Robbie

Hi @Rexhootza & welcome to our Pride of Nottingham community.

The four Notts players who get on my shortlist for the Man of the Match award are, Luker, Iorpenda, Bennetts & Bedeau. I will reveal my choice later.

Howard Wilkinson's preferred formation was 4-4-2. During Howards time as Manager of Notts in 1982/83, over 42 years ago, Goalkeepers most of the time cleared their lines to the centre field, & possession was for the most part, won there. Football was a different game in those days & possession was judged specifically on not how long a team had the ball, but what they did with the ball when they had possession of it. The 3-4-2-1 formation that Notts have adopted didn't gain traction Until the last decade when Chelsea under Conte used it successfully. Playing out from the back 100% of the time does have an element of risk. We saw it just the other week with the Roos clanger. We saw it under Williams, & under Maynard, now we've seen it under Paterson. When opposing teams employ an aggressive high press against Notts (most teams do at ML) our goalkeeper distribution to defenders & central midfielders & defenders passing across the back line is risky & it always will be.

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Notts played well in the 2nd half of the match against Wigan. It was an encouraging performance, after a poor first half.Notts Midfielder, Tom Iorpenda is currently in the lead with 24 hours to go.Can he stay in the lead before the poll closes?Get your vote in & make your choice to influence who wins this week's Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match.

@Wheelbarrow repair man said ".Possession doesn't Win Football Matches, Goals Do". It has to be the right type of possession. If a team has 58% possession & scores one goal, but the opposing team has 42% & scores 2 goals, has more shots on goal & has 7 corners to 1, the team with the most possession needs to have a rethink.

@The Anti-Clough said "So not only does MP have to find a winning formula and work out a best XI, he'll have to deal with some big structural questions related to the team as well. He's really going to earn his corn. Good luck to him" It's unfortunate that MP has to deal with the result of a turnaround of 22 players that he virtually had no control over. Such a big turnover of players was always going to give headaches to any new HC. I do think it's going to take time for the players to gel together, & for MP to find his best starting eleven. The fans have to be patient but that will be difficult for some.

Another beautiful day here. Update early to get into the garden to do my three time weekly garden maintenance. Watered all the plants using a watering can not a hose. We have to do our bit to save as much water as we can. It's been a dry summer. The Mrs was out dead heading all the flowers, an essential job as it keeps the plants flowering as long as possible. This afternoon it became a little windy here. Sun and wind at the same time. We've had a few of them days this glorious summer.

Another informative post @Wheelbarrow repair man although it's a bit depressing that the dear old Ace of Spades has such dark connotations As ever I've done a little research and in some contexts the Ace of Spades is seen as giving luck & success particularly in the context of playing cards. In some contexts, it can also represent new beginnings, change, and transformation, akin to a fresh start And particularly in modern times, the Ace of Spades is often seen as a symbol of power, authority, and dominance. So I suppose the dear old Ace of Spades does have some positive vibrations too.

Some may not see it this way. I think that Martin Paterson turned to a plan B in a subtle way when he substituted three players in the second half of the Wigan match. When he replaced Jones, Cotter, & Grant with Gordon, Hall & Dennis, it gave the Notts side much more imputus, movement & intensity. The team looked much more balanced & cohesive. The problem was, as I saw it, he should have made those changes half way in first half & the result might have been different. Was it a plan B to change the shape or formation? No. Was it a plan B to go more direct? No. But it was a plan B to make Notts more effective going forward by giving them more movement, urgency, & making their attacks more effective. Whether it was by accident or design, it nearly worked.

I'm pleased that the team had a much better 2nd half & I'm happy that the team finished the game attacking & trying to force extra time. That's a big positive. However, I'm not pleased that we lost. If the team had applied themselves in the Ist half as they did in the last 30 minutes of the game, the result may have been different. We always hear or read this soundbite, "We can concentrate on the league now" if a team loses in the cups. We never heard that thirty & forty years ago. I believe teams should aim to win every single game they play. There was a big incentive for Notts to win the match with the prospect of getting a money making fixture against a top PL side, which could have earned Notts £150K plus in gate & TV money A team like Man U away could have attracted 3K plus Notts fans to old Trafford or a packed out ML. Notts shouldn't be missing out on these opportunities, especially when money is tight & we need to strengthen the side at this time.

Thanks @Chris . I've always preferred the lightweight theme for my mobile. I also use the dark screen mode as well as the default screen mode.

You're getting an expert on the strands too @super_ram pressure is on. I try not to go for the hints now.

I'm going to up my game. You are getting to good @super_ram

Notts travel to Barrow on Saturday looking for their first win of the season in League 2. A draw & a defeat in their first two games isn't the best start the Notts fans were looking for. The game follows a midweek defeat to Wigan in the EFL Cup however Notts did have an encouraging 2nd half performance where they created several chances but couldn't get the breakthrough. Head Coach Martin Peterson will be looking for more high level consistency from his team against Barrow. The team need to perform well over the full 90 minutes rather than only in patches as we have seen against Salford & Wigan. As far as the team selection for Barrow is concerned, I would definitely include Hall, Dennis, Luker, McDonald & Gordon in my starting 11. After encouraging signs against Wigan, I am hopeful that Notts can get their first win of the season. Consistency is the key to success of far as I see it.

The post match interview of David McGoldrick is very interesting to hear especially for us Notts fans. He has some very interesting things to say.

A new signing for Notts. Experienced defender, Hayleigh Sutton arrives from Sutton Coldfield Town. Manager Adam Dunleavy added: “We are really pleased to get Hayleigh over the line & welcome her to Notts! Hayleigh is a player we've had our eye on for a while, with bags of FA Women’s National League experience in this division & the one above, including a promotion from tier 4.

Your Weather 4cast for Wednesday.