menzinho

I would say Sanders is more in the mould of Palmer @Piethagoram, but he's arguably better than him when it comes to defending. Ollie Norburn is probably a better tackler and harder to get past but Sanders is a lot better at regaining loose balls in the midfield. I think it's the most likely scenario @Pies79 , his loan at Sligo did not well and sadly he wasn't even able to score 1 goal.

I'm slightly surprised League 1 clubs are after him to be honest. I know he's still young and should improve but his spell with us was the highest level he played at and he wasn't comfortable, at least for us in the wide centre back role. He then had to drop down a level and even then wasn't first choice at York. He was also very slow, so he'd struggle to adapt to any side that plays a high-line.

Burton have just sold their No.9, Beesley to Bradford, so they are definitely looking to add to their forward line. I wouldn’t sell him to a team that we are probably going to be battling with next season in terms of staying above that dotted line though. I rate him and hope he stays to be honest but some fans seem something might be off behind the scenes. He’s still young enough that he’ll get better and I believe he can push Jatta for that starting striker spot. 14 goals, considering his time second half the season was more limited, is a very good return.

Now this is just based on my gut feeling but I’m expecting Lewis to stay. I think it's harder to sign for a club when you can't likely play for 5/6 months and miss pre-season which is a big part of getting new players onboard with style of play and what's required of you in your position. I'm sure Rod will have a couple of options, I’m actually 50/50 over whether he re-signs. I think this all comes down to who offers the best deal and location dependent too. As for my starting 11, right now I think Gibbons, Sanders and Roberts can all make a case to be starting, but I’d suspect by August the squad will look quite different and a guaranteed starting spot might not be so easy to claim. There seems to be some discussion over whether Gibbons will be part of the back 3 or play at RWB, looking at Transfermarkt last season he started at RB but moved to CB (as part of a 3) so I’d suggest he’ll take over from Macari for now. I like all our 3 current midfielders; you could make a case for all of them to start. And as we a currently only have Grant who covers the attacking midfield role, Roberts is the only other option here. I suspect we’ll have more interest for Jatta this summer too, but right now he’s my preferred starting striker. We do need some more additions to the squad, a right-footed wingback would be lovely as would some talented attacking midfielders. Belshaw needs some genuine competition and I think Bedeau does too, he’s had the LCB spot sewn-up for ages now!

I can imagine how unimpressed all Man United ex-pros would’ve been watching the final with Salford just playing direct balls into the channels hoping for the best, that style is alien to them. And it didn’t help their opposition (Martin Paterson’s black and white army) actually played patterns and worked the ball into good areas. It does feel knee-jerk though because they were only a point short of going up automatically. Problem is they are so desperate to go up they’ve lost that ability to build and be patient. They’ve spent and wasted a lot of money at Salford, I'm quite glad in a way that they haven't been able to just pay their way up the leagues.

Solid signing for them, I hope it works out for him and he has a successful season. It was a short-spell but he'll always be remembered fondly and we can actually now laugh about that boot throw, I was raging at the time, it's still the most ridiculous reason I think I've seen for picking up a second yellow card!

I think it's quite an obvious link to make, even if their is nothing it in. Paterson is a manager who has just achieved a promotion so it's an easy name to add to a long list because chances are, clubs in League 1 would probably be interested. I'm not too worried though, he's clearly planning for the future at Notts by having already spoken to players we've just signed and I think he's very happy here. I understand that we are run slightly differently than the norm because you have to relinquish a bit of control when it comes to recruitment and take onboard some statistical analysis. But it seems being at Notts basically gives you the best foundations to succeed, it’s not a coincidence Chris and Alex have only had to sack 1 head coach in 7 seasons (technically 2 but Neal Ardley wasn’t hired by them!)

I did wonder how long it will be before we get the Reedtz Brother derby aka Notts v Viborg. Maybe a chance for Patterson and the coaching team to see who they want from Viborg next! 😉 Viborg are better than Randers, they finished 5th after their league split and were just a point short of getting a Europa Conference League Qualifier. Randers finished 10th overall and were nearly relegated. I'd think both are better than us, I'd suggest it'll be like playing a mid-table Championship side and then a weaker one. It's only two matches and we'll have other pre-season matches at ML or elsewhere in the UK that are likely to be announced soon, hopefully we'll get good one at home. Oh and please can make sure we’ve tripled checked Jatta’s visa this time! I can’t do another pre-season of him being allegedly unhappy because he’s missed the trips abroad!

I’m really happy with the addition of Sanders, I think we’ve got 3 really good options in midfield and with one more likely there should be real competition in this area now. I think the main criticism of him when he first played in League 1 was that games could bypass him but going to a more physical side like Crewe has certainly helped develop this area of his game. I do think we have finally found someone to push Matt Palmer, it’s felt like for years we’ve tried to find a similar player we’ve had Ed Francis, Curtis Edwards and Jack Hinchy but none of them quite had that desired impact. Max is very comfortable on the ball, gets forward well and has the ability to play accurate longer passes too. Just on Matt Palmer, I thought he was really good first half of the season, he looked a different player. He was pressing really well, sharp in his tackling and was able to win turn-overs numerous times. Then he got injured and it hampered his second half of the season. I still think a fit and firing Matt Palmer has a lot to offer.

Max Saunders is a player I really like, he's also out of contract at Crewe, super tidy in possession type player. Tom O’Reilly, was also on loan at Crewe from Villa last season, reminded me of Crowley but with a touch more aggression when he played against us at Meadow Lane. Odin Bailey been released by Stockport, to the surprise of many of their fans, he'd be quite the upgrade on Norburn...

I hope he can have a big impact for us next season, there's no doubting his talent we've all witnessed it first hand just got hope he can make the step up to League 1. I think signing him early is a good thing though, he'll have lots of time to prepare properly for the season ahead. I can remember a comment from Lee Ndlovu where he mentioned how the training was a lot more physically draining for him since he joined us. We clearly have an intensity and fitness that is a lot higher than your average National League sides. I think a good pre-season will give him the best chance of succeeding here again.

From what I've read from Cambridge fans he's a very solid defender, hard working and never shirks a challenge. Was Cambridge's highest rated player on Fotmob & Sofascore so he should be a really decent addition to our defence. Clearly had a great season last season, hope he can push on with us now and that he can make me change my mind about the effectiveness of long-throws!

I think VAR has a place in football, and I wasn't against it being used in the final to be honest. The idea of not getting promoted because of a missed/wrong call would've been hard to accept. I agree I do think the VAR would've made certain players think twice about grabbing and pulling, it's easier to hide when it's just the 3 (and 4th) officials. But having camera's covering all angles means you are less likely to get away with the s'housery element that is over prevalent in League 2. I agree it was definitely more of an aid to us than Salford. That said, would I want to see it for every match played? If it was seemingly used (sparingly) like it was in the PO Final I'd be more swayed to it. But the current Premier League use would be a big no. The way every goal or action is now checked to the nth degree, it’s like they are trying to find faults when in theory if there’s a clear mistake it will be easy to spot! If you have to draw a line to see if someone is offside, it’s not clear and obvious. If you have to watch a potential penalty for minutes with several different angles, it’s not clear and obvious. Let the officials officiate, if the VAR spots something they think is an obvious mistake only then should it get involved. This was how it felt VAR was used in our final and it worked well.

Sad that we have to say goodbye so soon after our Play-Off victory 🙁 But the players going can be proud of the part they've played getting us into League 1, they'll all be fondly remembered. Even after the Play-Offs I was still 50/50 on Norburn, had we not been promoted I would've kept him but we are stepping up a league and it would've left just the 1 spot for a CM addition. Whereas now we've got 2 spots in a really important part of the pitch. It does put a bit of pressure on the recruitment, but there are a lot of good midfielders out there. I think given the injury, we are in strong position to re-sign Macari, I'm sure he'd have interest but having to wait for him will be off-putting. No idea on Rod, I think that could come down the length of the contract, some clubs in League 2 would probably be more willing to give him an extra year than us. Kouhyar is the only surprise for me, he's ok filling in at wingback, but the fact we've played a left-footer in Tsaroulla on the right ahead of him is not a good sign. I think League 1 will be stretch too far for him.

I think so, ignore my "I can't see it happening comment" my track record with signing predictions is shocking 😅 On the Magpie Circle Paul practically confirmed it, he'll look daft if it doesn't happen now. I can only see Cal playing as No.10 for us, unless we are changing formation slightly? We are in new league now, who knows? I'm just not sure if we are going to totally be playing to his strengths. We tried to play JJ as No.10 early this season and it never clicked. This is my fear with Cal. I hope he proves me wrong though.