Chris

The folks who brought you the brilliant Great Escape imagery that spurred Notts County to safety last season are back with a fantastic new set of designs featuring some of the greatest Magpies to sport the legendary black and white stripes! The Art Of Football have created artwork of such Notts greats as Les Bradd, Sir Charlie Palmer, Tommy Lawton, Phil Turner and Tommy Johnson, which you can get in both t-shirt and print form! With the launch of new designs the Art of Football has kindly provided us Notts fans with two t-shirts which we will be giving away as prizes, keep tuned for news regarding these two contests tomorrow! View the Full Collection To view their range of designs and to find out more, visit art-of-football.com now or follow them on Twitter or Facebook.

Many of the fans’ wishes came true yesterday, with the announcement of Jim Rodwell’s departure from Notts. However, what does this mean for a club like ours? More importantly, what does it mean for the future of the football club? The announcement comes at a weird time since the club needs to have as much stability as possible. In addition, rumours have emerged of Damian Irvine’s contract not being extended. On the pitch, Notts are looking desperate and at half time against Rochdale the views of the fans were quite clear. We all want to see Notts doing well, although I am concerned about the reshaping which is happening and it leaves me to question how we move forward. The answer is not so easy to answer but I’m hoping for a brighter future for the Magpies. It appears that more and more fans want Derry out, I do not argue with opinions and I have come to be at the stage where I feel that the ending to this season will be grimmer than the whole of last season. We had real hopes this season and for one reason or another, it just has not progressed. Speaking to my driving instructor, another passionate Notts fan who runs the ‘Notts Driving School’, we have discussed the moments on and off the field and I feel that we really did miss something back when Shaun Derry decided to have a word with the players. I mean, why not now? Why are we not seeing more togetherness? The approach, which had been put in place after he arrived, helped secure the great escape. It is leaving questions – can it be done again? I do think we will be fine, I mean my driving instructor Jim said we can be lucky that the teams beneath us are so poor and I feel that this is a valid point. The problem I see is that leading a game and appearing to dominate before going on to concede, collapse and lose against supposedly weaker teams, it worries me. So how does Notts move forward? I do not believe for a second a new arisen will make much difference, it is not like a phoenix waiting to be released from the fire or a birth of a new beginning is on the cards. I am sorry to say it, I feel we will have to battle and work much harder to see the changes we hope for. The budget next season may help, however it all depends what happens from now until the end of the season. I certainly hope that Derry can turn the tide and withstand the pressure, I hope the squad of players he called ‘his type of players’ start to repay him for his chance to lead what I feel is a very passionate club. And for next season, we must learn from the past few seasons and start to install real hope, real togetherness, and harbour the passion which I see each week from the fans. I am still excited about the next season, yet I am daunting the weekend and I do not know what know what to expect from MK Dons. I know I fear that we could lose quite heavily, though I hope somewhere along the way we start to patch things.

The Bantams will be making their way to Meadow Lane on the 14th of March, as they prepare to make a big for a return to a play-off space. However, the Yorkshire side will have other things on their minds which might benefit the Magpies. Notts County comes into the game with much fresher legs and a chance to use the game as a way to distance themselves from the drop. For both teams this tie should be vastly important to both, so it should be a good game. Bradford City are in decent form, they come into the game having won two, draw two and lost two within the league. Yet they have been playing quite well within the F.A Cup and set to play Reading in a replay after they drew 0-0 at the Valley Parade. Run down of their last six games. Wednesday 18th February – Leyton Orient 0 Bradford City 2 Saturday 21st February – Bradford City 1 Walsall 1 Tuesday 24th February – Swindon Town 2 Bradford City 1 Saturday 28th February – Peterborough United 2 Bradford City 0 Tuesday 3rd March – Bradford City 1 Crawley Town 0 Tuesday 10th March – Coventry City 1 Bradford City 1 The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers; James Hanson 11, Billy Clarke 8, Jonathan Stead 8 and Filipe Morais 6. Persistent Foulers; Jordan Pickford 2 Red Cards and 1 Yellow Card, Stephen Darby 1 Red Card and 4 Yellow Cards, Alan Sheehan 1 Red Card and 3 Yellow Cards and Gary Liddle 9 Yellow Cards. The Key Players. Rory McArdle, Stephen Darby Alan Sheehan, Gary Liddle, Francois Zoko, Billy Clarke and James Hanson are all pivotal players for Bradford City. McArdle, Sheehan and Darby are the anchors within their defence, but offer just as much in their offensive play as they do at the back. They work well as a partnership, alerting each other of danger and link well with the Bantams midfield. Gary Liddle and Francois Zoko offer flexibility to their forward play, whereas Liddle provides a similar role as he did with us within his first season. Billy Clarke is a player who looks to get involved within the build up and can double up as a striker. James Hanson is the dangerman, if he has a good game he will the most threat to our back four. He moves along the line, often alluding the opposition defence and pulling into exactly where he is required. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses. Bradford City balance their offensive play, with making sure that they're defensively sound. They aim to slowly build, whilst carving out those perfect chances which beg to be put a way. They play as a solid unit, making sure that the experienced heads are the foundation whilst mixing pace and fluid play in their attacks. Their signings this season have greatly added depth to their play, which has seen them mix up how they break down games depending on who they face. Sometimes it works well, other times not so much, but they're a very good side and have quickly adjusted back into life within League One. As a side who show quite a lot of resemblance to Rotherham United, especially within the foundations they laid out after gaining promotion. The Bantams main strengths come from the quality players which they have, they look to build at the right time and this is well drilled into their players by Phil Parkinson. They have a mixed squad, with many of their senior players being the backbones of other successful League One and Two teams. This gives them that added depth, which has seen them been so successful in both the league and the English cups in recent years. With regards to weaknesses, I see them struggling with pace and skill. If they start slowly, it can take them a while to get into the game. If sides directly hit them, they do buckle to pressure, but much of this falls down to how their midfield are set up and cope. If we can move the ball quickly, whilst making sure that players are supported within their attacking phases this should provide Notts a decent chance at getting into the game. However, if they close up shop at the back this could lead to a few issues which Notts must take any chances which present themselves. Match Thread - League One Preview - Our Club, Our Passion

With the downward spiral of the magpies, there have been a lot of comments pointing out Shaun Derry's future as the manager of Notts County. To a degree, I see where other fans are coming from as I have pointed out certain behaviours and aspects which niggle me surrounding Shaun Derry. However, to a level we must see that he is still learning his trade at this level. It wasn't that long ago fans were concerned about him leaving for bigger and better things. Plus on the basis of last season, it wasn't that bad compared to that we have seen. We almost managed to secure a play-off space, which I honestly feel had the right players have been available when we lost the likes of Michael Petrasso, Stephen McLaughlin and of course Louis Laing. I feel we would still be up at the other end of the table, perhaps fighting for the 5th to 6th place. To be fair, I didn't think we would struggle like we have done and after spending many hours speaking to fans at games everyone seemed to agree at the time. Yet to sack Shaun Derry at this stage of the season, it doesn't make sense at least for me. 12 games to go? It's not the right time to do it and I would certainly hope the clubs board stand by the man who saved us last season when all seemed lost. Any new manager would be required to spend time learning his squad, I would at least expect this to take 4-6 games of experimenting, whereby we may get some points but it is just far too risky for me. Plus, what do we go with an experienced manager or another who is new to the role? I doubt we have the budget to attract a manager who has the experience to which would please the majority of fans, whilst I would like to acknowledge replacing Shaun Derry for Greg Abbott just doesn't make sense at all. Personally, I think sacking Shaun Derry would relegate us alone at this stage and at least with him we stand a chance of fighting it but we must stand together. It's been many years since I have seen so many behind the same manager, in fact, I know of fans who didn't like Martin Allen but he would be perhaps the last manager to have the largest percent of the Notts County fan base right behind him. What we need is for Shaun Derry to settle the squad down in my opinion, this starts with dropping the lone striker and finding a system whereby we don't compensate our attacking capabilities which doesn't leave our defence wide open. Call me traditional, but 442 is the perfect formation, especially since we have two very talented wingers and one who can make the grade provided he's given the chance in William Hayhurst. I am not forgetting Garry Thompson, for me he can impact from the wing or as a striker but its upfront where I would prefer to see him. Yet for the first time in a while we have several decent options up front and all they need is the game time, Bálint Bajner could come good and Leroy Lita could prove to be the striker we actually require in the current situation we find ourselves, but whoever starts, they must be played and allowed to settle into a system - cutting and swapping isn't helping anyone. No doubt it's difficult, it's not going the way we had hoped but we have a good chance of building on the foundations laid out within this season and it would be nice to see the turnover of players reduced, as it would seeing a manager make a complete season in charge, by this I mean from start to finish. That actually seems weird to say, as you would expect that we have had a manager complete a full season, but we would have to go way back, just before Munto. I hope we can write our own ending to the season rather than forcing one, for me we must back Derry and hope that it pays off. League One Preview - Meet Ronan Murray - Our Club, Our Passion

Saturday 7th of March, Swindon Town will be hosting Notts County at the County Ground. 4th place Robins will be hoping to get back to winning ways, as their form in recent weeks has been quite poor and they will be looking to overcome this on home soil. Notts County will be hoping to reform their earlier away form which saw them peak quite highly at the start of the season. The Robins have only won once in their last six games, four have ended in losses and a further game a draw. After this game, Notts will face Bradford and Rochdale both at home. The Match Officials for the game against Swindon Town will be Gavin Ward, with his two assistants Darren Blunden and Colin Lymer. The fourth official will be Andrew Laver. Match Officials Referee; Gavin Ward From – Surrey His matches involving Notts County and Swindon Town in the last four seasons; League One – Tuesday 29th January 2013 – Portsmouth 0 Notts County 2 – 2 Yellow Cards & 1 Red Card League One – Saturday 9th February 2013 – Swindon Town 1 Hartlepool United 1 – 3 Yellow Cards League One – Tuesday 29th October 2014 – Notts County 3 Oldham Athletic 2 – 2 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 21st December 2014 – Swindon Town 2 Coventry City 1 – 6 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 22nd February 2014 – Leyton Orient 2 Swindon Town 0 – 5 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 20th September 2014 – Swindon Town 5 Sheffield United 2 – 4 Yellow Cards Run down of his last four games this season; Championship – Saturday 7th February 2015 – Rotherham United 2 Ipswich Town 0 – 2 Yellow Cards Championship – Saturday 14th February 2015 – AFC Bournemouth 1 Huddersfield Town 1 – 1 Yellow Cards League Two – Tuesday 24th February 2015 – Cambridge United 0 AFC Wimbledon 0 – 3 Yellow Cards Championship – Wednesday 4th March 2015 – Norwich City 0 Wigan Athletic 1 – 7 Yellow Cards In his last four games 11 yellow cards have been shown and no red cards. So far this season in a total of 26 games he has shown 96 yellow cards and 5 red cards. That's roughly 3.6 yellow cards per game. Assistant Referee; Darren Blunden From – Kent Last 3 officiated games; Tuesday 27th January 2015 – Walsall 0 Preston North End 0 Saturday 24th January 2015 – Oxford United 2 Exeter City 2 Wednesday 21st January 2015 – Fulham 3 Nottingham Forest 2 Assistant Referee; Colin Lymer From – Hampshire Last 3 officiated games; Sunday 28th December 2014 – Braintree 1 Eastleigh 5 Saturday 24th January 2015 – Barnet 4 Southport 0 Saturday 14th February 2015 – Telford 2 Dartford 3 Fourth Official; Andrew Laver From – Hampshire Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time. Match Thread - Scout Report - Meet Ronan Murray

The Magpies head to the County Ground on the 7th of March, Notts County prepare to take on 4th place Swindon Town who have found themselves in perhaps the worst form they've been in throughout the whole season. The Robins have only won once within their last six games, 1 ended as a draw and four resulted in losses. Notts County come into the game having enjoyed a frustrating 1-0 victory away from home over Colchester United. This will be seen as a test for the Black & White army, as we aim to improve our own form. Run down of their last six games. Tuesday 10th February – Oldham Athletic 2 Swindon Town 1 Saturday 14th February – Scunthorpe United 3 Swindon Town 1 Saturday 21st February – Swindon Town 1 Crawley Town 2 Tuesday 24th February – Swindon Town 2 Bradford City 1 Saturday 28th February – Crewe Alexandra 0 Swindon Town 0 Tuesday 3rd March – Swindon Town 0 Gillingham Town 3 The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers; Andy Williams 20, Michael Smith 14, Jonathan Obika 8 and Massimo Luongo 6. Persistent Foulers; Nathan Thompson 3 Red Cards and 10 Yellow Cards, Jack Stephens 1 Red Card and 7 Yellow Cards, Louis Thompson 1 Red Card and 6 Yellow Cards and Yaser Kasim 8 Yellow Cards. The Key Players. Jonathan Obika, Michael Smith and Andy Williams are Swindon Town's robust front line. Massimo Luongo, Yasir Kasim and Louis Thompson are the key men in midfield, whilst Wes Foderingham is a stand out goal keeper within this league. Jonathan Obika is a player who creates a lot, whilst also proving he can finish chances himself. The former Tottenham Hotspur youngster forged a name within League One and he will be one to watch. Michael Smith and Andy Williams are traditional marksmen, who can cause any side danger as their goal tally's suggest. Massimo Luongo is Swindon Town's rock within the midfield, he pulls the strings and can pin point pass to advancing wide men. Yasir Kasim is a tricky player to retain, his movement generally causes opponents problems. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses. Swindon Town seize and thrive under the opportunity to run at their opposition, if they're allowed to do so they can quickly control and dominate games. They have a reputation for being a passing side who can quickly turn carefully created attacks into dangerous chances. Their main focus is being direct, focusing on attacking down the flanks. They have the ability to break down sides quite easily from the centre of the park, whilst shooting from distance, whilst their forwards can be extremely dangerous when presented with a chance within the penalty box. Although they're currently struggling, many of their chances come from creative play and bursting runs, where they find players in open space and are easily able to support themselves through their attacking phases. The Robins main strengths are skill, speed and spotting gaps within the oppositions defence. Whilst all of League One know how deadly they can be on goal sight, Swindon Town do often waste decent chances but again they have the creativity to just repeat the process which makes them extremely dangerous to face. Weaknesses are mainly within their disciplinary records, several players are prone to making bad decisions and becoming heated as a direct result. Defensively they're very well setup, however if pressed, their defence are prone to stray and do poor passes which can easily be picked up. With their age being considerably young, they're quite inconsistent on the field but can still finish sides off with a touch of class. If the game doesn't sway in their favour, concentration tends to drop which can allow decent teams to punish them. Match Thread - Q/A with Premiership Scout - Meet Ronan Murray