Super_Danny_Allsopp

This whole pre-season feels utterly flat. There is little to be excited about and the silence from the club is deafening. Club Media What happened? It seemed like our media team were right at the front of our progression under the brothers and offering fans many insights into the inner goings on in the club in addition to keeping us informed of developments. Now, we have silence. No dates even mentioned for the club home shirt. The away kit was released by UoN before the club. The Alfreton friendly was barely mentioned up to the game. The cold press releases for departing players are baffling. An end of season message from the owners announced - then ignored since. Has the department been reduced in terms of manpower? The clubs' media department and fan engagement has declined terribly. Recruitment Hardly inspiring, is it? Sell the clubs best attacking midfielder - no replacement. Sell the best keeper in the league - no replacement. Let the best player in the league go because you don't want to pay his wages - no replacement. The players we have signed, whilst seeming solid-enough, aren't filling anybody with confidence. True, we've not seen them play any competitive football - so we can't judge absolutely. However, they do not replace what we've lost in terms of quality. The current squad is objectively weaker than the one that started last season - and significantly at that. We're a couple of weeks away from our first game and we haven't got a goalkeeper on the books, bar some kid released from over the river. Then there's the injuries. We have to be a complete outlier in signing players that are currently crocked or have a history of long-term problems. Surely this costs the club financially, as the budget is spent on players that barely kick a ball. Have we seen this many trialists since the brothers acquired the club? Not since their first season after 'little Al' left us in a pickle. It doesn't point to a team with a data driven recruitment model - it points to a team scrambling around for players. Are we struggling to attract players? What is a factor in that - budget, head coach, head of recruitment? CEO and Head of Recruitment Gone are the days of Jason Turner (RIP) and his excellent communication and transparency with fans. Replaced with - who knows. Montague was lampooned by some of us fans at times, but he seems light years ahead of this new chap who comes with a dodgy reputation - and is so far living up to it. Then there's weird goings on with Peterborough cancelling friendlies only to then play MK Franchise on the same day we were supposed to play them. Odd behind closed doors friendlies that we are not informed about. Manager I'm willing to give anybody a chance. Clearly Paterson impressed in the interviews or which ever metric they are applying. However, it was hardly an inspiring appointment given other options available. This isn't enough to be a downer on its own, we've appointed managers before who were not inspiring at the time - Luke Williams being one - but combined with the rest of the clouds gathering over the club, the manager appointment feels like a contributing factor. There is a general malaise affecting the club right now - or at least it appears so from the outside. I fear for the coming season if something doesn't change quickly. COYP

I think MK Dons said exactly the same thing we are experiencing - nobody really knows what he does. If you take a Jones out the side - you can tell. "We're missing Jody". If you take Grant out, nobody notices. Hopefully the new gaffer can get him actually influencing play a little bit.

Is it too much to ask for 'no red'.

Somebody really needs to give the Notts Media team a good kick up the backside. The away kit has been released by UoN before Notts Media team.

Mark Fotheringham. No? 🤣

Pressure is definitely on now for this transfer window. Replace the leagues best keeper. (Bass) Replace the leagues best player (Didzy) Replace one of the leagues best midfielders (Crowley). That's just to bring us on par with the quality we had last season. 0 out of 3 thus far. Tick tock

A bit surprising. Was promoted well and clearly valued. Perhaps he got a bit above his pay grade and thought that after applying for the top job and not getting it / not being kept on as assistant, he wanted to leave.

That is Fullerton-esque. Totally underwhelming signings, totally underwhelming head coach. This club is going backwards.

Little bit concerning. Not deemed good enough for NL York?

I'm not normally one to knock new signings, but.... A mega part of last season was our injury record. So far we keep signing players who are treatment room specialists or are currently crook!

If football manager is anything to go by - you can appoint as many foreign staff and the visas always get accepted. Have to wait a couple of weeks though. It is FM though.

I'm relieved. Wish Maynard all the best in whatever is next, but his football was incredibly boring to watch. The players looked completely lost and lacking any direction or belief in the system they were being asked to play.

Who would you keep or Release, regardless of contractual status? Bass - Keep Slocombe - Release Miller - No idea, another weird signing. Platt - Keep Bedau - Keep Macari - Keep Gordon - Release Tsaroulla - Keep Chicksen - Release Cameron - Release Ness - Keep Cundy - Release McDonald - Release Jones - Keep Palmer - Keep Robertson - Release, too injury prone Grant - Release Whitaker - Release Jarvis - Keep Abbott - I'd love to, but he's outgrown us. Edwards - Release Jatta - Keep Didzy - Keep Morias - Release Traore - Release

As we all expected and the answer was definitive. No.

I've tried to be patient and give Maynard time. However, the style of football he offers is horrendous. On the motivation scale he's a Monday morning.

Bass - 4 - kicking atrocious. Might be harsh as he seemed to be instructed to play that way 'to beat a press'. Never looked like working. Mcdonald - 3 - Not good enough. Platt - 3 - Bullied. Bedau - 3 - Bullied. Gordon - 1 - NL player. Attitude stinks. Jones - 2 - Garbage today. Abbott - 8 - Levels above anybody in his own team Palmer - 3 - Crab. Whittaker - 2 - Not good enough. Grant - 3 - largely anonymous yet again Jatta - 3 - Not good enough to play with no support around him. Maynard - 1 - Got it all wrong. So negative and slow at home. Like a death eater in the way he sucks the soul out of our supporters

There's a typo in this thread. Somebody has spelt 'Two' wrong.

Thought I'd manage to forget the Curle home form. That was tormentuous. Watching a Maynard team at home is both boring and frustrating. There is an inevitability as to what unfolds. I watch more in hope that a home game might somehow be different from the 22 other games I've watched, only to see a familiar pattern unfold. It's clearly tactical. Perhaps it's a result of Maynard applying his formula from Wealdstone directly to Notts and expecting it to work the same. Whatever it is, I'm about at my limit to what I'm willing to continue watching without becoming disgruntled.

Slocombe - 7 - One wayward pass. Apart from that, decision making was on point. Didn't have to make many saves. Macari - 7 Platt - 7.5 Bedau - 7 The above 3 did well, but weren't very busy. Jarvis - 9 - Somebody empty this lads pockets, he's been smuggling a 5 ft French lad. I've been critical of his performances in the past. He's growing into it. Today, exceptional. Defensively he was almost faultless and kept a dangerous Nemane and Crowley combo almost silent. Had Nemane every time going forward. Tsaroulla - 8 - Pleased he got his goal today. Shooting has been wayward this season, but took tonights well. Palmer - 8 - Bossed the midfield. Dan who? Tackling and pressing a noted improvement. Abbott - 8 - Brilliant player. Whitaker - 7 - Did well. Not everything came off, but he kept going, pressing. Didzy - 8 - It's Didzy. Grant - 5.5 - I'm aware I might be scapegoating him or isolating him repeatedly, but... I'm not sure what he does. Floats about and 'nearly' gets to the ball first, 'nearly' escapes his man. Just think he's a bloke that fills a role and adds balance, but doesn't actually do much. Note on Traore. Isn't adapting well. Needs a pre-season before we judge him properly.

Lifetime contract. * Clause: Once he is physically no longer able to stand on at least one leg and/or requires assistance of Zimmer frame - enters coaching contract.

Bass - 6 - Don't think he was at fault for either. Macari - Not sure Platt - 5.5 - Was alright for the most part. Bedau - 6 - Decent. Gordon - 3 - Don't think he's ever beaten a man in his life. Predictable. Jarvis - 2 - Not a wing back. Palmer - 6 - Seemed alright. Abbott - 6 - OK Whitaker - 2 - Out-muscled, outfought. Jatta - 4 - Another sitter missed. Traore - 5 - barely touched the ball. Maynard - 2 - Got it all wrong. Grant - 6.5 - Only player that seemed to figure out Barrow were shite. Tsaroulla - 6

Bass - 9 - Kept us in it, some very decent saves. Berated our lacklustre play. Johnson - 6 - Decent today. Platt - 7 - Wins a lot Bedau - 7.5 - He's a defensive monster. Gordon - 5 - Incapable of beating a man, but puts some quality balls in - only Jatta to aim for normally. Jarvis - 3 - He's not a wing back as he can't defend. Takes stupid risks at the back and didn't seem up for a fight. Palmer - 3.5 - Completely lost the midfield battle. Abbott - 3.5 - As above Grant - 3.5 - Still no idea what he does. Whittaker - 6 - He was one of the few to at least try in an attacking sense. For the most part, nothing came off, until it did. Jatta - 6 - Starved. Tsaroulla - 6 - Improved us. Traore - 6 - Looks exciting in the small flashes we've seen him. Edwards - 3 - That fall to the floor when the pass to Jatta was so obviously on - is unforgivable.

Bass - 7 - Kept us in it at times - mostly saves you'd expect him to make, but make them he did. Some dodgy kicking that didn't even get close to the halfway line. McDonald - 5.5 - Poor defending, slow distribution. Platt - 5 - Strange, strange decision making. Without steady defenders alongside him, made repeated errors. It wasn't technical ability - it was decision making. Johnson - 4.5 - Poor. Loses his man regularly, their winger tormented him. Colchester had a game plan to target him and press him when on the ball - it worked. Wasn't helped by his fellow defenders. Gordon - 7 - Blows hot and cold, but was more hot tonight. Some really good crosses that if the attackers were on the front foot - could have been converted more often. Tsaroulla - 5 - Largely anonymous. When he did beat a man, ran into blind alleys and lost the ball. Palmer - 5.5 - Was OK. Some sloppy passes, corners were abysmal. Abbott - 8 - Total different level to anybody else on the park. Stuck out like a sore thumb against League 2 thumpers (both us and them). Grant - 6 - He got the goal. He was OK. Not sure exactly what he does. Edwards - 4.5 - Too safe. Picks the backwards pass as default and never positive. Lack of athleticism and slow reactions often undermine him. Jatta - 5.5 - Wasn't involved a lot. Often on the back foot and reactionary. Subs all too late to really affect the game.

Abbott by a country mile. Different class.

Paul Mace dismissed it tonight on Magpie Circle. Said it was rumours created by 'social media numpties' and had zero credibility.