Chris

PONdle #13 — 3/6 — 8 letters ⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨🟨🟨⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Play PONdle

League One is very competitive; the gulf between a good League Two side and a team that must avoid relegation from League One isn't all that different. A team can have quality and depth, but it takes consistency at a much higher level to stay as an established team at this level. The talk I heard prior to Bradford about us being "Championship" ready is, at the kindest possible reading, optimistic thinking. Huddersfield showed what quality there is in the lower half of the Championship; Leicester, despite being very poor, showed they had Championship quality within them. I am not downplaying our squad, there's much more needed from them and it's still early days. The signs are positive, as we look capable of playing well in two halves. Teams all have off days; this Saturday perhaps comes down to us not choosing the right starting lineup. Defensively, I think we have made a lot of improvements, but more is naturally to come. The lapse in awareness and judgment is what is still costing us points. We can attack very nicely with pure passing football, and I have noticed we look a lot more dangerous on the break. Counter-attacking football is massive at this level and higher. Bradford turned it on quite nicely, though they failed to make their finishing count, I feel. So, I think comparisons are only half of the picture and that we have made progress. Yet, I wouldn't gloss over what further we need to do in order to be at our best. I think, with time and the new signings settling in more, we'll start to show a lot more of the quality we have seen in the earlier games so far, but on a more consistent basis. It took a bit of time last season for the quality to improve; this season it might be a little harder due to the talented teams we face, but I am confident that we can establish ourselves. I would like Notts to walk before running, as we need to be fully ready to push for promotion. I would hate to see all our good work undone by failing to get the basics needed to improve at this level right first.

I am not sure Bradford are the better team; they just had a good strike on goal. They barely troubled us with efforts, and James Belshaw could have sat in a deck chair for most of the first half. As I left, I felt that neither team deserved anything from the game. Had Notts attacked the game better, who knows? It was an underwhelming performance, but Bradford were just as poor themselves. Several previous teams would have put the game to rest well before them if we had played the exact same way. Midfield never got going; Luka Smyth still doesn't look match-fit.

eSports, but it's more like event management and streaming. Some of his friends were involved in the World Cup in America, doing overlays for the live games, and some have been doing snooker events. I will, he will act surprised, but I think he knows just how much everyone cares. Some friends this past Saturday asked about him and how he was doing. He might not realise what he means to our community, but it never surprises me how much people express care. Jake has also recently passed his theory test and will be moving towards his driving test, thanks to Jim at @Drivingmenotts. So, I'll be driving Jake nuts and encouraging Super to come with us on day trips here and there. As for apple pies and crumbles, they are our favourite too. I used to have them plain, but now I have custard and, on rare occasions, cream or ice cream. I hope the noise dies down; it can be annoying when construction or work is being carried out.

@Fan of Big Tone it’s amazing how stories like this stay hidden until somewhere highlights it, hopefully it will continue to be picked up and do the loops as stories like this do deserve to be told. Triumph over all, it's something quite remarkable.

The football equivalent of a person having two compound names. I wished Blair would slow down; Super and Jake say I speak fast, but he's spitting words out in a very thick Scottish accent, which I honestly find hard to understand. That complaint had it is a good video and I do love the insights in this. Those steps early in the video remind me of Meadow Lane and other clubs with traditional stadiums. I also think it's a myth that you have to spend money to save a club, and the issue I find with constant takeovers is that they're not addressing the actual problem. I think Albion Rovers would benefit from supporter ownership and a better understanding of what makes clubs successful without throwing money. There's a lot of uncaptured football talent in Scotland, and I think a club like them would benefit from finding talent that hasn't found a club to get the best out of them at academy level. They could get the foundations right there and replicate what has made other higher-up teams successful in producing talent that has a resale value. I am not suggesting it's this easy, but the club does seem lost and stuck in their ways; it's clearly not working, and they appear to have a loyal community supporting them.

I will give the next airing a watch and share my thoughts. Personally, I would rather ex-players who are good at hosting shows were given a chance. Mind, those who wanted Alan Shearer to take over must have wanted to go to sleep early. He's an alright pundit, but he tends to be quite negative; he was during this past World Cup.

It's because the club doesn't want to expose the players to negativity by making them respond after defeats; we sometimes avoid doing so for draws. I have complained reasonably about this in the past, and people just say they would rather the players do their talking on the pitch. However, in my opinion, it is not good to treat professional players as if they cannot give good insights into what went wrong on the pitch. I think there's a lot to be learned from defeats, and having the players able to reflect on key moments in the game. Not only does it give us fans something to explain the players’ side of how things went, but it also takes away that 'we're in this together' attitude and hides responsiblity from having to focus on press related interviews. If the club really believes in communication and transparency, then I think they can expect more fans to be mature enough to accept what players have to say after defeats. For those fans who feel interviews are just fine after winning games, why? It sends the wrong message. The club might instruct the manager to take accountability for defeats or poor performances, but surely one of the many managers we have had would see the benefit from allowing the players to speak after games don't go our way instead of hiding them from the media.

There isn’t much happening for me. Jake has returned to uni; it's his final year before graduation. I need to speak with Super at some point today, and I hope to find time to prepare some meals for him. Kate's nana gave us a lot of cooking apples, so they will be turned into apple pies or crumbles. One other thing I aim to look into is making some homemade curries for him, as he does like them and I think they'd help keep him warm.

PONdle #12 — X/6 — 5 letters ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟩🟨⬛ ⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛ Play PONdle

I haven't watched it in years; does anyone still persist with it? I don't even watch the Football League highlights anymore, but I am interested in what people think of the absence of Gary Lineker.

What is everyone else upto? It's been nice reading up on what everyone is doing. =) Don't worry, my friend. I have more better days right now than ones like these, and I relax when I know my body's overdone it. Not that it takes much these days; growing old sucks, as Bowling for Soup sings.

Growing up, my weekends tended to be quite routine. Mum, Grandad, and my Grandma would all go shopping to the nearest supermarket in Bulwell. It would be the general shop at first, then my grandfather would park up nearby where Argos used to be or Wilko's (Co-op back then). Mum would fetch some fresh fruit from the market; she would barter with the traders and get good deals. Sometimes we would nip into Iceland, but usually it was Farm Foods. I didn't really attend weekend games very often with my grandfather; most happened to be during the week or on holidays. Most of my memories of Notts were night matches; Saturdays tended to be cartoons early and then shopping. Even after going to Bulwell, we would end up going to Asda in Radford to pick up more. When Food Giants and all those other names that owned the supermarket in Bulwell started to close, we would just go Asda. Sunday's Super would cook dinner, and for a time my grandparents used to come over. Back then, at that point, the sofa was placed near the window, and I used to climb it whenever I heard car doors excited that it would be my grandparents. When I wasn't doing something, I would always be in the garden kicking a football or playing some other sport with my brother. It's funny how different eras-the “norm” changes, as I have fond memories, but I can remember both my parents saying how things were different back when they were children. Even with my own, none of them really watch TV. They used to come shopping when we would fetch things, but more so because they had to come. Now that they are older, they don't really have much interest in going out. What was your weekend like as a child? What memories do you have? I thought this would be a nice idea for a community discussion, something we can learn new things about each other.

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I have heard Lee Dixon in interviews/podcasts claim that it wasn't his fault. He bloody lobbed David Seaman; what was he supposed to do? Quite a funny own goal. He scored some belters at the other end mind.

Wish your grandson a happy birthday from us, @Michael D Pie.. @Fan of Big Tone: Have you ever thought about renting out your home? The amount of holidays and trips you have could make you some money instead of spending it. 😉 I've had a couple of rough days, very tired since Huddersfield. Trying to crack on with things and finish off other parts. Played today's PONdle game, I am starting to think it might be too hard or it's just me. Will do Wordle in a moment.

What a story, it's something I have never heard about. True underdog story, though with a sad ending.

PONdle #7 — 5/6 — 8 letters ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨 🟨🟨⬛⬛🟨⬛🟩⬛ 🟨⬛🟨⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Play PONdle

Two-point deduction for @Paris Sandwich Man, re count, re count. 😂 Well done👏🏻👏🏻

I feel the same way; they are clearly a good team. We had to time our time to build chances, and it was a very good defensive performance. James Belshaw made some remarkable saves which made up for his poor clearance earlier in the game and for being beaten near post (which he was right near). If we can play like this against sides that clearly can outplay us, then we should be able to keep ourselves away from the bottom end of the table. I think mid-table, based on what I have seen, is achievable; but if things further click and results come, who knows? It's a very promising start, but we must be prepared for if things change, as last season we didn't have the best of starts and bumps can form at any point. We have to be strong and focused.

PONdle #6 — 3/6 — 8 letters ⬛⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛⬛🟨 ⬛⬛🟨🟨🟨⬛🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Play PONdle This one is very tricky...

A brave lady who deserves to have her name remembered throughout history. Such a sad but interesting story about how someone who played a vital role in the war will be quite rightly remembered as a hero.

I won't be attending, but if the club streams it, I will watch. I know quite a few fans who want to know why the club says players who are being sold are labelled as injured. I am sure Jodi and other things will come up. It's the club's opportunity to be a little more transparent, but we must focus on the benefits that the club is moving forward. For me, I don't see the worth of holding a fans forum at the beginning of a season and aside from hearing reassurences that the club won't actively mislead supporters I don't think there's all that much to ask. I am not sure there is much else to be asked or said at this point, other than maybe hearing about how things off the pitch are improving and how we went about the recruitment this past summer. I am sure it will be a good night, and I do hope the club considers its transparency, along with not hiding things from us fans, as I feel we have the right to know certain things without rumours taking their toll, as it does no club any good.

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There's nothing like a nice cider, especially Old Mout on a nice warm day.