Chris

I'm quite happy being where I am; there's room to climb, and provided I keep hitting the average points needed, I should be fine. I feel sorry for my better half; normally she's pretty good at this. Relegation must be avoided, @cheeky~k8, what happened to wanting to beat Super?

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

@Wheelbarrow repair man: I think the correct story is that you were mistaken for Richard Stilgoe. @NottsCountyKev, carefully looking at the options, I think meeting Alan Shearer is more likely than the others. My five facts: 1) I once entered a pancake-making contest at a 5-star restaurant that I worked at and beat qualified chefs with my mix. 2) When my school was closing down, I did an interview for ITV Central News where I said that the school needed saving. 3) I took a penalty kick in the 90s at a home game and scored against Notts' reserve keeper. 4) My school selected me to take part in a local football competition at Harvey Hadden, where I was the top scorer for the team. 5) Two ex-Forest players once tried to talk me into signing a contract with their youth team after I was scouted at a school game.

I thought this might be interesting if we named one player who retired early that you would have loved to see play for Notts County. It doesn't have to be realistic, but I would prefer you to name players who are either British or have played in English football. Otherwise, we could name any silly player from overseas that doesn't quite land with others in the community. My pick would be David Bentley. Long-standing PON members will know that I grew up supporting both Notts and Arsenal. I used to pay a lot of attention to the academy players, as I would write to Arsenal amongst other clubs (Notts never once wrote back), but I would be sent signatures and updates on Arsenal. When Bentley was breaking into first-team football, I was delighted when he signed for Blackburn Rovers, who at that point kept pushing for regular European football. For me, it meant being able to see him play more through live games and Match of the Day. His ability was brilliant to watch; he read the game very well, and his style was very much like David Beckham's not an imitation of him, but almost exactly like him. I do think Bentley had his own game mind. He retired at the age of 29 due to injuries, and if Notts could ever have gotten the most out of someone. As they have with Jodi Jones, for example, it would have been a dream come true to have seen David Bentley wear a Notts shirt. What a dream this was to see!

Ha! The location if you caught it, would also be another identifier because it wasn't where I live. Quite funny how people thought it was me, even people who know and are aware I am from Aspley.

Port Vale surprises me, but it wasn't that long ago, at least to me, that they were in the old First Division after the formation of the Premier League. They used to be a club like Tranmere Rovers, that would be in the 2nd and 3rd tiers. Back when Wigan were starting to grow in size and Sheffield United always seemed to be on the verge of promotion to the Premier League, alongside Wolves but struggling to make their size count. So, it's good to see that our years floating in the 4th tier haven't stopped us from achieving something exclusive like this, which really is a good record to have. Vale fans might not be happy to share it, mind.

Here's another tale of mine, but this time a rather funnier encounter. My friend and his partner, who Notts refer to as Martin and Patrina. 😅 They kindly allowed me to join them, and this is the reason I managed to get back on the road to support Notts. On the way to Tranmere Rovers, we pulled into a service station. Mark (Martin, as Notts insists), myself, and Jake were all wearing this season's home shirt. The doors to the service station were at an angle, which meant having to walk around, and as we did, a coach pulled up with a large number of Manchester United fans. I instantly noticed a lot of angry, throwing faces directed towards us, and thinking quickly in my head, I said, "Nobody mention Grimsby Town," followed by, "We're Notts County fans." This cracked up several of the United fans, who surprisingly had a good sense of humour. A woman replied, "Don't worry, even you could probably beat us." There's a lot of laughing, and then another United fan goes, "Don't worry, lad. We are friendly," and another said, "Who do you have today?" then added, "You're in the wrong part of England if it's Grimsby Town." I replied: "Tranmere Rovers, we are looking for our first win on the road." They all laughed and joked, "You know how we feel now." 🤣🤣

Big shock a few games ago when everyone near me thought I had won £100. I swear, it was announced as £200, though the amount in the entries put up on the OS says £100. I thought it said the same this past week when I heard a familiar name that had reached out to me via email. I tried to join Lifeline back in the day, but I found myself unable, as the limit was in place and no waiting list was available. 😔 I do think it's a very important part of the community around Notts, and those 2,500 fans are amazing people who offer a lot of security and improvements when it comes to it. I also think Lynn Lawson does a great job managing it; if anyone has ever been to a Lifeline event, you will have seen this with your own eyes. It's such an important part of our club's DNA.

A good April's fools has gone out of the window. I didn't look much into it, just clicked the link but it appears they have signed Joe Wright from Barnet.

Hello, @Graham. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham! I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County comminity. I appreciate the article you have submitted for us, I will check that out momentirly and get back to you as to why I can publish it. The strangest thing happened at the Fleetwood game, I was talking to another contributor about your email and then Notts announced the LifeLine winners. I intended to congratulate you on your win! Many fans thought I had won in the 51st week but that's just my namesake doubleganger! It's great to have you here.

There are little things which Martin Paterson says at times that are starting to trigger me a little; I thought he was very harsh after the Tranmere Rovers win with regard to our defence. That win was a crucial away one on the road, and his inexperience as a head coach does show at times. I have nothing against him speaking his mind however he wants, but I do think there's an element of trying too hard to win over supporters who will be the first to turn against him the moment our form dips or changes for the worst. I feel he needs to be a little more balanced and neutral; by all means, single out moments, but the win against Fleetwood has been our best 90 minutes. Comparing it to passages of play against Newport just baffled me, because that's one game, and the only one where I felt we did play well beyond 60 minutes. We deserved more from the game, but I don't think we have had another one like that. We have been very poor at home; I have much more enjoyed watching us play away from home because we seem less nervous about making mistakes. Games like Barrow are where you want the head coach to say the performance isn't acceptable, take his portion of the blame, and demand better. Making an example when the performances are getting better is quite a risky move, and I hope that Paterson can keep things up because the signs are finally encouraging, but all it takes is one negative remark to hit the camp's confidence and knock things back. There are things that I liked that he said, but more that made me nervous about his approach to answering. I don't think we should be letting him do most of the talking, because he's not Luke Williams. It's not all that interesting, and he's playing with fire when he speaks of more negatives than positives at a time you would be wanting to call for more optimism. My closing point would be: "because I have an honesty with my players and the supporters at the moment". 🤦🏻‍♂️

Best game ever! 🤣😇 It just so happens my go-to first word came good, which led me to try my second guess to cover other letters. Then BINGO. 😁m Wordle 1,542 3/6 🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟨🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Yeah, it seems with v5 it became a setting in the ACP. I have enabled it for mobiles, and guests.

Poor Dorking, a friend told me this before Notts kicked off against Fleetwood. I was led to believe the fan was asked to play from the stands, but this doesn't seem to be the case, and I ask myself, why not just go out and sign a proper keeper? Even if it was someone young who had been released from a league club. It's great for the fan, but nothing more than a publicity stunt otherwise. I respect his comments about wanting to keep a clean sheet, but the "riding the bike" comment is a very humorous quip. If he concedes a hatful of goals, the opposition is going to have their fun taunting him even more, knowing this. I can see a meme coming!!

Today, I have so far caught up with several topics I have missed and made sure I have replied, too. Soon I'll digest what Martin Paterson said after the Fleetwood Town win and publish that, as I take a look at other things I might be able to plug across social media. Nothing all that exciting, but it is what it is.

I was told sand was put down to help get the game on; I thought it might have impacted the performance or made the pitch difficult to play on, but it seemed to have no effect. The pitch didn't look great, with it, but at least it allowed the game to be played. I am not really a fan of seeing the starting XI warm up in the absence of the bench, and even uninvolved players. But the fitness levels do appear to be improving, and more of the squad are benefiting from this as it isn't taking their focus when they tire out. They kept going against Fleetwood, and I think Ollie Norburn has benefited from this. With him returning to a higher level of fitness, I believe he will start to make more of an impact, and I loved seeing him go in with his tackles more confidently.

Part of it, I believe, is other leagues have started to replicate how La Liga would bank on its marketable names that featured in the league; PSG have made a habit of signing big names as a means to milk the money a player like Lee Kang-in. It's also a side effect of La Liga clubs overspending and now having to cut back as a means of continuing to operate. It's also not very exciting as it once was. Spanish football is more technical and can be boring because teams just try to out-muscle each other in this department. The amount of hoofball games I have seen over the years where it's the smaller teams that tend to use traditional wingers to break through defenses with pace.

It is believed that multiple people used the name "Robin Hood" as a means to rob the rich in woodlands across the East Midlands and Yorkshire. There are documents identifying that this could be the case, "Robehod" and "Rabunhod," sort of like a common name given to a highwayman or bandit. Different regions have played a big role in telling, adapting, and spreading the story. The early tales and ballads originated in Barnsdale, in Yorkshire. Over time, it is said that these people became somewhat political figures, each using the lure as a means to rebel against the unjust living conditions and as a symbol of resistance against the kingdom's ruling. The story of Robin Hood as a single person is almost comparable to the tales of King Arthur. A mythical archetype is a cool story, but it's hard to say what is really true since so much has been lost over time. While King Arthur seems to be a mixture of tales of kings from Europe, his legend is primarily rooted in post-Roman British history and mythology, shaped by figures such as Ambrosius Aurelianus and Riothamus, and later embellished by medieval writers across Britain and France. There are some pretty convincing documents that suggest Robin Hood might have actually been more than just one person. Some people think there could have been multiple people called Robin Hood, maybe even to help cover up when the main Robin got captured. That's part of why this idea sticks around. There is a record in 1637 that mentions Loxley Firth as being a cottage, the place where Robin Hood was born; it is believed to be one of the earliest claims, and this is why Robin of Loxley is believed to be the real person who inspired the tales.

Hello, @ANTHONY PERKINS. Are you Tony? Partizan Pie? You could just have the same name as someone I know, but if you are one and the same, it's nice to see you have made your way on the site. I hope you enjoy being part of our Notts County community.

Good luck to Nottinghamshire; I don't really pay much attention to cricket because it's not really my sport, but I do want my county to do well. Off-topic (sorry) Josh Tongue? That's one hell of a name. 🤣

I'm trying to figure out why I am familiar with the name, but looking at the squad, I'm not so sure. It's good to see teams like these doing well; it makes a change. It's partly why I have always liked newly promoted teams from the Championship getting a run in the Premier League (Luton, Wigan, Barnsley, Bradford, etc.). I did note their keeper is their captain, something which not a lot of fans tend to favour.

Great to see these @Ash, they're very well made! @Fan of Big Tone yours is looking very smart; it draws my eyes to the text in your signature a lot more.

There are quite a lot of teams which have ex-Notts players in both camps, and on occasion, former coaching staff. I would be cheering on Yeovil more than I would York City. I have always had a soft spot for Yeovil ever since they signed Paddy Madden back when I was recommending Notts to take a look at him. One day, I might try to get to a game like this if it doesn't clash with Notts just to get more experience outside of watching Notts live.

Jack Hinchy still has potential to improve and become a good midfielder; his start at Notts was the opposite of Curtis Edwards, but their worth in our squad was different, too. Curtis Edwards always felt like he was a squad signing, but surprisingly did very well, and early on he really did impress. His desire to do well reminded me much of Jim O'Brien. Just younger, but he did arrive with a smile and some leadership values. It's a shame his injury lost that momentum, but Hinchy grew into the squad the more chances he had. I don't think he had the best of starts at Notts, nor did he become someone who looked like he could be a regular first team member. He did well enough, put in the effort, and improved. I do think with the midfield being so top heavy, we were always destined to see some movement in this area. To be honest, I thought Notts would sign a few more players in this area, despite there being zero need now. I hope Hinchy finds a good loan move, but it's difficult to see how he would fit in without significantly improving.

I had a walk with Jake today, another excuse for him to look for more of those Premier League trading cards he has started collecting. He unpacked a signed Everton player, which is hand-signed and one of x amount. He even gave me one of Ian Wright, as they are including some club legends in the series, and it's a very nice card. It's proudly in a plastic sleeve and top loader, so it's safe. I never did this when I was younger; I collected them and would look at the cards. I never really cared if they had value; I just liked having them. It presented the perfect opportunity to pay a surprise visit to Super, and we intended to be there for about an hour, but we stayed much longer as we talked about things and caught up. Leaving just in time to get something that was being cooked back at home. The positives were my legs only seldomly hurting while walking, and I don't feel too bad. A much more positive week than it had started.