Notts County match thread

Aye. The margins are so small we could make it or end up lower mid-table.

Those red cards seem so long ago now.

Quoted from LondonMariner43

The form table for the last 10 games puts us at 6th in the table.  That suggests to me that we are very much a team capable of reaching the play offs if we maintain recent form.  Considering issues with red cards and injuries early on and the barren spell of 0--0s, being close to the play offs, improving our form and coming close to being the first team this season to win at County all seems very positive progress to me.

But we can't score. Again, today..'should have had 3...Matt could have had 4..should really have beaten 2nd placed County, nowt special' etc. I'm in no doubt that at least 2 or 3 very, very ordinary teams will go up this year but I do have doubts it will be us. As the match thread and just back posts state tonight, for the umpteenth time, we'd have won if we had a cutting edge.
We plough on but I'd really like to know at what stage of the season a goal difference in the minus is not acceptable.

How many bookings has Macca had now?

In danger of getting a one game ban at some point.

I think any Slade team will always be well organised and difficult to beat, but Robo does have a point in that unless and until we score more goals than we concede, then we will always be on the fringes. Admittedly, we are edging closer to a plus goal difference and may well get into the positive soon, but Slade has never won a promotion to date and in his best seasons has made the play offs a few times. He is an experienced manager and his teams are usually competitive, but he just needs to find that missing ingredient that takes him from a nearly man to a winner. In my view, we should be challenging for automatic, with the play offs as a consolation prize, not looking to survive with the play offs being a bonus. There are several teams above us at the top, who we should easily be competing with. Having said that, we are on a decent run and could well start to push up the league as the season progresses. It's frustrating to see us always on the fringes without ever quite pushing on, just like last season in fact, although we still have time yet.

You never know, we could do a Huddersfield and win promotion without scoring many goals or reaching a positive goal difference.

Obviously, would be better if we started to knock a few goals in, of course.

Quoted from ginnywings

I think any Slade team will always be well organised and difficult to beat, but Robo does have a point in that unless and until we score more goals than we concede, then we will always be on the fringes. Admittedly, we are edging closer to a plus goal difference and may well get into the positive soon, but Slade has never won a promotion to date and in his best seasons has made the play offs a few times. He is an experienced manager and his teams are usually competitive, but he just needs to find that missing ingredient that takes him from a nearly man to a winner. In my view, we should be challenging for automatic, with the play offs as a consolation prize, not looking to survive with the play offs being a bonus. There are several teams above us at the top, who we should easily be competing with. Having said that, we are on a decent run and could well start to push up the league as the season progresses. It's frustrating to see us always on the fringes without ever quite pushing on, just like last season in fact, although we still have time yet.

I think we doing pretty well in spite of the off field distractions, but we clearly need a pacey goal scoring forward if we are to really take off. Finding one is the problem for the money we are prepared to throw at it.

We are certainly looking like a team that is bonding nicely, and the recovery from six weeks ago when it wasn't gelling has been good to see. It will obviously be tough next week, but whatever the result the new year brings the promise of better things to come on the pitch.

I look at what Exeter did last season for inspiration, coming from bottom of the table without a home win in their first nine games, and then they absolutely flew up the league. The run we're on at the moment could just be the start of something similar?

The league tables is very tight, and teams above us will regularly be playing other teams chasing play off spots and will inevitably drop points. It's a very interesting scenario, and I always use the old adage that as long as your team improves annually (however slowly that may be) they will be in a healthy position.Think we are well on the way to doing that this season and am looking forward to a positive result at Luton as well. UTFM.

Quoted from RoboCod

But we can't score. Again, today..'should have had 3...Matt could have had 4..should really have beaten 2nd placed County, nowt special' etc. I'm in no doubt that at least 2 or 3 very, very ordinary teams will go up this year but I do have doubts it will be us. As the match thread and just back posts state tonight, for the umpteenth time, we'd have won if we had a cutting edge.
We plough on but I'd really like to know at what stage of the season a goal difference in the minus is not acceptable.

It's a funny kind of benchmark - unless the team win 3-0 away at a ground where no other away team has won this season, then they aren't good enough?

Trying to look at this with a half-full glass as we approach the second half of the season we are in good position to improve further. Get through the next three games with a couple of wins would see us right up there IMHO.

You need some luck in this game and we are not getting much in front of goal.

I feel somewhere we are going to hammer somebody and put those chances away.

The players are gelling into a tight unit now and match fitness is getting better.

The defence looks better, the midfield looks excellent it's just the attack that needs a bit more sting/ruthfulness and maybe a bit of luck to kick us into a nice run.  

Get Luton out the way relatively unscathed and crack on.  UTM.

Quoted from LondonMariner43

It's a funny kind of benchmark - unless the team win 3-0 away at a ground where no other away team has won this season, then they aren't good enough?

Yes, because that's what I wrote wasn't it? I demanded a 3 0 win. In a thread where it's agreed that County were poor and we should really have won had we taken just 1 of numerous chances it's seen as a bit too much to get a win.
Of course that wasnt my message at all, but hey.  4 goals at home in recent games 3 in 1 match, 1 a pen that was missed in the first place, yes I'm positively giddy at the promising future revealed in this little run.
A couple of defeats and we'll be glancing at the bottom 3 again, and this post will be seen as rather mild in comparison.