Robbie

Unfortunately, head coaches and Managers are always made the scapegoat But, what we can say is it looks like Joe Palmer has got the right players recruited this time, so hopefully Stuart will be able to mould the team into a successful one this season. I would be happy to see plenty of clean sheets this season. Just 10 clean sheets would be a great improvement on last season. You only need to score one goal to win if Notts keep getting clean sheets.

I bought some little stickers that I put on the top of my number "No Soliciting". That has cut down on lots of the cold callers. Still get the odd one though, but we never answer the door to people that we aren't expecting.

I would have thought that this will be an emotional return to Wealdsone for Stuart Maynard, being their Head Coach for several years before joining Notts. Notts will probably field two different sides for both halves once again. It was nice to see Jatta partner Morias up front in the previous game. I'm sure Stuart may change partners around & partner Morias with Didzy, & Scott with Jatta this time. It was good to see us get a clean sheet & a win against league 1 Wycombe. Our new players will feature prominently again with the key areas being all over the pitch. We will probably see a few trialists too. For me I would like Notts to get another clean sheet & for our strikers to get a few goals too for confidence building. As a bare minimum, it would be great to keep the unbeaten run going too.

@Wheelbarrow repair man We don't know if Southgate has been told to play a certain way by the FA. It seems strange that he plays the same way all the time. If we are drawing it is a game of cat and mouse, if England get in front it is shut up shop time, if we go behind it's all out attack. If it gets to extra time, if we are drawing it's playing for penalties, if we are winning, we go defensive. It's just a cautious, negative & safe approach most of the time. Does this come down from the FA & Southgate just does as he is told?

I would have thought that Stuart Maynard has day to day control of the team and he answers to Joe Palmer, who in turn answers to Richard Montague, who in turn answers to the Reedtz brothers. I would have thought that is the tree of Management at Notts. I'm sure if there is a board meeting Joe Palmer will report to Richard & the Reedtz brothers. Stuart may be present at board meetings on occasions. It really depends on the type of Management that is practiced through the Management Chain whether it hands on or off. It seems to me that the owners take a hands off approach & leave most of club operations to Richard the Sporting Director, but I could be mistaken..

82% of players in La Liga are Spanish players, & Real Madrid won the champions league. It works for them so why can't it work for us? Putting things into perspective, thirteen of the players in the Spanish squad come from just three Spanish clubs, Real Socieidad, Athletic Bilbao & Barcelona, no wonder they can play together as a team.

Agree @Wheelbarrow repair man When 17 players in a squad of PL clubs can be foreigners, how can English players get into the first 11 of a PL club unless they are very good? It is almost impossible. It makes it very hard for an England manager when he only has a small pool of players to choose from. It also puts it into perspective when it is possible, club sides such as Man City, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich could easily have won Euro 24 as a club side or given the Spanish side a better competitive game than England did.

Well. Managed to cut the grass this morning, been so hard with all this rain we've had, and we have a weather warning for tomorrow morning in Mansfield so pleased to get it done. Going to give it a break from the walking for a few days.

Great minds do think alike some of the time but not all of the time. But we do seem to be on the same wavelength on quite a few topics on here. I suppose it's good to think out of the box sometimes. Lots of the punditry on social media supporting Southgate to stay on, but I certainly think England need a change with someone who thinks out of the box too for a change. But knowing the FA they'll either keep Southgate, or appointment another similar clone like figure.

In 1966 Jimmy Greaves was looked upon as the best striker England had available, but Alf Ramsey put aside reputations, & was bold enough to replace him with Geoff Hurst for the final, & the rest is history. Southgate is not a bold Manager, Kane looked tired or unfit, but Southgate continued to pick him on reputation even though England looked better with Ollie Watkins. Southgate is too conventional and he's unwilling to take a chance and would rather play safe. His play safe tactics came to the fore again in the final. England equalised then went all defensive again, as if they were holding out for extra time, instead of trying to win the game. That's why he has to go. We need a winner for an England manager not a manager more concerned with not losing.

@Wheelbarrow repair man I was including all academies. I hope I am wrong, but Notts will probably finish up selling Sanderson on too. As you said, Notts won't make much on selling on academy players, but they might have sell on clauses built in, so they do make money if they become valuable. Notts deal with bringing in free transfers and selling players for profit. That's how clubs like Notts make money nowadays. And of course Notts have the Nest making money too.

Another reason why maybe England cannot win international tournaments. Only 35% of players in the PL are English, and that means probably the most of them won't get regular games in the PL either. In Spain's La Liga, 82% of players are Spanish and that probably means that the vast majority will get regular games in their top league. (Statistics from Google) So England appear to be at a big disadvantage straight away, with the England Manager having to choose players from a much smaller pool compared to, for example Spain.

As explained in the article I posted, academies are more concerned in producing good young footballers to make money on them, rather than see them graduate into the first team. I think that academies should be in place to produce talent for the first team as they were originally intended to do, but apparently Clubs see things differently nowadays. Money always talks the loudest.

Of course I would be more gutted if Notts lost a playoff final and failed to get promoted. But it is disappointing that England failed to win Euro 24 after having such an excellent opportunity to win it.

So England have failed to win another international tournament. The 58 year wait for success continues & we will have to wait for the next World Cup to be held in the US, Canada & Mexico to see if England can go that step further & win a final. England had a great opportunity to win Euro 24 having the much easier route to the final than their final opponents, Spain. In my opinion England never had a better opportunity to go all the way & win the a trophy after a 58 year wait. Unfortunately, Southgate continues to be a cautious, & negative Manager, & is incapable of making the bold decisions that would see England get over the line & win a tournament. The team was crying out for bold changes to be made, for instance, Ollie Watkins & Cole Palmer should have started the match to give England more pace & it did work when they came on as substitutes foe England in the second half. For me, Southgate has always been too defensive, negative & lacks the boldness to be a winner in tournaments for my liking. The powers that be want him to stay on as Manager, but I believe it's time to have a change at the top to see England through qualifying for the next World Cup. Do you agree or disagree with my assessment?