Chris

It is supposedly the world's oldest profession. Not that I think China will be happy about this, it looks like Winnie-the-Pooh, or should I say Xi Jinping, isn't going to be too pleased about this.

I like that this is a safe space where I can write openly, but the past two days haven't been good. I don't really want to go into it, but yesterday I felt very deflated despite trying my best. Tuesday, I stayed up until like 4 a.m. doing various things, from upgrading PON. Introducing new badges serves to recognise and reward our outstanding members. Sorting server stuff and making sure that everything was fine for when the site would go live again. It wasn't hard. Just time-consuming in some areas, but I didn't get much chance to do anything later on. There was a patch for the upgrade, which was very quick to fix some issues. Tomorrow, I need to go out with Cheeky to look for some stuff for the house. I'm really encouraged by the number of members coming on, and I really hope to make sure my efforts match the quality I am seeing. In other news, my friend wants to take me to Barrow, and I need to check that I can.

@DangerousSausage, do you ever feel like you are being hit in the head when you choose Derby County for this? 👻

Will Jarvis, Nick Tsaroulla, Scott Robertson, and Lucas Ness would each be players that could easily go into our first team. There's no real lack of depth in our team, so it gives them time to recover and avoid bringing players back too soon. I do want to see Mai Traore do well; I take no joy in seeing a player fail, but he does seem very much like a player who either won't or doesn't want to make the grade at this level. There are fans with much harsher opinions than mine, but the times he has seemed promising are fleeting cameos, and it is disappointing. When a team gets better players, it should be a blessing to anyone stepping onto the pitch, but last season it was like we were playing with 10 men. Bringing in a young youth player, for me, would be acceptable because you would expect them to be like Traore. Ideally, when he returns, he will do well, prove himself, but I wouldn't hold my breath. I have far more faith in Jarvis and Tsaroulla as game-changing players.

Quality loans do tend to cost money and good wage contributions, so just because we opted for this doesn't mean we aren't willing to pay. It might be more of a statement that the club believes there are better players to be brought in temporarily while we try to push for a League One return. The way I think of this season is that the club might be trying to ensure only quality is signed permanently, and those who have arrived on free transfers look to have potential to step up or be allowed to move on without much fuss. League One football isn't going to be easy; a lot of good teams are failing, and the landscape of the division has improved a lot since last year. League Two is more competitive than when we were last here; the issue with football at this level is that some clubs are willing to gamble for promotion. Accrington's chairman, for example, loved to comment about how his "punching above its weight" team earned promotion. It's been downhill since, and for a club to have such a wonderful season that earned them promotion, I think intent and questioning Notts should not be made so lightly. I know Accrington have a small budget, but their chairman's complaints about fair play, whilst ruining the progress made over one magic season, sort of baffle me as to why he is liked so much. A striker was on our wish list even after Matthew Dennis; all it takes is one injury, and Mai Traore isn't going to fill me with confidence up top. I think, from what I have seen of him, he's best behind the ball and allowed to run with it. We only have Alassana Jatta who is a true striker; Dennis still makes me believe he should be playing in a similar role to Jodi Jones and Conor Grant.

Hello, welcome to the Pride of Nottingham @Stevelatimer. I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community. We are pleased to have you with us.

Hello, welcome to the Pride of Nottingham @brad88. I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community. We are pleased to have you with us.

I have added 27, @liampie. You can see them here: https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/achievements/ Such things as, Always Online Badge Collector Comment King Community Legend Consistent Contributor County Through and Through Enthusiastic NewPie Forum Favourite Home and Away Ice Breaker Match Day Hero Pies Predictor Post-Match Analyst Pre-Match Predictor Quicker Member Social Butterfly Topic Stater Transfer Talker Among plenty of others, and more are planned to be added. Members will be awarded these by the admin team.

Is this the guy who claimed he wasn't a fraudster and threatened to sue the Nottingham Post for writing in an article that he was? His name rings a bell; I think even AH mentioned that he wouldn't sell the club to him, as he didn't believe he had the funds. I distinctly remember it being referred to as Munto Finance Strike II. It's a good job he didn't end up purchasing us; we could have been seriously doomed. Could this be yet another reason to be thankful for the Reedtz ownership?

I am sure we have, but it's been a while since I recall seeing 80 members online. It's encouraging to see, and the effort the community is putting in is brilliant to see. Targets and goals are a bit of fun, but I would love to see us try to reach 100. 🖤🤍 Go read the latest update. 👇🏻👀

You can now download the Pride of Nottingham onto your iOS and Android devices, choosing to install a PWA (Progressive Web App). This supports push notifications if you enable them. Separate the Pride of Nottingham from your mobile's web browser. We now use Cloudflare Tunneling instead of reCAPTCHA V2. (It automatically recognises human activity, eliminating the need for trivial games or image prompts.) Several new member awards have been added. The League Table, Squad Page, and Fixtures app is advancing steadily. 👍🏻 I should have an update on the following apps: Moods, Avatar Gallery, Viewers (the latter shows you who visited pages). What is the PWA and how do I use it? A Progressive Web App (PWA) is a mobile-optimized version of your community that users can add to their device’s home screen, just like any regular app. It launches in full-screen and supports push notifications and badges (when enabled). To install the PWA: iOS/iPadOS: Tap the Share button in Safari (square with an arrow), then tap "Add to Home Screen." Android: Tap the three-dot menu in Chrome, then tap "Add to Home Screen." The most impressive aspect is the PWA app. There is absolutely no need for upgrades, and it fully supports the entire site. With its ability to support push notifications, it will provide members a valuable way to keep updated, and when I perform future upgrades, all of this will be done server-side. The PWA app will continue to work without any maintenance or updates. The only exception would be if new animations or changes, such as background colour or app icon, are made. As of now, I am keeping the app icon simple, so I have no plans to change any of that, but if changes are made and you need to refresh it, you would simply uninstall and follow the steps quoted. While I know we live in a world where notifications can keep people glued to their screens, I hope with PON it will be different. I hope it will bring you the latest news, messages from community members you want to see, and encourage your continued support to keep the community active. There are a few more things I will point out over the next few days, but for now I will leave this here.

I am just giving the community the heads up that after 12am the Pride of Nottingham will be under maintenance. The site will be offline for around 2 hours, as this will be the best time to upgrade and bring further improvements that are being made. Once the upgrade is finished, some routine tasks will be finalised before the site will be able to go live again. However, most likely everyone will be sleeping. I will follow this post up with some of the changes, some of which are quite exciting. Many thanks, Chris

I'm sorry, I messed up. Sometimes I find it difficult to see what I actually write; I believe it's correct, and I could double-check it a million times and still feel that way. It's only when someone points it out. Usually, I run everything past @cheeky~k8, but I haven't done it for a while, so I didn't bother her with it. It should read: It should read: "Tom Iorpenda looked right at home for the black and white army, away at Newport County.👊🏻" 😓

I have a tendency to seek out good TV series, which I often find to be in short supply, but one that’s caught my eye is The Institute. In some ways, it’s similar to the film The New Mutants, though this is based on a book by Stephen King. It tells the story of a clever 14-year-old whose high intelligence gives him special abilities. Without giving too much away, he ends up in The Institute, a mysterious place where gifted children are taken. Fans of From might feel right at home, as I believe it’s made by the same team. The intro has that annoying one-tone singing that gets stuck in your head. Robert Joy, who plays Victor’s father in From, also appears in this show, though I don’t think his acting is particularly strong. He doesn’t quite pull off the doctor role convincingly. He just comes across as a bit odd. Imagine Roy Cropper from Corrie as a doctor in Holby City. That’s the kind of strange vibe it gives off. Still, it’s a gripping watch and takes you on an intriguing journey. The only way to currently watch it in the UK is via Amazon Prime and MGM+. I would highly wait for Sky to pick it up, as I believe it will be them who will have the broadcasting rights eventually.

Well done, everyone! Brilliant to see so many new members taking part. Let's keep this going, provided you don't outscore me, of course. 😉

Hello, @muskan761947. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham, I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community.

@shuey pie is responsive now, but from the update I have seen, he's groggy and confused due to his treatment. It was a very surreal thing to see; I was trying to find my seat when it was clear someone was receiving CPR. The Newport staff, along with the initial on-site medical team, promptly administered an IV drip. I wasn't aware of who it was; I didn't want to be nosy, but concern did lead me to ask someone who mistold me, "Stevie." It was only upon turning home that I realised it was a friend called Stephen, nicknamed Shuey. I have been told he's doing better, but it has been confirmed that it was a heart attack. 😢 I thought Notts looked very bright, and I wished we had managed to maintain the first-half performance for the whole 90 minutes. The point is decent enough for our first result, but considering how we started, we need to make sure we are clinical on goal. We could have been at least 3-0 up, but despite feeling like we should have won, I do see more positives. There's always a chance that a team will adapt once given a second-half team talk, and they mostly attacked through Michael Amponsah, who did look like a very good player. Going back to the first 45 minutes, it did seem like it was a matter of time before we opened the scoring. Conor Grant had a header saved by the Newport keeper, which denied us a corner kick despite him going down injured. We hit the crossbar; Jodi had two efforts saved, one of which just needed a bit more pace on the strike, but it was a very good effort. Barry Cottter, Jodi Jones, Matthew Dennis, and Conor Grant were superb in their efforts to start brightly. Defensively, Matty Platt and Jacob Bedeau looked class, and I thought the young lad from Manchester United did very well. Naturally, there were times when he was outmuscled, but I thought he always recovered well. The difference in the second half was that urgency had gone, and we started trying to force things. We were nervous in possession and made some very poor decisions when it came to passing. Much of this came from the way Newport had adapted; it was like watching two different halves, from two different teams. What looked like a training game in the first half became really gritty in the second. I would have liked to see more focus on building a bit more slowly, at least until the final third. There's also no point in putting in crosses if nobody is there to attack, so those in the area to get forward need to support the wider players by making sure they can be a target. First game overall, it's perfectly acceptable, and it is promising. My only criticism is the way we conceded; Newport pulled off a very good, team-worked goal. I did think Matt Platt was fouled, but re-watching the highlights, I can see why it wasn't given as a foul. I think Kelle Roos should have done better to not be beaten so point blank from what looked like a soft header. I watched him come in slow motion, but I think he should have reacted. Defensively, he needed to be better supported, better too.

There were elements in the first half which stood out for me, and I think that performance was some of the best attacking football I have seen. Some might say, "It's only Newport," along with how poor they are, but they stepped their act up in the second half. They executed a well-taken goal and further caused us to start making mistakes. Nerves really did creep their way in as we attacked the other end. Jacob Bedeau, Matt Palmer, and Matthew Dennis stood out for their effort. My vote went to Jodi Jones because I thought he urged us on from the moment the ball was first kicked. His powerful low shots and relentless movement created significant problems for Newport. I believe he performed admirably alongside Conor Grant and Barry Cotter. I wasn't that sure about Kellan Gordon, but I thought he did okay. My vote is based on memory; if I watched the full game again (and sooner), I think I might have voted differently.

@Robbie, I thought it was John Lennon. 😂 Why didn't his son have more success?

Have you ever heard a song and thought, "Hang on, is that (insert artist name)?" only to find out that it's someone completely different? Well, just for fun, I thought I would see if we could start a quirky topic about this very thing! It's aimed as a laugh, and I didn't seriously believe, in my case, that it was sung by the actual original artist; I just think it sounds like him. "Love Changes (Everything)" by Rod Stewart (real artist Climie Fisher). Also, "Lonely This Christmas" by Elvis (Real artist Mud). From time to time, the last one actually has people still believing he is Elvis. My friend was singing this last Christmas. I asked him if he liked Mud; he asked me what it was. 😂 He replied, "No, this is the King of Roll 'n Roll. Elvis". Sorry mate, but it's not. 😝 @super_ram might not agree with me with the first one, he likes Rod.

I think Colby Biship is still a free agent, he's got a decent goalscoring record since leaving us. He does have concerns with his heart but he made a comeback. BBC SportPortsmouth: Colby Bishop 'grateful' after comeback from h...Colby Bishop has described the months that followed his open heart surgery as "horrific" after making a goalscoring return to the Portsmouth team.

I'm confusing things; I thought Cardiff had let him go. 🤨

Has he joined them permanetly, @Piethagoram? I thought he had been released, so someone is playing silly buggers with his Wiki page. Wonder why he didn't hang around Bolton?

Dane has gone to town with this; it's always funny to see what ends up being included. Eyes down! 👀

There is a big concern that clubs have been able to overspend for a number of years and accumulate historical debt. Doesn't it make it all the more important that we, as a club, handle what can be impactful now for the long-term future and put us on a better platform compared to other League Two teams? For me, that's being smart with sustainability because sooner or later we'll outgrow this league naturally. Rather than allowing supporter calls, which only care about short-term success and not the entire vision of the club beyond a season or two, if that. But of course, praising ambitious owners who put their clubs in real jeopardy is not to be applauded (even though it seems to be in that short period). AH gambled on promotion in one season, then paid for it in the second. He not only put Notts in danger, but also Ilkeston Town. It's not just English football; it's European. UEFA and FIFA need to do more to protect the future of the game, as do local authorities such as the FA, Premier League, and the English Football League. It will always be difficult for the Non-League to be given any sort of support, because the money filters down from the top. @Piethagoram, some councils tend to hide behind excuses, some football clubs do, but I would hope that there is some common sense to the situation.