Chris

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.

On loan winger Stephen McLaughlin is set to return to parent club Nottingham Forest, unless an extention can be agreed between Shaun Derry and Stuart Pearce for the services of the 24 year old Irish born player. He featured in his last game yesterday for the magpies, in a narrow 1-0 away win over Scunthorpe United which saw Notts County move to 3rd within the league. Notts have largely benefited from the arrival of Stephen McLaughlin who made an instant impact upon making his debut for the club and with the relations between Notts County and Nottingham Forest in talks, it is not completly out of the question to see some form of agreement reached. Nottingham Forest team mate Louis Laing has already extended his emergency deal for the duration of an additional 3 months. Stephen McLaughlin's appeared 5 times for Notts, 4 times within the league and once within the Johnstone's Paint Throphy. He's scored once against Scunthorpe United in the Johnstone's Paint Throphy, provided 4 assists within the league. Whilst being yellow carded once in the 89th minute in the 2-3 comeback win against Barnsley FC. Reaching a total of 360' game time within league one and 90' minutes within the Johnstone's Paint Throphy. In terms of overall performance in the English leagues, his personal best is actually whilst at Notts County. At Bristol City he only made 1 assist in 7 games and at Nottingham Forest it is 2 assists in 8 games. Would you like to see Stephen McLaughlin remain at Notts or should he return to his parent club Nottingham Forest. Pride of Nottingham is asking this very question, let us know your views.

Yesterday ended like I started my original journey, alone with my son in the cold. I found myself at times thinking about what Notts meant to me as a person, I looked around watching our fans react to each stage very differently. It was a roller-coaster shared by family and friends, in a sea of mixed shirts. Shaun Derry's branded Notts a “community”, which is something I've always found to be pretty much true. The only differences for me is the adventures you encounter with friends, I know I've been pretty lucky in that respect to have witnessed many great moments over the past 2-3 years. Being entirely honest and open, going back any further I know I wouldn't have had this insight which I do now. It could be a very naive way to look at it, yet there's always been more than a “community” feeling. I remember feeling like I do now but with my grandfather, all those days ago when he would take me to see Notts as a child. It feels like a family, yes some might not communicate with people but if you do, I know for sure that it wouldn't just be one person, it would be several and you're always adding to the overall total. Going 1-0 down to Barnsley, the away end felt very tense and it became more so after they had scored their second. Yet some didn't drop their heads, they shrugged off the disappointment and decided to see it through as we fans of lower division football often do. I watched as little pockets of the “Notts family” started to connect with each other, it slowly turned around as it did on the field. What a fantastic strike by Garry Thompson, it really allowed us to start believing we could comeback. The rest feels like history now, although I do feel that whatever Shaun Derry said at half time it probably included us fans. When we equalised the stand which we was situated in just came alive, by this point three people I don't know spoke to me and we started discussing our points briefly. I know that times are difficult, which you would be able to relate in family life. There's something always happening but the next time you're at a Notts match and it becomes quiet, make yourself heard and be accounted for as part of the community or family. Our journey is probably only beginning, when one ends another starts and I know my son “Super Pie” will share my sentiments when he is older.