Robbie

I loved that stand. I stood on it for many years & have some great memories too I was sorry to see it go, but it had definitely had its day. To be honest, I do miss the standing areas, but for me the new standing areas at grounds are just not the same as the open terracing that we used to stand on.

When I first started to attend football matches, Football teams in this Country & around the World could only use one substitute & for the vast majority of the time the substitutions were for injury only, not for tactical reasons. Until 1958, no substitutes were allowed at all But now a PL team is allowed 9 players on the bench, & the EFL 7 & 5 can be used on three occasions during a match. The fact that substitutions allowed have increased so much in recent years, it has changed the game totally. Football has become a squad game and the strength of the squad determines whether a team can be successful or not. The vast majority of substitutions are now tactical. It's a way of putting fresh legs on the pitch or to change the shape, style and tactics of a team. Substitutions are also made to take penalties after extra time. I'm not sure what the founding fathers of league football would think if they ever knew how the game has evolved in the way that it has. I personally think that too many substitutes are allowed, because for one, it favours the richest clubs, & it has been changing the game exportentialy. What are your thoughts on the number of substitutions allowed, is it a good or bad thing for football in general? Do you think it has changed the game for the good or the bad?

@Wheelbarrow repair man I also think with a very strong squad Stuart could pick a team depending on who we are playing, such as a team that employs route one, or one that plays on the floor, to a team that likes possession to one that sits back & hits on the break Last season we played the same regardless of who we played and those games gave Notts different problems to deal with. This season we have a number of players that can deal with those differences with their height, mobility, physicality & tenaciousness that we were missing last season. Those attributes will allow our flair players like Nemane, Jones, Scott, Didzy & Jatta to concentrate on the job they know best, to create and score goals.

I wouldn't object if this man got the England job in an interim basis.

Well I'm going to be bold & name my side for the first league match. Bass, Macari, Platt, Bedeau, Jones, Tsaroulla, Robertson, Palmer, Crowley, Scott, Jatta Subs. Slocombe, McDonald, Gordon, Austin, Edwards, McGoldrick, Nemane. Alternates, Morias, Sanderson, Reynolds. Stuart may make some changes to the starting line up for the first four or five games.

Notts have played 3 friendly matches and the Notts squad is getting the match practice they need. Stuart Maynard will be mulling over who should be in his first eleven. Notts have signed seven new players in key positions & we may see more, so it is going to be a challenge for Stuart to name his first eleven without too much of a delay. Settled sides are usually the successful sides. I'm going to put myself in Stuart's shoes & name my Notts eleven after what we have seen so far. Do PON members have their preferred eleven or you may think that it is too early to tell?

I don't think that a foreign Manager should lead England. It needs to be an English Manager because there will be no chance of a conflict of interest if England got to the latter stages of a tournament. I really want to see a different kind of Manager appointed this time. Someone who has guided a team to some sort of success. It doesn't have to be a PL Manager either. It has to be a person who can build a team that plays like a team yet like a club team. There is a mistaken notion that a manager of an international team has to build a team of the best individuals available in the top league. This is not necessarily the case. For example, Notts use statistical data to recruit their players that will fit best into their style of play. The best players may not necessarily be able to do that. I think this method should be used to choose the players to build an England side too. The players chosen should be the best team players that can be moulded into a team. I think it is important to try to get several players from one team because it would be much easier to integrate those players, as we have seen with the Spanish team. I say treat the England team as a club team and once the 25 players have been chosen, give them time together with plenty of match practice, to mould them into a team.

I think that we should be looking for a play off place as a bare minimum. With the players that we have brought in I believe Notts can achieve automatic promotion. Coming third would do for me. The only thing that could put that in jeopardy would be injuries to key players, that is why Notts need a strong squad of 25 players in case that happens. At the time of this post, we have 21 senior players so ideally Notts need another 4 players to come in. If that happens, Maynard will have been given a quality squad on paper to achieve promotion. If he fails it will be down to him. There will be no excuses this time.

Your Wednesday Morning Weather

Another win for Notts in the pre season friendlies. A bit disjointed in the second half after the substitutions, but very good in the first half.

Alassana Jatta scores two goals tonight against Wealdstone in a friendly. Good start for him and two well taken goals from crosses Is it a shape of things to come?

Oh dear. Goal to Wealdstone. Wealdstone 1 Notts 2

@Wheelbarrow repair man As you have rightly said, Notts could have tried to sort out the defensive frailties by bringing in two defensive loan players to shore up the defence.. But what isn't being mentioned anywhere, that if Notts were hell bent on selling Macaulay in the close season, why didn't they make more of an effort to bring in two loan players in the January window, because it could have made the difference in making the playoffs or not?

Back underway again. Wealdstone 0 Notts 2

Footage of Jatta's two goals

I had to post this one. It's funny but right on the ball too

A good 45 minutes work for JATTA. Two goals both from crosses.

It's JATTA AGAIN Wealdstone 0 Notts 2

JATTA!!!!! You beauty. Wealdstone 0 Notts 1

Here is the Notts side for the first half. I asked for Scott to play alongside Jatta and Stuart duly obliged????