[Devongone]

When Rodrigues is either absent or not-bovvered Notts County aren't that good. They weren't. We were worth a draw, or we would have been if we could behave ourselves. But that is the manager's job.

I still can't see how we can expect to win, playing that system with Quigley at the front of it. Harry Kane he ain't.

I thought we had the best player on the pitch in Akinola. I just see the Non-League paper rated him 6/10. Find someone who understands the game to do your reports! I'll go through our team:-

Fitzsimmons - apparently threatened to leave for Scunthorpe. We should have waved the miserable-looking sod goodbye. Goalies need to have and show personality. He's had a by-pass. Made one good save, didn't play badly, thought he didn't do much on the first goal. He's ordinary, ordinary, ordinary, like their keeper, like Wrexham's keeper, lucky to be there. Scunthorpe FFS!

King - not at his best. Didn't get forward enough. I didn't get his first booking. Needs a kick up the ... for getting himself sent off in such an important game. Football is a team game. It isn't all about you Mr King, even if you are a good player.

Horton - didn't get forward enough and unfortunately that's all he can do. He got murdered in defence. Clements is a much safer bet against good opposition.

Grimes - simply cannot read the game. Dreadful on the opening goal. Tries and is brave and committed. Is he better than both Williams and Maguire?

Palmer - Looked competent, not outstanding, but he does want to win and did cut out the errors. Decent performance.

Jones - if anonymity is a virtue, as it is supposed to be for referees, then he's international class. Yes for sure he cuts out some danger and can read the game. He is largely there to do what Grimes can't. Which leaves us playing with ten men.

Banks - looked the part but didn't really play it. He was just slightly off his game, shots over the bar, defence splitting passes found no-one. He wasn't terrible but he certainly can do better.

Dobra - was on the verge of a good game until the ADHD kicked in and he started to behave like that child of eight you'd like to strangle. Excellent skills, tries, gets involved, a cut above our level, but lying on the floor and having a tantrum any time an opposition player brushes past doesn't help the team and it only makes his own life harder. Come on son, there are Albanians with tough lives, you're on easy street, do grow up.

Mandeville - flits in and out, looks a player, then he isn't there, dangerous and limp within the same minute. Looks ill, needs to do weight training, but he can play and sometimes he did.

Akinola - box to box, worked his sox off. He'll never make it at Arsenal, but the Championship shouldn't be beyond him. Hope we find a way to keep him, why he gets so little game time is beyond me. Best player on the pitch.

Quigley - like Fitzsimmons spends most of his life in the ordinary box. He tries, makes runs at his own pace, wants to win and lead the line, but he's been at all those clubs because he is as good as what you see. He was there, "better than a 5 and not good enough for a 6". That'll be his epitaph.

Colclough - should have started. Dangerous. Only a mother could love him tho'.

McCallum - unreliable, but is much better all round than Q.

Sheckleford - found his way on thanks to King, he looks okay-ish. Maybe we could have used some imagination instead, like bring on Maguire and go to three at the back?

[spireitematt]

Can we not bring back Grant Smith? He was a really good keeper. Would Yeovil sell him?

I think we need 2 additional players to help us with a promotion push. A keeper or defender and another attacking midfielder.

[Devongone]

Grant Smith is a country mile better than Fitzsimmons. When you see a good keeper you can see, feel and hear his relationship with the back four/three. If he climbed on the crossbar Fitzsimmons would look like Dai Bradley in Kes.

We have several good players, but we don't do some of the things which are obvious to other teams. For a start EVERYONE knows you have to push forward on Nemane. You have to put him on the back foot or he'll do it to you ....... and he did it to us. Notts County weren't that good, they were there for the taking IF we'd spent less time trying to exploit an appallingly poor referee and more time creating chances. We wanted to be given a goal rather than going out and getting one.

It wasn't down to the ref' we lost but he never gave the impression of being in charge, or knowing what he was doing. I can understand why Dancing gets so frustrated. But some of our behaviour was difficult to forgive.

[Dancingwilldoit]

You had a better view than me Dev. Didn't make it. Listened on radio and it sounded a decent game.
I'm not a King fan and Dobra needs a good talking to. He can play but can be so wasteful.
Let's see how the next 2 games go. If we drop any more points the knives will come out.
Just saw that Cook got done for speeding on Sheffield Rd. In court his defense was that he was desperate for 3 points.

[Devongone]

It WAS a close game. I didn't think it was good in the sense of being high-standard. A draw would have been fair.

I notice good ole Jamie Hewitt gave Akinola MOM too. He shone.

Albanian dads obviously don't beat their children enough. Dobra is being a brat and I'm a fan of his talent. He's good, better than anything Notts had on show, but you could hardly blame a full back for kicking him straight over the stand at times.

Tooley, who I often agree with, thinks Jones provided stability. What stability? We were very shaky at the back and Grimes and Horton looked clueless. It seems to me Jones is protecting Grimes from stuff he shouldn't need protecting from.

Perhaps Fitzsimmons is providing direction from behind, but it certainly doesn't seem like it. I think he is a selfish keeper, happy whenever it isn't directly his fault. And my view of goalkeeping is the absolute opposite of that. A keeper is a bloke who'll potentially sacrifice himself for the team. He sees his centre back in trouble he'll be risking everything to help him out. If you don't want to be the hero, even at the cost sometimes being the goat, hand in your gloves on the way to Scunthorpe.

I'd like to see the team play a different way. I'd make us a poor man's Atalanta. Mr Gasperini (their lovely manager) is just great. I'd go straight to playing 3-4-3 and none of the Gary Caldwell ollocks about how difficult it is to play. And I'd be pointing out the onion bag we were kicking towards.

Oh yes and I am a big fan of King, and I'd give him the biggest kick up the ...... and a bollocking he'd never forget and tell him I was coming down hard on him because he's spending his career playing several levels below his talent. He's playing in defence and we've got no-one, apart from McCallum, who I could guarantee would outscore him. The trouble is he has the power to make us and to break us.

LOVED THE COOKIE JOKE!