Left Pie-On: September

Things have, in recent times, been much worse than they are at present. Still, they could quite easily be a lot better than they are. As things stand, with a mundane goalless draw against Oldham putting many a ‘Pie into a comatose state, we're in a position – sixteenth – where just a couple of wins could send us rocketing up the table, or a couple of defeats would have us swan-diving back to the familiar relegation places.

 

A common theme used to defend recent results and performances is that, last year, some of these games would have ended in comprehensive defeat. It's an entirely fair point to make – but there comes a time where feeling sorry for such a sorry last campaign won't cut it any more. You can't fault the battling qualities any eleven of our mammoth squad possess during any given game, but whilst we continually grind out each result with little excitement to offer, the goodwill that was so hard earned by Shaun Derry and Greg Abbott last season will slowly start to wilt in the eyes of the vocal minority.

 

Harsh, perhaps, though such is the fickle nature of football. Does it justify booing your side off after they haven't even lost a game? Absolutely not. But whilst Derry's very public comments via the local radio may portray contentedness – you know simply by his demeanour that he demands more cut and thrust from his players.

 

In amongst this lack of positivity, however, the calibre of opposition we're picking up results against becomes lost. It just so happens that the better results – the better performances – have come away from Meadow Lane this season. There are almost scarily similar overtones to the County tenure of Keith Curle, in fact – not that Derry or his number two will be given a similarly short time to turn things around. Or at least you'd hope so. You get the impression that some still desire serial relegator Danny Wilson in their lives.

 

It all comes down to personal preference: Do you want entertainment, or do you want results? I spent the whole summer preaching the view that, with our player turnover in the close-season, things would take a while to gel. The results are mostly there, and we're one hell of a tough (perhaps cynical) side to beat right now. But in the light of Saturday's Oldham game, suddenly watching emulsion dry becomes quite the exciting prospect to many.

 

Shame really, because you'd be hard pressed in recent years to find more determined performances shown on the road than those at Preston North End, Port Vale and Peterborough. Preston on the opening day was quite fantastic, in fact – leaving a genuine promotion contender chasing shadows for long periods. Port Vale was as backs-to-the-wall as it gets in riding our luck for most of the second half. And then Peterborough, where County absolutely nullified the attacking threat of Fergie Jnr's heavily bankrolled side.

 

 

Yet back at Meadow Lane it's a different story altogether. Displays which, on the road, are quite satisfying can leave a sour taste in front of the home faithful. Against big-hitting Bristol City, only a contentious last-minute penalty separated the two teams. Leyton Orient – with Russell Slade facing the axe – saw plenty of the ball, but Roy Carroll was largely untested in a 1-1 draw. And then Fleetwood. As quick out of the blocks as they may well have been, this was a defeat somehow worse than the dross served up by last season's band of gutless wage sponges.

 

However, in amongst what appears to be a cloudy start to the campaign, it's not as if positives aren't hard to come by. Roy Carroll has been a monster in goal. And whilst Bartosz Bialkowski continues to warm the bench at Ipswich, Notts certainly appear to have got the better deal of the two sides over the summer. Whilst Blair Adams has shown promise, his replacement at left-back, Jordan Cranston, has been immense, belying his reputation prior to coming to Meadow Lane as a non-league player. Alan Smith and Gary Jones are both rock-solid in the centre of midfield – though at home there's only one winner in the eyes of supporters as to which of the two should start. Jones, sadly, doesn't stand a chance, despite his integral role on the club's travels.

 

Meanwhile, in defence, Haydn Hollis continues to mature at an alarming speed. In the last few games it hasn't come alongside Hayden Mullins, however, but Louis Laing on loan from West Bridgford’s Nottingham Forest. Whilst many cast a weary eye towards a Forest loanee, no-one watching can remain unimpressed with his performances next to Hollis. The current back four is as young as you'll likely see all season, but to say they've been imperious as a unit is no exaggeration, though. Derry's eye for a talent appears as unparalleled as it did last year when he drafted in Jimmy Spencer amidst a chorus of relegation-bound moans.

 

Plenty to build on, then, you'd say. And whilst we're hard to beat, by the same token Notts do struggle to finish games off. We've only drawn one less game at this stage than we managed in the whole of last season, so creativity is most certainly the issue. Whilst some doubt the ability of strikers whose roles are mostly to watch aimless hoofs soaring overhead, it's the midfield that needs to get its act together. Zeli Ismael – once hailed as potentially being the first £100m player – too often flatters to deceive and should without question be doing better. Liam Noble has really improved as the campaign has gone on, but a blossoming partnership with Reece Brown has been temporarily halted by injury to Birmingham's on-loan midfielder.

 

As I alluded to at the outset, things could still go either way for Notts. With a visit to Chesterfield coming on Saturday you would imagine many a mind will be made up about the start to the season by 5pm, though.

Notts County website