theAnticlough

Hall has 4 goals. In the 11 games Iorpenda's played, which one did he score in @Robbie ?

I don't think it's a massive deal @McPie but it sure is a bonus for a promotion aspiring teams, if we remember the Munto & Warnock teams for example. Bedeau and Macari just seem to lose their heads when they get near goal. Platt can score, not sure about RodMac. Aljofree got off to a good start but issues at the other head caught up. I think we can predict some low level chipping in from the back, Macari and Bedeau will probably get over their panic and notch a couple each. But if they do, we can't have that being a half or a third of the No10 totals.

I'd look at it this way.... MP seems very settled on the 3-4-2-1 formation... We don't have defenders who score. Palmer and Robbo are not scorers Our wing-backs will get a few, but are not regular scorers The 2 in that 3-4-2-1, absolutely have to score. That's 92 appearances between the 2 positions. If we're to have any chance of promotion at all we have to get at least 25 goals from those positions. Maybe more. Hall is on his way, but we really can't have a non-scoring 4 or 5 goal contributor in that other position IMO

He needs to do an interview though. Especially as his new role is Director of Football. He was hardly ever interviewed when Ardley, Burch, LW etc were always in front of the camera. Time to be more visible and accountable this time around I'd say.

Burton 0-2 Bolton (joker) Exeter 1-2 Reading Leyton Orient 2-1 Doncaster Wigan 1-1 Wycombe Chesterfield 3-1 Salford Crewe 1-1 Bromley Fleetwood 1-0 Harrogate Tranmere 1-1 Barnet

I wrote on here a few weeks back @sentient that Conor Grant was a prime candidate for a short loan to the NL. He's 24, but maybe a young 24, who hasn't reached his peak yet. He needs to know what it feels like to be a potent player that can produce on a consistent basis. So I think the loan Hinchy got would've been more suitable for Conor. Wiki has his career stats at P161 G15. A goal every 11 games is just not going to cut it for us. If that player is a regular in an attacking position, you are not going to be promoted. It's no good saying the goals will come from somewhere else. I don't go on social media so I don't know about 'a witch hunt'. Trump has probably destroyed the meaning of that phrase, but anyway, I can imagine it not being very nice and going too far. He's our player thru til summer 2027, and he'll still only be 25 at that time. I really hope he can realise more of his potential by then

I'm remembering now where this is taken on the podcast - Wimbledon's superiority as promotion candidates, especially in terms of their overall approach. I definitely don't go along with that. As@Robbie said, the personality and methods of the coach, and the culture created (a topic MP picks up on), were enormous factors as to why we went out so lamely. A team that plays positive, attractive football doesn't have to such a passive, toothless mentality and not want to win enough. MP looks like he's really setting about to fix that thankfully.

Top reply @Robbie agree with every word. Yes, MP is a different kettle of fish. Obviously there's a massive psychological element to competitive, professional sport. We need a personality like Pato at the club. The culture at the top, and behind the scenes, is considered and quieter, so it's even more important that the intensity and passion comes from the Head Coach.

Our PO semis against Wimbledon have come up a couple of times on Magpie Circle recently. I hope I get this right, the argument seems to go The team was playing badly going into them The atmosphere was very flat and nobody thought we could win We were duly beaten by Wimbledon - easily For me, that's about 75% right but it does stand out as something unusual, especially point 2. My take is Absolutely, it was awful. SM still fiddling around the edges (i.e bringing in Austin for both games) while still neglecting the spirit of the team, it's motivation and readiness for battle. Turning us into the one of the worst clutch teams we've seen - incapable of coming out on top in a close game, or forcing equalisers when we really needed them. Sure. The form and the spirit meant nobody was optimistic. But it was the play offs ffs! Perform, get the rub of the green and you can sneak through a surprise promotion. I was really up for those games. I knew we had a less than 25% of promotion, but we all should know that going in. Kind of disagree - we were better than them, had better players, and they knew it. They had a great strategy to nullify us and it worked a treat for them. But the way they play they could only win 1-0 so each game was always going to be close. They would've seen their victory over two legs as a real triumph. In the end it was like one of those bad dreams where you just can't do those basic things in order to avoid disaster. No.1 above, really did put us on a path for No.3. But I hope No.2 never reoccurs. If true, that's pathetic. You have to get to the games and be up for play-off matches when promotion is the prize. All of that can help the team succeed.

Welcome @NottaCounty2001, hope you enjoy being on PoN. It's a great place, you've done yourself a favour!

Well done the Bros Send your man out on an internment at a championship club for 6 months. He does some benchmarking there, develops himself, learns that division, steals the contacts and all at the great expense of the championship chumps. Cheers Swansea, you didn't even see us coming. Couldn't have happened to a nicer club :)

Dear Richard, There is a player you once recruited who never plays for his current club, doesn't even make their bench now. This player would fit into this current team like a hand in a glove. Could you at least enquire if there's any chance of a short loan even of Mr. Ruben Rodrigues of FC Vitoria? Welcome back

Well Montague would fit right into that. But with Gagliardi and the doctor gone, and RM needing time to gauge this particular team, there'd be a strong case for announcing that the board is on hold for now and communications will be done more informally. Even if the TB resumes/continues, please announce that it isn't! :) I don't what to hear MP asked "how is the technical board going?'' ever again!

Fantastic news IMO Here's the release on the club site Richard Montague has returned to the club as Director of Football. Having left for the same role at Swansea City in February, the 39-year-old reunites with our owners, Chris and Alex Reedtz, having previously worked closely with them for 14 years. Chris and Alex said: “We’re delighted to welcome Richard back to Meadow Lane in what will be a slightly broader role to the one he previously held with us. “While recruitment will once again be one of his key responsibilities, Richard will now be more involved in the day-to-day operations of the football department and will once again become a key figure of support to the coaching team. “We’re sure fans will join us in warmly welcoming him back to the club.” Richard added: “I’m incredibly excited and grateful to be back at Notts – a club close to my heart following a very memorable and enjoyable five-and-a-half years here previously. “I arrive with fresh ideas, experiences and contacts from my time at Swansea – and even greater passion and respect for the way we operate at Meadow Lane. “I look forward to meeting and building close relationships with Martin Paterson and Andy Edwards, as well as catching up with the many other fantastic people who work so hard to drive the club forward.”

I have to say that I've enjoyed following how MP has shaped the team over the first 2 months of the season. His choices have made a lot more sense than Maynard's or Burchnall's even. He's been pretty decisive in moving away from things that haven't worked. Each change he's made - Robbo for Norburn, Macari for Aljofree, Jones back out wide, Hall in, etc have made us better each time. Burchnall was too cautious at times and had favourites (I better not get started on Ardley!) For a modest man, Maynard thought it was about him and his techncial solutions for each game, hence the seemingly random chopping and changing. I actually have more faith already in MP to identify problems and fix them swiftly and fairly. For now, the team looks pretty settled. The latest great development appears to be that Hall has grabbed a starting shirt in one of the No.10 positions. This is really exciting, because there's a 15-20 goal a season player if ever I've seen one. And that kind of output can contribute to a promotion. I don't think 2 up front will be his staple. So the main question remaining is who will be the other regular No.10? I don't think that can be Iorpenda. A low assist, low goal player in that advanced position will hold back progress big time. It's alright with home games against Shrews, Crawley, Oldham and the like, but all the big games like at Gills, Walsall, MK, Swindon etc when it's tight and they wrap up Jatta and Hall, you need that other player to come up with equalisers and winners and that's not going to be Iorpenda IMO. He might look good but he's not ready yet to make telling contributions in the men's games which affects actual results. There's plenty of other viable contenders for that other spot....Luker, Dennis, Jarvis, or a surprise like Kouhyar or Traore. And failing that a January acquisition.

Think I might try to find this on Youtube From BBC report Scunthorpe v Morecambe - 'Six minutes before the interval Callum Roberts cut in from the wing to score with a finish across Archie Mair and inside the far post.' Scunthorpe up to 4th, 1pt behind Keiro's FGR and 2pts behind TAR's Rochdale

There's a fair amount of chat about who will finish top scorer, Dennis or Jatta. If he plays enough games, might Tyrese Hall beat them both? The remarkable thing about his goal on Saturday was how long he allowed the ball just to roll. With so much going on in a penalty area, how cool do have to be to decide not to take a touch at all?! In the end he took it first time. All other players would have taken a touch or smashed it earlier, but he spent all that time letting it roll, cooly working out where he was going to place it. So impressive.

Like Martin Allen was talking about on Magpie Circle a few weeks ago, there's a lot of value in working backwards from the stats you need to be a champion or promotion contender. Total goals required bears itself out in most leagues, most seasons. So players who will only chip in 4 or 5 a season from key attacking positions just won't cut it. Hall has 4 in 4, looks like such a cool, natural finisher and assister. There's no point looking good, you actually have to do the business. Palmer and Norburn was a problem. Robbo will chip in with a few goals and assists, but his presence and impact in the attacking third will also create opportunities for others. In this case, I'd say it's possible to win promotion if MP goes P46 goals 0. But if we have a No10 going P46 goals 4, we can't.

Yeah, I think Hall has the shirt and it's him + one for the No.10 positions now.

Good referee today I thought, hardly noticed him.

So many strong performers today - Robbo, Bennetts, Jatta + others. But I reckon it comes down to McDonald v Bedeau. Both were dominant, but I thought RodMac was immaculate on top of that, so he gets my vote, yet again.

Nice game, so open. There really should've been more goals in the 2nd half. Some excellent individual performances today - RodMac, Bedeau, Robbo, Jatta and off the bench Bennetts and Kouhyah. A long time to wait til the next one now.

We know from our own first season back, this is EFL players against NL players. Still you can only beat what's in front of you and all of players have been on it. McDonald and Bedeau have been masterful.

A cautious team selection... This confirms that Dennis, our top scorer, is dropped from the starting XI. Maybe the penalty he gave away last Saturday didn't do him any favours. I thought Jarvis had earned himself a seat on the bench at least. Iorpenda has played 10 games without a goal. I hope he proves me wrong but I'm wondering how many more games before MP reluctantly has to say goodbye to his size and physicality because the production and the match results are not there. Hoping for egg on face at 5pm :)

Yes @McPie those points stood out. Actually I don't think MP got his phrasing quite right on that - I'm sure Aljofree, Norburn, Cotter and maybe others have been trying and it should be perfectly natural for players to come in and out according to form when the squad size is 25+. We can vent on places like this, but the coach should be a wee bit more diplomatic. He said it right later - anyone not performing well is under pressure. That's just a small detail, the forum and whole panel were great last night, MP especially, who spoke very well on the team. One point that got my interest is the Bros still mulling over what management structure they want. That tells us there will be no appointment any time soon, if what the actual post is hasn't been decided yet :) Hopefully, there won't be any fans banging on about giving recruitment to MP - it's not going to happen. The choice is a) Head of Recruitment b) Director of Football or c) some other structure we haven't seen before. Personally I hope it's a) MP doesn't need a boss between him and the bros but could do with an equal in that other dept, either a Montague figure or Montague himself (I still haven't given up hope of him coming back).