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weymouthPIE
A lot has been said about the policing and stewarding of Notts supporters at Mansfield on Saturday. Now I'm not for one second going to claim that our fans are all angels, although find me a club that doesn't have it's fair share of idiots, but year in year out when we go to Mansfield we get treated like absolute dirt, and it's becoming a joke.
When we go to Mansfield, we're banned from the town centre and pubs. When they come to us they get free roam of the city. There was a pub near the station actually advertising itself as being open to Notts fans, yet when Notts fans arrived at Mansfield station police blocked the route towards the pub and forced us straight to the ground.
I saw families with young children trying to make their own way to the ground, being told by police to wait and being forced to join the police escort to the ground. For what reason? Who's going to start a fight with a mum & dad and two young children?
I know football is tribal, and that's what makes it so special. I don't like Mansfield one bit, but I think 99% of us are quite capable of walking to a ground without feeling the need to assault somebody for wearing a different football shirt to us.
When we got to the ground it was supposed to be a full search policy before we were allowed in. Some people were not searched at all, some were searched in a completely over the top and somewhat degrading manner. I wasn't searched, yet my overnight bag was virtually emptied. Any need?
You then get crammed into a small caged area behind the stand which is nowhere near big enough to accommodate that many fans. You've got young children and disabled people being squeezed in amongst that.
You've then got completely needless heavy handed stewarding inside the ground, stewards trying to snatch flags from fans. I saw a steward physically grab a fan by the neck for taking photographs of our fans!
Then coming out of the ground we're again herded like cattle back to the station, and then East Midlands Trains in their infinite wisdom lay on a train made up of 2 coaches to transport Notts fans back to Nottingham. We were crammed in like cattle, and you had police shouting at us to move down the train, even though we barely had room to breathe! If I had been on that train for much longer I would've been sick.
We got hammered on the day and deservedly so, so this probably sounds like sour grapes, but come on, why do we get treated like animals? Not just us at Mansfield, but football fans in general. By no means am I saying it's like it was in the 70s and 80s, but it's far from good. Treat people like animals and they will behave like animals.
It's 2017, surely they can now differentiate between normal football fans just going for a day out with their mates to watch their team, and complete idiots who are there with the sole intention of causing trouble.
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Joe Jones
Somebody wake Billy Joe Armstrong up!
It's been a pretty eventful September for Notts County, who have conquered all before them in League Two... until the final hurdle anyway.
But hey, still top of the league, so it'll be a month remembered largely for the right reasons.
In this article, Pride of Nottingham recaps all the biggest stories from Meadow Lane and elsewhere in the Magpie world that happened in September 2017.
September 1
Notts County made no late acquisitions in the summer transfer window but Alan Hardy revealed that the club moved for three young higher-league players on loan as deadline day loomed.
September 2
Notts County got their month off to an ideal start with a clean sheet and three points from a tough League Two fixture, winning 1-0 at newly relegated side Port Vale in Burslem thanks to Lewis Alessandra's goal.
September 3
Kevin Nolan said Shaun Brisley was okay after the defender suffered a blow to the head in Notts County's win over the Valiants.
September 5
A fundraising drive begun to design and install a plaque outside the Nottingham hotel where a meeting was held to create Notts County Football Club.
September 9
Notts County stretched their unbeaten run to six matches in all competitions following a 2-0 victory against traditional bogey team Morecambe at Meadow Lane.
September 12
Notts County edged up to second in League Two following another workmanlike performance in a midweek 1-0 win over Swindon Town.
September 14
Kevin Nolan revealed that a "ruckus" took place between himself and Rob Milsom over the Notts County midfielder becoming sloppy in training.
September 15
Kevin Nolan played down Shola Ameobi's hamstring injury suffered in the game over Morecambe, suggesting that he will not be out of action for too long.
September 16
Notts County's unbeaten run was stretched to eight games - not to mention a four-match winning streak in League Two and four clean sheets in a row - thanks to a 1-0 win at Crawley Town.
September 20
Notts County announced that manager Kevin Nolan signed a new three-year contract with the club.
September 23
Notts County's amazing form showed no sign of letting up with a fifth win on the spin, a 4-1 hammering of local rivals Lincoln City at Meadow Lane.
September 26
The crunch clash between League Two's top two saw Notts County cement their hold at the top of the table with a frankly frightening 3-0 win at Exeter City.
September 27
Notts County and Mansfield Town announced that the end-of-month derby would see the introduction of a new trophy contested between the two sides in honour of former Stags physiotherapist Matt Salmon, who sadly passed away aged 25 earlier in the year.
September 29
Fresh from the deal struck between Pride of Nottingham and BettaBytz Computers, PON announced an exciting new partnership with Notts Driving School.
September 30
Notts County's superb month finished on a sour note with a 3-1 defeat at local rivals Mansfield Town.
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Joe Jones
Notts County’s 10-game unbeaten run has come to an end as two goals from Mansfield Town forward Danny Rose condemned the Pies to a 3-1 derby defeat at the One Call Stadium.
Rose pounced on a miscued headed backpass from Magpies captain Richard Duffy to guide the ball over Adam Collin, before adding a second from close range.
Duffy’s own goal then capped off a miserable afternoon for the visitors, although Carl Dickinson did salvage a late consolation via a free kick.
Here is what the Notts boss, some of the players and several fans had to say following the game.
Kevin Nolan
“I don’t think it was the tempo of the game that we struggled with, they just hit it high and long and we didn’t deal with it as well as we have done in previous games.
“They harassed and they got in and around us and made a nuisance of themselves.
“They had quality when they needed it too. Danny Rose was really good and Alex MacDonald also stood out.
“When they did get the ball forward they did make something happen.
“But I have no qualms with the result. Sometimes you just have to walk away and say fair play and they were better than us on the day. And that was what happened.”
Players on social media
 
 
The fans (from the Mansfield match discussion)
Elite_pie: The start to the season we have had has been brilliant, and way better than I thought possible so Nolan and the squad deserve a lot of praise for their achievements so far. But I'm still full of anger and disappointment at the pitiful display we gave yesterday. Of all the places for the run to end, you just knew it would be there. When the inbreds started chanting "You're an embarrassment" I was 15 minutes ahead of them. I was thinking we were an embarrassment as soon as the third went in. It's becoming an annual humiliation, we seem to save our most inept display of the season for when we go there. It's the one game I want to win above all others, but yet again we handed them the points gift wrapped on a silver platter. This was a chance to put a hefty 12 point gap between the clubs and put serious pressure on Fatty Evans. Instead we've given their stuttering season a big boost. Even though I feared the worst, given the circumstances going into the game we blew it big time.
Liampie: One game does not change or undo the good work being done. I just want to forget it and hope that it was nothing more than a one off.
Chris: I wasn't impressed. I'm not saying this to be biased in any way, I've held back sharing my views so I could write my thoughts as clearly as I see them.
I think the occasion firmly went out of the window before the kick off. The police didn't seem bothered, almost like it was an inconvenience for them to be attending the game (not all, but the majority I saw). I feel this, and certain stewards and barring on the impact before hand, there was one steward who was trying to have fights with fans before the getting into the ground.
Mansfield looked brighter, they didn't seem nervous but I do think Field Mill was intimidating.
Our players didn't look like a side that had been in decent form, in fact they didn't look like they knew each other. Richard Duffy was awful! but he wasn't the only awful thing yesterday. Mansfield was woeful on goal in the first half and resorted to diving at every opportunity, the referee for me really ruined the game. There was one free kick whereby a Stags player burst down the flanks and just dropped himself, there was no Notts player near to him but the referee still awarded him a free kick. It was baffling in truth!
I do feel Mansfield played better, though if they call that a good performance god help them. It wasn't, they won because we simply was good at all and there was no 'team' visible from the Notts perspective.
The score would probably be fairer at 2-1 but we made our own mistakes to grant the win to the Stags.
Stewards were awful, they looked for trouble and there was a lot of biased behaviour. I can't accept we was poor, that we lost due to this and I can credit Mansfield for stopping us from playing - yet the club seems a disgrace when they hire people firmly looking to start trouble.
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Chris
Notts County saw their six-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt with a 3-1 defeat at local rivals Mansfield Town.
The in-form Danny Rose grabbed a second-half brace before a Richard Duffy own goal killed off the game for the Magpies.
Carl Dickinson, meanwhile, grabbed a consolation for County two minutes into added time with a superb 25-yard free-kick.
Despite the loss, Notts remain top of the table and will have a week to prepare for a home encounter with struggling Forest Green Rovers.
Pride of Nottingham was at Field Mill to watch Notts take on Mansfield and took photographs of fans.
See if you've made it in this weekend's Faces of PON!

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Chris
Heading into the Nottinghamshire derby yesterday, I had a sense of uncertainty about the game. I always knew it would be a tight match, one which may be physical and difficult for us to get hold of.
The starting line-up on paper actually seemed very good, minus the odd changes which I would have personally made myself - mentioned already within the Pride of Nottingham scouting report and more recently the tactical talk piece I write.
Yet it was clear even from the kick off that we seemed quite unsure how to deal with Mansfield, despite having a few spells where we looked alright.
At the back we simply didn’t, I counted at least four chances which the Stags wasted within the first half and a part from Shaun Brisley everyone in defence seemed to be napping.
It was like all the talk leading into the game actually meant nothing, and I refuse to believe that Mansfield controlled the game that well that they stopped us playing – for me it just like we arrived thinking it would be easier than it was.
It’s disappointing because many of the players spoke about being ready and keen to do well in the local derby, however this wasn’t the case.
Yes, it’s a bad day in the office and we were beaten by a fairly decent Mansfield – yet they were not special.
They didn’t impress me much at all, in fact I was annoyed throughout the game for how easily they went down or just plain dived.
Even the referee was frustrating, yet even a different match official wouldn’t have made much difference.
Simply yesterday Notts reverted back to the opening game of the season against Coventry City.
I feel now pretty much the same as I did when I wrote my article about how Notts got it wrong against the Sky Blues  – however I wasn’t that disappointed because in my heart I knew it was the first game of the season and we were up against a tough side.
We invited Mansfield to play us, we allowed them to hit us and defensively we were just very poorly organised.
It’s very difficult to win a game when your defenders simply cannot cope with doing the basics, and I feel massively let down by each one of them – as we arrived top of the table and in good stead to turn the recent fortunes that we have had at Field Mill.
Any defeat I can accept, and as I told fans who asked me for my thoughts, I am confident that we can bounce back.
But there’s a big but: if this Notts County squad wants to achieve something special this season, we must go into these types of games at least trying to avoid giving the game away.
Yes, we are bound to lose, and there was always that nagging feeling that it would be Mansfield to end our undefeated run but we shouldn’t just lay back and take it.
I’m sorry, there was little to no fight yesterday! That’s the most disappointing thing for me, as the warning signs all came within the first half and despite the decent chances Mansfield had – they wasted sitters! A good side would have sunk them, not missed.
I personally think Kevin Nolan should have made a change at half time, yet we clearly missed Dan Jones because Carl Dickinson was terrible but second to Richard Duffy who was asleep for all three goals – just like he was at the Ricoh Arena.
These types of games are the ones you want to see the fight, and we know we can do it!
Scunthorpe United, Wycombe Wanderers are games which highlights this, Mansfield invited us to play them after scoring their third and we looked fairly capable of scoring from there on.
Had we have scored a little earlier, some pride might have been restored but hearing the offensive songs sung by their fans really rubbed salt into the wounds.
It’s like we struggle to raise to expectations when we fans give a great amount of backing, yet we need to come good against Forest Green Rovers – this can’t be the end of the good times within the 2017-2018 League Two season.
We have shown how good we can be as underdogs, and perhaps there’s been a bit of luck but as the favourites we really should do better.
There are some good games coming up which might allow us to forget Mansfield, and as I say I do believe we can bounce back but we also have to strive to avoid losing like we did yesterday – as it could be the thing which haunts us at the end of the season.
I really don’t want us to be punished by a poorer goal difference, so let’s get the defence looking good and we can build from there.
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Joe Jones
Notts County saw their six-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt with a 3-1 defeat at local rivals Mansfield Town.
The in-form Danny Rose grabbed a second-half brace before a Richard Duffy own goal killed off the game for the Magpies.
Carl Dickinson, meanwhile, grabbed a consolation for County two minutes into added time with a superb 25-yard free-kick.
Notts remain top of the table despite their defeat, however, acting almost as a kind of reprieve as Kevin Nolan sets about regrouping his charges.
The club have posted the match highlights, so should you wish to see them again, here they are.
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ARLukomski
Notts County’s 10-game unbeaten run came to end in a 3-1 defeat at Mansfield Town on Saturday.
Danny Rose made the most of a miscued headed backpass from Magpies captain Richard Duffy to guide the ball into an empty net, before adding a second from close range.
Duffy’s own goal, with Rose once again playing a part in the build-up, then put the Stags three up in a miserable afternoon for the Notts fans.
While Carl Dickinson found the net in stoppage time with an impressive free kick, it proved a mere consolation.
ARLukomski, a Notts vlogger and Pride of Nottingham contributor, discussed the fixture ahead of kickoff, gave his thoughts as the game went on, and talked about the performance and result after the final whistle.
Follow ARLukomski on his YouTube channel by clicking here.
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Chris
Notts County saw their six-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt with a 3-1 defeat at local rivals Mansfield Town.
The in-form Danny Rose grabbed a second-half brace before a Richard Duffy own goal killed off the game for the Magpies.
Carl Dickinson, meanwhile, grabbed a consolation for County two minutes into added time with a superb 25-yard free-kick.
Here is Chris's analysis of the game at the One Call Stadium.
Was the result fair?
I can’t disagree, though I think the score line is flattering because I don’t think either side played really well at all – but Mansfield were clearly the better side of the two competing at Field Mill yesterday.
How did Notts play?
Notts played like a side that wasn’t aware of how to play, they looked unfamiliar with each other and they failed to get grip of the game. It’s difficult, as I did think we played alright in spells in the first half. Second was just awful, and I’d have made changes before it had even kicked off. The fault for me was at the back, there was little to no organisation and we failed to deal promptly with the Stags.
How did Mansfield Town play?
They played well, with some good football being expressed by their players but I honestly wasn’t very impressed overall – I don’t think this was due to Notts being extremely poor, its more related to their negative tactics and repeated efforts to fool what was a very poor referee.
Did our tactics work out?
No, not at all. It was Coventry City all over again but on a worse level this time a round.
Before the match the line-up looked as if Kevin Nolan was spot on with his selection, with many fans saying ‘he’s going for it isn’t he’ and it would have appeared to be the case. However, Carl Dickinson was a weak link at the back and Richard Duffy I felt was extremely poor.
I would have risked playing Shola Ameobi from the start, and I hate to say it perhaps against Mansfield we shouldn’t have tried to force the passing football so much.
But from the back, we were very ineffective – the midfield did try but seemed sluggish and unprepared. Our striker force stood no chance at all for these reasons.
How did the referee perform?
I didn’t rate him, I felt he gave an unfair home advantage and missed several blatant dives. He also tended to award every little issue that Mansfield players complained about, which sort of ruined the flow of the game.
He wasn’t very quick to award anything to Notts at all, and there were times where he clearly missed incidents – but I doubt a better referee would have changed much.
Who do we play next?
Forest Green Rovers! Pardon the pun but we literally have to slaughter these. I fully expect Notts to be able to bounce back, but we have to go into the game being more prepared and more able to compete if things don’t go our way.
How should we play them?
We have to be cautious at the back, I would hate for us to play poorly against these and totally underestimate them.
It’s clear on paper that Forest Green can leak goals, they have a decent midfield but they haven’t strengthened wisely for life within League Two. Notts must play higher up, we need to force them back in my opinion.
This would allow more ground to be found within the middle of their pitch, and would allow us to play a better passing game.
We missed pace against Mansfield, so for me Dan Jones needs to return if he is fit after suffering a hamstring injury against Lincoln City. I’d like to see Lewis Alessandra and Terry Hawkridge occupy the flanks and Robert Milsom and Ryan Yates in the centre.
Mansfield fan comments (from Stagsnet)
Yaxhamstag: Cracking atmosphere, match day experience is so much better than it has been in the past, so congratulations to all concerned at the club. Danny Rose was awesome, I thought the defence was solid, my one disappointment was our midfield (MacDonald excepted) as I thought given our purchases they would show a bit more quality on the ball....hopefully that will come. As for Hemmings, I thought he worked really hard and is just unlucky at the moment. He could/should have been credited with the second goal and would have had a tap-in if the third hadn't been an OG. Pleased he got a good reception when he came off and we should continue to back him. Once he gets one, he'll be fine. I also thought the one minute's applause was brilliant and moving. Top stuff all round.
Chip63: Absolutely a great result today. Well done all you have made my day. Don't take the pish too much on the way out. Top of the league your having a laugh.
Woodclanger1: Great result without even having to move up a gear by bringing Mellis on. They looked well drilled but very ordinary and limited to hoof it. We were no great shakes especially the first half in midfield but Butcher certainly stepped it up in the second half. Mirfin and Pearce solid again and the hard running of Rose and Sterling up front made them look very cumbersome at the back. Great day to be a Stags fan.
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Joe Jones
Notts County are still in the running for the League Two title despite their 3-1 defeat at Mansfield Town, according to Steve Evans.
A Danny Rose brace and Richard Duffy's own goal saw the Magpies' six-game winning streak come to an end in Saturday's derby at the One Call Stadium.
Evans told the official Stags site: "We've given the bragging rights to our supporters, but we know full well it was a good side we beat today and a hard earned three points.
"They are a quality side - how many teams get six wins in succession? We can only respect and applaud the opposition.
"It was a dominant Mansfield performance and we should have turned round two or three up at the interval. When you don't do that you are looking for the characters in the dressing room.
"You never score a chance unless you are prepared to miss them. It could have been a lot more in the end.
"But they are a good side with good players and an outstanding young manager. My pre-match words don't change from my post-match words - Notts County will be in the shake-up to be the champions."
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has claimed that Notts County were beaten by the better side as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Mansfield Town on Saturday.
The League Two table-toppers were undone by Danny Rose's brace and a Richard Duffy own goal as the Stags claimed the inaugural Matt Salmon Trophy at the One Call Stadium.
"I thought they were the better side from start to finish," Nolan told the official Notts website.
"We didn't get going, we didn't do what we normally do and we didn't handle their strengths.
"You have to give credit to them but we could have done a lot of things better and with a lot more efficiency.
"I don't think I can knock the lads' attitude and application to the game, I just think Mansfield looked a bit sharper and were buoyed by the crowd.
"We have no excuses. We were beaten by the better side."
Despite the defeat, Nolan is still delighted with County's run prior to the Mansfield loss, adding: "We've had a fantastic run and what we've done this week can't be taken away from us.
"Not many teams will only have two losses in their first 11 games and a lot of Notts fans would have taken six points from this week.
"I'm delighted with the output of the boys so far this season but today it just wasn't our day and sometimes you have to accept that."
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Joe Jones
As amazing as Notts County have been for most of September, they sadly fell at the final - and arguably most challenging - hurdle as their League Two derby at Mansfield Town saw them head back down the A60 on the back of a 3-1 defeat.
The first half was a scrappy affair but the Stags enjoyed several gilt-edged chances, the first of the game coming on six minutes when Alex MacDonald's lofted free-kick into the area was nodded by Kane Hemmings into the path of Danny Rose three yards out, but the latter was unable to control and get a decent shot at goal from close range as the ball bounced wide for a goal kick.
Notts then attacked and Jorge Grant saw a curling effort deflect over onto the roof of the net for a corner, and on 18 minutes the Nottingham Forest loanee sent a free kick goalwards which Johnny Hunt hooked over the bar.
Neither side was able to break the deadlock come the half-time whistle but Mansfield got off the mark early after the restart, with Richard Duffy making a hash of a headed backpass which allowed Rose to sneak in and lob the ball over Adam Collin.
On 53 minutes County came close to drawing level during a goalmouth scramble scramble, but David Mirfin was well placed on the line to deny Jonathan Forte from seven yards.
Three minutes late, the visitors were two down as Omari Sterling-James's cross to the far post allowed Hemmings to send a header goalwards which Collin turned onto the post, with Rose pouncing on the rebound and drilling home.
Rose was involved again as the Stags claimed a third, a low cross from the striker taking a deflection off Duffy and into the Notts net.
Kevin Nolan's beleaguered charges did manage to net a consolation late on through a Carl Dickinson free kick, while Shaun Brisley headed against the bar deep into injury time, but it proved a comfortable win for Mansfield in the end and left the Notts boss with work to do on the training ground.
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ARLukomski
As Kevin Keegan would say, 'I will love it if we beat them.'
This phrase applies so much to Notts fans for this game.
It's not just about pride, passion or bragging rights.
It's about revenge.
Revenge for the defeats, the pain we have suffered whilst the six fingered *insert swear word here* have celebrated and had their deluded heads up in the sky.
This derby is massive for Notts, not just to keep our unbeaten run and momentum going in the league, but we need to beat Mansfield.
We owe them for the last two seasons and we are need of a good result against them.
Although some fans don't view this as a particularly heated rivalry, others may think differently. For me it's slightly awkward as I was born in Nottingham but live in Mansfield.
But for me, I hate them. I can't stand their fans. They think they are so big, bigger than they actually are. It would be so nice to shut them up for once and show them for what they are. A really small football club.
Unlike previous meetings, this time we have the quality, the passion, the never say die attitude, the mentality and the togetherness. This year we can have them.
So let's back the lads and cheer Notts on to a derby win that has been long in waiting.
Three defeats hurt. They really do. Now it's time for payback. For revenge.
LET'S DO THIS
WE ARE THE BLACK AND WHITE ARMY
COME ON YOU PIES
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Joe Jones
Notts County and Mansfield Town have met 49 times over the years.
The first fixture between the two was in October 1937, a 2-0 win for the Magpies in Division Three (South).
Notts only just have the upper hand with 18 wins, 17 defeats, and 14 draws.
Between 1989 and 2001, the two sides met six times – and Notts won each time.
County's record over the last 10 meetings, however, is poor, standing at two wins, four defeats, and four draws.
This record is embellished by the fact Notts have beaten Mansfield twice in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in the last two years.
In reality, the Magpies haven't got a league win over the Stags since August 2005.
The Stags were formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans, changing their name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910.
Mansfield won the Football League Trophy in 1987, in their first game at Wembley Stadium. After a 1–1 draw with Bristol City, they won the cup 5–4 in the deciding penalty shootout, thanks to Kevin Hitchcock saving two penalties.
That remains the only cup win in their history, though they did win the Division Four title in 1974-75, Division Three two seasons later, and the Conference in 2012-13.
Famous people from Mansfield include Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington, media presenter Richard Bacon, FA Cup-winning goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic and award-winning fashion designer Elspeth Gibson.
Team news
Hayden White could return to the Mansfield squad for their derby clash with League Two leaders Notts County at the One Call Stadium.
The right-back missed the midweek defeat at Cheltenham with a groin problem but he is expected to be back in contention if he comes through a full training session on Friday.
However, captain Zander Diamond (groin) and midfielder Joel Byrom (foot) will not recover in time to be involved.
Stags boss Steve Evans has the likes of Calum Butcher, Alfie Potter, Alex MacDonald and Kane Hemmings to call on should he feel the need to make changes.
Notts County manager Kevin Nolan also has a squad blessed with strength and depth and he might make changes despite the impressive 3-0 win at second-placed Exeter City last time out.
On-loan Nottingham Forest midfielder Jorge Grant has strong claims for a recall after two goals from the bench on Tuesday night.
Matt Tootle and Jonathan Forte are also options for Nolan while left-back Dan Jones could be fit again after a hamstring injury.
However, Shola Ameobi's hamstring problem may not heal in time for him to play any part.
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Joe Jones
Kevin Nolan has expressed his desire to keep Jorge Grant at Notts County beyond January.
The 23-year-old, who is in his second spell at Meadow Lane on loan from Nottingham Forest, has been a revelation for the Magpies.
After scoring six times for Notts in the final three months of last season, Grant has netted eight in 2017-18 and is League Two's joint-top scorer.
Nolan has confirmed that there is a release clause in his contract, telling BBC Radio Nottingham: "There is but not until January. We've just got to enjoy him while we've got him.
"I'm sure we'll be having a bit of a discussion with (Forest sport director Frank McParland, manager Mark Warburton and assistant manager David Weir) that I can keep him until the end of the season.
"I think we can keep improving him. We can still tweak a lot of stuff, and we're looking after him as much as we can as he hasn't had a full pre-season. We don't want to burn him out.
"When you've got someone of his quality on the bench that you can bring on, it's brilliant. It's frightening what the chairman has allowed me to do in assembling a squad over the last year."
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Chris
Notts County are on the brink of a perfect September, navigating through their six games so far with a 100% record, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one en route to the top of the table.
But now comes the sternest test of all - arguably our fiercest local derby, against Mansfield Town, away from home.
Here is Chris's scouting report for the Nottinghamshire derby.
History
Notts County and Mansfield Town have met 49 times over the years.
The first fixture between the two was in October 1937, a 2-0 win for the Magpies in Division Three (South).
Notts only just have the upper hand with 18 wins, 17 defeats, and 14 draws.
Between 1989 and 2001, the two sides met six times – and Notts won each time.
County's record over the last 10 meetings, however, is poor, standing at two wins, four defeats, and four draws.
This record is embellished by the fact Notts have beaten Mansfield twice in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in the last two years.
In reality, the Magpies haven't got a league win over the Stags since August 2005.
Run-down of their last six features
Saturday 2nd September – Carlisle United 1 Mansfield Town 1
Saturday 9th September – Mansfield Town 4 Grimsby Town 1
Tuesday 12th September – Mansfield Town 0 Wycombe Wanderers 0
Saturday 16th September – Lincoln City 0 Mansfield Town 1
Saturday 23rd September – Mansfield Town 2 Cambridge United 2
Tuesday 26th September – Cheltenham Town 3 Mansfield Town 0
The Players – Fact Sheet
Highest Goal Scorers; Danny Rose 4, Lee Angol 4, Alfie Potter 1 and David Mirfin 1.
Persistent Foulers; Jacob Mellis 4 yellow cards, Calum Butcher 3 yellow cards, Joel Byrom 2 yellow cards and Danny Rose 2 yellow cards.
The Key Players
The once promising Chelsea academy product and England Under-19’s midfielder Jacob Mellis is a quick minded player, who can play box-to-box and turn the opposition inside out with clever play – he is a great asset for Mansfield and his no-nonsense approach to physical tackles will be something to be aware of.
Paul Anderson is also a very experienced winger, who likes to run directly at times and can unlock sides with a defend cross or well placed through ball.
Mansfield’s star player for me appears to be the 23-year-old striker Danny Rose, who is comfortable in possession and waiting for the perfect opportunity to get a strike on goal. His positioning is generally quite tricky to track and as a result allows him to find space in keys areas.
Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses
In games when allowed to play, Mansfield Town start off very direct and take to attacking with sheer pace. They mix their breaks from all across the park, but in my opinion they look more dangerous when they take to using the flank as a way to cut back in.
They appear to be a very capable side, and quite well organised in terms of their positioning.
Going forward they do have limitations, and their midfield seems to play to far up the field – with their defence weirdly quite deep.
This tends to create a lot of space in the centre of the park, but forces teams to drop back themselves. However, better sides seem very able to hit Mansfield on the break and as a result they then start to appear just like an average League Two team.
Defensively, they look very chaotic when hit and possession is held by the opposition team. Leading to panic and confusion within their defence.
Overall Notts should just look to make use of the wing themselves, as aerial threats appear to be one strong weakness. It’s a game that Shola Ameobi would literally love, as he would be able to calm the place down and allow for more pacier players to be the direct threats.
Free kicks will most likely be won in favour of Notts, as the Stags like to use this to break down the play.
But really, quick movement and clever positioning would work to great effect against Mansfield. If Notts can build positively, control the game in key areas such as the midfield and force them to be more defensive – team should be on the Magpies’ side when it comes to creating decent chances.
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Pride of Nottingham is an independent fansite devoted to Notts County, the world’s oldest professional football club. Created in 2013, it has served as a source of Magpie news, features, match previews, reports, analysis and interviews for more than three years.

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