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Everything posted by Chris
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Crewe Alexandra - View
Crewe Alexandra have found themselves in good form as of late and their manager Steve Davis will be hoping his team will continue on Saturday against Notts at Meadow Lane. He has issued a warning about a backlash with the Notts County form being on the decline after several extremely difficult games for the magpies. It's time for Notts to put in a convincing display on Saturday, as fans will be hoping to see that we can get back to winning ways against The Railwaymen. Firstly, could you please tell prideofnottingham.co.uk a little about yourself such as how long you've been a railwaymen fan? My name is Nick, I have been supporting Crewe Alexandra for around 10 years now and I am 17 years old. How do you feel about the progress you've made within League One and do you think you can survive relegation? At the start of the season I was quietly confident about staying up this season, when it started it seemed that we were destined for a difficult season and although I am unsure about survival at this point, I know the Crewe squad shows a lot of spirit and the good run in form is important to see us continue. What is the Crewe Academy like, are you still bringing through young players and in recent years who would say is the best youngster produced by your club? The club are still producing youngsters, the squad is mainly consisting of youth graduates. The easy answer would be to name our club captain Matt Tootle, he has given a lot to remain at Crewe and continues to play with the type of passion required for gaining promotion from L2 and remaining in L1 but for me, I would have to say George Cooper. He is young, only 18 but already shows that he has a promising future at the club provided we can keep him. If you could sign anyone from League One who would it be and why? Anyone? Well there is a player available on a free transfer but I would hope Crewe wouldn't touch him with a barge pole. I quite like Eion Doyle who plays for Chesterfield, if he could produce his quantity of goals here and play well, I'd snap him now in an unrealistic world. Which Crewe players are currently in form and who would you label as your main threats? Nicky Ajose is currently on form, Jamie Ness has been playing very well recently and Alan Tate's been putting in steady performances at the back. We have scored 23 goals from 24 games, I would say our squad play as a team with regards to our main threats. Can you tell me which formation and team you see Crewe starting with on Saturday? The squad hasn't changed all that much recently, hopefully Anthony Grant will start. Formation wise I hope we play a steady 4-4-2 but we seem to favour packing the midfield with numbers, this is something which can work but is often the root of our problems because we play 3 at the back at times. Who are Notts County's main threats on Saturday, which players are currently in form? I have been keeping a look out on your forum, I know that Alan Smith is not favoured by the Notts County faithfuls. It seems the veteran Gary Jones is standing out, with Garry Thompson. I would be a little clueless without having had looked but last season I thought Ronan Murray looked to be in hot form for you. Lastly how do you see Crewe and Notts playing, including any possible score prediction? Considering the way we both are performing I see the game ending as a draw. I am not expecting a lot of goals, so I will say 1-1 but I would leave Meadow Lane happy avoiding defeat. Pride of Nottingham would like to thank Railwaymen's fan Nick for taking the time to answer our questions, we wish Crewe Alexandra well with their bid for safety within League One and we hope he enjoys Saturday. Match Thread - League One Preview - Scouting Report - The Match Officials - League Link-Ups
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The Match Officials
I think the officials been used at a lower level this season, not exactly sure why but that doesn't mean he is bad or anything. I am hopeful he goes largely unnoticed. A referee having a solid game in charge would be nice, aslong as we avoid silly challenges and any heated moments (if any happen) it will be good by me. Thanks Liam
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The Match Officials
Saturday 17th of January, Notts County will entertain visitors Crewe Alexandra at Meadow Lane. This is a good opportunity for Notts to grab themselves a much needed win, however the visitors form is very impressive as they have enjoyed winning 3 of their last 6 games (including Bristol City), drawing 2 and losing only one. A win for the Railwaymen could see them push away from the bottom pack within League One, whilst Notts could move up to 10th with a win. The Match Officials for Saturdays game against Crewe Alexandra will be Iain Williamson, with his two assistants Simon Mather and Wayne Porter. The fourth official will be Akil Howson. Match Officials Referee; Iain Williamson From – Berkshire His matches involving Notts County and Crewe Alexandra in the last four seasons; League Two – Saturday 31st December 2011 – Bristol Rovers 2 Crewe Alexandra 5 – 5 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 31st March 2012 – Notts County 1 Oldham Athletic 0 – 5 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 26th January 2013 – Bournemouth 3 Crewe Alexandra 1 – 3 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 17th August 2013 – Walsall 1 Notts County 1 – 2 Yellow Cards Run down of his last games this season; League Two – Sunday 28th December 2014 – Cheltenham 0 Newport 1 – 6 Yellow Cards League Two – Saturday 3rd January 2015 – Dagenham & Redbridge 1 Bury 0 – 4 Yellow Cards In his only two appearances of 2014/2015 10 yellow cards have been shown and currently no red cards. Assistant Referee; Simon Mather From – Manchester Last 3 officiated games; Saturday 15th November 2014 – Walsall 0 Peterborough United 0 Saturday 6th December 2014 – Derby County 3 Brighton & Hove Albion 0 Friday 26th December 2014 – Preston North End 1 Barnsley 0 Assistant Referee; Wayne Porter From – Lincolnshire Last 3 officiated games; Saturday 12th April 2014 – MK Dons 0 Crawley Town 2 Saturday 22nd March 2014 – Brentford 3 Coventry City 2 Saturday 10th January 2015 – Peterborough United 0 Colchester United 2 Fourth Official; Akil Howson From – Leicestershire Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time. Match Thread - League One Preview - Scouting Report - League Link-Ups
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Youth Team Report
They in losing to either youth teams both are quite good, especially the Millers. Steady progress and start building for the next lot.
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Crewe - Scouting Report
Liam; - The fresh faces should give us plenty of options, if they all will start well that something time will only reveal but I pleased to see the pace Santos offers. Hayhurst sounds very promising with his ability to cross, these are two things we have been missing. If we keep the ball down we should do fine. Captain-NCFC; - Nicky Ajose does look to be a good player, he's doing well for the Railwaymen and apart of why they're turning things around.
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Crewe - Scouting Report
Crewe Alexandra currently find themselves in decent form having picked up 3 points at home against Gillingham. Whilst also successfully obtaining points against Doncaster Rovers, Bristol City and Preston North End. Their form prior to their recent spell wasn't as good, however they are a reasonably decent side. The Railwaymen are not to be under estimated and although in form it would suggest Notts would come out the likeliest of winners, they cannot be written off so easily. Run down of their last six games. Saturday 29th November – Crewe Alexandra 1 Doncaster Rovers 1 Saturday 13th December – Scunthorpe United 2 Crewe Alexandra 1 Saturday 20th December – Crewe Alexandra 1 Bristol City 0 Friday 26th December – Oldham Athletic 1 Crewe Alexandra 2 Sunday 28th December – Crewe Alexandra 1 Preston North End 1 Saturday 10th January – Crewe Alexandra 3 Gillingham 1 The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers; Nicky Ajose 4, Marcus Haber 4, Billy Waters 3 and George Cooper 3. Persistent Foulers; George Ray 2 Red Cards and 4 Yellow Cards, Anthony Grant 7 Yellow Cards, Oliver Turton 4 Yellow Cards and Adam Dugdale 3 Yellow Cards. The Key Players. Nicky Ajose, Marcus Haber and Uche Ikpeazu would be considered Crewe Alexandra's key front men. The former Magpie Marcus Haber is well known for being a battler and the occasional goalscorer, whilst Nicky Ajose is the one to watch out for with Uche Ikpeazu being a player who can drift in and out of games, combining especially well with Ajose upfront. Anthony Grant one of their experienced players, who is also a physical player who likes to make his presence known to the opposition. He creates play, whilst linking up well with the strikers. Billy Waters is an academy player who is steady all round performer, he has a good set of skill within his locker but he plays the 'simple' passes very well. Jamie Ness is a direct player who looks to involve himself with every passing phase, when played in the centre of the park he offers the creativity and the forward momentum with his calm influence and his natural ability to string out long distance passes. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses. Crewe Alexandra are not the underdogs to under estimate, they're also not to be fooled by their league position either. They try to play direct football especially within the right way and although they can be a tad bit physical. The Railwaymen look to always get the ball forward, keeping their movement free by picking out the right passes. Their height and strength are a key pluses, something Crewe find to be very effective within set pieces and when dealing with weaker inexperienced defenders. The effort they put into the games, whilst looking to explore opposition sides through their attacking play can often foresee decent build up play and this is the method they have put well into practice within recent games, resulting in several impressive results. Main weaknesses is scrappy play, rushed passes and a general panic when put under pressure. When sides look to get into goal scoring opportunities, players make poor decisions and runs, resulting in other players finding available space. They have a tendency of dropping behind their opposition and paying too much attention to the ball, better players can use this very effectively. When hit with pace, there is a vulnerability which suggests space and time will always open up for opposition sides to gain and take chances. Their inability to close down their opposition is a direct result to many teams having scored against them within this season. Match Thread - League One Preview - League Link-Ups
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League Link-Ups
They do if the player settles and the manager installs that chance, even if it's only a short term benefit for Notts - In the long run it does send a positive message out. Thanks for the kind words and for joining in folks.
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League Link-Ups
The importance of networking and making club connections, especially within the local community has never been as beneficial for lower league teams as it is under the new financial fair play rules. Teams within League One and Two have far more to gain by opening their doors to the local teams which play around them. This of course means clubs will have to put aside rivalry for the betterment of their own development if they struggle to bring in that additional quality. Notts have actually been making their own progress in this department this year, whilst the club has actively put into place methods of balancing their financial outgoings by reducing agent fee's with their deals. This allows a club like Notts County to open their doors and to become a club whereby teams can trust Notts with their upcoming players. Shaun Derry has said himself that it is a good way of reducing unnecessary costs at the football club by working with local sides, the likes of Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Birmingham City and Derby County to name a few. Locally based players will not have the cost of apartments, hotels and other fee's which come attached to signing players who have to settle a way from their home. Becoming trusted by managers, whilst working on that reputation offers Notts a platform which they can work off. It promotes the club in an efficient and effective way which means once trusted with youngsters, clubs may trust Notts with their out of form players. Of course it puts Notts in a situation where by free players might become interested in seeking the exact same opportunity, so it serves more purpose to be patience about signing young players on short term loan deals, as this enables Notts to really forge themselves within the transfer market. The difficulties of balancing expectations, along with establishing a strong squad for promotion is a difficult game, especially when budgets don't permit a lot of movement. This is where the abilities of being a good neighbour comes into it, it allows teams just like Notts to gain that extra special quality to bulk up their existing squad. It doesn't always mean the arrival of an established head, or a player with a known name. sometimes it means taking a gamble on youngsters eager to make that step up who are below that radar. Who had heard of Callum McGregor or Jack Grealish before they arrived at Meadow Lane last season? Their hard work put themselves on the map, it opened the door to them to their respected clubs first team. The same principles can be applied to this seasons loan players such as Reece Brown, Louis Laing, Stephen Mclaughlin, Michael Petrasso, Jake Cassidy and Zeli Ismail. Louis Laing has that opportunity to prove himself at Forest, whereas Stephen McLaughlin will be in contention for the first team with both players being required under the embargo the club have found themselves under. Michael Petrasso will possibly be loaned out to a Championship side, with Jake Cassidy and Zeli Ismail potentially ending up back on loan with a team lower than that. Yet it does show the openness of Notts to work along side locally based teams, especially now that Alefe Santos and Kwame Thomas arrive at Meadow Lane, it is for Notts to show that they can look after them, make use of their talents and perhaps further doors will be unlocked with time. Aided with the ability to produce young talent of our own, the budget in future seasons might be balanced out with a mix of players offering a vast variety of skills which can be used by Shaun Derry. It's likely until Notts have a few good seasons, whereby crowds increase largely and with the addition of any possible cup runs that things may be different but even under those circumstances the ability to be trusted with loan players is of vast importance to the club. You have to make use of every opportunity available in order to overcome the difficulties attached and really, we can consider ourselves lucky to already have the widening net under our current manager. We have made a lot of ground this season and the way it's going, I see no reason why in the future we can't replicate a mix of aspects the likes of Walsall (youngsters), Peterborough (non league signings) and of course Swindon (parent club, i.e Spurs) have made in order for ourselves to progress. Really you have to make sure that the club is doing all in which it can, I honestly believe Notts are. Whether you agree or not, this leads to a discussion which I openly encourage. Discuss this Feature - Live Centre - View New Content
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Site & Community Blog Updates
I just need to remind folks that you now have the ability to prevent certain groups (i.e guests) from viewing your blogs, this allows me to know who you want to see your entries and of course allows you to keep your views in-house. It's to the right hand side when you write your blog. Either select or CTRL and click the selected groups to select groups within different orders. Thanks
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League One Preview
I will be keeping an eye out for our Mickey's side, I am hoping they can show certain sections of this league they're real contenders because I believe them to be myself. Peterborough will want to respond, I can't see their chairman being happy with where they are. Also Scunthorpe will be hoping to rock another team, can they do it? Well Bristol City have mentioned Paddy Madden as someone they might like to sign, good chance for them to see him in action. I hope we can get back to some level form, good chance against Crewe. Thanks William
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Last seasons squad - The right move?
I agree with all your calls, they're spot on mate. This is an excellent blog, really insightful and it allows us to see just how far we have came, comparing to what we miss. If we can stay above Bradford then we would have done well and mostly Liddle might have some sort of regrets, especially if we do eventually go up and he doesn't. Great piece bud!
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Site & Community Blog Updates
@Northants Pie permission granted
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Site & Community Blog Updates
Haha, No that would be me missing the 'h' off. PTID's published his first entry - Here.
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Site & Community Blog Updates
Do you mean my postbit info? Where it says 'Nottingham' and @tonyhateley's says 'always a way' If not I don't follow.
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On The Table
BromPie; Steady progress is the aim of the game, I think we might have peaked at the wrong time and that obviously hasn't helped our form, yet we can get it back. Liam; I felt disappointed by Preston, I felt they would have managed to at least draw. Thanks for reading
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On The Table
We're now starting to see which sides are real contenders for promotion from League One, Pride of Nottingham reflects on the league table with it's 'On The Table' feature. Form for many teams is rapidly becoming important, as the table changes for the better, as those who maintain their form are rewarded with contention for promotion. Teams which slip or fail to progress increasingly lay in limbo, as they struggle to keep up with the pack and demand of the tough division. Bristol City have regained the very top position after they cruised against a struggling Notts County, the final score 4-0 in the Robins favour. Swindon Town haven't played, they face Coventry City away from home on Monday 12th of this month. If Swindon win, they move back to 1st, however this would leave Bristol City with a game in hand. A win for Swindon Town would be the best possible outcome, as this would leave for an exciting title challenge. MK Don's move from 4th to 3rd within League One, they drew 2-2 against struggling Crawley Town. Preston North End drop a position after losing to Sheffield United away from home, the final score at Bramall Lane was 2-1. Bradford City and Sheffield United remain in their respective places, despite Bradford losing 2-1 to Rochdale and Sheffield United winning. Bradford sit 5th and Sheffield United 6th. If the Blades win their game in hand, this would leave them 4 points clear of 7th. Chesterfield enjoyed a respectable 3-0 win over Port Vale, this leaves them in 7th position. Rochdale move a position higher after their 2-1 win against Bradford City, they now retain the 8th position within League One. Fleetwood Town jump from 12th to 9th after beating last years league leaders Leyton Orient. Port Vale drop two places from 8th to 10th, they lost to the Spireites 3-0. Peterborough United remain 11th after their shocking defeat to the hands of Colchester United. Notts drop two places from 10th to 12th as a dominant Bristol City went on the rampage at Ashton Gate. Oldham Athletic move from 14th to 13th, they drew 2-2 to Doncaster Rovers. The Vikings (Donny) move from 15th to 14th thanks to the poor result from Walsall. Walsall themselves drop from 13th to 15th after being defeated by the hands of Scunthorpe United 4-1 at the Bescot Stadium. Barnsley move from 17th to 16th, they beat rooted Yeovil 2-0 at home. Scunthorpe United move up one position from 18th to 17th, their surprising win over Walsall continues their claim away from the relegation where they had remained for a considerable amount of time within the 2014/2015 campaign. Coventry City drop from 16th to 18th, they are scheduled to play Swindon Town on Monday. Crewe Alexandra jump from 22nd to 19th, the League One strugglers beat Gillingham 3-1 at home. Leyton Orient drop from 17th to just outside the relegation zone at 20th, their 1-0 defeat to Fleetwood Town sees them dangerously close to falling into the drop. They share the same amount of points as Gillingham who sit 21st, after the Gills lost 3-1 to fellow strugglers Crewe Alexandra. After Colchester United's impressive win over Peterborough United, this saw them move 23rd to 22nd. Crawley Town drop from 21st to 23rd despite their 2-2 draw to MK Dons, it wasn't enough to prevent them slipping. Poor Yeovil Town remain rooted to the foot of the League One table, they ended the weekends fixtures with a 2-0 defeat to Barnsley. Match Thread - League One Round-Up - Match Report - Aftermath
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Site & Community Blog Updates
Don't worry, I am sure they will be worthwhile. Yours truly the Artful Dodger
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Site & Community Blog Updates
@PTID1862 I'm so going to hold you to this. Remember it doesn't have to football or NCFC related and with your permission I'll make you famous. I did the same for @tonyhateley's Motor home blog He had rave reviews from picky critics. LOL
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League One Round-Up
I think Bradford would have been better for us had they drawn, Leyton Orient could have also done us a fabour but that said I still would like to think we can contend for a play-off place but my main focus and concern is how Derry will bounce back from this. It will be a tough test for him as a manager. Some very good results for many sides, I actually felt Preston had enough to beat Sheffield United.
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Bristol City 4 Notts County 0 Highlights
[center][url="http://prideofnottingham.co.uk/community/topic/2438-bristol-city-a-highlights/"]Discuss the Highlights[/url][/center] This is from the official clubs YouTube channel.
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Bristol City 4-0 Notts County
It's not a bad result when you accept what a deranged teen fan thinks, if they're truly one the 10 richest clubs in England than we just lost to Man City. I am a little disappointed that we lost by 4 goals, I bet Big Roy is absolute livid but hey, we roll on and that sense of realism comes into it. We need to acquire a few additions and keep building, mid table like we all said at the start. Focus on trying to break this current form for the better, at least so we avoid any black holes. Good Report JJ, I know results like this are not easy.
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The Build-Up
All is to play for today as Bristol City, Swindon Town, Preston North End and MK Dons stride to continue their progress towards their title challenges. Whereas Notts will be trying to secure points which would allow them to remain within the top half of the division. A draw would be a brilliant result. Sheffield United v Preston North End is the stand out game within League One, two top teams coming head to head with a lot on stake. Key Fixtures Saturday 10th January 2015 Bradford v Rochdale Chesterfield v Port Vale Leyton Orient v Fleetwood Oldham v Doncaster Peterborough v Colchester Sheffield v Preston Walsall v Scunthorpe Prediction Bristol City are likely to make use of their 12th man with the home advantage, whilst they will most likely put our defenders under a lot of pressure. A lot depends upon the way we play and set ourselves up, however I predict the final score will be 2-0 to the Robins. Match Odds Bristol City to win 1/2 – Draw 100/30 – Notts County to win 5/1 Head to Head Bristol City – A win for Bristol City keeps them right in contention for the League One Title. Drawing would allow them to remain 2nd and they still have a game in hand over Swindon Town. A defeat could see them drop to 3rd if goal advantage favours MK Dons and provided the Don's win themselves, the likeliest case they will remain 2nd. Notts County – A win for Notts could see them move back into the play-offs (this requires a lot of luck) or it would place them just outside. A draw, I think would move Notts to the middle of the table and a lose would most likely push them all the way down to 13th to 15th perhaps. Key Man Bristol City; Matt Smith – The on loan Fulham striker is currently in hot form and with the absence of two other main players, Matt will be eager to impress Steve Cotterill. Notts County; Roy Carrol – The Northern Ireland international will be relied upon a fair bit tomorrow, his experience, ability to organize the defence and the way he foreseer’s danger makes him my Key Man for Notts. League Table A win for Bristol City will allow them to make the most of their game in hand over promotion chasing Swindon Town. Whilst if Preston defeat Sheffield United it allows them to move to keep right within the mix with MK Dons also hoping to keep within touching distance. Sheffield United will be hoping to avoid losing, if they do lose this will open the gap for several other clubs who will all be eager to jump into 6th place. If Notts lose they could fall into the bottom half of the League One table for the first time in the 2014/2015 campaign. A draw could have the same effect, however it's most likely that Notts will fall smack bang into the mid half. A win could see Notts return to play-offs or just outside, this is a vital game whereby the magpies will have to keep aware and cope under the pressure of their opposition. Match Thread - League One Preview - Scouting Report - Stat Attack
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Stat Attack: Bristol City vs. Notts County
Youth loan? Sounds like footballs trying to become more complexed. Hopefully the new lad can come in and work some magic for us, its also good to have Liam Noble back but will he start? I think it would be harsh on traore. I bet Gary Jones will start. Cheers JJ.
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The Match Officials
Saturday 10th of January, Bristol City will be playing host to Notts County at Ashton Gate Stadium, this will be the Magpies first game within the new year. The Robins welcome Notts County in their worst form of the 2014/2015 season and it is important for Notts to oversee this blip by believing in themselves. A win for Bristol City could see them return back to the very top of League One, whilst Swindon Town will face Coventry to defend the number 1 position. The Match Officials for Saturdays game against Bristol City will be Simon Hooper, with his two assistants Stephen Daly and Lisa Rashid. The fourth official will be Brett Huxtable. Match Officials Referee; Simon Hooper From – Wiltshire His matches involving Notts County and Bristol City in the last four seasons; Championship – Tuesday 19th February 2013 – Crystal Palace 2 Bristol City 1 – 4 Yellow Cards JPT – Wednesday 4th September 2013 – Bristol City 2 Bristol Rovers 1 – 3 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 14th December 2013 – Colchester 0 Notts County 4 – 4 Yellow Cards League One – Tuesday 19th August 2014 – Bristol City 0 Leyton Orient 0 – No Cards League One – Saturday 1st November 2014 – Notts County 1 Walsall 2 – 2 Yellow Cards. Run down of his last four games; Championship – Saturday 29th November 2014 – 5 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card League One – Saturday 20th December 2014 – MK Dons 7 Oldham 0 – 4 Yellow Cards Championship – Sunday 28th December 2014 – Nottingham Forest 1 Birmingham 3 – 2 Yellow Cards JPT – Wednesday 7th January 2015 – Preston 0 Walsall 2 – 2 Yellow Cards In his last four games 8 yellow cards have been shown and only a single red card. So far this season in a total of 23 games he has shown 73 yellow cards and 3 red card. That's roughly 3.1 yellow cards per game. Assistant Referee; Stephen Daly From – Middlesex Last 3 officiated games; Saturday 6th September 2014 – Stevenage 2 York City 3 Saturday 20th September 2014 – Cambridge United 0 Luton Town 1 Sunday 28th December 2014 – Swindon Town 1 Port Vale 0 Assistant Referee; Lisa Rashid From – Birmingham Last 3 officiated games; Saturday 25th October 2014 – Cambridge United 2 Hartlepool 1 Saturday 29th November 2014 – Southend United 2 Northampton Town 0 Saturday 20th December 2014 – Coventry City 1 Fleetwood Town 1 Fourth Official; Brett Huxtable From – Devon Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time.
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Bristol City - View
Being 2nd in League One with a game in hand of the 1st place Swindon Town, Robins fans have every right to be exited about this seasons campaign. Bristol City have lead the division and put together several impressive displays, as they hover around the two top positions. Pride of Nottingham's taken the time to ask several questions to Robin's fan 'Hodge' who is currently exiled away from the club in which he supports. Firstly, could you please tell prideofnottingham.co.uk a little about yourself such as how long you've been a Robins fan? I've been a City fan for around 13 years having started watching them at about the age of 10. Outside football I'm currently studying a masters degree at UCLan in Preston so a bit of an exile but managing to get to a fair few away games. At the start of the season where did you hope Bristol City would be by this point and what is the difference compared to last season? Given that least season was our first back in the division and we started it by being rooted to the bottom until sacking Sean O'Driscoll and replacing him with Steve Cotterill its hard to compare, Cotterill did a great job to get us back to 12th from taking over in January so going into this season I wasn't sure what to expect. However given our activity in the transfer market bringing in players who were attracting interest from championship clubs such as Luke Freeman, Korey Smith, Aaron Wilbraham and Kieran Agard (who left promoted Rotherham as their top scorer to join us) I was expecting us to be around the play-offs. Which three players do you feel will be runners for your 'Player of the Season' and why? Luke Freeman - Great engine, never stops running and chasing the game when we're not on the ball, his influence only grows game by game as he becomes accustomed to a unfamiliar position while being dangerous going forward. Aden Flint - Rock of our defence, great aerial presence and along with Luke Ayling and Derrick Williams has been a big factor of success in our defence. If Aaron Wilbraham hadn't been injured the last few weeks I'd have said him, but Korey Smith. Does the job that no one really notices, cleans up any opposition attacking play well, recycles and gets us going forward again. Also has a mean right boot on him when given the chance. What are your thoughts on Steve Cotterill as your manager? Do you always agree with his lineups and substitutions? Honestly when I heard Cotterill was the manager we were after, not even interviewing someone else I really didn't feel enthusiastic about what the club was doing, never have I ever been so wrong. Cotterill was an inspired choice as he managed to take us from bottom at Christmas last season to top at Christmas this season. In the calender year of 2014 we picked up around 84 points which put City 9th overall from all 4 divisions. As for his line ups well, we're going to play 532 with wingbacks, you could practically bet your mortgage on it and the line up will rarely change. GK - Frank Fielding RWB - Mark Little RCB - Luke Ayling CB - Aden Flint LCB - Derrick Williams LWB - Joe Bryan CM - Wade Elliott CM - Korey Smith CM - Luke Freeman ST - Matt Smith ST - Jay Emmanuel-Thomas Only way that will be different will be if either Kieron Agard or Aaron Wilbraham have recovered from injury where they may replace Emmanuel-Thomas. Its hard to argue against the team as its one that has only found itself being knocked off the top spot for the first time in over 100 days due to Swindon playing a league game while we were playing an FA Cup game. As for his substitutions, occasionally I feel Cotterill can wait a bit too long to make subs, as if he's hoping things stay like they are (having been top all season and results generally being in our favour). Sometimes you can see and feel the game changing and as a fan think something needs to be changed where as Cotterill does nothing, sometimes it costs us, sometimes it doesn't. At Ashton Gate what is the atmosphere like, which away teams have impressed you with their support and why? This season the atmosphere can be very hit and miss I find, with the main bunch of loud fans having to be relocated due to the redevelopment it has meant that some have split up and gone to other areas of the ground leading to some quieter games, but when the fans get going it can be a fantastic atmosphere. As for away fans, I've only been able to get down to a few games this season given my distance from Bristol. Yeovil Town provided a decent atmosphere on boxing day, however the distance between the two sides geographically probably helped in that regard. How much does football mean to you in general and what attracted you to supporting Bristol City? Admittedly Football is not my main sport, I never played it apart from at school. However I have watched Football since a young age and was glued to it instantly, I try and watch as much as possible, whether watching Bristol City games where I had been a season ticket for around 5 years before moving for university or when possible watching any games on tv. As for what drew me to City, I moved to Somerset when I was 8 and my dad started taking me along to games within a year or two so I have probably been watching City for a good 13 years or so. Which Bristol City players are currently inform and how would you expect your side to play on Saturday? While limiting it to three is hard as so many are playing well I'd have to say Matt Smith (on loan from Fulham), Luke Freeman and Aden Flint would probably be my three picks for players in the best form. Smith has scored 8 in 4 games (4 against Gillingham in the JPT semi final), Freeman despite being a winger has found himself being played in central midfield with license to go forward and has adapted brilliantly. And finally Aden Flint has been our rock in defence a really commanding centre back both in terms of his game play and as a presence within the team. Out of the Notts County players which would you be concerned about and who would you set to mark them? Apart from the well known players such as Smith, Carroll, Mullins etc I admit Notts County are a club I'm not so well clued up on for their best players. However I remember Stephen McLaughlin from his time on loan with us and that he can cause problems, also given that we operate using wing backs, he could get some free runs at them. Which two games this season stand out for you for good and bad reasons, please tell us why? Sheffield United away first game of the season, pre season Sheffield Utd had been tipped as the favourites by many to run away with the league, so for us to win away there on the opening game sent a clear message of our intentions for this season. Peterborough away, despite their league position p'boro is never an easy place to travel to, so given we won 3-0 and dominated while on TV it again sent out the message of what we were capable of having come off the back of successive defeats the previous two games. Pride of Nottingham would like to thank Robins fan Hodge for taking the time to answer our questions, we wish him all the very best with his masters degree and we wish Bristol City all the best with the rest their season. Match Thread - League One Preview - Scouting Report - View New Content