The Magpies host travelling Newport County on Saturday 12^th December, the visitors didn’t win their first game of the season until September 26^th but will arrive at Meadow Lane not having lost in their last six games, having drawn four and won two.

The match officials for the game will be referee Darren Handley, assistants Darren Strain and Lloyd Wood, and fourth official Andrew Hendley.

Referee: Darren Handley
From: Lancashire

His matches involving Notts County within the last four seasons;

He hasn’t refereed a Notts game during this period.

Run down of his last three games:

League One – Saturday 31^st October 2015 – Port Vale 2-0 Shrewsbury Town (6 yellow cards, no red)
Championship – Saturday 21^st November 2015 – MK Dons 1-1 Fulham (2 yellow cards, no red)
League Two – Saturday 28^th November 2015 – Leyton Orient 1-1 AFC Wimbledon (6 yellow cards, 1 red card)

In his last four games he has issued 14 yellow cards and only 1 red card.

So far this season in his total of fifteen games, he has shown fifty-seven yellow cards and three red cards - 3.8 yellow cards per game.

Assistant Referee: Darren Strain
From: Cheshire

Last three games:

League One – Tuesday 29^th September 2015 – Burton Albion 0-0 Sheffield United
Championship – Saturday 21^st November 2015 – Birmingham City 0-1 Charlton Athletic
League One – Saturday 28^th November 2015 – Walsall 2-1 Bradford City

Assistant Referee: Lloyd Wood
From: Essex

Last three games:

League Two – Saturday 17^th October 2015 – Crawley Town 2-1 Luton Town
League Two – Saturday 24^th October 2015 – Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Carlisle United
League Two – Tuesday 24^th November 2015 – Portsmouth 6-0 York City

Fourth Official: Andrew Hendley
From: West Midlands

As many of you have realised, the Pride of Nottingham website has undergone a vast revamp. Not only has the layout completely changed, but its functions have also been improved. In this article, site webmaster Notts Joe discusses the changes made to PON.

So when you click on the site, it looks completely different. Why did you change it?

With the original PON page, that was effectively the first site I created for the purpose of supporting Notts. The old site had things about it which frustrated me, both as a member and as a webmaster. So I decided that using available options to me, would improve things, whilst the experience for everyone overall would be far better. The expertise I gained within a number of few years is very useful when it comes to this. It’s built on the same foundations as the original site – things like a forum, articles and so on – but this is so much more up to date, functional, attractive and just more of a pleasure as both admin and user.

What exactly is new compared to the old site?

 The homepage is totally new, it's more modern and stylish. If you prefer a more tradition view of articles, it's covered by adding /home/ to the main domain and I like that. The community section is clearer, features are far more obvious and the design is completely new. There are several features, such as the way members can find our content which is completely new – like the activity stream which replaces our former 'live centre'.

How is it better for visitors and fans?

With the improvements, it allows PON to make use of even better web principles and in turn this allows me to not only speed our server up but it enables us to offer much more. Overall, it gives us the foundation to move forward and better serve the Notts fan base. And on a personal level, I just feel that how clean and tidy it looks is far better than the old site and, combined with the speed increase, it makes for a much better experience for users and visitors of the site.

Once again PoN looks to the weekend fixtures in another League Two preview. There are several stand out fixtures this week, with table toppers Oxford playing host to 6^th placed Carlisle and 4^th placed Accrington at home to 9^th placed Wycombe. At the other end of the table, bottom club Yeovil are at home to 19^th placed Barnet. Another interesting fixture is 5^th placed Portsmouth playing 20^th placed Hartlepool.

*Important game **Key Games

Saturday 12^th December 2015
**Accrington Stanley v Wycombe Wanderers – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-0)
Wimbledon v Stevenage – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-0)
Bristol Rovers v York City – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (3-1)
Crawley v Dagenham & Redbridge – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-1)
Luton v Northampton – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-2)
Mansfield v Leyton Orient – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-0)
Morecambe v Exeter – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-2)
Notts County v Newport – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (3-1)
*Oxford v Carlisle – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-0)
Plymouth v Cambridge – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (3-0)
**Portsmouth v Hartlepool – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-0)
**Yeovil v Barnet – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-0)

My Stand-out Games

Oxford v Carlisle
Accrington v Wycombe
Portsmouth v Hartlepool
Yeovil v Barnet

We are now approaching the busy festive season and halfway stage of the fixture list with the league table clearly showing the favourites for promotion and relegation.

Oxford, Plymouth and Northampton head the table, each with 40 points, while Yeovil are bottom with 11 points, below York at 23^rd with 12 points and Dagenham at 22^nd on 13 points.

Oxford will be hoping to consolidate their position at number one, while denting Carlisle's play-off hopes.

Plymouth and Northampton will hope to win against their mid table opposition.

Barnet will be aiming to put another nail in Yeovil's relegation coffin and at the same time distance themselves from the bottom places.

Halfway and 12th placed, Wimbledon have 28 points and are only 4 points off a play off place.

21^st placed Newport have a 7 point cushion over 2^nd bottom York and are on 19 points, which shows that there is still plenty of time for teams to make a significant move in any direction, up or down the table.

Thoughts on Notts County v Newport

This weeks matches sees Notts County at home to Newport, a match that should be an easy win for Notts and I've predicted a 3 -1 score (I hope I haven't jinxed the result).

The last time they played was 3/3/1987 and Notts won 5-2 at Meadow Lane.

The overall record between Notts and Newport is: Notts won 23, Newport won 12 and 9 Draws.

Discuss the Notts v Newport game within our community - Here.

The 'Top of the Table' young Magpies travelled to Lincoln this morning to take on a Lincoln City side who were 'breathing down their necks' being only a single point behind them in the table.

The game was played at Lincoln United's Ashby Avenue ground in a strong wind with an uneven playing surface.

Notts were without their usual two wide players through injury and illness and this affected their attacking play.  As always, they battled hard, but they struggled to get the ball down and get their usual passing game going and without their usual two wide men their attacking options were limited.

Half-time: Lincoln 0-0 Notts.  Defences on top as both sides struggled against the strong wind and a very uneven playing surface.

The second half continued as it had in the first with both sides battling against the conditions as much as against each other.  On 72 minutes the young 'Pies fell behind when a shot from the edge of the area found its way into the corner of the net.

For the rest of the game Notts tried to get back on level terms but just didn't have enough options going forward and the game ended in a 1-0 defeat for Notts.  Because of the conditions and the loss of a couple of players it was a below par performance for the young 'Pies who have ended the first half of the league season just a couple of points from the top of their league - so not a bad position to be in.

If you are not going to Wycombe on December 15th why not pop down to Meadow Lane to see the youngsters take on a Luton Town side, still undefeated after 21 games, in the FA Youth Cup.

Join our match discussion for the youth team - Here

Adam Campbell has claimed that just one away victory could change Notts County’s poor form on the road.

The Magpies succumbed to their fifth away defeat last Saturday when they were beaten 3-1 by Shaun Derry's Cambridge United – leaving them with a record of just one league win away from Meadow Lane.

Campbell said: "I can't put my finger on it at all. It's the million dollar question isn't? We are so good at home, yet away we are struggling.

"We thought we had turned the corner against Bristol Rovers where we ground out a good 0-0 draw. And then we went to Exeter, played really well and perhaps should have won the game given the chances we created. It looked then that we might have cracked it, but then came Salford and we know what happened there.

"It's so frustrating, but I genuinely think if we can get that first away victory then I think that could spark us off. The sooner we get it the better. Not just for the players, but the fans as well because they've been tremendous and have always travelled well.”

Well we’re just over a third of the way into the season, and what looked to be a season full of promise most certainly has not lived up to expectations thus far.

We find ourselves lying 16th in the table following a series of poor displays interspersed with the off half-decent performance, which seems to suggest a rate of progress going along at one step forward followed by two steps back. And given the tools we have at our disposal and what we’re up against, that to me is totally unacceptable at this stage of the season.

Now of course, given that we had a relatively new manager, new coaching staff and about 30 new players it was always going to take some time to gel. Fine, I get that. But is there really a hint of progress being made? Personally I don’t think so. 

You only need to listen to Ricardo Moniz’s post-match interviews to see where I’m coming from. Particularly after away games, it’s pretty much the exact same interview on repeat. The same mistakes, the same problems. 

It does beg the question: what do we actually do on the training ground all week? Because learning from our mistakes certainly doesn’t appear to be one of them. So here we are, once again with a fan base (one which continues to dwindle at that) split on whether to stick or twist.

Let’s be honest, nobody was really all that surprised when Shaun Derry lost his job, but the appointment of Moniz certainly did raise a few eyebrows, and it always looked to be an appointment that would go one way or the other. It’s all well and good saying he had so much success abroad in Austria or Switzerland or wherever, but let’s be right; League Two is a completely different world. 

I felt at the time we needed someone who had been there, seen it, done it and got the t-shirt at this level. Funnily enough the last manager we appointed with that in mind did a fairly good job while he was here. Say what you want about Martin Allen and his off-field antics, but nobody can really deny that it has all been downhill since he went. 

I certainly feel that we have created a lot of our own problems by signing a quite outrageous number of players, again many of which are unproven at this level. And then the proven players we did sign we go and play out of position! 

Jon Stead – a 32-year-old centre forward is NOT suddenly going to become a winger overnight so why stick him there? We signed him to score goals to play him in a position where we can do just that! We have good wingers at the club who don’t get a game, where’s the logic in that?

Meanwhile we persist with playing a pensioner in midfield and leaving the young and hungry local boy Curtis Thomspon out of the fold, that despite his outstanding performances in the first few games of the season! I thought our whole philosophy under the last few managers was to blood these youngsters into first team regulars, yet all of a sudden we’d sooner stick a has-been in there? It doesn’t add up at all.

Oh, and then there’s the left back situation. Blair Adams was for me one of the better players last season. Granted that’s not saying a great deal considering the side he was in, but the decision to send him out on loan to one of our main rivals in this league is completely baffling. What does that leave us with? Well there’s Alan Sheehan, but seeing as none of the centre halves we have at the club are capable of carrying out even the most basic of defensive duties we have a left back and a fitness coach playing there, leaving us with Gill Swerts or Audel – neither of which are capable of blocking a cross.

And while I’m at it, whatever happened to Rob Milsom? Or Rhys Sharpe? Or Wes Atkinson? What was the point of them signings exactly? I mean Scot Bennett gave me hope I could still make it!

I could go on. I never like seeing any manager get the sack. The rate at which this club has gone through managers down the years is embarrassing, but I really do think it’s getting to the stage where Ricardo Moniz’s position is becoming untenable unless we can finally start a winning run, but there’s certainly no sign of that happening anytime soon.

I don’t think it’s all Moniz’s fault. The board of directors and the transfer committee need to look at themselves, because they’re all combining to drag this great club to an all-time low.  

The players certainly were not playing for Moniz at Salford, and the second half capitulation at Cambridge was a complete shambles – the likes of which we’ve seen all too regularly on the road. Gillingham, Morecambe, Wimbledon, Sheffield United to name but a few. 

I would love nothing more than for us to go on a winning run and turn this season around, but for now I’m firmly of the opinion that sadly, Moniz needs to go. I don’t see where progress is being made, and as it is this season is in severe danger of fizzling out into mid-table obscurity at best, and as I said given the tools at our disposal that is totally unacceptable. Top seven should be the absolute bare minimum and right now we look a long way off that. 

But who do we get in? Well that’s the problem. There’s not many managers out there we haven’t tried! Knowing us we’d go and give the job to Alan Smith and Mike Edwards as joint player-managers. We’re not in a position to go and poach somebody off of another club. And anyway you’d have to be mad to take the job on at Notts given the rate at which we go through managers. 

This will probably come across as a bit of a rant, mainly because it is. I just don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. Supporting Notts has genuinely become quite tedious over the last few years. I’m at the point of almost dreading our matches now. I’ll still go as often as I possibly can, but I always go fully expecting the day to take a turn for the worst from about 3pm onwards! 

Oh to have been around in the days of Jimmy Sirrell or Neil Warnock...

This season can only be described as starting slowly, with only a single league win in the first five games, leaving the young ‘Pies third from bottom of their division.

Then followed an amazing turnaround.  With a few positional tweaks by their coach Dan Leivers the team went on a fantastic run winning nine of their next ten games in all competitions, including six consecutive league wins, which has taken them to the top of their league.

This successful run was also achieved with a very young team, with, on average, only three second year scholars being selected, the team being made up with mainly first year scholars and a few cameo appearances from lads in the under 16s – which augers well for the future.

Tomorrow, in their final league game before their Christmas break, (resuming on 9^th January) the young ‘Pies face a trip to Lincoln with their opposition only a point behind them in the table – so a tough game in prospect as they try to keep their outstanding run going.

Join our match discussion for the youth team - Here

Notts County Ladies have welcomed Matt Alexander as their new Chief Executive Officer following the resignation of Luke Negus-Hill.

Previously a scout for the men's team, he is now tasked with helping to bring the Lady Pies forward and build on their two sensational seasons thus far at the top of the women’s game, including two cup finals.

Matt spoke to BBC Radio Nottingham’s Match Talk on Thursday about how he picked a role at Meadow Lane over one in the top tier of English men’s football, and why he made that decision.

He said: “I had been approached by a Premier League club to go and work with their Under-21s, but then the opportunity came by to work with the Ladies and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

“The women’s game is on the cusp of something quite big. Just from the league we’re in with Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, we’re kind of like the underdogs, but we have real heart, fantastic players adnd the ability to really make a mark on the women’s game.

“Me and my little girl went to the cup final in Rotherham. She’s really interested in women’s football, at just seven years of age. She’s a massive fan of Carly Telford – these women are idols for little girls and are accessible.

“If I can help to bring the women’s game forward so in future my little girl is still watching and enjoying it, that would be fantastic.”

Discuss the arrival of Matt Alexander within our community forum - Here

Adam Campbell was dropped after the game against Exeter City in October and believes that this motivated him to prove a point to Ricardo Moniz. Since returning to the Notts 1st team, he has scored in the game against Cambridge United last Saturday and provided 2 assists in the game prior to that against Barnet.

Adam says "My job is to score goals and create them and I wasn't doing that, so he had every right to make that decision" adding "I wasn't going to argue about it because he was justified and I cannot speak highly enough of the manager.

What it did do was give me a point to prove. Since I've come back into the team I've created 2 goals and scored one, even though that was a bittersweet experience because we lost".

"I've just got to keep that form going in the coming weeks and make sure I keep my place in the team."

After being told he was second with 5 assists, behind Liam Noble's 6, Adam remarked "I didn't know that about the stats, but I will take it.

I was very happy to create the 2 goals, hopefully by the Newport game I'll have overtaken Liam, but in all seriousness as long as the team wins, that's all that is important".

Join in with Pride of Nottingham's discussions via our 'Activity Centre'.

The Football League’s Stand Up & Be Counted campaign saw fans of English clubs below the Premier League vote in droves to try and get their team to the top of the rankings – and be in with a chance of winning a trip to England to watch their club in action.

Much to the surprise of clubs unaware of our amazing support all across the world, Notts steadily climbed up the table and entrenched themselves at the summit – at no point did they look like relinquishing top spot.

Today the polls closed and the results were finally confirmed – out of all the clubs in the country outside the Premier League, including a number of champions of England and even Europe, the title belonged to the Magpies.

Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, Queens Park Rangers, Preston North End, Derby County and, sweetest of all, Nottingham Forest – all pale in comparison to Notts in terms of global fanbase.

Pride of Nottingham played its part in the Magpies’ no. 1 finish, by promoting the competition time and time again, and mobilising all of the international fan groups to spread the word and get voting – and it has paid dividends, showing just what a well-supported and historic club Notts is.

Stars of County’s table-topping achievement are without a doubt the Italian Magpies, who contributed 3502 votes out of the total of 6359 cast for us.

We spoke to Giorgio Zunino, the leader of the Italian Magpies, about the marvellous achievement.

Q) How active were you and the Italian Magpies with regards to campaigning for the Stand Up & Be Counted’ campaign?

A) We tried to involve as many people as possible to vote for the Magpies. We focused on the challenge to prove that the Italian Magpies are always interested in Notts County's activities. Our goal was initially to be the first supporters’ group.

Q) More than 3500 Italian-based Notts fan voted, this achieved the highest amount. Are you surprised how high it is? Do you feel the Italian Magpies and Juve connection helped? What are your personal thoughts to this?

A) The result is really high, unbelievable. Also because we have "just" 3.000 likes on Facebook. We tried our best talking about the link between Notts and Juventus to make people conscious of the need to vote and to make them proud to push the black and white higher and higher. We gave updates day by day to supervise the situation. We asked people to vote both for Notts County, both for the Italian Magpies as we strongly wanted to be the first supporters. It was great to see how many votes come from Italy. I though no other team received so many votes from just one country. The Juve connection was fundamental! An English guy we know talked to every Italian friend and spread the word to keep a lot of votes. At the beginning I was just focused on make Notts County arrive in the Top 10. It was quite impossible to get the first three places. And would have been ok as we challenged very big teams! I wanted the Italians to overtake the Hungarians. And when we did it was great. Then we really started to climb up the table. We were third and the two teams ahead lost many many votes due to the reuse of email addresses (they've probably voted more than once with the same email or the same IP). We were finally close to the peak!

3) After the announcements broke regarding Notts having won, what was your reaction and what do you feel this achievement represents to a club like Notts?

A) I am proud for what we did as a great family. There were many moments when other team's votes were growing and we pushed firmly on our call of duty. I am proud for our group and proud to see "Italy" on top of the countries. I really hope somebody from the Italian Magpies will win the final prize. I think is really amazing for the club to prove that is more known and supported than Championship clubs. But I think this could be just the beginning and more has to be done, in particular for the fans abroad that've showed this unbelievable support!

One lucky overseas Magpies follower will be rewarded with a special prize on Monday, which will be announced by the club.

A total of over 52,000 supporters from around the globe took part in the initiative, with at least one fan registered in 247 different territories.

Join the discussion within our community forum - Here | Discuss this feature below.

Ricardo Moniz has claimed that he is upset with Notts County’s inconsistency, despite appearing calm on the surface.

The Magpies were beaten 3-1 by Cambridge United on Saturday, as Shaun Derry got revenge against his former employee – as player and manager – and boyhood club.

Just four days earlier, Notts had secured an impressive 4-2 win over Barnet at Meadow Lane.

The club’s home form is solid enough, with six wins and a draw out of 10 games, but it is a completely different story on the road, with just one win in nine.

Moniz told local media: "I am always disappointed. Maybe I do not show that because I must stay calm, but Saturday was a massive disappointment.

"And of course I am upset every single day (with inconsistency), but they are things I keep inside.

"You always have to protect from the outside world. But on the inside you can confront and people do not know what we say."

Notts currently sit 15th in League Two, seven points away from the playoffs.

Notts County have confirmed that veteran defender Mike Edwards will be having his testimonial year in 2016.

The 35-year-old is currently in his tenth year with the Magpies, having made 269 appearances in an eight-year spell between 2004 and 2012 at Meadow Lane before returning at the beginning of the 2014-15 season.

As reward for Steady Eddy’s service with Notts, the Football League has granted him a testimonial year after a committee of fans applied to honour the defender.

The celebrations will include a number of events, including a testimonial match, all of which will be announced in due course.

During his first spell with the club, Edwards was part of the team who lifted the League Two title six seasons ago under the guidance of Steve Cotterill. 

After leaving Meadow Lane to join Carlisle United in 2012, he then returned to Notts a year ago, taking on the role as strength and conditioning coach as well as registering as a player. 

Despite his coaching responsibilities, Edwards’s performances on the pitch have seen him make 15 appearances this season and scoring five goals, an astounding ratio for a centre-back.

Speaking on the announcement, he said: “I'm truly honoured that a committee has got together to ask the club for permission to hold a testimonial year for me. 

“It's a massive honour for me and I'd like to say a big thank you, not just to everyone in the committee, but also to the Chairman Ray Trew and to Aileen Trew for their support in granting the permission. 

“I'd also like to say a big thank you to the fans, you've always made me feel welcome in my ten years at the club and I'm excited to soon be able to announce what we have planned.”

In recent weeks I’ve read articles calling for calm around Notts County, with Alan Smith among a few I’ve seen stressing on the need for level heads and a sense of realism in the early stages of the season. I share the sentiments of those who haven’t lost patience with the team so far this season.

I think what Notts fans need to remember is that it’s still November and nothing is cemented yet. The season has much of its course to run, so belief in what Ricardo Moniz is trying to instil into this squad must remain throughout the club and the fans at this stage. It’s an entirely new squad in essence, with new faces and mentalities thrown in the mix all at once. In all fairness, in my opinion we’re not a million miles from the finished article. 

The signing of Alan Sheehan on load from Bradford has, in my eyes, been one of the best bits of business this season alongside the signing of Izale McLeod. I literally punched the air in celebration when we announced the return of a player who was so significant in our great escape in May 2014. His inclusion in the back four has been a masterstroke – making us much more stubborn at the back, allowing us to build from the back and ultimately sort out the dismal away form and help build the momentum at fortress Meadow Lane. 

Goals haven’t flowed how we might have expected at the other end, but again, with time I believe this will simply happen. Adam Campbell is a promising prospect, full of energy and creative flair, and once we see the full return of Kyle Da Silva in the squad, defences in League 2 might just start quaking in their boots a bit more. With a couple of months gone I think Moniz now has an idea of his strongest 11 and where people fit into his philosophy.

Granted, the defeat against Salford wasn’t part of the script and I can’t ignore the disappointment I felt following that performance live to the nation – for any Notts supporter it was most certainly a night to forget. However, time is a great healer in my eyes and I have no reason to doubt Ricardo’s strategy or his selection so far. He’s had to learn about this squad as quickly as anyone, having built it from the ground up over the summer. Wait until the end of January and see where we are then. 

It’s only at that stage that we can start to make calls on whether this team can ultimately compete at the right end of the table. With the investment and the quality, I would certainly hope so. As for the recent form, my outlook is to scrap Salford, condemn it to history and move on. At this time, more than any other stage of the season, the team need to feel that the fans are behind them. Let’s hope they can recreate the jubilant atmosphere that followed the Portsmouth victory!

Onwards and upwards!

A brace from veteran defender Mike Edwards set Notts County on their way to a convincing 4-2 win over Barnet in Tuesday's League Two clash at Meadow Lane.

The Magpies were fast out of the blocks and took the lead in the sixth minute when Adam Campbell teed up Steady Eddy for his fourth goal of the season.

Just three minutes later Ricardo Moniz's charges doubled their lead as the creative Campbell picked out Jon Stead for the ex-Bradford City striker to blast home his second goal in as many games.

Shaun Batt forced Notts goalkeeper Roy Carroll into a save at his near post but it was the hosts who struck again midway through the second half, when Alan Sheehan scored with a ferocious low shot from 25 yards out.

Aaron McLean then pulled one back for Barnet with a free-kick to restore a smidgen of hope for a comeback, before Edwards made sure of all three points when he headed in his second of the game just a minute later.

Luke Gambin struck a consolation late on with a clinical finish that beat Carroll at his near post to make the scoreline a bit more respectable for ex-Notts boss Martin Allen's current side.

Notts County striker Jon Stead has expressed his disappointment in being asked to drop deeper by manager Ricardo Moniz, but insists that he is willing to do all he can to help his team climb up the table.

Speaking at the weekly Magpies press conference, the ex-Sunderland forward said: "The system we're playing, the only way I can get into the team is to play that deeper role.

"And that's what the manager wants because he wants that three in midfield which he sees as being a bit stronger.

"It's a bit of a sacrifice for me, for where I want to play, but if it's doing a job and I can get that defensive side of it right, which is the bit that I struggle with, then I can play.

"I scored two in two and then didn't play the next game, so that's obviously disappointing but I've been doing all I can.

"I'll keep working hard on the training ground and every chance I get, show him what I can do. I'd play left-back or I'd play in goal if it meant I was starting a football match. I just want to be on the field.

"It's a little bit frustrating but it's where I am at the minute. That's where my opportunity is to get in the team, so I've got to go for it.

"I don't believe that's where the club will get the best out of me but I want to play football and I'm not going to go banging on his (Moniz's) door saying, 'I'm not playing there, I want to play up top'. That's not in my make up one bit.

"I'll do my very best in the position wherever I'm asked to play. I think I'm improving in that role anyway, so it might help me to be more of a complete player with that other side of my game.

"I just keep going. I'm not going to throw my toys out the pram, I'm going to get on with it. But yes, it's been difficult. It's a different side to my game.”

Notts County midfielder Nicky Wroe has joined National League side FC Halifax Town on a month’s loan, subject to FA confirmation.

The 30-year-old midfielder started his career with Barnsley, making 49 appearances for the South Yorkshire side.

He has also had spells at York City, Torquay United, Shrewsbury Town and Oxford United.

Wroe’s loan sees him join a team currently stuck in the Conference relegation zone.

A signing under Shaun Derry in the summer of 2014, he has made just 17 appearances for the club, and was transfer-listed in the summer along with Will Hayhurst, Jordan Cranston and Billy Daniels.

Wroe’s exit comes on the back of Scot Bennett's three-month loan move to Newport County.

The former Exeter City captain signed a two-year deal in the summer but has already been deemed surplus to requirements.

We at Pride of Nottingham would like to wish Nicky Wroe and Scot Bennett all the best at their loan clubs.

So far this season, we haven’t yet witnessed a settled Notts County but we have been entertained by a couple of outstanding performances. With the arrival of Izale McLeod, Notts do look much stronger up front and the loan arrival of Alan Sheehan does provide the back with much needed cover.At the recent home game against York City, I mentioned to a friend about how comfortable we looked without so many of our foreign legion players.

I’m not trying to suggest that they’re to blame for the inconsistency, this seems only natural with the amount of arrivals we have seen during this summer but what it does make me think, is some are not ready for League Two football.

With the exception of a few, I think the majority have settled well and contributed nicely already. Yet, on appearance it does seem that a couple need more time to settle to the hustle and bustle of this league.

For me, one stand out signing from our foreign legion (which is how the majority refer to them) is Gill Swerts. It was interesting to see him in pre-season looking already settled, as he mingled with fans after coming off at games like Carlton.

Yet each time I have seen him, he seems steady and reliable. He did extremely well in my opinion in our game at Meadow Lane against Luton Town.

With several players on the verge of returning, it leaves questions as to which players will nail down their positions but for me, I would give Gill Swerts his starting position back.

This said, with Elliot Hewitt coming in and doing well – Would it be fair on him after the performances against Crawley Town and York City?

This weighs up some of the dilemmas Ricardo Moniz has with his now current 41 man squad.

It also begs the question about players like Wes Atkinson, Colby Bishop, Rhys Sharpe, William Hayhurst and Scott Bennett. Will we see any of these feature? Also – is Taylor McKenzie still injured? This would see that Kyle Da Silva, Ronan Murray, Robert Milsom would be fighting for a place once they return from their injuries.

There is so much, which can unsettle a squad, which can lead to inconsistency and Moniz in my opinion really needs to balance his selection decisions.

He’s doing well to make players fight for their places, yet I am unsure if some of the players like Gill Swerts deserve to be benched.

I ask you, what do you think? Does Gill Swerts deserve a place within the starting 11? Does anyone else deserve to be starting more regularly? Have your say below.

All of us who travel to watch Notts’s away performances are covering hundreds of extra miles in League Two compared to the journeys last season in League One. So relegation is proving costly, in financial terms, not only to the club but also to its supporters.

Considering which the away following has been remarkably encouraging as proved by these figures: 331 at Oxford; 459 at Morecambe; and 547 at Kingston-upon-Thames where Wimbledon now play.

The fact that the numbers continued to increase, despite Notts defeats in all three games, is probably attributable to the fact that fans looked forward to an enjoyable weekend on the coast at Morecambe and to visiting the Kingstonian ground for the first time ever.

Whether it continues to be so depends largely, I believe, on results.

I write at a time when it’s still in the balance whether Notts will challenge for at least a play-off place or will have to be content with a mid-table spot, which would be very disappointing, in the context that there was so much pre-season chatter about getting back into League One at the first attempt.

I also write on the eve of departure for a midweek fixture at Dagenham, a distance of just over 140 miles from Meadow Lane to the Daggers’ Stadium in East London. It probably prohibits fans who have to work the following morning from even thinking of making the trip – and they’re not the only ones in the same (or worse) situation on the same evening.

Spare a thought for Leyton Orient supporters, faced with a visit to Carlisle United, a five-hour journey covering 305 miles. Any who, undaunted, drive home from Brunton Park at the end of that game face the grim prospect of not arriving back until at least 3 a.m.

There are numerous other examples in the season’s fixture list where inadequate consideration seems to have been given to the convenience of loyal fans. The Football League can surely do better than this. Indeed, the evidence proves that a strong case can be made for much greater consideration to be paid to the legitimate needs of travelling supporters in all three divisions, but primarily in League Two.

This must include particular reference to holiday time fixtures, particularly Boxing Day. This year Hartlepool v Notts is bad enough at a time of year of family get-togethers.

I rest my case!

By Colin Slater (BBC Radio Nottingham Notts County Correspondent)

What would the score be? How would Alan Sheehan perform? Can Meadow Lane become a fortress? These and many more questions were put to our faithful fans. Over to you folks

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Notts County and York City have met a total of 37 times over their history. The first meeting came on 12th March 1955, with the Minstermen winning 1-0 at Meadow Lane in the FA Cup.

The Magpies have 19 wins and 10 draws, only losing 8 times. Our recent record is also very good – in the last 27 clashes, Notts have only lost twice!

Our last meeting was all the way back in October 2001, when Notts welcomed York to Meadow Lane in the LDV Vans Trophy and beat them 2-0.

Founded in 1922, York joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their time in the lower divisions.

The club briefly rose as high as the second tier of English football, spending two seasons in the Second Division in the 1970s.

At the end of the 2003–04 season the club lost its League status when it was relegated from the Third Division.

York remained in the Conference Premier until the end of the 2011–12 season, when they were promoted back into the League via the play-offs.

York have enjoyed more success in cup competitions than in the league; highlights include an FA Cup semi-final appearance in 1955. In the 1995–96 League Cup, York beat Manchester United 3–0 at Old Trafford; Manchester United went on to win the FA Premier League and FA Cup double that season.

Also, in the FA Cup, York beat Arsenal in 1985, and held Liverpool to a draw in two consecutive seasons in the mid-1980s.

York made an appearance at Wembley Stadium in 1993, beating Crewe Alexandra in the Third Division play-off Final.

After defeats in the 2009 FA Trophy Final and the 2010 Conference Premier play-off Final, York finally recorded a victory at the new Wembley against Newport County in the 2012 FA Trophy Final.

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Jack Barmby and Alan Sheehan are expected to go straight into the Notts squad for Saturday’s home clash against York.

Barmby, a former Manchester United trainee, joined the Magpies on Thursday on loan from Leicester, while Sheehan is back at Meadow Lane on loan from Bradford.

Mike Edwards and Alan Smith are almost certain to retain their places in the team following the 4-1 midweek win over Crawley.

Rob Milsom and Kyle De Silva are nearing returns from injury and should be back in first-team contention in around a fortnight.

York striker Vadaine Oliver will begin his three-match suspension after the club failed in their appeal against his red card in the 2-2 draw against Carlisle last weekend.

The Minstermen may opt to hand a starting place to Josh Carson, who came off the bench to score a second-half equaliser against the Cumbrians, or to Emile Sinclair.

Jake Hyde remains on the club's long-term injury list while Michael Coulson has resumed training following a groin operation but is at least a fortnight away from a return.

New Notts County striker Izale McLeod has made an immediate mark at Meadow Lane since his arrival a month ago, nabbing two goals in three league games plus another in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy to give the Notts faithful a hint of hope for the season ahead.

Prior to his arrival in the East Midlands, however, the 30-year-old was involved in a long and protracted transfer saga with former club Crawley Town – who the Magpies face tonight.

A number of transfer bids came and went, and his stock with the Red Devils fans appeared to fall as stories about how he was allegedly handling his departure began to surface.

It was no surprise that, given tonight’s fixture at the Lane, he would be asked about his take on the whole debacle.

He said: "I knew from the end of the season there was interest from other clubs. It was left to my agent and for the club to try to sort out.

"Listen… I've been around the block. I know what transfers are all about. I just kept my head down and worked on my fitness.

"But I know what football clubs are like. Everybody talks about individual players and they say players are doing this and they are doing that.

"But what people outside of football don't realise is how clubs manipulate situations to make the players look bad.

"However, I've got nothing bad to say about Crawley, I made a lot of friends there and I wish them all the best."

To discuss Izale McLeod's views on his former club, there's a forum thread up on the site. To check out the build-up to tonight's game, visit the Pride of Nottingham match thread and join the conversation.

When the season’s calendar was first released, I bet that I wasn’t the only Notts fan to think that we had an easy opening two months ahead of us and an opportunity to gain a fearsome reputation by the end of September as nailed-on ‘hard to beat’ promotion candidates.

Now, just five matches into the season, I suspect that every team that hasn’t yet played us wishes that they could do before the end of this month – such have been our results!

Well all I can say to them is “Be careful what you wish for” because, from what I have seen so far, it looks to me as if we are very close to clicking as a unit and going on to fulfil our pre-season potential.

Last season, pre-November, we were winning, but winning ugly and I can remember thinking to myself that if we could win matches even though we were playing badly, sooner or later we would start hammering teams.

But, as the records will show, things went from bad to wurst as they say in Germany, but I’m sure you get my drift. When the early season loanees returned to their parent clubs, we never replaced them with players of a similar quality and the rest is history.

I remember that my immediate post-match reaction after each disappointing result became a mix of anger and bitter disappointment at the poor quality of football that we were playing. Diminishing attendance figures at Meadow Lane told their own story.

The inspired 2013-14 loan signings of saviours Callum McGregor and Jack Grealish weren’t to be repeated and we swirled down the plug-hole of despair aka relegation to League Two.

So why the optimism after our visit to Morecambe last weekend?

Normally, I am a glass half-empty sort of bloke but right now I’m watching the barmaid fill my glass to over-flowing!

And my three reasons for being cheerful are:

Number 1

The stats will show that if we had converted just one quarter of our shots against Morecambe, we would have scored 5 goals. Their first two goals were clinically executed and were scored totally against the run of play. Their conversion rate of shots to goals was the key factor in their win. I think they scored from 4 of their total of 5 shots that were on target. That is an enviable conversion rate but one which I feel sure we can emulate with the talent that we have available.

Number 2

The football we play is thrilling to watch and the number of crosses we had during the course of recent matches would have put Pontius Pilate to shame. I left the Morecambe game not feeling angry or disappointed but bemused and emotionally stunned because the lads had entertained us, had some great passages of play, had put cross after cross into the box, and should have won based on their domination of the game. But it wasn’t our day and I couldn’t quite understand just how we had managed to lose that game. However, with the passing of each successive match, it is clear that the level of understanding between players is improving. With that gelling, will come success.

Number 3

Everyone says that our Achilles heel is our defence. But our lists of suspensions and injuries have severely affected the effectiveness of our back four and defensive mid-fielders. Even with just half of the absentees back, I feel sure that Ricardo will be able to sort out this weakness, and then prove that attack is indeed the best form of defence.

The best is yet to come; of that I am sure. Just keep the faith!