Chris

Hartlepool United manager, Ronnie Moore has told his players to go and 'enjoy' playing their football - He insists they should show no fear, starting with the Pools trip to Meadow Lane tomorrow. Hartlepool finds themselves a single position above the drop zone of League Two, a mere 12 points behind the Magpies'. In a mid-week interview More said "Pressure? it’s for whimps". Before adding "Just go and play football, we’re not getting shot at out there! Yes, it’s people’s livelihoods and the fans have supported the club all their lives – they don’t want to see us go out of this league. But it’s game of football - go out there and enjoy it." "It’s a matter of getting together, taking the chances when they come." Pools dropped to 22nd in the table this week, it's their lowest league position since last May - It follows after Yeovil managed to secure a point against Luton Town, though the Pools have a total of 4 games in hand. "We can’t do anything about other teams winning. You have to live with that. But we have the opportunity with our games in hand." explained Moore. "They mean nothing though unless we are winning them, we know it’s going to be tough, there’s no doubt about that but we have a decent squad here now and one we should not fear anyone. We need a little break, we need someone to put the ball in the net, however it goes in, it does not have to be a wondergoal." Former Hartlepool United striker Luke James will be availible for the pools selection and will be tasked with causing Notts County's defender trouble. He will remain with the side on a half-season long loan after signing from Peterborough United. Also availible would select the 21-year-olds partner from a range of players such as Rakish Bingham, Rhys Oates, Billy Paynter and Scott Fenwick. "Luke can play with any of our strikers,” said Moore. “He can play in a 4-4-2 or just off the forward, It’s a hard decision for me because given the amount of forwards here now, one or two may not be in the squad altogether." "But all the lads have had ample time to put a smile on my face, none of them can knock on my door if they are out. Scotty is maybe the only one who can feel hard done by, but the reason I went for Bings last week was his pace." "It wasn’t anything to do with me thinking Bings is a better forward than Scotty. It was horses for courses, but we can all be wise after the event can’t we? We can all say at 5pm, 'oh, I wouldn’t have picked him'." Nathan Thomas will be a certain starter for the pools, along side Luke James - who returned after putting an outstanding performance last Saturday against Exeter City. "If we had someone like Luke last week we would have won as Nathan was unplayable," said Moore. "He has ability, he is bright and quick and creates chances. Nathan can be our saviour – playing at that pace, opposition players can’t handle him. I don’t want to pin too much responsibility on one boy, but everyone has seen what he is capable of. I’m sure if he produces that week-in, week-out there will be enough balls coming in to satisfy any striker." Have your say on the Pride of Nottingham match discussion - Here. Don't forget to join in and if you haven't registered - you can do so here.

Hartlepool United presents Jamie Fullarton an excellent opportunity, as does the run of fixtures taking place within February. Yet, it’s tricky in a sense because we feature the Pools twice within recent weeks of each other and those games are quite hard for teams struggling to insert themselves on the field – especially when the first game is at home. York City, Leyton Orient and Accrington Stanley are games coming up. We also face a difficult Plymouth Argyle towards the latter part of the month. York and Accrington are games which I feel we can secure points; it is aided by the fact that Jamie has restored faith in the away performances. So tomorrow we face the challenge which a struggling Hartlepool United presents and the conversations within our match discussion has instantly raised concerns regarding both midfields. I don’t think they will sit back, it’s not the style of play they try to incorporate into their tactics. Most likely, they will build with patience or result to keeping the ball in the air, so that this breaks the game up and allows them to edge closer to playing it on the ground within the final third. They will want to involve their wingers as much as possible, with so many young and eager players and a packed midfield this could make it hard for us to break them down. Which will be a test of character for Notts to enable play to break them down. With York City also being a side which struggle, I think this will be the game that could entice confidence from our own attacking play. Orient are a different scenario, we know that they will look to play with confidence and aggression – whilst Accrington are just your typical League 2 team. Plymouth being the final fixture of February, will rely on the morale and confidence picked up from the previous five games. I think picking 10 points could happen; it’s the mid-range of what I would predict personally and much depends on our home performances’ that break up the away games. I don’t dismiss that there will be tests, yet for us to finish as high as possible (forgetting about the play-offs for now) – we will need to acquire much of the points here, as March could be a month where we could seal further victories. It may seem negative to think about this now, but I have thought about comments made about next season. Surely re-building in the summer will allow us to focus on challenging wisely for promotion from League 2? C’mon You PIES!! What do you think? Don't forget to have your say by voicing your opinions within the Pride of Nottingham community | Not a member? Join us today - be a part of our growing Notts hub.

Notts County Ladies have completed the sale of England defender Alex Greenwood to Liverpool Ladies 'for a significant' fee. Alex has been a pinnacle player for the Lady Pies since arriving at the club in 2015, helping the side respectfully finish two successful campaigns and also most recently helping Notts reach Wembley in the F.A Cup. The 22-year-old featured also featured in the Continental Tyres Cup Final last season. Former FA WLS 1 champions, Liverpool have added Alex Greenwood in order to strengthen their squad after making an additional six signings, and Scott Rogers was keen to sign the Lioness and liverpool born left-back. "This is a fantastic move for me and I am really enthusiastic about the new season, I had a great year at Notts County but this represents an exciting, new challenge and one that I am really looking forward to." Alex told the official site. The fee, although undisclosed is believed to be a club record sale for Notts County who 'reluctantly' accepted the offer from Liverpool. "We received a significant bid from Liverpool, which was close to our valuation for the player, and considering her wish to leave we reluctantly accepted the offer," Notts County Ladies chief executive Matthew Alexander said. "Notts County wishes Alex all the best for the future." Do you feel Notts Ladies should have sold Alex Greenwood? How can they put the fee to good use? - Join in our discussion here.

Notts County first team manager Jamie Fullarton has completed the signing of Gary MacKenzie on loan, the deal is initially for twenty-eight days. The 30-year-old Doncaster Rovers defender has enjoyed spells with more recently Bradford City, Blackpool and MK Dons. The Magpies’ are looking to further shore up their defensive options with this arrival after recently managing to keep a clean sheet against Luton Town last Saturday. Speaking to the club for the first time, Gary said “I’ve got plenty of experience in the league above but it should work out for everybody. If I can benefit Notts County and myself then everyone is happy.” “My job is to organise and keep clean sheets in the defence but I also like to play football – it makes the game more enjoyable. But the important thing for me is to concede fewer goals.” Jamie Fullarton was quick to speak about his connection with MacKenzie by saying “Gary is a player I’ve known form a number of years from his time with Rangers and Dundee. You find yourself tracking players throughout the years and how they can complement your setup at the time.” “Obviously I’m delighted to bring him in because I feel he offers us something different, he’s a true leader who will help develop our young defenders in the first team and make a big contribution.” The Magpies’ are also said to be looking at former Rams defender Miles Addison and ex-Plymouth winger Jason Banton who are said to be training with the club. What do you think of this signing? Does it reassure you that the defence is being strengthened? Don’t forget to have you say below or within our community discussion, as we welcome Gary MacKenzie to Meadow Lane – Here.

Former Magpies’ striker Alex Kenlock has joined East Grinstead Town. Alex was part of the set-up, which enjoyed travelling to Spain back 2014, where he was part of the Football League Education system with Notts County’s youth team and had signed his first professional deal with the magpies in April 2015. The forward, who spent several years with Notts County – after progressing through the academy ranks, has joined the Ryman League Division One South Side on Friday. On the following day, he made his debut for Matt Longhurst’s side in a 0-0 draw against Herne Bay. Don’t forget to leave a comment below – alternatively you can see what’s happening in and around PON – Here | Also, don’t forget to join the community Here.

The Magpies' take on Luton Town tomorrow at the Kenilworth Road Stadium, which will be the second time Notts have played them within the 2015/16 season. On Saturday 12th September 2015, Notts managed to defeat Luton Town at Meadow Lane after enjoying a 2-0 lead upto the 71st minute, when the Hatters responded and then quickly drawn level on the 76th minute. Liam Noble sealed all three points by scoring in the final seconds, the final score 3-2 to Notts County. In this feature, Notts-Joe has taken the time to put several questions to two Luton Town fans - Beanite and Matt kindly took the challenge to respond in-depth for our own faithful's and beneath you will be able to gauge tomorrow's opposition. Find out what they both fans have had to say! Could you tell Pride of Nottingham a little bit about yourself, such as how long you have supported Luton Town? Beanite: Although born in Lutonia I'm one of the many exiled Hatters. Having lived in Hampshire for the last 30 years a home game for me is a 150 mile round trip. My first match was the 4-0 win over Doncaster Rovers in Feb 70. Who was to know then that the young defender we'd signed from Fulham would still to this day hold the record for scoring 5 goals in a match for England! Matt: I'm a 29 year old season ticket holder who has been going to Kenilworth Road for 24 years. My first game was a drab 0-0 draw with Sunderland on a cold December day in 1992. Despite this, I was hooked, and was rewarded the following season with our fantastic run to the FA Cup semi-final, beating Newcastle and West Ham on the way before losing 2-0 to Chelsea at Wembley. That's pretty much the high point of my Luton supporting life. There have been a few highs, namely our first season back in the Championship under Mike Newell (where I genuinely thought we could get promotion to the Premiership), the FA Cup ties with Liverpool, beating Norwich as a Conference side and the vast majority of our Conference Championship season where it just seemed as though we could turn up anywhere and win. However Luton's recent history is largely a tale of woe, synonymous with player sales, relegations and points deductions. However all that is now behind us and, with a new manager and shiny new stadium on the horizon, the future could very well be orange. How do you feel your seasons going so far? What was your hopes at the start and have you since reflected on them? Beanite: It's fair to say that we all had high hopes for the squad that John Still had assembled at the start of the season. Unfortunately he wasn't able to put out a good enough team & he has now returned to his roots, albeit with the gratitude from all Hatters for returning us to the FL. Matt: In a word, horrifically. That may sound dramatic however such were the expectations at the beginning of the season given the quality of player we bought in, the results and more worryingly the performances were incredibly disappointing. If you had asked 100 Luton fans at the beginning of the season what their expectations were, I'm sure 99 would have said automatic promotion. It was only a catastrophic loss of form from February onward that saw us drop out of the top 3 (and then 7) last season and so the additions of Scott Cuthbert, Danny Green, Paddy McCourt and Craig Mackail-Smith would surely propel us to the summit. Or not. As much as I like the guy and will forever be grateful for him hauling us out of the Conference, it was the right decision to part ways with John Still. The tactics (or lack thereof) were akin to what most people would call 'hoofball', which is not ideal when CMS and Jack Marriott up top are about 5'8. These tactics may have been acceptable had they produced results however the lack of wins, goals and entertainment duly saw Mr Still make way. It will be interesting to see how Nathan Jones does with this group of players. I still believe the majority are 'above the level' players who were hamstrung by the previous management teams negative tactics. Jones is seen as a forward thinking coach and has said he wants to bring Tiki-Taka to Kenilworth Road. The early signs are encouraging, but time will tell. Many Notts fans would have like to see Alan Sheehan return to Meadow Lane, what do you make of this signing for Luton and did it come as a surprise? Beanite: TBH I'd never heard of him but then any player who scores his first goal against whatfor'd has got to be a top signing! Matt: It did come somewhat out of the blue. Our defense has been shaky all season, particularly since Sumo (Steve McNulty) moved to Tranmere to be closer to his family. There was a huge gap in defense and a massive lack of leadership in his absence, so I wasn't surprised that Nathan Jones bought a center half in. It was slightly more surprising that he replaced Luke Wilkinson (sold to Stevenage) who had probably been the least best of a bad bunch when in came to center halves this season. I'm yet to see Alan Sheehan play as I couldn't make it to his debut up in Mansfield, however I hear only good things. I've done a little bit of YouTube trawling and his left foot is a thing of beauty. Hopefully we can sort our issues at center half and move Sheehan too left back to get the most out of him. Which of your 2015/16 signings have stood out? Are you disappointed personally by any? Beanite: Two signings stand out for me, Jack Marriott from Ipswich and Magnus Okuronghae from Col Utd. I guess we are expected to feel disappointed with Craig M.S. but this chap works his proverbials off and playing him as a winger with hoof ball probably wasn't John Still's finest moment. Matt: It's been a really mixed bag for our signings this season. Some, such as Jack Marriott and Danny Green have shone in patches. Others like Craig Mackail Smith and Paddy McCourt have rather flattered to deceive (although the former has spent most of the season trying to win headers against center halves and the latter has started one game since October), whilst others have been outright disappointing. Scott Cuthbert and Magnus Okuonghae, I'm looking at you. I have faith however that they are decent enough players who were playing to instructions which rather hampered their abilities. Jack Marriott has pace to burn and has had a lot of success coming off of the bench. Cameron McGeehan has a lovely knack of being in the right place at the right time to score from midfield. I really think Nathan Jones' appointment will do them all (and indeed the entire squad) the world of good. What did you make of the game between our two teams at Meadow Lane earlier on in the season? Did you think the result was fair and which Notts player stood out the most? Beanite: A draw would have been a fairer result back in Sept. Stand out contributor on the day for you would have to be Ben Toner!! Matt: I was unfortunate enough to be at Meadow Lane to watch us lose to yet another late goal. This was exacerbated by the fact I had spent the previous two days in Doncaster at the races and had about us much luck as Scott Cuthbert did trying to keep up with Izale McLeod. It was a frustrating performance as we went 2-0 down with barely a whimper. It was only after the second goal that we started to play and scored two pretty good goals. I swear Jonathon Smith has never hit a ball that well in his life. Seriously, watch him try and make a 5 yard pass if he plays Saturday. When the sucker punch came it wasn't unexpected. We had already dropped points to Oxford, Pompey and Bristol Rovers because of late goals and you could see it coming as soon as Cuthbert bundled McLeod over. It was the right result and I couldn't complain with the final score. Obviously McLeod stood out for Notts having run Cuthbert and Wilkinson ragged all game, although most center forwards have this year. The left midfielder who may have been Aborah, also gave our right back a torrid time all game, and he wasn't seen in the first team for many months after that. What line-up do you feel will be selected on Saturday for Luton and who are your main threats? Beanite: It's hard to guess the line up with a new manager but the main threats to watch out for would be Justham, O'Donnell, Cuthbert, Sheehan, Howells, Smith, Lawless, Ruddock, Marriott and CMS. Matt: It's difficult to judge what formation we will go on Saturday. Jones' first game he went 4-4-2 with a fully fit squad and we drew. We then had 6 players injured and through necessity switched to a 4-5-1/4-3-3 with wingers for the game at Mansfield and won 2-0. My gut feeling is that you don't change a winning side we will line up the same as at Mansfield with the possible exception of Alan Sheehan moving out to left back and Magnus Okuonghae coming in to partner Scott Cuthbert. That would see us line up a bit like this. Justham O'Donnell Cuthbert Okuonghae Sheehan Lawless Smith McGeehan Ruddock-Mpanzu McCourt Mackail-Smith The main threats will come from the wings. Paddy McCourt looks rejuvenated under Nathan Jones and had a great game up at Mansfield. However most of our hopes with be on Pelly Ruddock-Mpanzu. Pelly was signed on loan and then permanently from West Ham as a center half in our Conference title season and was immense. He then spent the bulk of the next 18 months injured or "a week away from fitness" as John Still kept telling us. When he did play he had moved to central midfield and then out to the wide right position. He's fast, powerful and strong as an ox. He grabbed an assist and a great goal up in Mansfield and if he's on song your left back is in for a long afternoon. Outside of that, McGeehan has 9 goals despite being played out of position on the left wing for most of the season and Jack Marriott loves coming off the bench to run at tired defenses. Who do you feel will gain promotion from League Two and who do you think will be relegated? Beanite: Aided by a £10m grant from the local taxpayers it would be criminal if Northampton don't go up. Plymouth and Oxford both play fairly high tempo football so it's hard to see the present top 3 change. One or two teams always come from nowhere towards the end of the season so why not a Luton v Notts PO for the final place? Newport and Yeovil for the drop as York always seem to get the luck when it matters and D&R will probably have 4 or 5 ex-Hatters in the team shortly. Matt: I think Northampton and Oxford are nailed on now. Northampton in particular have been very impressive and Oxford have recruited well. Plymouth will probably take the last automatic place. The playoffs are a lottery and a lot will come down to who takes momentum into them. I think Accrington are a really good side but it depends whether Windass and Crook leave in this window or the summer. Wycombe will be there or thereabouts, as will Pompey. However I'll go for Bristol Rovers who I've been impressed with in both games against Luton. Relegation-wise I think York are doomed and the John Still effect at Dagenham might see them jump above Yeovil and send them down. Lastly, what do you feel te score will be? Beanite: A close game with the home team shading it by the odd goal! Safe trip to all the Magpies making the journey South. Matt: Tough one. From what I saw earlier in the season, defending is neither of our strong points so their could be goals. That said we haven't conceded in the two games under Nathan Jones. I'm going to say 3-1 Luton with 2 goals from Cameron McGeehan and a 25 yard free kick from Luton legend, Alan Sheehan ;-) Pride of Nottingham would like to thank both Beanite and Matt for taking the time to do this feature - If you haven't already joined us, why not consider it? You can do so by visiting - Here | Also, don't forget to check our other content - Here.