Chris

Notts County v Swindon

Notts County have climbed to second in League Two following a solid 1-0 win over Swindon Town in Tuesday night's clash at Meadow Lane. Jon Stead's penalty just after the half-hour mark, after he was bundled over in the box by Olly Lancashire, was enough to secure the points for Kevin Nolan's charges. The result also sees the Magpies notch up a seventh unbeaten game in all competitions, which has resulted in an incredible vibe among the Black and White Army. Here is Chris's tactical analysis of the game. Was the result fair? Swindon Town fans might feel they deserved at least a draw from last night’s game at Meadow Lane, however a determined Notts County succeeded and for me warrant the win due to sheer hard-work from a very respectable performance. How did Notts play? Notts played like the underdogs in an F.A cup tie, however at times they fully took the game to the Robins who struggled to adapt to the changes made by Kevin Nolan. Whilst there was a lack of goal chances, with only two shots being recorded as on target for the Magpies – this doesn’t reflect the full picture and it was a very solid performance which can only be improved on. How did Swindon play? As I mentioned within the PON forum, and within my ‘Scouting Report’ – Swindon Town tried to make the most of the flanks. They used their pace and threw everything they had at Notts, despite several fans telling me they were poor. I felt entertained by them and I think they overthought their tactics, but in truth they played quite well and forced Adam Collin to be at his best. Did our tactics work out? Absolutely! Whilst the majority of fans seemed to believe the changes were nothing more than an effort by Kevin Nolan to save certain players legs for Saturday’s clash against Crawley – for me I could see that it was more about controlling the game and combating the obvious way that Swindon Town play. I felt it was solely to inject pace into our team at a time when Swindon Town would be fading from trying to overpower us on the pitch. The tactics were absolutely spot on, and it shows that Kevin Nolan does have more than a plan A. How did the referee perform? I felt the referee was better than most we had in recent weeks, however at times it was clear that he had lost control and even went as far as deciding favourably to whoever made the most fuss (which was usually a group of Swindon Town players). There were some key moments, such as their number 7 tripping one of our players which was totally missed and a kick to Jorge Grant which for me warranted at least a card. Who do we play next? Crawley Town – this will be a totally different game for Notts. Crawley are a side capable of playing very well on their day, they can be physical but generally play in the right way. How should we play them? For Notts they need to apply common-sense, use bulk in midfield to control the flow of the game. Again for me Rob Milsom will be key, as will a fresh Jorge Grant. I would revert back to having Dan Jones at left back, however Matt Tootle should retain his position – the defence must deal with Crawley promptly but in a way which doesn’t rush the play, so it’s vital that the ball is played on the ground when possible. Hopefully Shola Ameobi will be fit, we really missed his presence yesterday but I would like to see him start with Jonathan Forte at the cost of Jon Stead. We need to bide our time, create chances which can be avoided from rushing – with it being vital to not make whoever is upfront not chase everything. Notts generally struggle to get the ball on target, so fewer chances will come if we don’t adjust. Swindon fan views (from Thetownend.com) Stevens: "I made my views early that I did not like this managers way of playing football. We have gone from a side who plays young potential good footballers who were badly handled to a load of old farts past there sell by date and a few loanees playing typical division two football. Thank goodness I missed tonight and will be out of the country for the next month so I don't have to go and watch." Donkey: "Ok, just before I turn in for the night, I'm going to try to be positive. I liked Norris, worked hard, won a lot of headers, put a shift in. Vigs made a cracking save and held the crosses he came for. Also, I had a genuine fear that we'd slide through this division (Vale are bottom), but I believe this team have enough about them to be mid table. They should halt the decline. At the end of last season, I'd have taken that." London Pride: "Just got back after an overnight stay and have to say I am somewhat surprised by Flitcroft summary of the game I can only assume he was at another match. It was 100% a penalty as all us could quite clearly see from where we were sat. I have watched every game this year home and away and my confidence in us getting promoted at the first attempt has started to fade. We are clearly not a very good side with some very average players and a manager whose tactics are extremely questionable. The mindless aimless hoof ball that was on display last night which is seeming to become the norm is extremely embarrassing to watch. The only way that we will ever make the playoffs this season is if there are 18 other teams more crap than us." Share your thoughts about this tactical analysis piece on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County have made it seven matches unbeaten in all competitions thanks to victory over Swindon Town on Tuesday night. The Robins came to Meadow Lane hoping to extend their superb away record in League Two, but luckily - for us - it wasn't to be. Arguably the toughest opponent on paper for Notts so far this season since Coventry City, Kevin Nolan's charges were well drilled and well organised. The winner came midway through the first half as Olly Lancashire conceded a penalty, which Jon Stead duly rattled home. County's win puts them second in the League Two table and ensures that the Black and White Army is on a great wavelength as autumn rolls in. Pride of Nottingham spoke to a number of Notts County fans and asked them a few questions ahead of the game, including whether Jonathan Forte has anything left to prove to Kevin Nolan, which player has exceeded their expectations the most, and of course the score prediction. Share your thoughts about this week's Meet the Fans on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County have made it seven matches unbeaten in all competitions thanks to a 1-0 victory over Swindon Town on Tuesday night. The Robins came to Meadow Lane hoping to extend their superb away record in League Two, but luckily - for us - it wasn't to be. Arguably the toughest opponent on paper for Notts so far this season since Coventry City, Kevin Nolan's charges were well drilled and well organised. The winner came midway through the first half as Olly Lancashire conceded a penalty, which Jon Stead duly rattled home. County's win puts them second in the League Two table and ensures that the Black and White Army is on a great wavelength as autumn rolls in. Pride of Nottingham was at Meadow Lane for the game, speaking to fans and taking pictures. Check out our midweek Faces of PON and see if you're in any of our snaps! Share your thoughts about this week's Faces of PON on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County welcome Swindon Town to Meadow Lane this evening. As openings to a season go, the Magpies have had arguably one of the toughest ones out there this year in League Two, with all four sides relegated from League One last season up against us in our first seven fixtures. Kevin Nolan's charges have however navigated a very tricky start reasonably well, save for the opener against Coventry City of course, and tonight, another team expected to bounce right back up to comes to Nottingham for what the gaffer has described as "another tough ask". History Notts have met Swindon on 63 occasions, the first time being 103 years ago in the FA Cup. On that day in January 1911, the Robins beat the Magpies 2-0 at the County Ground. Of the 63 clashes, 24 have been won by Notts, 27 by Swindon, and 12 have been drawn. The last meeting between the two was on 7 March 2015, away at the County Ground, and the Robins ran out 3-0 winners. Current league position Notts - third (13 points) Swindon - ninth (10 points) Run-down of the opposition's five games Saturday 12th August – Swindon Town 1 Exeter City 1 Saturday 19th August – Morecambe 0 Swindon Town 1 Saturday 26th August – Swindon Town 0 Crawley Town 3 Saturday 2nd September – Swindon Town 1 Barnet 4 Saturday 9th September – Luton Town 0 Swindon Town 3 Opposition player fact sheet Highest Goal Scorers; Luke Norris 4, Paul Mullin 4, Chris Hussey and Olly Lancashire 1. Persistent Foulers; Donal McDermott 1 red card, Paul Mullin 3 yellow cards, James Dunne 2 yellow cards and Ellis Landolo 2 yellow cards. The Key Players Luke Norris is a very capable goal scorer who can instantly change the outcome of a game with his style of play, he likes to attack and sit off the defenders – this allows him to find the right amount of space in order to have a shot. James Dunne is Swindon’s enforcer within the midfield, he can link play and generally cause a nuisance to the opposition defence. Ollie Lancashire is also someone Notts should do their homework on, as the defender likes to get forward as much as possible and knows how to strike the ball. Style of play, strengths, and weaknesses Swindon like to use the flanks in order to get balls into the opposition's area, at times they try to cut it back at the last minute – this creates space for their offensive players. They tend to be very direct, whilst asserting pressure as they build with momentum but are inclined to sit back and allow the opposition to attack themselves. From an attacking stance they like to get the ball in and behind the last defenders, and can mix between passing on the ground and using the wider space available to them. However, from a defensive point of view they don’t like teams being direct or patient within their own building and can be prone to giving fouls away. Free kicks and set pieces will be vital for Notts, as will ensuring that the corner pieces are not wasted. The Magpies will have to focus on getting the ball into the Swindon area so that it unnerves their defence and allows for swifter chances to come forward. Share your thoughts about this scouting report on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Hello and welcome to episode 24 of the Pride of Nottingham PONcast, presented by Chris and JJ. In this week's episode we look back at Notts County's 2-0 win over Morecambe and analyse how the action panned out. We also look ahead to tonight's encounter with Swindon Town and look at how Notts should approach the game. We then move onto looking at how the League Two table looks six games into the campaign, focusing on the early hopefuls for promotion and those who have not taken well to life in the fourth tier. In addition, we discuss whether the upgrades to the Meadow Lane home changing room and training facilities could really help the team improve on the pitch. All this and more in Pride of Nottingham's PONcast, episode 24! Share your thoughts about this week's PONcast by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County have climbed to third in League Two and stretched their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions following a 2-0 win over Morecambe. Dan Jones opened the scoring for the Magpies at Meadow Lane with a 27th-minute free kick which was curled expertly round the Shrimps wall and beyond goalkeeper Barry Roche. Morecambe launched a fightback but their efforts were to no avail as Notts struck late on through substitute Jonathan Forte as he broke through and rifled home via the inside of the post. In this piece, Chris has taken an in-depth look at how both sides played, whether the result was fair, and how to move forward. Was the result fair? The result was about right for me, Morecambe didn’t look much of a threat on goal and struggled to get a grip on the game. Notts passed nicely at times, created chances and always looked to get forward. How did Notts play? It wasn’t a "wow" performance, yet the team spirit again shined and there were several occasions where pieces of play really did entertain us fans. I think we needed to be slightly more direct, along with taking our time when shooting but overall it was a very decent performance. How did Morecambe play? Morecambe really struggled, defensively they were quite poor and I felt if Notts created better chances they would have been finished off early. Their midfield wasn’t able to get hold of the game, nor could they change the tempo. This in turn isolated their attack, so it was a typical disconnected performance by a team clearly struggling to get their season going. Did our tactics work out? Honestly, I felt that we needed to change things before the game. Make a simple adjustment to the midfield by allowing Rob Milsom to start and perhaps the tweak we all have been wanting up front. The tactics weren’t bad, I just felt it was somewhat flat but it allowed us to control the game and so to a degree it worked. If Morecambe had been more of a threat or the physical team we know they can be – this could have been different, but the balance was about right for us. How did the referee perform? I can still hear his whistle, his repeated blowing and lack of control really frustrated me at times. However, I don’t think it had any sort of impact on the game and again I find myself thinking in hindsight that he was just another poor League Two referee. Who do we play next? Swindon Town – a team still getting to grips with life back in League Two, although they’re heavily tipped for a return to League One and have several good players. This will be a tougher game on Tuesday for Notts! How should we play them? Notts needs to be able to cope with any pace they have, the right-hand side of the defence for me is a concern if Matt Tootle doesn’t start. I think Swindon will know that they have a chance to influence the game by using the flanks so defensively we have to stand tall – whilst ensuring we force them back into the centre of the park. I would like to see Notts try to hold the ball up, perhaps push Jorge Grant a little forward and let him sit behind whoever starts up front. Kevin Nolan could perhaps justify reverting to one striker, however I think it might limit our chances – yet it would offer Notts more bulk in the centre of the park where it matters. This would allow us to pass the ball around, whilst offering protection to the defence. We can’t just sit back and defend however, we must pass the ball and look to maximise the set pieces that we get. Share your thoughts about this article on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County have climbed to third in League Two and stretched their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions following a 2-0 win over Morecambe. Dan Jones opened the scoring for the Magpies at Meadow Lane with a 27th-minute free kick which was curled expertly round the Shrimps wall and beyond goalkeeper Barry Roche. Morecambe launched a fightback but their efforts were to no avail as Notts struck late on through substitute Jonathan Forte as he broke through and rifled home via the inside of the post. Pride of Nottingham was at Meadow Lane to watch County's impressive win and took photos of the Black and White Army. Have a look at our pictures and see if you or your friends or family are in this week's Faces of PON! Share your thoughts about this week's Faces of PON on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Notts County have stretched their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions following Saturday's 2-0 win over Morecambe at Meadow Lane. The Magpies bossed the first half and deservedly took the lead as defender Dan Jones curled in a superb free kick on 27 minutes. Although the Shrimps shuffled things round at the break and were more dangerous in the second half, they were unable to make headway in terms of grabbing an equaliser. Indeed, Notts went on to seal the victory through Jonathan Forte, who raced clean through on goal and slotted beyond Barry Roche. Pride of Nottingham was at the Lane to watch the fantastic win, which elevated the Magpies to third in the League Two table, and spoke to a number of fans prior to the game. So what are you waiting for? Get ready to "Meet the Fans"! Share your thoughts about this week's Meet the Fans on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining in the chat with hundreds of fellow Notts County fans. Fancy showcasing your brand or business on Pride of Nottingham? Click here to find out more about sponsorship and advertising opportunities with us.

Pride of Nottingham spoke to a number of Notts County fans and asked them a few questions ahead of the Magpies' League Two meeting with Morecambe at Meadow Lane, which ended 2-0 to Notts. If you would like to feature, get in touch! Feel free to submit potential questions below and we will look into asking them. Be sure to subscribe, share, like and comment - Your support is greatly appreciated. Visit us on: Website: https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/ Community: https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/community/ Don't forget to register on our site, look out for us on social media and at live games. COYP!

Notts County v Morecambe