Leaderboard

Was in the recruitment doc ✅️

Though perhaps Notts get the paperwork muddled again(perhaps like the wrong Traore) , and we are signing Matt Baker from BBC Countryfile🤣

As a Notts fan, I am not too worried by a 2-0 defeat to Viborg. Viborg are a strong Danish top-flight side and are further along in their pre-season preparations. The game was goalless at half-time before Dorian Junior scored twice in the second half. A few things I'd take from it: The result is secondary. Pre-season is about fitness, building partnerships and giving players minutes. The first half was encouraging. Holding a good Superliga team to 0-0 suggests we were well organised. The second half showed where work is needed. Fitness levels, concentration and squad depth often get exposed after the break in these games. Martin will probably be more interested in whether his style of play is taking shape than the scoreline itself. If the team creates chances and looks more cohesive with each friendly, that's a better sign than winning every pre-season match. Looking forward to Tuesday now.

Good morning it’s the start of another week, a little cloudy here for a change and cooler which is nice. I was hoping for some rain the gardens could certainly do with it when I walk on our lawn it crunches! There are several wild fires around the country too a friend lives in Tintwistle in Derbyshire and there are three fires surrounding his village. We really could do with some sustained rainfall.

I think the Newport supporter quite likes him 🤔

He seems to be more our cup of tea than Flint, hope it comes off. Either way, I'm glad he's kicked on after leaving Blue Peter.

23, still room to improve and fits what we need in cover in the centre back positions. Fingers crossed, it's not a false rumour and is true. I know the account is usually crediable but there's always a chance something can change or it's just wrong. I am not saying it is, because I think it would be a good signing.

Thank you @Piethagoram for the pictures once again, I have always wondered what the way posts indicated. This marker is on the Camino de Santiago route that starts in Hirtshals, Denmark. Hirtshals is one of the northern starting points for pilgrims travelling through Denmark and Germany before eventually reaching Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. It is right what is said, you learn something new every day and that is a bonus. Thank you also @Fan of Big Tone for your contribution to photo of the Year. Mother and cygnets enjoying calm waters, how wonderful nature is at times. So sad the father didn't make it, I'm sure he would be proud of them all. Rather a dull start to the day today and much cooler, I have completed my chores down at the stables and had a lovely walk back home. Just bitting and bobbing for me today, might run the mower over the grass (what's left of it) and tidy everywhere up, then prepare for the game this evening 🤔 Come on England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

He's worth more than that. I think Jatta will only leave if his head is turned by big wages. Worrying about something that hasn't happened? Anyway the guy needs to have some faith. The club found Wootton, Langstaff and Jatta, all sensationally good calls.

Sorry @Fan of Big Tone there is little chance of rain for the foreseeable future. On the fire front, it's an absolute nightmare for Firefighters at the moment as irresponsible people are not thinking when discarding cigarette butt's or portable bar b ques and glass bottles these items are easily disposed of if a small amount of thought is used. These needless fires use up resources and leave very little if a serious incident occurs, so please THINK 🤔 Well done again @Chris for your endless hard work and enthusiasm, you are a shining example to us all. I hope you can keep Super under control as we don't want to see Forest fans running scared 😂

Good to see he was a player flagged up in @ARLukomski 's recruitment doc and going off that he looks like he'll be much more suited to being one of the outside CBs as opposed to being in the middle because I think someone who is more aerial dominate is more suited here. The video from the is Newport fan is encouraging too, the fact he's very comfortable on the ball and pretty athletic means I think he'll be fine with us.

It's hard to gauge too much, especially when Forest put out a side that has 10x the value of our whole club, some players I thought did well and others really did seem to struggle. It is the top end of the pitch where we have the biggest issues right now, but I agree with @McPie the best thing about yesterday for me was seeing the potential and promise of the young players that came on. Looks like Jatta's visa issues have extended to Meadow Lane. I just find it odd, even if he wants to move, why is he not taking part in pre-season and getting himself fit and ready to play regardless? It'll have a knock on effect because he'll be well behind everyone else whatever club he's at. From what I can gather Jodi was at the match and was photographed training in the week so I did find it odd he wasn't playing especially as he hasn't played any minutes this pre-season either.

i hope we can see that some times slow seasons build and the win at wembley has been one of the proudest moments as a notts fan. to hear some talk notts were going to get relegated and i think martin paterson won people over through hard work. there are some who dont seem to like when notts are doing well, i find it hard to believe they are notts fans. the battle was really against us at times with form and injuries, but we crossed the line. i would rather notts builds for life as an established leag

It’s official. Welcome Matt.9

Yeah very disappointing end after being so close to a final and who know what would have happened if we’d got through!to play Spain. In hindsight the ploy of parking the bus was a mistake but it worked in previous rounds and Tuchel was hailed for the tactics, however I think it was short sighted to think it would work against the Argentinians. I wish the Falklands thing could be put to bed a lot of the fans that bang on about it weren’t even alive, I remember it and it was horrific so many died on both sides war doesn’t solve anything. I wouldn’t want to forget the poor folk who died on both sides but it should be kept out of football and the players who paraded that banner should be punished by FIFA. It was out of order. I was only 14 when we won the World Cup and I wonder if we’ll ever win it again in my lifetime.

I don't like the front, the back or the sleeves. The stripes look horrible. The rest of it is fine. I'll spend my money at the Nest. Can we at least have white socks? It reminds me of a Sheffield Wednesday shirt from the 90s with a big white panel on the front.

Yeah it was pretty excruciating viewing by the end, we were just far too negative. 6 defenders on the pitch was totally unnecessary and we had no centre-forward because Kane spent the last 30 minutes closer to his own box than the oppositions! Spain didn’t change the way they played after going 1 up against France, so why did we? I didn’t get it at all to be honest. It was a pretty even match until we scored, ironically that turned out to the best moment for Argentina. I think Tuchel totally panicked, yes we managed it against Mexico but they didn’t have players like Messi, Alvarez, Fernandez and Mac Allister…

When the time eventually comes to say goodbye to Jatta - and who knows when that will be, I think Paterson will be looking for a replacement whose skills and strengths match Paterson in his playing day rather than a Jatta mark two. So, a clever and quick striker who works exceptionally hard, makes good runs and who presses well and has a physical presence. Langstaff would have been perfect but that ship has sailed of course. Whoever it is you can guarantee that very few of us will have heard of them. Acquah was signed as more of a hold up/link striker - more akin to Ndlovu. The Jatta replacement will, I believe, be a very different kettle of fish.

I agree @Sheffield Pie Martin fully understands we are light both in squad numbers and quality. I'm pretty confident the club know what we need to competitive in League 1. His call for patient from the fans was particularly noted. I hope his words help us all to keep calm and excited about what lies ahead.

I'm not too bothered about bids coming in, it's not the first time and it was bound to happen again. Hopefully the fee received for Dennis will reduce the pressure to sell unless we get a sensationally good offer. I think we'd have to have a seriously good replacement lined up if we do end up selling him.

The live stream is on Randers FC Youtube channel for those who want to watch. It's obviously very decent of them to provide a free-stream but it does appear to be filmed with a camcorder from the 2000s. You can definitely make out a that football match is indeed taking place, but l'm struggling to figure out who is who and what is happening on the other side of the pitch, or in both boxes, or where the sun is really bright... But when Kouhyar has the ball on the nearside it's fine!

Morning all, a cloudy start again so we will do a walk early on before it gets too warm. yeasterday we had a walk along the canal and came across a swan with 8 cygnets we commented that there was only one adult and a couple we met told us the male swan had been attacked by another swan and injured it had been taken to a wildlife sanctuary but sadly died. 😞 So mum is on her own caring for 8 youngsters, how sad.

That’s a good point @Piethagoram that would be a bad thing, I much prefer British made programmes than some of the American rubbish I’ve seen on other programmes.

"Regarding the merger of ITV and Sky I’m not sure whether it’s a good or bad thing really but I guess it’s inevitable." The real danger is that the ultimate shareholders (American) insist that more American content is put on to British tv, at the expense of local UK tv production companies.

Time to pull my finger out, and switch to a higher priority, I believe. I have most tings in a good position, but we desperately need to switch back to content. My plan now is to focus on the site's content, and code in the evening/night when there's not much else happening. Potentially I can get some inbetween, but I want to get the content down. The history app is making good progress, but I have to wait for changes as I am improving the match topic. All the things I have done recently relate to coding; I am looking forward to catching up with both Mark's and Katrina. Plus, seeing Super Ram with us at the Forest was friendly. Jake's told me to have him on his best behaviour, since Super in the past has made comments about Forest to their fans. 😂 Just banter, but Jake doesn't like it and gets nervous. I am sure my dad will be focused on seeing his first team, and the only true County team playing them. 🤪👏🏻

I don't think the result was surprising, especially when you consider Viborg's season starts in less than 2 weeks, I watched the first half and it was pretty competitive. And having listened to Martin Paterson after the match he's quite happy how it all went, because it sounds like the players were training pretty intensively before it. All that said, there's a recurring event in these pre-season away trips now... How have we managed to mess up Jatta’s visa, again? He's going to be 2 weeks behind, having missed 3 of the friendlies too, not good.

I watched the free streaming on my iPad I spent the first 20 minutes thinking Notts were the team in green. 🤣 There was no commentary so it wasn’t brilliant watching on a small screen but from what I saw Notts were decent in the first half but faded in the second half our new striker Aque…something had a good header well saved by their keeper. I guess it was a good workout for the team but it looked like we missed the likes of Jatta and Jones, well done to @Piethagoram and the fans who travelled for what was basically a practice match, that’s real dedication. 👏 It ended 2-0 to Viborg.

I think he's a no risk signing for Notts. He has potential & there is plenty of room for improvement. If he can't get into the first team squad, he will be loaned out possibly to a League 2 club.

He looks physically stronger than Conor Grant and if he has similar technical skills, we could be onto a really good signing.

Correct, I guess that's one of the reasons as to why we've signed him. 8 goals from midfield in 33 matches is very promising for someone so young, there's definitely potential there, lets hope he fulfils with us!

Good luck to him. We've had a little bit of success with young-ish permanent signings (Macari, Ness and Browne might turn out OK) and some flops (Jarvis). I've got a feeling Paterson will be good at bringing them on, because he's so demanding and clearly cares about his players, but also as someone who fought his way into men's football at a young age. Darius's parents are Moldovan apparenrlty, hence the un-Irish sounding name.

Describes himself how Frank Vincent described himself - so could be a similar player... Love the name. I'd have given more chance to hearing a single 'Lip shook' from a pop star called Darius, than to land a midfielder of the same name. Teams always need players who put in the yards, so welcome and good luck to him,

he looks a good addition, i like that we are signing reputable players from teams that have voted or given them senior roles in their teams because they should have the right character we need. my dad actually joked about us signing him, but referred to him as being a blue peter presenter.

Next season, let's go back to good old fashioned black and white stripes.

Some cricketer. He once refused to give me his autograph, but it was a Notts County programme I thrust in front of him so I think I can forgive him. (got in free to a Nottinghamshire game after a Saturday match and saw a Derek Randall masterclass).

What a disappointing end to the World Cup for us (the match for third place doesn't count). I found the first half low on quality, but we also managed to starve Messi of any service. After we took the lead we had a meltdown. I can understand the players feeling intimidated and dropping deeper and deeper in the face of the threat that Argentina suddenly posed, but what I found more difficult to understand was Tuchel doubling down on this and packing the team with defenders. We've seen a few teams park the bus at this World Cup, most of them more limited than England. They generally tried to hold possession in midfield and had a couple of quick guys up front for the counterattack. We did neither, and our first non-defensive substitution was in the 97th minute with the game all but lost. Mainoo, Saka and Watkins spent the whole game on the bench. With Kane knackered, we posed zero threat and Argentina could go full Alamo mode without having to fear us on the break. We might not have kept Argentina out anyway, but we didn't give ourselves the best chance. The coach has to shoulder some of the blame, but I think it's a mental thing too - our players seem to have a deep-seated belief that they'll never truly be good enough to go toe to toe with Argentina, France and Spain and repeatedly withdraw when they're there for the taking. Can't wait for the proper football to start!

I quite like that, what do others think?

Paul Mace's Magpie Circle tonight seemed to hint that Jatta was "open to a move"? Richard Montague better get the replacements right

It's inevitable that we are going to get bids in for Jatta, the only thing now is as his contract is up at the end of the season Notts have a big decision to make. If Jatta has no intention of signing a new contract we either sell and reinvest or keep him for the season but get nothing after it. I feel like I know what is more likely to happen... If we do end up losing our two top goal scorers heading into League 1 it's going to be a hell of a challenge and put real pressure on the recruitment to get it right. So, fingers crossed we get news of him signing a new deal!

It's difficult to draw too many conclusions from this given the opposition and the players we were missing. We looked a bit more cohesive than during last year's tour as we had fewer trialists in the squad. I find pre-season friendlies a tough watch a lot of the time, but if MP is happy we should be happy. Looked like a decent mob of Notts fans too, maybe a hundred? It's hard to tell as they were quite spaced out. Re Jatta, he's got a Gambian passport so he's going to have these issues wherever he goes. I don't think it's a surprise, it's probably the reason why he was given more time with his family in Gambia.

OK we'll see! Expect the club will be working on his fitness initially. Ndlovu said he struggled at first to meet the fitness level before he got minutes. I don't go on the other forum but I expect they're having a negativity fest! Keep the faith.

Ah, according to Viborg FF it's being shown on their official YouTube channel. Great day of football coming up on Saturday then! I checked the Randers website but couldn't find any mention of a stream. We don't play them until the week after though.

The fixture should attract a big crowd & a good atmosphere. Notts will make a good amount of money from it. Hopefully Forest will field a strong side.

It won’t be the arrival of a proven star, but it has the profile of a recruitment move that could pay off significantly if he develops as expected. Given his age, recent performances, and potential resale value, he looks like a smart addition rather than a gamble.

I would agree that Martin Paterson settled into the role as the season grew, he didn't stress or panic. He never looked like Ian Burchnall (rabbit in the head lights) and he never seemed worried or stressed (Stuart Maynard). Naturally as the squad settled in together, it opened the floor for Paterson to understand which players are key to starting. Even then, I feel he managed to figure out that playing Rod McDonald in the centre got the most out of him and that is something I don't think many previous managers would have attempted. The younger squad players, they clearly took on board the freedom and instructions given to them because once the likes of Tom Iorpenda grew in confidence the better his performances grew on the pitch and this is something that is obviously improved with the support of your gaffer. I wonder if Iorpenda thought he would be in and out of the squad, especially with the likes of Matt Palmer, Scott Robertson and Ollie Norburn. I also think it shows as fans we need to be a bit more patient and less judgemental of games that happen early, or if we lose our way a little. This is more directed to those on social media who called for Paterson's head after our 6 game unbeaten run ended or those who said we had no ambition because we didn't bring back Ruben Rodrigues. Clearly, competing with Bolton's resources is outside our limit and I still believe we wouldn't have had the room for him. Who would we have dropped? No point backing talent, that could lead to unhappiness that they are not starting often enough. You need team players, and I am sure Rodrigues is that, but I highly doubt he wouldn't want to start week in and out.

Well I'm off to it using the pretext of missing the playoffs and needing my Notts fix. Just no-one mention to my partner about the many great coffee shops, bakeries and a nice beach jaunt if the weather is nice...

I think it is self evident that Martin Paterson learned from past mistakes by getting 3 clean sheets in the playoffs & beating two teams that did the double over Notts earlier in the season. There could be an argument that Martin should have learned lessons a little earlier, but I do believe he & the team were handicapped by key players getting injured then the sendings off. It's to Martin's great credit that he changed the way that the team play to deal with two teams that like to bully and physically intimidate ball playing teams like Notts & his tactics worked perfectly.