NCS Shorts | #4: Retired!

Hello and welcome to episode four of NCS Shorts. And this episode is Spot, sponsored by Taurus Network, who cover all aspects of web based services, including websites such as our fantastic NCS News website. So if you require professional, reliable web solutions, visit WW taurusnetwork co UK. Thank you for joining us again here for another episode of NCS Shorts, part of the broad range of material that we're trying to offer here at NCS News. Hopefully you've had the opportunity to listen to some of our previous podcasts, also had the opportunity to look at the stats that we provide on the website, and recently there's been a fantastic article called Dare to Dream by Lewis. I really recommend that you try and check that out as soon as you can because there's some fantastic Notts content there. And on the subject of content, one of the things that I'd like to ask all of our listeners, really, is to consider voting for us in the Football Content Awards that have just been announced. We're voting starting very soon. We're really going for the club content award. And I think this is really fitting when you consider the role the Notts county stats played and obviously has now recently branched out into NCS news and obviously providing this voice. For Notts Fans contributors being able to provide podcasts such as these, as well as obviously the previous diet that we were offering in terms of data. So if you like what we produce, we'd really appreciate a vote for that. We know that there's a fantastic range of Notts content out there, but we would really appreciate every vote and thank you for those people who have voted for us so far. Right, before I introduce the two people that are going to be joining me on this week's podcast, I'm sure that you're very much aware that one of our contributors, Tom, has reached almost the zenith of social media, I think, in terms of the amount of views that he's had on, shall we say, a recent video. I'm sure all of you are aware of this. Tom, just a little bit of information for me, really, bearing in mind that I'm in my 40s, used to playing goal and currently host a podcast, just how in danger am I of having to retire at the end of this episode?

Yeah, you're right, you're safe. Not on the hit list, so you're safe for now, Cole. Don't worry.

Fantastic.

Yeah.

I am interested to see who is next on the chopping block, to be honest. How have you felt since that whole thing happened? Because obviously, myself and Rich, we're lucky enough to know you on a personal level and obviously we were able to communicate on the WhatsApp when it all went a bit mental, let's be honest. So what's your take on it? What are the messages that you want to get out there? Because obviously, I think it's very obvious that those people who knew you understood sort of the humor behind some of the things you were saying. And very clearly those people who didn't really got the wrong end of the stick, didn't they?

Yeah, it's been crazy, to be honest. Obviously it's died down now, but at the time, like you say, the amount of views, I'll be honest, I made the video while I was waiting for my girlfriend, ready to go out. We could go out for the evening and she was getting ready and I thought, I'll make the video. I thought, oh, well, I need something to put up before I go out. So I this video together, took me five minutes, literally five minutes. Did the voiceover in one take 30 seconds? So you can hear me stumbling a bit in the video. But I thought, it doesn't really matter that I'm stuttering a little bit because it's not going to get loads of views, just put it out. And when by the time we got out, it already got quite a few views and I was like, this is a bit mad, and then checked in the morning, it was on like half million. I thought that's crazy. But then obviously it surpassed that massively during the day, so God knows what happened really just went people sharing it. And to be honest with you, at the time, the whole point wasn't even that he should save them. And if I'd have had the knowledge that he would have got as many views as it did, I would have been more careful about what I said in the video. But what I kind of was just pointing out was that he got nowhere near any of the shots. And that was more my point, was that he might not necessarily have to save every single one, but he was getting absolutely nowhere near them. And he pretty much said the same himself in his retirement video. And then when I saw that, that he retired, at first I thought someone had done it as a joke and mocked up as a joke to send him. And I was like, this is actually real. I couldn't believe it. So as a joke, I was just reacting to it, saying, oh, I can't believe what my video has done, blah, blah. Obviously the joke. And someone even commented and said, you're so serious all the time, I didn't know that you were joking. I thought, Well, I can't have a laugh as well. I'm not completely serious, so maybe people think I'm a bit too serious on social media, bring some more humorous elements to it. But look, it's been crazy. Didn't expect Foster to retire, obviously not on the back of it. I'm coming on here and not saying it wasn't my video. Obviously he said in his statement he did it at the game, didn't he? Pretty much. I think after the final whistle when he decided enough was enough. But, yeah, the timing of that couldn't have been any better. It just was complete perfect storm, really, and it was just crazy.

Yeah, like I say, I can completely understand sort of how Bermuda you were. Now, I have to be honest, from someone on the outside, a little bit looking, and I thought you handled it really well as well, to be honest. I think obviously you responded quite sensitively to the fact that to his statement, didn't you? Because obviously he sent a message out there that obviously REXHAM had shared and I think you're absolutely right as well. Fair play to him, I think, for recognizing that, because it could have been quite easy for him to dismiss some of the criticism that was out there on social media, which obviously you were only a part of. There was an awful lot of people going in on Foster's sort of performances, really, but he could have quite easily just continued with it, couldn't he? He could have continued taking the money, but I think it probably reflects the level of feeling that he's got for Wrexham as well, and for the game as well, to be honest. To be able to go, do you know what, I can't quite put it in as the way that I want it to. And so here is where I stop. I mean, a fascinating thing and who knows, we might get 3.5 million listens or views on this podcast. Let's hope so. Someone who shares celebrity status in the Notts world as well is also with us. Rich. Rich, how are you doing?

Yeah, I'm great. Thanks, Colin. I don't know about celebrity status, can I just say as well, just going back to Tom's video, I think it's important that everybody understands that all of Tom's views are his own and absolutely nothing to do with NCS News.

That's a fair point. Yeah, that's a fair point, to be honest. I think to be fair, Tommy's quite quick at emphasizing that as well, but we are obviously delighted to have Tom as part of the obviously but yeah, no, I agree with it, but I think this is the world that we're in, isn't it? We could probably talk about it for hours and I'm just conscious that we're trying to produce a short podcast, but I think it's an important one, isn't it, about the power of social media, the power of opinion. Here we are talking about Notts County as well, which I'm sure players are listening to, or they're going to be given some of the reactions or have you heard this or whatever. And I think it's important for everybody to understand the power of that not only the power that it gives and the platform it gives to people being able to talk about football and being able to talk about this game which know evoke so many passionate also you know, the impact on the other side of it. As know. And like Tom absolutely says, I'm absolutely sure that Ben Foster didn't sit there and nod along to Tom's video and go, no, you're absolutely right, I'm going to sack it all off from this point forward. But at the same know, it's a powerful tool, isn't it? And one know, I think, like I say, I want to throw that open to anybody listening who wants to play a part and has an opinion to say about, be it a player, be it a performance, be it anything to do with Notts County. One of the reasons why we exist here at NCS News is to give that platform and to bring it back full circle. Jeff being somebody who has contributed to the NCS articles that we've had recently, his recent articles, their stream is a fantastic read. So anybody out there listening who wants to have a go at building that profile and building that platform like the three of us have, know that opportunity is always there, please reach out and get in contact with us. Right, moving us forward, then, and thinking about games that have gone and things that to look forward to. Let's start off by looking at Doncaster, please, and a little review of that. Rich, can we start with you?

Yeah, well, firstly, absolutely fantastic to get the three points on the road. Three games in the league unbeaten now, two wins in a draw. Very disappointing that we didn't stick to our game plan right till the very last minute there with that concession of a goal at the end. It would have been nice to have had the three points and a clean sheet as well. But more for me, and I'm sure for nearly every Notts fan as well, is just to see Macca on the score sheet again. And Shame didn't quite get his hat trick. He came close, but, yeah, absolutely fantastic. And you could see there was a little bit of the positivity within the fan base, certainly on social media, and that as well, that we saw for most of last season was creeping back in again. You mentioned Jeff's piece that's on the website at the moment. If anybody's not read it yet, I suggest you do if you're a Notts fan, because it really does emphasize all of those feelings, know, maybe things are just starting to tick again for us. I know it's early days, but, yeah, there's good signs and a good win.

Yeah, I completely agree. I think Langstaff particularly, there was a sigh of relief, wasn't it? I seem to remember last podcast, Rich, you talking about Langstaff and being able to kind of hit form and really hoping that that was the moment and it certainly was. And obviously we're looking forward to someone playing with just that little bit more mean. You know, he must have been brimming with confidence anyway from the previous season, but I think we've seen it with Jodie Jones as well, haven't we? Someone who's come off the back of a really strong season. Obviously someone who we're all desperate, I think, just as football fans, not just as Notts fans. For someone whose career has been so stop, start to be able to kind of develop that momentum going forward. And he looks frightening at the moment, doesn't he? Looks frightening in form. Tom, what about you? What are the things from the Doncaster game that give you confidence and give you faith going forward?

For me, it's a perfect storm and perfect result because, yeah, we didn't get the clean sheet, but in a weird way, I'm actually glad because it just was that little reminder, back of the mind for the owners, we do still need a defender. Whether or not that was necessarily defense's fault, that goal, it was to do with switching off, I think. I know it was Jim that lost the ball, but it could have been any one of the defenders. And it was just a little reminder that we're not quite 100% and we don't want to paper over those cracks with a clean sheet after clean sheet and think we're doing really well here, which we are doing a lot better, a lot better performance. Rich sort of predicted it last week that we'd play through Doncaster and we sort of did on Macca. It is great to see him on the score sheet. He's the type of striker who goes on streak. He runs a form. I know it's mad to say about someone that scored 42 goals, but if you look back at the games he scored in last season, there would be streaks where he'd go four or five games without a goal and then he'd go a whole month where he'd score in every single game. So I wouldn't put it past him to score a game this weekend. And I just wanted to mention the wing backs, jody Jones and Sam Austin, who's playing at right wing back for the first time, pretty much for us. Well, the first time properly, anyway. From the start, he was fantastic. Jody was fantastic. Again, like you said, he's brimmed with confidence. He looks like a star man, doesn't he? He just looks like a star player. And I think that can only help us going forward. So we've got options at wingback. Macca's scoring, and Aidan Stone again, was really good in goal. Again, he seems to be getting better and better. And congratulations to him, by the way. His child was his second child, I think, was born today. So he's obviously a young man with a lot of responsibility in his personal life and his professional life as well. So he's really growing into the role. And all in all, perfect performance for me.

Yeah, I have to agree with you. And obviously we echo the congratulations as well to Aidan Stone and his family. Yes, I think you're absolutely right. I think when you look through the squad, we've got an awful lot of players who are on that kind of upward trajectory and building on top of, obviously, what has been quite strong seasons, those who were with us last year. But obviously Aidan Stone as well. Adding to what, he already had quite a phenomenal number of appearances, didn't he, for such a young goalkeeper as well? So there does seem to be this kind of upward momentum on the pitch as well as off the pitch in the stands as well. And we're really just hopeful, looking forward, as we will do very shortly on this podcast, looking forward to the next games and really hoping that we kind of build that momentum going forward. Because it can be formidable, it can be something that gets almost addictive, can't it? Building on that kind of momentum going forward, seeing performances on top of each other and completely agree with you as well. I mean, I go back to episode one where we were talking about not getting too high with the highs and not getting too low with the lows. We do need to also recognize that there are still things to fix. I do agree with what you're saying about kind of defensively. There are things that we need to consider and there are probably reminders for them to go back onto the training ground, to go back to looking at the recruitment plans that they've got and trying to think about the players and how they're going to come up with some of those solutions. Because we haven't fully shut that door yet, have we? We haven't fully shown to the opposition that we are completely defensively, resilient. And I think it's not until we get to that point where we answer those questions in the minds of the players themselves, in the minds of the opposition, in the minds of the fan base, do we become a formidable opponent. So, looking forward then, and thinking about Tramire, I know that you've both done an awful lot of work about this and obviously there is a piece of work coming very soon, an article that we're all looking forward to on NCS News to do with the Tranmere game. But Rich, I want to start with you. What are some of the things that Notts fans can look forward to and maybe need to fear going into the.

Next game before we just go on to Tranmere? Is it okay if I just bring up another thing on the Doncaster game? I just wanted before we move on to mention some of the grief I got about the Xg data. First things first, don't shoot the messenger. I'm not creating the Xg values and everything. There are some much cleverer people than me that are doing that. So we get all that data from Wyscout and you can also find similar data on FotMob and places like that. But it was interesting that one of the gripes was that everybody thought that the game was easy for Notts, that they were in control for most of it, except for the last 10-15 minutes. Couldn't believe that the value for Macca's goals were as low as they were. So I just thought I'd try and clear up in 30, 40 seconds, a few things around that. And I think the first thing is on the Xg itself. When you're looking at the attempts on goal, what people have to remember is it's not just a case of, well, he was only two yards out. It must be like nearly a definite whole goal. But if we take Macca's second goal, that header in its entirety, you have to take into consideration where the cross came from. The accuracy of the cross, where he started with his run flanked by two players, two defenders, had to get in between the two of them low to the ground with a stooping header. And he'd still got the keeper in front of him as well. And I think that came in at about on the Xg, which still seems really low, really low, because that would intimate that 13 times out of 100 that goal scored. But what people need to understand is that we're really lucky in having a player of the caliber of Macca, because that's the kind of ball and the kind of area that he absolutely excels in. And just because he can do it doesn't mean that everybody at that level is going to be able to do it. And there's going to be a lot of times where people struggle to get into that position at the right time to meet that ball, at the right time to score the goal. So it can be a little bit confusing at times, and I understand how people can get confused by it and what happens with all of that Xg data. It's put through a simulator as well. There's something called a Monte Carlo formula that people use in mathematics and things where all of those shots in that game are played over and over and over and over and over sort of 10,000 times or more so that you get a mean average of how many times a goal would have been scored from each of those shots. And that's how you end up getting the expected points and the expected win percentage as well. So I understand that to the eye, people were probably wondering, well, hang on, that looked like an easy game of football. And it did. We did look in control, it did look comfortable. But what we have to be aware of is that they still managed to get two more shots on goal than we did. Okay, the quality of the opportunities probably wasn't quite as good as what we had, but they did. And they did that with only 30 odd percent of the ball as well. So I realize it's difficult to come to terms with that sometimes, and especially when you're really buoyed by such a great result, but I just wanted to clear that up a little bit and hopefully that's given people a bit more of an understanding of what we're looking at when we're analyzing the Xg data. So thanks for that. Moving on to Tranmere. Yeah. Myself and Tom are currently working on our first proper opposition analysis of the season, which will be out in the next day or two, where we've taken much deeper dive into the tactics and data and everything else as well around the opponents. You'll be able to see that when it's out. So we won't go into great detail now because we could be here all night with it, but, yeah, they've not had the best of starts, but they haven't been playing badly. They've got some really good stats in the games and they're only just missing out in those as well. Very solid 433-4231 type of formation tactically. And they'll definitely come and look to try and match us up in a few of our key areas as well. So, again, something that everybody else have a look at when we get it all out later. But, yeah, it's not going to be an easy game. Again, we keep saying this, I felt a lot more confident about going away to Donnie than I do playing at home to Tranmere this weekend, and I'm sure Tom probably feels the same.

Yeah, I'm going to bring Tom into this.

Yeah.

I mean, obviously I know that. I don't want to give away any spoilers, really, for the work that I know you two have been doing and I know how much work has gone into that. But Tom, what are the threats? What are the players to look out for or what are the particular areas of strength within Tranmere that not need to look out for and plan for ahead of that game?

Well, first I want to echo what Richard said. They've not had the results that they would have wanted. And I think there's actually looking at the Tranmere fan base and online, there's a lot of pressure on Ian doors already from their fans because the feeling is that they are the kind of team that would prefer to get results than have the Stylish football. And obviously there's still some people that perhaps feel the same way about the way we play, although the results last season kind of has quietened those debates down. That's a debate for another day. But they are playing some really good stuff. They're just perhaps getting caught a little bit at times. They're scoring plenty of goals or creating plenty of chances. But the last game against Solva, for example, they scored three, but they let four in at home. And I think I'm of the mind if you score three at home, you should be getting all three points, so they'll be disappointed with that. In terms of key players, we can look at a former Notts player, Christian dennis is off the mark for them. He is obviously, as we know, a real fox in the box, can finish. Even though he's well into his thirty s now, he still scored 20 goals last season for Carlisle who were promoted. He's back amongst the goals already and if he gets the chances, he will take them. And if we cast our minds back to that season where we last played Tranmere in the league, conor Jennings scored in both the games we played against Tranmere that season and he went on to leave Tranmere and has subsequently rejoined them this summer and has been a key player for them. He's not had the best of time away from Tranmere, but he might be a player where he just works for him at a certain club and it looks like at Tranmere that's, that club. And so he's another player to watch.

This weekend, certainly no, thank you for that. And like I say, I think it's always important to think about those narrative going forward because, I mean, how many times have we seen former Notts players come back to haunt us? And particularly bringing it back full circle to some of the things we've talked about about the defense and needing to be able to answer some of those questions about how solid they can be for 90 minutes? Thinking about obviously what happened recently. There's another opportunity for Notts to kind of prove their strength and prove their worth. One of the things that I'm looking forward to, I think, is kind of a marrying of two things really. One thing that you've said about the pressure that seems to be building when you've built had several poor results or you've not really been able to fulfill your potential. And the fact that Notts keep possession so much, I think for away fans, when Notts have such dominant possession, I mean, we're still averaging sort of 70%, aren't we, in terms of possession across all the games that we've played. Despite stepping up a standard, I think that can really test the patience of an opposition fan base. And so one of the things I'm hoping to see, obviously we all hope, we'd love to see our teams go out the block and get it in the box in the first 10 seconds and get a shot off and go one nil ahead. But actually I want to see Notts keep ball. I want to see Notts keep the ball and really try and zap that energy and that enthusiasm that I'm sure that the Trumare staff are trying to do to try and galvanize their squad, really take that away and really then try and punish that. And I think that's when you win not only the technical battle and the tactical battle, but the psychological one as well, I think this could be as much of a psychological battle as it could be a technical and a tactical one. Right before we finish up then. Rich, can I have a prediction from you, then, please? What are you expecting as an outcome for the Tromier game?

I think we're going to see another game very similar to the one we saw against Grimsby. It's going to be close. I think there'll be goals. Both teams are capable of scoring and conceding goals, and I'm going to go with my head on this one. I'm going to go for a two two draw.

Interesting. Controversial. Tom, what about you?

I'm going to agree on the amount of goals, but I'm going to disagree on who's scoring them. I'm going to go Notts three, tranmere one. I think we're a better team than them and I think that at home as well, we will show that we've got the better quality. But, of course, it'll probably come back to haunt us now because, well, I did say that we've beat Doncaster only just, but it was a bit more comfortable than that. So I think go three one again, back to back three, one wins. Why not?

That's what you call the exuberance of youth, isn't it?

Well, I don't know where I fit into that sliding scale, because I'm going to go two nil. I'm really hopeful, and I think I'm going with heart rather than head on this. I am really hopeful that we start the game really positive, that we kind of zap their energy out of it, because I think they're going to come out the traps early doors to try and prove that the form they're in at the moment is a temporary thing. I really want us to try and kind of absorb that and then be able to then I think there'll be kind of two goals. Second half, two nil, and we'll put the game to bed from there. Really hopeful, that is. But thank you ever so much, Gents, and I look forward to joining you again on episode five.

You jam.