Leaderboard

I felt up to the 30th minute that Matt Palmer would be earning my vote; everything a leader does on the pitch, he was involved in. Excellent in his tracking back, to the point he reminded me of Jim O'Brien when he would become possessed with wanting to get the ball back. And I think it's a huge credit to him and the partnership built on previous seasons, which led to Scott Robertson becoming quite competitive with doing exactly the same as what Palmer did, just going on to score a brilliant goal in the process. The game for me said a lot about how hard work pays off, because I don't think anyone underperformed, and I do think Jacob Bedeau looked more like his old self. I'm not targeting him; I just believe he's someone who could elevate his game and be more of the quality I know he can be, but he did well yesterday. Robertson, for me, is the rightful person to earn my vote, but I even think Kelle Roos deserves a shout.

Scott Robertson by a mile, his tenacity coupled with non stop energy and that wonderful goal ensured a positive outcome throughout. As a collective we never stopped from start to finish with good performances from Macdonald, Palmer and Hall when he came on. Great ethics obviously provided by Martin Patterson and his team, giving us a platform from which we can now build on and make progress going forward. Hopefully we can take this into the game against Crewe next week.

Over the years, Notts have had some very steady defenders. Mike Edwards was one of them and people called him Steady Eddie. In midfield, we had hard-working players like Matt Palmer and Neal Bishop who always gave their all and were very reliable. Now it feels like we have a new player doing the same. Rod McDonald has come in while Matty Platt has been out and he’s been brilliant. He’s not just filled the gap, he’s made that spot his own and is playing really well every game. He’s so solid in the middle of the back three that I don’t know how we’ll take him out. I keep thinking about how Platt will fit back in. Maybe I’m not the only one wondering that.

Crewe fans on social media are acting like they’re unbeatable. I find it annoying when their stadium name sounds like a breakfast cereal. Notts needs to keep up the recent momentum and keep working hard to create chances. I don’t mind a draw if it’s earned through effort. Defensively, we should be able to handle Crewe. The main worry is their aerial threats and set pieces, but we’ve looked better lately. I hope we can ease the pressure at the back by attacking more or at least keeping hold of the ball and moving into areas that stretch them.

Crewe made a strong start to the season and looked like a solid side. They picked up good wins against Salford, Crawley and Fleetwood, which showed what they’re capable of. Since then, though, they’ve struggled a bit, losing to Swindon, Barnet and Barrow. That dip in form shows they’re not quite consistent yet. They seem to play better away from home, so it’ll be interesting to see if Notts can rise to the challenge and put in a strong performance on the road. I’d like to see Notts come out with energy and try to put Crewe under pressure early. It feels like the sort of match that could end in a draw, but it really could go either way. Hopefully, the return of players like Scott Robertson and Jayden Luker will give us something to build on, as it gives Martin Paterson more choices to work with.

Me too @Fan of Big Tone I'd like to see it unchanged. And that's with Grant and Iorpenda not being great last week, but they seem like a good pairing to start away at Crewe. The best time to re-introduce Dennis, as a 2nd CF or Inside-forward would be at home, it might backfire if he had a difficult away game. As for Hall and Luker, their time will come and they'd better be ready. I doubt Grant and Iorpenda will be able to produce the goals and assists to be able to hold down those positions, to guarantee themselves regular starter slots all season.

I'm looking forward to this one. I do hope that fitness permitting Martin Paterson will pick the same starting eleven & the same substitutes that he selected against Crawley. If Dennis is fit then it would still be a good idea to play with one striker with either Dennis playing behind Jatta in the same side or Dennis starting on the bench. My preference would be Dennis on the bench. I know that putting Dennis on the substitutes bench might be controversial, but he is returning from injury & I also think the side that played against Crawley picks itself. Crewe are going to want to play a passing game so it will suit Notts to employ a high press & try to win the ball as soon as possible, & try to hit Crewe on the break & down the flanks. I'd stick with Tsaroula & Jodi on the wings with Grant & Iorpenda behind Jatta. Then in the 2nd half we will have the option of bringing on super subs Luker & Hall to do some damage to the tiring Crewe rearguard. I'm hoping that a revitalised Notts can get a win against one of their closest rivals & make another statement regarding their promotion credentials.

Rod McDonald is doing really well at the moment, but good form doesn’t always last. Any player can have a bad patch or be swapped out if someone else is doing better. I think he’s a great defender and we’ve got strong choices in the middle. I hope he keeps playing well, but I also think Matty Platt is brilliant. We just need everyone at the back to stay solid.

I prefer Rod McDonald in the middle. He plays the role with ease and looks comfortable doing it. What I think and what will happen are not always the same. I reckon Rod will end up as the third choice. I can't see the club or Martin Paterson dropping Matty Platt for long, even though McDonald has done well. Even with Platt playing well, I still think McDonald is the better option.

it was nice to see lewis macari back in the team, he made a few mistakes but i thought he offered a lot when attacking. defensively it has always been a weakness for him, but i thought rod mcdonald did well alongside him and it was good to see mcdonald pumping the ball forward. i do also agree that jacob bedeau played much better, though quieter in attack, he did the basics and supported well. midfield was a real joy to watch, with matt palmer and scott robertson controlling everything. i thought conor grant had a quiet game, but did some neat stuff to win back the player and to get notts moving. robertson fully deserves the man of the match imo.

Lots to choose from as everyone was really good overall. I went for Matt Palmer, he plays like a complete midfielder he’s everywhere now. I’m so impressed with this added aggression and the fact he has a bit more license to move! The third goal, which basically wins us the match, his press wins us that ball and then seconds later Jatta has scored.

All this shows is that they want to sell, and they will not be asking for their money back. The club will be sold to the highest bidder, and we could lose the best owners Notts have had in decades. Oh wait, I do not think like that. This is great news. It is another successful bit of business that proves the negative voices wrong. Thank you, Chris and Alex, for everything you continue to do for Notts.

Crewe have always been a hard-working team that likes to attack and counter the opposition. They have some very good technical players in their squad, such as Joel Tabiner (ligament injury) and Jack Lankester. They will be missing Tabiner, as he is like their Matt Palmer, very good at holding the ball and leading the line with simple, and clever passes. Lankester is attacking-minded and offers flair, unlocking defences and a very sharp intellect on the pitch. Part of the reason Crewe have been so good so far is largely down to how excellent their midfield is. I would single out Tom Booth as a potential weakness, and if we can't exploit the way he goes missing when good teams are attacking, I would be disappointed. Sam Waller is a better keeper, in my opinion. Defensively is where Crewe can fall apart, and their manager Lee Bell has been calling out their form and results as not being acceptable. I think he will be looking to make them tighter, and I wouldn't be surprised if they change from having a back four to offering an extra man in midfield and matching our formation more closely. I'm expecting the game to be very end-to-end and scrappy in spells. Getting someone like Jodi on the ball might calm things down, so I hope we try to play passing, attacking football.

Tantalising fixture in that the form suggests we can nick the 3pts. I actually think the team picked to start last Saturday makes even more sense for tomorrow. Robertson and his MoM performance has potentially changed the equation for us, and will even allow us to play 2 up top more often. When you have 2 holding CMs, you don't ask for much in the final third but you have to get something to keep the opposition under pressure numbers-wise. That's never going to come from the Palmer-Norburn combination, but Robertson does offer that thrust and threat in the final third that makes all the difference to the balance of the team. Now we have Robbo (the old one) and Ray Wilkins rather than 2 Ray Wilkins

Notts have given their best performance of the season with a fantastic 4:0 win over Crawley today. Four great goals, a clean sheet, Two goals for Hall, & three assists for Luker. Jodi back on the wing and back to his best Robbo back and scoring a screamer & Jatta getting his first goal of the season And let us not forget the defence that achieved a shut out, with Macari returning to the back three All in all a great all round team performance. But who are you going to pick for your PON Man of the Match from all of those great performances. Only one can win. I have chosen the following players for you to choose your M of the M Roos, Macari, McDonald, Bedeau, Tsaroula, Palmer , Robertson, Jones, Iorpenda, Grant, Jatta, Luker, Hall.

Rod McDonald has done very well since he came in. Incidentally, this season he already has 2 PON Man of the Match awards to his name, so he has been recognised by PON members for his performances in the Notts defence. It is so important to have a mean defence in League 2 & I do think with the defensive players we have available, Notts are in a very good place. McDonald, Bedeau, Macari, Aljofree, Ness & Platt can only get better, and with Palmer, Robertson, Norburn, & Iorpenda in front of them the prospects for Notts are very encouraging. I think it will be difficult for Paterson to drop Rod the way he's playing right now

I don’t usually comment when I vote on these, but I’m sticking my neck out this time. I thought Kelle Roos looked very good, and if this means he’s starting to settle in, it’s a positive sign. He came across as commanding, with a tall frame and a calm way of handling the ball. That sort of presence can help build confidence in the team around him. He also made some good saves. Even if the best one didn’t count, it showed he was switched on and determined not to let anything past him.

Crawley Town looked decent on the move, but out of it you can see why they struggle so far. Their passing wasn't the best, as we would pick up a fair amount of stray and weak balls. Harry McKirdy showed a lot of spirit, and I believe he was their best player. He had some good chances, which he failed to get on target or to really test Kelle Roos, who for me seems to be getting better by the game. Kabongo Tshimanga, who I recall Notts fans wanting us to sign when we were in the National League and who has always seemed to play poorly against us, was incredibly poor again. Notts has to be praised for the way the team started the game; I thought there were spells when Crawley, at least at the beginning, looked to be building momentum. Yet, defensively we looked very comfortable, and I felt nervous a couple of times when Rod McDonald and Jacob Bedeau were high up for corners, and Lewis Macari had to get into position. Likewise, later on, when Nick Tsaroulla had to deal with cutting out breaks after Crawley tried to counter. I had Matt Palmer down as my Man of the Match early on, at least up to the 30th minute and perhaps some time after, but it was around this point that I started to see Scott Robertson winning more challenges, getting the ball forward, and passing it into creative areas. I would like to praise Nick Tsaroulla for some of his very clever passes, which came from him taking players on and drifting in more centrally. Robertson had a few times when I thought he was going to strike the ball, though I honestly didn't think he was going to place his scoring effort into the top corner so well. The first half felt very routine; I didn't feel much of a threat from Crawley, and I was pleased that in the second half we started pushing for a second. Thankfully, Tyreese Hall put the game to bed, with excellent play from Jayden Luker. Games can sometimes change quickly, which is why it felt encouraging that we didn't become complacent. I do feel sorry for Crawley, as it did become a bit of an exhibition game and we have all been there. I didn't rate their on-loan keeper from Liverpool. Harvey Davies made some good saves, but a lot, especially before we scored, were a bit godsmacking in that he would punch instead of catching efforts, which looked like he wasn't paying attention or had caught him by surprise. Chest height, easy to cup and smoother with both arms, but he just reacted weirdly. Look at Alassana Jatta's goal; it goes straight through, and it really did look like Jatta had lost confidence when it came to shooting until he found the net. Very pleasing win, excellent team performance, and whilst I hope they enjoyed the win. If I were Martin Paterson, I would be telling the squad to stay focused, keep working hard, and remember that we have come a short way from some of the disconnected performances.

Great comments @Chris. Yes, shout out to Roos. In one aspect of goalkeeping, he's the best since Kaspar IMO and that's throwing or rolling the ball out quickly to get us on the counter attack. Slocs used to drive me nuts with his 'pump fake' throw outs! Palmer is a lesson to all fans to allow a player a season to get over a serious injury, such as a knee. Taking into account the level, this might be up there with the best 9 games he's played for Notts. He's been a 7 or 8 out of ten every week.

It was a very good team performance today, with some outstanding individual performances too. I would like to single out the following players, Macari, Robertson, Jones, Jatta, Luker & Hall who all stood out for me Any one of those six players could have been chosen as the player of the match. Luker particularly, with three outstanding assists in 25 minutes, under normal circumstances could have probably run away with the award. However, I am going to agree with others by choosing Scott Robertson as My PON Man of the Match for his outstanding performance above & beyond the rest.

Well if I could I would give it to Martin Patterson for getting the team selection, tactics and substitutions all spot on. However I thought all the players deserve credit for that performance, they were superb but since I can only pick one I have to agree with the sponsors and choose Scott Robertson, he took his goal superbly and was a class act the whole match.

Hard to see past Scott Robertson today. He gets my vote. MoM level performances too from Palmer, Jones and Tsaroulla. Hall and Luker were revelations coming on.

I find it more interesting to talk about the fans forum after it’s taken place. Sometimes you can pick up on things that aren’t said directly, and that makes the discussion more meaningful. I’m not really a fan of holding these forums when there are lots of complaints that don’t seem to have much reason behind them. I’m not saying that’s the case this time, because I do think the club should have given us more updates before fans had to push for it. The problem is we don’t tend to hold forums when things are going badly, and when things are going well, they often get ignored. That’s why I prefer to wait, see what’s been said, and talk about those points properly. I also like reading what other people think.

I used to attend them religiously, but I find them to be quite pointless because any question worth knowing will be diluted or politically answered. It's to be expected, and as such I find it to be more of a waste of time. This one seems a lot more important, at least for me to see where other fans are coming from and getting a fairer reflection on what concerns people have. Outside of social media and beyond what fans say to me when I talk to them. I would hope the forum isn't an attempt to appease people, as I think it tends to cause more problems. My hope is that Notts can use this as a way to be informative to us fans and get the majority of supporters back on side with what matters. That is encouraging for the site, and I'm hoping we can climb the table; there have been teams who have struggled and gotten their act together. I would hope Notts sees how important we are to chasing promotion, digging ourselves out of tough times, and just mounting pressure. We had it for one brief season after promotion back to League Two.

https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2025/september/17/apply--fans--forum/ Statement by the Club."Our owners, chief executive and head coach will be discussing various topics at a fans’ forum on Thursday 2 October". "Chris and Alex Reedtz will be joined by Joe Palmer and Martin Paterson on the panel". "Season ticket holders can exclusively apply to attend the event, which begins at 7.30pm in the 1862 Suite, by tapping here. All applicants will be contacted via email - either to confirm their place or to be told they've been unsuccessful - in good time ahead of the event. If you wish to apply for more than one person, please submit a new form for each individual. Information regarding parking and other details will be shared with attendees in advance". "Those not in attendance can submit their questions using the form below and watch the event via a live stream. Pre-submitted questions will be answered in the first half of the evening, with questions from the floor to follow".

It is normal for one company to help the money side of another, especially if the first company is doing well. The owners have given up the money, and even if it came from Football Radar, it is still their choice to do that. I learned about profit sharing in business studies and it is useful to understand. The club has put out a full announcement about it here. https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2025/september/26/statement--financial-accounts/

The Reedtz are showing real commitment to the club by writing off the debt. Our two previous owners would not have done that, and while one did save us from Munto, it was not on the same level as this gesture. The decision is not about paying people back but about pushing for promotion to League One. This deserves a lot of appreciation because it has been done in the best interests of the club and its aim to become sustainable. The whole club has changed since the National League years. Some may not agree with what I have said before, but I do not think anyone can underestimate the good the Reedtz have brought to Meadow Lane. We are now being run like an ambitious club. To match that, we just need to keep working towards promotion. Things feel much brighter, even if this season’s recruitment raised a few eyebrows. That is part of the reason why smart loans were considered. We just need to back the players and hope they can deliver or at least help us along the way.

Both teams will be thinking the same thing. Crewe will want to improve their home form and Notts need to start picking up important points away from home. It should be a good match, but I hope Crewe focus on proper football and don’t turn to tricks or time-wasting. Even their fans have admitted on one of their messageboards that they got lucky with the officials in a recent game. Notts need to stay calm and avoid getting frustrated. The focus should be on creating chances and playing our way.

Barring injuries, suspensions etc., I would go with the same team as started last week. Hopefully we can push on and get a result, I wouldn’t be dismayed by a draw but a win would be great. The kick off is 12.30 and if your not travelling and you have sky sports+ you can watch it live,

Let’s give a huge welcome to @KatrinaPIE I hope you enjoy being a member of our friendly forum.

I will be covering it and giving my thoughts on what was discussed. I think it's important to break it down as a feature and give some insight into it for those who are not able to make it. It should be a more productive fans forum, provided the form continues, as it will ease some of the upset and bring some clearer perspective. The timing is good, because it does give us a chance to get more fans on board, and if the club can openly speak about the decisions to bring in the loans and clear up some of the confusion about the board cheaping out by signing them, then it might also make some of the negative talkers relax just a bit. I do wonder if the club believes that they will make a difference to help us gain promotion and then leave space open to make signings of a better quality than we could have made this campaign due to being at a higher level, if all things go well. If the options were not much better, why not smartly use the loan system and wait for when things change to reinforce the squad with better-quality players from the transfer market?

I didn’t expect Rod McDonald to be doing better than players who looked nailed-on starters. The partnership of Jacob Bedeau and Matty Platt seemed strong, but even before Platt’s injury, McDonald was showing he added something extra to the back three. It’s a good thing for the squad. Even if he ends up playing less, I’m sure he’ll take any chance he gets. Right now, it’s hard to leave him out of the starting eleven.

I’ve not had much time for the site because of school. I’m hoping to join in more this week, but it depends on homework and other stuff I can’t control. Saturday’s win was great. It’s been ages since I saw us score four goals in one match. If the weather’s nice, I might see if The Nest is showing the Crewe game. I’ll try to get a relative to take me so I can watch it.

Sonny Aljofree is stronger at defending than Lewis Macari. Macari offers more going forward, so it depends on what the team needs most. Lucas Ness is harder to judge. He’s had injuries and hasn’t really settled into the side yet. Jacob Bedeau is tough to leave out, even when he’s not at his best. He’s got a presence that’s hard to replace. Rod McDonald has looked very comfortable. I think Martin Paterson might move him back to the right side of the centre backs. It would be a shame if that made the defence less balanced. McDonald has done really well and deserves credit.

Hello and welcome from me too @KatrinaPIE

i think it would be a good time for the club to work on its relations with the supporters, and lift morale going into what will be a crucial stage of the season. i wont be attending, i tend to find the forums to be overwhelming with sound and the best bits are usually the talking segments and answers to fan submitted questions which are always filtered through. it is good this is happening, and i hope the notts fans here that go enjoy it.

hello, @KatrinaPIE. welcome to the pon community, its good to introducing you to site.

jayden luker looks like a brilliant addition to the squad, because it was him who did all the work to make tyrese hall shine. hall does not always look like he knows what to do with the ball, and at times just looks like hes is nothing all that special but luker really brought him into the game and then hall looked more confident. hall slipped back into the similar play shortly after his goal, but his second really did make a difference. i thought kelle roos did well, even that save he made after the offside decision was a commanding effort to make, that i think he might not have done so well in previous months. he looked a lot better, very calm and collected. scott robertson and matt palmer make a great duo, its a shame we cant see similar with ollie norburn but he gives us options but right now the paring of robbo and skip makes the most logical sense. jatta seems to have lost a bit of confidence on goal, he had some good efforts his finishing lacked but it was great to see him score.

I would like to retract my comments about the loanees, Hall and Luther were excellent when they came on! Maybe we’ve actually got a stronger squad than we thought… Everyone was excellent, no-one had a bad game and I’ll state the obvious, but that our best performance of the season (so far). I loved that we were able to play just a coupe of passes to create a goal-scoring chances at times, everything just felt so much quicker in and out of possession. Is this now the start of the Palmer-Robertson partnership in midfield that we’ve all waited an eternity for? Please, no more injuries, let us have it. Crawley reminded me of us a bit from last season, over-committed to passing out from the back, generally pretty good on the ball though but almost every pass was to feet so they struggled in the final third.

A big welcome from me @KatrinaPIE & welcome to our PON community.

Robertson wore the right to that shirt today

Everyone played well today, but I think Scott Robertson deserves MOM. His energy, press and winning the ball was first class and the goal...... say no more! I feel he provided the platform for the rest of the team to perform well. We just have to keep him fit!

Good morning it’s a lovely bright sunny morning to start the week but a tad chilly. We had a lovely afternoon at our sons house he cooked a lovely Sunday lunch of roast beef and Yorkshire pud, it was a two mile walk there but we were that podged from our dinner we caught the bus back. 😂 Today will be a day of rest it’s been a busy weekend. What’s everyone else up to?

Don’t things change quickly in football, only a few weeks ago Crewe were top of the table, now they are 12th and haven’t won any of their last 5 league matches… In terms of the team for Saturday I think I keep the team the same, I liked the shape with the two centre mids and two number 10s. This is the area where it’s trickier to say who should start, Hall and Luker seems the obvious change but you can make a case for Grant and Iorpenda because they did all the hard running that helped to tire the Crawley defence. It sounds like Dennis isn't 100% but will hopefully make the bench. I noticed in the pre-match press conference there was something about us having a poor record at Crewe. I can still remember that penalty decision in our first season back and them scoring from our corner last season when we lost 2-0. Surely we can't keep getting these horror moments there!

I am so pleased that Notts have owners who are so committed to this Club and have a plan in place to grow this club on a yearly basis.

It's a good time to play Crewe. They haven't won a league game since August. Bizarrely they beat Chesterfield 7-1 in the Football League Trophy earlier this month. They were poor against Barnet in their last game. We need to start picking up points on the road. Given the circumstances, it would be disappointing to not get something out of this game.

I don't think we'll find out much more than what fans are already guessing about Alassana Jatta. It's something a lot of people want answers to, but if you know how these things work, you’ll realise it won’t even get past the moderators. The main topic will likely be the shift in how the squad is being built. That includes the use of loan signings and the exit of Roberto Gagliardi. I expect there’ll be more talk about why the board chose Martin Paterson and how they believe he’s creating something special. I’m not too bothered about going, to be honest.

A hearty good welcome @KatrinaPIE jump in and test the water, you'll will love the uplifting comradery. Enjoy.

Yes it a lovey morning & afternoon here too @Fan of Big Tone Was out early in the garden tidying up & deflowering to keep the flowers going for at least another week. De-appled the apple trees. It's been a poor year for our apple trees. The apples didn't grow very well this year. Also the lawn was cut & the garden furniture put away in the shed. Garden looks nice and tidy.