Chris

Yesterday’s goalless draw against Yeovil Town may not have been the best performance we have seen during the ‘new era’ at Meadow Lane; however, it was a united team with all the players working as one unit. Some fans are unimpressed with the "boring" stalemate, but in a way this shows how far we've come in such a short amount of time - after all, a point and a clean sheet in the derby felt like a godsend bearing in mind what preceded it. Personally I would highlight the atmosphere. Despite the disconnected performance up front, Notts fans actively got behind the players and the atmosphere was very impressive. This is only confirmed further by the fact that attendances – a very respectable 7,141 (200 of whom was visiting fans). The attendances have naturally lifted the clubs spirit since the takeover and I have mentioned in the past how Notts seems to have their mojo back. Yet despite all this, the progress being made is clear for all to see, the atmosphere around Meadow Lane should only flourish and prosper further – especially during the 2017/2018 season. I sat in two different locations having changed seats at half time, and the comments that were expressed during both periods were largely positive – with only some forming debatable opinions. Usually, you are prone to hearing a variety of comments which I can only describe as ‘nonsense’, but yesterday I heard none. Players who usually receive negative comments, such as Haydn Hollis, actually put in a very impressive performance. Receiving comments from many fans that I spoke to after the game, both around Meadow Lane and within the Navi afterwards. Something else which I would note is largely down to the change in atmosphere around the club, at this stage it seems very supportive and I would urge people to encourage this – naturally there will be times when disappointment will lead to a change in feelings but it’s important to still actively keep the positive vibe during games. Kevin Nolan has also seen spoken about how the players were disappointed with the goalless draw, stating “the lads were all disappointed in the dressing room and I was delighted with that because it shows how far we have come in such a short space of time”. Yes, I would say that three points from Yeovil were there for the taking – a team that usually plays quite well against us, but the side that took the field yesterday for them was largely unimpressive. And despite this I left the ground feeling happy and proud, as I do feel more much comfortable regarding the safety of our club – I feel we have exorcised our demons and hopefully those shadows and lurking vibes remain only thing of the past. I would agree with the popular opinion that Notts weren't the best either, however we defended well – whilst Adam Collin wasn’t largely tested, he did look comfortable for 90 minutes, something which I personally would like to see more of. Our defence looked perfectly fine, very much up to the task of keeping any Yeovil player at bay. Whilst I would like to see more improvements made in midfield, we did pass the ball around nicely – creating good movements and opportunities for greater chances to come. It was simply for me a case of Jon Stead and Shola Ameobi having an off game – if they had connected better I would have said there would be no question of the Notts peformance. That said, I don’t think they played ‘badly’ – just disconnected as team partners. Ameobi linked up well with midfield and held the ball up well. With Stead doing more defensive cover than I feel he should have, along with a lot more running in wider areas – you just want to see him near the opposition penalty box. However, both strikers gave a lot of energy up front and on another day they may have gotten a goal. The key thing that I have taken away from the game is confidence; I know that we can avoid leaking goals under Kevin Nolan. I can see the massive strides that the players are giving, we are finally getting that ‘pride’ in wearing their shirt. I wouldn’t remotely feel disappointed myself, yesterday was just one of those games where we didn’t create a clear goalscoring opportunity. Do you agree with NJ? Share your thoughts about this article on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining the conversation.