Chris

It sounds very "woke" to me, probably some generation z thought he could rebrand it. I wished people would stop messing with football, and making changes which solely further ruin the game.

That's true, but our defence was weaker. Alex Bass, Matty Platt and Jacob Bedau are all massive signings which are starting to suffer from our current tactics. This season, we have improved the squad overall, but failed to make sure the depth is there in the scenario of injuries. That let Stuart Maynard down, but it just shows how complex football is.

I don't like creating segregation between supporters. But the fickle fair-weather fans who don't really support the club, just the moaning and attention it gives does drive me crazy. Every club has an element of this, but I am more inclined to give my full support despite how I feel, yet I am more than happy to share and discuss my feelings. I don't think wanting a manager/head coach out, makes anyone a fair-weather fan by default. There are many other aspects which go into it. I am aware of fans who stopped watching Notts regularly during the years we were in the National League, who refused to attend away games, and rarely went home games but made it to the playoff final. They have seldomly started reappearing at away games, and are at most home games now. That is fair-weather by my definition, but it's their choice. I just don't like how they act like 'super fans' upon their return.

Yes, correct. Ray Trew sold Bearne. Donga He and Kion Etete were both sold by Alan Hardy. I do hope the lad manages to make use of his time at Liverpool, and forge an EFL career because it's lost potential otherwise.

@Fan of Big Tone I have purged PON and CloudFlare's caches. ???? CloudFlare suggests giving users 30 minutes for their cache to clear. Hopefully, this resolves things again.

I mentioned this last season, and I would say that it's valid now. However, bringing in experience such as a Director of Football isn't going to really help IMO. I said in my post where I touched up on that both the Saunders brothers should have been appointed as coaches, with the club finding an experience assistant - even if this was just whilst Stuart Maynard adjusted to the league. Yet, much of the mistakes we are seeing come down to how games are managed as they unfold. That makes the head coach more responsible, but I do think the inexperience throughout makes situations like this to be difficult. Notts could start a new unbeaten run, with Maynard pulling everyone together and us finding the form we all want. That would be great, but there are signs from last season creeping back in and again, I think it's more inexperience and a Maynard issue than anything else. This said, I do think the lack of foresight from the board is a worthwhile point to make (which mistakes happen). There is no replacement for Macaulay Langstaff's departure. Allowing Junior Morias to go out on loan, despite a lack of options up top. That's two strikers down. Not replacing Aaron Nemane, i.e. having someone aside from Jodi Jones who can take on their man and beat them. We really miss Nemane's pace right now; earlier today our National League Final at Wembley played as I left YouTube to randomly play videos, and it reminded me just how much we miss him. At first, we didn't miss him so much, but we later missed his speed. Allowing Adam Chicksen to go out on loan has repeated the same mistake as we have seen with Langstaff and Morias. We don't know how much of a say the club had with the departures out on loan, but considering we haven't recalled them despite being down to bare-bones does show a lack of foresight. I don't want this to seem like things are terribly wrong, because I don't think that is the case. It's more about managing poor form better, and making sure we learn from these types of mistakes. How different could things have been had we replaced the departures? Or, found a way to feature them/recall them??? Plenty of games remain, but these types of questions and thoughts, I think, give a more insightful look into mistakes. I do also acknowledge we might not have been in this situation without the injuries, but that highlights the importance of a balanced squad, especially with an inexperienced EFL head coach.

Does anyone remember the news ticker we used to have? Well, it's back! At the moment I do not want to have any of the messages automated. I will manually update the ticker as and when items become worth promoting. ???? Content such as news, features and blogs are almost certainly guaranteed to be added. At a future stage, I will look into having some of these aspects automated but for now I want to guarantee members check them out. Which, is by any point automated items might be added, there will still be manual items. I encourage members to engage, and look out for what is shared within this space as it will be another area where important updates will be shared. Announcements will be used for vital or extremely important updates, with further news being shared here or within the admin announcements.

We do have a competitive squad, and I think Stuart Maynard is still learning, but he's very guilty of making poor decisions. Decisions which are costing us right now, whilst it's natural to struggle when losing key players, I just don't think Maynard has pulled the players together. Instead, he's relying on players to the point they become injured themselves. The players have done well, to an extent so has Maynard but the current form is very poor and unless that improves it - I just don't think his leadership will take us in the right direction. Of course, there's plenty that can change but at the same time if we continue the current form then it would sooner (rather than later) fall within sacking form. To some extent I would agree with you, however, there are people who are rationally seeing the current situation and I believe a lot of boards would be putting a manager in the form we are right now - under some form of 'review'. Simply based on the poor results, and again, I agree injuries don't help, but I think Maynard would benefit from focusing on trying to change outcomes during games, instead of leaving decisions until games are out of reach from salvaging. This doesn't always mean you have to make subs, but instructing the players to adapt tactically and positionally. I personally wouldn't shout for his head, but I am comfortable discussing it. Well, I think Stuart Maynard is to be let go. Notts will have some form of list of potential replacements, and I think the decision, which will be a tough call either way, should come down on the availability of someone being able to take over. If there's not at least 3 good candidates, or one perfect who is realistically likely to join then I think sacking a manager can be a massive gamble. Personally, I believe an experienced manager would be able to handle the situation right now much better. Unlike Maynard haters, I do hope it works out for him and that he continues to learn on his feet. I just feel unlike other periods where we have sacked managers, and we wonder who in the right mind would come in. We have a squad now that a lot of managers/head coaches would see only needs some improvements. I don't think someone looking to come in would want to change much, but I think it would be more inline with what Steve Cotterill did when he arrived during the Munto era. The January period is where the Notts board should be thinking is Maynard a good fit, if they believe we can further strengthen and allow him more time so be it. But how many games until then should we win? How many points gain or lost would it take for fans to rethink where we are right now? From now until the away game against Grimsby, 11th January 2024 - I think Notts are likely to pick up 8 points. Two wins, two draws, and the rest losses. Our current form is on par with struggling Barrow, the 3rd/4th worst form in League Two right now depending on the way you look at it.

I hope you are wrong, as Will Patching for me isn't good enough to replace Dan Crowley. They are vastly different players in my eyes, Patching being more of a midfielder who pulls the strings with his passing. He might have developed more having played for Derry, but I don't think he would be the right type of replacement in this theory. Patching would be a good signing for Carlisle, but I can't imagine him wanting to stick around with them because I can't see them doing much this year and I think improvements will only be seen within 2–3 seasons. I think they are destined to be a team who finish nowhere near a team fighting for playoffs. Unless they strengthen their squad massively, which could be done before, especially at the end of this season. Personally, I don't think Dan Crowley wants out of Notts. I believe the niggles with the injuries mentioned, and I think he's committed to Notts. I also don't see the sense in jumping to a League One club when we have every chance of getting promotion if we could get the right mentality/effort across the board.

I would overlook trying to sign Will Patching for Notts, I think he will be looking for a League One team. His time at Derry has allowed him to transform his career, as prior to that stint his direction within football wasn't looking good. He's a decent player, a bit lightweight when we had him, but I thought he had some promise. I find myself favouring him over the likes of Ed Francis. Patching always seems like a sensible player who would flourish within the right squad. So, I did feel a bit disappointed when he left. Whereas, Francis I thought it made sense that we didn't renew terms with him. Northampton Town could be a good move for Patching, but English football is different compared to the League of Ireland.

I don't like Gary Bowyer. I find him to be one of those managers who appear to have something stuck, in an area I won't mention. However, it does seem to be a good appointment on paper for Burton. He's the type of manager who gives youngsters a try; his experience in management is mostly positive. He should be able to help sort out the dressing room, and get them back to focusing on results on the pitch. It's just his personality, and the tendency of short term tenures that makes me feel unsure. A few years back, when he was linked with us and constantly being 'framed' as the next manager by a former Nottingham Post writer, I really felt like it would have ruined my love for Notts if it had been true. I wonder if Burton fans will be able to overlook how Bowyer can act?

In this day and age, contracts have clauses which lower a player's salary in the case of relegation and other aspects, such as agreements upon a release clause for a set transfer fee is a bit of a double-sided coin. I am all for football to have a regulator, but it needs to be completely independent. The Premier League, along with clubs who experience a yo-yo like existence - bouncing from division to the other will not want to see their finances being limited in any sort of way. The parachute payments will be difficult to remove from the game, although most of the time it seems clubs use the money to sign players to improve their squad - rather than it being to protect wages etc.

This is the first time I have heard of Jonathan Klinsmann. It's possible that I am forgetting, but I am really surprised to learn that Jürgen Klinsmann has a 27-year-old son playing for Cesena. His career doesn't really stand out for much; his father's was impressive. Jonathan's looks like he's had limited opportunities. Either, he's not a very good goalkeeper and has a career in football based on his father/families name, or he's been unlucky. I don't think he can follow Jürgen's footsteps: it looks like he's living in his shadows.

It is good to preserve a specific pub culture that avoids modern distractions. This creates a more authentic drinking experience. Traditional pubs have a unique charm. They offer a cosy atmosphere where people can enjoy a quiet drink and good conversation. Avoiding distractions like loud music or multiple screens allows for a more relaxed and genuine experience. It preserves the pub's authentic charm. It was like listening to one of @super_ram's tales. ???? I am not really a pub person, so it doesn't really jump out of my head or make me feel encouraged to continue reading. I admit I don't know much about the subject, but I appreciate how it shows that pubs have unique charms and quirky styles rather than all looking the same. I also love the pub sign; the artwork is awesome! That does make me want to visit The New Inn.

If cheese is naturally 'wet' forget it, if there's mould or holes - just give it to the cheese connoisseur, who believes every imperfection is a sign of true fromage artistry. Provide me with cheddar by the bucketful or Edam in delightful rolls. If it comes from 'France' send it back, as if you don't know how to eat 'Brie', well there's no point - it won't become your bestie.

Did anyone else find it odd how Notts was mentioned as if we were a footnote in his career? Despite managing Notts for the 2017-18 season and being sacked shortly into the 2018-19 season, the article barely acknowledged his time with us. His time at Leyton Orient is similar to what he achieved in his first year with us, perhaps a bit unfair that he got sacked and replaced for finishing just outside the playoffs. Yet his experience seems to be solely within League Two, and to be honest, his appointment to me would say that Bristol Rovers are preparing for relegation rather than hoping to stay up. Kevin Nolan leads a party-type dressing room, reminiscent of the drinking culture of the 90s within the English game. I think that's the wrong type of attitude to bring in when you need to act as professional on the pitch, and focus on getting positive results. It's one thing to let your hair down, but there's another establishing a rowdy carefree drink fuelled by boozing when you are on the verge of relegation. Whilst I have never seen, and I am not sure the rumours of Nolan being a p**s head here at Notts. I am aware that he was around a drinking culture, and often went out with his "favourites" who did tend to drink too much (the players). I don't think it would be a sensible appointment, mostly because I can see all this repeating. I think he has the ability to get the best out of a team, but only when things are set up right or appear to be the case. The moment things start to go wrong, he becomes more red in the face than someone stuck upside down on a roller-coast loop, he starts panicking, making poorer decisions and visible signs of stress (such as sweating all the time). This will be on the off for him, if appointed at Bristol Rovers. He is a good coach, but I'm unsure if he can be a successful manager for an extended time. He's hardly Joey Barton, but I suppose they see a similar character in Nolan. Surely, they could have given Matt Taylor longer?

It's a bit daft, he could have helped them bounce back. I don't see the sense in firing a manager who is good enough to see a side return or at least continue to compete at the upper end of a division they were previously dominant in. If they hope it will be enough to stay up, then they should have shown more faith in Des Buckingham. I don't think you can expect them to always have better form than they currently do, the Championship is a difficult league and even League One is becoming very competitive with teams that could easily be in the league above. I would have felt more at ease, if I were an Oxford fan knowing that we had a manager who could navigate the league below or continue to build them as an established Championship team. That's what he seemed to be doing: he has done well with making Oxford fit in amongst much bigger named teams. These days we can't really say where managers will, or won't go. A managerial job is what pays wages, and I think it's more likely with our current setup that we could attract a manager who has done well at League One level (plus in the Championship) based on the club's ambition. Although, it's beside the point currently because we have Stuart Maynard in charge. The discussion of his replacement only really comes when the club announces his departure, which despite losing my faith in Maynard I really hope he can ride out the storm.

Don't worry, @Piethagoram. I'll rescind your red card. It's not like you mentioned the person who should not be named at the recent live event.

I voted for David McGoldrick. I thought it was great to see Dan Crowley back, and he played well, but he made some key mistakes which I would put down to returning from injury. I didn't feel like he really got going, but McGoldrick looked the most lively out of all the squad. Very poor performance by the majority of the starting 11, really it would only be down to Didzy personally in my eyes.

I think it's more a Neil Harris decision to leave, rather than him being pushed by the club. Millwall are very likely to struggle more as the season progresses, Harris has done well to position them away from the drop. It wouldn't surprise me if he sits out management for a bit, then takes up a different club with more ambition. Either that, he wants to find something else to do that doesn't require so much of his time. Could be a simple case of he wants to find more time for his family. I doubt we'll ever know, unless Harris talks about it. As for Macaulay Langstaff, I would be on the phone come January to convince Millwall that allowing him to come back to Notts on loan would make a huge difference to when he returns to them. I don't think we'll be able to sign him permanently, not until his contract expires, but a loan is quite possible. With a new manager coming in, he might want to avoid having too many strikers on his book. They are still being linked to strikers, although I think they need to improve their defence personally.

@Robbie should we re-open the poll, as it's now been closed? I apologise for not giving it the promotion it deserves. I had the intention of covering the match day, but I feel like a broken record with how things have been.

Oh, sorry. ????

We started well enough against Salford, but we allowed them to pin us back and for some reason Notts started to play more long balls. I thought we wanted to keep on the floor and play pretty football? If this was the players going against the tactics, someone from the coaching team should have pointed it out that it wasn't working. Very early in the game our passing wasn't great, we gave them too much space and that forced us to start playing the wrong passes out of the back. I believe Dan Crowley was fouled for the first goal, even seeing the highlights I feel this way, and it's clear that our players stopped playing. Alex Bass didn't completely stop, but his reaction was clear that even he felt it was a foul and the referee in my opinion should have stopped the game. Later in the game, a Salford player clashed into one of ours and that broke a moment in the game where Notts looked lively. So, I don't think the decision from the officials seemed balanced. The foul on Bass, where Conor McAleny pulled his shirt and forced him to drop the ball, should have seen him punished with a yellow card. Even without the poor officiating, Notts didn't help themselves, and it was a very sluggish performance overall. The amount of times Jatta could have controlled the ball better, but his first touch or control let him down, gifting the ball back. This isn't necessarily his fault, as it should have been a clear signal not to play in this manner. Yet his pace wasn't effective either; times when he could have got the ball he made poor runs or positioned himself in a harder way to make something happen. This for me, is a form and performance issue, but I would have taken him off - keeping David McGoldrick up top. Salford weren't brilliant, but they looked good for the three goals they scored. If you play as a team, work hard and persist with positive play, then the rewards are clear. That is why Salford made the game work for them, whilst our lads were extremely poor, they resembled a team that had never played together before. This was one of the worst performances I've seen since our relegation to the National League. I'm sorry, but Stuart Maynard should have addressed the situation before we fell behind 2-0. Dan Crowley's best position is in an attacking role. Being talented isn't enough to play defensive when you have better options. George Abbott hasn't been bad lately. I thought he played well against Salford, but he's a totally different player alongside Matt Palmer in a defensive position. It doesn't stop him going forward, he can break up the play and offer solid protection for the defence. Take Crowley out of the Salford game, we would have been very limited as only David McGoldrick looked like he could make something happen. I don't think it was the wrong call to play Crowley, I think it was the incorrect call to allow the team to focus on lumping the ball to Jatta when he wasn't doing all that well. His touches and control weren't brilliant, and his performance was pretty average to that of what we know he can do. We needed pace, which was a very early sign and something I said to my friend before Salford had even scored. Josh Martin contributed positively, even though he faced many negative comments during the game. I think he performed well. To be fair, there's not been much wrong with George Abbott. We missed him against Walsall, that was very clear and prior to that he consistently stood out as one of our better players.

Just in time for the Salford game. This is why I am starting to feel Stuart Maynard isn't the right person to move us forward, if he was paying attention. The first goal Salford scored, that was the time we needed to instruct the players to approach the game differently. I am not one of those people who will boo or call for his head, I will give my support but there's one thing talking about knowing what passes to make before a game is played, and understanding how teams will press - but not adapting in-game shows a weakness. Yes, he's had injuries but Jatta never looked like he would score against Salford. David McGoldrick should have stayed on, Jatta should have been taken off. Some managers have the ability to rally weakened squads even when things are hard and I just don't see it. I want Maynard to succeed, but I don't think it's likely and my faith in turning this difficult times into a better outcome is slim. If we are aiming for promotion, by accepting that we are falling out of the playoffs - we are undoing our ambition to progress as a club. January will be a big factor in Maynard's reign, but if we don't start to pick up points then it's only going to get harder. It's a good interview, but it's talk and right now it doesn't show anything being put into practice. Even with the injuries, we should still be able to avoid some of the poor results we have had. I am concerned that we aren't making the progress we should, but I do hope we can see-out December with better form.

It was a great night. I very much enjoyed hearing him talk about his time. Including the forgotten "Pillowgate" incident where he was accused of stealing pillows. ????