“I take over this team with a primary focus on creating a new synergy. Every player has unique qualities, but it’s the collective effort that will drive us forward.”
Patrick Eagles finished the 2023-24 season with a 9th place finish in the National league, a solid first season in his managerial career at Southend, having risen to management after impressing as a coach. With the season over he then took a trip to Nepal where he completed the Annapurna Circuit, a challenging trek known for its tough and diverse landscapes. Thoughts were already on plans for another season at Southend but shortly after arriving back in the UK, he was approached by Notts County.
“It all happened very quickly” he said. “I had a wonderful time in Nepal. I’m not one to sit still. The terrain was extremely punishing but it keeps me sharp. I love to challenge myself. Helps me focus my mind for what comes next. It just goes to show you need to be prepared for anything”, referencing the move to Notts County. “I feel incredibly motivated for this next challenge.”
We sit in his office, boxes still to be unpacked. Questions to be answered on what his Notts County side will look like. We are surrounded by pictures on the wall of previous managers, including one of Jimmy Sirrel, a true legend of the club taking them from division 4 to division 2 in just under 4 years in the early 70’s. Sirrel ‘s team was known for having a solid defense, being difficult to break down while still managing a high rate of goals per match. Eagle’s record at Southend, conceding the least amount of goals last season, may suggest there are likely comparisons tactically with the great Sirrel and will almost certainly be why Notts Danish owners moved to bring him in, with The Magpies struggling to keep clean sheets last season.
“In football, it’s not just about having talented individuals; it’s about creating a cohesive unit. Every pass, every tackle, every movement on the pitch has to work in harmony. I take over this team with a primary focus on creating a new synergy. Every player has unique qualities, but it’s the collective effort that will drive us forward.” The words ‘Teamwork’ and ‘Synergy’ come up multiple times during our interview.
Notts County Danish owners, the Reedtz brothers Alexander and Christoffer, will have no doubt utilised their football analysis company ‘Football radar’ to inform their decision to recruit Eagles. They will be hoping that he can improve Notts defensive capabilities along with the vision of high possession football. With the new ownership in place they have already achieved their first milestone with quick promotion to league two. They are ambitious owners who want to bring success to the Nottingham club and will be hoping Eagles can be the man to take them to the next level. If it works out, it will certainly be a positive endorsement of their data first approach and how this will support their drive for success.
Eagles was quick to praise the owners and back their approach to running the club.
“It’s an absolute privilege to have this chance to manage a club with so much heritage and one that means so much to it’s fans. After speaking to Alexander and Christoffer I was immediately impressed with the level of ambition and confidence they have in growing this club and driving improvement for success. I am excited to work alongside all involved with the Football Radar group and share in their (Reedtz brothers) confidence that the comprehensive insights this provides in player performance can help us find the best players in the recruitment process and improve those already here. They have shown courage to bring in someone like myself with limited experience but I am determined to show it was the right decision and deliver success on the football pitch that the fans can celebrate.”
It is likely Eagles will be strongly backed in this transfer window to bring in new faces so more changes are likely as he starts to assess his squad in more detail. Fans would dearly love to see another Jimmy Sirrel era. Could this be the start of something big for Notts County?
Football Manager Focus
Notts County are predicted to finish third in league 2 for the 2023-24 season, with the club vision including a requirement to play possession football. So while we will be looking to replicate Eagles defensive tactical capabilities, we will also be looking for ways to achieve a high level of performance in the league for possession and to attack most matches given the high predicted finish. The squad comparison report shows that Notts are the best in the league when averaging the passing, technique, composure and first touch attributes throughout the first team squad, so this bodes well for a quality possession game.
Things don’t look so good when reviewing the defensive capabilities of the defenders and midfielders, with low averages for tackling, jumping, heading, marking and strength. Important to note then that I have started the game as it would have been before any real life signings were made for this season. This means Eagles will have the full budget available in this first transfer window to make any signings required to start to mold the team into one that matches his footballing identity, an identity that will require a high level of Team Work through the squad, which is sadly sitting below the league average at this point.
Potential tactics
I am initially looking at starting with something based around the in game custom control possession style of tactical play. We will start with a balanced mentality to work out how matches are going but this could turn into something more positive if we’re in good form and in matches where we are heavy favourites to win. The team instructions are based around playing a shorter and slower passing style while being patient in the final third which will certainly help with achieving the high levels of possession we are aiming for.
Aggression and bravery are pretty poor in this squad and with workrate and stamina not being the best, I don’t want us pressing too often so this will be set at standard to begin with. We will however counter press to try to win the ball back quickly as this should positively impact on keeping possession. I also feel the 4-4-2 shape means that the counter press should not create too many gaps for the opposition to exploit with the players being positioned close together, so long as we do not play with too much width in possession.
DNA
We need to decide on what the DNA of this team needs to be to help focus our recruitment. Our lead protagonist, Patrick Eagles, is set up as a manager who likes his teams to be solid, hard to break down and most importantly work hard for each other. We want to achieve a strong synergy throughout the team. However, he also answers to the demands of the board of Notts County who have set a vision to play possession football and if he doesn’t want to lose the fans, he’ll want to add attacking football where he can too as this is their desired vision for the on pitch footballing style.
With all this in mind I think we’ll set our DNA as looking for players with strength in the following areas;
- Teamwork
- Workrate
- Positioning
- Passing
- Vision
- Technique
- First touch
- Composure
This is a uniquely tiered DNA if you like. The red is the ‘Eagles’ DNA. This is the base of what he looks for in a player regardless of tactical style, so we’ll want every player to score highly here. The orange is the essential base that players will need to contribute to a successful possession style of play. The yellow being some desired extras. Positioning may surprise here but the higher the attribute, the better a player is in taking up good positions on the pitch in defensive play. The more players that are strong in this area, the better we will perform as a team at defending. The synergy we are looking for!
Squad analysis
Let’s start up top where I am excited about the partnership of Langstaff and McGoldrick. Langstaff has terrific stats as a poacher with acceleration of 15, off the ball 14, composure 14 and finishing of 15. He is also a ‘consistent performer’ according to the coach report and is reported at the level of being a leading player for most EFL league one sides. We will want to get the best out of him to maximise his potential goal output and he looks like a player we would want to take with us into league one if we can achieve promotion.
David McGoldrick fits nicely in a deep lying forward role as a player who looks like he can contribute well in supporting the attacking right winger and poacher as well as being a good link up player. He really fits the whole DNA well too with 11 at positioning being the lowest one there so he will be one of the role models for this team.
We will be looking to our left winger to support play in both his passing game and crossing to create chances for our forwards and support the build up play. Jodi Jones is a great fit for this and with flair of 17, looks like a player who can excite the fans in his attacking play. With pretty poor positioning he may not find a place in Eagles longer term plans however. Then we are looking at a Regista double act in the defensive midfielder positions with Bostock and Palmer looking very strong for acting at the heart of our possession game, something these roles are very suited for.
I can see a lot of the build up and creative play going through these two who both possess a strong passing game. Bostock and Palmer as left and right footed players respectively adds to a nice balance too.
Crowley on the right side will be looking to get forward more often and be an attacking threat in the final third. He looks like a player who is strong running and passing with the ball and can finish too. We will likely alternate between the roles of attacking winger and inverted winger. With an inverted winger we could look to exploit the space through the middle if the opposition are playing with a single defensive midfielder for instance.
Left back might be where we need to look at upgrading with Chicksen not looking the best in defensive play, and not really making up for it with attacking attributes either. We’ll play him with an automatic mentality so he will only look to attack when we need him to. There is a overall lack of pace in the back line so we will have to be wary of quick opposition forwards and will perhaps look to avoid playing any defensive pressing traps or trying to step up more.
Our centre backs are both solid defensively and decent in the air as well as being good passers so we look good here. Both possess the ‘Brings ball out of defense’ attribute, despite being pretty poor at dribbling. We will have to look out for them getting caught out by pressing opposition attackers. Ideally we want our centre backs passing on the ball to our more creative registas so we will look to play them as standard centre backs playing simple short passes to try to limit them dribbling as ball playing defenders. With decent pace and acceleration we could look at Brindley as a supportive wing back when opting for the inverted winger in front of him, to help with adding some width down that side.
Aiden Strong in goal stands out with his strong passing ability so can be another that contributes to our possession game. We’ll add the ‘take fewer risks’ instruction to him to encourage him to use his passing ability in the defensive build up play as he lacks the vision to play the longer passing game.
There is some decent depth in some positions but we’ll be looking to play a consistent starting eleven to build strong relationships throughout the team over time, again helping to achieve that synergy of Eagles dreams. We’ll review mid-season in the next chapter of this story. Will Eagles succeed in his first aim of improving defensively and reducing the amount of goals being conceded? Is promotion to league one on the cards and what players will come in to make a dramatic impact for the season? Will the double Regista be a double delight or an epic fail? Find out in the next chapter of Magpie Dreams…