Chris

Notts County have climbed to the top of League Two after a resounding 4-1 victory against 10-man Lincoln City. The Magpies rode out a tricky start at Meadow Lane to edge into a numerical advantage when Billy Knott was sent off for a high boot into the face of Ryan Yates. Notts then took the lead through Jon Stead and, despite being pegged back by Harry Anderson's equaliser, went on to strike thrice more, through Matt Tootle, Jorge Grant and ex-Imp Terry Hawkridge. Here is an in-depth analysis of the game from Chris. Was the result fair? Notts asserted domination after Lincoln pulled level, and despite all the whining about the red card and refereeing decisions, it was the correct decision. Ultimately Notts responded well after losing the lead. And I have explained further why the result was fair in my feature, "Billy Knott red card cannot be blamed for Lincoln City loss". How did Notts play? First half was disappointing, the players refused to keep the ball on the ground and this better suited Lincoln. I feel we were cancelled out, largely by negative game play but in the second half Notts managed to assert control of the game and from there it was one of the best second half performances I have seen at Meadow Lane for a long time. How did Lincoln City play? Firstly, I felt they played well. Attacking wise they reminded me of Notts with how we tend to force play but they worked the ball very nicely and created chances. It was obvious that they wanted the play to be primarily thought-out in the air, however several rash challenges and blatant cheating ultimately saw their performance spiral to a very low point. Why the Lincoln goalkeeper decided to go down at two periods to allow his team to have a ‘team talk’ is beyond me. Did our tactics work out? First half no, second half play was adjusted and the wider positions gave Notts what they needed. The players also focused on passing rather than hoofing and it was like watching a different game. Line-up wise it was spot on but Notts just need to remember to keep the ball down in the future. How did the referee perform? He was alright, I think some of the decisions he made was swayed by both teams players and Lincoln fans might moan about Matt Tootle but there were times several of their players did the exact same thing. I don’t think the official controlled the game very well, especially for since it was a local derby. Who do we play next? Next up, Exeter City – a game which they have been hyping quite a lot. It’s one of those games which will easily define the 2017-18 season for Notts. How should we play them? I don’t want to see Kevin Nolan opt for a defensive line-up, as I feel this would play into the hands of Exeter who will be heavily focused on attacking. To control the game, we should build slowly, pass the ball around into positions whereby we can guarantee more time to pick out the right pass. It’s important that we make a lot of movement as we move forward, as this will create better chances. Again the midfield will have to do a lot of running and hard-work, as this will help the defence handle Exeter. We just have to build careful and be prepared for them to throw everything at us, I think they start a lot like Swindon Town did – using a mix of pace and creativity to form good chances, so we must be alert at the back. Lincoln fan reaction (from the Lincoln Vital page) Scotimp: Danny said he wants to be around the top ten at the halfway stage. We are 12th, having played some very difficult games - we have played the top 2 away, for example, and the teams who are 3rd and 5th at home. We have also played the teams in 9th and 10th away. We are 4 points off the play-offs. We are in the Football League. We are not Tranmere. I'm pretty pleased with all of that. Croozey: I don't think we need a squad of 25. Two more would be enough. But I think in January we could see some of the current squad moved on and replaced. Hulloutpost: We dominated the game until the outrageous sending off against a team second in the league, high in confidence and with some very experienced/decent players. We are not far away from giving somebody a spanking and the sooner it comes the better. We have had a similar start (bit patchy and inconsistent but some good stuff also) to what we had last season and whilst this is undoubtedly a tougher league I have seen enough to know that we have better players than last year. Given a better rub of the green and a bit more sharpness on our part and we will be fine going into the January transfer window. I expect us to kick on at that point. 85 Horace Green: I was sat quite high up and admittedly saw the last three County goals from a distance, but it didn't look to me as if Farman was at fault for any of them. He does flatter to deceive sometimes but I'm not sure today was his fault at all. Share your thoughts about this tactical analysis piece on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County have recorded a fifth win on the spin and climbed to the top of League Two thanks to a 4-1 hammering of local rivals Lincoln City at Meadow Lane. The Magpies were under pressure early on but Billy Knott's red card for a wild challenge on Ryan Yates gave Kevin Nolan's team a man advantage. Jon Stead volleyed in the opening goal but the Imps hit back in the early stages of the second period as Harry Anderson's header pulled them level. Notts were soon back in front, with Matt Tootle rifling the hosts into the lead once again and celebrating in sluggish style, before Jorge Grant's stunning free kick made it 3-1. Terry Hawkridge then got one over his old employers by rounding off the scoring with a late goal. Pride of Nottingham was at Meadow Lane to see County's amazing win over Lincoln - have a look through our fan photo gallery and see if you've made it in this week's Faces of PON! COME ON YOU PIES! Share your thoughts about this week's Faces of PON on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County have climbed to the top of League Two thanks to an emphatic 4-1 win against 10-man Lincoln City. The Magpies enjoyed a numerical advantage for a large chunk of the game after the Imps had Billy Knott sent off for a high boot on Ryan Yates in the 28th minute. Notts then went ahead before the break when a Jon Stead volley took a deflection and spun into the corner of the net. Lincoln hauled themselves level early in the second half through Harry Anderson’s looping header, but Matt Tootle rifled in a stunning second to restore the Magpies’ advantage after 55 minutes. Jorge Grant’s superb free-kick put County firmly in control and Terry Hawkridge wrapped up the points two minutes from time. Pride of Nottingham spoke to a number of Notts County fans at Meadow Lane before the game. We asked them a few questions, including who their unsung hero is so far this season, how crucial Kevin Nolan's contract extension is, and whether an early closure to the summer transfer window is good or bad. Share your thoughts about this week's Meet the Fans on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County are enjoying a purple patch at present, sitting second in League Two thanks to a four-game winning run, and eight unbeaten in all competitions. Up next for the Magpies is a local derby with Lincoln City coming to Meadow Lane to try their luck against Kevin Nolan's well-drilled side. Here is Chris's Scouting Report for this week. History Notts County and Lincoln City have met a total of 65 times in competitive matches over the years. The first fixture took the place all the way back in November 1893, a Division Two game in Nottingham which resulted in an away win for the Imps. The record currently stands at 34 wins for Notts, 15 defeats, and 16 draws. The last game between the two took place on 13 April 2010, a 3-1 win at Meadow Lane with goals from Lee Hughes, Graeme Lee and Delroy Facey and a strike from Steven Lennon for the opposition. Notts have won the last two meetings, with a draw prior to those and three defeats preceding that. Run-down of their last six features Saturday 19th August – Exeter City 1 Lincoln City 0 Saturday 26th August – Lincoln City 4 Carlisle 1 Saturday 2nd September – Lincoln City 0 Luton Town 0 Saturday 9th September – Stevenage 1 Lincoln City 2 Tuesday 12th September – Forest Green Rovers 0 Lincoln City 1 Saturday 16th September – Lincoln City 0 Mansfield Town 1 The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers; Matt Green 3, Alex Woodyard 2, Oliver Palmer 2 and Billy Knott 2. Persistent Foulers; Matt Green 1 red card and 1 yellow card, Neal Eardley 3 yellow cards, Sean Raggett 3 yellow cards and Michael Bostwick 2 yellow cards. The Key Players Matt Green is the most well-known threat that Lincoln City bolster within their squad, he’s a mobile striker and useful on the ball – some may consider him past his former best but he is a player that is able to cause concern within any League Two defence. Despite the name Alex Woodyard is a very practical midfielder, he’s attacking minded but does have a bit of a temper. He’s pretty direct, likes to try to influence the tempo and adds a creative flair to The Imps midfield. They also have the experienced Michael Bostwick who plays to a similar fashion as Alex Woodyard, however he offers a defence mind-set even when going forward – his ability to pass and carve open teams is something Notts should be mindful of at all times. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses Lincoln City like to play the passing game, usually it starts from the back and builds going forward. The majority of play tends to come from the flanks, and The Imps move the ball around very nicely even in limited space – they also deal very well with scrappy play often making the most of any opportunities that presents itself. Like the majority of League Two teams, Lincoln prefer to play defensively but within an attacking mind-set. They tend to commit plenty of players at the back, yet can break extremely well through a single player at any given moment. Their height offers them good options on goal, and is useful at the back when defending. However, from a defensive point of view – they do not like pace or direct runs into areas whereby there’s plenty of space. Whilst struggling to defend on break, and even from set pieces or crosses. This can force them to rush their own play, and has seen them give the ball away quite cheaply but they prefer to get the play back on the ground and ball to feet. Positional wise they organise themselves very well when given time, yet in the moment or under heavy threat it can become a free-for-all. If allowed to play, Lincoln impress – they have the ability to deliver long throw ins and often shoot from distance if space isn’t available to them. For Notts it will be about controlling the play, whilst building themselves from the back – the midfield will have to be grouped and prepared to make direct runs when chances occur. As opportunities will arise where the Magpies’ will be able to make chances pay from the open play. Share your thoughts about this scouting report on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

This week, we have a surprise for you on Pride of Nottingham - we have not one but two Opposition Views for this weekend's League Two clash between Notts County and Lincoln City. Alongside our chat with Luke Kempson, we have also spoken to 20-year-old Andrew Bruce (@andrewbruce97), who has given PON another great insight into life as an Imps supporter. About Andrew: Truth be told, I’ve only been watching City since 2015, and I’d describe myself as being a fan since late 2016. I got into the club after moving to Lincoln in September 2015 to study at the university and have regularly watched games ever since. As I have only supported City for a short time I don’t have a huge array of players to pick from, but it is a tough pick between Sean Raggett and Alex Woodyard. As Raggs has actually moved on now (but is back on loan from Norwich) I’ll have to say Woodyard – a proper fans’ favourite. Q1- You guys were in non-league for a number of years. What went wrong and how has it been put right? Well, as just stated I wasn’t around the club at that time, and I can’t imagine how awful it must have been. I have read a lot about that period though and what I can gather is that Chris Sutton quitting as manager was a blow. Yes, he was a contentious figure, and made some awful loan signings, but he wasn’t helped by board disagreements over budget and FA Cup funds not being made available to him. However, the general consensus is had he stayed longer into his second season we would have stayed up in 2010-11. After he left relegation was almost inevitable. I think what changed was partly the fan group, the 617 Squadron, forming in late 2011 – and Bob Dorrian, the chairman, really stepping up and putting everything on the line to keep City afloat. Although it was 6 years in non-league, it was 6 years of a sort of stability that made people really appreciate the club – how it could have been taken away with that relegation and that this was a chance to build the club back up to where it belonged. Q2- Danny Cowley has been a revelation - just what makes him so special? Oh, Danny. What a man. Don’t forget about Nicky though too! The brothers are special in that this is their first professional job, and first time in the Football League, so they are giving it absolutely everything they’ve got. Their man-management is exceptional – they are people who players want to play under, and the way they keep the team going is unbelievable. This team never stop – we scored a lot of late goals last season and it was certainly no fluke, so the energy Danny and Nicky have instilled into the team is crucial. Also, his inherent belief in statistics and sports science played a huge part in the success of last year, and it is an approach not seen often in this level of football. Q3- You enjoyed a good cup run last season - can you give us an assessment of it? The cup run caught a lot of people off-guard I imagine, especially as it started so inauspiciously in the qualifying round against Guiseley. My first game of the competition was the 1st round against Altrincham, and from what I remember we were fairly poor that game – edged out the side in a division below us and definitely didn’t look like a cup-run sort of side. The next round against Oldham was the turning point not just in the Cup, but the season. There were over 7,000 fans inside Sincil Bank, which was unheard of at that stage, and it was the perfect game. Up 3-0 by half-time against a team 2 leagues above you, then concede 2 quickfire goals midway through the 2nd half, so you’re left so on edge for the last 15 minutes you’re in the row below! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, we could barely see the action in the last 5-10 minutes as heavy fog came down and made visibility almost non-existent. It all just added to the game though and made it that bit more special. The Ipswich games were when Lincoln first really caught the attention of the nation, and we were unlucky not to win at Portman Road – over 5,000 Imps made the journey, and the ‘Impvasion’ hashtag was born. But a draw meant that a replay at the Bank, under floodlights and on BBC 1 was required, and the feeling when Nathan Arnold rounded the helpless Ipswich keeper was indescribable. I’d said to my mate minutes earlier “we’ve scored a lot of late goals this season, we could do it again” and then it happened. Yes! Brighton was when most people expected it to end I think, especially when they went 1-0 up – what was I thinking when I thought we could win – they were leading the Championship for goodness sake, what did you expect?! But that penalty from Alan Power and Theo popping up again meant we were in dreamland – we’re going through, and surely we’ll get one of the big boys this time?! No disrespect to Burnley, but the draw was a bit of an anti-climax – we’d earnt a huge tie – a Chelsea, Man United etc, but got Burnley. Now we were definitely going out – Burnley had just drawn against Premier League champions-elect Chelsea the previous week, we had no chance. Their team was fairly strong, but I was determined to enjoy the day, particularly since it was the first Cup away game I’d been to. What. A. Day. No words could give an assessment of that Burnley game – the split second when the David Fishwick stand had our hearts in our mouths, eyes glued to the referee as he looked at his goal decision watch…had Sean Raggett’s header crossed the line? He pointed back to the halfway line and blew, and then it was all a blur. Mental. The Arsenal game really was just a day out, no more than that! Obviously, we all wanted to win, and had hopes of Arsene playing a weak team, but when we saw Koscielny, Ramsey and Sanchez we knew it was over. If only Nathan Arnold had scored that chance in the first half... What a cup run that was though, something that will never be repeated in Lincoln’s history I’m sure, and will take some beating from any non-league side in the future. Not only was it enjoyable on the pitch, but the revenue gained from it was a massive financial boost and has left the club in the black for the first time in years. Q4- With Notts, Lincoln, Chesterfield and Mansfield all in League Two this season, which game are you looking forward to the most? A lot of good derbies in there, and that’s without mentioning Grimsby! But I think after the recent Mansfield match, and how much of a controversial figure Steve Evans is, the away match at Field Mill in January is one I’m particularly looking forward to. Seeing Terry Hawkridge back at the Bank for Notts County at home will be nice as well, providing he doesn’t score at the weekend! Q5- Terry Hawkridge has done well for Notts so far. How will you greet him on Saturday? I’m sure Terry will get a great reception from Imps fans – he left for all the right reasons. He didn’t force his way out or anything like that, he was offered a 1-year deal from City, but a 2-year deal from his hometown club, and arguably a ‘bigger’ side in Notts County. We can all see why he left – plus, towards the last part of the season he was in and out of the team a lot and when he did start he was often the first substituted player, so from his point of view it made sense. It was sad to see one of the heroes of last season go, but we’ll always have those 2 goals against Macclesfield – unforgettable. Q6- Who are your key players this season, and what do you think the score/scorers will be? Although Sean Raggett is only back with us on loan until January he will be vital, as he was last season and so far, this season – he won back-to-back MoTM awards recently. Alex Woodyard does everything all over the pitch, and as the chant goes, he “never gives the ball away!” And finally, Matt Green is our key forward, with electric pace and a poacher’s instinct we’ll be relying on his goals this season. With the way Notts County have started the season this will of course be a tough game, but we’ve been great away from home of late. I’ll go for a 1-1, with Matt Green scoring for City. Share your thoughts about this Opposition View piece on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

There is little to be said about Notts County that hasn't been said already - we are flying high at the minute in virtually every aspect of the club. Eight matches unbeaten, four-game winning run in League Two, four clean sheets in a row, second in the table, and our brilliant manager Kevin Nolan has just signed a new three-year contract at Meadow Lane. Up next for Notts is one of two derbies in the next three games, which sees newly promoted Lincoln City come to Meadow Lane on Saturday. Pride of Nottingham has spoken to Imps fan Luke Kempson (Twitter: @LukeKempson1) to get an insight on the opposition. About Luke: I have been a fan of the Imps since moving to Lincoln about eight years ago, it's the first time I can say that I truly felt what it's like to support a football club as I would rather have been playing but something clicked when I first went to Lincoln the last time we were in League Two against Hereford when the World Cup was present at Sincil Bank. My personal all time favourite player is Alan Power, as I think his hard work, mixed with his loyalty is something that is hard to find in football these days and he stuck with us through some bad, dark times and got his reward at the end of last season. Q1- You guys were in non league for a number of years. What went wrong and how has it been put right? What went wrong was we had a squad full of players who didn't care, they weren't proud to put on the shirt and they certainly put in very little if no effort at all. That has been an issue until recently where we seemed to give up and get bullied a lot of the time. It's been put right I feel when Chris Moyses took over, he installed some form of fight into the squad, and bought in hard working, honest players such as Bradley Wood, Matt Rhead and those players helped us out of a dark time and a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel, even though we finished 13th. I do feel that Chris Moyses laid down a foundation of which the Cowleys have taken it upon themselves to transform the club to another level and it's also been key that the football club has come back to the community which I felt during our relegation and the first three to four years it had taken a step back and not engaged as much with the fans as it did before. Q2- Danny Cowley has been a revelation - just what makes him so special? What can I say about these two brothers that hasn't already been said, they bought a new lease of life into Lincoln and they got the entire city to be proud of its football club again. Danny is a manager who puts players first beyond anything else, his man-management skills are perfect and because of his teaching background I am sure that has helped with the man-management side of things. Also, Danny engages with the fans and always has time out to come and talk to fans or if any fans approach him he always seems to have the time to make everyone feel a part of this club. I've not seen any football manager who puts in as much hard work as the Cowleys, they don't sleep I think or at least very little, they're at the club at 7am and won't leave until 9pm everything is thorough and everything is worked through to the finest detail. He uses a Sports Science background which I think helped propel the club to the next level and also combining two universities which are in the City and building good, solid partnerships with them. Q3- You enjoyed a good cup run last season - can you give us an assessment of it. It was beyond anyone's wildest dreams the cup run we went on last season it no doubt helped bring fans back to the club and engaged the entire City which seems to have stayed beyond. The fact we had a replay in the 4th qualifying round against Guiseley just to get through to round 1, then scraping a 2-1 win against Altrincham in the 1st round. Then it began on a very foggy night at Sincil Bank on a Monday, Oldham who were struggling in League One came into town and I felt we dominated 60 minutes of that game and were 3-0 up before they had a late comeback but it wasn't enough for them to get anything out of the game and what I remember by the final whistle you literally couldn't see the pitch as the fog was that thick and it had come down that low but that was the beginning of what was to come. The third round, the magical round for all lower league clubs felt a little underwhelming at the time to be going to Ipswich away, but as the game got closer and closer the more tickets being sold a 5,000 strong army of Imps fans made their way down to Portman Road, we of course went in with no expectation - I mean we were top of the National League, but they're a Championship side it was more of enjoying the day and hoping to battle. It finished 2-2 but in the replay we went on to win and into round four we go and the visit of then Championship leaders Brighton. Again, Sincil Bank was sold out and the atmosphere had been building, queing hours for tickets and they took the lead from a good flick on by Glenn Murray and it was a good finish from their striker in a first half which I think Brighton edged. The second half was something magical as Alan Power, an OG one of the worst I've seen and Theo Robinson set Sincil Bank a light as we came from 0-1 down to win 3-1 and that magical feeling spread again. Then more hours queing up for tickets in the freezing cold, as we all hoped to get a Burnley ticket and need I say more about what happened at Burnley, we bought them down into a physical battle, with Rheady bullying the life out of Barton all game long, why Barton would choose to mark our big man is still beyond me. But come the 89th minute and one of the set piece routines the Cowley's work on in training as Waterfall was free at the back post to head it back across the face of goal for his CB partner Sean Raggett who was always going to get on the end of that and beat Keane and Heaton, a slight pause before the goal was given and that then was utter madness for the next five minutes of injury time as we held on and claimed a priceless victory away at a Premiership side who the Sunday before had held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw and we'd beaten them, Lincoln City had made it to the Quarter finals of the FA Cup. It truly was a fairytale and then we get to Arsenal, due to the pressure Wenger was under at that time he fielded his strongest eleven and for 45 minutes we were in it, battling as 9,000 Imps were roaring the side on. It took a deflection from a Walcott shot to break the deadlock just before HT. Then well, you saw world class players tearing apart the Lincoln defence. We lost 5-0 but we played very well, with some passion. I'll always remember at the end, Danny Cowley had got the players in a huddle to reassure and encourage them that what they had achieved no other Non-League side had ever done that in over 100 years. The players were disappointed to be on the end of a 5-0 result but they came to applaud the 9,000 strong contingent and even was clapped by Arsenal fans as well, the effort was there for all to see. The money generated from this cup run has helped us have a much more healthy budget for this season and going towards building our own training ground. All in all it was a magical cup run, in a magical season almost once in a lifetime season for where we were at. Q4- With Notts, Lincoln, Chesterfield and Mansfield all in League Two this season, which game are you looking forward to the most? I was just happy to be back in the EFL, however with some wonderful local games to whet the appetite again was good. Games against Notts, Mansfield, Chesterfield and Grimsby were all dates most Imps fans were looking out for I'd imagine and the ticket sales for the trip to Notts on Saturday is clearly one a lot of Lincoln fans are relishing with selling out our allocation and even the 300 extra tickets we were given so 4,500 Imps will be at the game and the atmosphere should be amazing too. Q5- Terry Hawkridge has done well for Notts so far. How will you greet him on Saturday? Hawkridge is one hell of a player with one hell of a delivery, he scored the two goals to assure us of the League and I was gutted when he turned down a new contract with us and signed for you. However I shall be giving him a good reception before and after the game as he was one of our better players we've had and it's good to see him starting well for Notts, but during the ninety minutes he is the enemy so probably some banter during that time but I have nothing but respect for Terry. Q6- Who are your key players this season, and what do you think the score/scorers will be? We've made some shrewd signings this summer, none other than a contract extension for our engine Alex Woodyard and also his new partner in midfield of Michael Bostwick which was a signing I never thought we would be able to get. Those two for me are a danger if we can play through the thirds as both are more than comfortable on the ball. Also I feel we've got electric pace down the flanks with Harry Anderson, Nathan Arnold, Jordan Maguire-Drew and Josh Ginelly. That is also a danger, especially as we usually bring one of them off the bench fresh when the full backs of the opposition are tiring. Matt Green up front an accomplished striker who scores goals at this level and has such pace and strength in the channels.. Those are my key players to watch out for. I can only see it being a 1-2 win for the Imps, usually we wake up after going a goal down, but with this squad a majority of the time we're fighters and we have no idea when we're beaten. Share your thoughts about this Opposition View piece on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County have made it four clean-sheet wins on the spin after securing a hard-earned 1-0 win over Crawley Town in Saturday's League Two encounter at the Broadfield Stadium. Jorge Grant was the hero once again for the Magpies as he drilled home from close range after Jonathan Forte played a low ball into the loanee's path. The result keeps Notts second in the table and takes their unbeaten run to eight matches, ensuring yet another weekend of smiles for the Black and White Army. Here is an in-depth analysis of the game from Chris. Was the result fair? Both sides created several decent chances, but the whole game lacked a leading side. I think a draw would have been fairer but I’m delighted to see Kevin Nolan’s side push past a difficult performance to maintain the winning streak. How did Notts play? You’re watching it, even in the highlights and you're pondering what could make this Notts squad click and turn into a similar side that we saw back in 2010 – that said it doesn’t really matter, as Notts worked hard yet again and passed around nicely in spells. Defensively they looked comfortable, so not much else matters. How did Crawley Town play? They played as I expected and wrote in my scouting report, so quite well and very much focused on committing players forward. Their finishing was very poor, which was a good thing for us because they managed to create some cracking chances. Defensively they played much better, yet a few wobbles could have had us threaten them a little more. Crawley fans can’t be downhearted though, as they seem capable of doing well. Did our tactics work out? The simple answer is yes, it allowed us to hold the game but we failed to create any convincing chances – which I personally feel could have been amended at half-time - but hey, we won. How did the referee perform? As per usual there a few gripes, though largely he didn’t make much of an impact on the game and at League Two level it would suggest an okay performance by any match official. Who do we play next? Lincoln City – a local derby which has already seen a good amount of tickets sold for the away end at Meadow Lane. The game should be lively, though on a personal note I am hoping for a result similar to the Chesterfield game. How should we play them? Defensively if Notts play as we have been we should be okay, I’d like to see Notts build from the back – as this would increase the confidence and provided our defenders a chance to get a proper feel for the game. There’s no doubt in my mind that we must be patient, yet careful at the same time. I actually feel Chesterfield would have been the harder game, yet as this one leads into Mansfield – I think it’s vital that we get the best possible result. So, for Notts it’s about building clear chances and maintaining that steady work-rate we have seen. Regarding changes there’s not much I feel Kevin Nolan should do, leave the line-up without making several changes and just monitor how the game pans out as it happens. Lincoln can’t be written off, yet I think if we assert the right amount of control from the off – the game will be easier to manage and that Notts will create good enough chances to get the points at Meadow Lane. Crawley fan views (from the CTFC Fans Forum) Hampshire Guest: "Total trash. We didn't look like scoring no threat up front at all and usual blunder at the back. It was like watching a games under Yates era. No enjoyment or entertainment what so everybody." (sic) Hickmottsenior: "We did ok to contain them in the first half but in the second we didn't get a look in and looked utterly clueless. Not having a striker is costing us. I think we had a fair shout for a penalty though. As above, this was like traveling back in time to any of the previous few seasons. Crap. I think it's made my mind up about (not) going to Barnet." AlexBH: "Absolutely woeful display in the end. First half was OK, we competed, but didn't threaten. Second half we give a silly goal with another mistake at the back and from then onwards we lost of shape and looked completely desperate. The tactics were awful! Play out from back, no recognised midfielder for the last 15 minutes except smith with 5 attacking players on the pitch. It was schoolboy stuff, lump it up there and then Notts county won all the second balls as we had no midfield to speak of except Smith. Truly woeful showing. I can't remember us having a single shot on target all game. What on earth Harry was trying to achieve with the players out there I don't know. We looked OK first half with Bulman, Smith and Payne in there. Then he goes and takes off Payne and Bulman and we completely lost our shape. We looked desperate and clueless. Harry has got to learn that this playing out from the back doesn't work especially when you don't have midfielders showing for the ball. I thought after some good results against Swindon and Yeovil he was beginning to realise this. Instead we seem to be going backwards." Share your thoughts about this tactical analysis piece on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.