Chris

Gossip and rumours can seem harmless, but they can cause problems, and for a club wanting to achieve promotion, it can cause difficulties. It can create problems with players which would not otherwise happen, and while I understand the element of wanting to know what is happening or going off. I would say sometimes it is best to conduct it privately, but there are times when open transparency is a must. I think the Notts fan base is a little quick to jump to knee-jerk reactions, or pressing the meltdown button but a lot of it does come from wanting better. I don't always understand it. In this scenerio, Notts handled things very well and managed to get Jatta back doing what he does best: scoring goals!

A considerable amount of work has gone into PON this week, with a lot of fixes and improvements. I feel quite satisfied with it, and I know things could always be better, but it's nice when you start to tick off problems. I know I need to get back into writing and other things that make the site work. I do think a lot of members have been contributing towards some excellent discussions, and that is encouraging to see. There are two features almost completed, one being another type of feed and the other being a quicker way to change between dark/light mode. I had my back fence put in for £700; when my front needed replacing, my wife was quoted £3-4k. @magpiejue's husband and friend did it for a much fairer price, and they did both the front sides too. Even part of my land at the back of my garage was reclaimed from a neighbour who had wonkily put in their wooden fence and later straightened it, but left behind heaps of concrete.

I am still trying to seek donations to help PON reach the target required to finalise the remaining resources. If any members are in a position to donate, please consider it. I can assure you that it will help the overall goal of the site. Please don't if you already have done this year; those who have are incredible, but there should be others out there open to assisting this target. I will be looking into ways of selling merch more regularly, but since upgrading, no new purchases have happened, and I believe it's due to the banners I used to display on the home page and inside articles. Also, I will be hoping to attract support from businesses with fair sponsorship and advertising prices. None of this silly stuff where sites claim they get x amount of views and demand £500. This would be affordable, but a partnership with PON where I would actively try to shed light on those who take us into consideration for representing their businesses.

I know it can be kind of morbid, but I have always liked watching true crime documentaries. In the 90s, I would watch Crimewatch UK and The FBI Files. I don't recall seeing other popular American shows, such as Unsolved Mysteries. America's Most Wanted and the like I have always been fascinated with, whereas these days it's somewhat of a buzzword to say you follow one of the million podcasts or YouTube channels that cover them. One of my favourite YouTube channels is called 'What Likely Happened', but I also like That Chapter and a few others. The issue with some of them is that they seem to narrate old TV episodes, to the point of directly copying, and it becomes apparent when the next thing they release is from the same show or uses AI, and that puts me right off. I can instantly tell if a YouTube video has been based on something like Unsolved Mysteries or UK crime that comes from Crimewatch. There is an interesting Jack the Ripper channel called "The House of Lechmere." A lot of cold cases have been solved due to people continuing to highlight and shine a light on cases, but I do not like disingenuous hosts or channels.

These three could easily come in and do a job, Theo Vassell can be a bit hit and miss. Decent player, but would be most suitable as a rotational/backup player. He could be worth giving a contract until the end of the season, I can't imagine his wages being a problem. Jamal Blackman would be excellent competition for Kelle Roos, he's a very good shotstopper and would be suitable to push for the first team. I do get the feeling Roos might be on a decent wage, which might be the reason the clubs is hestitant to look for a replacement but the fact he makes so many mistakes, and looks uncomfortable at times I do think it would relese pressure. It's funny hearing people telling me they want Sam Slocombe back, who was never all that bad but we just insisted he did things outside of his comfort zone. Max Woltman has a good pedigree, I recall him signing for Oxford and it looked like a good move. I think provided he didn't end up sitting on the bench or in the stands, he could give us an option over Mai Traore. It might allow for Traore to play in a more suitable role, than as a striker.

I thought we would put out a squad and get dismantled in all honesty, but Martin Paterson got the best out of the players he gave a chance and that's exactly what you want to see. I think Barnsley felt they could play some of their fringe players and that they would still be good enough. So, I don't think it reflects badly on us but on them for not mounting more of a game against a weaker League Two team when you consider how many aren't regular starters. The competition I don't really care for, but I am proud of the players for grafting a positive result because it will have helped with the league.

It was a good game, though there were spells where the game just sat and it became a little boring. This is a credit to both teams playing the waiting game and just getting familiar with each other. Oldham surprised me that they were very focused on keeping the ball on the ground, whereas it was Notts especially in the final 20 minutes of the game, keeping the ball in the air. Oldham looked like they wouldn't score until their keeper booted the ball and found their player clean through. This will sound harsh, but the moment the ball flew through the players, I knew Roos would make the wrong decision and end up being lobbed. I would say they looked lacking in confidence, but I think much of it goes down to the way Notts played. Oldham aren't a bad team, but they aren't that threatening. The goal gave them a surge, and if we weren't 3-1 up at this stage, I would have felt like "here we go again," but credit to Martin Paterson; his changes introduced fresh legs, even though at the time I was pondering why we made certain changes. Isn't there a noticeable difference in making such changes now compared to the start of the season? I think the changes at the beginning of the season would have been negative, considering how lively Oldham became after scoring and how wobbly we started to look. We had spells where we couldn't clear the ball very well, and this all stemmed from us almost scoring a fourth goal.

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

I am more inclined to play the game, and it's interesting compared to previous seasons where a lot of fans were inclined to say the same thing. I guess it's a reflection of where we are hoping to go, but we can afford to miss Jacob Bedeau for one match. I think Jodi is more of a loss, and even then I have to acknowledge it would give someone else the chance to come in. Postponing the game will give us time to train and prepare for the upcoming games, but it will come at a cost of routine and potentially form. There is also the possibility that Swindon might be much stronger and in better form the next time we play them. Whereas right now, I think it shows that we see them as a threat without a plan. I trust the judgment, but my preference would always be to play games where possible. Some fans will never be happy and will flip their complaints. If we have suspensions or injuries for the rearranged fixture, people will say that it would have been better to have played the game. This will be more a problem if we end up with a backlog of postponements, but the point is the club needs to worry less about pleasing fans who just find fault.

Such a lowlife, I hope he spends the rest of his life in prison because that's where people like him belong.

English football wouldn't be the same without promotions and relegations; it's what has made the sport exciting, and there have been too many negative changes, which are starting to become tiring. Suggesting that "elite" clubs shouldn't be relegated is pure desperation and saddening to see. It's also a level of delusion to say Birmingham City is within the same setup as Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City. The only reason they don't want relegation is because they fear things going wrong or fully expect to struggle if promoted to the Premier League, which is natural.

Hello, @NottaCounty2001. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham, I hope you enjoy being part of our Notts County community.

I don't remember voting, which is certainly a mistake on my part. Though I am pleased to see Rod McDonald still earning praise because it highlights the impact he's made since coming into the Notts XI, and how he's taken the position for himself. We want to see players who get a taste of starting secure their place by playing with impressive form.

The default theme (PON V5) has been fixed; it had some JavaScript issues and misbehaved, so that has been sorted now. Along with the mood system, I am very sorry if you were one of the members who had selected a mood, only to lose it. I had to uninstall the app, and that ultimately didn't help. I'm tempted to do this. 🤣

All this is actually coming from the old supporter meetings which I used to be a member of; it's nothing new. It was said in one of the first meetings by Matthew Rimmington back when Sarah Gooding worked at the club. It's good to see it finally here, as it's been years in the making, but I thought, based on the last meeting I had attended, that Alice Kelk had found a club historian to help curate items for a museum. It's good news because we should be preserving the club's history, and there are a lot of knowledgeable fans out there who could help with this.

Just a small update to say PON will be recognising the talent within the community by acknowledging 'community roles', which will see a badge awarded to various contributors who reach certain criteria. Such roles as Community Expert, Analyst, Historian, YouTuber, etc. These will be issued to active members of the community, so we encourage you to take part in order to keep the relevant badge of your chosen field. I would also encourage you to showcase your field by sharing your work within the community, but where relevant and mindful of avoiding appearing to spam. In addition, the dashboard and community forum page have an activity streak widget to encourage and remind members to stay engaged. I fully understand that members won't always have the time, but commitment and effort really do help the site. As a fun way to encourage this, the activity streak will keep track of your posting habit, and if you keep engaging, you will see it total up. If at some point you don't post, you can simply start again and see if you can beat your recorded highest amount. Latest subscribers now have their ribbon back on desktops, and on mobile, it reverts to a badge due to space. Thanks for all your contributions, everyone! Regards, Chris

Roos, Aljofree, McDonald, Bedeau, Jodi, Tsaroulla, Palmer, Robertson, Hall, Dennis, Jatta. If not Dennis, I would have Grant, even though he takes too many touches to shoot. He has time to start scoring, but he does work hard. Subs: Griffiths, Macari, Norburn, Bennetts, Jarvis. If we are playing by the rule @menzinho mentioned, being that we lose a sub due to no homegrown player than I end with Jarvis. If we have another space, I would put Ness or Luker in.

Derby County 1-0 Southampton Swansea City 0-2 Leicester City Joker Huddersfield Town 0-1 Stockport County Port Vale 2-1 Northampton Town Bromley 0-1 Tranmere Rovers Salford City 1-1 Grimsby Town Braintree Town 0-1 Sutton United Wealdstone 3-1 Altrincham

Great to see Jodi playing more like himself, and there was times he looked to be getting hot headed and I feared he would be carded (if not sent off) but he put that frustration into playing. Well done, Jodi. 👏🏻

I won't be at the game, but i am hoping we play a strong rotationed squad which gives some of the players who require minutes a start. I would like to see Barry Cotter start, as we need to be getting inside his head and trying to get that spark we have seen. Like the friendly against Cardiff and the opening match against Newport County. He's a good player, that if pushed and his confidence lift could be a game changer and I think it's games like this where it helps provided he's eligible to play. Also, the return of David McGoldrick. I sincerely hope he's booed but at the same time, I hope we don't give him any form of welcoming.

For me, Scott Robertson, Jodi Jones, Nick Tsaroulla and Matt Palmer were the standouts. Though I found it very easy to vote for Jodi because I think he injected so much into the game, some very advanced forward passes, good movement and focused on going forward. He really did seem more like his old self, which is encouraging. I don't think anyone was 'bad', but those four were the best for me.

To lose in the way we did, it was a bit frustrating but easily overlooked when you put aside the feeling of 3 points being lost. Notts did very well early on, and I felt like we were doing everything we could but open the deadlock up with a goal. Though, it felt like it was coming. As anticipated, Crewe showcased their strength in midfield and displayed an impressive performance. I didn't feel concerned because of how we were defending. That aerial threat discussed, it came to haunt us. Crewe deserves credit for a very well-worked goal, but we need to handle these set pieces much better. I also agree that we allowed Crewe to grow into the game immediately after, and it became somewhat scrappy. Thankfully, Notts resumed control and looked bright again, much to the credit of Jodi Jones. When Nick Tsaroulla seized the ball and launched a powerful strike towards goal, you could see it was going in. Nothing against Tom Iorpenda but had he taken the chance, he would have had to work the ball to his right and most likely it wouldn't have been a threat. Whilst on the subject of Iorpenda, I thought he did some neat stuff, and it was good to see more from him defensively, but I am not sure if he always deserves the start. I felt pleased to see Tyrese Hall in the starting line-up, and I felt he did very well with dealing with the lunges Crewe's defence threw at him, it wasn't just Hall, but many of our players had to content with very rash challenges which went nowhere near the ball and wasn't noticed by the officials. The elbow on Scott Robertson, I felt should have been given a foul. It was dangerous, and left him with a red mark on his face for a long period of time. Robbo was certainly one of the players being targetted, and I feel the intension was to get him or Jodi sent off. At 1-1, there were plenty of chances for Notts to win the game. I felt a bit disappointed with how little impact Alassana Jatta had on the chances which fell his way. As others have mentioned, it might seem harsh, but he's a striker and those types of balls are what poachers and goalscorers thrive on. Hitting one straight at the keeper, and other hitting the far left post just seemed a bit clumsy to me. The effort Crewe blocked near the goal line was very well defended, and I hate to say, but there were signs of what I spoke about. Crewe's defence wasn't all that good, and their keeper, although he made some good saves most were routine, and he struggled when things did become a bit crazy in his box. I am feeling more optimistic that things are starting to click, we just need to settle down a bit more and stay focused both in defence and in attack.

What the Reedtz have done is essentially a financial decision that changes how both the club and their company, Football Radar, look on paper. When Football Radar first loaned the money, it was treated as an asset for them and a debt for Notts County. By waiving that loan, Football Radar loses an asset in its accounts, which shows up as a loss. At the same time, Notts County removes a huge liability, which makes its balance sheet look much stronger. This is a classic business move: shifting figures between two linked companies to improve the financial health of one, even if it means a hit for the other. So, it's very good news for Notts and it's nothing remotely to worry about. It's a gracious decision by the Reedtz, as it will reflect on Football Radar until they can remove the loss from its own books. For a profitable company, it's not all that difficult, and there's no issue with them seeking to put money into the company, whereas it's a lot harder in football. It pretty much wipes our slate clean and puts the club on an easier path to sustainability.

Hello, @Dave78. Welcome to the Pride of Nottiingham. I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community.

Jay-jay Okocha was a joy to watch during his spell at Bolton. Sam Allardyce was a good manager, and I think there is an element of underestimating what he did. He did wonders for Blackburn Rovers and tended to make teams that were "average" play much better. Both his Blackburn and Bolton teams were made up of hard-working players and supplemented by exceptional talent. I know there's a lot of hot air about Big Sam's dealing with Bolton and how he secured some of the players, but Bolton was the underdog team in the Premier League that made it exciting to watch. It's inaccurate to claim he had a single style; he constantly blended various influences, keeping things fresh and dynamic. He was one of those old-school managers who would make changes reflecting his strengths and how to counter the opposition. The drinking and laddish culture is true; he wasn't strict with the players, and that's partly how he tended to get the best out of them. https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/24654604.sam-allardyces-top-bolton-wanderers-moments-25-years/