Chris

Yeah, I figured it wasn't far from the petrol station. I think it looked better before, I hate crossing anywhere near it! Too many cars speeding.

If we find a suitable way to play to his strengths and, allow him more game time, I think he could be a decent player. Issue is we haven't given much chance, neither Ian Burchnall nor Neal Ardley seemed to give him the time he needs to adjust to English football. Burchnall seems to appreciate Elisha Sam, that's something noticeable. If we don't give him more chance, then it's just a waste of a shirt, and we are hindering his career. Either play, or let go. I don't think Sam is lazy, awful, but I do think he struggles to adapt to our game and, possibly confidence. At the same time we need to give him more time, Sam also does need to take the chances but if the games are few and far between - it simply won't happen.

I would say, his value would be worth more than most teams in the Scottish Premier League usually spend on an unproven player. The last point had me in stitches.

I'm still trying to picture the location, I keep thinking it's where the bus depot is in the Meadows. It's the other end though, nearer the lady Bay Bridge.

Elisha Sam's goals were both attacking minded plays, he's probably stronger at getting into those positions than running in with the ball coming from a pass/cross from height. I do think he will improve with regular game time, so hopefully we can figure out how to get the best out of him. We look like a decent team with our passing, well above this level.

I wished, Kyle Wootton had scored one - he's come close a few times now. Wrexham he had a real chance of achieving it, but obviously it wasn't to be. Jimmy Knowles is correct, it was against Woking, wasn't it?

Kyle Wootton hasn't scored an hattrick yet in his career. 3/4 braces but never anything more than 2 goals in one game. If not him, Mark Stallard or Danny Allsopp. Yet thinking about it, I swear Luke Rodgers held a record like this, I might be mistaken though.

So, who was the last Notts player before Cal Roberts to bag himself the match ball? I would guess someone like Jonathan Forte or Jorge Grant...

I watched the interview when I noticed it popped up on YouTube, which is how I would describe it being fair. Every manager to some degree will see things differently, they'll use words and even go as far to protect their own players. I thought the King's Lynn manager showed a lot of respect to Notts. It's a shame more within the club's setup couldn't be more professional.

I've always defended Elisha Sam's first touch, as I think it would be a lot better if he was included more in the first team. If anyone has watched him train, he looks natural on the ball and, I wonder if it's a more live game/confidence issue. I want him to succeed with us because he could be a much bigger asset, but if he's thrown on meaninglessly like he was against Wrexham - it won't work out. We either play him more, or look to replace him. Thanks for providing the ratings, I didn't listen or attend the game - I can't comment further.

It shows the penalty for what it is, a clear and correct call. I believe Wrexham fans are still disputing this, clearly uneducated in football. If it's a penalty, it should be a red card all day for denying a dead certain goal. It reinforces what I wrote in the match discussion about their diving. Though the better angle shows that Elisha Sam was late with his challenge, it wouldn't change much. I think the referee made the right call.

Millwall 0-2 Nottingham Florist Preston North End 1-1 Birmingham City AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Morecambe Lincoln City 3-1 Cambridge United (Joker) Bradford City 2-2 Salford City Colchester United 0-1 Barrow Grimsby Town 2-1 Altrincham Wealdstone 2-0 Dover Athletic

Awful news, @cheeky~k8 mentioned it and even though I know he's been declining (very frail) - this type of thing hits home. He'll always be remembered and, to those who refer to him as 'Uncle Colin' - It's difficult to drop the uncle part, even if he did insist it was just Colin. I am thankful for having known and interviewed him, listening to his background and, life story was something I couldn't miss. Through the interview, I often exchanged conversations via e-mail, until a few years back, when he simply stopped responding. His writing, which he kindly wrote for us, before having a column in the match day programme, was always amazing to read. I felt truly humble to have someone like Colin support the Pride of Nottingham and, understand what it was I was trying to do. Thank you for all your contributions, Colin Slater. Rest in Peace.

I'm very happy that we have secured his stay for the remainder of the season, I am hoping we can keep him in the long run. Forest is strengthening the area he plays, so it will most likely be down to how he does with us. Likely, he will end up being flogged to the highest bidder, but I would hope our communications with other clubs might pay off with this. I realise it will be quite unlikely, but he would be a big coup and someone the club could build around for the long term.

It didn't look bad from what I've seen, we've had it worse and, I watched the game highlights their chairman mentioned - it certainly looked worse then compared to today. I don't buy they wanted the game to be played though, off or on. A decision needs to be made early to prevent travel. Dover are a club that pulls postponements without thought, if they truly believed the game could've been played, then they should've communicated with Notts throughout the process.

Dover is just an awful club, no standards whatsoever... It came as no surprise that the game was called off, however, what wasn't predictable was how Notts would react - https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2022/january/dover-postponed-080122/ How can a referee postpone a match without speaking first to both teams? It seems wrong to me. Supposedly, even Dover didn't want the game being called off.

Cheltenham Town 2-2 Burton Albion Doncaster Rovers 2-0 Fleetwood Town Carlisle United 0-1 Bradford City Colchester United 0-0 Rochdale Stevenage 0-2 Walsall Barnet 1-2 Altrincham Bromley 1-0 Solihull Moors Weymouth 0-3 Southend United (Joker)

The issue with being the England goalkeeper, is that people always compare them to people such as Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton, especially the UK media. David Seaman was a very solid keeper, both for club and country. I would say he's one of the last English keepers that didn't have the type of issues our modern options have. Paul Robinson/David James both had hiccups. However, James had the confidence to come back. It is quite disappointing how Robinson's career went down hill after his blunders - almost to the point it was sabotaged by the amount of stick he got. Another issue, in my opinion, is how we overrate our keepers. Joe Hart used to frustrate the hell out of me, but he was once a very decent keeper. I would just say that he did come across as very overrated and, once his ability got the attention that saw him dropped by Man City, he's not recovered. I think that would suggest he was always somewhat overrated to some degree, but nobody knows if a manager had stuck with him - if it would've turned around over time. Jordan Pickford is a keeper I do really like, I think he's a big factor as to why we've had success internationally and, he's maintained the position even though his club performances haven't been that great. I thought Everton would be a good fit, but in hindsight he would've been better signing for a more rounded Premier League team like West Ham or Southampton (even though both have various levels of ups and downs). At this point in time, England doesn't really have the issue that was obviously there after David James retired. The only thing people can say, is that we don't have enough with international experience but a keepers position is an easy one to gain this. It just means giving them a chance, supporting them and, avoiding throwing them into big games that is difficult to maintain 100% focus/confidence in their own abilities. Lastly, the biggest factor in my eyes is the lack of real quality in front of our keepers today. We struggled at left back, relying on players such as Ashley Young and James Milner, and rotated various players at right back until we found two regular options. Yet in the middle, we don't have any outstanding centre backs. Harry Maguire can be good or, he can play like a headless chicken. Personally, I sometimes feel he only gets selected due to playing for Manchester United. Even at club level, he's been dodgy for a few years. Joe Gomez should improve with time, he's possibly the best option available right now, but it's a lot of pressure for someone. Conor Coady should've left Wolves earlier in his career to advance further, he's what, 28-years-old now? He was once considered to be our brightest prospect in this area. Eric Dier isn't a centre back, he's way better in midfield or as a defensive midfielder in my opinion. Dier and Maquire are a lot similar. They can be solid but also prone to just stupid decisions/mistakes. Tyrone Mings isn't England material, for me, he's a prime example as to how weak we've become. It's also why we often push someone from the right side, into a CB position. John Stones is good, but overrated would easily attach itself to his name. The moment Manchester City purchased him, it was like the lad was frustrated in front of everyone's faces as a future John Terry etc. He's the best England has at the moment.

They also didn't jump the queue to get COVID jabs, they claimed what was "spare" and, "would've gone to waste". I don't really buy the insurance claims myself.

Interestingly, Chris Brunt has a son called "Zack David". Zak's middle name is Rian, he was also named in Sheffield United team against West Brom (who Chris Brunt is signed with). So far, I haven't found any connection and considering where Zak was born - I think it's unlikely, unless it's an obscure family connection. https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/born-chesterfield-impressed-guti-and-ps150000-bounty-his-head-15-who-zak-brunt-latest-sheffield-united-starlet-3121703 Another interesting piece of media on The Blades site, is to do with Zak's disabled brother. https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2018/december/brunt-brothers/ I couldn't find anything mentioning the two players being related though.

True, it does make you wonder if Chesterfield are trying to unsettle Notts players. I doubt Cal Roberts would even want to leave, Chesterfield are not that much of a step-up and, he's settled with us - helping to convince players like Kyle Cameron to sign for us. I don't think the bid will unsettle anyone, or even be taken seriously. Quite possible. It seems short-minded of them to allow the buy-out to be activated in the first season (usually these come into play after 12 months), though, even if they double their money, Chesterfield will have to recruit well to find someone else to cover his amount of goals/performances. Signing a winger isn't going to do that. If they manage to convince Notts to accept a bid and, Roberts agreed to join - I think we could make better use of the money. Roberts, before his injury issues, would be a different story, but not so much this season. Still, I do think neither player will be going anywhere during this transfer window.

A friend suggested Boston United's Danny Elliott to me. A local lad, coming from Nottingham - he seems to be what we are missing as someone used to the Non League, with a good physique and a natural grafter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Elliott_(footballer)

No sympathy for Dover, whatsoever! They're incredibly poorly run and, are a joke to even be still operating as a football club. I find it hard to say that teams don't deserve to exist normally, however, Dover is the one example where I feel they're on borrowed time. Any club that spends money, signing players after releasing others (some allegedly not paid) - only to bring in high earners. It doesn't sit well with me. Nothing that Dover does surprises me. I fully expect them to pull a Kings Lynn on us, although, after the last time, Dover postponed two games - I would imagine the term should be "a double Dover". If the game goes ahead and Notts fails to play well, I would honestly be annoyed. Merely because they're the poorest team in this league for a reason, we have pulled off some good results and, I fail to see how we can't create enough chances to win. A draw wouldn't be so bad, but to be the first team they've won - some of our lot will have a right meltdown. Stick with the team that started against Wrexham if possible.

What makes me laugh, is how, all of a sudden, Chesterfield fans believe they can afford to buy the league. Suddenly this season, they've become more anxious than the majority of Hollywood fans that support little old Wrexham. Obviously, every club has fans like this, but they seem to have a special number who appropriately forgotten how dire they have been in previous seasons. If they believe they can afford any of our players, it's beyond me because no team at this level should sell their players to rivals unless they're not competing for promotion or safety. I wished someone would look into how they're managing to handle their recruitment, considering they've gone from debt to incredibly skint, requiring handouts and furlong longing staff/players to offering silly money for players as a bid to get out the league. I've read things that speculate Kabongo Tshimanga joined Chesterfield for £300k, any club that could afford this generally would be a solid signing, but I just think there's something underhanded going on. Why are they so desperate to sell a player who has been a major part in turning their fortunes around? It just doesn't make sense.

Good signing, I feel. I see it more than adding a bit more depth to the squad, as we don't know who has COVID and I have heard we have concerns over slight knocks. With Ruben Rodrigues not making the team or bench, it leaves concern for either one of the previous mentioned issues. I'm glad that Notts are adding quality at a time we need it. Fingers crossed we can sign a striker to aid with the attacking, along with extending Jayden Richardson stay.