Robbie

I totally agree. Grant brings such a lot to the Notts side. I don't understand why he gets so much criticism from some of the Notts fan base. He needs to be in the side for the last 10 games in my opinion.

@theAnticlough I love the Notts style of play & when the team is on song their is no better ball playing team in League 2, however when teams like Chesterfield come to ML with the spoiling tactics that we witnessed on Saturday, Notts need to have a plan B. As I alluded to on another thread, I think players like Norburn, Robertson, Ndlovu & Grant playing together may have countered those Chesterfield tactics much better. I think you have to counter physical teams with your own physicality. That doesn't mean that Notts have to stop playing the quick passing game that Notts are are noted for. It just means we have to ensure we aren't bullied off the field.

Unfortunately my Car's MOT didn't go to plan, it needed some welding underneath on both sides, I also had to have the front & back break discs & pads replaced , so It worked out to be quite expensive MOT. It's been a good car over the years with 178K now on the clock. I've done well over 100K since I bought it. If I can get a few more years out of it I would be very happy.

@YoopEyes said. "Overall, Cook out thought us and they got away with provocation and physicality that we didn’t match or counter". Unfortunately we've seen many examples of that over the years. It's good that Notts have become more physical under Patto, but we are still losing the tactical battle in important games. They certainly did a job on Norburn winding him up, & I don't think Palmer stands up against this amount of physicality either. I'd like to see Iorpenda next to Norburn in the central midfield areas. I think we are missing Robertson's tenacity too. I also think that Grant should have played instead of Tangen. He's hardworking & never stops running. I think that against the physical teams certain Notts players are required to start to counter that physicality, like Norburn, Robertson, Ndlovu, & Grant. Unfortunately, Suspensions & injuries have hurt us.

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Notts need a win to re-establish themselves as promotion contenders after a dissapointing defeat to Chesterfield in front of a large crowd at Meadow Lane on Saturday. Accrington are still in with a small shout of making a playoff place. They are in 15th place in League 2, with 48 points. Accrington have lost 3 & drawn 2 of their last 5 matches. In their last 10 league games, Accrington have won 4, drawn 2 & lost 4. They have earned 14 points from a possible 30 & are 13th in the form table over the last 10 matches. In the five matches between the sides since Notts returned to League 2, Notts have won 3, drawn 1 & lost 1. Accrington did win the last match between them at ML on 1st Jan, so they will be looking to do the double. Notts are going to be without, Lee Ndlovu, Matt Dennis, & Ollie Norburn who are all suspended. Matty Platt limped off injured against Chesterfield so he's doubtful, & Scott Robertson is injured, so Notts will be without several of their key players on Tuesday. Alassana Jatta isn't fully match fit just returning from injury, so he may not start the match on Tuesday. One of the attacking midfielders may have to fill in as an emergency striker until Jatta is introduced later in the game. Accrington can exhibit a high energy, battling, gritty, & physical approach when it comes to competing in matches. Notts have found it difficult to deal with this style, so they will have to battle for every ball & try to grind out a result if they can. It's a must win for Notts, however due to the Notts injuries & suspensions it will be difficult. Much will depend on how Notts line up & who starts upfront. I think a draw would be a good result for Notts under the present circumstances.

It was similar situation under Maynard & although we managed to get ourselves through the National League playoffs under Williams, we nearly blew those massive games too.

After the dissapointing defeat against Chesterfield, Notts are now just 3 points ahead of where they were last season when Notts were in fourth place with 61 points from 36 games. Notts went on to earn 11 points from the last 10 games to finish on 72 points. I think we need a minimum 10 points to be sure of a playoff place. That's 3 wins from 10 plus 1 draw. I think that has to be the priority for now. I think it may be all we can ask for at the moment with suspensions & injuries. What are your takeaways/thoughts?

I get your point @Chris I voted for Jodi because he produced two moments of high quality that led to the Notts goals. I thought that the other players I mentioned did well too.

Notts have four home games left to play out of the 10 games left. We have awkward away games at Accrington, Oldham, Salford, Cambridge, & Colchester who are all with a chance of making the playoffs. Cambridge & Salford have hopes of gaining automatic promotion. Harrogate away is always a hard away fixture too. It's going to be a very hard run in for Notts, even if they have all their best players available. It looks like we will only have a half fit Jatta available for the Accrington match, with Dennis & Ndlovu suspended. I think that Notts need to aim to secure a playoff place first then see where they are. I think that the inconsistent performances are not helping & are reducing our chances of making the autos. This inconsistency has to change very quickly if Notts are to have any chance of automatic promotion.

Important point from Adam Hassell about Matt Dennis being suspended for the Accrington match due to accumulated 10 yellow cards.

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We just tend to struggle against these kind of tactics all the time we are pitched against it. It happened under Williams & Maynard. We are much more physical under Patto but we still get beaten more than we win under these circumstances. We have a team in Bromley who are much more direct than Notts, but have been very effective in dealing with different tactics which their opponents employ against them, & have only lost a handful all season. Notts need to get their physical players back, because as we come to the last ten games, teams in the top half of the league are going to cheat, play dirty, waste time, practice skullduggery, be very physical & will fight & scrap their way to try to win a playoff place or even better. Notts have to compete with those tactics.

My standouts today are Platt before he went off, Iorpenda, & McDonald when he came on. I also thought Jones played well in the first half. I think it is a very close call for my favourite to take this week's gong. I could easily have chosen Iorpenda, but I'm going for Jodi because he is getting back to the player we know he is.

Hundred League goals for York City & Stuart Maynard.

I'd go with that. Accrington are a footballing side so hopefully Notts will get some room to play. Tsaroulla at number 10 could work out quite well. Jodi is currently in great form and he got two virtual assists today. Notts do prefer when there is more room to play. After Norburn was dismissed the game opened out & Notts were much more threatening. I think that we just ran out of steam in the 2nd half today which was unfortunate.

I think we missed Lee Ndlovu today. His physically upfront makes a difference & he puts himself about. I also think that it would have been much better for Notts to have played a back three for the whole game, & I think I would have brought Grant on instead of Hall in the 2nd half. I do like Norburn because he does bring something extra to the team, but his petulance at times is costing us. He will now have to serve a one match ban & will be missing against Accrington as will Ndlovu who has to serve 1 more game of his 3 game ban. There is a worry about Platt going off injured, but on the positive side, Palmer & Jatta came through unscathed after their returns. As I have said, Norburn & Ndlovu will be missed & Patto will have to make changes to the side that started today.

Remarkably, results have favoured Notts with the clubs chasing us for a playoff place. Three of those clubs lost so Notts remain 8 points ahead of the teams in 8th, 9th & 10th positions, & Notts have a vastly superior goal difference too. So there's still a healthy gap to those places.