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Joe Jones
Notts County boss John Sheridan admits he's cancelled his players' Christmas party, adding that they agree with his reasoning.
The Magpies sit 19th in the League Two table after a poor run of four consecutive league defeats, and Sheridan thinks the players are not in a position to be celebrating.
"Listen, you've got to take your mind off football, I'm all for that, but I don't think we're in any position to," he told the Nottingham Post.
"I think we've got to work a lot, lot harder and focus on what we're trying to do – and that's trying to be successful in this league.
"There's still a long, long way to go. There's plenty of points, and there's nothing stopping us from getting back in the mix.
"I just feel, and the players feel, like it's best if there's no Christmas do.
"There will be a time when we can celebrate, and I think the players are backing me on it.
"It will save them some money. And I think the players know it's not a punishment, so they have responded the way I want them to respond.
"They know we have got to get things right, so I don't see it as a problem whatsoever and hopefully it will work out the way we want it to."
Media reports have claimed that the players were paid late this week, but Sheridan has vowed to stay away from "the politics".
"I don't get involved in the politics and other people have to take care of whatever is going on off the pitch," he said.
"I just concentrate on the pitch, and it's a big game for us, it's an opportunity to get into the next round and the possibility of getting a big team.
"That's all I'm concentrating on, I don't get involved in politics whatsoever. I don't want it to distract us, I don't feel it has. We've trained okay and we carry on."
Notts take on Peterborough United in an FA Cup second-round clash at Meadow Lane on Sunday.
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Blink1862
It's quite serious to think that the club is yet again in another relegation battle. Whether this will be long-winded like prior battles or simply a case of the Magpies finding their feet under John Sheridan remains to be seen, but it's obvious by now that this sorry state of affairs will take years to fix.
Whilst an increased amount of fans are becoming hacked off with Sheridan, and a minority standing behind the decision to protest for “fresh change” in the direction that club is being lead, there's one thing which is clear - talk of the sale only leads to “uncertainty” and “unpaid debts”, which multiplies that by whatever percent you could imagine.
I was, and remain, uncertain about the future of Notts, even after the club parted ways with the sixth manager since the disappointing loss of Steve Cotterill (not including Paul Hart and Mick Halsall who took temporary charge as caretaker managers). My feelings only increased after the appointment of Jamie Fullarton, as many didn't quite understand the decision behind the appointment.
Can the club be saved with a simple fix? It's not as easy as waving a magic wand.
Likewise you can't pull the wool over people's eyes, and you certainly can't tell fans how to feel – after all they're the reason the club is in operation no matter how you see it.
Yet it will literally take years to put right all that has gone since Munto Finance took over, even more so under the lacklustre Trew era.
That said, there were things which needed changing prior to mystery millions that mistakenly got pulled into the club rather than paying the costly milk bill.
However, Munto had the basics right even though they represented more fiction than Sherlock Holmes, Jessica Fletcher and Hercule Poirot.
The thing is, the community surrounding Notts was more close-knit without the millions. The majority of players cared, even during Munto with the newly signed players, but when you pay peanuts and give your better players away on freebies, surely the garden path isn't such a mysterious destination?
Certainly there will be fingers wagging, voices debating who's to blame but this really beside the point.
What matters is how you learn from your mistakes, how you move forward and ultimately how you address concerns.
So when rumours of the club's takeover is reported as imminent, focus on the daily business, get the players prepared for the weekend's game (or whenever it is). Make uncertainty the last thing they think of, breed confidence and support those who do the supporting.
By the time HMRC comes knocking, it will only make matters worse because even unsuccessful clubs that pull together have a better chance of riding out any storm - and of course it helps paying bills on time.
Will this season be a write-off? Only the management and the board of Notts County can answer that, yet the clubs needs to snap out of this losing streak and pull itself back together. The only award that the club would win at the most is that of “most stressful club”.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by the contributor are his own and are not necessarily representative of Pride of Nottingham.
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Joe Jones
Notts County assistant manager Mark Crossley has called on his players to show the club and fans "what they are made of" to get out of their current malaise.
The Magpies lost their fourth consecutive league game on Saturday after they fell to a 3-2 defeat at Barnet, causing them to slump to 19th in the table.
"In the first half we were pretty pleased," Crossley told the Nottingham Post.
"We had two great chances to go 2-0 up and Vadaine (Oliver) said in the dressing room he has to score the two headers then the game is out of sight.
"We knew what we would get from Barnet but we didn't deal with it in the second half.
"The players are low in confidence and now it's about time they took some responsibility.
"We work through the week on strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and you can't legislate for miskicking the ball and making the wrong decisions.
"In the second half, that's what happened. They've got to dig themselves out of it. You can defend players, but they have got to show us what they are made of."
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Joe Jones
Notts County have slumped to a fourth consecutive loss in League Two as they left Barnet on the receiving end of a 3-2 defeat on Saturday.
John Sheridan's struggling charges took the lead after 15 minutes when skipper Michael O'Connor curled the ball into the far corner of the net following a short corner routine.
The Magpies were dominant and could have added to their opener on a number of occasions, but Vadaine Oliver and Genaro Snijders failed to score from good chances.
However, the hosts equalised at the Hive on the half-hour mark when John Akinde turned inside the box and forced a save from Adam Collin, before Bira Dembele drilled home the rebound.
Luke Gambin then put the Bees ahead in the 64th minute with a deflected effort and claimed his second, and his side's third, ten minutes later by crashing into the top corner on the run.
Notts did not give up, with Jonathan Forte scoring from close range in the 77th minute to make it 3-2, but it was too little too late for the visitors.
The result puts the Magpies 19th in the League Two table, four points above the drop zone.
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Joe Jones
Notts County and Barnet have met each other just 14 times over the years.
The first fixture came on 1 November 1997, with the Magpies earning a 2-1 away win in Division Three.
Notts have eight wins against the Bees, with four defeats and three draws.
The last fixture between the two was on 19 April this year, with Jon Stead's early penalty at the Hive Stadium cancelled out by three second half Bees goals for a 3-1 home win.
The club was founded in Chipping Barnet, then part of Hertfordshire, in 1888.
Several incarnations of the club existed before the third Barnet FC, created after the First World War, came to be - this entity continues till today.
Barnet have won the Football Conference a record three times - in 1991, 2005, and 2015, as well as finishing second three other times.
Aside from a runners-up medal in the 1971-72 FA Trophy, their silverware cabinet is restricted to minor trophies.
A number of Barnet players have gone on to represent Premier League clubs. They include Dougie Freedman, Marlon King, Andy Clarke, Linvoy Primus, Maik Taylor, Mark Gower, Jason Puncheon, Yannick Bolasie and Albert Adomah.
Players who came to the club towards the end of their careers include Jimmy Greaves, Mark Lawrenson, David Hillier, Alan Pardew, Eddie Newton, Paul Warhurst, Steve Kabba, John Oster, Jonathan Fortune, Edgar Davids and Lee Cook.
Team news
Barnet are still without suspended defender Alie Sesay for Saturday's visit of Notts County.
Sesay completes a three-match ban for his red card in the draw against Grimsby Town earlier this month.
Michael Gash, James Pearson, Shaun Batt and Gavin Hoyte are all long-term absentees.
Defender Bondz N'Gala this week left Barnet after two years to join National League side Eastleigh for an undisclosed fee.
Notts County's leading scorer Jon Stead has resumed training after more than a month out with an ankle injury but the trip to The Hive will come too soon for the nine-goal striker.
The 33-year-old is likely to play against Chesterfield next week in a reserve-team match ahead of putting himself back in first-team contention for the FA Cup clash with Peterborough on December 4.
Fellow striker Vadaine Oliver is available again after suspension while winger Alex Rodman could overcome a groin problem.
Rob Milsom will serve a one-match ban after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season in the home defeat to Cambridge.
Midfielder Stanley Aborah is doubtful while Curtis Thompson is still out as the Magpies look to arrest a three-game losing run in League Two.
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Joe Jones
Notts County manager John Sheridan says his team will "be fighting" when they travel to Barnet on Saturday, and believe they can beat anyone in League Two on their day.
The Magpies have lost three in a row in the league, failing to score in each game, and fell into the bottom half of the table, while just a month ago they were in play-off contention.
Martin Allen's side, on the other hand, have picked up 12 points from six games to climb to 11th and are in good form.
"Barnet will think it's a good time to play us but we'll go there believing we'll get something from the game," Sheridan told the Nottingham Post.
"We'll be fighting. I want us to pick up. If we play as we can we can beat anyone in the league. If we play like we did at Blackpool and Newport we'll get nothing."
Sheridan also praised Allen, who previously managed the Magpies, for changing the mentality of the Hive Stadium side.
"I like Martin. I get on well with him," he said.
"He gets his players really pumped up. They've had a great result against Plymouth (on Tuesday) and John Akinde is on fire. We've got to deal with him on the day.
"He's a great threat. Martin will have them believing they can get out the league."
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Joe Jones
John Sheridan has revealed that Jon Stead is back in training for Notts County.
The 33-year-old striker has not played since mid-October because of an ankle injury and his absence has been missed by the Magpies.
"Jon trained this morning. He's coming along fine," Sheridan told the Nottingham Post.
"He's worked hard to get back but he won't be playing Saturday.
"We'll see about him playing in the reserves next week.
"He's got eight or nine days before Peterborough and he's desperate to get back.
"When he's back, he's back, but at this moment in time we've got Barnet to worry about.
"When they're injured, they aren't much use to me, without being disrespectful to any player. When I feel he's ready to play, he will."
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Joe Jones
John Sheridan is confident that things will turn around for Notts County as he aims to stick to his guns going into this weekend's game at Barnet.
A month ago, the Magpies were flying high following a 2-1 win at Portsmouth, but since then they have stumbled to a goalless draw and three defeats on the trot in the fourth tier.
"People are probably bored of me repeating it, but I know I've got to get my act together and so too have the players," Sheridan told the Nottingham Post.
"I am gutted at the moment. It's a serious position and football is a funny game because a month ago we were looking quite healthy.
"Then a month later you are down and things look really difficult. I've got to stick to my beliefs and stick to what I believe will be successful for us.
"Hopefully we can get back to winning ways sooner rather than later. I've got to support the players and that's the most important thing for me.
"I have to back them and I am hoping things will turn around starting with a tough game against Barnet."
Notts currently sit 15th in the League Two table, four points off the playoffs but four points above the drop zone.
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Joe Jones
John Sheridan has promised to be right behind the Notts County players as their League Two form continues to tumble.
The Magpies succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Shaun Derry's Cambridge United on Tuesday, a result which means Notts have just one league win at Meadow Lane this season.
In addition, their record over the last three games reads three defeats, eight goals conceded and zero goals scored, while the game before that run was a goalless draw.
"I've just got to keep going and try to pick the players up, because we are in a difficult place at this moment in time," Sheridan told the Nottingham Post.
"We are not winning football matches and one or two of the players are not playing as well as we would like.
"But the players have to trust me as I am a manager who is right behind them.
"We had a go in the second half and that does give me some hope.
"I am hurting because I hate losing. I haven't come here to be near the bottom of the league.
"It's our aim to be successful and that's what I want to be."
Sheridan also gave his reason as to why he picked Mike Edwards and Alan Smith to start against the U's.
The reason I played them is because of their experience and their game know-how," he continued.
"We've been letting soft goals in and they bring something to us that we haven't really got which is a bit of communication on the pitch."
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Joe Jones
Notts County's poor form continues as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Cambridge United in Tuesday night's League Two clash at Meadow Lane.
The first chance of the game fell to U's forward Uche Ikpeazu, who made the most of a deflection in his favour but was unable to find the target from 18 yards.
Shaun Derry's charges, however, continued to impress, and they duly took the lead on 26 minutes when Ikpeazu bumped off Louis Laing before playing COnor Newton through on goal to sidefoot past Adam Collin.
Genaro Snijders should have equalised for Notts when he raced clear through on goal but dragged his shot wide of the far post.
Cambridge, however, continued to dominate, and caused another scare when Mark Roberts had his half-volley ruled out for offside.
In the second half, Notts had the bulk of possession but found chances hard to come by until the death.
Their best opportunity came when Matt Tootle headed into the box, which forced Will Norris to punch back into the area.
The ball dropped to Aaron Collins but his shot hit a defender on the line and bounced off the back of Norris for a corner.
Cambridge were able to clear the set-piece as Derry's side held on to claim all three points for the third time in a row since he became U's manager.
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Joe Jones
John Sheridan has pledged to "work his socks off" to help Notts County get promoted, beginning with improving their home record.
The Magpies have won just once at Meadow Lane in the league this season, with their last home game ending in farce as Newport County claimed a 3-0 win.
"I never expected us to be this poor at home, not in my wildest dreams," Sheridan said to the Nottingham Post. "We need to do a lot better.
"I don't like people watching us when we aren't being a good team. I don't like people shouting my name because it hurts me. It bothers me. I want to be winning all the time.
"I can promise the fans they will get everything from me. I haven't come here to be middle of the table in League Two, I've come here to get us out of this league.
"I will work my socks off to do it too."
Notts face their former manager Shaun Derry and his Cambridge United side on Tuesday night.
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Joe Jones
Notts County and Cambridge United have met just 25 times in their history, with the first meeting coming on Boxing Day 1970. The result? A resounding 4-1 win to the Magpies at Meadow Lane.
Notts hold the advantage in the head to head, with 11 wins, 7 draws and 7 defeats against the U’s. The last game, however, was a 2-1 win for Cambridge on April 23 last year.
The club was founded in 1912 as Abbey United before taking the name Cambridge United in 1951.
It first competed in the Football League in 1970 and stayed there until relegation in 2005, nine seasons in the Conference following until climbing back out of non-league.
Cambridge have had two spells in the league's second tier, and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup twice and Football League Cup once during the early 1990s, the club's most successful era to date.
United's highest ever finishing place in the Football League is fifth in the Second Division during the 1991–92 season, competing in a season-ending four team playoff for the final promotion slot to the Premier League's inaugural season.
The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Newmarket Road, just under 2 miles east of Cambridge city centre. The stadium has a capacity of 8,127, made up of terracing and seated areas.
During their days in Division Two, with John Beck at the helm in the 1980's, the club earned a reputation for bizarre training methods and "dirty tricks" to make their opponents feel ill at ease.
These included freezing cold showers for his own players, dirty changing rooms and deflated kick-about balls for the opposition and long grass in the corners of the pitch to slow the long balls into those areas, allowing the U’s forwards to reach them.
Beck carried on his dirty tricks even after leaving to take charge of Preston North End – taking nine of the Cambridge United players with him.
He was not the only famous manager at the club, with Ron Atkinson taking the club from the Fourth to the Second Division and Ex-England and Derby County centre-half Roy McFarland also sitting in the hot seat.
Before their entry into the League, a local animal sanctuary had an escapee and it was found grazing on the pitch at the Abbey Stadium. This lead to the moose connection with the club, and in the club shop you can buy a range of moose souvenirs to show your allegiance to the U’s.
Famous alumni include Dion Dublin and Luke Chadwick, while famous fans include football commentator Gary Newbon and Tom Findlay of Groove Armada.
And connecting the two clubs – none other than former Notts manager Shaun Derry, now a the helm of the U’s.
Team news
Notts County captain Michael O'Connor is back in contention for the visit of Cambridge. He missed two matches with a toe injury but is fit for action again, as are Matt Tootle and Jonathan Forte.
Jordan Richards is injured again after returning at the weekend, as are Stanley Aborah, Curtis Thompson and Jon Stead, while Vadaine Oliver completes a three-game ban.
Cambridge defender Josh Coulson is out of Tuesday's trip with an ankle injury sustained during Saturday's loss to Wycombe.
The full extent of Coulson's injury is still to be determined, while Medy Elito was missing with a knock on Saturday which could rule him out again.
George Maris scored his first Cambridge goal after groin and ankle injuries earlier this season and should continue.
Adam McGurk remains out, while Elliot Omazusi and Barry Corr are long-term absentees.
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Chris
Once again Notts stumble back to the drawing board, yet as a club, do we ever learn?
It doesn’t seem that long ago that Jon Stead was League Two's Player of the Month, in fact it was only last September - but things seemed a lot more optimistic back then.
With back-to-back defeats at the hands of Blackpool and more recently Newport County, it seems the Magpies are destined to pitifully play out the remainder of the games until the January transfer window opens up.
The injury to Stead has proved a massive blow. I said this at the time and even warned prior to this misfortune that we were relying too much on him.
That said, away performances have largely made the difference during the 2016-17 campaign and that's when we saw Adam Campbell step up from Stead's shadow.
Twice he’s been our saviour, he helped earn Notts a replay against Boreham Wood in the FA Cup, but we haven’t seen many other players step up to the plate.
Problem is, Notts are largely inconsistent and when things are merry, John Sheridan speaks of praise and, during lean times, he speaks of how it's unacceptable – even going as far as comparing the squad to a pub team.
There’s nothing at all wrong with this, but I am increasingly becoming frustrated by his lack of faith in certain players, whilst others retain a starting place week in and out.
He spoke more recently about welcoming the selection headache when it came to the squad that could be put out against Newport, with only Genaro Snijders, Robert Milsom and Graham Burke coming in after the terrible away performance to Blackpool.
You may be wondering why I haven’t included the likes of Jordan Richards. I haven’t because I largely feel he’s been in and around the first team for a while and is well within the deserved list of having a run in the Notts squad.
However, Robert Milsom and Graham Burke have largely been disappointing whilst Sheridan has been at the helm as the manager.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s right people are calling for his sacking or resignation – much of the issues we see on the pitch is largely down to years of mismanagement and poor decisions from various parties involved.
It’s easy to point the finger, but the fact is we crave stability and this only comes in retaining someone who can carry out the required work. There’s not a big queue of good candidates out there prepared to come in and do this.
I do wonder what has gone wrong these past few weeks, however all season it’s been quite poor with only patches of good spells – it's easy to forget when you're winning games and sitting in and around the play-offs.
At this stage of the season Sheridan should have had the chance to experiment, yet it would appear as if he doesn’t know who is deserving of a starting place or even who should make our best eleven.
Certainly I don’t feel Adam Collin should be number one, and yes I hear the phantom moans of ‘Scott Loach isn’t much better’ – however even he managed to make a small difference last year round.
I at least hope to never hear or witness Alan Smith starting in any form of attacking position, which is another shame because I do feel at times he could have helped in midfield. Just not as someone regularly starting, as we have only just managed to out Alex Rodman from his favourite position – another player who along with Carl Dickinson I would hope remains out of the squad until they learn to fulfil their roles better.
As things stand, I expect to see a few more disappointing performances and no doubt this will include some woeful results.
I just hope that things start to pick up sooner or later, as these winter months are the perfect time to gain form – with the return of Stead and eventually the opening of the transfer window.
Fingers crossed we can rid ourselves of some of the underperforming players who barely reassemble professional footballers in the hope that we can replace them, provided we don’t have further speculations of ‘ghosts’ appearing at Meadow Lane in the form of meaningless takeovers.
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Joe Jones
John Sheridan has admitted that he is sick of Notts County's poor form and refuses to make excuses.
The Magpies fell to a second consecutive heavy league defeat on Saturday as they were ran ragged by struggling Newport County at Meadow Lane.
The 3-0 home defeat came a week after an embarrassing 4-0 thrashing at Blackpool, while a 2-0 win over non-league Boreham Wood in the FA Cup barely restored optimism prior to yesterday.
"It is worrying because of the way we are playing," Sheridan told the Nottingham Post. "I am not going to come out and make excuses – it was far, far, from good enough.
"Whatever is thrown at me and the players, we've got to accept it. It wasn't good enough at all.
We were missing one or two, but that's no excuse. It gave an opportunity for players to come in and perform and give me a problem by giving a good performance.
"Again, we were way off it. I am repeating myself, but it's not good enough.
"It's something I need to sort out very quickly because if not then we all know the consequences.
"I have to look at myself because I've picked a team that I thought would win the game.
"I've got to try to look after my players but I am getting sick of it. I am answering all the questions, but it's down to me because I am picking the team."
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Joe Jones
Notts County have fallen to a second humiliating league defeat in quick succession after Newport County, League Two's bottom club, left Meadow Lane with a 3-0 win.
The Exiles took the lead in the 34th minute when Rhys Healey was fouled inside the Magpies area by Richard Duffy, prompting the referee to award a penalty.
Although Sean Rigg's shot was saved by goalkeeper Adam Collin, he latched onto the rebound and fired home from close range.
Six minutes later John Sheridan's former side had doubled their lead as Healey went on an unopposed run and struck his third goal in a week.
Josh Sheehan also notched up his third strike in as many games as he lashed a half-volley beyond Collin in the 62nd minute.
Tom Owen-Evans then forced Collin to tip over the bar with a shot from 30 yards as the afternoon threatened to turn even worse for the Magpies.
Notts mustered little in front of goal all afternoon and remain stuck on just one league win at Meadow Lane all season, to the chagrin of the long-suffering fans.
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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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