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Loyal to the Lane: The Chris Buckley Blog

Giving back to fans of Notts County

Each season I try to give back to the community. Obviously, last season proved difficult, but as I was prepared to sort through all the prints I have made since 2018 - which proved to be a terrible season to start, I thought that there might be fans out there who might appreciate being given one. Whilst some fans collect programmes, I have accumulated various player prints from past seasons, and as a whole I have learned about not overstocking them. Heading into the 2021/22 season, my
Chris

Chris in PON

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Loyal to the Lane: The Chris Buckley Blog

It's a start; Getting back to Meadow Lane

I have intended to keep this blog updated, although it has fallen wayward - much like a lot of things have. Personally, I can't blame COVID or the lockdown. As I made a promise to myself last time, I felt in this position that I would own my actions, and attempt to move past them. Returning to Meadow Lane has been overwhelming, both in a good and an awkward way. I haven't really enjoyed how busy it has seemed, bar the Tuesday night game against Wealdstone which felt more like I know. At the
Chris

Chris in Personal

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Loyal to the Lane: The Chris Buckley Blog

I can see clearly now (a positive blog, I think.....)

I’ve been trying to draft my thoughts for some time now, it’s not been coming so freely and, I have found that my depression/anxiety had taken a deep hold of me. I share these, not because I want sympathy but because I can reflect on things. I can also appreciate the support it sometimes gets too; this isn’t about attention but because it’s helpful to feel understood. The past 3 to 4 years, it’s been me trying to keep things a bit more locked up. With the lockdown effecting many m
Chris

Chris in Personal

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weymouthPIE's Blog

The forgotten Cup run

With no live footy to go and watch over the last few months I've ended up adding to my programme collection which has brought back memories.  This week I added a few from what should be remembered as one of our great cup runs given the sides we beat, yet in truth it's hardly remembered at all.  The 2006 league cup run for Notts was the first proper cup run I experienced as a fan. Its largely a forgotten run from a period of our history most people have tried to forget, but this was a s
weymouthPIE

weymouthPIE

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Sausage's mash

40 ways to improve football

Right you lot. Inspired by 11 Freunde magazine, I've thought up a few ways to improve football. Agree? Disagree? Let me know! And feel free to add some more suggestions in the comments. Spoiler: lots of things are going to be banned Ban VAR. For better or worse, let referees decide on things instead of spending half of our matchdays staring at a monitor. We spend enough of our lives looking at screens as it is. Let's have some common sense in offside decisions. N
DangerousSausage

DangerousSausage

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Sausage's mash

Dangerous sausages

I was recently asked what we eat at the football in Germany. The answer is: mainly sausages! If you go to a German football ground expecting a pre-match pie and peas, you'll be disappointed. Pies and sausage rolls are completely alien to Germany. Instead, the staple meal is the humble sausage. This can be a standard Bratwurst or a Feuerwurst ("fire sausage" - a spicy beef sausage) served in a bread roll - as demonstrated by Bayern Munich's Uli Hoeness below! This will set you back around €3
DangerousSausage

DangerousSausage

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Loyal to the Lane: The Chris Buckley Blog

Notts County's National League transformation & season thoughts

It’s a bit of a depressing time right now with the Coronavirus pandemic restricting day-to-day in so many ways, yet it’s essential that we protect each other and, stay connected in the digital world. The National League season seems to have gone by quite fast, for Notts there were some dips and natural moments where it seemed like stability would be the main thing to take from it; however, the club managed to persist moving forward. Before the suspension, I felt like the magpies’ form
Chris

Chris

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Sausage's mash

Germany's crazy weekend

This weekend the headlines have been dominated by the chants and banners aimed at Hoffenheim benefactor Dietmar Hopp, in developments that must seem a bit bizarre from over the Channel. I've seen a few articles in English papers already, but none seem to tell the full story. I'll try to give you the inside track. At the weekend, numerous matches in Germany were stopped while offensive banners aimed at TSG Hoffenheim's billionaire owner Dietmar Hopp were taken down. Most referred to him as a
DangerousSausage

DangerousSausage

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Piethagoram's angles

Piethagoram in conversation with Ricardo Moniz

Piethagoram in conversation with Ricardo Moniz… (Copyright of Piethagoram) Martin Johnson, a former cricket correspondent at The Independent once wrote about Ray Illingworth ..”from the non bull-**** school of plain speaking” which in  many ways reflects on how Ricardo Moniz talks about the beautiful game….that is football and not cricket! Continually, the phrase “Remember, I’m from the streets” resonates still from his press conferences at Notts. Ricardo looks fondly back to his time
Piethagoram

Piethagoram

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Loyal to the Lane: The Chris Buckley Blog

Personal Entry: January 15th, 2020.

This blog is personal, as a result, it's not your typical read on Notts County, and I thought that I should warn potential readers before. It's not designed to be or written to be appreciated, understood or to attract comments. It's more a personal approach to how the individual feels if any reads are struggling with depression, anxiety or illness - please do reach out. Support will be out there, so give yourself a little care. I keep meaning to try to find myself, but my head and
Chris

Chris

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Loyal to the Lane: The Chris Buckley Blog

Under the floodlights at Meadow Lane is the perfect way to start 2020 at home.

There was something special about watching the first home game of 2020 under the floodlights at Meadow Lane, and I’m impressed with how December went and more so due to the buzz which we as fans have created. Of course, credit where it is due. Neal Ardley and the squad have done amazingly well – especially after the 2nd set back to Jim O’Brien. Despite feeling like Jim would be a massive loss, I think Notts as a squad has coped well to setbacks like these. As I have mentioned, I m
Chris

Chris

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Loyal to the Lane: The Chris Buckley Blog

2020: Art will be one of my focuses within the New Year.

I've wanted to touch upon this subject for some time; however, I tend to put it off. It's not the most exciting subject, but at the same time having somewhere, I can express my inner thoughts did offer me some focus in the past. Towards the end of 2019, I tend to find my mind the most proactive of the year. While some openly mock people for wanting to improve their lives, whether it be for real or just for the sake of a quick social status - depression can be worse for those who suffer
Chris

Chris

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Piethagoram's angles

Klopp's Passion so missing at Notts

So here we are, National League bound.. Capitulation against Swindon still fresh in the memory. Ardley's experienced midfield, O'Brien, Doyle and Vaughan ran through with ease by Kaiyne River Woolery a former Notts loanee, how the tide has turned! Only once, can I recall a passing move under Kewell, where a string of decent passes led to an opportunity for Tootle who didn't get hold of his shot. We have just looked like a team of individuals, bereft of ideas or haven't been "coached" in the
Piethagoram

Piethagoram

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Loyal to the Lane: The Chris Buckley Blog

Too little, too late? Notts County's history and heritage will live on regardless

What a season the 2018/19 League Two campaign has been, never would have dreamt that Notts County would be on the verge of relegation from the Football League. It’s something I find very sad, certainly it’s not good to see the faces of worry in the crowd but you know what? This is football after all, once you brush off the hurt and come round. I think the majority will accept that having the club still in existence is the main thing. The community around the club is one I would c
Chris

Chris

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Piethagoram's angles

Central midfield "Lost in Space"

Shortcomings of a defence that cannot mark and strikers that cannot score, despite the 000's spent, the central midfield area is one which is being overlooked. @ARLukomski twitter posting is so relevant: Along with Milsom, we must have one of the most ineffective midfields in this division. Do I see any real quality, the answer has to be no. Milsom's 1st half v Swindon, showed what was possible but there is no real pace to cover the ground whilst in possession. Hewitt has lon
Piethagoram

Piethagoram

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Piethagoram's angles

Loans, players in hindsight Notts could have possibly signed

Glenn Roeder Jack Dunnett's £ for £ matching supporters donations never happened Colin Foster Outstanding centre half loan signing from West Ham. It's easy to say "class" and he fitted that description Tom Ince Easy to see how he has carved a career in the top 2 divisions Lloyd Sam Great close control established him as a favourite at the San Sirrel. Matt Richie One escapee from the Munto era. Had Notts had signed him, Raymundo could have had a saleab
Piethagoram

Piethagoram

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Piethagoram's angles

Recruitment, recruitment, recruitment

When Alan Hardy took over at Notts, and then welcomed questions on either the Official Notts Co twitter or Nottingham Posts questions and answers...I submitted questions on the quality of our recruitment process, citing Brentford and Accrington as the "optimum" to aspire to. Needless to say, on countless opportunities, my questions remained unanswered We are now faced with a bloated squad with key positions short of the quality needed ( goal scoring striker in Akinde mould), Central mi
Piethagoram

Piethagoram

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Piethagoram's angles

Kewell's Dutch philosophy

an interesting read from The Guardian on his influences https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/sep/07/harry-kewell-frank-rijkaard-notts-county Frank Rikjaard noted as being a main influence I may not have been a fan of Harry's initial appointment but was pleased to have someone to roll up the sleeves and work on the coaching, rather than Nolan's perceived man management at a distance. Mind you, Harry is at odds of my opinion of Brisley today...We cant agree on everything
Piethagoram

Piethagoram

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Piethagoram's angles

Nolan managing an "unbalanced" side..budget misspent? Part 2

It's fantasy land if Nolan thinks this squad is good enough? What is very apparent from the initial games, we have no height, no muscle, no guts to grind out results yet other teams are light years ahead of us. Relegation is a real possibility unless decent loan signings can be attracted, which may prove difficult in our position https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/kevin-nolan-finds-astounding-not-1425585 I refer back to this link as to where things started going wrong. If he
Piethagoram

Piethagoram

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Piethagoram's angles

Round peg, round holes, square pegs, square holes, Hewitt fits neither

https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/notts-county-boss-kevin-nolan-280965  https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/kevin-nolan-backs-notts-county-1214452   so why does Nolan play him there? Yes, injuries to Ox-Ch but it is no coincidence that the change in form coincided with the loss of Yates, so even in midfield, I have to say he is not good enough. I would like to see the stats for pass completion, which must be among the lowest in L2. He helped protect the
Piethagoram

Piethagoram

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Piethagoram's angles

Nolan managing an "unbalanced" side..budget misspent?

..or the chickens coming home to roost. The defence last season was so well protected by the likes of Hewitt, Yates and Hawkridge and since the departure of Yates, he was the key player that has not been replaced. Player identification is the key for success. Look at Accrington last season, 23rd in L2 in terms of revenues yet the budget was allocated so precisely and a balanced team won promotion By offering O'Connor allegedly 3 contract offers, we then panicked and signed Vaughan
Piethagoram

Piethagoram

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Loyal to the Lane: The Chris Buckley Blog

How the poor start for Notts during the 2018-19 season has affected me

Things are weighing up on my mind a lot, I’m still in some form of shellshock from yesterday and I am truly disappointed – I honestly struggle to see past my current mood because it’s all very deflating. I attended the game against Yeovil yesterday with my son @super_pie, @Magic magpie and @super_ram. Leading into the game I wouldn’t have gone if Mark dropped out, I just wasn’t looking forward to it but not because I felt Notts would lose. I actually felt positive about the game a
Chris

Chris

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Loyal to the Lane: The Chris Buckley Blog

Looking ahead to the 2018/19 season for Notts County

So, it’s the dawn of another new season for Notts and as the feeling has started to settle – I find myself really excited about the prospect of another good season for the club but also to pick up from last season. All the optimism I have right now is making me all the more eager to get the 2018-19 campaign underway. Last season, in reflection was a true rollercoaster, however despite what some may have considered negative then in comparison to previous seasons wasn’t all that bad and
Chris

Chris

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