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.