theAnticlough

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but there is something really gut punching and disturbing about losing so ,so late in the game, just like we did against Barrow at 90+7mins. If your team keeps losing when the chips are down in stoppage time, you can't help but think they're mentally weak, fragile and that it bodes ill for all the crucial times yet to come in the season. It's a cliche that winning teams often score in stoppage time, so what is the opposite of that? And not only the timing, crucial moments in the penalty area, we spurn sitters, the opposition regularly exploit panic to score.... I told you it was going to be a downer :) I believe MP is trying his best to instill a toughness and to overcome the weakness left over from the Maynard days and a tendency for young, inexperienced players not to know how to win games. It'll take time to transform us into one of the teams meting out late defeats on teams rather than being on the wrong end of them.

Yeah, I'm with you on that @Robbie Luker looks to have more goals and assists production in him and if you don't get goals and assists from those attacking positions your promotion challenge has a ball and chain around it.

That's the 10 game mark. Iorpenda has played every game and he's 0 goals from 10 with not much sign of registering, despite having a prime shirt for most of those. I think he has to stand aside now.

I think we've had a few games recently @Robbie, where the MoM has been pretty clear - this time, Jodi Jones - maybe for the first time this season? He ran them ragged on the left, such a pity we didn't have better finishers in the box. Apart from JJ, I though Palmer had yet another 7/10 and I thought all of the back 3 played quite well. We're getting good WB performances now, but maybe it's because we were spoilt by Didzy and Crowley, I think we keep getting indifferent No.10 play (apart from Hall and Luker coming on v Crawley). It's any 2 from 5 at the moment Dennis, Iorpenda, Grant, Hall and Luker. Next week I'd like to see Dennis and Luker...we need someone to grab one of those shirts and make it theirs.

Sure @liampie, but I focus on Jodi going down in the box in the first half because it was like for like with their penalty - a shirt pull in the area.

Too right @liampie, another bitter defeat to jammy Crewe. I think Dennis did something incredibly stupid in grabbing that shirt - better not come on if you give it away like that. But referee, shame on you, the defender who was booked had a handful of Jodi's shirt in the first half. If one's a penalty, the other has to be. And we had other good penalty claims too. Cheated, again. Jatta going 0 for 2 from 3 yards didn't help though.

Going behind gave the team chance to prove they could get on top of Crewe. We deserved to equalise. Please don't do anything crap at the back again, we can win this.

I'm not sure that's possible BT, can you really lose 77pounds or 35kgs in 2 months?

Yes, I just about remember them! Actually I'm grateful I had a couple of decades at a healthy weight I made my weekly target but face a tough week ahead....I'll try not to have a mini-night out this week. Best wishes and good luck to all who are fighting the same fight.

Another point is that Big Sam gets misrepresented. I watched a lot of his Bolton side, they were skilful and entertaining. A midfield of Campo, Okocha and Nolan, Diouf ahead, Matty Taylor? They had more of a no nonsense approach at the back though, including the RB Hunt who played for us for a few games. But that midfield was absolute class, they were a joy to watch

Fascinating subject. Clearly there's a trend away from risk-taking at the back in response to sides improving the press. As always the direction will be shaped by who wins. Any big change will only take off if it proves itself at the highest levels. Pace, hard running and pace of play seems to be where the top sides can eke out marginal gains that win - Liverpool's title last year? While still demanding high technical ability and quality on the ball to be able to keep it. @Robbie mentions Paisley and Liverpool. I don't remember those dominant sides being true to those words at all. But I do remember Hansen Lawrenson Souness Dalglish, Lee etc passing the life out of the ball and the opposition. They never hoofed it long. But fast forward 6 or 7 years and they'd evolved into something different. McMahon and co got it forward to Barnes and Beardsley more quickly and they relied more on their forwards' individual brilliance. But even then they still had cultured defenders and the likes of Molby who could dominate the ball. That's a bit like the trick we're trying to pull off in L2 now, injecting more pace and purpose but still trying to keep within the overarching philosophy.

MP revealed his hand when Jatta was out by saying how much he missed having such a tall player available to counter that threat. This will be one of the reasons Jatta will be picked every game and won't be taken off all that often. It'll make it more challenging for Dennis to play the maximum amount of minutes. Hopefully he can prove himself as a No10 as well as a 2nd or 1st striker. I'm OK with this because Jatta is worth his place (and we need to boost his value). I know Wootton is a proven L1 player now, but he really should have been dropped at times with us, when he was having one of his lean spells, but was kept in all the time for just this reason.

Ipswich Town 2-0 Portsmouth Watford 1-2 Hull City Burton Albion 0-2 Plymouth Argyle Mansfield Town 2-1 Rotherham United Joker Bristol Rovers 2-1 Salford City Crawley Town 2-0 Barrow Halifax Town 2-1 Aldershot Truro City 1-0 Morecambe Completing that I realised I hate Salford more than Bristol Rovers, and yes it did influence my predication, ship ahoy pirates put them landlubbers to the sword

Tantalising fixture in that the form suggests we can nick the 3pts. I actually think the team picked to start last Saturday makes even more sense for tomorrow. Robertson and his MoM performance has potentially changed the equation for us, and will even allow us to play 2 up top more often. When you have 2 holding CMs, you don't ask for much in the final third but you have to get something to keep the opposition under pressure numbers-wise. That's never going to come from the Palmer-Norburn combination, but Robertson does offer that thrust and threat in the final third that makes all the difference to the balance of the team. Now we have Robbo (the old one) and Ray Wilkins rather than 2 Ray Wilkins

Me too @Fan of Big Tone I'd like to see it unchanged. And that's with Grant and Iorpenda not being great last week, but they seem like a good pairing to start away at Crewe. The best time to re-introduce Dennis, as a 2nd CF or Inside-forward would be at home, it might backfire if he had a difficult away game. As for Hall and Luker, their time will come and they'd better be ready. I doubt Grant and Iorpenda will be able to produce the goals and assists to be able to hold down those positions, to guarantee themselves regular starter slots all season.

My feeling is that we'd have to do the same as the NL to L2 jump - replace practically the entire team over the course of two seasons. Inevitably there would be around 3 or 4 survivors or remnants from the current squad - hard to say who, could be pretty random

That's a tough hand @Chris, wish you well with all your efforts. No, I've never really cracked the trick of keeping the lost weight from coming back any great length of time. I want to tackle that, but will concentrate on the first part of the job for now, losing it in the first place. I had a mini night out last night - 3 pints and a few nuts, even that can set you back when you want to lose over a kg a week.

Just about the main thing I'm doing in my life right now is trying to lose weight. This time last year I lost 19kg in 3 months. I put half of that back on. I'm trying to pull off the same trick again. I've lost about 8kg in 6weeks. There's no point pussyfooting around with 'diets', you basically have to stop eating. I'm determined to do this the traditional way rather than injections, pills or surgery. Anyone else have any experience with trying to lose a lot of weight?

Look at it from MP's perspective. Platt started the first 2 or 3 games, was actually pretty ragged and involved in the concession of goals. McDonald comes in after Platt is injured and becomes just about our best player since that point. Pato will be so grateful and there's no way in the world the question in the OP would come into his head. @Robbie, rightly says he's won 2 PON MoMs, not an easy thing to do. I think I voted for him 4 times in 5 games, he's been that good. If he maintains his form, Platty will only get back in as RCB. RodMac has said in interviews that centre is his best, followed by LCB. I don't think any fan would want to see him and his cultured left foot trapped on the right-side again. To my eye, he's also stepping up in terms of leadership as an experienced player with a strong personality right in the centre of things. Final thought, he might be a late developer - his bio suggests it - and he may be reaching his peak now at 33. Could be... There are a tonne of tough games coming up, even if his from does drop, his contribution to stabilise our season over the last 7 games has been immense.

Great comments @Chris. Yes, shout out to Roos. In one aspect of goalkeeping, he's the best since Kaspar IMO and that's throwing or rolling the ball out quickly to get us on the counter attack. Slocs used to drive me nuts with his 'pump fake' throw outs! Palmer is a lesson to all fans to allow a player a season to get over a serious injury, such as a knee. Taking into account the level, this might be up there with the best 9 games he's played for Notts. He's been a 7 or 8 out of ten every week.

Pato will be so happy tonight, the squad showed what they are capable of. I loved the way Robbo and Hall celebrated their goals - meant so much to them and the rest of the team were stoked and up for it as well. Stall was right, players coming in really grabbed their starting shirts - Jones, Macari, Robbo Real competition for places with Dennis to return and Luker and Hall really pushing the No.10s. A great day for Notts

Hard to see past Scott Robertson today. He gets my vote. MoM level performances too from Palmer, Jones and Tsaroulla. Hall and Luker were revelations coming on.

Well done Scott Robertson - shirts are up for grabs, that's the way to take one.

Great stuff. At least MP is doing the right thing in dropping our weakest performers following defeats. In this case, that was Aljofree and Norburn. There's nothing worse than a Head Coach picking poor performers thru favouritsm, stubborness or lack of imagination or courage. Robertson and Macari are due a chance. Let's hope they can take it. Pity about Dennis, but maybe a blessing in disguise. Not only about protecting him for the season, but a chance to look at another No.10 pairing.

I would say it's ability as much as composure @McPie. Aljofree can improve with age and experience but for now he isn't a polished user of the ball. Bedeau can rediscover his best from hopefully. No complaints with McDonald at all, he's at least as good/comfortable on the ball as Platt, probably more so. From what we've seen of Ness, he's a pretty tidy footballer with a bit of adventure in him for playing forwards. Ness, RodMac and an improved Bedeau could start giving us a better base for our game hopefully.