Ohh Tommy Johnson

It doesn't say that he has been released, it says his contract is due to expire which is different.  Morecombe haven't released their retained list yet.  You wouldn't say the same about Wooton and Rodrieguez but they both left us at the end of their contracts. In the lower leagues it is far more likely a player moves at the end of their contract rather than incur a transfer fee, so I don't think you can read anything into that.  Likewise the Winning Mentality; you can't project the collective failure to stay up on the individuals.  That is what our stats based approach is supposed to avoid as it removes external influence as far as possible. 

1 minute ago, Robbie said:

Personally I wouldn't touch a player from a relegated side and I would question his mentality. Noticed Mansfield let him go when they failed to gain promotion.

My verdict.

Notts should pass on this one.

So you would have got rid of JoB then?

I think the plan is to use it for exhibition space, meeting space and for Florist games, so I guess they want it to remain relatively neutral whilst keeping the nod to the Magpies.  I quite like The Gulp though (but it's probably a crap name in reality!!).

@Robbie I think that is basically my point.  They tried to fix the wrong thing, and allowed it to become a free for all against refs (who actually didn't make that many game changing mistakes), and they run the risk of allowing the same thing to happen again.  

I don't think ex-players is the answer as I often see defenders saying 'he got the ball, so it isn't a foul' or 'forwards saying 'he was caught so had every right to go down' when there is the slightest feather of either ball or player. I honestly don't think they know the rules very well and just do and say what they got away with during their careers. 

The powers that be would be much better giving a clear direction of who has what responsibility for what, and having a strict communications protocol like they do in cricket and rugby. I would get rid of the 'Clear and Obvious Mistake' as that is too ambiguous: you either review everything meaningful or nothing. I see the trouble as nobody knows who has the right to intervene and when. Just make it clear. My thoughts would be:

A goal is a goal unless the ref asks for a review - you could have 'I believe this to be a goal, but I am looking at the potential for a foul by attacking 10 on defending 5. Is there any reason not to award the goal?' and 'Was there any foul play in the build up to this goal'.  Likewise, 'I saw Defending 3 handle the ball, is there any reason not to award the penalty', 'I didn't see that clearly Penalty or not'.  Those checks could be made with the ball in play and the ref makes a signal like the advantage to let people know there is a check ongoing and it needs to be made within 30s. For off the ball incidents, the  VAR can call the ref's attention and then it is reviewed next time the ball goes out (again after the indication that there is a review ongoing).  So in the Spurs - Forest punching incident that would be dealt with the next time the ball goes dead, and if the offending side scores, that is disallowed.  You wouldn't eradicate all the mistakes, but what would happen is that whenever there is a doubt in the ref's mind they would call it in for review, which would in itself limit the number of errors resulting in a goal.

You could also use AI to advise on whether something is or isn't an offence which would also remove some of the variability, such as the two offsides above.

It's not an easy issue to resolve, and with owners threatening this that and the other when the decision goes against them, it makes it harder.  

6 minutes ago, Robbie said:

@Ohh Tommy Johnson

Nothing has changed from decisions pre VAR. 

It's all down to interpretation by the match officials on what they see, and how they see it. 

Saw the highlights of Spurs v Forest and a player was clearly punched but it wasn't judged as violent conduct by the match officials, but different officials may have had an alternative judgement and sent the player off 

VAR has not stopped the inconsistences with decisions by match officials.

I agree with you, that we shouldn't see VAR rolled out in the lower leagues.

I don't disagree.  My point was really that VAR was brought in to solve a problem that was created largely by referees being blamed for absolutely every defeat a EPL side suffered. This created the impression that referees were incompetent and technology was needed to resolve the issue.... except technology still needs some interpretation and so all it has shown me, is that the refs got far more right than wrong in the past.  It is too late now, and as the vogue is now to blame VAR; so what next?  Automate refereeing via AI? There would be an infringement every few seconds.. and that is only ever as good as the training the AI gets.   Go down the 'bunker review' system they use in Rugby Union (can you imagine the scenes if a ref blows up a couple of minutes after an event for the ref to brandish a red card?  It would be chaos.  If the current trend of calling for replays for every bad VAR call continues, I can see us eventually ending up in one of those 2 scenarios.

The trouble is, that it was brought in as a response to the constant whining from managers highlighting the one refereeing decision which went against them as the the reason for them losing 5 - 0.  I have no sympathy, it's a case of be careful what you wish for.. mind you I would hate it if it was brought in down the divisions. 

On 04/04/2024 at 10:40, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

Looking at your Line up Ohh Tommy Johnson their isn't even a Full Bench would there be any harm in filling it with Youngsters? Even if they didn't get the Pitch the Experience of being chosen for the First team would be a Massive Boost to their Moral. It would give any Players with a niggle or illness a chance to recover, without having to play with their injury and make that injury worse. 

I realised I had run out of names (although I have forgotten Scott and TAR).  I would have both of them on the bench.  I left Didzy off because he doesn't seem fully fit, same with Bostock).    The Slocombe and Stone was just to highlight that I think our squad is struggling and picking up a lot of fatigue injuries or recovering from long term issues.  In reality I would absolutely put youngsters on the bench and if we are winning handsomely I wouldn't be afraid to give one, maybe 2 a few minutes. I wouldn't throw a youngster in to a lost cause though as I could imagine the atmosphere would be very toxic. My bench (assuming that we don't have Jones (family issues) and Chicksen (achilles) available would be: Slocombe, TAR, Scott, JoB, Sanderson, Gill, Bostock

This will be an interesting one.  For the last couple of seasons we have always struggled against teams that set up to defend and catch us on the break.  Our attack always seems to become predictable and pedestrian and we pass around the back until we make a mistake.  Sorting out a better attacking approach would certainly help the defence in this case! 

@Wheelbarrow repair man When your job is on the line you play safe, so I am sure he will stick to experience wherever he can.  That isn't unusual.  Maybe that would be one advantage of making a statement tat Maynard is staying to next season, it gives him a free hit and an opportunity to experiment without pressure.  I doubt they would do that though as it would hit crowds between now and the end of the season. That said, if we see youngsters coming in then it may be an indication that he ahs been given the assurances he needs.

I get the feeling that he will go for the 11 fittest players and go from there.  There seems to be an illness in the camp, and with all the off field issues with Jones and Morias (not that I think he would figure normally anyway) and partially fit Bostock, Didzy and possibly Chicksen, Austin and Macari we could end up with something like this:

Ashby-Hammond

Cameron Baldwin Rawlinson

Nemane Robertson JoB Randall

Jatta Macca

Bench:

Slocombe

Stone

Colkett

Anybody else that can stand (running and 2 legs optional)!!

17 hours ago, Wheelbarrow repair man said:

Robbie

I didn't know about the Jones baby but sleepless nights are something he'll have get used too, and hopefully won't effect his training to much in the future. The problem is Notts had a decent sort of result today but it's still Not Enough (in my opinion) for Maynard to keep his job. It seems if Notts get a Result i e the victories at Newport and Bradford and todays draw some Fans think the worst is over but what usually happens in the following match the Magpies drop back into the same Old Routine  it also seemed that once Notts had gotten in front they reverted back to their tippy tappy Football instead of going in for the Kill and once again the Dons third goal their player had acres and acres of room, by easily beating the offside trap, then it was thankyou and another goal for the opposition how many times have we Fans seen that this season? The Bigger picture should be looked at and not just the Odd Good Result. After all 9 points out of 42 isn't anything to write home about. The Form of Jatta is certainly a Bright Point amongst the Gloom at Notts and hopefully he can carry on with his Goal Scoring Prowess in the Future.

I think it was more than the usual sleepless nights - by all accounts there were complications and he hadn't slept much if at all as a result. 'Normal' sleepless nights may seem like a godsend right now!

I wonder if our small squad and injuries is increasingly playing a part.  Chicksen was playing with a sore achilleas  that he has been carrying all season, Didzy clearly isn't fit, now Bostock, Ausitn went off injured again and numerous other players have been struck down with niggles or illness.  That smacks of fatigue and if Maynard is having to select a patched up team each game, then it isn't surprising that performance is up and down.  

That sounds like there will be something, sometime in the future, but what that may be is still up for grabs!  I don't think we will be seeing Wasps as part of that, sadly.

@Robbie I think he is pretty sure what his  best / preferred starting line up is, but what he hasn't figured out is what to do if one or more of those isn't available.  I think his preferred starting 11 is:

Slocombe

Cameron

Macari

Baldwin

Nemane

Jones

Robertson

Bostock

Crowley

Jatta

Langstaff

The only caveat I would have is Austin.  He seems to like him, but that may be Austin's flexibility.  What I think his issue is what to do if one of the key players is out. With our injuries you have the issue of putting square pegs in round holes, and I think he is struggling to work out which are the closest fits.  Putting Jones in for Nemane is an obvious one, and when you look at who was available you can see why he would back Jones to do a better job of right wing back than say Macari or TAR.  Hopefully, now he can see that it doesn't work, but with our small squad it is becomes difficult very quickly.  Hopefully everyone is fit and firing and we can see a settled side this weekend.... obviously if he carries on tinkering when there are no injuries or illnesses I take all that back!!

To be fair to Maynard a lot of the recent changes have been brought on by illness, injury and suspension (Chicksen, Baldwin, Robertson, Nemane, Slocombe to name  a few). Prior to that I think he was trying to find out about the players.  I don't think he is as big a tinkerman as he appears.  

I thought it was like that.  It seems that the whole idea is to get more money to the big Premiership clubs, and the more I think about it, to get the 'old names' back in the fold.  I think only Wasps are looking at the URC. I gather there is some support for London Irish and Worcester to be parachuted into the Championship (or Premiership 2), but there is resistance to Wasps joining  which is why they are looking at the URC.  It's all rather reminiscent of when the RFU was first set up and the Wasps rep was told the wrong venue so they couldn't join the 'club' for several years.

Do you know where Nottingham stand on Premiership 2?  Is that something they would be looking to join?  I used to follow Wasps and there is talk about joining a Premiership 2, but I'm not sure how I feel about that.  Another option is to join the URC which I think many Wasps fans would prefer as it wouldn't feel like being parachuted in because we were a big name.  It would also stick one to the RFU which I think is also appealing to many as they stand aside when Saracens cheat (18 internationals in the match day squad whilst staying under the salary cap????) but stood aside when 3 clubs, so far, folded and then hindered attempts to rescue them from administration.

He faces all sorts of problems - the constant chopping and changing of the goalkeeper (not just SM) breeds a lack of confidence in the defence.  Our defence is ropey (Baldwin vs Warner???) and our midfield is threadbare.  I would go with the team for Bradford and cross my fingers. At least it's away; Meadow Lane will be toxic on Monday regardless of the result so they need to make the most of Friday.  

Another thing.. are we likely to see Cedwyn Scott back this weekend?  We could suddenly have a stronger bench  - McGoldrick, Bostock / O'Brian, Scott (although I wouldn't expect a lot from him to begin with).  That could be quite important going into the last few games.

I think Maynard has had a difficult job.  The team he came into was riding high, but stuttering. and he followed a very popular head coach.  There were (are) clear problems which he identified early one, however how do you change that?  .  Then what do you do, leave things as is and hope that we outscore the opposition?  Whilst that had been successful at the start of the season it was less reliable.  Injuries have curtailed rotation options so some players have been showing signs of fatigue. Finally, the side has been so drilled in one approach makes any change risky.  If the change had happened at the end of the season, then I think a lot of the tinkering would have happened in pre-season matches, but he has had to do it during the season, and I think to take it on has been quite a brave thing to do.  I hope that the upward turn we have seen over the last few matches continues at home and Maynard is successful.

On 20/03/2024 at 08:31, Dripsey3 said:

A last word on the pitch. When Jatta is celebrating his first goal, bits of the surface were flying around his ankles. You couldn't call it turf. It was more like clay. I doubt there's much drainage there. When I was in France visiting the WW1 battlefields, I picked up some soil. It was clay. Exactly like Bradford's surface. Maybe I'm too obsessed with soil but I put that down to being Irish, land and soil are engrained in our DNA. 

I understand that it has been laid over a concrete bed, not immediately below the surface, but close enough to mean it won't drain.  The cost to remediate it is prohibitive, so they (and everyone else) will be living with it for a few seasons yet.

I wonder if Jatta also helps our defence in many ways.  We play around the back a lot, and I think a number of errors come from not wanting to put it into row Z, or getting it down field to relieve pressure, and so choosing the wrong option from time to time.  With Jatta we have that, so the defence can now get rid quickly and that will eliminate the opportunities for errors. The team have been drilled very hard over the last 18 months in possession at all costs football, and overall it has been successful, but increasingly predictable and easy to counter.  I think SM is a little more pragmatic, and in time will help us progress. 

With a win on Saturday we may be seeing the turning of the corner.  I really hope so as I am beginning to think there is a decent Head Coach in SM (if we are patient).

Keep last nights side.  If Scott / McGoldrick / Chicksen are fit then put them on the bench.  Last night's team picks itself really...unless there were any knocks.

Let’s hope we can get another early in the second half to settle the nerves.

I think I would much prefer a late 1 - 0 win or an absolute hammering  3- 0 or 4-0.  A clean sheet would do wonders for morale and a late winner would prove that they can paly for 90 minutes - I get the feeling that they struggle for more than an hour.

Soooooo...  what do people think???

I think he will go more or less with the team that played against Crawley, although Chicksen went down with the same illness as Crowley had last Tuesday, so may not be available and Jatta may have a tweak (if I understood the post match interview).  I think the best we can manage is:

Slocombe

Macari

Cameron

Chicksen (or Warner if ill)

Robertson (wasn't his a 1 match ban? If not then Bostock)

O'Brian

Nemane

Jones

Crowley

Jatta (if fit) or Austin

Langstaff

Subs:  Bostock, Austin, Ashby-Hammond, Warner(?), Randall, Colkett, Rawlinson, (McGoldrick, Gill or Sanderson depending on who is ill / suspended)

I would be tempted to give Langstaff a break and play Jatta on his own up front, but I don't think he will do that and I can see Jatta on the bench again if he has a slight knock (much to the dismay of many),   We need to stop dropping off when we score, if we could get 2 or 3 up then I think we would see a different Notts towards the back end of games.  We seem to become a bag of nerves in the second half as we try to hang on to a lead.  

I think I would do something similar. You could feel the tension increasing on Tuesday, the longer it stayed 1-0. If Langstaff had scored one of his chances that a couple of months ago he would have buried, or we had made our periods of dominance pay then I think we would have kept a clean sheet.

I also think SM is lacking in his own confidence. He should resist the temptation to chop and change as much.  My team would be Slocombe, Macari, Baldwin if fit, Cameron or Chicksen, midfield of JoB and Bostock, Nemane and Jones, forwards Langstaff and Jatta ( but I would allow them to be a bit fluid) with Crowley just behind. Bench Colkett, Austin, Ashby-Hammond, Didzy, Saunders, Chicksen / Rawlinson, TAR.

An alternative would be to go 4 at the back Macari, Cameron, Baldwin, Chicksen, JoB, Austin, Nemane, Crowley, Jones with Langstaff up front with Jatta on the bench. 

We need to get the game won as early as possible and not drop the intensity off if we score like we did Tuesday. 2 or 3 up and I bet defending becomes a whole lot easier.