menzinho

I thought Mansfield really did a job on us. Yes we started well and scored but after that we couldn’t get the ball into midfield or our wingbacks so the defence passed it around a bit, got pressed and then passed it back to Slocombe to kick long. We then didn’t pick up enough second balls and just looked a bit passive/all over the place. It was worrying how thread bare the squad was. Scott and Bajrami would’ve been good options for us that game it’s a real shame they are missing. And then to have Cameron, Chicksen, Randall (did we accidently forget to register him to play) and Jones all out. That meant the bench was weak, Morias was our only attacking option but the fact only O’Brien and Adebayo got on says a lot. Might as well send Macari and Tipton back as it feels like they’re just here to make up numbers at the mo. That result and peformance was very unexpected. Don’t get me wrong the overall picture is still very good, but the goals against is becoming a tad worrying now.

When you look at that starting 11, we’ve basically got 3 defenders and 1 defensive midfielder. Both Jones and Nemane are effectively wingers that have been converted into wingbacks. Crowley and Austin are attacking midfielders and McGoldrick and Macca are both forwards. That leaves 4 players, Palmer, Cameron, Baldwin and Brindley who are naturally defensively minded. I know people criticise the defence, and yes they could’ve defended individual moments better, but to see comments about needing “new defenders” is unfair in my opinion. We started with an incredibly attack minded team, which gave them little protection. I agree with @NottsLoyal about the importance of Bostock, in my opinion right now the midfield is heavily reliant on Palmer and Bostock playing together, they give the defence more cover. Not having Bajrami is a huge miss, he’s our only other defensive midfielder. Tipton is potentially an option here and I think we’ll have to use him as there’s no way we can go a whole season and expect Palmer and Bostock to play every second. We’re still top of the league and think todays game and results in general show there isn’t much difference in quality between all the teams, a whole host of teams will think they can get promoted this season.

He's had a great managerial career but I think he should give it up now, definitely agree with others that say he should enjoy his retirement. I always find it odd when people say they don't look forward to retiring, I think it suggests you don't have much of a life outside your work which can be pretty tragic. There's no reason he can't still be involved in football, I'm sure there'd be tons of grassroots projects nearby where he lives that would love to have him on board. A little bit of weekend coaching for a local youth team even, imagine him coaching 8 year olds, someone would have to film it! ????

Entertaining, but nervy at the end there! First half was us in control, a little bit of off passing but generally pretty solid stuff. Second half we just never got going, well not until they scored 2, stood off them and they got into the final third too easily. That said they didn’t really create much, just relied on our inability to defend a corner. We played into Deeney’s hands, he wasn’t very mobile in the flow of the game. He wanted to stand in the 6-yard box and do his work there and we let him. 2nd goal was particularly awful the ball seemed to bounce into the net in slow-motion, really thought Stone should’ve dealt with it much better. We’re just blessed with superior attacking play at the moment, Jones and Crowley both great again. We scored 4 really good goals, yes their keeper fumbled the 3rd straight to Bostock but the build up to get to that moment was on point. 4th goal was the best for me, quick break, great ball from Jones and you just knew it was going in the moment McGoldrick got that first touch right. I’ll take an exciting 4-3 win over a dull 1-0 win, I’m not complaining but there was too much sloppiness from us in that game (yeah I know that's a complaint!). And a little bit of set-piece work to be done before next weekend I think…

Only positive about Salford’s attempt to get some City and United fans down there (they probably won’t rush back after that) by changing it to Friday was being able to stream it. Thought 2-0 flattered them, they couldn’t complain if they’d lost that 4-0. Macca could and should be on double his goal tally already this season, but the fact he’s in those positions all the time means he’ll score a good amount this season. Press was excellent, probably aided by it not being 30°C, we never gave them time on the ball to build out from the back. Crowley was probably my man of the match, absolute quality touch and finish for his goal. I was also very impressed with Austin in the wing-back role (can we even call them wing-backs anymore, wide-midfielders now as they are so high up the pitch!) looked like a natural and he’s an excellent crosser. And I agree with @JohnTheBost about Stone, although he didn't have to make that many saves his ability to play out from the back is a step up from Slocombe, I've been pleasantly surprised by him as when he signed I was a bit unsure about his ability.

The first half was a bit of a case of both teams not wanting to over-commit, I thought we looked comfortable without creating much. Macca has the one huge chance to put us one up, did Nemane need to cross it as hard as he did or 9 times out of 10 does Macca score that? Not the start we wanted to the second half, we lost the ball with Nemane high up the pitch but someone usually fills in when the wing-backs bomb on. For me Rawlinson has to go and close the ball carrier down, tell Brinds to mark his man, then Cameron marks the spare man (Leko). Easy to fix in hindsight but surely the immediate danger was the man on the ball charging at the goal!? I can only assume he thinks Nemane's going to get back, even though he’s 10 yards behind him... Hey-ho, it spurred us on anyway and we more than deserved a point, great strike from Cameron, that heavy first touch actually benefitted him there! We probably could’ve gone on and won it. I thought Adebayo-Rowling put in some great crosses just needed more runners to get on the end of them. Can’t argue with another point away against a team who were in League 1 last season.

I notice on an MK Forum they’re already doubting Alexander’s appointment; We went 1-0 up and it all looked good, and I have to confess I was confident we would go onto win, but we just stopped playing and Crewe grew ever more confident. Gone was the confident passing and the high press and in came a lost shape and no apparent game plan and panic-stricken players just booting it long to nobody, but we shouldn’t be shocked we’ve seen it several times this season already, and according to Salford and Motherwell fans this is so the Alexander way. You genuinely wouldn’t think they’re second in the league, most of their fans think they’re lucky to be there. They seem to think they start fast and play well for the first 30 minutes. So if we survive that we could well be on our way to anther 3 points. If one of or even all three of Mo Eisa, Jonathan Leko and Matthew Dennis are out that will undoubtedly help us. One thing I think impacts us though is the weather, could be positive, could be a negative. Are we going to be able to press effectively when it’s nearly 30°c? Will it be off the pace and therefore end up leaving big gaps to play through. Or will we be able to just keep the ball, tire them out and cause them to leave gaps? I notice we’ve got Chris Kavanagh as the ref, so we’ll see how much better a so-called top official is!

Love it. I've not heard of him before but just from a quick look over his work this morning he's a really talented artist. Painting that panorama style is tricky and mastering proportions in drawing/painting isn't easy. The fact he did that over the course of the game (and probably a bit extra at end to finish off) is supremely impressive.

That really shouldn’t have been so stressful at the end. We could’ve thrown that away in the last 10, they had a couple of really good chances. That said, we could’ve scored another too! I thought we deserved to win the game, we created enough chances to win a couple of games there. Issue was we fluffed so many of them, we could’ve (and should’ve) been a 4-0 up before they scored. No idea how Macca didn’t score, there was that manic couple of minutes after Didzy opened the scoring when he had a hatful of chances. I was impressed with how sharp we looked, a real slickness to our play at times. We controlled the game, until the last 15 minutes really, the mass changes just disrupted us a bit. And then Scott having to limp off gave them a boost. Glad we held on though, maybe just make the 4 subs next week!

When I saw the team sheet my first thought was that’s brave. I thought we'd overloaded it with attackers but it worked, a great win. Langstaff unlucky not to get a hat-trick by all accounts, the first of many for the season I'm sure. Shame we conceded right at the end, not going to stop my celebrations, but I’m sure LW will be annoyed with it! Also I see Morecambe beat Bradford City 3-0, one of the teams expected to challenge for top-spot, so that turned out to be a very good away point. A good week for Notts!

I’ll take an away point, promising things and equally some bits we need to improve upon. Starting with the good, Stone looked very comfortable on the ball and was happy playing outside his own box. Nemane is looking like he’ll be a big threat to teams with his pace in behind as will Jones with his crossing, they were our main threats. A clean sheet is always a good thing, the defence has taken a bit of bashing by some so yesterday should be a real confidence boost. We were dominate on the ball, made 600 passes but only had 9 shots. Morecambe made 130 and had 13 shots. I know shots doesn’t account for dangerous crosses/opportunities and nearly getting a toe on them moments, but both sides had a few of them. It’s great we’ve carried on from last season in terms of style, but the criticism after that game, given the amount of ball we had, was failure to create openings. I agree with others on here that Morecambe could’ve been got at more, we just needed a bit more sharpness and cohesion with the runs and passing. Quicker passing at times too. I think over the course of a long season we’ll create more as teams start to tire the chances will open up, right now everyone is fresh so the patient wait for gaps approach is not as effective.

Luke Williams said he got his team back today and I agree with him. We started ok, dealt with Grimsby’s press better than Sutton’s (first goal aside). I thought we dominated the first half, but at the same time until the latter stages we didn’t create much. Once we scored, we grew in confidence and I thought we'd see another goal, not for Grimsby though! Really frustrating to go in at HT 2-1 down yes it was a good ball over for their second but the awareness and reactions from our defenders has to be a lot better. Pleased that we started the second half really positively and got the goals quite quickly. A great header from Crowley who looked really quality on the ball at times today. And then we saw the game out pretty comfortably. Still think we’re a defender short, given it was makeshift back three right at the end. I was impressed with Brinds in the middle of the three but that game suited him against the smaller attackers like Rose and Eisa. Not sure I’d have felt confident with him against a big ol’ unit striker. Apparently, Fisher was in the stands, just curious or potentially signing? Who knows but I’m not sure we actually need him. I’d rather see a player like Debrah personally. Great to get a home win at the first time of asking, I feel reassured that with these players we can compete at this level.

I'd go with @Ohh Tommy Johnson's team too. I'd back those 12 to beat Grimsby's 11! ???? Grimsby are yet to score so that gives me a bit of hope going into this game. Hopefully we can avoid a hat-trick of red cards.

I get what you’re saying but I’m sure deep down if we won 3-0 and convincingly, you’ll be happy and it’ll help ease some nerves about the season ahead. I actually want to see a reaction, prove Saturday was a one off and go and show everyone what they’re really capable of. I’ll be more annoyed if we lose and concede 4 or 5 again.

Yeah, I wasn’t as confident as some and by no means did I think we’d stroll to victory but at the same time I didn’t think we’d get thumped. No way off dressing that up, it sounded awful. Conceding so early seemed to set the tone and then having Stone sent off effectively killed the game for us, awful back pass that put him a terrible situation by all accounts, but then it’s 75 mins of 10 v 11. At least we scored a goal...

Anyone else think the time since that Wembley win has flown by? Pre-season done and now we’re ready to start all over again, I’m not complaining and really looking forward to it! I’d expect Stone to start in goal given he had the most playing time and was fully fit over pre-season. I’m guessing formation wise we’ll start as we finished in some from of 3-4-2-1. The defence, in terms of the back three, feels like it picks itself at the moment. It isn’t the ideal start the season but given Aden’s minor injury I’d expect to see Brindley, Rawlinson and Cameron. Wingbacks I think will be the tried and tested duo from last season. In midfield O’Brien has got to be in with a shout to start, I think he’s had a solid pre-season but the temptation to get more control with Bostock and Palmer will probably be too great. If Macca’s fit he’s got to start for me, and I’d have McGoldrick and Austin as his support. We’ve got so much quality up top though; could have the likes of Scott, Jones, Randall and Crowley on the bench. Amazing options, proper game changers. Our games against Sutton have always been close, I’d expect Saturday’s game to carry on that trend but I’m hoping the buzz from last season carries over and we get a winning start!

Hopefully the club will have received some feedback after the game about the levels. If not, I'll take my earplugs for the first home game of the season!

How's the new PA system sounding? Plenty of goal announcements! ????????

Yeah stupid changes in my opinion. A penalty heavily favours the taker you can’t expect a keeper just to stand there like a spectator. The recent rule change about staying on your line is fair, but there’s so much ambiguity in “unfairly distract the taker” are they going to provide list of what’s allowed and what isn’t? A big thumbs down from me.

Yeah, very pleased with them all so far but for me there's something magical about seeing McGoldrick back in a Notts shirt. If he's as good as he was for Derby as he is for us he's going to be amazing to watch!

Yeah really strange signing, in terms of being completely unexpected. After a season hampered by injuries, I'd have thought the coming season would have been the one where he'd have a right go at getting into Aberdeen's first team. That's why he moved there in the first place surely! Maybe he hadn't settled there, even so I can't see why he'd drop back to where he started after getting released by Newcastle. It just feels like he's taking a big step back, he was a top National League player, that's the lowest level he should be at.

Luke Williams trying to fit Austin, Scott, McGoldrick, Jones and now Crowley into the same team at the same time... Exciting signing that's for sure. He had a very good season for Birmingham (in the championship) and then got shafted by a new manager who didn’t want him by all accounts. He’s played a lot of first division football in Netherlands too and look how impressive Ruben was and he’d only played second tier! I think we’ve got a good’un here.

It’s an interesting read but I’m not too worried, surely that is just a consequence of how we play? Our game is about being aggressive and dominant. We push all our players up and defend high which means the opposition have space to attack, usually on the counter when they are likely to be 3 on 3 (or even have an advantage if we’ve given the ball away). So when teams get opportunities they’re usually going to be quite good. Provided you are able to restrict the opposition’s time on the ball it works, like we’ve seen this season, how many times have we said the opposition didn’t get a sniff at goal, plenty. It’s also just one part of the story, so Boreham Wood have the best defence, both number wise and statistically but they only scored 52 goals from 46 games. Would you then no argue that their great defence is actually impacting their ability to score goals? I can’t imagine they score very high on the attacking side stats, but I'm sure we’ll be near the top of that one!

I’ve kept and eye on Kyle Wootton this season, I was reading the Stockport forum about him early on in the season and they weren’t very complimentary, so I stopped! Just watched the EFL highlights and saw him pop up with goals instead. He’s just won Player of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year as well as finishing top scorer for them. So a very good season for him, sad that he’s missing the play-offs with an injury but he could be playing in League 1 next season if Stockport beat Carlisle this weekend.

It's tough to predict right now because I've no idea who stays and who potentially comes in. That said, given our recent recruitment I'm sure we'll sign at least 3 or 4 top quality players. I'm looking at the likes of Barrow, Grimsby, Sutton and Stockport who have all finished well after their first season. Play-offs would be an amazing achievement, but I'd take a safe mid-table finish (with maybe a little FA Cup run) for our first season back!