I'm always sceptical when there's talk of a big club having a "crisis". However, the longer this goes on, the weirder it feels. And on top of it all, Pep Guardiola is clearly at his wits' end and his statements and behaviour are becoming ever more bizarre. He doesn't seem to know how to stop the slide. It's Sheridan-esque.

They'll pick up eventually, but they'll be a long way adrift by then. Liverpool have a great chance to bag the title this season.

I have no idea as to how to answer the question.

However, I'm loving their current situation - long may it continue!

I really don't know, it can't just be Rodri getting injured, even though he is a fantastic footballer, City have a whole squad of great players.

Clearly the players aren’t very confident, I only watched the second half of the Manchester Derby and I was amazed at how little they actually passed the ball forward, or took a player on and just avoiding doing anything with an element of risk. They were slow and made the wrong choices on the ball a lot – it was nothing like the Man City that have been so dominate.

Pep is probably just knackered now, he had a break after managing Barca but then he’s done 11 straight seasons with Bayern and City. And at the top level where it’s been high pressure to constantly win titles & European trophies. Klopp left Liverpool because he needed a break, I think Pep probably needs one too.

14 points from the past 13 games, scoring  only 11 goals, sorry to say that we are not in a good position.

Inverted wingbacks do not work with league 2 standard players. Jatta is being starved of service because we are obsessed with keeping the ball but doing nothing with it and Notts fans are basically pinning all our hopes now on JJ coming back and hitting the ground running.
Crowley comes back and is played out of position, Abbott is moved out of position to accommodate a player playing out of position That’s four players played out of position in the game, when they could have all been played in position and been more effective, that is sheer madness!

We started well enough against Salford, but we allowed them to pin us back and for some reason Notts started to play more long balls. I thought we wanted to keep on the floor and play pretty football? If this was the players going against the tactics, someone from the coaching team should have pointed it out that it wasn't working. Very early in the game our passing wasn't great, we gave them too much space and that forced us to start playing the wrong passes out of the back.

I believe Dan Crowley was fouled for the first goal, even seeing the highlights I feel this way, and it's clear that our players stopped playing.

Alex Bass didn't completely stop, but his reaction was clear that even he felt it was a foul and the referee in my opinion should have stopped the game. Later in the game, a Salford player clashed into one of ours and that broke a moment in the game where Notts looked lively. So, I don't think the decision from the officials seemed balanced. The foul on Bass, where Conor McAleny pulled his shirt and forced him to drop the ball, should have seen him punished with a yellow card.

Even without the poor officiating, Notts didn't help themselves, and it was a very sluggish performance overall.

The amount of times Jatta could have controlled the ball better, but his first touch or control let him down, gifting the ball back. This isn't necessarily his fault, as it should have been a clear signal not to play in this manner. Yet his pace wasn't effective either; times when he could have got the ball he made poor runs or positioned himself in a harder way to make something happen. This for me, is a form and performance issue, but I would have taken him off - keeping David McGoldrick up top.

Salford weren't brilliant, but they looked good for the three goals they scored.

If you play as a team, work hard and persist with positive play, then the rewards are clear. That is why Salford made the game work for them, whilst our lads were extremely poor, they resembled a team that had never played together before. This was one of the worst performances I've seen since our relegation to the National League. I'm sorry, but Stuart Maynard should have addressed the situation before we fell behind 2-0.

On 15/12/2024 at 11:11, Robbie said:

Crowley is a talented midfielder. Are you saying he can't play defensive midfield?

Stuart wouldn't have played him there if Dan wasn't comfortable in that position.

I would have played Abbott & Palmer together & had Crowley on the bench coming back from injury.

Dan Crowley's best position is in an attacking role. Being talented isn't enough to play defensive when you have better options. George Abbott hasn't been bad lately. I thought he played well against Salford, but he's a totally different player alongside Matt Palmer in a defensive position. It doesn't stop him going forward, he can break up the play and offer solid protection for the defence.

Take Crowley out of the Salford game, we would have been very limited as only David McGoldrick looked like he could make something happen.

I don't think it was the wrong call to play Crowley, I think it was the incorrect call to allow the team to focus on lumping the ball to Jatta when he wasn't doing all that well. His touches and control weren't brilliant, and his performance was pretty average to that of what we know he can do.

We needed pace, which was a very early sign and something I said to my friend before Salford had even scored. Josh Martin contributed positively, even though he faced many negative comments during the game. I think he performed well. 

On 15/12/2024 at 14:56, Robbie said:

So Stuart put George in that role. Are you saying @Piethagoram that he made a good choice putting him there?

I don't think that George was as influential has he has been of late 

To be fair, there's not been much wrong with George Abbott. We missed him against Walsall, that was very clear and prior to that he consistently stood out as one of our better players.

Just a general point from me. Last season I was calling for Crowley to play deeper as I thought he was ideal to cover for the missing Palmer. However, this season Palmer is back and we've got a lot more choice in that position. Right now we need him further forward as we've been so pedestrian and predictable the last few weeks. I hope SM draws the right conclusions.

15 hours ago, Piethagoram said:

It's always a pity Pedro left #Notts on 399 appearances!

@Chris "Pedro paved the way, and whilst there might have been some in the fan base back then less accepting, the majority took to the players for their ability and personality."

The following season, there was a player Lloyd Richards hailing from Jamaica, who played for Notts. A descendant from him was in the Notts youth team not so long ago, also named Jordan or Jordon ?

A squad photo from 1976 can be found here:

Notts County FC - Season 1976/77

NOTTINGHAMSHIREFOOTBALL.COM

 

I wasn't aware of Lloyd Richards, at least his name didn't jump out at me.

His son did play for us, you are right about that. 

To avoid confusion @Chris, I was particularly referring to, I think a descendent from Lloyd Richards, also named Jordon or Jordan...He was in the Notts youth team maybe 6 or 7 years ago... Anyone remember him?

On 11/12/2024 at 21:43, Piethagoram said:

To avoid confusion @Chris, I was particularly referring to, I think a descendent from Lloyd Richards, also named Jordon or Jordan...He was in the Notts youth team maybe 6 or 7 years ago... Anyone remember him?

Oh, sorry. ???? 

Agreed @Robbie let’s all get behind the team and manager and leave the negativity behind, the very word “supporter” means we support the club, if anyone is going to the match to hurl abuse at the players and Maynard or unfurl banners then I’d rather they stay at home,

Seen lots of negativity on social media especially the Facebook boards. I think it's totally uncalled for. Nothing will be achieved by being negative. 

I think everyone will behind the team come Saturday against Bradford and whilst we are still in a good position I can’t lie and say I don’t find our recent form worrying.

We are falling into some bad habits now, like the slow starts, kamikaze passing from the back and just general hopeless to put the opposition’s defence under pressure. Even earlier in the season before we lost most of our attackers, we had games against Port Vale and Gillingham where we really struggled to create any clear-cut chances.

Yes we have been better defensively, but for me it is coming at a cost to our attacking play. I understand we’ve had injuries to key attackers but we've still had a large amount of possession and we should be able to do so much more with the ball. We've provided Jatta with very few chances in the last batch of matches, the inverted wingbacks don't really cause teams any issues and I don't understand what our attacking midfielders are supposed to be doing at times now.

Of course, Dan and Jodi will improve us, but we can’t just rely on these two all the time. I mentioned the lack of assists from every other player bar McGoldrick in another post. Is everyone else awful or has the coaching not adapted well enough to get the best out of our other players?

Dan Crowley played for around 65 minutes on Saturday against Salford before being substituted. To be honest I would have preferred that he would have been on the bench & come on for 30 minutes in the second half to manage his fitness.

Morning all, it’s park run day and match day, in that order for me. I’m heading off to the Park Run after I’ve had breakfast and later I’ll be watching Notts on Sky+.

@Piethagoram enjoy the duck breast, one of my favourite meats. ????

Morning all, it’s a cloudy but warmer start to the day today. How are we all feeling this morning? I hope no one is too depressed about yesterdays game, don’t forget it’s only football and contrary to what Bill Shankly said it’s not more important than life and death.

Well today will be a relaxing one here, we’ll have a walk to deliver a few cards but that’s all, we put the Christmas tree up yesterday so that’s done. I think this year will be the last one for that particular tree, it’s seen much better days and needs to go. We’ll get a new one next year.

Have a great Sunday.

Good afternoon. A damp and dreary day here. Goes with the current mood doesn't it.

In times like this it is always fascinating to see how Notts fans deal with a very bad result. 

It is usually divided by those who see a glass half empty or a glass half full.

I try to look at the positives rather than the negatives when it comes to sport because sport, especially football can be an up and down thing with one's emotions.

So I suppose I'm in the glass half full camp, but there again, I can't say that's always been 100% the case.

@gegen-den-strich.bsky.social on Bluesky

BSKY.APP

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Er pfeift auf Fußball. (Cartoon von 2013) . . . #fußballliebe #fussball #deutschebahn #cartoon #comics #humor #gegendenstrich

"I didn't mean it"..   I think

@Piethagoram he's saying "I didn't mean you" - they stopped playing because he whistled! 

I think the catchment area is very important, look at FGR... hence their ambition is just a 5,000 all seater... The Girona story is reviving a club in a city 96k population but province population is around 800k... The key to success is using the City Groups analytics to find the gems

I think the key to football success is simply finance. Just look at Wrexham. Languishing in the National League, then look what happens. 

They'll probably be in the Championship next season, & who would bet against them being a PL club a year after that.

@Robbie  "I think the key to football success is simply finance."... Yes, but it's how you spend it. Nolan was arguably given one of the biggest budgets and we got relegated that season

Given the club said they were looking at players in the National League at the club forum I’m pretty confident we’ll have been tracking Jack Stevens. As the article says he has played upfront before but this season he has played more on the wing, as an inverted winger and really excelled there. Whilst he's clearly a talented player he’d either be played as an attacking midfielder or a wingback for us. So the club would need to be confident he can be just as effective in a central attacking role or be able to take on more defensive responsibility to play as a wing-back.

His stats have jumped considerably this season so lots of clubs will now know about him. His contract is up in the summer but I think the wiser move would be to get him before (if we really wanted him).

Well we are three months down the line from when this thread was started & it looks like Stuart has had to rely greatly on his squad players to keep in touch with the leaders in league 2.

Losing Edwards, Grant, Jones,  Crowley, Robertson & waiting for McDonald & Ness to get match fit has really tested the strength of the Notts squad over the last few months.

Players who were not expecting to feature so much in the first team have had  to show their worth & the vast majority of them have. Players like Abbott, Hinchy, & Austin have stepped up to the plate.

Abbott has established himself in the centre of midfield with Palmer. Hinchy is a good young prospect, & Austin has been as steady as ever in a variety of positions.

And players like McGoldrick, who maybe wasn't expecting to feature in the first team so much this season, has featured in 15 out of the 18 league games played.

A strong squad does pay dividends, when a Club is unlucky to have many of their first teamers out.

But I'm sure Stuart will delve into the transfer market in January to strengthen the squad even further, & we might see some players leave too.

@Robbie    But I'm sure Stuart will delve into the transfer market in January to strengthen the squad even further, & we might see some players leave too.

I would say Josh Martin will leave in January, Sanderson maybe too on loan if they can find a suitable club. I would also loan out Slocombe if Stone's loan isnt extended?

Maybe Cundy would also be loaned out as he isnt getting the game time?

Brown is in a season long loan but he needs to step up, these last few games before the new year otherwise, I don't see him being in Maynard's plans

I wonder why Managers don't try to convert defenders into attackers? Maynard has used Cundy up front on a few occasions. Why not us him up front again? He's tall and he could be useful.

I think Pep was one of the leading figures who pushed to get FA Cup replays abolished from the first round onwards.

And you may be right @Wheelbarrow repair man who says the best Head Coaches are in the PL?

I think only the footballing establishment think that.

7 defeats out of 10 for Pep now.

Weston McKennie laughs at Man City 'crisis' question as he makes Micah Richards joke over Kyle Walker position | talkSPORT

TALKSPORT.COM

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Weston McKennie fired a cheeky joke at Manchester City moments after scoring...

Dale Vince's FGR project I believe only happened when he failed to buy in at Cheltenham ( stand to be corrected). 

@DangerousSausage Car parks yes, but like at The New Lawn, their current stadium, buses are provided to "bus" supporters in. I think there are still plans to reopen a Stonehouse station on the Bristol main railway line too.

I agree that the new stadium is just a soul less shell. I wonder if they will be able to fill it?

Nailed it @DangerousSausage, why replace a perfectly good and hardly used stadium with something completely new, unless you’re feeding your own ego. Government subsidies are obviously paying him well.

No matter how many steak bakes you offer me, I’ll not be going to it.

As this game is now a part of Notts County history Id love to play it again.

Modern Football just follows the pot of gold wherever it rears it's ugly head.

As long as Saudi Arabia are willing to write the cheques, Football will be willing to give Saudi whatever they want. Money talks 

I really don't want to have a loan player replacing Dan if he does go. We need to sign a good attacking Midfielder on a two ot three year contract.

January permanent signings are always difficult. Easy to pay over the odds. A quality loan might be in order if Dan goes

I think he'll get another loan somewhere. He's got promise but needs another club to show it.

It's utterly crazy what's gone wrong at Burton. Need to look into it. 20+ signings and 11 points 

Basford could have Eastleigh at home in the FA Trophy 4th round if Eastleigh defeat Hanwell Town in the third round. That would be a plum tie for Basford. 

Eastleigh won at Hanwell last night. So ex Notts Joe McDonnell and Richard Brindley will be coming to play at Basford!

Should be a good crowd for the fourth round tie. 

Good Morning.

Looks like the worse of the storm has left us and the wind is moderating. It's still raining & the temperature is quite low with the wind being drawn from the North.

Hopefully the Notts women's game at Lincoln United will go ahead tomorrow afternoon.

I think I'll listen to a little bit of cricket from New Zealand where they are playing England in the 2nd test match. England being on top, & looking for their 2nd win.

Good morning and happy Sunday, it’s still a bit windy here and rain is forecast.

It was a wise decision from me not to get a ticket for yesterdays game, disappointing that it didn’t go ahead but perhaps a bit of luck really as mentioned elsewhere we’ll hopefully get some players fit.

I hope everyone survived storm Darrah intact, enjoy your Sunday folks.

On 07/12/2024 at 07:41, Fan of Big Tone said:

Morning all, glad you enjoyed Martin Allen @Chris he’s very entertaining to listen to.

It was a great night. I very much enjoyed hearing him talk about his time. Including the forgotten "Pillowgate" incident where he was accused of stealing pillows. ????

The new badges are a fantastic update! It has a thoughtful range of diverse categories. The team behind this deserves all credit. Automatic badges are a clever way to reward our consistency without additional effort. Knowing that reaching milestones like 100 posts or a set number of likes could earn a badge adds a joyful layer. Such ideas will certainly keep everyone motivated and involved. The potential for even more badges has me excited to keep checking back to see what’s earned.

@ChrisI like the new badges. 

Some members have been on PON a long time, so maybe something like a long service badge, or something like that, recognising those who have been active over a certain number of years.

@Robbie: Aye, I agree. Acknowledging long-time members and posters will be something that is added.

Nemane was good going forward but was wanting when it came to his defensive duties.

We also have to say it as it is that Jodi was subject to a lot of over the top challenges on the playing field before & up to the time he was injured.

Stuart had complained about it on many occasions  beforehand but unfortunately he still wasn't protected by the officials adequately.

Maybe the money offered by MK Dons was too good to turn down? I agree with @Robbie about his defensive duties. 

I think that MK Dons got much more out of the transfer than Notts did.

Grant wasn't the same type of player, & I think Notts would have been better served by getting a fast tricky wingback that was reasonable in defence too.

Conor only played 11 games for MK Dons in the 23/24 season & got loaned out to Barnsley where he made 12 appearances so 23 in total that season.

Conor does have an injury record He underwent surgery on his groin in summer 2022, returning to fitness in September. He played nine games before tearing a thigh muscle two months later, which required surgery and kept him out of action for five months; 

(Source Google) 

Notts do seem to take a chance on players with a past injury record.

A really interesting story, thanks @Piethagoram, I didn’t know any of that.

Thanks @Fan of Big Tone

The key quote "The following season Talbot was sacked, Kassam sold the club and Oxford were relegated to the Conference."

We were so nearly relegated to The Conference that season. Julian Baudet's penalty still in my memory bank!

6 hours ago, Piethagoram said:

We were so nearly relegated to The Conference that season. Julian Baudet's penalty still in my memory bank!

I remember that very well.

Always prefer the sloe gin flavoured ones nowadays, although last year I bought some from Fortnums, and although they were nice flavoured and a deep filled pie, I was a little disappointed as expected more.

Will try the M&S ones this year for Christmas, although I have already had some of the Tesco’s Finest ones and they were quite nice.

On 17/11/2024 at 07:49, Super_Danny_Allsopp said:

None. Burn them all in the depths of hell.

i feel the same way, relatives always try to get me to have one but they are horrible. just not for me.