theAnticlough

You've identified something very important @Sir Magpie. The wide defenders are absolutely crucial in any possession-based scheme. Who does the GK pass to more than anyone else? - the RCB/LCB. The CMs? The same, probably. The CB? The WBs?. Those two positions see more of the ball than anybody, so they've got to be up for using it and capable of doing so. As you said, Bedeau been a shadow of himself so far. From Player of the Season candidate to nowhere near that level. Aljofree's been good in defence 90-95% of the time, but when the other 5% is costing you goals on a regular basis, it's not much use. As for showing for it, using it, sparking attacks? I can't remember a single instance of positive play. This is a very important area, crucial for our success this season. We have to hope Bedeau returns to last year's player soon. As for RCB, the achilles heel of NCFC since they got back into the EFL, I'm afraid the search goes on.

I think it helps to think of keeping possession as just something good players and teams do rather than as a philosophy. English club football had it's peak in the late 70s early 80s but the writing was on the wall before that. I watched decades of football where European teams full of 'technical players' dominated the ball and British players gave it away. It was always painful watching seeing England or English clubs chasing round the opposition unable to get the ball. Giving the ball away cheaply became the thing I hated most, even watching Notts, which could be torture over the years but you do it out of commitment and loyalty. Saturday was a masterclass in giving the ball way cheaply, by both sides, and it was an awful watch. Over the decades, good technical play became embedded in the English game and trickled down the leagues to even reach the NL. I think that thuggish, physical teams only succeed down in L2 because of the way the game's officiated - it wouldn't wash in other countries. Generally though I don't think there's any going back with the direction of the game and we shouldn't deviate from trying to mirror the type of football played in the premiership. Sure it's got faster as @McPie said, but it's still based on great technical players able to keep the ball and find a man. I think that's what were trying to pull off at the moment. Good luck!

I don't think there's been a conscious effort to forge a new identity or go in a very different direction. More likely we've lurched from one point to another, and then another, based on the obvious failings before our own eyes. Suddenly losing our midfield under LW meant we could no longer control games, exposing our otherwise ok defence to pressures they just couldn't withstand. It was a downward spiral after that defensively (and the squad didn't get over losing LW anyway). So in came SM, withdrew the WBs further back, put constraints on defenders and CMs to always cover. Those changes, allied to his passionless, technical approach made for a boring product and a gutless team. So in came MP to reinject the passion, pace and purpose - to put the ball at risk more in the cause of being more positive. That allied to a poor year of recruitment - high quality going out, lesser quality coming in - has lead us to where we are now. All of which is, accidentally, far far away from how we strutted into the league with the ultra possession, ultra-attacking record goals / points team of LW's undeniable heroes, plus Didzy plus Crowley etc. In short, we've botched it, we've blown it. But that doesn't help us deal with where we are now. We appointed MP and, up to a point, we have to let him have a shot at success, doing things his way. Hopefully he can survive long enough for a new Head Of Recruitment to come in and give him some better tools to do the job with in the second half of the season. Staying in touch with the play-offs til then is the realistic goal.

I think that's the idea, but can't be sure! We were right to move on from the negativity and defeatism under SM. Don't want to be cruel and wish him well, but football matches aren't telecom call-outs where all you've got to do is find the right technical solution. 8 league games of trying to be more positive and aggressive under MP....maybe away at the league leaders isn't a fair one-off game to evaluate, but we are coming up to the 10 game mark that was mentioned. We need to put a couple of good performances in.

We are playing faster and with more intent though - that's a big change in itself

I'd go for this reading of it @McPie rather than transitioning to a different style. We pass it around at the back almost as much, Palmer shows, so do the WBs. But they're a lot deeper, and it seems a lifetime ago that Ruben or Crowley played in Nemane around the back between 5 to 10 times a game. With deeper WBs and 2 up top, we just don't have the patterns of play that inside forwards like Ruben, Crowley, Didzy gave us to build up thru the lines. That's why we see the speculative long balls to nowhere. It seems Norburn is there to compensate for MP not being all that strong defensively, so there's a duplication and a waste of a man in itself. Gillingham were very strong off the ball and in pressing, but apart from that I wasn't all that impressed. Maybe this year's Wimbledon, especially with a good coach who's done it all before.

Good summary @Robbie. Too many of those mistakes have come from one player and this is the second away game we've seen him have an absolute mare, apart from the mistake. Projected over a full season, that's going to be very costly indeed. Where's Ness? He looked handy the short time we saw him last season. Sorry, but I've lost trust in Aljofree. Nice to see Jodi come on, but I couldn't help notice that Jatta was wanting the ball both times JJ shot it. I'm not saying it was necessarily the wrong option, but I don't think he even saw him to consider slipping him in.

That hit me watching the stream when Hassell spoke about that. Never spoke to her, but saw her on so many away days over the years. Too sad. RIP

When most others fall short, the player maintaining his good form wins by default - Rod McDonald again for me

I keep thinking what is Jane Jackson doing in their technical area - then I realise it's Gareth Ainsworth

Unchanged, as most thought. Bennetts and Traore stand down on the bench for Cotter and Jones. Both are unlucky to be out of the matchday squad, I'm sure MP has had some consoling words.

Stoke City 1-0 Birmingham City Wrexham 2-0 QPR Joker AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Rotherham United Leyton Orient 0-1 Bolton Wanderers Bristol Rovers 2-0 Barrow Fleetwood Town 0-2 Walsall Hartlepool United 2-0 Brackley Town Wealdstone 1-1 Gateshead

That's right up my street @True Magpie, but dropping a defensive mid for JJ for away at the league leaders would be a very bold move. I can't see MP doing that and I've always liked not changing a winning team (and conversely, changing a losing team).

Interesting points @True Magpie, who specifically would you drop to accommodate JJ?

Physically, he's reminiscent of one of Nottingham's great football heroes - Lenton's Andy Cole. Dennis is only 23 so how good can he be, what level can he reach?

Great for him, great for the club. Where would we be without his goals?

I hope this happens Dripsey. When the Bros got Burchnall and then Williams maybe we thought they had a conveyor belt of talent across all roles lined up to fit their philosophy and project. We've since learned, from the appointments of Maynard, Gag, and maybe MP too that this isn't the case and recruitment for them is challenging. Lord Montague of Beaulieu driving back from Swansea in one of his vintage cars would be an easy and reliable solution. Gagliardi was obviously a mistake and we couldn't afford another

Good questions@Robbie. With the Director of Football gone and unlikely to be replaced quickly, there might be a case for freezing this and doing something more informal, but still effective, for a while (let everyone concentrate on their jobs, and defuse potentially divisive questioning as we go thru a run of v.difficult fixtures). Then bring it back as the new DoF / HoR prepares for the transfer window. Just my hunches as usual, on a level of info somewhere between Jack **** and SFA :)

I think go with the same XI, JJ on the bench for this one. A very difficult fixture, but hope lies with how well the front three played last week. We'll have to play excellent team defence, and all 4 or 5 subs that come on for tired players will need to be on it.

If he wants to return, the Bros should do it. I bet he's been tracking an interesting pool of players at Swansea, maybe we can snag a couple next window 😉

It's gone... Ardley & Monatgue / Burchnall & Montague / Williams & Montague / Maynard & Montague / Maynard & Nobody / Maynard & Gagliardi / Nobody & Gagliardi / Paterson & Gagliardi I'd hazard a guess that Williams and Montague was the peak of this coach/head of recruitment combo, and Paterson and Gagliardi the most fractious and unworkable. I think we need to bring in a true stats/analytics based Head of Recruitment, drop the technical board now and come up with some other mechanism, and let both sides really concentrate on their jobs.

I'll direct you to Piethagoram's last post on this thread @YoopEyes, for the top and tail of it Sure, you want to look at 160 years rather than the last 6, 2019-25, when the Football Radar brothers came in with their statistical, analytical based approach and regained league status with it. I think you will have to wait til the Post-Reedtz era to have any chance of seeing an ex-player manager who also acts as the effective Head of HR as well. Even then it would have to be set to a Hovis commercial and we could all dust off our flat caps and maybe even go back to pigs' bladders 😀 MP has made an OK start, and many like him, but I don't see why the he Bros should entrust the whole operation of their multi-million investment to a novice head coach.

Yes, all good points Also, wouldn't going to a traditional manager model with no data background be saying that Football Radar is some kind of snake oil company. Or it's failed in the place it's been given the most opportunity. It hasn't failed though, we just gagged on the last appointment it seems.

yeah, I don't think we should ever go back to the model that got us relegated. We need the Head Coach to concentrate on his core job

I'd look at that as the model that got us relegated @YoopEyes, and the one with a Head of Recruitment as the model that got us back up - found us gems like Ruben, Cal, Maca, Cedwyn etc while the Head Coach was able to concentrate on the very taxing role of managing the team. The window's closed til January now. The statement talks about how he will be replaced. We're more likely looking for someone better than Gagliardi in the role rather than switching models and asking Pato to become Arthur Daley or Delboy. He looks like Uncle Albert anyway, so it's a non-starter.