Chris

I felt after last season we had turned a corner, I have to admit that Chris Kiwomya's appointment was disappointing – I had hoped we would go for experience but none the less I am willing to back any manager, just like I would regardless whoever played for Notts County. The early signs seemed promising, I eagerly awaited the final game and I have to say when it came – I felt saddened as you can imagine but the prospect of a brighter season soon followed. Now, Chris might not be setting the world alight last season but I felt it could improve with his own players signed. At a glance he's done pretty well with regards to signings – Danny Haynes could very well be a gem but I think we need to find a style which suites him. Players such as Yoann Arquin and Enoch Showunmi came back with a spring in their steps and certainly it seemed like we had a new strike force. The disappointing side for me was the fact we didn't make our back a little bulkier early on, for me this was a weak area. Though the majority wanted another striker and the midfield improving, one of which we are currently not really progressing in. It's hard to single out Chris Kiwomya – Can it all be his fault? I wouldn't say so, however for me the majority of things are for him to handle and fix. Isn't this what a manager is for? For me we could be doing far better, even with Chris who's learning on the job. It's hard to explain where exactly I think things could be improved but I am going to try. I'm sure he feels exactly the same way, as he's plotting his next decisions and tactics. Firstly – I would try to find a routine and a formation which the players can become used too. I think 4-4-2 might be old fashioned but there's not much wrong with that, it's certainly far better than using Curle's previous formations – The now famous alone forward and of course 3 at the back.. Yawn.... We surely have a first 11 – Those who don't perform well in one game, shouldn't be dropped in the next – The only way I would drop a player is if he shows the same during training or he's been consistently poor. I'd pick the brighter players and tinker with finding ways of motivating the players who are currently not giving exactly 100%. Yet – with a squad like ours we can't always afford to be choosy and so sometimes old fashioned management can come in handy in these situations. Being honest and open – prevents ill-feelings if handled correctly and hard work cannot be a bad thing. If we insist on playing on the floor, we need to focus on this during training. There's no reason why we can't play pretty football but it's how it's applied from the back, which allows it to be successful going forward. Watching Notts sometimes reminds me of stacking domino’s and then allowing 'em to fall, we go forward and make good progress, only to knock the ball back and have to start all over again. Thing's like this is where Chris needs to stamp his authority, it's easy to blame him and the players but a manager who tries hard, often isn't a manager who fails and I honestly feel he's scared of repercussions at times. In games like MK Don's, there's easy way's to break up the play and hold pressure. The inability to mark/defend only allows teams to punish us and for me you cannot blame the players fully here, the watchful eye of the manager should be the person whom attempts to fix things. I feel we have a lack of inspiring players, vocal and aware.. True leaders who understand how to change games but this doesn't mean we can,t make the most of players like Fotheringham or Liddle – Who'd both be decent vice captains. The answers to our misfortunes are how we prepare – Morale can be low, players confidence not very high but if you sit on this the situation grows and becomes worse. It's clear the players need to learn to work together, each strength and weakness needs to be learned in order to aid and prevent mistakes. We should be seeing more partnerships, especially down the flanks and if things were able to click we might see more chances falling to our forwards, I sometimes wish they'd gamble more but you can't expect them to score if the service is poor or below par. It's bordering on the final roll of the dice for Chris in the eyes of many fans and if the board want to show encouragement to the manager – they'll need to make sure he actually keeps at addressing the problems as we haven't seen any real “fixes”. Of course it takes time for players to get used to each other, hence why I believe we need to start with simple steps. The training sessions should be where we try to mix things, encourage creativity and hopefully we can see some of it applied on the field. When games aren't going our way – It needs addressing, even if it's only 3 minutes in!

Tonight Notts will meet the very top of League Two, as we prepare to take on Leyton Orient. They've started the 2013/14 season very well, the spirit with their play is positive and they've enjoyed successive victories over some very decent sides. Leyton Orient are undefeated, impressively they've scored a total of 16 goals so far in only 6 games and have only seen 4 goals put past them. Ex Notts County manager Russell Slade will no doubt be fairly confident ahead of our clash, so it's down to the Notts coaches & players to perform on the pitch in order to halt their progress. Alan Sheehan's made comments to local media about the players owing a big performance, it's got to be asked when does the talk finish and the performances start but on paper we are a very capable League One club. Notts will be required to hold their heads high and take the game steady, it would be nice to see an improved performance after the recent weeks and Chris Kiwomya will no doubt be looking into turning the season around as quickly as possible, as a loss would result in the worst start to a Notts season for sometime. Russell Slade's commented that “You look at Notts County on paper and they will improve sooner rather than later.” - We need to transfer this onto the pitch with a good level of performance's, even if we lose every so often. Chris Kiwomya's promised changes and even went on record to saying we will see a couple of players on the bench, so the lineup could be anyone's guess. The only known injury (unless I've missed some) is to Haydn Hollis – Although I wonder if Liddle will return back to centre back, although personally I would hope he could remain in midfield and given a role where he's dictating the passing. My Prediction – 2-1 to Leyton Orient. COYP! By Notts-Joe

Notts County come into the game having held their heads high at Anfield having battled for 4-2 defeat in the second half of extra time, having ended the game at 2-2. Rotherham United played on the 28th and enjoyed a game against Aston Villa, where they lost 3-0. The Millers have gotten off well so far in the season and Notts are still looking for their first home with of the season. We here at Pride of Nottingham have taken the time to speak with Miller fan "Ian" and we've asked him a series of 12th questions - Let's get behind the lads on Saturday! COYP!! Firstly, could you tell prideofnottingham.co.uk a little about yourself, such as how long you've been a fan for? My name is Ian & live in Rotherham & have been a fan for 42 years. Last year we met in the cup and you not only managed to get a replay but you brought the game to us at Meadow Lane and played very well. What was your view on this game? Last years cup replay was one of our performances of the season & we really did "play you off the park" as it were, I hope for more of the same this weekend. Can you please tell us about your expectations for the new season and how you felt your pre-season went? I'm not like some Millers fans who are half expecting to run straight through League One & get to the Championship in one go, but it is our long term aim. Mid Table. Pre-season was good for us, unbeaten on a three game mini scottish tour, then victory v Bolton in our first home friendly, but then home defeats to three Championship clubs, all narrow ones, 2-3 v Middlesbrough, 0-1 v Huddersfield, & 2-3 again v Barnsley, but good experience v Championship opposition!! Rotherham have a fairly capable side – Have you made any new additions to your squad since our last meeting and how are they settling in? The squad is OK with competition in most areas. Since last year we've brought in several players, most notably Matt Tubbs from AFC Bournemouth, also, Milsom & Tidser in Midfield, ex Carlisle keeper Collin, right back Brindley, last season at Chesterfield, striker Hylton from Aldershot & Worrall, the ex Bury winger who has been the most impressive of the newbies so far, but they all need time to bed in. The starting line ups so far has mainly been the side that got us promotion. Four games in, although early days you're showing some very promising signs. Can you give us a basic run down of your last four games? Last 4 games, OK Right; 10th Aug PNE H 0-0 Tight game with defences on top, could have nicked it but overall fair result 17th Aug Crawley A 2-1 win Should have been more, more comfortable than the scoreline suggests. 24th Aug Shrews H 2-2 Outplayed for large parts of the game by a surprisingly good Shrews side, lucky to get a point!! 28th Aug Villa A 0-3 Comfortably beaten by a Villa side that obviously is taking the Capital One Cup seriously as they played virtually their entire 1st team, but not disgraced, & like Notts at Anfield, will have learned an awful lot from the experience. On Tuesday we faced Liverpool in the Capital One Cup, where we lost 4-2 after ending 90's all square. Did you watch the game on Sky? Didn't watch the Anfield game as i'm a footy anorak & was at Derby v Brentford!!! Who do you think will be your highest goal scorer and which three opposition players do you think will contend for the highest goal scorer overall? Hard to tell who'll be our top scorer as we seem to get just as many goals from midfield compared to the strikers. High hopes though for Kieran Agard in the scorers stakes, along with Lee Frecklington. League 1 as a whole, I can see Griffiths at Wolves & Sheff Utds new signing Jose Baxter scoring loads!! We have a fair few injuries/concerns at the moment – Do you look into opposition sides prior to games and do you feel it could be an area the Millers could benefit from? I'm sure Mr Evans has done his homework on the Pies & is aware of their collective strengths & weaknesses. What formation and line up do you see being used by Steve Evans on Saturday? I think we'll pack the midfield (thats where our strengths are) & go for a 4-5-1 formation leaving Alex Revell as a lone striker with players like Agard & Pringle in support. Can you tell us which players you feel will pose a threat to Notts County? Watch out for our midfield three of Ben Pringle, Lee Frecklington & Michael O'Connor, if you can nullify their threat you've got a real chance. Which Notts County players are you most wary about and how would you try to cancel out their game? The only Notts player that concerns me is Arquin as he scored an absolute screamer in the first Cup tie at NYS last season & he scored at Anfield didn't he? On the 28th Rotherham lost to Aston Villa in the Capital One Cup, Did you enjoy the clash and how important is the cup games this season? The Villa tie was a great experience for the players & supporters & we enjoyed it despite the result. Pride of Nottingham would like to thank Ian for taking the time to answer our questions, I'd also like to extend a warm welcome to him as he has since joined us as Bradthemiller! Nice to have another opposition fan in our midst