Chris

Yesterday Notts fans both across the world and at the Ricoh Arena where surprised to see the addition of Roy Carroll to the starting line up. He achieved the unexpected by making his way to the stadium in time to pass a fitness test and to report to the management team. He had featured in Northern Ireland's 2-0 defeat to the hands Romania on the 14th,, however not put off or wanting time to relax. Roy proceeded to make his way to Coventry in time to be selected. The 37 year old, managed to get all the way to Coventry in time to replace Fabian Spiess who was expected to start. Roy Carroll the replacement for Bartosz Bialkowski, caught a flight from Romania to London's Heathrow Airport at 7am. The veteran keeper than collected his car, drove up the motorway to the Ricoh Arena and reported to the Notts County coaches and manager Shaun Derry declaring himself fit to play. Notts chairman Ray Trew praised the dedication of Roy Carroll by saying, “Shaun Derry spoke of his desire to get the right sorts of player in this season and I think what Roy has done for this club today shows exactly what the Manager meant.” Ray told the official site “These guys have put their bodies on the line and challenged for every ball in every match this season and we have reaped the rewards, so whilst I would like to praise every player who took to the field this afternoon, I have to reserve special praise for Roy because I know what it meant to me, but more so I know what it meant to our supporters and he has my heartfelt thanks for what he has done”. At 37, it's quite the achievement to feature internationally for any nation which speaks alone. However, to play two games in two days it says a lot about the desire and dedication to feature as part of the cause to the side he's quickly emerging as the “signing of the season”. Notts secured victory over Coventry when Garry Thompson netted the winner and only goal in the 72' minute – Full Match Report Here.

Once again Mr Trew's taken time out of his busy schedule to answer questions asked by our community here at Pride of Nottingham. It was July 2013 the last time we put a series of questions to the chairman of Notts County Football Club. Several members of the community took to ask questions, we asked everyone to help select which questions should be put to Mr Trew and here we are. Question asked by WeymouthPIE; How happy are you with the current position of the club on and off the field? Is it in the position you expected or hoped it would be in at this point when you first took over? To be honest and frank after the promotion in 2010 i thought we would sail through league 1 and become a championship side. However, i had a rude awakening but i have never lost site of this dream. I am more than happy with the progress this season and i dont mind admitting that its shows to me that there is no correlation between monies spent and success. This season and its no secret i cut the playing budget considerably but we now probably for the first time since my take-over i have a management team who believe in what we are trying to achieve and are happy to work with the budget given to them. Question asked by hissingdwarf; Do you think the artificial pitch is the way to go? Have you consulted the players on their feelings? I can say that at the Chairmans Conference is Cyprus in 2011 we were one of the clubs who proposed this. Unfortunately at that time it got voted down. We did this because it was apparent to all the damage the surface suffered from the Rugby. Now we have reached agreement with the Rugby to vacate Meadow Lane then need to 3G or 4G is much less. I am still personally in favour of lower league clubs playing on this surface because the risk of getting Winter games called off is few and far between. Question asked by Northants Pie; If you could do one thing for the betterment of football in general what would it be? More particularly the football league? Simply change the way the voting mechanism works. We currently have a system in the FL that even if you had both League 1 and League 2 voting in favour of change if the Championship voted against it, it would fail. I personally think the voting system is outdated and at the determent o football in general. It should be one team one vote in my opinion. Question asked by Canadian; What is your outlook for the next 3 seasons. Is the aim to reach the Championship? I think with our management team the club is in safe hands and we are building slowly for the future. The ambition and aim is to have Notts playing year in year out in the Championship that goal has never changed. Question asked by PTID1862; How does FFP affect both the club and yourself?... are the club currently within the rules without additional revenue injection? We manage to work with FFP only because the cash i inject into the football club. These monies are not allowed to be put in as loans but have to be Capital. Unfortunately, without someone injecting cash each season the club could not work with FFP simply because the expenditure is greater than our income. Question asked by Cobby; What do you attribute Derry and Abbott's current success to when compared with previous managers? This is a very good question which i have to say i have given a lot of thought to. In my opinion the important aspect for them is team spirit and players having the right attitude. We have been offered and had the ability to sign some what i would regard as Top Players at this level but they would not sign them because in there opinion they didn’t have the right attitude. ITs ironic and i have covered this off in a previous response but it highlight to me that there is no correlation between monies spent and success. Question asked by hissingdwarf; Out of all the players purchased, which has been the worst purchase and which was the 'one that got away' that you regret the most missing out on? I am not going to talk about specific individuals and i am sure i dont need to mention names because we all know who they are. With regard players we have missed out on there have been a number which i scout identified but the manager in situ at the time didn’t fancy for one reason or another. A number of these players have gone on to play in the Championship and Premier League and what is more sickening for me, been sold for vast sums. Question asked by TonyHateley; What has been your greatest regret since becoming the owner of Notts County FC? Quite simply the number of managers i have gone through. My biggest problem was i wanted immediate success and if a manger didn’t deliver this then i was trigger happy. I decided when i hired Shaun and Greg that even if we were relegated i would have stuck wight hem because believe in what they are trying to achieve. Question asked by Dripsey3; Do you have sleepless nights thinking about the amount of money it will cost to compete in the Championship if we get promoted? Did you know that the Championship is the 6th highest spending league in Europe? Are you sweating yet? Surprisingly not. Notts work better as a business in League 2 and the Championship. We are fortunate geographically if we were able to get into the Championship that we would have a number of packed house in many games because there are so many Midlands Clubs playing in it. In addition next season Championship Clubs get from memory another £3million a season from the PL so as a business model is works better than League 1. Question asked by liampie; I would like to know if there is any more plans to develop meadow lane further and if not, does that means you're happy with the ground? We have had plans drawn up now for just over 2 years on the development of the Family Stand. When i feel the time is right we will push the button on this project. Question asked by Cobby; Thankfully Greg Dyke's proposals (i.e. B TeamS) to "help" the English football fell of deaf ears. What were your thoughts on his proposals and do you think there is a way the FA could help the English game while also benefiting lower league teams? In short no. We now live in a era where you have the tail (i.e The Premier League) wagging the dog until they lose some of there power within the game nothing will ever change Question asked by Notts-Joe; Can you tell us anything new regarding the progress of Jimmy Spencer? I heard that the club have paid for some expensive equipment which will hopefully help in return and news regarding him returning to light training. Can you shed any light on this and Jimmy? Yes we have invested in some new equipment to assist with many injuries. Jimmy has made use of this equipment and his rehabilitation is now much more advanced. We are hoping if this progress continues he will feature before the end of this campaign. My personal opinion for what its worth and this is not to say the people filling his boots have not done well but if we had him playing this season we would be much higher up the table and close on the heels of Bristol City. ---------------------------------------- Extra question Question from TonyHateley's six year old Grandson George: My Grandad says you bought Notts County for a pound, the tooth fairy gave me £2 last week can I buy it off you? Its very easy to buy a football club but its no so easy maintaining one. Whilst i may have brought it for a pound i have spent over £18million to date either in direct cash or through sponsorships directly and indirectly by companies under my control. Join PoN - Register Here To View Other Content - Visit "PoN's Live Centre" or "View New Content". If you're new - Read Our Guide To the Site | Getting Used to PoN 101 Pride of Nottingham would like to thank Mr Trew for taking the time to answer our questions, we very much appreciate the time and it means a lot to out community that he would grant us time to do this feature. Onwards and Upwards! You Pies!!

Saturday 15th of November, Notts County will travel to the Ricoh Arena to take on Coventry City. The host's exited the F.A Cup on Sunday the 9th to Non League outfit Worcester City 2-1 but they secured victory in the JPT against Plymouth 2-0 on Wednesday 12th. Coventry City have lost two of their last four games, whilst they've won and drawn one. Notts will be looking to continue their away form against the sky blues. The Match Officials for Saturdays game against Coventry City will be Michael Bull, with his two assistants Andrew Aylott and David Storrie. The fourth official will be Andy D'Urso. Match Officials Referee; Michael Bull From – Essex His matches involving Notts County and Coventry City in the last four seasons. League One – Tuesday 28th January 2014 – Leyton Orient 2 Coventry City 0 – 1 Yellow Card Run down of his last four games. Championship – Saturday 27th September 2014 – Cardiff 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1 – 2 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 11th October 2014 – Crawley 1 Peterborough 4 – 4 Yellows Cards League Two – Saturday 18th October 2014 – York 0 Shrewsbury 1 – 2 Yellows and 1 Red Card Championship – Saturday 25th October 2014 – Brighton 1 Rotherham 1 – 3 Yellow Cards In his last four games 9 yellow cards have been shown and only a single red card. So far this season in a total of 9 games he has shown 24 yellow cards and 2 red cards. That's roughly 2.6 yellow cards per game. Assistant Referee; Andrew Aylott From – England Last 3 League One games. Saturday 1st February 2014 – Gillingham 3 Port Vale 2 Tuesday 15th April 2014 – Crawley 2 Tranmere 0 Saturday 6th September 2014 – Crawley 0 Rochdale 4 Assistant Referee; David Storrie From – England Last 3 League One games. Saturday 11th January 2014 – Oldham 1 Stevenage 0 Saturday 22nd March 2014 – Oldham 1 Crawley 0 Saturday 20th September 2014 – Rochdale 1 Coventry 0 Fourth Official; Andy D'Urso From – Essex Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time.

Notts County will be taking on Accrington Stanley in the first round draw of the F.A Cup this Sunday, Who are they you say? We have taken the time to speak with a Stanley fan Mark ahead of the game, he's answered several of our questions and hopefully you will find this to be insightful. Be sure to click like, share and comment. Firstly, could you please tell prideofnottingham.co.uk a little about yourself such as how long you've been a Stanley fan? I'm a 51 yr old Stanley fan living in Clitheroe in the ribble valley Lancashire. I'm in my 9th season as a season ticket holder has is my youngest son. I attend all home games regardless of the competition Stanley are in, I also travel to the odd away game 1/2 a season work stops me from going to more. Can you share your impressions on the cup draw? Are you happy with Stanley being drawn to Notts County and how do you think the game will end? Hmmm not over happy we draw County specially with it been drawn away, but its a one off game and we'll give it ago. Out come of the game a 2-1 win for the Stanley of course. How is your season going so far? What are your hopes and ambitions for the club in the 2014/2015 season and the next two seasons? To get to 50pts on the board and hopefully push on in to the playoffs. Next couple of seasons hopefully playing you lot in L/1. What are your thoughts on the “Accrington Stanley, Who are they?” advert and the popular notoriety since then and can you share some information about another motto “The club that wouldn't die?” I Don't really give the avert any thought. Now then “The club that wouldn't die” speaks for itself, it is about how Stanley raised against all the odds still managed to survive year in year out from when we dropped out of the league in 62 right up to the TAX scare of a few years back. Who are Accrington Stanley's in form players? Which should Notts County be aware of? On there day all will give county game and if I told you that part you'd be as wise as me. Which Notts County two players do you see being the main threat to Accrington Stanley and why? Not really checked out County's players sorry. Can you tell us about some classic moments from your time supporting the club? Such as big wins and possibly any memories of the F.A Cup? Gaining promotion to the league must be the best thing, cup games against the premiership boys Fulham and Newcastle both at home, Stevenage in the l/2 playoffs. Middlesbourgh away last season in the league cup and winning 2-1, Leeds away a couple of times, beating Gillingham 7-4 in the league, and most of all keeping Morecambe in there place year in year out. How many fans do you think will make the trip to Meadow Lane? Will they be lively and will you be making the trip yourself? 200 at most including my self and yes we'll out sing the magpies. Pride of Nottingham would like to thank Mark for taking the time to answer our questions, we wish Stanley all the best within their League Two campaign and we hope they do make themselves known on Sunday.

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So, the undefeated run comes to an end by our bogey side Walsall FC who beat us 2-1 at Meadow Lane last Saturday. Notts was undone early on after Garry Jones poked the ball into the back of his own net, however Garry Thompson pulled Notts level - only for an handball to be ruled against Haydn Hollis. B&O Press Photo have kindly granted us permission to share with you images taken from the game, we hope you like them. Mobile Users please visit | Gallery. To Read our Match Report | Match Report. Pride of Nottingham would like to thank B&O Press Photo for allowing us use of their images, we wish them all the best with their photography. Visit our friends on their Facebook page and Website.

Saturday 1st of November, Notts County host Walsall FC at home. Walsall head to Meadow Lane having only won one of their last four games, in fact prior to their last home against Chesterfield FC – Walsall hadn't won or drawn since the 4th of October 2014. Notts County are the inform team, unlike the previous year where we encountered the Saddlers. The Magpies are flying at the moment, so all is to play for. The Match Officials for Saturdays game against Walsall will be Simon Hooper, with his two assistants Wayne Barratt and Stuart Butler. The fourth official will be Nick Hobbis. Match Officials Referee; Simon Hooper From – Wiltshire His matches involving Notts County and Walsall FC in the last four season. League One – Saturday 14th December 2013 – Colchester 0 Notts County 4 – 4 Yellow Cards League One – Friday 4th January 2013 – Walsall 2 Portsmouth 0 – No Cards Shown League One – Saturday 24th September 2011 – Colchester 1 Walsall 0 – 1 Red Card Run down of his last four games. Championship – Tuesday 21st October 2014 – Charlton 2 Bolton 1 – 3 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 18th October 2014 – Bradford 0 Sheffield United – 6 Yellows and 1 Red Card Championship – Saturday 4th October 2014 – Watford 1 Brighton 1 – 6 Yellow Cards Championship – Tuesday 30th September 2014 – Rotherham 2 Blackburn 0 – 4 Yellow Cards In his last four games 19 yellow cards have been shown and only a single red card. So far this season in a total of 15 games he has shown 43 yellow cards and 2 red cards. That's roughly 2.8 yellow cards per game. Assistant Referee; Wayne Barratt From – Worcestershire Last 3 League One games. Saturday 11th October 2014 – Sheffield United 2 Leyton Orient 2 Saturday 18th October 2014 – Chesterfield 1 Oldham Athletic 1 Tuesday 21st October 2014 – Bristol City 2 Bradford City 2 Assistant Referee; Stuart Butler From – Kent Last 3 League One games. Saturday 1st March 2014 – Crawley 1 Peterborough 0 Saturday 8th March 2014 – Brentford 2 Bradford 0 Saturday 3rd May 2014 – Gillingham 1 Shrewsbury 1 Fourth Official; Nick Hobbis From – West Midlands Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time.

This time last year Walsall found themselves in a similar position to Notts, however it is vastly different at the club this season. The Saddlers are concerned that they don't have enough fire power upfront and the arrival of Tom Bradshaw in the summer has given them a striker who knows how to find the net. However the Saddlers are still struggling and are only 1 point away from the drop zone, with all to play Pride of Nottingham catches up with sadlad. You're actually a resident on Pride of Nottingham, this is interesting especially considering you're a Walsall fan. Can you tell our readers why you joined us? I was already signed up to a few other clubs fans sites like Huddersfield, Sheff Weds and Preston etc and had a look on the search engine for possible Notts County sites as Walsall were playing them soon. PON came up and on first viewing it struck me as how friendly and community based it was . I was made welcome right away on joining and I have to say its a really good, friendly site with fans of several other clubs posting away with the Notts County faithful so yes its the friendliness and acceptance which convinced me it was a good place to post with fellow football fans. How do you feel the season is going and do you have any regrets about players who have left your club? The season so far for 'The Saddlers' has been disappointing. The opening six League One games saw us failing to register a win and last season's continuation of not really scoring goals was there for all to see. Back to back home wins were spoilt by a shocking 0-4 thumping at Rochdale and results have been mixed since. Last Saturday's home win to Chesterfield was vital as we went into the game joint bottom. The only player to leave in the summer with any regret was captain Andy Butler who wanted to return up north and was snapped up by Sheff United. however he was re-signed on a month's loan and did a good job whilst he was here. Another connection to PoN is the fact our first opposition residents are Shrewsbury Town fans. You signed one of their star players in the summer, Tom Bradshaw. He's scored 6 goals in 10 games for you, it seems daft to ask but how his he settling in? Also, what are your personal thoughts on him? Tom Bradshaw has turned out to be an excellent signing and is already a firm fans favourite. He is full of energy, his work rate is terrific and he has a good goalscoring knack. Gets in there without fear and I just hope he can remain fairly injury-free. When he has been out injured he has been sorely missed. He's quite a handful as you will hopefully find out on Saturday! He has an early meeting with Shrewsbury as they are our visitors in the FA Cup and we hope he bags a hat trick! You do a fair bit of travelling, you're a very die hard fan. What does the club mean to you and which do you prefer away days or home games at the Bescot Stadium? I have been a fan of Walsall since 1966 from the age of 8 and yes its become a way of life. I love our clubs history especially anything to do with our 'real' home Fellows Park which we had to leave in 1990. I tend to go to most of our away games and love awaydays best..There is not much atmosphere generated at home games at Bescot. Ask any fan of my generation and they will tell you of the better atmosphere generated at the old place. Which players are currently in form for Walsall and which of them pose a threat to the Notts defence? Goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell has kept several clean sheets this term and full back Andy Taylor is steady. Tom Bradshaw is the main threat and is the main one to watch as he never gives centre backs a minute's peace. You played apart in helping Alan Buckley write a book, can you tell us how this came about and how you feel about it? Did he give you a signed copy? I had no involvement with the writing of the book- that was down to Paul Thundercliffe- but I was asked by them to provide a few pictures for the book and to use on their book web site which I was happy to do and also help them spread the word on the net so I linked their book site anywhere and everywhere possible with sites of clubs he'd either played for or managed. and all over applicable Facebook pages. Alan is my all time footballing hero and along with 5,000 others used to worship him from the terraces at Fellows Park. from when he first signed for us in 1973. He's our record goalscorer and as our manager produced teams who played some terrific attacking football. My friendship with him began two years ago when he did a Q and A session at a Walsall pub. I went up to him and told him I dio historical articles for a fans site (Walsall Web Fans) and asked if I could contact him at Grimsby Town FC (where he then worked as apart time youth coach) as I wanted feedback from him on what I had written about him! He consented and as he has nothing from his past with us in regards memorabilia he was very keen to see anything from that era. I was invited to the book signing event and the press launch before it and have met him at two other functions in Walsall since and its surreal that my hero is now my mate as well! The book is reprinted in November and I will start the publicity campaign all over again! No I had to pay for my copy like everyone else including our assistant manager Richard O'Kelly! Which Notts players would you have marked and how would you cancel out our attacks? I would say Ismail is the one to watch. I dont think we have played the same back four in consecutive games - or so it seems- so its hard to say who would mark him. Could be Paul Downing. I see you have won more games away than home and I think it will be a close game. Last season you beat us in our home game 5-1, what are your memories of that and did you feel you could finish within the play-offs? Last season's meeting at Meadow Lane was an amazing game for us! We had something like 30 attempts on goal, 18 on target and scored 5.. Our complaint was that we didn't score more. I seem to remember we messed up two one-on-one's with your keeper and fluffed a few more chances. It was just one of those games where we clicked. On loan played from Sheff United Febian Brandy scored a hat trick and it a bit out of character as we scored so few goals over the season as a whole.. The play offs were always a big ask last season and Im a firm believer in the fact that the league tables don't lie over the season. This season's game will be a lot closer and Saddlers can only hope for a draw at best I feel. Pride of Nottingham would like to thank sadlad for taking the time to answer our questions, we hope to see him around the site and hopefully he enjoys his visit to Meadow Lane bar the result. COYP's! Up The Saddlers!

Notts County fan Jon Marshall is visiting Kenya as part of the Nasio Trust, which helps change lives over in the African nation – A motto which the trust uses is “Changing Lives for the Good”. The Nasio Trust is a registered charity based in the UK and Kenya, it derives inspiration and values from the Christian faith which envisage a world where all children and young people are treated with love, and grow up to live self-reliant, healthy and fulfilling lives. Many of the children in Kenya are HIV orphans. This is in fact Jon's 4th visit to Kenya to an area called Mumias in Westen Kenya. He volunteers for the charity called Nasio Trust which helps children with HIV, via their scheme “Nasio G force” alongside aides from the United Kingdom. “This year we are constucting a medical centre, on arrival we had a field and a piece of paper. We had to design the medical centre based on government guide lines, locate materials, and put together a workforce” He said. “We handover on saturday to a local project manager after negotiating a price for the project. This is our 4th visit in which we have built two kitchens at different schools, dining rooms, etc. I sponsor a child named Dancan, my sponsorship covers his schooling cost.” He added. “When I come to kenya I do a home visit to his Mud Hut. He lives with his mum. His father has died. Most kenyans love football, they like english teams best. Whilst I have been out here I have told locals about Notts, given out some of my old shirts. I taught a massi warrior how to do the Hughsey”. As you can from the pictures importants of projects such as this and it a good thing, we all know a fan of Notts County who does great work with charities and in fact Pride of Nottingham knows a lot. Jon also added, “There are now more and more Notts Shirts in this region!!! I hope it helps them, the work we do is vital to helping bring change". Pride of Nottingham salutes Jon Marhsall, this is brilliant work and dedication shown. The helpers of the Nasio Trust should be very proud of their efforts, as should Jon. Keep up the good work and continue to show them the spirit of the club.