Chris

All is to play for today with the local derby being moved forward from its original schedule due to our neighbours game against Rotherham United. The game is likely to start off lively, with both teams having the chance to sit top of the League Two table. Mansfield come into the game with a draw and a loss in the League Cup against Championship side Sheffield Wednesday. On the other hand Notts have started very brightly after the end to their pre-season, on paper the Magpies will also be the favourites. Key Fixtures Friday 14th August 2015 Notts County v Mansfield Saturday 15th August 2015 Barnet v Wycombe Plymouth v Portsmouth Prediction Mansfield Town cannot be written off for their start so far within the 2015/16 campaign, it’s early in the season and teams are still finding their feet after assembling their new looking squad. The Stags have made some decent signings for the League Two level and will be fired up for the local derby game between us. I see the game ending 3-1 in our favour! C’mon You Pies!!! Match Odds Notts County to win 21/20 – Draw 12/5 – Mansfield Town to win 5/2 Head to Head Notts County – If Notts manage to pick up their second win of the season, it would see them move top of the League Two table temporarily. A draw would also have the same temporary effect, with the potential of ending up anywhere from 5th to 12th in my opinion. A loss would see us drop to around the upper half/mid table. Mansfield Town – A win for the Stags would see them move top of the division temporarily, allowing them to safely secure a upper half place. A draw would see them remain around the mid table and perhaps even drop towards the lower half, as will losing. Key Man Notts County; Stanley Aborah – He’s been a breath of fresh air since arriving and his presence allows Notts to play in a way which allows our advancing players more space to go forward themselves. He offers a mix of creativity, which watching his passing ability and trickery will be key to breaking down Mansfield. Mansfield Town; Craig Westcarr – The thorn in any side he features for against Notts, his ability to read the game and elude defenders will make him the Stags main threat with doubts hanging over Matt Green. League Table The current table shows 9 sides starting off quite healthy, with Portsmouth, Notts County and Plymouth Argyle all being tipped for promotion by the majority of bookies. After today’s results, the league won’t look too much different until the games set to face off on Saturday take place. It’s there I imagine the table will look quite different, with perhaps sides like Luton Town picking up maximum points and advancing up the table. Notts could go top as already mentioned, the same applies for Mansfield and this is another reason why the game between the two is paramount to both sides. There’s not a great deal in which I can mention right now, I don’t expect the leading pack to form until at least 7-9 games into the season. Yet, I do feel Notts have started brightly enough to warrant their odds for promotion and after making 18 signings so far, it shows just how much work has been made behind the scenes to start the season off so brightly. I think after Saturday, if my prediction is correct, Notts will find themselves around 2nd or 3rd which would be a fantastic position to push on from.

The Magpies host Mansfield at Meadow Lane later today, the fixture is one which both sets of fans have been looking forward to and it should be an action packed game, with Stag fans flooding down to the ground to support their team. Mansfield will be looking to claim their first victory of the 2015/16 season, whilst also trying to protect their current undefeated record. With only one game in, the Stags will be required to find the determination to bring out the best of their play. Whilst, Notts must continue with their impressive form within this local derby. Run down of their recent games. Saturday 8th August – Mansfield Town 1 Carlisle United 1 Tuesday 11th August – Sheffield Wednesday 4 Mansfield Town 1 The Players – Fact Sheet. Highest Goal Scorers; Ryan Tafazolli 1, and Malvind Benning 1 Persistent Foulers; Adam Chapman 1 Yellow Card. The Key Players. Matt Green (if fit), along with former Magpie players Craig Westcarr and Kristian Pearce. There's doubts over Green's chances to start the game against Notts, however he is a very mobile striker who can stride into play and literally create chances, with the natural ability to finish. Mansfield have a fairly experienced squad, balanced out with ambitious signings and a core of physical players, with grit for the lower league. Adam Chapman is another player in which Notts should be aware of, however I left him out of the key players because of his inconsistency. Craig Westcarr requires no introduction, he is a player who can drift in and out of games. His ability to read movement, the game and of course a certain level of luck has made him a dangerous asset for whoever he features for. If Kristian Pearce plays to his potential, he will be the rock within the Stags defence. However, it is notable that Mansfield do possess other players of similar ability. Facing up against your former club usually brings the best out of players and I genuinely feel Pearce will be a player advancing Magpies must be aware of. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses. Adam Murray has impressed me with the amount of business and quality in which Mansfield have introduced to their ranks, it leaves questions to if they do require additional strength, but they have assembled a decent side for this division. They're an attacking side which shows no fear of going forward, but are prone to being a little physical to say the least. Mansfield haven't started off that badly considering, I feel the current results are down to players getting used to each other and although they took the lead against Carlisle, they didn't threaten them enough in my opinion. They like to lump the ball forward, making sure that teams have to match their physical attributes in order to find more time on the ball. Naturally, they attack via the flanks but also through the centre the park. The Stags main strengths come from their ability to get forward, whilst the key figures offer strength allowing them to avoid being push overs. Free flowing, fast paced football seems to bring pressure to the Mansfield defence and I have noticed the prone mistakes at the back from set pieces like corner kicks. Notts will have to use all their experience to avoid altercations, as Mansfield will no doubt attempt to rough up play, but if Notts keep the ball down, move quickly I feel this will be far too much for an newish assembled Stag side.

The upcoming local derby between Notts County and Mansfield Town has been labelled by magpies boss Ricardo Moniz as having “No difference between Arsenal and Spurs” and in fact mentioned “This club is also big”. Notts County have the foundation of having impressive performances under their belt, whilst Mansfield are yet to win within the 2015-16 season. Pride of Nottingham has taken the time to put several questions to one of the most recognizable match day photographers Dan Westwell. Firstly, could you please tell prideofnottingham.co.uk a little about yourself, such as how long you've been a Stags fan? I've been a Stags fan for 30 years, since I moved up here from Peterborough when I was 11. I wanted to support my local team and that's where it started. My first game was against the Canadian national team, we won 3-0! At the end of that season we went to Wembley in the Freight Rover Trophy and beat the favourites Bristol City on penalties who had Keith Curle and David Moyes playing for them. I thought I'd picked a winning team here but then the past 29 years have been a bit barren lol. What are stand-out moments from last season and how have things changed within the pre-season? There are no stand out moments from last season as it was a disaster. Had there not been 2 worse teams than us we would've gone back to that hell-hole again. We've got a lot to thank Tranmere & Cheltenham for. This season can't be as bad as that (we hope!). Adam Murray has signed some good players and there was a lot of positivity surrounding the club in the summer, a bit like at Notts, we just need to see how these players gel & then try and find a winning formula as I can't remember the last time we did win a game. Are you optimisic about your season ahead and what do you think of the squad assembled by Adam Murray? Yes I am, if you can't be optimistic in August when can you be!? The squad is very impressive, he's mixed it up well with some old heads, some new heads and some youth, so if he can get the blend right then we'll have a good season. Do you think having players like Craig Westcarr and Kristian Pearce will help you against Notts? I hope so. I was at the Forest game in the cup when Westcarr scored for Notts and he ran along the main stand celebrating in front of the Forest fans. I don't think he would disrespect Notts like that, but if he does I'll be happy as it means he's scored! Who do you think will the win the League Two title? More importantly where will Mansfield and Notts finish in your opinion? I think you can't look beyond Portsmouth & Luton really, but I've had an outside bet on Cambridge as I think they've assembled a good team. Having said that, Notts have been really impressive in the 2 games I've seen so far this season and if they carry this on, then they will win the league. I would love us both to go up, that would be awesome, especially if Forest got relegated! If I was forced to pick league positions I would go Notts 3rd and us 10th which I would take for sure with how we were last season. As the clubs official away day photographer, does it make it more interesting to cover these types of local derby games? It does at Field Mill because obviously I'm there doing the game for Notts yet it's at my 2nd home, so there's a strange feeling about it because I want both teams to win. Personally I want Stags to win because they are my team, but professionally I want Notts to win because it makes my photos better, if you can understand that? Like the pre season game last year when we hammered you ;-) the photos I was sending in were of fans looking fed up and not much action (especially goal action) so the pics weren't very good from a Notts angle (although my Stags mates loved them lol). As for this game, I would've been going as a freelance not being paid and would just sit in one place and see what happened, but now I am doing it for the local Mansfield paper (CHAD) so I will be doing the Stags attack & Stags fans rather than anything Notts as the home photographer will be doing that. What line-up would you feature against the Magpies? Who will be your key men? Matt Green, if he is fit would be our main threat I would say. But you never know if Westcarr & Pearce play then you could have the curse of the returning player. I wouldn't like to guess at our line up as I don't think even Adam Murray knows what team he will pick. Lastly, what do you think the score and scorers will be? If you'd asked me this on Monday I would've gone for a Stags win. But having seen what Notts did to Huddersfield last night I am actually pretty damn scared of what could happen to us. I wouldn't be shocked if Notts tanked us 4-0! We just have to hope that Notts continue their ill discipline and get an early sending off to give us a chance, but then they showed against Huddersfield that they can still see a game out with 10 men, away, at a Championship team. I just hope our good record against Notts helps us out, otherwise we could be in trouble. If you offered me a draw now I'd take it, a nice 2-2 like one of our favourite games when Iyseden Christie equalised 40 yards offside ;-) Pride of Nottingham would like to thank Dan Westwell for taking the time to answer our questions, we wish him all the very best with his recent fund-raising efforts and fingers crossed he brings Notts the luck tonight! No, good luck Mansfield in this new season.

Friday 14th August, Meadow Lane play hosts to local rivals Mansfield Town. The Stags have started the season off by clinching a draw at Field Mill to travelling Carlisle United. The final score finished 1-1, Benning having opened the account for Mansfield. The Owls recently beat them 4-1 away from home in League Cup, yet the performances have left many questions for their own supporters. With Friday now quickly approaching, we here at Pride of Nottingham will share who the match officials are. The Match Officials for the game against Mansfield Town will be Tim Robinson, with his two assistants Jason Whiteley and Paul Hodskinson. The fourth official will be David Benton. Due to the fact we are at the start of the season, it seems pointless to mention stats and so, I will include some details about the officials. Match Officials Referee; Tim Robinson From – West Sussex Tim's record seems to suggest that he can be quite trigger happy with his cards, mostly which are yellow. However, he was promoted to the rank of level 1 as a match official back in the summer of 2012. He has a wealth of experience within the lower leagues, which tends to suggest he isn't that bad at controlling games but all will tell as to how he handles a local derby between two fierce rivals. Assistant Referee; Jason Whiteley From – West Yorkshire Jason is a assistant referee which all Notts County fans should be familiar with by now, last season he featured a few times within our 'Match Official' features and it leaves questions to ask about his ability from the sidelines. Assistant Referee; Paul Hodkinson From – Lancashire Unfortunately there isn't much information on Paul, yet as stated above he comes from Lancashire and has officiated games mostly within the Conference and Non League divisions. Fourth Official; David Benton From – South Yorkshire Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread

Welcome back to the Pride of Nottingham’s League Preview, within this article you will find information on all the scheduled games planned for this weekend (including our own game on Friday night). The key game for this round if we take Notts out of the equation, would no doubt be between the promotion candidates Plymouth and Portsmouth. With both teams eyeing up promotion, after putting last year’s campaign behind themselves. We look forward to bringing you, your regular PON football fix. * Important Game – ** Key Game Friday 14th August 2015 **Notts County v Mansfield – Kick Off 7:45pm – Score Prediction (3-1) Saturday 15th August 2015 *Barnet v Wycombe – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (0-2) Carlise v Cambridge – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-1) Crawley v AFC Wimbledon – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-1) Dagenham & Redbridge v Leyton Orient – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (0-1) *Luton v Oxford – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-0) Morecambe v Accrington – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (0-1) Newport v Stevenage – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (1-1) Northampton v Exeter – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (3-2) **Plymouth v Portsmouth – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (2-1) Yeovil v Bristol Rovers – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (3-1) York v Hartlepool – Kick Off 3:00pm – Score Prediction (0-3) My Stand-Out Games Barnet v Wycombe Notts County v Mansfield Plymouth v Portsmouth The ambitions of the Bee’s is clear for all to see, they firmly believe that they have a squad capable of achieving something within League two and this is echoed by their fans. Whereas Wycombe will be wanting to maintain their recent success, after finishing 4th place in last season’s campaign. On the day, either side could win – it’s that difficult to call but this should make it an interesting game. A win for Barnet will see them move away from the relegation zone, into a comfortable upper mid table position. A Wycombe win, would see them potentially go top depending on the score line, but a draw would see both teams most likely to drop places. After the recent cup success and opening away day, Notts will be eager to seal the points. Whereas the woe’s for Mansfield continue. This is another game too hard to call, however Stagg fans must not begrudge County’s positive start and really it’s for them to raise their own game. A win for Notts would see them retain a respectful top position, a draw would most likely result in a position in or around 6th place, whilst this could push Mansfield nearer to the relegation zone. A win for Mansfield would see them edge closer to a play-off place. Plymouth and Portsmouth are two favourites for promotion, I think being at home is an advantage for Plymouth but Pompey have all to play for. A win for either side could see the winner potentially move to 1st place, a draw would keep them in or around the play-offs and a loss for either side would see them move to an upper mid table position. Thoughts on Notts County vs. Mansfield Both teams have built an interesting squad for the 2015/16 League Two campaign, with Mansfield signing players of a mixed class and of course Notts signing players mostly consisting of a decent level of European football. With this being the nearest local derby for Notts, I think it’s a must win game for us. After the opening day away at Stevenage, Notts must really fancy their chances in scoring a few goals. The overall head to head record shows Notts as favourites after winning 17, Mansfield have won 14 and 13 games have been drawn. Three of the last five encounters have ended up with draws, with Notts winning the most recent within the JPT back in September 2014 and Mansfield winning the other in October 2007. The bookies favourites must surely be Notts, yet as always you cannot write a side off. A local derby always ensures that teams want to acquire the rights for claiming the grudge match win, plus Mansfield can be quite a physical side, which will require Notts to be on top of their game. Whilst the Stags manager Adam Murray still learning his trade, the veteran and experienced Ricardo Moniz will have the game duly studied ahead of time to find the weaknesses within the Stags team.

As I began my journey to watch the opening fixture, I couldn’t help but feel excited. On the back of publishing a video, one in which I am very proud of. I found myself brimming with optimism towards the potential achievements Notts could make within the season ahead. Upon starting my trip to Stevenage, I wondered what the formation would be and of course which defenders would be selected to play. More importantly, I wondered what the current mood and thoughts were of the Notts County camp. I set about my day fairly quietly, as I found my seat on the coach – I looked around, looking through the coach’s window and inside the coach itself. It didn’t feel much like an opening fixture for me, it felt very laid back and quite easy going. The first thing I noticed was the eagerness of the fans to set about their own day, I felt quite proud when I noticed friends passing by with their family and friends, all sporting brand new shirts, for a brand new season. See, I am often optimistic about games, after two difficult seasons and within the third year of running the Pride of Nottingham website, I felt completely at peace with the prospects ahead. I genuinely felt at the time of relegation, that Notts would get things sorted and we would have a promising 2015/16 season. As my coach approached a resting station for all the travelling Black & White army, I setup my camera. I wanted to do the community proud, not just those who visit and take part on the website, but my friends and fans in general. I felt quite nervous heading off into the service station, the first picture I took, I somewhat rushed but it actually turned out okay in my opinion. I walked around a little, then I decided to speak to a couple of fans I didn’t know. They told me about their thoughts, so I asked them what they felt the score would be – in fact everyone I spoke to, I did the exact same thing. I wanted to gauge opinions, as I do enjoy hearing other fans thoughts. After speaking to about 7 other people, I bumped into a friend called Mattie and we discussed Notts to some extent. It was at this stage, I realised nobody had mentioned anything remotely negative and it was all quite promising, as I feel we do deserve a good year after the past two campaigns. I spoke with Andy Black regarding the Italian Magpies. If any of my Italian friends are read this, We are very much looking forward to your return, I think this year you will be treated to some exciting football. Once at the ground, I was talking and taking photos – Again, I must note how fans felt – The only concern I heard came from the possibility we may concede within the first 10 minutes and what the possible defensive line-up would be. It wasn’t long after, I started to notice familiar faces. It was quite overwhelming, as many fans acknowledged the contributions I had made last season and some even praised my recent video. I am delighted that it’s been so well received, as it took a tremendous amount of planning and editing. I could be cheesy at this stage by quoting a Brian Adams song but I won’t. At this stage, I briefly want to mention the atmosphere, it was spot on and amazing. I felt the fans truly gave Notts credit and encouraged what we witnessed, however much of which comes from the players and manager Ricardo Moniz, but I believe it helped. So, into the actual game – I was very impressed even within the opening minutes. Notts looked very keen to attack, yet when Stevenage did come at us, we defended quite comfortably. I believe this allowed our squad to settle and find more time on the ball. When Stevenage looked threatening, it came from one player, Dipo Akinyemi, he looked to be very fast and keen to get onto their chances. The way we moved the ball around, it was a joy to watch. It wasn’t always ‘perfect’ but I was impressed by the level of quality within our passes. Each phase looked very creative, with no lack of ideas and some of the faster movement would have no doubt been appreciated within the Championship – I felt it was that good at times. The only thing I can nit pick with at this stage, was the fact I felt Jon Stead was pretty isolated but boy did he cover his ground well. It did make me feel we need a striker partner for him, potentially a striker who has pace and an eye for goal himself. The pass which lead to our opening goal, came from Jon Stead, it was a very well placed pass and excellently executed. The finish by Curtis Thompson, nothing short of sublime and he must feel delighted with having scored his first senior goal for the club. Stevenage didn’t lack their own chances, at half time I told everyone who spoke to me ‘we need another goal, it will settle it’ and I felt my prediction at 2-1 to us may be the correct score. As the second half got underway, Stevenage had a couple of chances whereby they could have gone level but not from any lack of defending. Thiery Audel did very well on his debut, in fact every player contributed very nicely. It was good to see Liam Noble leading by example, he really has taken the new signings as his chance to forge his space and Stanley Aborah is an absolute joy to watch, yet I must add he needs to keep his hands and arms to himself, whilst of course being careful of his challenges but what an excellent player. I didn’t actually realise our second came within the 88th minute. I only realised this after reading the PON match report, though it’s a shame that Mawouna Amevor received his red card, yet I wouldn’t be disheartened by it. All in all, I can see what Moniz is doing and I believe the latter part of the pre-season allowed him to reach his final decision on tactics. The final score 2-0, Notts clinching an away win and we all went home happy – for me it feels like we have turned a corner.