Game 13 - The Cardinals (H)

Team: Woking

Date: 05/12/2020

Where: Meadow Lane

What line-up should Neal Ardley opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

Slocombe 6.5 Always look commanding of his area

Brindley 6.5 Much improved, a wonderful ball in the first half that should have been converted

Turner 5.5 One rating point deducted for 3 sloppy moments in the first 5 minutes. Otherwise solid

Rawlinson 6 Did what he needed to

DKE 6.5 Mr versatility, full of energy.

Doyle 5.5 Again some sloppy passing, actually improved in last 10 minutes, to show his experience

Reeves 7 Covered the ground, like an old Andy Hughes ( for those old enough to remember)

Ruben 6 Tries to make things happen. A stupid free kick given away, saw him subbed immediately afterwards

Sam 5.5 Not his day but thought he was unlucky to be subbed first. That Brindley cross, maybe he thought Wootton was going to get a touch to it

Walker 5 Not in the game for long periods, though capable of a quality ball

Wootton 5.5 Never confident of his penalty taking... bit like I was never confident of Rose last season

Subs

Enzio 7 Impressed with his improvement to work for the team... nice set up for Wootton to score

JOB 6 Better from Jim, a good strike deflected

Knowles 3.5 Inexperience showed. Absolute shambolic free  kick given away

Slocombe 7.5 A quiet away day but pulled off a superb free kick save

DKE 7 Industrious performance linking play on the right

Rawlinson  7 One dodgy moment but well handled forward threats

Turner 6.5 Overshadowed today by his partner. Didnt do a lot wrong

Chicksen 5 Poor passing at times, defensively OK

Doyle 5.5 Less influential than normal, tired towards the end

Reeves 6 Thumping shot against the post. Crowded out when going forward

Enzio 6 Getting involved more, especially defensive work but nothing went for him

Ruben 7 Some great chances went begging but looks so comfortable on the ball, trying to make things happen

Sam 7 Physical performance, occupying Dagenhams back line

Wootton 6.5 Real battle with the centre half.

Subs

Walker 6.5 Looks comfortable on the ball

Knowles 4 Anonymous

JOB Not much time to give a rating

https://www.barkinganddagenhampost.co.uk/sport/football/dagenham-and-redbridge/daggers-notts-county-national-league-match-report-1-6951083

Fair report

A few weeks before I went away with my family to Skegness (thankfully before the lockdown and, other restrictions), I became addicted to Frosties. Before that, I was having a fair amount of Ready Brek, I do like porridge but prefer the smoother taste.

Otherwise, I very rarely eat any type of cereal.

As a kid I enjoyed most of them from Sugar Puffs, Rice Krispies to Frosted Sheddies.

So, what's your favourite cereal? Do you have them for breakfast?

It is not often to see Slocombe being outshone...but Harry Isted looks to have a great future.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Isted

I have always been impressed with Dean Parrett, pity he didn't sign for Notts back in 2013... always looked a quality player and Ardley signed him for Wimbledon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Parrett

"I've liked Dean ever since he was at Spurs," Dons boss Neal Ardley told the club website.

"He's very dynamic, very quick and technically excellent. I think he has goals in him."

Parrett is Wimbledon's fourth signing of the summer following their promotion to the third tier via the League Two play-offs.

The Dons have not disclosed the length of Parrett's deal at Kingsmeadow.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36686817

Game 12 - Daggers (A)

Team: Dagenham & Redbridge

Date: 01/12/2020

Where: The Chigwell Construction Stadium

What line-up should Neal Ardley opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

Hello and welcome to round 15 of the prediction league! These matches kick off this coming Tuesday, 1 December - for some strange reason, the kick-off times in the various divisions are different, so get your predictions in by 7pm on Tuesday to be on the safe side. And remember your jokers! Love, Dangerous "The Oracle" Sausage.

Birmingham City v Barnsley

Derby County v Coventry City

Crewe Alexandra v Swindon Town

Blackpool v Portsmouth

Forest Green Rovers v Newport County

Colchester United v Crawley Town

Solihull Moors v Hartlepool United

Wealdstone v Torquay United

• Damien McCrory hasn't yet returned to training but has done light stuff on grass as of this Monday
• Wes Thomas is back training, he doesn't feel far away from being match ready but Neal Ardley aims to build him up over the next couple of weeks so that he's match sharp.
• Cal Roberts injury doesn't seem to be as bad as some fans/people have speculated, it sounds like there's work being done behind the scenes and with the arrival of Tom Walker for a month - it would seem he's been signed as cover. It's only speculation on my part, but it seems like he could be back to training within the month. He just requires a little looking after, which would be a blessing.

https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2020/december/ardley-pre-dagenham-021220/?fbclid=IwAR1wIsIWb1VbBOEvSuX8aTUd6gxaTGUG5hcZV0I0mRrJWqZqE5ovMTbS3B8

https://downthewritewing.wordpress.com/2020/12/01/congested-fixtures/

something i think can put a little perspective into the ardley out situation is that 4 games ago, newly promoted weadstone sat bottom of the table with minus 4 goal difference.

they looked doomed having being beaten by stockport 5-2 at their own ground.

since they have gone on a winning streak of 4 games, this has changed everything for them and now they sit 3rd. tomorrow they play again, they face halifax away and could go 2nd. notts has 2 games over sutton who sit 4th. beating stockport could push notts as high as 6th place. a winning streak for notts could change form, performance and reflect better in the national league table.

there is still a long way to go.

the club tried getting fans behind our last winning streak of 3 games, hopefully we can start a new roll.

@TheMagpieCircle

https://downthewritewing.wordpress.com/2020/11/28/struggles-of-the-england-national-team/

Ps.. may have slightly ranted in this.

Quote

 

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15/08/2020

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Thanks for understanding.

Following Government confirmation that Nottingham will re-enter tier three restrictions when the nation’s second lockdown ends on 2 December, we can confirm that we will not be permitted to welcome supporters back to Meadow Lane for the time being.

Elite football clubs based in tier one and tier two areas of the country will be permitted to play competitive matches in front of a limited number of supporters for the first time since the 2019-20 season was curtailed in March, but those in tier three must continue to play behind closed doors.

https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2020/november/tier-three-statement-261120/

https://www.wealdstone-fc.com/post/match-report-notts-county-3-0-stones

This Friday at 19:45 BST we finally play at a home, in what feels like a lifetime since the last home game. Our opponents, Wealdstone FC.

The game was moved (assumingly on request of the police) to the Friday as a small club across the river were supposed to be playing on Saturday. They're not playing on Saturday anymore, they're playing on Sunday. Additionally, there's no fans allowed to either game anyway. Yet, we still play on Friday. All makes sense, fine logic. Moving on...

Friday's Opponents:

Wealdstone FC are most famous for... well.... 



Can we have him at the top of the Kop on Friday, screaming 'you've got no fans' to absolutely nobody, before asking Ben Turner 'if he wants some?'. 
 

Almost 17 million views on that video alone. Impressive.

On a serious note, though, they are last seasons NL South champions, finishing on 70 points with 33 games played, less games than anybody else around them in the table, so even with PPG mark up due to you-know-what, probably safe enough to say they were deserved winners. 

They've made a flying start to NL football too, sitting pretty in 4th after winning 5 of their opening 10 games, drawing 2 and losing just the 3. This weekend they were 2-0 down after 11 minutes to Sutton United, coming back to lead 3-2 only to let Sutton equalise in the 90+5th minute, but it certainly shows that they are a team with character.  Formation-wise, it looks to be either a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, though they are pretty fluid in the middle and attacking thirds. 

Strengths

They look to be a very agile, athletic team with plenty of pace and energy throughout their side. Their players cover a lot of ground and can employ a press at times, especially against teams who are prone to mistakes at the back (ring any bells?): 



This 3 player press forced an error that the Alty keeper did well to save.

Wealdstone often employ quick free kicks and set pieces to catch the opposition napping, something I've seen work on us a few times before. 

They have wingers that aren't afraid to run at the opposing full back, either getting to the byline or coming inside. Number 11, Dennon Lewis, does this often from the left, combining well with Number 18, Moses Emmanuel. Their fullbacks too, love to push up. 

They have a long effort goal in them. Jacob Mendy scored a cracker against Chesterfield and did so again against Sutton. Given the opportunity, they'll use set pieces to set up Mendy for a long piledrive shot. 

Lafeyette is their focal point up top, a more physical striker. He has scored a few last season and so far this season too, despite being a bit of an older non-league journeymen:

Weaknesses:

They don't look to be the largest team in terms of size and physicality. Looking at their game against Chesterfield, Tom Denton and long throws caused them no end of problems.  Watching their recent highlights, it also looks like their defence is a bit weak and has more than one mistake in them. This is probably confirmed by the goals conceded column, 20 in 10 games, more than they've scored. At times they are asking for it a bit, they leave their defence wide-open when pushing forward and they'll often leave their defence 1v1 even when winning. 


As for us...

Wealdstone are exactly the type of team we struggle against. Energetic, pressing, creative. However, they will leave big gaps, depending on their tactics on the day, which could be exploited by pace and ingenuity. 

My line-up would be the following:



From the back, it almost picks itself, but Brindley and DKE are in to cope with their direct, pacey wingers. Tenacity will be a key value for that fullback - wideman matchup. 

I've gone with Doyle (no alternative) and Reeves. Reeves offers that bit more running and athleticism that might be needed in this game, in a bit of a shielding role for him, dealing with the amount  of runners they have from their own midfield. Rodrigues will offer that creative outlet, able to beat men and pick the pass. Roberts is being Roberts. Both wingers might find themselves needing to help out defensively with their fullbacks bombing on.

I've gone for Sam and Wootton up front because they (Wealdstone) might be exposed by a bit of height. Sam is also deceptively quick for a big man, and some of his runs off the ball will provide openings should we be capable of threading the pass. If Thomas were fit, I'd be tempted to swap him out for Wootton, or certainly bring him off the bench if that front 2 isn't working. 

Slocombe 6 Just caught out of position but generally a safe pair of hands

brindley 4 Defensively OK but offers nothing going forward

Rawlinson 5.5 A moment of sloppy play put us under pressure but generally defensive work good

Turner 6 Much improved, some strong defensive headers

DKE 6 A yellow card for the team, but everything Notts built came down his channel

Doyle 6 Dictating play where he could

Reeves 5 Much quieter and less influential... Perhaps have to sit in a holding role

Enzio 7 Enzio closing down for the 3rd goal, unheard of. Great finish for the first

Rodrigues 8 Someone on Twitter described as Masson like influence. If only he had a more powerful shot.

Sam 8.5 Class goal and ability to hit some great passes.

Wootton 6.5 effort yes, but unrewarded. 

Sub

JOB 4 Too loose in passing

What are your thoughts on getting the best out of Michael Doyle, Jim O'Brien and Jake Reeves?

What is the worst football song you have ever heard? I think the best has been discussed but what about the worst.

This will take some beating...

I imagine this converted many fans to support a different nation.

Gone to NCFC reserves... Aka Boston United..... Could we have done with him back?????? Or has he found his level!!!!! 

Diego Maradona has died aged 60, love or hate him he was a great player that excited fans on the pitch.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54810392

Why do clubs look overseas especially Notts when there are good young players who just need a bit of experience in the Scottish/Irish and Welsh leagues?

The standard of football is probably comparable to ours or just below.

Even, looking at young English players seems to have been forgotten by Notts in favour of experience and resale value. Notts should start to look at young players from within the UK, along with giving their own youths time to develop.

https://downthewritewing.wordpress.com/2020/11/19/criticism-surrounding-england-southgate/