Thursday 12th & Saturday 14th September

[The_Viking_Magpie]

In that pointless hypothetical world , fingers crossed it would have.

I'm off to check the IQ of our board.

 

[jacobncfc]

It affected you more than it should have with the group of players you have, that's the point I'm making. You should have still made the play offs at least never mind arsing about in like 14th or wherever you ended up.

The defence has improved it seems personnel wise this summer but I would still say it under performed second half of last season. But obviously correct to improve it in the market.

Well done to 88% of Notts fans. They are correct.

It affected us so much because the players never got over it IMO. I’m delighted for Maynard, other clubs would definitely have sacked him but we made some big calls in letting some big players and personalities go, and he just seems a totally different presence in the job with it being a team that is now mostly players signed with him as head coach.

Our recruitment is just consistently fantastic as well. Jatta is looking like a bit of a phenomenon, Bedeau on a free from Morecambe looks an outstanding defender, and we’ve got much the better of the MK Dons swap deal. Was a big Nemane fan, but Conor Grant will go on to have a much better career than him I think. Would’ve been happy with a straight swap from what I’ve seen so far, so with the money on top it looks great business.

 

[GFCSludge]

Incredibly, Jayden Clarke's brace yesterday was the first time a Gills player has scored more than once in a game for three and a half YEARS.

 

[Optipez]

It affected you more than it should have with the group of players you have, that's the point I'm making. You should have still made the play offs at least never mind arsing about in like 14th or wherever you ended up.

The defence has improved it seems personnel wise this summer but I would still say it under performed second half of last season. But obviously correct to improve it in the market.

Well done to 88% of Notts fans. They are correct.

We had no depth of cover in centre midfield, keepers were all poor to atrocious and the defence consistently let soft ones in.
We finished where we deserved to last season, Langstaff, Jones and Crowley were the difference between mid table and a relegation battle.
It's early days but midfield, defence and keeper are a complete upgrade which gives us a chance in games against teams who would have just ran us over last season.

 

[Grimsby Road]

Thanks, it seems our fanbases are similar. Incidentally, I am very much in the ‘older demographic’ !!!.

I don't sit in there these days but the Main Stand regulars always seemed to moan at everything and some were pretty old , think you boys have got it spot on what it's like , probably at most clubs in truth - I would be interested to know what was said between big Dave and the fan in their 'altercation ' .

 

[leedsvaliant]

Thought there was two decent sides on show yesterday. We dominated the first half and Chesterfield came back into it in the second, without really ever looking like scoring.

They've got some decent players, so there was always the risk of an equaliser but I thought we managed it quite well.

We're starting to gel as a team, there was some lovely interplay between our forwards at times. Byers is a Rolls Royce of a player, how on earth he is playing at this level is beyond me. For the first time in a long time, we looked physically stronger than the opposition.

 

[Stocky]

Kicking off with fans is a bad turn of events at any club.

I've criticised Artell but who puts the squad together at Grimsby? Because I don't think it's great for the level. I can't sit here and say with a straight face that another manager improves results massively. If Artell has put the squad together, then he has no defence.

 

[Cloudy]

Kicking off with fans is a bad turn of events at any club.

I've criticised Artell but who puts the squad together at Grimsby? Because I don't think it's great for the level. I can't sit here and say with a straight face that another manager improves results massively. If Artell has put the squad together, then he has no defence.

Who the hell do you think puts the squad together???

The Head Coach of course. Not aware of any lower league club where the manager or head coach doesn’t have final say on signings.

The squad is dictated by the budget, and it is certainly lower than last season when we sat about 12th.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

We had no depth of cover in centre midfield, keepers were all poor to atrocious and the defence consistently let soft ones in.
We finished where we deserved to last season, Langstaff, Jones and Crowley were the difference between mid table and a relegation battle.
It's early days but midfield, defence and keeper are a complete upgrade which gives us a chance in games against teams who would have just ran us over last season.

Is the correct answer.

Add that to your NCFC notebook Stocky

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Who the hell do you think puts the squad together???

The Head Coach of course. Not aware of any lower league club where the manager or head coach doesn’t have final say on signings.

The squad is dictated by the budget, and it is certainly lower than last season when we sat about 12th.

That's very much up for debate at Notts. 88% of the supporters have no issues with this approach.

 

[chipmunx]

A note on Barrow's LB too. If that's his level every week then what a ridiculous signing. Looks every bit a player that played almost 20+ times in the Championship this season.

yep, that's pretty much his level every week.
We must have already scored nearly as many goals from corners as we did all last season.
our last away game was a 1-0 win at Harrogate. Eccleston (the right back we rested yesterday) scored with a header from another Ben Jackson corner.

 

[jacobncfc]

That's very much up for debate at Notts. 88% of the supporters have no issues with this approach.

It’s not even up for debate - the board signs the players.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

It’s not even up for debate - the board signs the players.

I know that, you know that. A small minority of the fanbase clearly don't. The head coach and assistant head coach contribute but do not have the final say.

We do things different to most clubs.

 

[Son of Cod]

Kicking off with fans is a bad turn of events at any club.

I've criticised Artell but who puts the squad together at Grimsby? Because I don't think it's great for the level. I can't sit here and say with a straight face that another manager improves results massively. If Artell has put the squad together, then he has no defence.

Well we don't have a great budget for the level, so hardly surprising that we don't have a great squad for the level. Again though, saying this not for the first time this season, I don't think the vast majority of Town fans know where we're at at the moment so with all due respect I'm not sure what relevance the opinion of people who have only seen us once holds. And to repeat something else, nobody expects us to be in contention this season. Just a bit of progression towards midtable and away from a dogfight while playing good football is the remit. Unless things go drastically wrong then there's very little point judging Artell for a while.

Artell has the final say on our signings but they're now generally identified by the recruitmemt team, FWIW. We've signed some good players since Artell took over though.

 

[Stocky]

I'm on the train Wednesday morning so I'll probably have time to do a Q&A session based on the season so far. The hashtag is #StockySpeaks

Premium members follow the usual link.

 

[RavenBish]

In our starting lineup today we had:

Tanton - 20
Gordon - 23
Metcalfe - 19
Dobra - 23
Markanday - 23
Berry - 23

Today’s loss was nothing to do with an ‘ageing’ squad, we just didn’t play well & Vale did

Have you considered having players between the ages of 23 and 33?

 

[Grimsby Road]

Well we don't have a great budget for the level, so hardly surprising that we don't have a great squad for the level. Again though, saying this not for the first time this season, I don't think the vast majority of Town fans know where we're at at the moment so with all due respect I'm not sure what relevance the opinion of people who have only seen us once holds. And to repeat something else, nobody expects us to be in contention this season. Just a bit of progression towards midtable and away from a dogfight while playing good football is the remit. Unless things go drastically wrong then there's very little point judging Artell for a while.

Artell has the final say on our signings but they're now generally identified by the recruitmemt team, FWIW. We've signed some good players since Artell took over though.

I don't disagree with any of that really .

The thing that baffles me is the keeper recruitment - Wright probably can be a decent league 2 keeper given a run and some confidence but is awful with his feet as is Eastwood which gives us 2 keepers not confident at all (I actually think being asked to pass it about has indirectly hit Wrights confidence leading to the errors probably ) playing 'Artell ball' - it seems like a key position to implement it and I'm not sure it can be coached in to 2 mid 20's keepers who have just probably hoofed it most of their lives . Weird .

 

[Conker]

Kelly off. So that's Sarcevic, Baldwin, Johnson, Byrne, and Kelly injured. We're a bit like Mansfield now. Except we're shit.

If it’s any consolation we are still in the same boat, injuries across the entire game are ridiculously high.

 

[James Frost]

Who the hell do you think puts the squad together???

The Head Coach of course. Not aware of any lower league club where the manager or head coach doesn’t have final say on signings.

The squad is dictated by the budget, and it is certainly lower than last season when we sat about 12th.

***Cough***

Huw Jenkins and his “recruitment team” have signed all Newport’s players. 8 were signed before Coughlan was sacked. Jardim fits into this model, Coughlan didn’t hence why he left.

 

[Cloudy]

***Cough***

Huw Jenkins and his “recruitment team” have signed all Newport’s players. 8 were signed before Coughlan was sacked. Jardim fits into this model, Coughlan didn’t hence why he left.

Stand corrected, Newport, and possibly Notts County. Any others?

Maybe my age, but if I were manager I’d want to stand or fall by my own signings and methods. If the results go wrong, do the recruitment team sack themselves or is it the coaches fault?

 

[jacobncfc]

Stand corrected, Newport, and possibly Notts County. Any others?

Maybe my age, but if I were manager I’d want to stand or fall by my own signings and methods. If the results go wrong, do the recruitment team sack themselves or is it the coaches fault?

We haven’t had to sack anyone yet apart from Ardley, who was inherited by the new owners and they still gave nearly two full seasons to.

The ‘modern’ way makes way more sense as long as the bit at the top works. I can see Carlisle trying it at the minute apparently, but looking to appoint a sporting director and head coach at the same time with loads of different profiles being suggested. That will be a mess.

We’re a bit of a recent success story for it because it’s so clear what the plan is - the owners/head of recruitment want us to play in a very specific way, they sign players who suit that style, and appoint head coaches who are known for playing it. It means you don’t get stuck and need a complete rebuild when you change head coach for whatever reason because, in theory, the plan for what you’re doing shouldn’t change.

 

[valefan16]

We haven’t had to sack anyone yet apart from Ardley, who was inherited by the new owners and they still gave nearly two full seasons to.

The ‘modern’ way makes way more sense as long as the bit at the top works. I can see Carlisle trying it at the minute apparently, but looking to appoint a sporting director and head coach at the same time with loads of different profiles being suggested. That will be a mess.

We’re a bit of a recent success story for it because it’s so clear what the plan is - the owners/head of recruitment want us to play in a very specific way, they sign players who suit that style, and appoint head coaches who are known for playing it. It means you don’t get stuck and need a complete rebuild when you change head coach for whatever reason because, in theory, the plan for what you’re doing shouldn’t change.

We obviously had a DOF who dealt with recruitment in Flitcroft from 2022 when we were heading out the league, turned it around and won promotion the next season but never really worked out in L1 as he just couldnt get a striker over the line that was any good and despite many positives by the end it just wasn't working and he had to go after Crosby failed.

With Moore we've ditched the DOF model and now have a strike force that scores goals!

 

[Stocky]

Personally think the DOF model does work. You want your manager/head coach spending all his time on the training ground and matches.

 

[spireite]

Provided the manager is consulted in the recruitment process, there's no reason it shouldn't work. If players are being recruited over the managers head, players he doesn't want or agree with, it sounds like a bad make-up.

 

[クレイグ]

If it’s any consolation we are still in the same boat, injuries across the entire game are ridiculously high.

We've got you tomorrow in that naff cup competition, haven't we? Expecting David Sharpe to make a cameo. At centrehalf.

 

[valefan16]

Provided the manager is consulted in the recruitment process, there's no reason it shouldn't work. If players are being recruited over the managers head, players he doesn't want or agree with, it sounds like a bad make-up.

Suppose it depends who is in the role as with anything.

Flickers for his faults last season gave us a few months of watching Oli Arblaster in a Vale shirt despite other failures so it wasnt all bad.

 

[Optipez]

Provided the manager is consulted in the recruitment process, there's no reason it shouldn't work. If players are being recruited over the managers head, players he doesn't want or agree with, it sounds like a bad make-up.

The head of recruitment at Notts is a pivotal role. The head coach has to get the best out of them but if they're no good to start with the coach has no chance. I think that's where the friction would likely be, poor run of results, coach gets the blame, head of recruitment shielded from it all.
We're quite specific in who we sign, all have decent close control, no hoofers and this season we've gone for physically taller and robust men as last season we were out muscled too often.
We've had very few players who've done badly, Aiden Stone the keeper probably the standout failure but even players who we've moved on haven't let us down the last few years.
It's way more efficient than handing all the money to a manager then doing it all again eighteen months down the line when it doesn't work out. I also think you can get away with having a good coach rather than needing an outstanding Dave Challinor type to have consistent success.
I'll be interested to see how Williams does at Swansea this season and find out how much is him and how much Notts structure helped his success. Burchnall got badly found out without the set up behind him at FGR.

 

[Stocky]

The head of recruitment at Notts is a pivotal role. The head coach has to get the best out of them but if they're no good to start with the coach has no chance. I think that's where the friction would likely be, poor run of results, coach gets the blame, head of recruitment shielded from it all.
We're quite specific in who we sign, all have decent close control, no hoofers and this season we've gone for physically taller and robust men as last season we were out muscled too often.
We've had very few players who've done badly, Aiden Stone the keeper probably the standout failure but even players who we've moved on haven't let us down the last few years.
It's way more efficient than handing all the money to a manager then doing it all again eighteen months down the line when it doesn't work out. I also think you can get away with having a good coach rather than needing an outstanding Dave Challinor type to have consistent success.
I'll be interested to see how Williams does at Swansea this season and find out how much is him and how much Notts structure helped his success. Burchnall got badly found out without the set up behind him at FGR.

Challinor does report to our DOF Simon Wilson tbf and says he likes the dynamic. He is involved in the final decisions on who we sign but he's said many times he likes working with Wilson as a manager doing everything spreads themselves too thin.

I think any future manager/coach needs to open themselves up to working with a DOF, it's the present and the future and the days of being a manager in charge of everything are on the decline even at 3rd and 4th tier.

 

[spireite]

The relationship between DOF and manager has be absolutely spot on doesn't it. Not only do they have to have the same philosophy, same ideas about where the team needs strengthening and similar judgement of ability, they also need to get on on a personal level. I wonder how often you'd get that perfect dynamic.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

The head of recruitment at Notts is a pivotal role. The head coach has to get the best out of them but if they're no good to start with the coach has no chance. I think that's where the friction would likely be, poor run of results, coach gets the blame, head of recruitment shielded from it all.
We're quite specific in who we sign, all have decent close control, no hoofers and this season we've gone for physically taller and robust men as last season we were out muscled too often.
We've had very few players who've done badly, Aiden Stone the keeper probably the standout failure but even players who we've moved on haven't let us down the last few years.
It's way more efficient than handing all the money to a manager then doing it all again eighteen months down the line when it doesn't work out. I also think you can get away with having a good coach rather than needing an outstanding Dave Challinor type to have consistent success.
I'll be interested to see how Williams does at Swansea this season and find out how much is him and how much Notts structure helped his success. Burchnall got badly found out without the set up behind him at FGR.

Did he get badly found out, or was he on a hiding to nothing with his ill advised move to FGR. They were always likely to struggle in L1.

As for Williams quick look at the last two season Swansea have finished 10-15th, so I'd suggest that's the norm. They certainly aren't a big club at that level.

I don't know what the dynamic is between Head of Recruitment and Head Coach at Notts, but I know it works.