piedestrian

The thing is, and it should be the main narrative, is that we're judging every match based on the fact that we should be challenging if not completely levelling teams like Gillingham. This is both from an evolution of what we've come to expect from the brothers ownership and the overall objective of the season. Every delayed pass forward, every 8 second countdown and flap from Roos and every conceded set piece we get further and further away from what we've been told is the complete objective, supported by a big ol' bag of cash (budget). It's a very short rope for MP, one I'm sure he realises is getting smaller and smaller with every passing interview.

I suppose I've given myself ten games, so my analysis is as follows. At the current trajectory, we're looking mid-table. That's not a criticism of what we look like in a footballing sense, merely statistical. At present we’re averaging 1.375 points per game. If we continue in that vein, we’re seeing us finish 11th at best (this is based on the last 4/5 seasons. Let’s look at the scores: 1-1 draw against Newport (who are now 22nd) 2-1 loss against Salford (who are 3rd) 1-0 loss against Wigan - played a strong squad and garnered 65% possession 2-1 loss against Barrow (who are 21st) 4-1 win against Shrewsbury (who are 23rd) 2-2 draw against Bromley (who are 7th) 2-1 win against Tranmere (who are 16th) 3-0 loss against Lincoln (second squad put out) 1-0 win against Fleetwood (who are 11th) 1-0 loss against Gillingham (who sit in 2nd) MP sits on a 30% win rate - we also have scored 8 goals excluding the 4 we scored at Shrewsbury which feels like a bit of an outlier in scores. Now that’s the data side done, what have we been told about what’s expected. First and foremost, he’s been told by the club that they want promotion, “as simple as that” - 1st August, Martin Paterson (bbc). We’ve also been told that this is one of the highest budgets that we’ve had to date with the Reedz brothers, one which MP, up until recently deemed unsatisfactory as he wanted a new GK and a new striker. Lastly, we’ve been told physical elements and directives on changing the club to be more involved in the “dark arts”. 1 - We will not achieve that on the current trajectory. 2 - Whether or not we ever were able to compete or make inroads about getting in more players, it’s not his job, publicly, to say that. 3 - Although more physical players in terms of size have come in, we’re much more susceptible to crosses and set pieces than we ever were under Williams and Maynard. Onto MP himself. Forever the socialist, “it is not I, only we!” MP is driving the “we, the team” in terms of narrative. Whether that’s a collective call for unity or that of concealment of his real thoughts which come out in training or the dressing room, we’ll never know. We get versions of himself via interviews, which haven’t won me over. I think personally, that his career is something he links to hard graft and perseverance, and that he’s trying to change the club’s playing philosophy, not adapting or moulding it. There are occasions whereby I’ve enjoyed bits, because I’ve seen technical flair and exciting play happen, but then I question myself, is that because of him or in spite of him? There are players we’ve seen that have improved/deteriorated from his managerial/coaching style with Matt Palmer being the standout. If MP were to go, I’d worry about how it might affect his game for the remainder of the season. Bedeau and Jones have dropped in terms of a really high bar we’ve had here for a while, so suggests his methods are much more jarring than what we’ve seen before. I think MP is on a short contract here, given that it wasn’t mentioned in the press when he was appointed, so suggests he wasn’t highly regarded or was a backup to a backup - if this is indeed the case. If the owners have the foresight that it only takes one bad transfer window to throw out a DOF, then time is ticking very quickly for Martin. Lastly, Martin had 20 games at Burton before he was sacked, which I can see become a real big possibility if we don’t see improvements all over. (I think I deserve praise for not mentioning Roos or Grant once!) - also I have posted this on Footymad also, but thought it's an engaging conversation peice at least!

Bit unfair on Traore @CliftonMagpie. He played well for his cameo against Fleetwood, just needs a goal and a run of games to show what he can do. Unfortunately or fortunately, we've changed our game plan to accomodate a player like Jatta, which Traore isn't. I feel he's more of a poacher and technically stronger, similar to Langstaff than a Jatta style forward.

so astute he's leaving... BBC SportRichard Montague: Swansea City director of football set t...Richard Montague left a similar role at League Two club Notts County to take up what is a key position at Swansea in February.

No idea what his legacy will be. Probs that of Hans Backe

@gtownjohnno ,sorry but he's really proving an astute hire to Swansea. To the point, I don't think we can really go back to a manager's manager role at Notts. I think the mechanisms are just too different, plus as much as I've come to get used to MP, I wouldn't trust his judgement on new signings alone.

End of the day, it's whether you win or not. Even in the days of Spain winning everything, people got complacent and bored with the tiki-taka style of play. We found ourselves bored to death win Maynard, we even got rid of Curle not long after his undefeated away record, so as much as aesthetics have an involvement, I much preferred celebrating at the final whistle than looking at the stats of a match last year and seeing 67% posession to lose 2-0. We played some largely, quite attractive stuff with a lot of technical players doing a lot of hard work. I can really see myself falling in love with this team, it's all down to consistency and luck from hereon.

MP's best match so far. Really nailed the game management element. Notts' really rallied in the 2nd half, subs were effective and all deserve a special mention. Dogged from Robbo which assured a tiring midfield, Traore enabled their back line to sit further back as not overwhelm us and made some excellent touches (on that note, I saw him smile after progressing the ball, it's nice to see him get a bit of happiness from all this) and Grant made some excellent final third plays. We're not getting too much from the WB's, for me they seem really inconsistent - one match Tsaroulla can be great but the next a complete liability. Thought we could have taken Gordon off and brought Bennetts who may have helped us kill the game off. All in all, a good game, with a good crowd and good weather.

John Sheridan Chicksen and Adam Campbell for players (albeit on loan for Fleetwood I think)

A very direct statement. Mainly to appease the resentment they unfortunately get from other boards and people on Twitter (I'm guessing) who have labelled them as asset stripping etc. Jatta thing is worthy of the statement alone, means that we'll have some dollar when he goes (because it's not if but when). One curious thing peaked my interest; "Our 11 new signings will all contribute to this in their own way, while also possessing the technical attributes that are crucial to the club’s playing philosophy." - from Alex's interview earlier in the window, he said that we're looking at new physical metrics which obviously has taken primary seat in the window, but that the club doesn't dictate a formation or tactic, which is obviously not true given we've now effectively had three coaches play a 3-4-2-1/3-4-1-2 variant. We've not seen a back 4 (even though some times it does call for that) for a very long time. I was listening to a podcast about Man Utd and Amorim's balance being out of whack. For them it's the imbalance of the attackers above and behind the area of play, and we, albeit don't struggle as much, still perservere with sometimes too many behind the ball that somewhat stunts us going forwards. Sorry, I didn't mean to turn into Jonathan Wilson and rant about tactics, but was just an observation.

So I rated it on reddit as a 4/10 window, which was probs a bit harsh. Obviously we've lost Didzy and Bass which were excellent and the best in the league in their respective positions. Replacing them directly is impossible, but they've as sure as **** botched it up. Roos is liability and I believe we'll lose points mainly down to his errors. I felt marginally more confident in Nelson and Fitzsimons which should indicate where he sits. Didzy being replaced by one of Jarvis, Jones, Grant, Iorpenda, Hall, Dennis, Kouhyar or Luker strikes of being unable to indentify the right player so they just threw as many at it and hope something sticks. On the scale of it, Iorpenda, Hall, Aljofree and Luker all look like excellent pospects, I just hope they can settle and make an impact like Abbott did. Cotter, Kouhyar and Roos all look like terrible business - and the mind boggling thing is that they offer no profit value going forwards. Keeping Jatta scores a mark up itself, but leaving him and Dennis as the only proven forwards is a risky bet, one that's gonna come right on the technical boards head once one gets an injury/suspension. I've been wrangling with it and I think other clubs are probably waiting for us to do something because they've seen the cash we've made from sales and if we play it right, Jan might be the time to buy. It gives us half a season to weigh up an up and comer forward and look at getting a keeper who isn't first choice. With that we gain somewhat a wave of momentum for the second part of the season. This does rely on performing well because, and I don't want to say it, Jatta will definitely garner attention in Jan. If he performs well and we are flying, we'll likely get him until the end of the season or get a contract ext (which I think won't happen as much as i want it to). If we're not, he'll likely ask to move on and we'll really have to do something in tying up that forward role post Jan.

I had a little look to see if he'd injured his shoulder or something that might make his proneness to giving a good ol' fist. But no. I don't really feel a lack of confidence, although it's hard to gauge because you only look at what a keeper's doing for a very very small portion of a game. I think he's a great shot stopper, but overall, I think he's quite bad and had a fortunate career. If you've not overcome a glearing shortcoming by 33, then it's not gonna be taught out of you at League 2 by Steve Collis (no shade on Steve). If it came to a PL GK on loan or a new forward before the window closes, then it's keeper all day. Teams have seen the data and the highlights to know that they can cross the ball deep for 90 mins to probs get something out of us.

@Robbie, Personally, I find him very much a mixture of a political careerist (saying all the right things) and that of a new Linkedin/football man hybrid (I'm looking at you Jake Humphreys). He been a little bit flippant, a little bit emotive, a lot of waffle with a lot of buzz words thrown in to boot. He's halfway in my full assessment countdown, but apart from Shrewsbury - which we didn't look totally commanding - it's been slim pickings for positives.

@Chris, that was exactly my thoughts on the presser. MP seems now to be towing the party line, saying that "BIG" AJ's a Notts player and "we're aligned with what the process is". My guess is that they've all spoken, popped a number down, if that number is hit by another club, then he's gone and it's 50/50 if we get a replacement. Sounds like he's been told to reintegrate Mai (who was mentioned!) to "restart his season", which might suggest that something was afoot - probs a wise move because I value him as a player, even if people think he's ineffective/not up to League 2's hustle bustle etc.

@Wheelbarrow repair man, how on earth is he meant to have stopped injuries happening? We've got Tasroulla back and active since his surgery, we're seeing Ness and Robertson do the same. He's been brought in to improve conditioning and analyse physical performance to give more monitored stats back to the board. This is league 2. Players are gonna get steamrollered, like Jones was against Bromley.

I think that they really need to play this scenario right, moreso than any other scenario they've faced as owners of the club. Sure we're not going to be burning pitchforks at the gates if he goes and we get a League 1 youth striker on loan, but all that goodwill may have depleted for most fans. Given the strange and downright fall in structure, comms and recruitment we've seen this year alongside an incredibly underwhelming summer (with missed visa's, a long comms gap between coaches and a new hybrid system of board/management) will mean they will have to invest/make a statement. I really hoped to see movements done by now as the closer we get to the transfer window, the more desperate we seem. Now that might not be the case, as there could be chains etc. but communication and club stature are imperative to garnering momentum from a fanbase that is getting smaller by each match.

@liampie, I agree with the avoidance of the loan market. Like me after a Paneer curry, we're bloated around the middle. If we did end up with more loans, it really says a lot that we, or rather MP, doesn't value say Robertson or Ness or Jarvis or Traore. If that's the case then loan them out or sell them. Two of that four contracts expire at the end of the season and it'll just be for nothing but lost wage and potentially weird cup games. Another view is imagine if we did go up, based on Iorpenda, Hall, Luker, Aljofree and Cotter (and seemingly another or two loans) performances. We'd be assured that we'd be going down because we'd have lost more quality that what we've just seen in the last year. Also, we're meant to be astute and find transactional value in players we have contracted. Another loan and I'd worry because, similar to when Ince was in charge, it's quite easy to be a team of mercenaries and become quickly jaded.

For me it feels like we've (and I mean MP) has written off Traore, which is a huge shame because I still think he's got a lot to offer. Luker looked good when he's been playing so there are options, albeit semi untested, within. The main sense of wonder is that have they already made the decision on Jatta by keeping him as we've not seen any movement - hence why he's reportedly disillusioned? I say it because Jatta was brought to replace Langstaff and Traore felt like he was brought because of the attention Jatta was getting. They've both had bedding periods, but like you say @Chris we need to be on the front foot, at least until Jan and get that extra body in. Or two if we're still exploring another keeper. I do feel like this window feels like something else is gonna happen, for better or worse.

@Chris, most likely on loan. Given he said that players are running on fumes and we need extra bodies and then in the next sentence is saying we're looking at players and we're (the technical board) unified. It's, one, suggesting they aren't, and two, that this feels like a last ditch effort to plead to the board to get players in. I'm personally not expecting what we should be and are expecting.

@liampie, I think the decision I'd make against someone like Bromley is move Bedeau up for Tsaroulla and replace Nick with Macari so you have more athletic, taller people to battle it out. Gordon is just too inconsitent, which is a bit of a theme for a lot of permanent players.

I remember listening to Football Cliches ( I think) saying that back and groin muscle injuries are the ones that can't really be investigated (proved or disproved) and are the most common when a player doesn't want to play...

It's the rise of social media's "every voice is counted" culture. It's easier to gain traction by saying something more shocking and vitrolic than the last. It's the main reason I left most social media but I felt somewhat at a loss when I left Twitter due to comrardarie you build with other fans. That's been rectified since joining a couple of different forums, but it's certainly evident that the dispondancy fire grows quickest. I think with that, alongside the recent peroid of underperformance for Notts (minus getting promoted and the Munto - early Trew years), it's easier to be a bit bitter and self-loathing than it is to be optimistic - as to protect you when we (inevitably - see I did it too!) fail. I try and be optimistic and failing that, a realist, as I've grown up with "Notts are ****" with the man who bloody took me there in the first place!

@Wheelbarrow repair man, I don't agree. I think Paterson, although not disclosed, will only be on a year contract, so it probably suggests they we're happy to see what happens. If nothing comes out of it, it's only a small loss in compo and if it works out, which it still might, it'll be seen as a masterstroke. The DOF won't be involved in picking the team; buying the team and negotiating who we getm yes, but the tactics and final match day team decisions are the HC alone. Hence why he's not completely safe.

A couple of things: I think it's not felt right since Jason Turner passed away. The club has felt more robotic and operational since then, which isn't a bad thing, but makes despondancy seem larger when it's somewhat faceless. Secondly, even though a large portion of the pre-season comms were about "the final say is gonna be made by the head coach", given that he was obviously third/fourth choice, I doubt they even consulted him when say Bass left nor when Roos came in. It's slightly overwhelming for MP is my guess that there was/is a sign of structure/ways of working, but it's not working, or if it does, we won't know because it needs time to gel (just like half of our team). I'm not completely crestfallen, but I felt let down by Maynards appointment and his lull at the beginning and end of his tenure was only qualmed because he has amazing talents in McGoldrick and Jatta. This time around, MP has Jatta to effectively put all his hope into and prays that it works out, because mate, you're 4 into that 10 games that most people are giving you and you ain't painting anything in glitter apart from a day old ****.

He didn't look to hopeful on Luker and we're probably not gonna see him for a number of weeks now which puts us in a more difficult spot because...Grant.