Chris

I don't think it's odd that Notts are continuing the U18s pre-season whilst the first team is away, the majority of first year scholars and young professionals are more often featured in the 'development squad' that arranges games between local clubs but isn't an official reserve team due to the costs involved. If any of the young players would be included in the U18s games, then it just opens the door to an academy player. Whilst it's very important that our young pros are playing in the pre-season friendly with the first team. That environment is massive for young talent. You won't get that experience playing Norwich's U18s or Fast Track Academy. Plus, it will give our fans the chance to get behind the academy, as only a portion would have gone to the German friendly.

I have merged matchday topic and with the match discussion has not to confuse members or have two separate topics on the same instance.

@super_ram: Your laughing reaction to my last post will make me declare war on you. Consider the game afoot.

I would be in the camp of wishing nothing like this would happen, because it would mess with the way scores have been handled for decades. Yet, by drawing, earning no points - theoretically would mean managers and players would push themselves more to win. It could have an impact that makes games more exciting because teams will want those points.

I don't have any plans, I do want to find the time to write some things for the site. One thing I am considering is a blog entry about the time I had away; thankfully, I have never felt I needed to address it. I also wouldn't want it to see like a big thing or that I was after sympathy, but I think it would be insightful for those who may have similar issues or just wondered why things were so quiet during that point. I did have a few Notts fans I know attempt to encourage me to pick up the social media side and site (who aren't members here). I'll reflect on this and make a draft to see if it does turn out to be worth sharing. Other than that, I want to go see @super_ram and catch up with other PON-related things.

This would have been perhaps one of the first things Notts would have done, under the Trew era which deserves credit for. There was some fantastic fan engagement, the opening days were always great fun. We don't seem to have this thought process these days, but open days do take a lot of planning, preparation and effort on the day. With fans travelling, it would give them some excitement going into the season and a nice way for the club to shake off some of the negative PR from the sale of Macaulay Langstaff. Allowing fans to watch the team train doesn't take much effort, plus is a very nice insight for those who would be able to make it.

Notts could have done a lovely PR move, for those travelling fans by allowing them to go watch the team train. I think a similar thing was done in the past when they toured, was it Iceland? The memory of Romello Nangle's extraordinary goal remains etched in my mind. The training ground and facilities do look nice.

No, PON doesn't run off a Windows based server. Only those systems have been affected by this worldwide outage. That person in the Sky interview clearly doesn't know much about technology. Asking if patches are being pushed out on purpose by the vendor shows a massive lack of understanding how quickly things can change within operating systems code. Most updates always include security patches, so cyber teams are often checking for vulnerabilities. It's these updates which keep systems safer, so it's not something that is done on purpose. If he doesn't know this, it's worrying that someone would speak on behalf of the global outage, because he comes across as utterly clueless. I do sometimes know these people do say daft things, just to spice up news reports, but this would further take creditability away. I would imagine the update had been tested within local environments and no issues had been detected. Whilst it shouldn't have happened, it's very easy for things to go wrong. Suggesting a small amount of code couldn't have such a significant impact, again shows a major lack of understanding of how things work. Sometimes things only occur when they're in a live environment, it sucks, but you have to accept that sometimes it's outside of control. At least it was acted upon quickly, and wasn't left for hours. As this is one of the biggest downfalls when things go wrong with code and operating systems. There are scenarios where debugging can take quite awhile. At least the issue was identified and quickly resolved.

I do hope Woking will be okay, it's horrible to see this continue, but it does show the importance of budgeting within your means. I don't wish to sound cruel, but if you own a club and constantly allow it to run at such a huge debt, surely you know at some point this is going to be an issue with your finances? Alan Hardy thought he was clever, but got bite and proved that he never had enough money for us - let alone Ilkeston Town. Whilst I'm not sure where Woking's debts come from, they could be historical to a point. Clubs must be aware of what they spend, trim as much as possible and look into avenues where they can generate additional income. Having an owner or board members with fairly deep pockets will only last for so long. It's Woking's fans I feel the most for.

@KingMaynard Would you please apply again? Unfortunately, you didn't agree to the rules/code of conduct. I hate to come across as picky, but it's very important that I only accept people who agree to it via the openings. I don't want to discourage you, and I realise you might have missed it, but unfortunately submissions can't be edited. They must be re-done, so if you choose to apply again and ensure to agree to these rules and code of conduct then I would be more than happy to take you up on your offer of help.

Two of the residents of the former care home I worked suffered from this. It's not a nice condition, made even worse if you catch it too late. The carers that assisted them with eating had to spend a considerable amount of time patiently feeding them. Although, it did become a contest between the laziest ones who just wanted to get away with helping others. My time working in the care home, I never felt depressed and I loved making a difference. Yet, it's a grim world. Being one of the cooks, I had to blitz down food for a number of residents and I always made sure to try it before giving it to them. If I didn't like the taste, I wouldn't. Fruit was commonly used to make things taste nicer.

A lot of the people I came across earlier probably don't live there, but it is an area in decline. As Bulwell is located near to Aspley, it is the most sensible choice for shopping. Either, at Morrisons or Tesco. Now, the CO-OP in Strelley is now an Asda I tend to avoid that. I would rather take things as they come, avoid rushing and give people personal space - instead of what it's like now.

Did the number of substitutions increase during COVID, allowing teams to make more than 5 changes? I mean temporarily. I seem to recall watching a few games where virtually the whole squad was coming off, but my memories are iffy, so this could have been a foreign game or something. That seemed excessive but 5 is about the right amount. I think anything higher, it just becomes a farce. Three subs has always seemed quite restrictive, whereas you can make 4 changes and reserve the 5th just in case of an injury. I would rather see tactical changes which are introduced by bringing on a different player, then to watch a match where teams are grinding out a 0-0. Much like coverage of a football match on The Simpsons. It gives managers a chance to change things and inject fresher legs, so personally I like how things are right now.

Sorry, if Bulwell is somewhere dear to you but my god it's a hellhole. I used to like going to Bulwell, to look around or to have walks. The shopping area and market were always useful, but it's not the same these days. I haven't been for at least a few years; I used to have physio and other appointments which took me that way and I sort of missed it. Until today, I hate changes and getting older just reminds me of how everyone would say things were better in their day. The place is full of mindless zombies and crack heads looking for trouble, that's if you are not run over by speeding pensioner(s) on mobility scooters totally ignorant to where they are going. I hate to think what it would have been like if the market was on... The plus points were having a nice walk with Kate, catching two fairly quiet buses and picking up some school stuff for next term. I won't be in a hurry to go back. I think the changes to the Bus Station making a central column for all the services is bizarre.

Not that anyone would believe this, I am sure, but I was a very fussy eater - I still am to some degree. I love potatoes, they are easily in my top 3 favourite foods because you do many things with them. Mashed potatoes are absolutely the most incredible thing ever! I have always liked carrots. For some reason I think baby ones tend to taste nicer, but I haven't had them in years. I used to feel disappointed when @super_ram would put swede in his mash. If anything green touched my plate as a kid, you would consider yourself lucky if I touched anything. Now, I like virtually them all. Peas, runner beans.

The board may request that we try to play 'pretty football', but I don't think it will be enforced. We started last season off well, playing some good football and to the mid-point, we were scraping results. You can only make suggestions to a manager/head coach on how the team performs, but the main thing is getting the results. Although, I do think playing good football is better than winning ugly. Notts will have a vision of what they will expect and want to see under Stuart Maynard, but his approach and focus will be more on training and match preparation. Getting to the point of handling tactics, with the vast majority of demanding tasks falling on other peoples shoulders. Managers like more control, whereas coaches enjoy getting stuck in with training and motivating the squad. I would suspect that Richard Montague is more involved with many aspects of the day-to-day operations, and not just the recruitment. Just behind Joe Palmer and responding to the Reedtz brothers. Although, I think the Reedtz are more over watchers and quite happy to allow their staff to run the club.

I know it's just a friendly, but I would like to see a settled squad take part in the first half. Introduce some of the other players and youngsters in the second half, it would be a shame for them not to be involved. I think from a prospect of starting a strong squad, it would give them a good insight into where we are - whilst allowing travelling fans to feel like we are taking the friendly a bit more seriously. Although, friendlies are friendlies and nothing more. I do believe it would lift morale and give those expecting to start some form of push as we continue our pre-season. Revert to trailists, and mixed sides after.

@Wheelbarrow repair man: Where you type your comments, you should see a paper-clip icon. Drag an attachment into it or choose to upload a file. Once uploaded, you will see a + button to add it to your comment. (Same for mobiles and handheld devices, it's just a little different) Alternatively, use https://imgur.com/ Then click the embed options, copy the URL and paste that into the text field followed by enter (it can do it without but might take a bit longer).

A quick google into that shows: Which explains why I recall seeing pictures of the crown on older England shirts. Our very own, Tommy Lawton wearing a shirt with the original logo (featuring a crown at the top of the lions). It's funny what you remember when someone points it out, as I wasn't sure when it was removed from the football team logo. Yet, I do recall seeing it. Personally, I like the simplified look.

Lee Carsley is the only real candidate I am bothered about, Eddie Howe should be left to continue with Newcastle. If he can gain a bit more experience, he would be a good choice. The rest of the English managers are lacklustre, Graham Potters shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the national team. He's not the answer in my humble opinion.

Outside of football, this is by far one of the best logos. The Rose is a very British symbol.

His move to Meadow Lane has been a revolution, as he did ignite our push to get back to winning ways. He's a calm striker, who has a lot of strengths, from his pace to the finishing ability we have seen. I think he would thrive being played more, as his height gives us something we can use to hold up the ball. Playing Cedwyn Scott off him, could be a good partnership - especially if we allow them both to play somewhat freely in attacking roles. It amazes me how Jatta manages to retain the ball when marked by two-three defenders. He naturally attracts them and somehow manages to do something with the ball. When I first saw him, I thought he might be a bit awkward on the ball due to his height, but appearances means nothing. He's got natural ability and an eye for goal.

@ARLukomski.... So far, I would go for... Bass McDonald, Bedeau, Platt Nemane Jones Robertson Palmer <-- Crowley ->> <<- Scott ->> Jatta Wing backs: Nemane and Jones. Robertson acting as the defensive cover and anchor, Palmer (when fit to get us moving forward). Crawley and Scott to operate within the attacking midfield zone. Jatta as the lead striker. Bench: Slocombe, Macari, Tsaroulla, Gordon, Austin, Edwards, McGoldrick.

Personally, I think it's a culture and chance issue. Notts is in a position where it's ambitious, and it might be seen as a luxury to play a youth prospect or young professional. I have been very critical of my disappointment regarding this over the years, as I have seen enough wasted talent. If Stuart Maynard could be bold enough to ensure that the likes of James Sanderson managed to start at least 12 games this season, even if the majority were low-key cup games, it's still vital minutes which lead to experience. Experience which isn't always gained by going out on loan, this is more clubs hoping to excel the progression so the young player(s) are near to the first team in terms of footballing minutes. Without really committing, we'll never know if any of the youngsters before their release if they will reach the ability where they can become a strong first team candidate. Our academy is very good. I have seen training sessions before the issues under AH, and I am sure it's returned to that level, if not better under the Reedtz. The thing is, the majority of fans say they want to see youngsters given the chance but quickly turn against the idea. I have seen no end to promising players falling to criticism whilst they are learning. It's not productive, especially when it's over critical or directly put to them. At the same time, due to the pressured environment managers are less likely to give youngsters the chance because it could be them that ends up being fired if results don't go their way. Crewe Alexandra have a decent youth setup, as do a few other clubs, where players are given minutes and nurtured. Notts must start giving them better opportunities, and because it can work, the pay-off is highly beneficial. Especially when players start performing at a higher standard than what you are playing at.

Well, students could find them, and it's not a safe idea to combat mass shootings with more guns. What would be a better solution would be to make sure that school had appropriate security. Schools in the UK look like prisons, whereas in America they look like nice normal places. The UK goes overkill on the security side, America thinks the only solution is having more violent weapons at hand. Another issue is that school shooters may decide to target meeting points or other venues if schools do manage to cut down on guns/weapons getting into them. The problem just doesn't go away. I do find it curious as to why we don't tend to have violent crimes in schools. It's a good thing, knifes are such a big issue in the UK. Whereas in the United States it's more guns.