Just back  (merged)

It’s reasonable to expect that Maher would have played if fit.  Also, Wilson and Khan would have been in the squad and might have added something.  Hopefully we will have a fully fit squad at some point - something we rarely had last season

Mansfield are one of the few sides who have built a very good side over time in this league. If we are going down that route I assume we will sign less players each window but spend more on them to get the requisite level required, which is a good thing.

What is a concern is how much it is going to cost over time to even compete at the top end of League 2, or division 4 in old money. I just don’t see how we would do that without substantial investment into the club. You can only get so far and maybe at a rather slow pace unless extra investment is found. And that is just for the team; the stadium needs a huge upgrade as well.

It would be interesting to know how the owners are going to get the extra investment into the club which is obviously required if we are ever to threaten League 1.

Having seen the cup game at Mansfield it was clearly a point gained yesterday. Even with a stack of recent injuries Mansfield were able to field a superior squad given the strong base from previous seasons.

By contrast, we are still blending a new bunch with the rump of the last campaign. The equaliser was no surprise as we struggled to gain and then retain possession. Defending from the front is not in our DNA. Gnahoua has to be stronger when receiving a ball by the touchline just before their goal. We saw how Mansfield players were shoving arms into chests and using their bodies to shield the ball.

Their goal looked bad from our CB's and keeper angles but Oates is much more of an oven ready sub than Pyke is for Town. Mansfield just had more cards to play than ourselves at this stage of our development. We should get better but like our signings it will be a hit and miss season unless we can look after the ball more effectively.

Why the meltdown on here ............we have taken points from teams currently 3rd 5th and 10th and lost to a team in 9th

Some people need to take a raincheck  

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

What is a concern is how much it is going to cost over time to even compete at the top end of League 2, or division 4 in old money. I just don’t see how we would do that without substantial investment into the club. You can only get so far and maybe at a rather slow pace unless extra investment is found. And that is just for the team; the stadium needs a huge upgrade as well.

This is Mansfield’s 10th consecutive season in League 2, after finishing as conference Champions in 12/13. Since we returned to the league in 16/17, we have finished above them only once. Their last 8 finishing positions have been -

8th L2
7th L2 (playoff final)
16th L2
21st L2
4th L2 (playoff semi)
8th L2
12th L2
12th L2

Whereas ours have been

11th L2
6th Conference
24th (last) L2
15th L2
17th L2
18th L2
14th L2
4th Conference

Not sure if it’s a bit of an identity thing, but have we always been a yo-yo club? Can anyone remember the last time we had 10 consecutive seasons in the same division? Whether anyone likes it or not, it appears that the owners want an end to the boom-and-bust in favour of general stability with incremental improvement. I’m not sure the fan base has it in them to stomach that, there’s not a great deal of patience about.

Clough took over at Mansfield in mid 20/21 and left them in 16th. They then didn’t win in their first 12 matches of 21/22. Not sure what it was like at Field Mill, but if that was Hurst here there’d be murder on.

Over time, maybe it does take 10 years in L2 with a few playoff and cup runs thrown in to build a squad capable of challenging, unless something miraculous happens or someone throws a wedge at it?

Quoted from pkscouse

Why the meltdown on here ............we have taken points from teams currently 3rd 5th and 10th and lost to a team in 9th

Some people need to take a raincheck  

Notts had their keeper sent off in the first game. They have completely dominated possession in league games since. A bet double on Notts and Mansfield to go up is a pretty good bet.

Not a chance Notts C go up..imho. They’ll get found out sooner rather than later. Can’t defend like they do and get away with it over a season.

The Sutton fan we knows said County should have been a few goals down even before they went down to ten men. Their defence was apparently hopeless on that first day and wasn't great against us. With 4 promotion spots available, I suppose you've got more chance of going up in this division, even if you're shaky in defence, but most teams who win promotion are reasonably tight at the back.

Quoted from ska face

Not sure if it’s a bit of an identity thing, but have we always been a yo-yo club?  

THis article's from 2016, but yes we are a yo-yo club. https://www.theguardian.com/fo.....elegations-knowledge
Hopefully the new ownership will give us a bit more stability though.

Quoted from Maringer

The Sutton fan we knows said County should have been a few goals down even before they went down to ten men. Their defence was apparently hopeless on that first day and wasn't great against us. With 4 promotion spots available, I suppose you've got more chance of going up in this division, even if you're shaky in defence, but most teams who win promotion are reasonably tight at the back.

And that’s why I’m not getting despondent. We’ve still kept things quite tight, as Hurst’s sides always do. We’re less random than Wrexham or Notts County, clearly more clinical than Mansfield in terms of chances but probably lower on absolute footballing quality than all of them.