Chris

Notts County have the opportunity to put their 2-1 defeat to Exeter City behind them with tonight's League Two home game against Crawley Town. How have the Red Devils been doing in the league? Who are their key players? And how are they expected to play? Pride of Nottingham's Chris takes a look in our latest Scouting Report. Head to head Notts County have played Crawley Town 11 times in their history. The first fixture between the two was on 10 November 2012 at Meadow Lane, a League One meeting which finished 1-1. Meanwhile the return fixture, played away on 9 March 2013, ended as a goalless draw. The record stands at seven Notts wins, two Crawley wins, and two draws - all games took place either in League One or League Two. Notts have won their last five games in a row agains Crawley, and seven of the last eight. Run-down of their last six features Saturday 23rd December – Accrington Stanley 2 Crawley Town 3 Tuesday 26th December – Crawley Town 0 Colchester United 2 Saturday 30th December – Crawley Town 1 Stevenage 0 Monday 1st January – Yeovil Town 1 Crawley 2 Saturday 13th January – Crawley Town 2 Barnet 0 Friday 19th January – Newport County 2 Crawley Town 1 The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers: Jordan Roberts 7, Enzio Boldewijn 6, Jimmy Smith 5 and Ibrahim Meite 3. Persistent Foulers: Jordan Roberts 7 yellow cards and 1 red card, Josh Yorwerth 5 yellow cards and 1 red card, Mark Randall 6 yellow cards and Jimmy Smith 3 yellow card and 1 card. The Key Players In midfield, Lewis Young is a versatile player who offers a lot of pace – the younger brother of Manchester United star Ashley Young will be a player which will be required to be marked tightly by the magpies defence. Also, Jordan Roberts is a tall posing player who has added goals to his tally this season. The creative spark within Crawley’s midfield – he has the ability to switch from an out-wide area to convert nicely within the centre park. Enzio Boldewijn is a threat up top and, on his day can really cause havoc in the oppositions defence. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses Crawley Town are a physical but slow building team that focuses on creating chances from out wide, and hitting the opposition when space opens up. They tend to sit back in an effort to absorb the pressure, this allows them to get a good feel for the game, and ultimately understand their counterparts better. Due to this, the Red Devils can largely but put on the back foot from good play and as a direct result it puts them in danger – defensively they roll the dice a fair bit and rely on luck to survive conceding. On the ball, they like ot press deep and use aerial balls as a way to cause havoc – where pace can exploit their opposition they do show no signs of fearing taking a team on, and if losing being a goal or two down doesn’t deter them either. They’re a decent League Two team, who have the foundations to cause any side within this league problems. However, due to their style of play and inconsistent performances – they do make it an uphill task for themselves not only to remain in competition for any points but also when creating their own chances on goal. It’s clear that Notts will have to think more about how to hold the ball, whilst protecting their creative players. Frustration will also be something that Notts will have to keep in check, so it’s important that little niggles don’t become a larger concern as the game progresses – as both sides will be naturally guilty of making silly mistakes. I would like to see Notts use the flanks, as a way to gain ground but also switch to the centre of the park using timed overlaps as a way to directly cut in behind the opposition. More chances should naturally fall for both teams, however if Notts focus more on the ground and use their feet well – this will unlock the Crawley Town defence in my opinion. Set pieces and free kicks from an heading position may be an area whereby Notts could exploit. However, they shouldn’t be scared to have a shot from distance. Share your thoughts about this Scouting Report on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County's superb unbeaten league home run has come to an end as Exeter City ran out 2-1 winners in Saturday's encounter at Meadow Lane. The high-flying Grecians, who are in the promotion mix, took the lead after just seven minutes through Jake Taylor. Jayden Stockley then doubled the visitors' lead just before half time as the Magpies struggled to click with several new players in the XI and in the absence of Matt Tootle and Richard Duffy. Jon Stead pulled a goal back for the hosts with a second-half penalty, won after Shola Ameobi was hauled down in the box, but sadly Notts could not go on to find an equaliser. How did the game pan out? Pride of Nottingham's Chris takes a look with this weekend's Tactical Talk. Was the result fair? It’s very hard to say it the result was fair or not, I feel a draw may have been deserved but ultimately I do acknowledge that Notts were poor yesterday – likewise I feel Exeter equally unimpressed but we massively lack any real quality on goal. How did Notts play? For me we seemed too focused on attacking, rather than retaining the ball – we frequently gave it away very cheaply and the whole way we played made it very difficult to match the speed/creativity which Exeter did process. In the second half things did change, we held the ball and knocked it around – yet we never drawn Exeter’s player out or made space available. We tended to waste chances by trying to force the play, and only until Shola Ameobi came on did we look like a team able to get through the oppositions defence – simply we played a game of two halves. How did Exeter play? They played okay, at times quite exciting but for some reason they always insisted on doing something which wasn’t really required. I considered them to be a very good team coming into the game, yet I feel their schoolboy tactics and efforts to cheat really became unimpressive. When they focused on playing ‘football’ they looked a useful side but I think they’d have struggled to score if Notts had performed better and had noticed what they were doing. Did our tactics work out? Not very well in the first half. In midfield, we had too many new faces, this really meant that Notts had to have a little more creativity on the ball and we never really saw this until the second half. We focused on attacking more than we did retaining the ball or even defending – it was clear a few minutes in that Exeter would push us due to how far we seemed to be playing up the pitch. Second half Notts played better, yet at no point was it really enough – it highlighted exactly why we need a striker and a defender as outlined in my January transfer window article (please link) How did the referee perform? I felt he was poor, yet his decisions seemed more ‘blinded’ than negligent – I do feel he favoured Exeter, who’s players seemed to get away with everything but really he’s the standard of your typical League Two referee and I feel Notts should be smarter to this. Who do we play next? Crawley Town – another test in terms of the physical side of the game. They won’t be pushed off the ball or bullied and they will pressure us for the ball. We need to be stronger and more creative, as I feel these are points to be claimed. How should we play them? Notts need to be focused defensively, we can’t play too far up the field and if Nicky Hunt starts – he needs to be told to only go forward when we can afford his absence. In midfield I think we need to be calmer, more patient with our build-up play and attempt to draw the opposition out – as against Exeter we seemed to pack the centre of the park and this really limited the space that we could have exploited. With Crawley being your typical ‘physical’ League Two team, we need to be mindful about giving them any sort of space on the pitch. Whilst we lack pace at the back, wise positional play would give the magpies advantage and I think any attacks should be phased and risk assessed for being caught out. I’d like to see us use Jorge Grant and Liam Noble as a way to draw the opposition out, these played apart from each other would give us a means to break the Red Devils down and to allow some ‘creativity’ to get started. Really, Notts should look to thrive under possession-based football and look to be more dynamic with awareness going forward. Pressure the opposition defence, use link-up play to support the attacks and just pass the ball into space whereby this may release someone goal side – it’s not exactly difficult but if we give Crawley an inch they will take a mile. Exeter fan views (from Exeweb) Billy the Fish: The first half we took the game to them and was as complete a performance from City as I have seen in a long while. The second half County came out entirely differently and looked like promotion candidates, dangerous in attack but strangely vulnerable to our counter attacks. Lee Holmes looked out of sorts and Jordan Tillson is obviously just filling a position until the big boys are back. He works hard and gets his challenges in but today he was like a rabbit in the headlights whenever he found himself with the ball at his feet. All the others impressed, TAH rode his luck at times but otherwise every one them can be proud of themselves. I couldn't see the incident which saw Troy penalised and booked for the penalty but it came from a free kick awarded in front of us and the linesman and for which there was no discernable infringement. One of many strange refereeing decisions which infuriated both sets of fans. Great three points and a great day out. Red Bill: Just watched the goals, what a great goal the second was. Fantastic ball from Harley and a great finish from Stockley. I feel making the most of Harley, who i hope has done a lot to silence his critics with some terrific peformances lately, could be key to a serious promotion push. Andrew P Long: We went too defensive after going two up. Instead of trying to prevent them scoring we should've gone for their throat. If we had done that we'd have won more easily and comprehensively, say 1-4, and RHK was cheated out of more than a grand etc. Share your thoughts about this tactical analysis piece on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County's impressive unbeaten league home run in League Two has unfortunately come to an end at the hands of Exeter City. The visitors raced into the lead at Meadow Lane after just eight minutes through Jake Taylor's tap-in. Jayden Stockley, the Grecians' top scorer, then struck the decisive second just before half-time. Jon Stead scored a second-half penalty after Shola Ameobi was hauled down in the box but the Magpies couldn't find an equaliser and so it ended 2-1. Pride of Nottingham was at the Lane to watch the action unfold and took plenty of photos of the Notts fans. Have a look through our gallery in this week's Faces of PON, published on our Facebook page, and don't forget to tag yourself and your loved ones! Share your thoughts about this week's Faces of PON on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County will take on fellow promotion chasers Exeter City in Saturday's League Two meeting at Meadow Lane. How have the Grecians done in recent weeks? Who are their key players? What style of football do they play? Find out with Pride of Nottingham's latest Scouting Report. Head to head Notts are unbeaten in their last three league matches against the Grecians, boasting two wins and a draw, and keeping clean sheets in two of those matches. However, Exeter have avoided defeat in each of their last two visits to Meadow Lane in League Two, including a 4-1 away win in this exact fixture in the 2015/16 campaign. Notts and Exeter have met 45 times in competitive actions, with 18 Magpie wins, 19 draws and just 8 losses. Run-down of their last six features Saturday 9th December – Colchester United 3 Exeter City 1 Saturday 16th December – Exeter City 2 Stevenage 1 Saturday 23rd December – Yeovil Town 3 Exeter City 1 Saturday 30th December – Exeter City 2 Barnet 1 Monday 1st January – Newport County 2 Exeter City 1 Saturday 13th January – Exeter City 1 Coventry City 0 The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers; Jayden Stockley 13, Pierce Sweeney 5, Jake Taylor 4 and Liam McAlinden 4. Persistent Foulers; Lloyd James 8 yellow cards, Jordan Tillson 5 yellow cards and 1 red card, Jake Taylor 5 yellow cards and Kane Wilson 1 yellow card and a single red card. The Key Players Striker Jayden Stockley has come into his element this season, on goal he possesses the calm finishing required to be a top scorer in the leagues above and is currently playing with a lot of confidence. Jake Taylor has been a pivotal piece within Exeter City’s midfield, having created chances through his creativity and also chipping in with his own goal – his creativity and energy is hard to suppress and he enjoys taking on opposition players. In goal Christy Pym is a very capable League Two keeper, who’s shot-stopping ability makes him very difficult to beat. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses Exeter express themselves very well, creatively they are very forward-thinking and like dominate heavily with spells of possession. They can break well using a very narrow formation; however, this tends to leave space to exploit at the back. On the ball they are calm, yet can be pressured when well-marked – mistakes don’t frequently occur and they usually make good use of the ball. Their ability to overthink play can mean chances do become limited, whilst they resemble a typical side that becomes frustrated by a lack of clear opportunity on goal. Defensively they’re organised, yet don’t rely on staying deep – this again in turn leaves opposition teams space to attempt to break them down. They struggle to defend during breaks and pace is an area where they usually start to see individual mistakes at the back. Overall they’re a good team but can easily be pressed, their inconsistency to perform does allow good sides to find a way to break them down, and even in cases where they do struggle sides can punish them by pushing for a goal during an heavy attack. The key for Notts will be limit their time on the ball, whilst ensuring that any chances that do fall Exeter City’s way ultimately end up being half chances. I expect frustration to build up if we do keep them quiet, so again set pieces may play a vital part for us during the game. Share your thoughts about this Scouting Report piece on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Alan Hardy has revealed that Notts County currently have a three-man shortlist of players they are looking to sign before the January transfer window closes. So far this month, the Magpies have brought in the midfield trio of Matty Virtue, Noor Husin and Liam Noble, who was registered after linking up with the club last year. The general consensus among fans is the need for a new centre-back and forward and, although Hardy has not spoken of positions, he believes each of the three players being looked at will help "push us over the line". “We are still looking for that special player and there are three on the list,” he told the Nottingham Post. "But, as (Kevin Nolan) said all along, whoever comes in needs to go straight into the first team. “It has to be a player who can make a difference and help push us over the line. “We are still in the hunt for all three but it is unlikely we are going to hear anything until the closing week of the window. “That’s because a lot of players wait it out to see which other moves might become available. “But what it does mean is that it all builds to an exciting finish in the window.” Share your thoughts about this news story on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

January has been the quiet month that I had expected from the club, going into the transfer window I only felt two positions needed reinforcing – however the loss of Ryan Yates did mean that the midfield required some patching up. I am pleased with how Notts have conducted their business so far, bringing in Matty Virtue on loan and Noor Husin on a permanent deal seems good business. Also, the long awaited arrival of Liam Noble appears to add a bit more depth – however we will need to see him fully match fit first. The departure of Haydn Hollis for me highlights Kevin Nolan’s clear plan towards improving the squad, however with no replacement yet introduced to the ranks, it’s a position I feel has more importance now. There’s no denying that the Magpies require a striker up top, I’ve been saying this all season (in fact since Coventry). In addition, with the questions always hanging over Jonathan Forte's playing time, it does leave things looking somewhat bleak up top. Yet from a defensive point of view, I would be extremely disappointed if another solid CB wasn’t brought into the squad. And whilst I hope that we do also bring in a striker that has pace and knows where the opposition’s net is – I really don’t feel we will be seeing this wish granted. The two areas are vastly important, with the midfield looking stronger than ever on paper. I struggle to recall the last time that we looked so capable on paper in this department and, the reaffirmation from Forest that Jorge Grant will remain on loan is nothing more than an added bonus. I feel the loss of both Yates and Grant would have caused us some teething problems, especially at a point of the season which is well known for being tricky and demanding. It’s honestly refreshing to see a manager go about ‘improving’ the squad and quickly identifying ways to fix key areas. Previous managers seemed destined to retain some of the weaker links within the squad and I feel this never really allowed us to strengthen properly – in fact I think it’s one of the underlining issues which hindered our true chances of progression previously. This said, it would be that negative if we weren’t able to sign a striker and I do believe we have adequate cover in defence. It’s just that wishful to see the club continue their improvements throughout the squad and I honestly believe that these areas being reinforced would strengthen our promotion chances – yet also give us more flexibility when it comes to knowing where we are next season. Securing another solid CB would take the burden off playing someone that perhaps isn’t as comfortable at the back as Shaun Brisley or Richard Duffy. It would be a massive addition that would give us cover if injury or poor form set in, or even just a tactical advantage if we required something a little different. Likewise, a striker would take the burden of our ageing stars Jon Stead and Shola Ameobi. I keep saying it, yet I feel the right player coming in could learn a vast amount from these two players – their experience alone is something, which would appeal to a player looking to progress the leagues. That fight and hunger would be something would no doubt help us when the time arrives to replace either of the two – as let’s face it, this doesn’t seem that far a way. However, the togetherness of the squad and current spirit I believe will be enough to ensure there’s no slip ups. I also do feel the club is in good shape for attracting players of that extra quality, whilst being able to work with other clubs' players does seem like an advantage at this stage. Share your thoughts about this feature article on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Disappointment and football seem to go hand in hand when being a Notts County fan. Like most Magpies supporters, I am immensely gutted by the departure of Ryan Yates who has joined Scunthorpe United after being recalled by our neighbours Nottingham Forest. It’s sad enough that a parent club could force a move in spite of a player's wishes. Yet to remove their chances of helping aside secure promotion, either as champions of their respective division or as automatic hopefuls, just doesn’t make much sense at all. There’s no denying how beneficial the move had been for us, as Yates has proven himself as a major force within our midfield. The decision to recall him, only to loan him out to a side chasing promotion in League One seems quite bizarre on paper, as for me it undoes all the hard work that he put into the first part of the season by removing him from the opportunity to play within a very settled environment. People might suggested that Scunthorpe United may gain promotion themselves, however I feel this is unlikely – whereas there is a strong possibility that we could continue to fight for top spot in League Two. Happiness for any player is a big part of their game, as is togetherness – uprooting a player and expecting them to repeat their earlier performances within an unknown dressing room is such a huge risk in its own right. I do understand why Nottingham Forest would want to access his development, yet this just seems very rushed and somewhat mismanaged. Since their new manager, Aitor Karanka, has only arrived recently, it’s quite baffling as to whom made the decision. The one thing we as fans simply can’t get our heads around, but it has happened and our club now has to decide if or who should replace him. Honestly, I didn’t see this happening and I felt that the media reports merely attempted to create the headlines. Would it not make sense to allow Yates to continue his loan spell at Meadow Lane and then reassess his future/development? I do believe that he’s going to be a big player, yet I don’t think his level is quite polished even in League Two and the experience gained here seemed beyond just that. I would go as far as saying the whole vibe around the club has a dramatic effect on young players, if you believe in something and see that your contributions are helping – even appreciated, well it enables you to play at such a higher level of football. Along with the league and cup success, it really adds to the difficulty in understanding the situation and I don’t see Scunthorpe United as being candidates to repeat what magic Yates would have had here. I really can’t see them gaining promotion from League One, it’s very tough and there are far better teams around them which will have a more refined squad in terms of depth. As a fan I can’t complain about the season, and this situation is merely an unwanted distraction. I am certain Kevin Nolan will be accessing what areas need strengthening, yet this does create the situation of do we need extra cover? Personally, I think Michael O’Connor and Liam Noble can fill the position and do it well. I would also like to see another young player with a similar playing style as Yates come in, just as we might need extra depth and having that finer quality does make a huge difference. To summarise this, regardless of the ins and outs of the loan deal – I feel Forest haven’t done themselves any favours. I believe it doesn’t remotely help Yates, and I see this without wearing any tinted glasses. The quality of players around any player is enough to help shape and mould them, if we were talking about a Wigan or Blackburn – I might see things a little differently. It still wouldn’t make me feel any less different about if the decision was right or wrong, and if Notts had a ‘season long loan’ then I would steer clear of developing any of Forest players in the future. Why risk this situation happening again? I don’t believe it casts a good light on them as a football club. I would hope that this decision doesn’t have an adverseeffect on the club, as I do think the event may leave some distractions and unhappiness around the Magpies camp. However, the professional approach would be to focus as quickly as possible on adding the depth mentioned before the January transfer window closes. Hopefully it's business as usual, we will be able to patch the squad up and continue as we were. Good luck to Ryan Yates lastly, it has been a real pleasure to see him do very well in the Black & White shirt and just seeing his enthusiasm whilst playing seems a real honour for us. Share your thoughts about this feature article on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.