McPie

I like the way Tsaroulla takes players on, he is better than Gordon who doesn’t seem to have that ability. Totally agree his finishing has been poor. Surely though with some help from the coaches, he should be able to improve this part of his game. If he can he would be a real threat in the final third.

As @Wheelbarrow repair man says, MP said judge me after 10 games. At the time it seemed he was very confident in his own ability to produce a successful team. Listening to his interview after the Barrow game I’m not so sure. It seemed he couldn’t confidently say he knew what the problem was and how to fix it. It reminded me a bit of John Sheridan during his overseeing 9 consecutive defeats. He always struck me as if he didn’t really know how to turn things around. “We just need to work harder on the training ground” comment doesn’t seem to work. Let’s hope MP does know and how and will succeed.

The second question is a good one! Not sure there is an easy answer. The worrying thing is the lack of playing style, there’s no real patterns of play, no identity. If we could see what the head coach is trying to do, but just needed more time to Gel, that would be an easier fix. It feels like he’s told the players to be aggressive in the press and move the ball forwards as much as possible. Resulting in constantly giving the ball away with poor passing and aimless long balls. I know the previous passing sideways and back was very frustrating, but at least it was done with a purpose to commit the opposition and create space. What we are doing at the moment lacks cohesion or purpose with very few clear cut chances and ultimately fewer goals. This looks like we have a head coach who is currently not able to get his ideas across to the players. What’s the fix? New head coach? The brothers won’t sack him any time soon. Sign several better players? That won’t happen till the January window now. More time for the head coach to sort things out? Looks the most likely. That being the case, I think it’s going to be a long season!

New head coach and a lot of new players. Doesn't seem to be a clear pattern of play. Doesn't look good! Something has to change. We need more creativity, inspiration and a goal and we bring on Grant! I think that says everything.

As I understand it Scotty, when the opposition play with a high press, they leave space behind which we need to exploit. The problem is when players in that situation panic and just hit the ball long aimlessly, you concede possession and usually the defenders use that space to start another attack. It would seem rather that just hit long balls aimlessly we need to find a way to pass forward through the lines to players who can received the ball on the half-turn and use the space to our advantage. Of course we are talking about league 2 quality players so this is not easy. That's why league two games are often a war of attrition. The survival of the fittest and strongest and not always pretty to watch.

The newly formed Technical Board has been met with a great deal of scepticism even outright opposition. However after the performance against Salford, is this where we actually start to see its value? After all a “technical board” is nothing new. We as supporters since football began, have been every clubs “technical board”? Is it not so that supporters often can see what a coach sometimes does not. Team selection, tactics, players played out of position. It’s not the the coach or players don’t know what they are doing, they know far more thane ever will about the professional game. Still sometimes they can so immersed in a situation they can’t see the “wood from the trees” so to speak. A view from the outside looking in can be so helpful. Surely then the technical board can see what we saw. Looking at the Salford game what did we see. We saw much more physicality which was welcomed, but not a lot else. Lots of long aimless balls, a lack of creativity etc. The head coach knows all this, but the regular meetings give a platform for discussion. He can be reminded of the need to stick to our playing philosophy and in turn he can remind the club to provide the right tools to do the job. This clarity of thinking will surely pay dividends as the season progresses. This regular analysis is what we need. We don’t want to wait until we are on a losing streak rooted near the bottom of the league before something is done. COYP!

I think this game would be a good opportunity to play Griffiths. MP can include him without casting any negativity towards Roos, as most teams give their second choice goalie a place in cup games. If he does well then he could play him in the the Barrow game and simply say he deserves to keep the shirt!

The problem with pre-season as a time to gel @Wheelbarrow repair man is that players only get 30 or 60 minutes and don't play with the same players each time. So once Paterson picks a settled 11 they will need time. However that being said, yesterday we seem to be playing with no plan or strategy. We seem to be a team of strangers. That of course is not surprising with 7 players making the league home debut. Maybe the head coach is trying to change things too quickly. Let's see where we are after 10 games.

No doubt we are all feeling down after the result and performance yesterday. Having just watched the full match replay and comparing it to what I watched at Meadow Lane yesterday, I see reasons for optimism. Firstly we need to put things into perspective. It's only the second game in and we had 7 players making the league home debut. They need time to gel. Also Paterson is still learning what players can and can't do. he might for example realise that Palmer and Norburn can't pay together, this would allow for another creative player to start. Luker and Hall look like the creative spark we are missing and with Iorpenda height and physicality we will not be bullied in midfield. If Jatta had been playing yesterday, I think we might have taken one of the chances we had. Also let's not forget that although Salford were better with the the ball than we were, they came with tactics determined to waste time, stifle and frustrate, which is so anti football and horrible to watch. I am confident we will learn from this. Paterson said judge him after 10 games. It may well take that long for things to work out. So lets all cheer up and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

I thought Keanan Bennetts showed touches of real class in the match yesterday. When he’s fully fit, he’s going to be a real asset. I know we are all feeling down after the team’s performance yesterday, but it is early days. It takes time to find the best starting eleven and getting them to gel. I think back to previous seasons and a lot of teams that were promoted started slowly. Teams that make a fast start often fade. Who remembers Torquay in the national league. Walsall last season.

It's strange how players develop differently at similar ages. George Abbott at 19 is in his second season long loan in EFL league 1. Compared with Lamine Yamal who at 18 is a regular in the Barcelona first team and has already made his senior debut for the Spanish national team. He also became the youngest player to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or at 17.

Agree, no one is bigger than the club. With the McGoldrick transfer, it would seem the owners also agree!

I think yesterdays game shows just how important Jatta is to us. If we sell him, I can't see how we would get a ready made replacement before the window shuts. Well certainly not without a fee involved. We watch with interest!

It will take time for the team to gel, but I think after watching the full match replay the first "green shoots" are already starting to show. Newport are a very physical team. In fact their supporters clapped and cheered every bruising tackle and shirt pull. Yet despite that we gave as good as we got. That wouldn't have happened last year. We remember the league game away at Wimbledon, we were out bullied! That won't happen this year. We matched them physically and were the only team trying to play football. Their goal came from a set play. They were never going to score any other way. We created enough chances from open play to win the game. If we can become more clinical in front of goal, the season looks bright.

I agree we need to be patient with signings as we could be waiting to to see what happens with the loan market, but something doesn't quite feel right at the moment. It's hard to put your finger on it exactly. Are there issues behind the scenes that we are not aware of? I suppose we will just have to wait and see. Lets hope the silence is a positive thing. Certainly the Port Vale result was what we all needed!

So this begs the question: who is the next one out the door for a substantial profit or it someone we've yet to sign before this window shuts?

I think Mapperley Pie that pretty well sums up the way that Martin Paterson is thinking. Let's hope the Technical Board agree!

Yes I'm sure the club wouldn't be spending money on taking trialist on a tour to Germany without the radar due diligence. It would seem that if most of them are given contracts, it wouldn't leave much room for more signings.

Aside from the fact that the players and staff are in Germany, what could be behind the the lack of new signings? Could it be that spaces still to fill in the squad will be made from the current trialist and we are just waiting to see who is good enough? Are we still actively searching for a new number one goalkeeper or is the trialist Maks Baruc the likely candidate? Could it be we waiting to see if there are any outgoings, if so who might leave?

Absolutely agree. What might have been eh?

I’d go back to 1983 when we had Glen Roeder on loan. I remember making a contribution to the collection to help the club sign him on permanent basis. Sadly we couldn’t raise the funds. I’m sure he would have made a massive difference to fortunes going forward. He was different class as a center back. I just wonder what could have been!

I think the captain should be a real leader. Not just on the pitch, but in the dressing room. Someone who can encourage, motivate and has real personality. Someone who can take individual players to one side and inspire them. Not sure if Matt Palmer fits that criteria. Maybe one will emerge before the start of the season

Its true that we shouldn’t place to much importance on preseason friendly results, but you do hope to see some signs of the way the team is shaping up and indications of who might be in the starting lineup for the first league game. The concern is that after watching todays game, we didn’t seem to have any identity as how we will play as a team, it all looked a bit chaotic. Not to mention after 3 friendlies, not one of our strikers has scored. Has anyone noticed any standout performers?

I think Martin comes across as a coach who is clear on what he wants and looks to be a real leader. I get the impression that when the technical board meets, he will certainly have a major input. Hopefully this will lead to progress on the pitch and a strong team we can all get behind.