Notts County finally have positive David McGoldrick headache: View | OneFootball

David McGoldrick's match-winning performance for Notts County at the weekend shows he still has lots to give.

David McGoldrick reminded everybody of his class on Saturday, scoring two screamers as Notts County won 2-1 away at Swindon Town.

The 36-year-old rolled back the years with two finishes of incredible quality to ensure Notts left Wiltshire with all three points, despite being firmly under pressure for the majority of the second half.

McGoldrick’s showing will provide a selection headache for Stuart Maynard who, so far, has opted to start Alassana Jatta up front in each of The Magpies’ four league games.

But if performances like Saturday’s continue to come, McGoldrick will surely force his way into the side sooner rather than later.

McGoldrick is still capable of contributing

Towards the end of last season, it felt like McGoldrick was written off by some as his form faded, and he started getting fewer minutes on the pitch.

Saturday’s performance was a timely reminder of the quality he still has and how he is still more than capable of being a key figure in Notts’ side this season.

This is, after all, a man who scored 22 goals in League One as recently as 2022/23.

The victory at Swindon was McGoldrick’s first league start of the season, and it wasn’t just his two pieces of brilliance that stood out, his all-round performance was also good.

The former Sheffield United and Derby County man led the line well for Notts despite getting little service at times. He won his flick-ons well and held the ball up when Notts needed to get up the pitch, but he was also still able to drop deep and have a fairly big influence on Notts’ build-up play, particularly in the first half.

McGoldrick has also looked leaner and sharper so far, something he himself highlighted ahead of the game against Grimsby two weeks ago: “In the off-season I was working hard and I’ve probably come back the fittest I’ve ever been in my career. Which is crazy to say at 36, but sometimes you need a little bit of doubt on you to come back stronger.”

The Notts frontman scored 12 goals and assisted four in League Two last season, from a total of 37 appearances, and the early signs suggest he’s more than capable of matching, if not bettering, those numbers this time around.

And with Notts arguably still short of one more recognised striker, McGoldrick could prove to be more crucial than ever to The Magpies’ promotion ambitions.

The key to getting the best out of McGoldrick

If Notts are to get the best out of their homegrown talent this season, it’s imperative they manage his minutes better than last season.

A strong start to the campaign, coupled with a lot of minutes before Christmas, eventually culminated in McGoldrick being burned out somewhat as the 2023/24 campaign reached its latter stages.

Up until Notts’ 1-1 draw with Barrow on 27th January 2024, McGoldrick had started 25 of The Magpies’ games in League Two and in 16 of those games he played the full 90 minutes.

By comparison, he started just seven of the remaining 18 league games from February onwards, completing the full 90 minutes on just three occasions.

To take that even further, McGoldrick started just two of the final 13 league games, only playing a total of 201 minutes across those 13 games.

His performances also took a hit as a result, with just one of his 16 goal contributions coming after January.

While Notts did obviously undergo a managerial change in January, which is always likely to throw selection up in the air somewhat, you’d still argue McGoldrick certainly would’ve started significantly more games in the second half of the season had his minutes been managed better.

A player in his late thirties will always need to be monitored carefully, as even someone as fit as McGoldrick will become increasingly vulnerable to injuries and fatigue. And with Notts ending the summer transfer window with less depth up front than they would perhaps like, McGoldrick will be more important than ever, meaning they really cannot afford to wear him down like that again this term.

Saturday’s goals highlighted that if Notts can keep him fresh for the whole season, he still carries a massive threat at League Two level.