Piethagoram

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6403693/ON-ROAD-Notts-County-stare-abyss.html https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/five-things-learned-cheltenham-towns-2231995 https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/every-word-cheltenham-town-manager-2231697 The Daily Mail has the reality check of staring down the abyss

Shortcomings of a defence that cannot mark and strikers that cannot score, despite the 000's spent, the central midfield area is one which is being overlooked. @ARLukomski twitter posting is so relevant: Along with Milsom, we must have one of the most ineffective midfields in this division. Do I see any real quality, the answer has to be no. Milsom's 1st half v Swindon, showed what was possible but there is no real pace to cover the ground whilst in possession. Hewitt has long been viewed as an asset by some supporters but all his running is defensively, without the ball, offering nothing in an offensive attacking sense January will be crucial to correct this crucial area of the pitch...Thoughts?

Glenn Roeder Jack Dunnett's £ for £ matching supporters donations never happened Colin Foster Outstanding centre half loan signing from West Ham. It's easy to say "class" and he fitted that description Tom Ince Easy to see how he has carved a career in the top 2 divisions Lloyd Sam Great close control established him as a favourite at the San Sirrel. Matt Richie One escapee from the Munto era. Had Notts had signed him, Raymundo could have had a saleable asset to sort out the Munto financial mess he inherited.

When Alan Hardy took over at Notts, and then welcomed questions on either the Official Notts Co twitter or Nottingham Posts questions and answers...I submitted questions on the quality of our recruitment process, citing Brentford and Accrington as the "optimum" to aspire to. Needless to say, on countless opportunities, my questions remained unanswered We are now faced with a bloated squad with key positions short of the quality needed ( goal scoring striker in Akinde mould), Central midfield king pin in Bishop / O'Connor mould,( Harry Pell fitted the bill), a Goalkeeper to compete with Fitzsimons ( Pindroch cannot).. Yes, there will be trimming of the squad, but who are going to take our "surplus"? For an owner that is always quoting the mantra "best in class". our League Position shows the actual class in recruitment. Having said that, the owner has backed the manager with the cash and it has been blown away

"The liquidation of Notts Ladies “would never happen in the men’s game”, claims Wood." see Rushden and Diamonds

an interesting read from The Guardian on his influences https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/sep/07/harry-kewell-frank-rijkaard-notts-county Frank Rikjaard noted as being a main influence I may not have been a fan of Harry's initial appointment but was pleased to have someone to roll up the sleeves and work on the coaching, rather than Nolan's perceived man management at a distance. Mind you, Harry is at odds of my opinion of Brisley today...We cant agree on everything Kewell: ''you have to win ugly in every league, the attitude has to be right and then you earn the right to play''. #Notts 1 reply0 retweets3 likes Reply 1 Retweet Like 3 Direct message BBC Nottingham Sport‏ @BBCRNS 4h4 hours ago More Kewell: ''Brisley gives my back four a little more of a safety net - I thought he did an excellent job''. #Notts 2 replies0 retweets2 likes Reply 2 Retweet Like 2 Direct message Pie Thagoram‏ @Piethagoram More Replying to @BBCRNS sorry @HarryKewell . He looked lost, was too slow and is not comfortable on the ball.

Alessandra brought down, should have been a red but though Crawley's defensive back line was in sync, the speed of the run meant that they could not be deemed as "covering players"...Red all the way

It's fantasy land if Nolan thinks this squad is good enough? What is very apparent from the initial games, we have no height, no muscle, no guts to grind out results yet other teams are light years ahead of us. Relegation is a real possibility unless decent loan signings can be attracted, which may prove difficult in our position https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/kevin-nolan-finds-astounding-not-1425585 I refer back to this link as to where things started going wrong. If he thought Hewitt and Duffy should have been contenders, I am sorry but I think he started losing the plot. Hewitt looked good alongside Yates but since the latter's departure, the same Hewitt is the one that loses possession the most. The tightness of the defence for the first half of the season was down to Hewitt and Yates protecting the Centre backs. Duffy, well this season, seems unaware of danger and lingers rather than challenging for the ball Coaching staff in totality needs to look at themselves. Do the players know what they are supposed to be doing. After Lincoln, my answer has to be no Well, Nolan looks a broken man and I beleive he needs replacing immediately. Gary Bowyer is available. I will leave it at that

https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/notts-county-boss-kevin-nolan-280965 https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/kevin-nolan-backs-notts-county-1214452 so why does Nolan play him there? Yes, injuries to Ox-Ch but it is no coincidence that the change in form coincided with the loss of Yates, so even in midfield, I have to say he is not good enough. I would like to see the stats for pass completion, which must be among the lowest in L2. He helped protect the defence last season, covering for Duffy and Brisley but just giving the ball away heaps more pressure on the team Nolan's faith in Hewitt is misplaced, I am sure that Harry Pell should have been on the summer shopping list. I am too losing faith in Nolan's management, that he cannot see what is needed for L2. Colchester's tall hungry and mobile set the standard and Notts are woefully way off the mark

..or the chickens coming home to roost. The defence last season was so well protected by the likes of Hewitt, Yates and Hawkridge and since the departure of Yates, he was the key player that has not been replaced. Player identification is the key for success. Look at Accrington last season, 23rd in L2 in terms of revenues yet the budget was allocated so precisely and a balanced team won promotion By offering O'Connor allegedly 3 contract offers, we then panicked and signed Vaughan...the wrong type of midfielder when we already had Husin. Neither can tackle and win the second ball, yet players like Harry Pell were available at the right price and Colchester rightly identified him as a Bishop / O'Connor / Yates like midfielder Similarly, Omar Sowunmi contract had expired and his towering performance Friday night, showed that there were better players than offering Duffy a new contract. Calls for Hewitt to return to midfield I hear people voice out loud,. However, he must have one of the worst pass completion rates in L2. If we are serious about promotion, are there better midfielders available ( see Pell above!) Brentford built their success on their own "moneyball" model. Even scouring Europe for "value for money" players that could give you a competitive advantage. Southampton also devoted a lot of resources behind the scenes watching lower European league videos, looking for "gems" at a low price. Fitzsimons, has come under a lot of criticism but he was blameless against Yeovil, and it can be argued his saves, could have prevented a 0-8 loss Well the loan window needs to be used to get that key central midfield bully. It's early days too, but the strikers don't look like "natural goal scorers". You look at some strikers and can recognise a goal scoring instinct and coolness in front of goal. I just don't see that with Dennis and Hemmings at the moment.

Yeovil missed 2 great chances before thy scored. Defence just switched off again, no marking. Overheard some supporters on leaving in that the goalkeeper was not to blame for any of the goals conceded. 200k wasted on a strike force that doesnt look like scoring.

just to correct Natty's otherwise excellent report...Duffy was subbed after 55 mins by Brisley

"When Bolton came in for me, I was off.” all you need to know..... Bolton were fined but no compensation to Notts https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/its-my-1-000th-game-and-im-still-addicted-but-i-was-shafted-over-england-9wnklmczf

Not surprised... It does free up wages to sign an experienced midfield lynchpin

But he let Luther Wildin go?

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newport-county-0-0-notts-14304214 Two points dropped against a one dimensional Newport team. Labadie their Motm apparently, says all you need to know

https://www.port-vale.co.uk/news/2018/january/match-report-notts-county-v-port-vale/

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/sport/match-report-cambridge-united-show-14079076

http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/notts-county-0-0-grimsby-937146

https://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/football/luton-town/preview-luton-town-v-notts-county-1-8282419

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/12/01/oxford-citys-tragic-tale-fraud-suicide-road-notts-county-cup/

It is probably the case that Notts have been the most progressive club in this regard, in recent years... Michael Johnson (Caretaker), Ince, Curle, Kiwomya and Moniz

The linesman, running the line on the side of the Notts supporters, was quite inept, with one horrendous offside decision not given. The "handball" was within his vision too but seemed too afraid to help the referee out, so to speak

http://www.somersetlive.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/francois-zoko-rescues-late-point-812852 If we are looking for a decent centre half, thought Yeovil's Omar Sowunmi would be a great choice to consider