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Alan Hardy deserves massive respect for the way he turned the club around and changed the atmosphere at Notts. He quite possibly saved our League status. But there's no denying that he comes across as a bit of a self-publicist. I think a club owner being so accessible will always be a magnet for people who want to give him abuse. Communicating directly and openly with the chairman like that makes them feel important. However, this can hardly be a surprise to him. He gives as good as he gets at times. He'll have seen the stick the Trews got himself. What is frustrating is that he's repeating Ray Trew's social media mistakes, telling us about players that will make us go wow. Dear oh dear. Firstly, if that player doesn't sign he'll get stick. If he does sign and doesn't live up to his billing he'll get stick, as those of us who remember Notts signing a "World Cup defender" (Michael Emenalo) will know. It'd be interesting to know what Kevin Nolan makes of all this. My gut feeling says we could do without the circus, but the manager might actually find it quite handy that the chairman deflects attention away from him.

I don't think it's about being a fan of his or not mate, he's the chairman of Notts County. I've quickly come to realise that everyone has an opinion, whilst some may naturally disagree and even dislike some of the things he does - I think to a certain point it's normal. I don't like seeing some of the abusive things, though I have noticed more from other clubs fans (Forest and Mansfield). Fans are always judging the club, though I just feel AH can't do much right at the moment despite trying. He comes across as a genuine person who wants to move the club forward. Personally I don't judge him, I'm not actually very judgemental and I take people as they come. I think much of the issues as of late is due to tension but you will never escape it in football.

jorge grant has re signed for us on loan. this is a big boost! brill news!!

It's clear that Notts need signings. Even before we played our first two friendlies, against Rolls-Royce and Basford, it was very clear. In terms of transfer activity, our three signings so far puts us 20th in League Two in terms of how many players we've brought in. At the current moment in time we can only just about fill a matchday squad. Improvements and a bit of squad depth is definitely needed. Every position, apart from left-back, needs either a new signing who is going to come into the starting XI or a new signing which will add depth. Firstly let's start in goal. Adam Collin showed last season he can be prone to making more than one mistake in a game and many fans have wanted him replaced. Although he has his faults, it's hard to see Kevin Nolan dropping him from the first team. Joe Searson-Smithard is Notts through and through but at the moment I don't think he's ready for the first team, though it would be nice to see him become our No.1 in the near future. A few goalkeepers have been on trial for the two friendlies as expected in pre season with Connor Brennan, Joe Cracknell and Ross Fitzsimons joining the team. Any of these three would be nice just as back-up. Right-back was a bit of the problem until the other day when me and my brother realised Jordan Richards could be back-up to Matt Tootle. In my opinion, we should have kept Luther Wildin as back-up, so we didn't have to spend in that area. As we know Tootle picked up a few injuries last season but under the management of Kevin Nolan he has been solid. But if injuries start piling up, we need someone to fill the spot. Well well well. The wonderful world of centre-backs. Everyone has split opinions on Richard Duffy and Haydn Hollis. If you watched my vlogs last season, you'll know I was very critical of Duffy during the awful run between November and early January. But under Nolan, he was transformed and had a solid partnership with Hollis and on occasions, Thierry Audel to see us comfortably to safety. Hollis has divided opinion ever since the Great Escape in 2014. Well, here he is, still with us after signing another new contract. This year he has to prove his future lies here. We have the manager, the owner, the facitlies and now is his time to prove the haters wrong and prove that he belongs in the Notts first team. But sadly we're not all rosy in this part of the pitch. In my opinion a Duffy-Hollis partnership will not take us up. And at the minute they are our only two centrebacks at the club. Mike Edwards is back-up. He's our fitness coach. Edwards cannot be playing again next season if we want to win promotion. He's a nice guy but he shouldn't have to be called upon on the pitch. So one or two required in this area. Pierce Bird from Dunkirk (who I think we should sign) has been on trial and youth team player Peter Dearle has played in friendlies. At the start of the window, Notts approached Lincoln City captain Luke Waterfall but he rejected our terms and offered to sign a contract extension at Sincil Bank. A move for a defender recently collapsed so we are back to square one. I would like to sign ex-Wycombe defender Aaron Pierre but after recently having a trial at Bristol City but not being offered a contract it's probable that he might end up in League One. Kevin Toner on loan from Aston Villa wouldn't be a bad transfer as he spent time on loan at a Bradford City side that reached the play-off final last season. James Wilson didn't start regurlarly for Sheffield United last season so he could be worth a look as well. This would make sense as the Blades recently bought Richard Stearman in from Wolves. Another centre-back I'd like is Dominic Ball from Rotherham whether on loan or permanent. He is also a player I said we should have got on loan in January. Tom Anderson on loan from Burnley would be another decent signing as he has had previous experience of lower league after two loan spells at Chesterfield and one at Carlisle. Moving onto the wing and yes, whilst we have signed Lewis Alessandra and Terry Hawkridge, we are still a little short. And if injuries happen we need players to replace them. I would like to see Sam Osborne get more games this season but whether he's ready or not remains to be seen. Milan Lalkovic on loan from Portsmouth would not be a bad shout as he hasn't played regularly for last season's League Two champions. He scored 7 goals from the wing in a Walsall team that reached the play offs in League One in 2016. That was enough for Pompey to pay compensation for his services last summer. A winger from the Premier League or Championship on loan wouldn't go amiss, and as shown previously they can be a big threat at League Two level. Luke Gambin or Lawson D'Ath from Luton would be good signings for this level as well. Both signed in January and so far D'Ath has struggled to break into the Hatters first team. Moving swiftly into centre midfield and the saga that Notts have only just seen the back of. Notts made four bids for Liam Noble and none were successful. The saga has consumed the Magpies' transfer window up until now and no matter how much Notts tried, Forest Green weren't going to budge. At the start, it was clear £100k was going to be enough, but only a few weeks and four bids later, FGR manager Mark Cooper told BBC Radio Gloucester that the former Notts midfielder was not for sale. Since we wanted him, I said I didn't want him back because of his previous disciplinary record, he's not worth £100k and there are better out there. One player who is better and one that we should of got was Louis Reed, on loan from Sheffield United but recently signed for Chesterfield. Jermaine Anderson of Peterborough is another player I would aim for on loan but has injury problems in the last year or two. I would like to sign Connor Dimaio but I can't see him leaving Chesterfield. Other players we could look at in this area are Ryan Yates (Forest), Jordon Houghton (Doncaster), Giorgio Rasulo (MK Dons) and Ben Whitfield (Bournemouth). Strikers are needed. I've constantly said on Twitter that strikers are a must. Stead and Ameobi are 34 and 35 respectively and whilst Stead scored 14 last season we need someone else and someone with pace. Notts had were linked with Matt Godden but that soon fizzled out. Football League World have said that we should get Toni Martinez on loan from West Ham. The Spaniard has already had one loan spell previously and that was at Oxford United last season. With a few West Ham fans wanting him to be given a chance, this would a fantastic signing for League Two level. Another Premier League player we should be interested in taking on loan is Callum Roberts from Newcastle. He has done really well in the youth team at Newcastle and had a short spell in the England Under 20 team. Moving away from loanees and into permanent transfers. Oliver Hawkins is a player we really need to look at, he scored 18 goals in the National League last season for Dagenham and Redbridge. Portsmouth have already declared their interest but do not want to pay the money. Dagenham have said they want £250k for Hawkins but this price seems a bit much. Another striker who scored 18 in the National League last season is Danny Johnson from Gateshead. A delve into non-league for strikers would not be a bad decision at all. Thank you to ARLukomski for the article. Please check out his YouTube channel by clicking here. Share your thoughts about this news story on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. We at Pride of Nottingham want you to enjoy all our content for free. If you fancy helping us provide even better content, however, please consider contributing to PON by clicking here!

Hi all, As you will no doubt have seen, things have changed recently around the Pride of Nottingham website. Although in appearance the difference is quite subtle, the site has actually had a fairly big upgrade. This means that over the next few days, maybe even weeks, there might be the odd issue with regards to how the site operates. Whilst I oversee the changes and ensure that the site continues to run at a satisfactory level, I would like to ask members and visitors to be please be patient and to help by reporting things directly to me. I advise all members who use their mobiles or tablets to browse PON, that Tapatalk is awaiting release for the upgrade and that no timescale by them has been given. Please use your mobile browser to use the site in the meantime. I think you will find that it’s actually a very good alternative, but if you have any concerns or problems – please bring them to my attention. Regards, Chris

In Germany, the Chinese under-20 team has applied to "join" a domestic league, the fourth-level Regionalliga Südwest, with which I sadly very well acquainted. It's turned into a bit of a hot topic. The background is that, due to the DFB's inability to set up a proper pyramid structure, the league will have 19 teams next season, meaning that one team will not play on any given matchday. Enter China, whose under-20 team is spending the entire year at a training camp in Heidelberg. They want to "enter" the league as the 20th team. They won't be in the table and no points will be awarded for matches involving them. They're offering €15,000 per club to take part and the league has accepted. Only Waldhof Mannheim has publicly refused to play the Chinese, although clubs from other regions have dismissed the plans as a "circus". Aside from the implicit insult to the fourth division, it's also questionable that the German FA has signalled its willingness to help out a propaganda instrument for a totalitarian regime if the price is right. It's depressing and I'm glad my team wants no part in this. And I can't help wondering if the Football League Trophy will be getting an exotic new entrant in the next yerar or two...

Believe me you won't get everyone to agree on the same thing, but respecting each persons opinion is possible. It's all down to the individual, as these days you will find people who are just plain outright ignorant and because of this will believe themselves to be correct. Therefore anyone else who disagrees is somehow inferior and unimportant. I think a lot of the negativity stems from how his Twitter account comes across. I was very disappointed to see two tweets by him yesterday, no matter what - you don't resort to childish behaviour due to disagreeing with someone. If threats had been made (which they hadn't) the best thing to do was to leave things be and move on. Yet it's almost like Alan wants us to accept everything unconditionally, no matter what and this isn't good at all. I mean every fan is entitled to express their views, yet some people aren't able to do this it seems. Not everything you disagree with in life is negative. People have a way of seeing things different, which personally I find helpful because it ensures under review that any decision/thought/ or concern is properly thoughtful.

After putting two very disappointing League Two campaigns behind us, Pride of Nottingham delves into why we feel the 2017-2018 season will finally see Notts County move forward and secure the stability which will allow the club to be a strong contender for promotion in future seasons. 1) Revamping training facilities and securing a new location The agreement to use Basford United’s facilities is a major coup for the club, the training pitches are some of the best I have seen in the lower leagues – much better than Arnold Town’s and central to Nottingham which ensures fairly straightforward travel for the players. Meanwhile, the recent overhaul of the Family Stand by Alan Hardy highlights the club's desire to move forward and to attract players in alternative ways. 2) The re-capture of Jon Stead and Shola Ameobi Whilst the majority of fans are all inclined to agree that we won’t see the duo partner up in many games back-to-back, we will however be able to rotate and with the potential of throwing Jonathan Forte into the mix – it provides the Magpies’ two very hard working strikers, something the club simply hasn’t had in recent years. They may be ‘experienced’ and what some refer as ‘the wrong side of 30’ – yet we know what we will get from them. 3) Signing players on a transfer fee Acquiring players on a free, even building a complete team around them, can be quite rewarding. In the lower two divisions it’s actually much harder and I have mentioned for a number of years how much beneficial it is to sign a player for a fee. I don’t mean just one and of course they must be the right players. Yet assembling a mixed squad will allow us to establish the right tools to be successful on the pitch. 4) Academy focus and emphasis on producing good talent Although nothing new to Notts County, the previous emphasis sort of rushed youngsters to making the step up and often seen players like Tyrell Waite, Fabian Spiess and Montel Gibson lost within the first team shuffle. With a new focus on mentoring and offering support, this will allow the club to help the youngster transition properly into first team football – whilst the changes discussed by Academy manager Jon Goodman highlights the renewed desire to produce talent which is ready to make the jump before it happens or is called upon. 5) Local derbies The likes of Chesterfield, Mansfield Town and Lincoln City give an extra edge to the upcoming season, we haven’t done well in recent years in these games but I strongly feel that the 2017/2018 season will see these games give us an extra aspect to push ourselves forward. League Two will see quite a few more reasonable games which will lift match days both home and away. 6) Forging stronger networking opportunities (even with our neighbours) We have to show an openness towards working with any club fortunate enough to be in a better position than ourselves. Notts have had a very good report with dealing with other clubs prospects and ensuring a safe transition for them into first team football. Tom Ince, Alan Judge, Jack Grealish and Callum McGregor are a few of the talents we have given an opportunity to. So on the back of Jorge Grant and others, it’s vastly important that we keep an open door to all the clubs in the Premier League and Championship – in order to network better and to acquire the right players on loan (not just those the clubs open to loaning out). 7) Open communication from the board and chairman Naturally there will be aspects from open communication, especially on a social network such as Twitter which will leave desirable questions and see responses which, let’s face it, might not be accepted. Yet Alan Hardy has stressed his openness to engaging with supporters, whilst he shares many positives tweets from his day-to-day running of Notts County. We have seen the stonewall silence treatment, lack of news and an unhealthy relationship towards local media – so let’s be grateful to see the club return to caring about its fans and promoting the club in a healthy way. It may result in bigger rewards in the long term! 8) Kevin Nolan – A young hungry manager who seeks success not just for himself We have had the label ‘young and hungry’ describe managers such as Jamie Fullarton and even Shaun Derry. But there’s something quite obvious from the way Kevin Nolan conducts himself, he is a person I have no doubt attracts the right type of respect. As a player on the pitch he strived for better and oozed professionalism well beyond expectations, and adding his success on the field, these are all transferable qualities into management and for once I feel we have the right balance at the helm of Notts to see success. 9) Ensuring the good atmosphere in the stands continues and never letting it degenerate to 2014-16 levels A lack of communication by any business is an obvious wrong way about going about things, whilst Alan Hardy might have made some unpopular decisions and gone against the majority of fans opinions at times – there is no doubt that the decisions weigh on his belief for the best of the club. Whilst ensuring a better match day experience, among other things that will no doubt make the stands a better place for us fans. 10) Players that want to play and work hard for the club They say you often get what you pay for in football, as a club Notts have had some very good professionals from Alan Judge, Neal Bishop to Bartosz Bialkowski. Yet in the most recent seasons, we have seen players who haven’t quite shown the passion we expect to see as fans and one thing Kevin Nolan aims to address is ensuring players at the club want to be here. I feel this will be one of the bare minimum expectations from the club as we move forward. Share your thoughts about this feature on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans.

The way AH presents himself on twitter is always going to draw a certain amount of criticism. I don't agree with quite a lot of what he says, but on the other hand I do agree with some of what he says. Someone that expresses their opinions so freely is always going to divide opinion. I don't agree with 90% of what someone who lives with me says, and she's my wife!!

When it comes to club football, and particularly in the lower leagues with each team's 50+ games per season, fans have a constant, near-dizzying supply of football to keep them busy for most of the year. And then, for about six weeks, nothing. No more games and very little news in drips and drabs, like the retained list coming out, new players coming in and ones already on the books penning new deals or saying "ciao adios I'm done". But now we're heading towards the end of June, the crucial things that will provide infrastructure for the following season begin to take shape. First we had the fixture list coming out (difficult start, so best hit the ground running), and now, the new kits are out. Now I quite liked the 2016/17 kits. The home shirt was classic Notts, with neat stripes just the right size, and I thought the away kit was a nice, strong, bold colour (hot pink, not red!). But I was really excited about the new kits. After all, Puma is a "proper" brand with a history of gorgeous kits, and with the Newcastle United kit revealed in May, which I found sleek and neat, I was banking on something similar. Fast forward to 27 June, and there I was looking forward to Wednesday morning, only to find out the kits would be revealed in the evening! I couldn't wait. And then, the kits came out. The initial surprise of seeing the kits then gave way to a feeling of "erm, well yeah, they're alright... I guess...", much like receiving a lousy Christmas present and having to pretend it's good because, hey, it's the thought that counts - or in this case, it's the brand new Notts kit, and it's Puma! But now I've had a bit of time to process it, I've made my mind up - on the whole, factoring in the sum of their parts, they're crap. Sure, they might eventually grow on me - and I've changed my opinion on many things in the past over time (there was a time I disliked Oasis... I was young and stupid). And if Notts end up winning promotion in one of those kits, then they'll become vintage. But at this moment in time, I can safely say that, out of all the tops, there is one I like, one I don't like much, and the rest I don't like at all. Let's start with the home shirt. Now, there isn't much you can do with vertical black and white stripes, that much is true. And there have been some designs over the years that have been nothing short of atrocious. In 2011/12 the designers began marking out the black stripes but then there must have been a fire drill or something and forgot to colour them in, and in 2013-14 they must have watched that Big Bang Theory episode where Sheldon goes to a fancy dress party dressed as the Doppler Effect and thought it would be a good idea to replicate it. So yeah, in terms of badness, 2017/18 is nowhere on that level, but still, simplicity is key, and the shirts from the last two seasons had 11 and 7 stripes on the front (not including sleeves) of equal size, so they looked neat and pleasant. The current model has one chunky white stripe down the middle and flanked by two chunky black stripes, the three of which take up most of the room on the front. It's like it doesn't know if it wants to be stripes, or something closer to "blocks" (think Ajax shirt). And then there's the fact that it somewhat resembles the 2014/15 shirt due to the big stripes - the one from the season when we got relegated from League One. So doesn't exactly conjure up great memories. But then we move on to the away shirt. And this is the second time in three seasons (third in seven, in fact) that a blue Notts top which could have looked very nice has instead been ruined with a ridiculous pattern. In 2011/12, Notts were invited to play Juventus at their new stadium - and that godawful blue two-tone number they wore will forever adorn the memory until the end of time. And in 2015/16, the third kit just looked like a bus seat cover. This year, the away kit makes use of azure and sapphire blue, which are nice shades in their own right, but then decides to combine them in some ghastly triangular pattern that resembles the old "bruised banana" Arsenal kit of the 1990s. Now we move to the third kit, which is a dirty "neon" yellow. If you're going to use a colour which is supposed to be bright and fluorescent, toning it down to a pastelly hue just doesn't look right. Kind of like an old highlighter which has pen smudged on it, so when you look at it, there's a sort of gray tinge there. So that's just the shade of yellow, but in reality, the whole thing just looks totally insipid and uninspiring - you know when you go into Sports Direct and they have those bland kits which you can bulk buy for your five-a-side team? To me, the Notts third kit is basically that. Next, the goalkeeper kits. Normally designers have a field day when it comes to these, adorning them will all sorts of weird and wonderful colours and patterns. Not these ones. The first one, completely black, but with a random stripe of blue, pink and yellow on the sleeves, which just looks like someone left a couple of fabric strips on the prototype by mistake and someone came along and thought "oh, this must be it" and had it produced. And then a bright pink Puma logo, another spit of vivid colour in a failed bid to brighten up a bland top. And then, the other two kits - a supposedly fluorescent yellow which is even duller than the third kit, to the point it just looks like snot, plus black stripes in another attempt to liven it up, and a mint green one which isn't really that much different to the mucussy yellow one. Which leaves the training kit - and you know what? This is probably the best one of the lot. Frankly, this is what the away kit should have been - a nice shade of blue which isn't ruined by some overkill pattern, with a black panel at the top which has a diagonal blue stripe running to the neck. This one looks lovely - and you know what? It's the only kit in which the players are properly smiling! So there you have it. That was my review of this season's kits. A little harsh, perhaps, but I'm just one guy with a humble opinion. Chances are by the end of the year I'll have bought one of each and will wear them on rotation, but for now, I'm not impressed. Share your thoughts about this feature article on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans.

Hey all, As we approach the 2017/18 season, we are preparing to provide the most comprehensive and high quality coverage possible for Notts. We want to take Pride of Nottingham to the next level, and as always, we want to keep our content free for all fans to enjoy as they please. Ahead of the new campaign, we have launched the Pride of Nottingham Donation Drive, to help us with increasing costs of upkeep and to enable us to deliver even more regular and more high-quality content. We are delighted with the initial response so far, but if you are in a position where you enjoy what we have been doing and feel like helping us out with a donation - if you want, of course - you'll enable us to reach our goals much quicker. To donate, just click on this link - it can be done via PayPal. Thank you for your support guys. JJ & Chris

I think the loan means we can look elsewhere to strengthen, Jorge Grant can cover multiple positions and we know he's got goals in him. The signing is very positive, yet after the surprise news yesterday - I expected it. I joked to @Ryan Tokelove after he asked me what the surprise was, despite having some inkling I played it down. So, yeah... It's great to have him back. I said all along he wasn't going to break into Forest's team and I believe they was merely trying to hold onto him (not sell him as people would have us believe). Hope he picks up from where he left off.

Notts County have announced the return of Nottingham Forest midfielder Jorge Grant to Meadow Lane on a season-long loan. The 22-year-old joined the Magpies on loan from across the Trent in January last year, with Kevin Nolan's side struggling near League Two's bottom two. Grant made 17 appearances and scored six goals to give Notts a huge shot in the arm and ended up surviving in the Football League with several games to spare. As a reward, he was offered a new three-year contract at the City Ground, which he signed, but it was confirmed today that he will be playing in black and white once again for the duration of the 2017/18 campaign. Nolan told the official Notts website: "I'm absolutely delighted to get Jorge back and I'm really looking forward to spending another season with him. He got into the fans' hearts and he's a great kid to have around the club. "He was adamant he wanted to come back here, which is what we want, and it just proves what we're doing here is right. If we can sign the likes of Jorge's calibre and character, we can keep moving this club forward. "He's biting at the bit to get out there and strut his stuff again." Share your thoughts about this news story on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. We at Pride of Nottingham want you to enjoy all our content for free. If you fancy helping us provide even better content, however, please consider contributing to PON by clicking here!

A bit more optimistic if anything. They looked what they are, a team a couple of levels above us but I was pleasantly surprised by the number of chances we created with a weakened team. The team for the last 20 minutes in fact consisted of one first teamer (Milsom), 2 fringe players (Forte & Dickinson) with the other 8 made up of triallists, coaching staff and youth players. Of the new boys, Jones looks a better option at left back than Dicko, and Hawkridge has impressed me more than Alessandra so far. Alessandra has struggled to get involved a bit, though I don't think he's been played in his best position. Can't say any of the triallists really caught the eye. The loan of Grant should fill the creative midfield slot, but we still need a few more players in to fill the other gaps.

I won't be happy with the squad until I see an improvement at centre half as they are just not good enough and we don't have enough goals in squad to counteract it. Definitely need an attacking midfielder, centre forward and at least one (preferably 2) centre half.

Lets get a proper midfielder, who can play in most of the games. Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

that one of Wycombes looks like someone puked up on it. Much prefer our ones. But then i am biased.

Interesting list, but I'm afraid only number 8 gives me any real cause for optimism - "Kevin Nolan – A young hungry manager who seeks success not just for himself". We were at rock bottom when he took charge, but he managed to get an apparent bunch of wasters to resemble a football team. He's set himself pretty high standards, and the squad doesn't seem to be any stronger than last season, but if he can get them all to perform to their best we could have a decent season.

Safe standing is the future @Who r ya?? You Pies!! - it's flat metal seats with high rails. It can locked in the vertical position for standing (see pic). And we'd have the option to use it as seating once we're in the Champions League It's not really like old-style terracing but it's a sensible compromise and a damn sight safer than standing in seated areas where the seats are at shin height. It wouldn't be possible to convert the Kop to traditional terracing as it's too steep, but safe standing like in the pic would be no problem - because of the rails you can have very steep safe standing sections. I'd like to see it at Notts but I'm not sure whether we will. With the ground two-thirds empty most weeks, it wouldn't seem to make financial sense to spend a six-figure sum coverting an area and then to offer lower ticket prices there. After an online search I found that installing safe standing generally costs 80 pounds per seat, compared to 30-50 for plastic seats. If we say that the lower section of the Kop holds 2000 (this is a guess), that means it would cost about 160k or one-and-a-half Liam Nobles. But I'd still love to see it. I'd definitely use it. The safe standing areas we currently have in the UK are small. Celtic's holds around 2,500 and Shrewsbury are planning for 400 initially. Celtic only let in one person per seat (1.5-2 fans per seat is the norm on the continent), so their section looks a bit sparse when compared to Dortmund. But it's a start.

Most players are released during this weekend so I am expecting more movement after that. Supposedly according to Alan Hardy we have a medical at 9am tomorrow, which means someone may sign later that day. I'm not concerned, though I am eager to see more quality added to the ranks and the priority right now is the defence and midfield. We need some grit and bulk at the back, someone who isn't a pushover and can defend/mark. In midfield we could do with some creativity, plus I think we could do with a good DM. Kevin Nolan has plenty of time to make the improvements, we don't need to rush like Mansfield.

Twitter is fine for individual opinions but IMO should not be used by people in positions of power in an organisation as it can't be disentangled from the views of the organisation itself. The sooner AH is off twitter, the better for NCFC.

You do not want the owner of any football discussing active transfers on social media or anywhere for that matter. Revealing who we are tracking always seems to be risky, but it shows openness. I think the way the Trews ran Notts previously has lead people to wanting more, the seasons that they hyped up every year and now its sort of expected. At the end of the day a club like Notts needs to make progress before big players will sign and I really do not mind Alan Hardy. If you think he is twisting the truth slightly, take it with a pinch of salt. At least he is showing openness and making effort, you can't discredit that.

He takes everything personal. I have had a few exchanges with him and I had a lot of negative reactions after he retweeted what I wrote. My tweets was not a stab at him, just expressing my opinion but the good he does is outweighed by how daft he acts at times.

All the Notts County players that were offered contracts have re-signed, which speaks volumes for the atmosphere that people like Alan Hardy and Kevin Nolan have created around the club. Some people may dismiss players such as Curtis Thompson and Haydn Hollis signing the contracts offered to them, but as Adam Campbell signing for Morecambe has shown, players that were on the fringe of our squad are capable of signing for our League Two rivals. The tying down of Jon Stead and Shola Ameobi perfectly demonstrates the attraction of Notts as a club, of the atmosphere and aspirations that the aforementioned people have demonstrated. Stead had numerous offers, by his own admission, from throughout the world including the United States. Some may snort at the American leagues, but the offer of a ‘last payday’ as so many modern footballers find all too alluring (see the Chinese Super League) is quite real. The fact that a combination of the competitiveness of the Football League, the feel-good factor created by Nolan and the aspirations of Hardy has convinced Stead to sign a new contract with the club is outstanding. He is not alone. Ameobi - who without a doubt has received interest from other clubs in and around (or even above) us following some fine performances in a Notts shirt - has also re-signed. No doubt ex-colleague Nolan had an influence, but I don’t think it was the only pull factor. I also echo some fans’ opinions that a young, pacy striker to learn from Shola and Stead would fit perfectly, but let us not underestimate the threat these two veterans pose to opposition defences. We saw it last season, we will see it again next season. We all want to see new signings, we all have an F5 button that is showing the signs of a bit of wear and tear. We have already signed two wingers, who may not receive the ‘trial by Wikipedia’ nod of approval, but we have to trust Nolan’s judgement, January 2017 didn’t prove so bad. There has been many a season where Notts have offered contracts to existing squad players who have chosen to move, for one reason or another. We should be confident that the players who we have offered contracts have all signed, they all want to be here, and the reasons why they want to be here should be reassuring for all Notts fans. Share your thoughts about this feature article on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans.

I've not been impressed with Notts County's near-desperate pursuit of both Jorge Grant (him signing a new contract at Forest and Alan Hardy publicly declaring Notts will be there to take him back should he become available on loan again) and now this reported third bid (which at £100k is frankly ludicrous for L2/non-league level) for an ex-player who has previous baggage at Meadow Lane? Notts are coming across as a geezer who's feeling lonely, he's not having much luck with the ladies at present and so is resorting to calling his exes in hope one will take him back. Just let it go and look elsewhere mate!

Trialist Liam Walker, a Gibraltar international is being linked with a move to Notts but who is he? He's a 29 year old centre midfielder, who can list Portsmouth(when in league 1), Lincoln Red Imps, Europa Fc among his ex clubs. He's a similar player to Jorge Grant who he will likely provide competion for. A look at his Lincoln Red Imps career shows 43 games 23 goals and at Europa FC 26 games 15 goals. What's he done at Notts over the last two games? The quality of Forest stopped us from seeing how he was against them. Against Wigan he played some good football (as did Notts on the whole) tried to get some shots away, they was blocked alot of the time.

So, tonight Notts play their first real opposition in a friendly against Nottingham Forest at Meadow Lane. The club has announced that there will be minute's applause before the game in honour of our former Chairman Derek Pavis. Despite only being a friendly, I welcome this additional news because I think despite the score being irrelevant - it will add a little more appreciation to the friendly. What do you think the score will be? General thoughts? Discuss below folks...

Jorge Grant has revealed that he turned down offers from the Scottish Premiership and from League One to link up again with Notts County. The 22-year-old was a revelation at Meadow Lane last season after joining on loan from Nottingham Forest, quickly becoming a fan favourite and helping the Magpies survive relegation. He told the official Notts website: "I'm absolutely buzzing. As soon as I knew I was going out on loan, the only place I was going to go was here. "I had a few offers from the SPL and League One, but this is the place I want to play football. "The club is on the up and I really loved the three or four months I was here. "The manager gives you an amazing amount of confidence. He was really good with me, giving me little pointers which helped me a lot last season." Share your thoughts about this news story on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. We at Pride of Nottingham want you to enjoy all our content for free. If you fancy helping us provide even better content, however, please consider contributing to PON by clicking here!

The first home game for Notts County of the 2017/18 programme was a pre-season friendly against city rivals and cross-river neighbours Nottingham Forest. As all Trentside derbies go, it was a lively, hotly contested occasion, both on the pitch and in the stands among the two sets of supporters. Ultimately the Championship (just about) side got the win, with Ben Brereton and Apostolios Velios grabbing the goals in the second half for Mark Warburton's Reds. Despite the result not being ideal for the Black and White Army, the performance will have given Kevin Nolan plenty of food for thought as he prepares his charges for the upcoming campaign. Pride of Nottingham was at Meadow Lane to watch the game and to take photos of fans in the stands and elsewhere in the ground. Did you spot our photographer? Want to see if you've made it in our album? In that case, check out this game's Faces of PON! Share your thoughts about this Faces of PON edition on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. We at Pride of Nottingham want you to enjoy all our content for free. If you fancy helping us provide even better content, however, please consider contributing to PON by clicking here!

Its a good signing no doubt. Why Forest allowed it create so many headlines is beyond me, but he is here now and that is all what matters. He will add that extra quality in midfield that we lacked last night but I still hope we sign 3 permanent players.

70's/80's for me. I love the Motown years aswel, I've grown up on Motown, Queen, U2, Madness,The Beach Boys, The Jam, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Simply Red, The Police, ELO and quite a few more. It's what my dad listened to and I've seen most of them live

I was at the Notts v Bradford cup game a few seasons ago and about 1000 Bradford fans definitely outsung Notts that day, they'd have a good go at Forest too though - that's some fiercely loyal fans they have there at Bradford. I think most Forest fans see Notts as the goofy under achieving older brother more than rivals - the real rivals are Derby obviously. Probably be nearer 10,000 Forest fans with many pretending to be County fans for the day and eager to catch a glimpse of the new players for the first time. Should be a good tight game, I'm not expecting a walkover anyway

All the support does greatly help, and the donations are a testament to the support. I personally don't like asking, I've always gone on record that it feels like begging but sometimes you have to ask. There's been a great response, so I can't thank those who have donated already enough and would certainly encourage anyone who reads this to please consider. We have opt out of giving benefits, as the majority simply don't want anything and value PON as it stands. Yet I am going to raffle some custom prints that will be donated to those that do, as a small token of our gratitude. This upcoming season is going to be an hell of a campaign for us, we've suffered mostly turmoil but I believe as fans we can make the different this term. Thanks for your support.

Anybody aiming to attend any of the pre-season games? I know its pretty much standard and a way for Notts to gain fitness/trial players - all whilst experimenting with the team but it is good fun. I'm hoping to attend a few of the smaller games, along with the two main home friendlies.

I'm glad it's over, I've actually found the whole incident to be very annoying. Here's what I believe happened... *Liam Noble signs a deal with FGR after leaving Notts. (Being told he wasn't wanted in the manner he was by Mark Cooper and the season he had, I wonder why he'd want to come back after enjoy a successful season with FGR) *Liam helps FGR to promotion but is earning less than he desires or feels is fair. *Notts express their interest *FGR don't want to lose an important first team player, yet feel LN wants to make a move now he's back in the FL *Liam Noble doesn't show his card, yet uses social media to play dumb *FGR rejects the first offer, labelling its not good enough to discourage interest *Notts put a second offer in but FGR say they want 100k in the hopes to discourage interest again *Notts put in the 100k, FGR says they want it all upfront (again to discourage the interest) *Notts puts in the 100k upfront and FGR start complaining *Liam Noble extends his stay with FGR until 2020 and in the process gets a pay raise. -- Alternatively, the 100k could be false and that we don't have the money suggested by fans on social media. I just feel Liam Noble is trying to act squeaky clean, and I believe he isn't remotely blame free in all off this. I think it's highly likely he did want better wages and told Notts he would be interested in agreeing terms based on this fact. I'm just glad it's all over now, I rate him as a payer but 100k is insane for someone who only spent a season in the Non-League and might show his hot head again.

Notts County have not long ago released pictures of the new home and away shirts for the 2017/18 season. Thoughts?

It's been a long two months since the end of the 2016/17 season, hasn't it? But fear not, because Notts County are in action again as of this weekend! The Magpies' pre-season preparations are fully underway and the players will take to the pitch for the first time in 2017/18 when they take on Linby Colliery Welfare at Rolls Royce Leisure tomorrow. Then there will be a pre-season friendly every following Saturday, after which the season gets underway on the first weekend - oh, plus the small matter of a fixture against a local team by the name of Nottingham Forest on Wednesday 19th July. Here is a factfile about each of the teams that Notts will face over the coming weeks. Rolls Royce Select XI (A): Saturday 8 July, 3pm This fixture is usually the first pre-season game of Notts County's season, given the partnership between the Magpies, the Rolls Royce Leisure Centre in Hucknall, and North Nottinghamshire College. The programme, also knows as the Notts County Pathway Academy, sees students study towards a BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Sport and offers the chance to combine professional level football training with academic studies. Basford United (A): Saturday 8 15 July (3pm) Basford United play their football at Greenwich Avenue in Basford, a suburb of Nottingham, and currently ply their trade in the Northern Premier League - Division One South, where they finished 6th in the 22-man league last season to qualify for the promotion playoffs but lost to Coalville Town in the semi-finals. There are quite a few names at Basford that you might recognise - manager Martin Carruthers was born in Nottingham and played up front for the likes of Aston Villa, Stoke City, Peterborogh United, Southend United and Scunthorpe United. Former Notts players Saul Deeney and Kyle Dixon, plus ex-Forest man Eugen Bopp, are also on their books. Nottingham Forest (H): Wednesday 19 July (7:45pm) Never heard of them. Wigan Athletic (H): Saturday 22 July (3pm) One of the success football stories of the 21st century (except for the last couple years, mind), Wigan were only elected to the Football League in 1978. They were little more than a footnote in the English game until 1995, when JJB Sports owner Dave Whelan purchased the club, but within 10 years they were in the Premier League. The Latics enjoyed a total of eight seasons at the top table, but the greatest moment in their history ended up being rather bittersweet, as they won the FA Cup in 2013 but were relegated from the top flight in the same season. The last few years have been tumultous for the club, as they now find themselves in League One just a year after winning promotion back to the second tier from the third. Since 2013, Wigan have either been relegated or finished the season in the promotion places (automatic or playoff). York City (A): Saturday 29 July (3pm) The Minstermen have endured a rollercoaster few years, reaching the League Two playoffs in 2014 and winning two FA Trophies, in 2012 and 2017, but now play in the National League North after two successive relegations in 2016 (from the Football League) and the season just gone. York play at Bootham Crescent, a stadium near the city centre and just over a mile from the city's railway station which they share with rugby league club York City Knights. It was formerly known as KitKat Crescent for sponsorship reasons - why they didn't call it Yorkie Crescent is one of the great mysteries of life. Share your thoughts about this feature article on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans.

Those Wycombe shirts are horrific. And the ice cream sponsor just tops it all off.

We seem to make signings on Fridays....will tomorrow be Good Friday?????

@Elite_pie Agree with Elite's sense of clarity. I am also concerned that the release of Jordan Richards indicates we may not have the financial resources to match youth talent for the time gap between graduating from the Youth Team to being League 2 ready. Point 2 : Need to be careful of the lessons of Jason Lee. That is to say, a player does well, earns a new contract but aged legs catch up soon into the new season. Point 3 : I am worried that the continued pursuit of Noble does suggest we have no plan B. It does seriously question our recruitment resources / advice? I for one, stood up at the time, to question the sanity of paying money for McLeod.

The training facilities will fall hand in hand with players wanting to be here, if they are of Championship quality and we continue to improve in other departments it should help in future years. I would also agree with Liam regarding quick fixes. Ray Trew did make money available to sign players but the ones he put his own opinion behind tended to be the wrong type we needed. Izale McLeod being one! You have to ensure that the decisions made will be mostly correct and so far the club has done well under Alan Hardy.

11. Good Stewards ( one is exceptional) Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

Kevin Nolan has confirmed that Notts County have made another offer for Forest Green Rovers captain Liam Noble and is hoping for "positive news". The Magpies have been chasing their former player for a number of months but the newly-promoted Football League club is playing hardball. Nolan says the matter is now out of his hands, but is hoping the club can seal the midfielder's return to Meadow Lane. "An offer has gone in and we are waiting to hear back from Forest Green," said Nolan. "Hopefully it will be positive news but if it's not, we will then see where we go. "The negotiations have gone quite far, but I've given the club my target and hopefully the chief executive can get it over the line. That's all we are asking now. "But I don't want to speak too much about him, because he's not our player and I want to respect Mark Cooper (Forest Green manager) and Forest Green." Share your thoughts about this news story on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans.

I'm all for safe standing, I thin it would be fantastic but I know the previous regime said it would be too costly. I think with the pitch this season we are unlikely to see safe standing considered at Meadow Lane but I know of builders (fans) who believe that ML is very capable of being modernised for it. It also would still allow for seat for resting, and it's actually much safer than the old fashioned ways. The problem currently is there are fans who just stand for 90 minutes (despite stewards asking them politely to sit down). In seating areas standing isn't permitted and can result in the club being issued fines, whereas I personally remain unaffected - I do know it can be a problem for younger fans to see the game. Then again, if this was to happen - standing will most likely remain in the seated areas due to some just being rule breakers or inconsiderate people.

A good read Joe, but two things make me doubt your judgement a bit - firstly you saw last season's away kit as "a nice, strong, bold colour (hot pink, not red!)". Wrong, very wrong - it was an awful colour in it's own right, but it's unforgivable borderline redness was just a step too far. Secondly you openly admit you once disliked Oasis, although you do redeem yourself by citing youth and stupidity as mitigating circumstances (I can only use the latter these days). I suppose there is a limit to what you can do with black and white stripes, and our 'outside the box' flirtations with chevrons, barcodes and pinstripes were all disasters, but I think the new one is a good effort. I'd have to see the faded back stripes 'in the cloth' to see if they work, but I'm quite tempted to add the (lifelong Notts fan) Jake Bugg logo and make a rare full price purchase.

😂😂 Just goes to show you can't please everyone!

I'm trying to encourage it with all my friends who live abroad, most of which are Juventus or Serbian fans. What I don't think makes sense is how Sky is protected as the 'priority' over the Football League and its teams. They pay good money but I still feel the games should be streamed, not everyone has Sky and those over sea's might not be able to get the game due to this. Other than that it's fantastic, really revolutionary.

Kevin Nolan has reassured Notts County fans that the squad will be strengthened with players who will not only make the team competitive in League Two, but who will be at Meadow Lane for the full season. The Magpies have been relatively quiet in the transfer window so far, with Terry Hawkridge and Lewis Alessandra the only two acquisitions, although every player who was already on the books and offered a new deal has renewed their stay. Some fans have expressed concern at the lack of new blood in the team, with local rivals Mansfield Town signing a glut of new players, but Nolan insists that there is a lot of hard work still to be done prior to the end of the window. He told the official Notts site: "We are working hard to ensure we get a number of quality players in. "We are trying to find out if certain people are available and if they want to come here but, like last season, there will be nobody here who does not want to be here. "If someone does not want to be here then they will be shown the door and the players we bring in will want to come here, work with us and be a part of this fantastic football club which is going in the right direction. "We have a few targets and hopefully a few gems up our sleeve but there is still a lot of hard work to do. "We have a couple of lads coming in to be a part of the training squad so there will be some unknown faces but we are trying to get a squad which will be here for the season and be capable of making sure we compete in the division." Share your thoughts about this news story on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans.

Notts County boss Kevin Nolan has given his opinion on several current topics, including pre-season, the recently-released League Two fixtures, transfer window activity and higher-league loanees such as Jorge Grant. It is low season within English football at present as many players and staff are on holiday, recuperating from the season just gone and with at least a week until pre-season gets underway. However, plenty of work is being done behind the scenes, with contracts being signed (or turned down) by players already on a club's books, as well as thrashing out deals to bring new players in. And this week, the EFL fixtures were released, giving fans the chance to begin planning their excursions on the road to follow their beloved teams (and cancel any other plans that may have got in the way of their beloved football). Nolan is about to embark on his first ever full season as a manager, so for him it's relatively uncharted territory. Speaking to the Nottingham Post, he touched on a number of topics. On fixtures (and previous boss Sam Allardyce) "I don't want to place too much emphasis on it, but I always believe in hitting the ground running. "I've got that from Sam Allardyce. He massively believed in having a good start and that's why all that preparation will be going into the first game. "It's not about beating Nottingham Forest in a friendly and then losing to Coventry and then losing to Chesterfield. "They are the two games that matter so that Forest (pre-season friendly) game, while it will be a fantastic occasion, will be about the boys getting those minutes in and making sure they are good minutes too. "We want to be ready, we don't want injuries and we want to make sure we keep moving forward, making sure that everybody is getting fitter. "Then come August 5, we are ready to explode and hitting the ground running." On the Carabao Cup first round clash at Scunthorpe United "It is a difficult one but it will be a good test for our boys to see if they have the ability to match them. "It is a game we will go and enjoy and hopefully give a good account of ourselves to get through to the next round." On players and current transfer dealings "We've kept everybody that we have wanted to retain from last season's squad. "Now it's about looking at specific positions, particularly the spine of the team. "We are also looking at signing a left-sider so we are talking to people and seeing if they want to come here. "As I've always said I want people who want to play for this club and I don't want to be negotiating for £50 here or £100 there. "I want a player who has a passion and a desire to play for Notts County." On Jorge Grant "I am absolutely delighted for Jorge (on his new Nottingham Forest deal). "I've built up a great relationship with him and I think the boy is a special talent. "He thrived in the environment that we created for him here and I spoke very well with his dad in the office and on the phone. "He is going to be one of those boys that I will continue to speak to throughout my career I think. "He knows what is expected of him. He's got a lovely family behind him, he's got a little bit of nice arrogance about him. "It's what he needs to become a top player. He's got fire in his belly and you have to embrace that. "But I am hoping if Jorge gets made available for loan again that he comes back here." On other higher-league loanees "We want people to come here and thrive so we can have that great relationship with Nottingham Forest. "We've already built up good relations with Arsenal, Hull and West Brom after the loan signings we made from them last season. "That's what you want, but for me Jorge was obviously the pick of the bunch. "He's a lovely lad and I am hoping that he goes over the road and speaks highly of us. "Anyone who is coming through at Forest and is sitting there wondering about us, then they can go to Jorge and ask him about us. "I am sure he will say 'get yourself over there' because we will make players better." Share your thoughts about this news story on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans.