Elite_pie

If you had to describe why I don't think we are likely to go up in just three words, "a soft underbelly" would be hard to beat! We have a lot of positives, but for some reason we can't translate those positives into points. Something is missing, if we could recruit a box to box midfielder in a lower league mould of Neal Bishop or Ryan Yates it could make all the difference. We seem to have an abundance of midfielders who at this level are comfortable on the ball and technically gifted, but we seem to lack someone who maybe doesn't have the fancy touches but will crunch into tackles that stop the opposition playing. I think it's a vital role, but one that our recruitment policy doesn't seem to recognise.

Apart from giving Wootton and Roberts a 6, I'd agree with those marks. I know the centre midfield combination was forced on us, but they offered very little protection to the defence and Solihull found it easy to get into the final third. The overruled penalty was a ridiculous decision by the ref. It happened right in front of us, and Jaros got to the ball first with a strong hand then their player tripped over his arm. I really don't know what the ref thought he saw, but the lino was right next to it and thankfully corrected him. A good game and probably the right result in the end. I think we'll sneak into the playoffs, but I have no confidence in us winning them.

That's a good summary. Based on the clear cut chances we created in the first half it's a game we should have won, but once we had given them a goal we were truly awful and a bit fortunate that their marking was lacking in stoppage time. We look good when we are on it, but hard working, well organised, but limited teams like Yeovil cause us more problems than they should. I think we'll make the playoffs, but winning them looks a bit of a dream at the moment.

A straightforward win against very limited opposition. We should have scored more, but taking the three points is the main thing. We now need more of the same against Halifax on Tuesday.

Jaros 6.5 - encouraging debut, great save from the ludicrous penalty and let down by his defenders for the goals. Brindley 6 - some good blocks and tried to get forward. Lacey 5.5 - started well, struggled a bit when they got into gear. Cameron 6 - not everything went his way, but can't fault his effort. Richardson 5 - posed problems early, but was anonymous for much of the game. Palmer 5.5 - probably his least effective game in a Notts shirt, well below his usual standard. Brunt 5 - the odd good pass, but had less impact as the game progressed. Roberts 8* - quality goal, and our main attacking threat throughout. Taylor 6 - got involved, but struggled to find the final ball. Rodrigues 5 - the odd moment of class, but yet again mostly ineffective. Wootton 5 - didn't get a lot in terms of service, but offered minimal threat. Vincent 5 - didn't offer much when he came on. Sam 6.5 - more good moments than bad, better then most. A very disappointing defeat after looking good for the first 30 minutes. After that, we were simply outthought and outfought. We had a midfield who were decent when they had the ball, but were very poor when they didn't. This game highlighted all of our weaknesses, and we need to accept that pretty football sometimes doesn't work at this level if we are to keep our season alive. We don't need hoofball, but we need to mix it more. The ref was awful, but he wasn't the reason we lost. The penalty he awarded was one of the most ridiculous decisions I've seen for a very long time, and once he decided that Lacey had committed a foul for the free kick that led to their winner it surely had to be a red card rather than a yellow.

Slocombe 6 - only routine saves to make, but did ok. Rawlinson 6 - was sound defensively, but doesn't offer the forward threat of Brindley on the right of a back three. Cameron 6.5 - decent performance moved back into the middle. Chicksen 5.5 - not as good as he usually is in what I consider to be his best position. Nemane 5.5 - battled well but struggled to beat his man and create anything. Francis 6 - a few decent passes but nothing decisive. Vincent 6 - worked hard but his ambitious passes mostly missed the target. Roberts 6 - a few good moments but never posed a real threat. Parsons 6 - willing to have a run at their defence, but lacked the final ball. Mitchell 5 - struggled to get involved, disappointing overall. Sam 7* - showed both sides of his game, but mostly the better side today. His first goal was easy, his second was a good bit of finishing. Hopefully he can still have a part to play in the more important games. Rodrigues 6 - a few good passes, a few poor ones. Taylor 5.5 - good to see him back, but no real impact. Richardson 6 - got into some good positions, but didn't make the most of them. Happy with the win, but I think today showed how important Matty Palmer and Kyle Wootton are to the team.

Unusually high marks from you! I would have gone a bit lower in general, but a potentially big 3 points. Great game, great crowd, great atmosphere, and full credit to both sets of fans. It just deserved to be played at a higher level than this.

Slocombe 6 - dribbling in his six yard box isn't his thing, but he did what he had to do efficiently. Brindley 6 - not one of his better games, but he played ok. Lacey 7 - solid and dependable. Cameron 7 - love the way he leads by example, but a couple of dodgy moments late on. Richardson 6.5 - improved as the game went on, looks like he could be a good loanee. Palmer 7 - a bit off the pace first half, showed his qualities in the second. Vincent 8* - energetic all over the pitch, was at the heart of many of our good bits. Roberts 6.5 - still not quite there and maybe not in his ideal position, still caused them problems. Taylor 6 - struggled to get forward as much as he usually does. Rodrigues 6 - another in and out game, the silly booking was disappointing. Wootton 8 - missed a good chance very early, but more than made up for it later. Crucial to our promotion chances. Parsons 7 - added an attacking threat on the left, hopefully he'll get his chances to show what he can do. O'Brien 6 - came on when the game was won, but played his part. Francis n/a

I don't think that's true, it's so tight at the top end that even a slight dip in the form we've shown so far could see us miss out on the playoffs. The 'games in hand' bit makes the table a bit inaccurate, so I did a table based on points per game: 1. Chesterfield 2.12 PPG (GD+20) 2. Boreham Wood 2.06 (+13) 3. Halifax 1.94 (+12) 4. Bromley 1.89 (+12) 5. Grimsby 1.78 (+11) 6. Notts 1.78 (+8) 7. Solihull 1.78 (+4) 8. Stockport 1.76 (+8) 9. Wrexham 1.74 (+14) 10 Yeovil 1.65 (+4) The difference between 5th and 9th place is tiny, so we need to maintain our current form as a minimum. There's still a long way to go, and we still have to play a lot of the lower teams, so our fate is still in our own hands. Any team that can put a long unbeaten run together from now will have a good chance of the automatic spot.

Probably an age thing because I don't do emoticons, but does your smiley face mean that you find my post laughable? If so, I would be interested to know why.

Does saying "end of" mean nobody else can comment? Of course his performance can be defended, and to prove it here are a few match ratings from elsewhere: Chicksen 7 - Flipped a switch 10 mins into 2nd half and had a fantastic 15mins. More of that, please. Chicksen - 8* - Thought he was excellent. Another assist too Chicksen - 8* - Was troubled a couple of times by Rochdale's high press early on but recovered and delivered a sublime cross that led to the equaliser. Was brilliant in the second half. Two of them made him their man of the match, I would have rated him a solid 7 and thought he had a decent game.

Adam Chicksen wasn't played as a centre back, he was played on the left side of a back 3 which is his best position and in my opinion he did a pretty good job.

Good question. I often look at their forum and after they won their first two games they were convinced Clough was the man. The following 12 games have produced 5 draws and 7 defeats, and many now want Clough out. Stags fans 'worst case scenario', where their main rivals Chesterfield and us go up and they go down is looking a slight but increasing possibility. Even though they are a division above, I'm sure us and the Spireites are enjoying the season more than they are!

Patterson 7 - a couple of good saves, distribution superb first half but went a bit awry in the second. Brindley 7 - some good forward runs out of defence. Rawlinson 7 - a good, solid performance. Cameron 8 - won most of his challenges, really good goal, led by example. DKE 6 - usual commitment, but let down by his crossing. JOB 7 - always involved, covered a lot of ground. Palmer 9* - Sheer quality. Always available for a pass and barely wasted a ball. Too good for this level. Vincent 6 - seemed to be trying a bit too hard, not many things worked. Taylor 7 - did well defensively and going forward, caused them a few problems. Rodrigues 6 - no real impact, a few decent runs but struggled to work a shooting position. Wootton 7 - held the ball up well, got others involved. Roberts 6.5 - took a while to get going, unlucky not to score. Mitchell 5 - had a good chance to win it, but badly scuffed his shot and it ended up more of a pass back to their keeper. The ref 4 - he seemed so determined not to be influenced by the crowd that the 50/50 decisions went 90/10 in their favour. It had to be a really blatant foul for him to give us a free kick.

Patterson 7 - not a lot to do in the way of saves, but confident with his handling and distribution. Deserved a clean sheet. Brindley 7 - looks good on the right side of a back three, defended well and helped to build a few attacks. Rawlinson 7.5 - looked rock solid all afternoon until his brainfart at the end. Cameron 8.5 - looked more like the player I hoped we'd signed, commanding performance at the back. Kelly-Evans 8.5* - his best game for a while, did everything you expect from a wing back all over the pitch. Palmer - 8.5 - always available, barely wasted a pass, looks a class above this level. O'Brien 7 - as usual not everything worked, but always in the action. Vincent 8 - gave us something extra, lots of energy and movement, composed finish for his goal. Taylor 7 - solid defensively and a threat going forward. Rodrigues 7.5 - seemed to be singled out as the danger man, linked play well and worked some good positions. Wootton 7 - missed two pretty good chances, but kept going and deserved his goal. Roberts 6.5 - got involved, helped us keep hold of the ball in their half. I have to mention his woeful effort when he had possession in the centre circle and their keeper had gone up for the corner. A real chance, but it went nearer the corner flag than the goal. He probably needs a bit of extra training with Michael Doyle on scoring 50-yarders! Mitchell - n/a. A really enjoyable game and an excellent atmosphere, where the tempo was quicker and we played some really good stuff. There wasn't a weak link in the team and every player did their job. This showed what we are capable of, we just need to do it more often.