Jump to content
Show all categories

Articles

Our website articles
Chris

Swindon - Scout Report

By Chris, in News,

Swindon Town have won all but one of their last six games in League One, the only game which saw them defeated was against MK Dons. The final score 2-1, however they have beaten Peterborough, Bristol City, Preston and Chesterfield within recent games.

Back on Saturday the 8th of November, Swindon made a shock exit in the first round of the F.A Cup by the hands of Cheltenham Town, 5-0 was the final score.
Within League One Swindon Town currently sit 2nd, they have scored 9 times in their last six games conceding only three times. In the JPT and F.A Cup, the Robins have scored only twice, allowing 8 goals in.
 
Run down of their last six games.
Saturday 29th November – Swindon Town 1 Fleetwood Town 0
Saturday 22nd November – Peterborough 1 Swindon Town 2
Saturday 15th November – Swindon Town 1 Bristol City 0
Saturday 8th November – Cheltenham Town 5 Bristol City 0 (F.A Cup)
Tuesday 4th November – Swindon Town 1 Preston North End 0
Saturday 1st November – MK Dons 2 Swindon Town 1
 
The Players – Fact Sheet
Highest Goal Scorers; Micheal Smith 12, Andy Williams 10, Jonathan Obika 7 and Yaser Kasim 3.
Persistent Foulers; Nathan Thompson 3 Red Cards and 5 Yellow Cards, Louis Thompson 1 Red Card and 4 Yellow Cards, Yaser Kasim 6 Yellow Cards and Jack Stephens 4 Yellow Cards.
 
The Key Players.
Jonathan Obika, Michael Smith and Andy Williams are Swindon Town's robust front line. Massimo Luongo, Yasir Kasim and Louis Thompson are the key men in midfield, whilst Wes Foderingham is a stand out goal keeper within this league.
Jonathan Obika is a player who creates a lot, whilst also proving he can finish chances himself. The former Tottenham Hotspur youngster forged a name within League One and he will be one to watch.
Michael Smith and Andy Williams are traditional marksman, who can cause any side danger as their goal tally's suggest.
Massimo Luongo is Swindon Town's rock within the midfield, he pulls the strings and can pin point pass to advancing wide men. Yasir Kasim is a tricky player to retain, his movement generally causes opponents problems.
 
Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses.
Swindon Town have a reputation for being a passing side which can quickly turn carefully created attacks into dangerous chances. They play direct, focusing on advancing wide men but with the ability to break sides down quite easily from the centre of the park. They can fire chances from distance, while their forwards can be menacing within their oppositions penalty box.
Many of their key chances come from bursting runs, where supporting players manage to find space. If their attacks split defences, which is often the case they go for direct shots towards goal and are not afraid to have a shot.
Their main strengths are skill, pace and spotting how to break down opponents. Whilst proving that they're lethal on goal sight, Swindon Town do often waste very decent chances but again they have the ability to create them without a problem.
Weaknesses are mainly within their disciplinary records, several players are prone to making bad decisions and becoming heated as a direct result. Defensively they're very well setup, however if pressed their defence are prone to stray and do poor passes which can easily be picked up. With their age being considerably young, they're quite inconsistent on the field but can still finish sides off with a touch of class.
Swindon Town appear to struggle with tall or fast players, this results in rash and silly changes. Cheltenham Town realized this, which caused the Robins defence to panic time and time again.
If the game doesn't sway in their favour, concentration tends to drop which can allow decent teams to punish them.
 
 
Match Thread - Opposition View - The Match Officials - Stat Attack  
Joe Jones
Notts County have met Swindon Town on 61 occasions, the first time being 103 years ago in the FA Cup. On that day in January 1911, the Robins beat the Magpies 2-0 at the County Ground.

Of the 61 clashes, 24 have been won by Notts, 25 by Swindon, and 12 have been drawn.
The last meeting between the two was back in April this year, which Notts won 2-0 at Meadow Lane
 
The club was founded in 1879 by Reverend William Baker Pitt. Yes, you read that right! Whilst curate of Christ Church, the high church of Swindon, Pitt formed Swindon Association Football Club to provide recreation for young men in his parish.
Swindon won the Southern League championship in 1910-11, earning themselves a Charity Shield clash with Football League champions Manchester United. This, the highest-scoring Charity Shield game to date, was played on 25 September 1911 at Stamford Bridge with Manchester United winning 8–4! Some of the proceeds of this game were later donated to the survivors of the Titanic.
 
During World War II, The War Department – the government body responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces in the UK – took over the County Ground in 1940, where for a while prisoners of war were housed in huts placed on the pitch. For this, the club received compensation of £4,570 at war’s end.
Swindon Town were the first League club to use floodlights, having had them installed in 1951. The County Ground is also the only football stadium in the world with a Rolex watch acting as its timekeeper –the clock on the Stratton Bank stand featuring its name was erected to celebrate promotion in 1963.
Swindon have spent one season in the top flight, in 1992-93, during which Glenn Hoddle managed them. Sadly, they didn't do too well, being relegated at the end of the season after conceding 100 goals.
 
The most notable silverware in the Robins’ possession is undoubtedly the League Cup, won in 1969 after beating Arsenal in the final at Wembley.
Royle Family and Two Pints Of Lager actor Ralf Little was rumoured to be on trial at Swindon back in 2002, though the funnyman later claimed that he was just training with the squad. Pint-sized jazz singer Jamie Cullum is also a fan of the Robins.
---
Notts have no new problems ahead of Saturday's match against Swindon. Shaun Derry could bring back Gary Jones, who was left out of the squad against Doncaster, or Garry Thompson, who was on the bench for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie in midweek. Taylor McKenzie, Curtis Thompson and Drissa Traore are also options.
Captain Hayden Mullins is back in training after a month-long absence through injury while on-loan defender Louis Laing will be involved for the final time before returning to parent club Nottingham Forest.
Swindon boss Mark Cooper is sweating over the fitness of three defenders: Jordan Turnbull, Harry Toffolo and Amari'i Bell are all suffering from injuries and will be assessed by medical staff ahead of the trip to Meadow Lane.
Captain Nathan Thompson, however, has recovered from an ankle injury and is likely to be back in the starting XI.
Raphael Branco is back in training having spent two months on the sidelines with a groin injury but it may still be too soon for the Brazilian.
Chris

Swindon Town - View

By Chris, in Opposition Views,

Swindon Town find themselves in fine form, however a small blip to the hands of Cheltenham Town in the F.A Cup saw them knocked out having conceded 5 goals and scoring none in the process. However, the Robins have picked up some very impressive victories so far this season.

Pride of Nottingham have taken the time to catch up with resident Robins fan medievalmickey, he's kindly answered our questions.
 
Firstly, could you remind prideofnottingham.co.uk a little about yourself such as how long you've been a Swindon Town fan?
I am closing in on 69th birthday and was taken to 01st match at the County Ground, by my Granddad, when I was around 7 years old. I stood at the Town End and could just about peer over the fence. I remember seeing youthful Terry Paine play for Southampton and a Reading winger named De’ath which amused me somewhat.
I watched Trowbridge Town in Southern League during mid 60s but started watching Swindon Town again during late 70s and have watched regularly for the last 30 years. I am now philosophical about football and am no longer embittered by the inevitable defeats. “Girlfriend said that it was fun even though the others won” as sung by Half Man Half Biscuit is fine by me.
 
2nd in the league, things are looking good for the Robins - Did you think you would be in this position at this stage in the season and do you think you could win the League One title?
I did not think we would be this high in the table and thought 5th or 6th would be as good as it could be. A lot was made of our Tottenham feeder club status and three loanees left at end of last season and all are playing at a higher level this. Tim Sherwood is no longer at Spurs so this arrangement has faded away but our Chairman, Lee Power, has forged links with Southampton and Norwich.
 
Peterborough United, Bristol City, Preston, Barnsley, Sheffield United and Bradford City - All teams Swindon Town have defeated so far this season. How do you feel about having beaten these sides and which stand out to you?
We were said to have a tough November and lost early on to MK Dons and then subsequently thrashed by Cheltenham Town in FA Cup. In between we beat Preston at home and then defeated Bristol City, Peterborough United and Fleetwood Town. The Bristol City result was most pleasing because where we live is biased towards them and local media was full of Steve Cotterill’s bitter outbursts.
 
It's hard to see a weakness within a side doing so well, however do you have any concerns? Do you feel there is any need to strengthen in January, if so where and why? If not care tell why this is?
Apart from Andy Williams we are unlikely to field any player over 23 years of age so inconsistency is a real concern. We are guilty of “overplaying”, losing a sense of purpose and having no Plan B. Mark Cooper has worked hard on this and I think we are now more focused. We are likely to lose a player or two before any strengthening can be made in January. Swindon Town supporters now generally trust Lee Power to do what is right for the Club and its ethos.
 
What does Football mean to you? Is there more to the game than rivalry and what do you like about the sport a way from Swindon Town?
I enjoy watching live football and cannot contemplate how I would fill the void should I be unable to watch Swindon Town. I abhor moronic behaviour by anyone connected to the match day experience. I know we will not win every game and am happy(?) to applaud the opposition when it is deserved. I am sure that if I sat down with Joe we would get on well because of our love of the game. Rivalry should be good natured banter with no malice. I like sport generally but find it more enjoyable if I want one team or player to win otherwise it is easy to lose interest.
 
Which Swindon Town players are currently in form and which of them stands out to you as the main threat to Notts County?
Our set up is about the team as a unit and there are no standout stars. Massimo Luongo and Yaser Kassim have become full internationals this year and are possibly headline names and, on their day, can boss any midfield. Defence is generally tight and all three main strikers have been among the goals. We field a mixture of Academy, loan and “plucked from non-league” players that have been blended into a team that works for one another and plays attractive football.
 
Who from the Notts squad do think could cause a threat and how would you set Swindon Town up on Saturday?
I do not know too much about Notts. County squad other than Ronan Murray who was on loan with us a couple of years back. I am impressed by your results in Shaun Derry’s first full season and would see a win for us as an excellent result. Mark Cooper is talking of possible defensive injuries for the weekend so will set the team up according to available players. You will see that we try to make the ball do the work and are happy use Wes Foderingham, the goalkeeper, as a sweeper.
 
Finally, how do you see the game going on Saturday? Could you please predict the Half and Full Time Scores, including goal scorers if possible?
Sorry Joe I will not tempt the gods of football and predict any scores. I should imagine it will be a tight game with little to choose …. which almost certainly guarantees any easy win for one of us.
 
Pride of Nottingham would like to thank Mickey for taking the time to answer our questions, we hope to see him around the site, enjoying our features and we wish Swindon all the best with their season ahead.
Chris

The Match Officials

By Chris, in News,

Saturday 13th of December, Swindon Town will be visiting Meadow Lane Stadium, Notts come into the game having picked up a 1-0 over Doncaster Rovers in the JPT. Notts will be looking to repeat or do one better than their last League One game, a 1-1 draw to Sheffield United.

Swindon Town come into the game having beaten Fleetwood in their last game at 1-0, they have also enjoyed successful wins over Bristol City, Peterborough United and Preston.
 
The Match Officials for Saturdays game against Swindon Town will be Darren Deadman, with his two assistants Robert Atkin and Michael George. The fourth official will be Amy Fearn.
 
Match Officials
 
Referee; Darren Deadman
From – Cambridgeshire
His matches involving Notts County and Swindon Town in the last four season.
League Cup – Saturday 11th August 2012 – Notts County 0 Bradford City 1 – 7 Yellow Cards
League One – Saturday 27th October 2012 – Stevenage FC 0 Swindon Town 4 – 3 Yellow Cards
F.A Cup – Tuesday 18th December 2012 – Notts County 0 Rotherham United 3 – 5 Yellow Cards, 1 Red Card
League One – Saturday 23rd February 2013 – Swindon Town 1 Notts County 1 – 3 Yellow Cards
League One – Friday 18th October 2013 – Swindon Town 2 Notts County 0 – 5 Yellow Cards
League One – Saturday 30th August 2014 – Swindon Town 1 Coventry City 1 – 3 Yellow Cards
 
Run down of his last four games.
Championship – Tuesday 4th November 2014 – Millwall 2 Blackburn Rovers 2 – 3 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card
F.A Cup – Saturday 8th November 2014 – Walsall 2 Shrewsbury Town 2 – 6 Yellow Cards
League One – Saturday 15th November 2014 – Gillingham 3 Leyton Orient 2 – 4 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card
League One – Saturday 29th November 2014 – Yeovil Town 0 Preston 2 – 2 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card
 
In his last four games 15 yellow cards have been shown and 3 red cards.
So far this season in a total of 16 games he has shown 64 yellow cards and 5 red card.
That's roughly 4 yellow cards per game.
 
Assistant Referee; Robert Atkin
From – Lincolnshire
Last 3 League One games.
Saturday 15th November 2014 – York City 0 Oxford United 1
Saturday 22nd November 2014 – Bury 1 Newport County 3
Saturday 6th December 2014 – Cambridge United 2 Mansfield 2
 
Assistant Referee; Michael George
From – Norfolk
Last 3 League One games.
Tuesday 18th November 2014 – AFC Wimbledon 3 York City 1
Saturday 22nd November 2014 – Colchester United 0 Coventry City 1
Saturday 6th November 2014 – Wealdstone 1 Staines Town 0
 
Fourth Official; Amy Fearn
From – Leicestershire
 
Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread
Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time.
Northants Pie

Youth Team Report

By Northants Pie, in News,

Saturdays game for the Youth Team provided them with the opportunity to carry on the recent good form which saw them not only beat the league leaders (Hull Tigers) but move within 3 points of them in the league after the midweek win against Grimsby.

In keeping with our current Doncaster Rovers vs Notts County news line the youth team were unfortunately beaten 3-1.
Colby Bishop providing the solitary strike in the first half equalising the Doncaster opener. With the scores level at half time we started the second half brightly yet Doncaster who came into the game more and more as the half progressed took the lead and then added a third to run out comfortable winners.
The youth team only have one remaining fixture for 2014, this coming against Burton Albion on the 20th December at the Eagle Valley Stadium with an 11am kick-off.
 
The updated league table can be found here
The fixture grid for all the teams can be found here
The official site press release for Doncaster can be found here
Joe Jones
Notts County have made it through to the semi-finals of the Johnston's Paint Trophy after a narrow 1-0 win against Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium this evening.

Liam Noble was the matchwinner for the visitors, powering through the home side's defence lines before drilling a low shot beyond goalkeeper Sam Johnstone late on in the game.
 
Conditions were far from ideal at the Keepmoat Stadium, with strong winds not helping proceedings.
The game proved uneventful in the opening stages as the action was concentrated in midfield, although Harry Forrester managed to cut in from the left before being denied by Roy Carroll early on.
Notts responded through Jake Cassidy, who picked up a cross from Mustapha Dumbuya before volleying well wide of the target at the near post.
By the half-hour mark, only efforts from Kyle Bennett and Curtis Main came close to breaking the deadlock.
Just before half-time, Bennett again came close to putting Doncaster into the lead when he curled a free kick inches wide of the post with Carroll beaten.
 
The start of the second half proved to be almost as quiet as the first, but Doncaster thought they had taken the lead on 68 minutes after Bennett's shot found the back of the net.
However, after speaking to his assistant, the referee disallowed the strike as it appeared that Bennett's shot had deflected off Main, who was in an offside position.
It proved a decisive moment for Notts as, six minutes later, Noble marauded down the field before driving the ball into the bottom corner from 20 yards.
Substitute Garry Thompson nearly bagged a second for County but saw Sam Johnstone save well to keep his side in contention with 10 minutes left.
Bennett had a late effort kept out by Carroll but that was as good as it got for the hosts as Notts held on to book their place in the Northern Area semi-finals.
Joe Jones
Notts County have met Doncaster Rovers 51 times over the years, with the first fixture coming on the 13th December 1930. On that occasion, an FA Cup tie, the Magpies triumphed 1-0.

Rovers have the upper edge head-to-head, but only just. They have 23 wins and 21 defeats against Notts, with seven draws.
Our last meeting came at the tail end of the 2012-13 season, when Notts secured a 1-0 victory at the Keepmoat courtesy of this rather decent effort by Joss Labadie...

/>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjd42giwT8s
 
The club was founded in 1879 and turned professional in 1885. They have spent the majority of their playing history between the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system and are one of four clubs to win the Division 3/League Two title three times, the last being in 2004. Football League rules state that any team who wins a trophy three times can keep it.
However, when Rovers tried to retain ownership of the actual Third Division trophy, the Football League claimed that Rovers could not keep the trophy because the league names had changed from Fourth to Third Division, and so they had not won that particular league three times. Bit harsh...
 
The team's mascot is a brown dog known as Donny Dog, who wears the red and white Rovers jersey.
Before a scheduled appearance during the game against Huddersfield Town at the Galpharm Stadium on 4 March 2006, police prevented Andrew Liney from entering the stadium in costume, citing unspecified "police intelligence", and refused him permission to wear any part of the costume within 50 metres of the stadium. Mr Liney later received a full written apology for these unfounded allegations from the head of West Yorkshire Police.
The mascot was next portrayed by Tracy Chandler and in June 2011, she was relieved from the position after she posed in her underwear for a Sunday newspaper. Later in the same week she was reinstated back as the clubs mascot.
Arguably the club's most famous fan is One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson. The 22-year-old had agreed to play in a charity game at the Keepmoat to raise money for the Bluebell Wood Charity and was offered a deal by Donny to join the club on non-contract terms after impressing in the game.
Tomlinson also put himself forward to take over the club alongside John Ryan, but the deal fell through in July this year.
And if you're not the biggest fan of 1D or Louis, then you can always take a moment to enjoy this...

/>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZrIq-CqVSo
---
Doncaster will be without Nathan Tyson, who has missed the last two matches with a calf strain.
Dean Furman, Harry Forrester and Marc De Val Fernandez are among the options should manager Paul Dickov decide to shuffle his pack for the quarter-final clash.
Meanwhile, Notts have almost a fully fit squad for their trip to the Keepmoat Stadium, with only long-term injury victim Jimmy Spencer out as far as we're aware.
Chris

Doncaster - Scout Report

By Chris, in News,

Doncaster Rovers have drawn three of their last six games in League One, with two wins coming from Rochdale AFC and Bradford City. Their last defeat was to promotion chasing Sheffield United, the final score was 1-0 to the Blades as Jamie Murphy scored the decisive goal.

Two days ago on the 6th of December, Doncaster beat Oldham 1-0 in the second round of the F.A Cup, Oldham Athletic's exit came as a result of an own goal.
Within League One Doncaster Rovers currently sit 16th, they scored eight times in their last six games conceding only five times. Recent cup games have seen the Vikings score five from two, conceding one in the process.
 
Run down of their last six games.
Saturday 15th November – Doncaster Rovers 0 Sheffield 1
Tuesday 18th November – Weston-S-Mare 1 Doncaster Rovers 4
Saturday 22nd November – Rochdale 1 Doncaster Rovers 3
Saturday 29th November – Crewe Alexandra 1 Doncaster Rovers 1
Tuesday 2nd December – Barnsley 1 Doncaster Rovers 1
Saturday 6th December – Oldham Athletic 0 Doncaster Rovers 1 (F.A Cup)
 
The Players – Fact Sheet
Highest Goal Scorers; Nathan Tyson 6, Theo Robinson 4, James Coppinger 4 and Curtis Main 4.
Persistent Foulers; Harry Forrester 2 Red Cards and 4 Yellow Cards, Paul Keegan 4 Yellow Cards, Kyle Bennett 4 Yellow Cards and Reece Wabara.
 
The Key Players.
Andy Butler, Paul Keegan, Marc De Val, Kyle Bennett, James Coppinger, Harry Forrester and Nathan Tyson.
Nathan Tyson the former Notts loanee has found himself consistently starting for Doncaster Rovers, he is a tricky player who uses his pace to his advantage and score when presented a golden opportunity.
Paul Keegan, Marc De Val, Kyle Bennett and James Coppinger are Doncaster Rovers creative midfield, who are all able of creating play and scoring. Spanish born Marc De Val hasn't yet scored, however he's came close to scoring some spectacular efforts.
Andy Butler is a solid defender who will be Doncaster's main defensive threat to us, this was highlighted by Walsall fans who stated earlier in our home game this season that he was the missing link within the current Saddlers squad.
Harry Forrester is a promising striker who Notts fans should be aware of from his time playing for Brentford, although his goal scoring record is hardly impressive – the football he shows on the field can be.
 
Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses.
Doncaster are a direct, physical side who like to use their players with pace in order to gain space for chances. Typically they're not afraid to take chances from outside of the box or from distance, yet when on the flanks they mix low balls with floating crosses which causes confusion for the opposition defences.
They don't fail to create chances, with their creative players being able to mix how the Vikings attack their opponents.
Their main strengths come from break down play, players cleverly move in order to create space which they use to exploit. Smaller teams are often frustrated by the height of the Doncaster players, which is another added strength.
Doncaster are more offensive than defensive, their attacking players will be a threat to any side within League One and all must be marked duly.
With regards to weaknesses it appears Paul Dickov side scramble defensively and are prone to error when hit directly via the centre of the park, either with pace or flowing passes which gain forward ground. Teams have to be wary when they pack players into their own penalty area, as limited space is often given to opposition teams.
Notts might be presented with more chances from outside of the penalty box rather than inside, so players like Thompson, Jones and Noble will be useful.
 
 
Match Thread - View New Content  
Northants Pie

Youth Team Report

By Northants Pie, in News,

Saturdays game for the Youth Team provided them with their first opportunity to right a few wrongs from the disappointment of the FA Cup tie against Peterborough.

The team standing between them and what would be the perfect remedy were the league leaders Hull Tigers, who earlier on in the season, had comfortably beaten us 3-0.
 
Hull Tigers started the game brightly, despite this they couldn't make their dominance count and after starting to force our way into the game we took the lead through Luther Wildin, Hull maintained their attacking threat throughout the game but yet again they couldn't turn this dominance into a goal and we scored a decisive second through Lartey Sarpong and went on to record a fantastic win by a 2-0 scoreline.
Mick Halsall was full of praise for the lads saying "from a 3-0 home defeat against them at the start of the campaign, to a 2-0 away win is very pleasing"
 
The lads recorded another victory on Wednesday afternoon against Grimsby Town game at the Eagle Valley Stadium with a 2-0 win coming courtesy of goals from Reece Fyfe & Colby Bishop, Mick Halsall described the game "as probably the best we have played all season".
This has put the Youth Team second in the division only 3 points behind Hull, the next fixture is against Doncaster Rovers away this Saturday.
 
The updated league table can be found here
The fixture grid for all the teams can be found here
The official site press release for Hull can be found here
The official site press release for Grimsby can be found here
Joe Jones
After what appeared like Notts were in danger of slipping off the radar, they appear to be getting back on track following a credible 1-1 draw away at Sheffield United on Friday.

Following a cagey opening at Bramall Lane, Shaun Derry's charges began tentatively probing forward.
Early on, Petrasso beat Jay McEveley on the edge of the area before seeing his shot saved by Blades goalkeeper Mark Howard.
Gary Jones, allowed to play in this game after his Yeovil red card was rescinded, also threatened with a powerful run from midfield before forcing another save from Howard.
Just after the half-hour mark, the Magpies took the lead when comeback kid Mike Edwards converted Jones's corner into the far corner with a volley.
United struggled to pull themselves together following their concession, and save for a Jose Baxter effort on the rebound from a free kick, they offered little and were booed off at half time.
 
The hosts were better after the second half got underway, with ex-Notts winger Jamal Campbell-Ryce and Chris Basham threatening.
In the 70th minute, the visitors had a great chance to score a second goal, but the unmarked Stephen McLaughlin hesitated for too long and was dispossessed.
It was a huge chance to put kill the game off, and Notts would rue their miss as, moments later, when Bob Harris crossed for Jamie Murphy to head in the equaliser.
United were the better side in the latter stages of the game, but Notts were able to hang onto the draw and a decent point against one of the division's heavyweights.
Joe Jones
Sheffield United’s first match against our beloved Notts took place on the 17th Jan 1891 in the FA Cup.

Just to give you an idea how long ago this was… Sir Winston Churchill was a mere 16 years old when the game was played!
The scoreline is also of note: Notts won 9-1! Since then, however, the Blades have undisputedly held the upper hand in head-to-head statistics: they have won 48 games against the Magpies. We’ve beaten then just 26 times, and there have been 13 draws.
Their ground, Bramall Lane, is the oldest major stadium in the world still to be hosting professional football matches.
Bramall Lane opened in April 1855 – Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin were still alive back then!
Jessica Ennis-Hill, the darling of the 2012 London Olympics, has a stand named after her at United’s ground, following her gold medal in heptathlon two years ago.
A game between Sheffield United and Oldham in February 1984 had to be postponed when a wartime bomb was found near Bramall Lane!
 
A number of films and television programmes have included references to Sheffield United over the past few decades:
-The 1996 film When Saturday Comes stars Sean Bean as a part-time Hallam FC player who is scouted by Sheffield United, who then goes on to play in a FA Cup semi-final.
-The character 'Gaz' in British comedy The Full Monty is seen wearing a replica United shirt at one part of the film, and promises his son a ticket for a game at Bramall Lane between Sheffield United & Manchester United.
-Even Hollywood has got in on the act: a scene in Batman Begins features a child wearing a 1990s Blades shirt.
---
Sheffield United strikers Michael Higdon and Marc McNulty will both return to contention for Friday night's home game against Notts County.
Higdon has been sidelined for six games and McNulty has been been out for a similar period due to a facial injury.
Clough has no new injury or suspension problems but midfielder James Wallace and defender Ben Davies remain sidelined.
Diego De Girolamo has returned to York City on loan and fellow forward Che Adams is hoping to make his first appearance after twice being an unused substitute.
Gary Jones will be available for Notts after his red card against Yeovil Town last weekend was overturned on appeal.
Blair Adams was forced off with an injury against the Glovers towards the end of the first half and the defender is a doubt ahead of the trip to Bramall Lane.
A further injury blow for the Magpies has seen Zeli Ismail ruled out for around four months. The on-loan Wolves winger suffered a knee injury during the goalless draw with Accrington in the FA Cup first round.
Ryan Hall has been brought in as a replacement for Ismail and the Rotherham United loanee is expected to go straight into the squad against the Blades.
Northants Pie

Youth Team Report

By Northants Pie, in News,

Pride of Nottingham returns with another youth team update from Northants Pie, despite no fixtures being played he has taken the time to provide a recap and update based on events from the youth teams view.

The last week has produced no games for the Youth Team, the next game is this Saturday away at league leaders Hull City, we lost the reverse game 0-3 at home on the 23 August.
 
The updated league table can be found here
The fixture grid for all the teams can be found here
 
There has been good news for the whole club but the Academy directly with the news that striker Colby Bishop has signed his first professional contract, signing a 2­­½ year contract, he will for this season play his football with the youth team linking up with the senior squad for the start of the 2015 - 2016 season.
There has been a recent string of Academy players joining the senior squad, whilst some might fall away, some like Hadyn Hollis & Curtis Thompson go from strength to strength which is the best possible advertisement for our Academy system when potential targets are contemplating which Academy to join.
 
A link to the press release from the club can be found here
Chris

The Match Officials

By Chris, in News,

Friday 28th of November, Sheffield United will be hosting Notts County at their Bramall Lane Stadium, Notts will be trying put aside the defeat to Yeovil Town by putting together a convincing performance against a side one point above us in the League One table.

Sheffield United come into the game having drawn their last game at Oldham 1-1, however the Blades have won 4 of their last six games, ironically the same as Notts.
The Match Officials for Fridays game against Sheffield United will be Robert Madley, with his two assistants Derek Eaton and Edward Smart. The fourth official will be Darren Drysdale.
 
Match Officials
 
Referee; Robert Madley
From – West Yorkshire
His matches involving Notts County and Sheffield in the last four season.
League One – Saturday 27th August 2011 – Preston 2 Notts County 0 – No Cards
League One – Saturday 21st April 2012 – Notts County 2 Bury 4 – 3 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card
League One – Saturday 24th November 2012 – Notts County 1 Swindon Town 0 – 5 Yellow Cards
 
Run down of his last four games.
Championship – Saturday 25th October 2014 – Derby 1 Wigan 2 – 6 Yellow Cards
Championship – Saturday 1st November 2014 – Watford 3 Millwall 1 – 6 Yellow Cards
Championship – Wednesday 5th November 2014 – Fulham 2 Blackpool 2 – 5 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card.
Premiership – Saturday 22nd November 2014 – Leicester 0 Sunderland 0 – 5 Yellow Cards
 
In his last four games 22 yellow cards have been shown and one red card.
So far this season in a total of 11 games he has shown 42 yellow cards and 4 red card.
That's roughly 3.8 yellow cards per game.
 
Assistant Referee; Derek Eaton
From – Gloucestershire
Last 3 League One games.
Tuesday 4th November 2014 – Sheffield Wednesday 0 AFC Bournemouth 2
Saturday 8th November 2014 – West Ham 0 Aston Villa 0
Saturday 11th November 2014 – Bishop's Stortford 1 Eastborune Borough 1
 
Assistant Referee; Edward Smart
From – West Midlands
Last 3 League One games.
Wednesday 29th October 2014 – Tottenham 2 Brighton 0
Saturday 1st November 2014 – Hull 0 Southampton 1
Sunday 9th November 2014 – Sunderland 1 Everton 1
 
Fourth Official; Darren Drysdale
From – Lincolnshire
 
Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread
 
Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time.
Joe Jones
I will have to keep my language clean, because kids may read this match report. But today's game at home to Yeovil Town was nothing short of a travesty. The referee was completely sub-par and cost us the game.

The visitors, who were constantly play-acting and digging at Notts with fouls, rarely got punished, while Gary Jones gets sent off for a seemingly legitimate tackle.
And despite the hosts taking the lead, Yeovil were able to capitalise on the man advantage and net two late on.
Little of note happened in the early stages of the game, except for Michael Petrasso getting constantly harangued by the men from Somerset - with no repercussions for them.
 
Just before the half-hour mark, however, the Magpies were scandalously reduced to ten men when Gary Jones was dismissed for a challenge on defender Nathan Smith despite clearly winning the ball.
Liam Noble was also booked and assistant manager Greg Abbott was sent to the stands for protesting too strongly in the incident, rightfully aggrieved at this miscarriage of justice.
Roy Carroll saved well from Ajay Leitch-Smith late on in the first half, while Nathan Smith found himself on the floor one too often.
Ultimately, the first period ended goalless, with Notts having it all to do in the second half.
 
After the restart, Notts held their colour, Petrasso pushing forward and forcing a good save from Glovers goalie Jed Steer.
The Canadian winger then put the Magpies in front when he rounded Steer to slip the ball into an empty net after making the most of a woeful backpass from Stephen Arthurworrey.
Yeovil forced their way back into the game in the last 15 minutes, with Jordan Clarke snatching an equaliser with a deft near-post header six minutes before time.
If that wasn't bad enough, it got a lot worse when, in the 88th minute, the 23-year-old defender stormed in again and nodded home the winner to leave Meadow Lane with a bitter taste in its mouth.
Joe Jones
Saturday is the landmark tenth time that Notts County have played Yeovil Town, ever. The first meeting between the two came way back in 1961, with the Magpies winning this FA Cup tie 4-2, but a whole 43 years passed until the second meeting, which came in 2004!

Since then, fixtures have been fairly frequent, with the last clash having come on 1st April 2013 - the Glovers won that game 2-1.
 
Yeovil Football Club was founded in 1890, and shared their ground with the local rugby club for many years. Five years later they were renamed Yeovil Casuals and started playing home games at the Pen Mill Athletic Ground.
In 1907 the name Yeovil Town was adopted, which on amalgamation with Petters United became Yeovil and Petters United. The name reverted to Yeovil Town prior to the 1946–47 season.
 
The Somerset outfit have spent most of their existence in the lower leagues, though they briefly made a name for themselves in the 1948-49 season when they beat Sunderland 2-1 in the FA Cup fourth round.
In the 1980s, Yeovil were founder members of the Football Conference, where they remained for the next two decades, save for a few relegations to the Isthmian League which usually resulted in an instant return to the above tier.
Yeovil Town earned promotion to the Football League in the 2002-03 season, by winning the Football Conference by a record 17 points margin, accumulating 95 points and scoring 100 goals, remaining unbeaten at Huish Park.
 
In their second ever season in the Football League, the Glovers went one better by achieving promotion to the third tier as champions of League Two, and in the following years even reached the League One playoffs, beating Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals in 2006-07 before losing to Blackpool in the final at Wembley.
Six years later, however, Yeovil achieved what had been deemed unthinkable a decade earlier - they reached the second tier of English football after beating Brentford in the 2013 League One play-off final.
 
Their stay in the Championship was brief, however, and after being relegated at the end of the season, they've found themselves struggling back in the third tier, currently sitting at the foot of the table.
Yeovil is a pretty small town, home to just 40,000 people - two Meadow Lanes could comfortably take in the entire population!
In the 21st century, Yeovil became the first town in Britain to institute a system of biometric fingerprint scanning in nightclubs, and the first English council to ban the children's craze Heelys (those trainers with wheels that popped out from the heels).
---
Notts County defender Mustapha Dumbuya is back from international duty, but winger Zeli Ismail is out with a knee injury.
Fit-again striker Jake Cassidy is pushing for a start after making his first appearance in six weeks against Accrington Stanley in midweek.
Bottom club Yeovil will be looking to end their run of eight league games without a win.
Manager Gary Johnson will have to pick which loan player to leave out, as he currently has six in his squad.

About PON

Pride of Nottingham

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.

Useful Links

Support PON

Enjoy our content? Want to help us grow? Your donation will go a long way towards improving the site!

donate-pon.png

Meet the Team

Chris Chris Administrators
super_ram super_ram Global Moderators
DangerousSausage DangerousSausage Global Moderators
CliftonMagpie CliftonMagpie Global Moderators
TheSkipper TheSkipper Media

Social Media

Home
Dashboard
Sign In Register
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Pride of Nottingham uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. To approve, simply continue using the site or click 'I accept' Terms of Use.

  I accept