Chris

Aye, I thought of that. I thought Forest already had a fan zone, so I first thought this was a joke or a wind-up. Yet you could see Forest's logo throughout the newly built bar, and the fence put in place is red. I wouldn't have thought it would be a good idea. The bar is built, from what appears. I first thought the Navi had decided to build a new bar.

Best Harrogate Town player for me was: Ellis Taylor, 22. He looked like a very good winger and had good delivery on him, both from crosses and set pieces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellis_Taylor It was something I noticed, just how their wider players gave them something when we were tight in midfield. Early on, we gave them little space, and it was a case of both teams winning and losing the ball. Harrogate did well to get the ball out wide, and that opened up the play. Levi Sutton also stood out to me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Sutton Very disappointed with just how much of a wind-up merchant he played, he's never been like that in previous games or for previous clubs when we have played against him, but I wouldn't take him.

If Matt Palmer had played more than just the second half, I think he would be up there because he massively helped us to get clicking. With all due respect to Tom Iorpenda, we clearly missed Palmer in the first 45 minutes. Scott Robertson was class throughout the game, calm on the ball, and bridging the gap that was missed by Palmer's absence in the first half, to showing that magic he has alongside someone who brings the best out of him. He looked strong on the ball and worked hard. He's notably improved since he came back, and he gives us a solid presence with his consistent performances. Yes, this is what I said to @super_pie. Early on for me it was Lucas Ness and Keanan Bennetts. Discussing with Jake, Nick Tsaroull and Scott Robertson was added to the mix. This was around the 30 minute mark, which is usually when I start to look for who has that 'drive' in their performance. Early yes, but the signs are there.

Shock horror yesterday, when Jake (@super_pie) noticed that the bar opening up across from the Navi is going to be Forest's fan zone. A bit bizarre of a placement for it. It was even confirmed by one of the bouncers of the Navi, that the cleared out area to the side is where it's going to be. I am not all that bothered, but I do think the location is daft and I fail to see how it will be any better than 'The Nest'. Surely, there's closer land that could be put to better use?

I believe the club has gone with this as a means to generate more funds for January; it comes across as a cash grab, and considering we are still in a cost-of-living crisis where a lot of our spare finances go, it's just a very unwanted move. The design is also not appealing, and I fail to see how it would be any better than the home or away shirt. Obviously, some fans do like it, and I have already witnessed some cocky behaviour about wearing it, meaning you are 'die hard' but really, if someone likes it, that is their choice. It doesn't take away from the fact that the club has come up with a rushed and poorly executed plan. The first teaser I saw had the old single magpie as the badge, and I felt curious as to what it would look like. If the shirt was more a nod to nostalgia and to a past shirt, featuring the single magpie badge, I could see more of a point to it. Despite it being a blatant cash grab and poorly thought out.

At this point, he would be a luxury at the expense of what is currently working within the squad. His arrival would come at the cost of someone else's place, and I would rather Notts focus on improving the younger players we have. Someone of David McGoldrick's age and experience really should be fighting for his place and position in Barnsley's team.

Scott Robertson is quickly becoming as important to the squad as Matt Palmer is; yesterday, for example, we desperately missed Palmer in the first half. Robertson is a brilliant player; he works so hard, and in time he should be exactly what Palmer is to us. Right now, they are the midfield pairing that we need to win games. These two work so well together; it seems unlikely that they wouldn't be starting together at the beginning of the season, especially with the arrival of Ollie Norburn. Norburn should be pushing his experience as a contender to be starting, and I think he's okay, but for me, he's more of a rotational player. Tom Iorpenda, for me, is the more exciting option, who could come in for either Palmer or Robertson. Conor Grant moves brilliantly; he's intelligent on the field and wins the ball back in situations where it could create a lively encounter. He does struggle at times to pick his pass, and yes, his finishing could do with work, but he's one of those unappreciated players that can move between the channels and into attacking positions in front of the opposition's D, and it just takes someone else to make the run for him to assist. The main thing is we have options and players who can do different things. I overheard a fan say, "Grant is exactly the same as Sam Austin," and to some degree I can see the similarities.

I agree, if Barry Cotter has been sent back I would be somewhat disappointed because all he needed was a run in the squad to get his fitness levels up. He was in and out, and that seems to impacted his performances but there's clearly a good player there. Whilst I think we have good options in his position, and perhaps he would fall behind, I think he would still be worth keeping but if he was to go back I would understand it. I would still be disappointed that we never got the most out of him, and his pre-season friendly goal against Cardiff is a clear sign of his quality.

Burton Albion 1-3 Blackpool Luton Town 1-0 Rotherham United Joker Accrington Stanley 2-0 Bristol Rovers Cambridge United 0-1 Barnet Grimsby Town 1-1 Chesterfield Braintree Town 0-1 Truro City Hartlepool United 2-0 Wealdstone Woking 0-0 Boston United

I want to start off by acknowledging that PON needs to return to a level of consistency with regard to the news, match reports, and so forth. I have numerous finished content pieces which I have put off because I wanted the site to be in full motion, but I haven't managed to keep to the standard I wish to set. Moving forward, if I can't do something, I will ask one of the team members, and I am sure in time things will improve to a standard that visitors and members have enjoyed in the past. I am also pleased to say that I have built and set up a system status page, which can be found here: https://status.prideofnottingham.co.uk/ Transparency and being up front is something I strongly believe in, and this system page will allow those who wish to see what is operational across the site. Issues will be posted as events, and updates will be given in a timely manner. If PON should happen to go down, you will be able to find out why by visiting this page. You may subscribe to email alerts by entering your email address in the "Notify Me" box. Please remember to choose which updates you would like to stay in the loop about. In the event one of these areas encounters a problem, you will be emailed and kept up to date with the progress, but only if you subscribe to this service. Bug reports will still be taken by the site and addressed within the forum. Over the past week, I have spent time improving the mobile experience. While most of this will be noticeable only to team members, it does bring improvements to the header and logo for regular members. There are subtle changes and a few improvements from a recent upgrade, which I plan to make the most of with these new features. Awards will be given out on a merit-based routine, which will be more frequent. In areas and during the site's downtime, I will finish adding the rest of the ones I created. There are a few more things in the pipeline, but they aren't quite ready to be mentioned. My main focus is to get more organised over this weekend and pick up the content. It's a privilege to represent Notts fans and provide content to be enjoyed. I very much appreciate everyone's help, and a more oganised me will be a better PON experience for everyone. Thank you for reading this, Chris

I am pleased for Scott Robertson, he deserved the Man of the Match no doubt. This will be better promoted and highlighted moving forward; it slipped my mind due to two reasons one being health related but it's not good enough. I apologise to the community, and to @Robbie. I am greatful for the understanding, but the process needs better handling and I should have reached out to a team member.

I haven't yet given much else a go, but I have re-installed Championship Manager 04 which has my favourite Notts lineup in the attacking department but DOSBox does a great job running CM 98. At some point, I plan to configure it so I can quick launch Ultimate Soccer Manager 98 and 2000. CM and USM were my favs back in the day, along with Premier Manager. Regarding Sensible Soccer, do you know a fan remade it? https://sensiblesoccer.de/swos-2020

I was torn between Nick Tsaroulla and Scott Robertson, but my vote was persuaded by how the player's removal from the squad would impact the team. For that reason, I had to vote for Robertson, but I did think Tsaroulla was brilliant. I think there could have been two more very close to obtaining my consideration, with several others having played well, but I narrowed it down to these two. But I actually thought Jacob Bedeau was more like his old self, yes a few mistakes, but very reliable and looking more focused. Players will make mistakes, but they made up for them by defending much better at key points.

I think there are times when we should try to stick to our main formation, but I would like to see Martin Paterson be braver to change things when it's not working. I give Paterson credit, as he does appear to read games well and will make changes that do make a positive impact, and compared to Stuart Maynard, it doesn't lead to the feeling we are to salvage a point from a game we were winning easily at one stage. Personally, I think there are times when we should be looking at the opposition and thinking of formations that will give us the ability to hold the ball and press. There have been away games where Notts have stuck to their formation, and you just know nothing is going to change. Barrow away earlier in the season was one of the worst games I have ever seen. 5-10 minutes in, you could tell Barrow would pressure us. I think there was some hope from our managerial team that they would tire or Notts would get to grips with it. However, nothing changed, and that a game switching formations going into the game could have put Barrow on the back foot. We tend to rely on quality, and even when playing well, we can be very predictable to the point that teams can sniff out an opening. Persisting to think one style will succeed and that there's a one-size-fits-all formation for every team isn't the way to play. I acknowledge we do at times switch things up, but not enough, and I don't think we are consistent. That is one major issue with switching formations, because if a routine doesn't get the best out of individuals, mixing things up could lead to further complications. In general, I do think it would be worth trying. The Matt Dennis and Alasanna Jatta duo looked promising at Tranmere Rovers, but a few games later, along with the absence of Dennis, it was dropped.

I am pleased Mrs. T is still getting out and is on the mend. Hopefully, within a few days, she'll feel much better. I have been coding a bit the last two days; I have built something to help with updating members on crucial parts of the site that might be experiencing trouble. It's not the most complex thing, but it is one of the first things that I have coded which required a database and a full app structure. I also took the initiative to manually prevent the newest member from being displayed among the validating members. It allows me to keep PON safe from spam bot accounts, and I have implemented ways of reducing this. Until about 4:30, I have felt good, but now I am trying to stay awake. The weather outside is dismal; poor Cheeky got completely soaked while going to pick Ava up from school. The only other thing I have been doing is loading Championship Manager 1998 in DOSBox and playing it as I go about doing stuff. Naturally, I chose Notts and spent a spell in 3rd and 2nd; then I was top for about 10 games. I am now 5th and seem to be struggling to motivate the players. I score and end up drawing. Or, I concede and get battered. Mansfield and Lincoln both beat by 5 goals to 1.