Ian Burchnall food for thoughts about.

• How to play/handle being out of possession for large spells
• Will the formation work against quicker teams?

The formation for me didn't work very well in the first half, it left Connell Rawlinson and Kyle Cameron isolated. Richard Brindley did okay, but a large portion of the first half Derby knew they could get in behind them without much work.

Derby's attacking play at times was a joy to watch, yet at the same time we rode our luck at times - especially with the re-lapse between their attacking player's communication.

If we are going to stick with three at the back, Richard Brindley will need to be reigned in a little.

Matt Palmer was a class act to watch, very bright on the ball and putting out passes worthy of our opposition.

I don't want to come across as negative with my opening analysis, I think Notts did well and nothing made me fear the start of the season. I think against our level, we'll be very enjoyable to watch but the defending needs a bit of focus - we constantly gave the ball away easily. We can't do this against good teams in the National League, we'll just make it more difficult for ourselves.

Elisha Sam did well in my eyes when he came on, he looked a real handful against Derby.

A couple of miss touches, yet overall he looked a real threat and linked nicely with the surrounding players.

I do feel the game highlighted our requirement for a natural finisher, someone like Wes Thomas but other than that I don't have any major concerns.

I will add, I felt annoyed by Derby's diving - very poor sports to do this behaviour in a friendly. Trying to win a friendly in this manner is just shocking to me, but then again their reaction to scoring wasn't much more professional - certain players who made hand gestures into the crowd.

Also, if I hear any more Derby chants for the next year - I won't be responsible for my actions.

Let's call Notts, Nottingham etc - then expect fans to join in with stupid Forest chants.

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

I needed to be down in London later, so I had to take the streaming

Wootton missed 2 great chances, a 2-2 draw would have been fair

Palmer missed tracking his man for Derby's first...and Cameron did give away a silly penalty.

At times, Notts acquitted themselves well. Joel have obviously been psyched by Derby's RB...thought Chicksen did very well when he came on

 

 

[Piethagoram 𝕏 @piethagoram]

 

[Super_Danny_Allsopp]

Positives:

- Back 3 looked very comfortable on the ball, with both Brindley and Cameron stepping out with good effect, particularly Cameron who isn't afraid to go from Centre Back to left winger quite quickly. This gives us a very good option when teams decide to sit in. 
- Francis is a joy to watch. Very comfortable on the ball, always seems to have time and space. Some of the passes he makes with his left foot really eases pressure and he also puts in a mean cross. Really impressed.
- Palmer is a livewire and looks a class above NL. Enjoyed seeing his energy and not afraid to put his foot in.
- Roberts looked good and got through 60 minutes.
- We were pretty fluid at times with some good chances created.
- Held our own against Championship opposition.
- Nemane came on and looked direct, certainly giving us another option.
- Sam looked very good when he came on, looking for balls in the lines and demonstrating some good hold up play and strength.
- Coped with being out of possession for large chunks of the game and looked fairly solid. 
- Chicksen was good when he came on, offering more technical ability than Taylor.

 

Negatives:

- Taylor was caught out defensively by their excellent RB. Luckily we won't come up against many RBs/wingers of that nature in the NL, but Taylor's defensive side will need work. It's not Miller-bad, but at the least Cameron better be aware of it.
- We took 10 minutes or so to get to pace with the game. Perhaps expected given the difference in leagues and where we are in our pre-season in comparison to them. Could be argued we showed them too much respect.
- Conceded from a set-piece - again. Slocombe flap and Palmer lets his man go.
- Wootton was a bit slow and cumbersome in his general play against quicker, faster opposition. Should be finishing those 2 chances. 
- That isn't Derby's starting 11, regardless of if they make signings or not. More L1 than Championship, I would imagine. 
- Chicksen sold Cameron a bit short, and that's a rash/daft challenge to make in your own penalty box, friendly or no friendly. 

 

Think this game highlighted the need for competition for Kyle. IB mentioned we are close to signing a striker/ 'attacking option'.

[Dripsey3]

More positives than negatives which is where you want to be at this stage of pre season. The one real worry is the defending of set pieces. It's not good enough in a league where most teams will look to set pieces to try and score against us. It doesn't have to be perfect, just better than it is now. IB will work on that I hope. Do we need another striker? Yes is my answer. A veteran at this level who'll bag 10 goals is what we need IMO. We may have to pay a fee.