CliftonMagpie

If you can meet me near the burger van in the KOP, I will make the donation in person, gaffer. I wish you all the best with this, as the improvements and updates have been spot on. You are enhancing a brilliant community, which now seems to be getting the recognition it deserves. I wish I could help more, but I will make time to contribute to the site and do my part.

Well done to Rod McDonald. He has been excellent since coming into the team. At first, he looked like he might only be a rotation or backup option, especially after Lucas Ness arrived, but he has shown he is good enough to be a first-team regular. This is exactly what we want from players. He has earned his back-to-back Man of the Match awards from PON.

Eight games in, I think we are starting to see what Martin Paterson is about. A couple more wins would help back up his comments about judging him fairly. As a coach, I think he is fine and improvements will come with time. I am not sure we are seeing clear signs of everyone working together yet. Performances have been a bit mixed, but there are signs of progress. His calls for reinforcements, alongside the return of injured players, feel like they could be an excuse in the making. This squad should be strong enough to climb the table, so some of the slow start is on Paterson, some on the club, and a lot on the players’ desire to win. I see good qualities in Paterson and I want it to work. I like how vocal he is on the touchline, and this should improve as the players buy into his vision. The players need to work harder. At times it feels like they do not know how to break a team down, and the midfield has a big role in helping us play forward. I said with Stuart Maynard that a full season was the best way to judge him, and I felt he did achieve some improvement before his sacking after the AFC Wimbledon game. I believe Paterson could do well with a full season, but right now the players seem to be struggling to adapt to a different way of thinking. Paterson talks about culture and the changes he is bringing in, but I am sure many players feel much of it was already here.

Rumours do unsettle things, and I think there should be a level of openness between the club and supporters. This helps keep the trust of the level-headed fans who do not look for misery or thrive on it. The club can handle situations well, and they deserve credit for how they dealt with Alassana Jatta. At the same time, I question why it happened in the first place and why it could not have been resolved before it became a bigger issue. I do not believe Jatta was injured. I think his agent has been in his ear, and it is a tricky situation. We can still be honest with players about how important they are to the club.

There have been a lot of interesting comments so far, I am really hoping Notts can maintain their winning ways because there's no harm drawing to the league leaders. Protecting a point, and coming back with at least one at least sees us gain something. Obviously, I am hoping we can prove ourselves and show a good, strong performance, but from all the things I have read about Gillingham is that they are a dangerous team to play at home and thrive on causing mistakes. I personally would always hope to play Jodi if he's 100%, he's a class player and can create assists or chip in with vital goals. Plus, he's one of those players who shines when we lead, and if we need to show some mettle to get back into games, he can be a real force going forward. Martin Paterson sounded almost unphased in his interview, but spoke of training and some of the preparation that the team has done ahead of today's game.

Stoke City 2-2 Birmingham City Wrexham 1-2 QPR AFC Wimbledon 0-2 Rotherham United Leyton Orient 1-2 Bolton Wanderers Bristol Rovers 3-1 Barrow Fleetwood Town 0-0 Walsall Hartlepool United 1-0 Brackley Town Wealdstone 2-0 Gateshead Joker

Yes, I agree with you. My point is more about spending a large amount on one player when there are other parts of the team that could use that money more wisely. Izale McLeod, to be fair, wasn’t as much of a flop as people said at the time. The problem was that we didn’t play to his strengths. Notts seemed to expect the striker to chase after the ball, rather than pass it to his feet or close enough for a quick burst. Even so, the fees in both cases do seem like they could have been used better. It’s about making smart choices that help the whole squad, not just one position.

I can imagine it’s much easier to arrange friendlies abroad than it is to get strong teams from the Premier League or Championship. Those teams would offer a more competitive style, but I don’t mind the idea of playing in Germany. I do think the squad should have been mostly sorted by then. It would have helped with team bonding and getting players used to each other before facing tough opposition. The four weeks with hardly any updates, before Martin Paterson was named head coach, made it clear how unprepared we were for pre-season. It felt like things were left too late and that showed in how the team started.

I was surprised he stayed when Luke Williams was sacked. Swansea City might not have wanted to admit things weren’t going as they hoped, but I don’t really see him coming back to us. I would welcome him back, but I think Williams needs more experience before being considered as head coach again. It’s important to grow and learn before stepping into that role a second time. Both of them will have learned something from moving up too quickly. You need to understand what it takes to succeed at that level, especially in the Championship. That kind of experience only comes with time and reflection.

It reminds me of when Stuart Maynard was sacked and all the talk started about Luke Williams coming back. I didn’t want that at the time. Maybe one day it would be nice to see Williams return, once he has more experience, but both he and Richard Montague left us in a tough spot. I think Montague could come back and pick up where he left off. He knew the club well and worked within the model. Still, I do remember feeling like I had a few things I wanted to challenge him on. The grass isn’t always greener, but he did seem to fit. If Montague doesn’t return, I hope the club brings in someone with strong links to other clubs and knows how to open those doors. That kind of network is vital. I don’t think Roberto Gagliardi did well in that area. He probably spoke well about his contacts, but the loan market suggests those connections didn’t really help us.

Notts seem to like having groups of people involved in talks about tactics, how the club runs and the results. So I suggest the club hires @Chris, @Piethagoram, @ARLukomski and KC from Twitter. With those four, I reckon recruitment would be smart and successful. On a serious note, how hard would it be to have someone who checks all the player shortlists, sees who is a free agent, and talks through the best options for Notts. They could work out which players fit the budget and would make the squad stronger. I don’t want a manager who just brings in his mates, or the owner picking players he thinks are great. That kind of thinking doesn’t help. I also don’t want to see the club take big risks like the £300,000 we spent on Izale McLeod. It feels like we’re seeing the same thing again with Mai Traore.

This has come up a few times, and I think the club could be clearer with its communication. From what I can tell, there are only three people in the media team. I’m not sure what the person filming goals in portrait mode does exactly. One seems to focus on video content, and Nick appears to be responsible for all the written work. It might help if they added another writer to the team. That way, the site could offer more updates and be more informative for fans. Maybe the issue is planning. The old media team under Jamie Dixon felt much more focused on the fans and what they wanted to see.

I picked up a copy of Left Lion at the Fleetwood game and it felt like the paper version is going downhill fast. I know it's free, but it used to shine a light on everything going on in the city. The Notts content was stronger when the previous writer was involved. It felt easier to connect with and had more of a local voice. Now it seems a bit distant and not quite as engaging.

It can hit you like a fast train, and once it takes hold, it’s hard to see a way out. Depression is something we should all look out for in our friends and loved ones. If you’re struggling, don’t keep it to yourself. Speak up when you feel able, before the weight becomes too much to carry. I have some very good friends, but it’s tough when you can’t get out and don’t see familiar faces often. It adds to the pain, especially when you’re dealing with loss after loss. That kind of heartbreak builds up and makes everything feel heavier. I won’t speak too openly about my own experience. I’ve seen people I respect get attacked for talking about their mental health. I don’t need that. I don’t want to deal with people who show no support and no sympathy, only judgement. They act like it’s all for attention, and that narrow view makes it even harder for those who are struggling.

I hope Martin Paterson is ready and that he and the squad are not distracted by anything off the pitch. The focus needs to be fully on Gillingham. They are a strong team and have come a long way since last season. It’s good to be talking about football again instead of everything else going on. I think the team should stay mostly the same. The only change I’d make is bringing Jodi Jones back into the squad. There’s no other reason to switch things around. Gillingham play with pace and seem sharp on the counter attack. We need to block every ball and be smart with our tackles. If we keep moving and make sure we get goal side, we can give them a real headache.

Great blog as always. I hope you didn’t hold back a little because of the comments you mentioned in the content update thread. You’ve got a good way of explaining what’s going on, and the touch of humour helps make it feel less heavy. I think the club needs to take a proper look at the goal of promotion. It’s time to review what’s happened so far and decide the best way forward. Things haven’t gone exactly to plan, and now’s the moment to reset and refocus. Recruitment needs to be balanced. It’s a bit disappointing to see Curtis Edwards let go, only for Maziar Kouhyar to come in as what looks like a direct replacement. I’m not even sure if Kouhyar has played in the league yet. He did look lively in pre-season, but that was before all the loan players started arriving. It makes you wonder how the plan changed and whether the timing of signings was really thought through.

Jacob Bedeau looks to be getting back to his best, he's been a bit inconsistent and at times poor, especially on the ball and going forward. Defensively, he always tends to be solid, and the way he tracked the Fleetwood player for their one-on-one with Kelle Roos did put pressure on the player when it came to finishing. We need Bedeau to be at his best, because he's a great player at this level, and I am sure he will continue to improve.

Most managers repeat themselves, but I don’t understand why Martin Paterson always says things like “if I’m honest”, “being honest”, or “I’m an honest person”. At first it didn’t bother me, and I even stuck up for him, but now it’s starting to wear thin. After a good win, hearing him focus on the negatives feels disappointing. It takes away from the moment and makes it harder to enjoy the progress we’re making. It’s frustrating to hear him trying to please the wrong crowd. The football should be doing the talking, and it’s starting to show signs of improvement. I do believe we’re heading in the right direction, as long as the hard work continues. Let the results speak for themselves, and the rest will follow.

I thought Martin Paterson was a bit harsh saying we’ve played better than we did against Fleetwood. For me, that was our best home performance so far. We created chances, defended well, and looked solid for the full 90. Fleetwood came organised and tried to frustrate us, but we dealt with it and showed more spirit than earlier in the season. The clean sheet was deserved, and Paterson’s changes made a difference. It didn’t feel like an ugly win, more a sign the squad is settling and improving. That’s progress, so I’m not sure why it sounded like he was downplaying it to please the fans.

Martin Paterson said he thinks we've played better football than we did against Fleetwood Town. I thought that was a bit unfair. It sounded like something said to calm fans who are unhappy with how the season has started. Ironically, those same fans might be the ones putting pressure on Paterson in his role as head coach. I don’t think we’ve had a better home performance than the one against Fleetwood. We created chances, and while we could’ve been more inventive, it felt like a solid 90 minutes overall. It wasn’t just a short spell of good play. We had two strong periods where Notts attacked and defended well. Fleetwood were well organised and knew how to frustrate a team like ours that prefers to play the ball on the ground. Considering how the season began, I thought we defended much better and showed enough attacking intent to deserve more than a 1–0 scoreline. Even though I’ve praised Fleetwood, I do think they were poor in some areas. Their finishing was lacking, maybe because of how well we defended. The chances they did get didn’t really trouble us. I haven’t seen the away games, but I’ve been at every home match. I haven’t seen us play with such confidence that we looked certain to win. That doesn’t mean we don’t need to improve, but it shows how far we’ve come since the shaky start. In earlier games, we let teams push us around and use tricks to gain an edge. Our fitness looked off, the passing was sloppy, and the midfield felt empty. Against Fleetwood, we improved in all those areas. I wouldn’t call it an ugly win. I’d say it was full of spirit and determination. The squad looks like it’s starting to settle, and Paterson seems to be managing the players well, making smart changes during the game. So why does it sound like he’s trying to please the fans?

Alassana Jatta could’ve gone for goal himself, but choosing to pass to Matthew Dennis showed real team spirit. It was a selfless move that speaks volumes about his attitude and how much he cares about the club and his team-mates. Tom Iorpenda had a strong game going forward. He found space well and helped drive the attack. The team put in a solid shift overall, even though the scoreline was tight. Both sides had chances, and while it wasn’t the most polished match, Notts handled it well and got the job done. It’s frustrating how some fans only seem to focus on the negatives. There’s no balance in their views, just fault-finding and moaning. The players deserve credit for their effort and the way they managed the game.

I don’t think Roos gets much backing from the fans, which is a shame. I agree with your view, he did have a better game than people give him credit for. The two moments where he dropped the ball didn’t help, and they’ve given some fans a reason to focus on the negatives. Without those slips, I think the reaction would’ve been a lot fairer. He might not fill everyone with confidence, but he made some key saves and looked more assured overall. There were signs of improvement, and that’s worth recognising.

Tom Iorpenda had a really strong game. If he’d managed to get on the scoresheet, I think more people would be saying he ran the show. He was involved in a lot of the play and looked confident throughout. The only thing I’d pick out is how long he sometimes keeps hold of the ball. He tries to beat too many players at times, which can slow things down. That said, his skill is great to watch and when it works, he opens up space and sets up good chances for others. He’s clearly got talent and a creative spark. With a bit more decision-making, he could become a key player in the middle.

Bolton Wanderers 2-1 AFC Wimbledon Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Bradford City Cambridge United 2-1 Oldham Athletic Salford City 2-0 Tranmere Rovers Walsall 1-0 Chesterfield Joker Forest Green Rovers 2-1 Hartlepool United Tamworth 2-0 Eastleigh Yeovil Town 1-1 York City

Go for it, @Ash . The one I use was made by the gaffer. I asked @Chris to make mine, and I think other Pride of Nottingham members might want one too. Don’t worry if not many people reply straight away. Just make a few and show them off. Once people see how they can be changed and made personal, some might ask for their own.