Chris

Thank you to all 67 members who took the time to vote! Runner-up, Rod McDonald, earned 15 of them, but the winner had an impressive 36 votes! Congratulations to Matt Palmer! He has earned the Pride of Nottingham Man of the Match award for his performance against Tranmere Rovers this past Saturday.

I would say it was the best performance so far this season. Tranmere were quite happy to allow us to play, and it felt more like a League One game. I did think they were very poor defensively, but on the break, especially those quick counters where they outnumbered us, it made me nervous. At least until they had two or three attempts and blasted them into the away end, nowhere near the goal. Until they took the lead, I honestly thought it would be us who would score before anything came from them as a serious threat. It was a sucker-punch moment, which seemed to drop the lad's head, but despite this, I thought we ended the first half somewhat encouragingly with how we played. I also can't stand Josh Davison. His attempts to fool the referee were very frustrating, and a lot of Tranmere Rovers players tried to play the dirty side of football. Relentless pushing, aggressive diving, and careless elbow jabs. I was pleased that we gave it back when we could, I think it was Jacob Bedeau who left a little on a challenge he faced, which caused the tackling Tranmere player to rethink that antic. In the second half, Notts played some beautiful football, and we did look keen to get on the scoresheet. While it wasn't perfect, it was a huge step forward in terms of performance, and having seen the majority of games, I thought if things had clicked, we could have thrashed them. I do give credit to Tranmere for keeping the pressure on us; their final 10–15 minutes made it difficult viewing. Jake also said to me, "We are awful at time-wasting," and we really are. I don't condone it to the point where you look like Newport, or some of the sides we have seen this season, but sometimes you have to take the pressure off defending by running the clock down. Upon the whistle blowing, my first thoughts were to upload the full-time match graphic and then look around to see the fans reaction. It does become a bit depressing when you see fans unhappy or those who let frustration get the better of them. It was great to see the celebrations and the players returning to properly celebrate in front of us, especially with the Tranmere players watching.

Yes, that wouldn't be a problem. Donations can be made anonymously, and amounts can be kept private just for other members peace of mind. I have no issue with meeting up on a match day, and taking donations in person. I just want to mention for transparancy reasons, in the future I would add donations to the system but making them anonymous and the amount hidden. I would do this because I would want the target to be a true reflection, and to show that I am doing everything by the book. Yes, no problem Gav. In time I am sure PON will attract more subs, but donation drives are useful from time to time and I wouldn't want people who have already put in to feel they must here. Really, without the subscribers I would still be needing to manually raise funds. You are a wonderful person, Michael. I do hate to ask, and I am mindful about people who have already given so much. Such as yourself, but I can't honestly thank you enough. There are efforts which some might take for granted, but every part played in supporting the site means a lot to me. Your kindness can't be repaid, but I will take the encouragement to deliver more and find the consistancy needed. 👍🏻 Thank you, everyone!

Re-watching the full game, I don't think Jodi Jones was terrible. I left thinking he was quite poor, but in hindsight I think that's because he was doing all the stuff we take for granted. He tried to get us into position where we could create chances, though I wouldn't put him in the running for this. I was also a bit critical of Rod McDonald and Jacob Bedeau for being out of position during Tranmere Rovers breaks in the first half. I believe Rod McDonald edges out Matt Palmer. Those two were brilliant. I was also encouraged by Matthew Dennis and Alassana Jatta, as they looked like a flourishing partnership.

I mentioned it in passing in a YouTube discussion; it was a while ago, and there's no harm in a topic focusing on the story. I only shared the video to give some context to how I learned about it, plus it's just an awesome video.

I think we should give Harry Griffiths a start, as others have previously said. Defense-wise, I am not sure where to make changes. I would probably hope to see the same line-up in this regard as we had against Tranmere. If Scott Robertson is back, I would think giving him minutes would be useful to see him return to league game action. Though I doubt we would drop Matt Palmer, I think Ollie Norburn still needs game time to up his match fitness and return to playing regularly after his injury. Will Keenan Bennetts make a return to the starting XI? He can be brilliant going forward, but I question his ability to defend. Nick Tsaroulla is a must for me; we need to see him being consistent.

Yes, there is an excellent channel on YouTube called "Well, I Never." It's a horrible story, and this is how I learned about Fanny Adams and the background of the saying.

I also want to acknowledge the inconsistency in content; I do what I can when I feel well. This isn't me seeking sympathy, but understanding. I pride myself on trying to bring a professional, but fan-catered, experience. There is a lot that has gone into the preparation of the site's upgrade, which has flowed into the season, but I am pushing to deliver the best experience for Notts fans. We have excellent contributors who provide fan-written content, and this focus will return very shortly now that the bulk of the work has been completed.

There have been a number of improvements to the community, which I am very delighted with, and I am encouraged to keep this going. There are a number of resources still needing to be upgraded to this version of the site, which is a fresh rewrite of them, and as such, I am appealing to the community to help PON. This isn't an expectation, but if you could afford to chip in, it would be greatly appreciated. Each month I try to raise £60 as a means to help pay for the server's cost (we are on a dedicated server, which provides the best environment for PON). I have been using the money from the awesome subscribers we have! As I felt it was right to pay it forward to see site improvements during the upgrade from v4 to v5. This will be an ongoing donation drive, which I am hoping will raise around £300 so that I can get the remaining resources remade. If you would like to support this donation drive, please donate via the link below. https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/donate/ Thank you so much for your consideration and support. 🖤🤍 Chris

Hello, @Nat. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community.

Blackburn Rovers 1-3 Norwich City Watford 2-0 Southampton Joker Barnsley 1-1 Huddersfield Town Wigan Athletic 2-1 Stockport County Barnet 0-0 Colchester United Bromley 0-1 Harrogate Town Hartlepool United 2-1 Boreham Wood Morecambe 0-2 Woking

Hello, welcome to the Pride of Nottingham @Eastcoastpie. I hope you enjoy being part of our Notts County community.

I haven't been back from Wilford Hill Cemetery all that long. It was really peaceful, nice breeze, and not remotely to warm despite being sunny. We started off by paying respect to @GrannyPie and my grandparents/Aunt Jean. I don't like when the people who maintain the graves mess with the baby graves. They've done a decent job tidying up, but some of the graves have things dumped onto of the head stone and I find that very disrepectful. They have excavated down to the headstones of numerous baby graves, carelessly discarding any fencing or ornaments in the process. Some of the head stones seem to have been clipped, as I noticed clips and I know they wasn't there prior. Thankfully, my daughters is fine, but I went round picking some of the stuff up and placing it down nicely. The biggest annoyance, is the plaques and temporary headstone markers being placed upside down and unreadable.

Rest in Peace, Steve Thompson. He was in charge back when I was a child, and I don't remember much about him. It doesn't change how sad it is to learn about his passing, and I wish I knew more about his time in charge of Notts. I am sure his legacy will live on, and I am thankful for his contributions to our club's history.

I think the club has a policy when it comes to recruitment that they generally avoid signing players over 30, nevertheless, I thought his signing for Wrexham was a masterstroke for them, and he became one of their most important players. They've got such a strong personality, a great knack for scoring, and in the end, they're all about winning. Ollie Palmer would have been a good signing for us in my eyes, many "good" players have proved that they can continue well into their 30s, and I think Ollie will be a strong signing for Swindon Town.

Hello, @SoccerLord. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community. Would you care to introduce yourself? See you around the site.

Prenton Park is always a challenging venue, irrespective of current form, and we had a strong performance against them last season in our opening match. I think it will be harder considering our form, and I wouldn't really say we have looked better away from home this season. Notts have been underwhelming in their away performances. I would hate to see a repeat of Barrow. We need to try to inject some noise in the away end. I know everyone says if the players put the effort in that it will come naturally, but I think the sign of support could take some of the edge off the game. It could also give the players some confidence and see them try that extra bit harder, knowing they have our support. So that will be something I aim to try myself, at the very least. Should Martin Paterson include Alassana Jatta in the XI? Do I think he will be on the bench? This is going to be a big talking point and interesting thing to watch out for. If this conversation the club has had with him is in any relation to him pretending to have a back spasm, stick with Matthew Dennis. If it was genuine, then that is the only reason I think he should start. But then, wouldn't it make sense to have him on the bench, since he's missed a lot of matches? Keep the squad as settled as possible, I would say.

I resign... I won't be playing Wordle anymore. 😭😭😭 Wordle 1,532 6/6 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Having seen every game so far, bar the home win against Shrewsbury Town and the Wigan Athletic cup game. I think it's more communication that is hindering us, along with a lack of movement. When we are doing well, it's a lot more natural, but out of possession, it seems almost forced to make any effort. We have gone from being a team that can quickly intercept the ball and push on. To a team that loses it quite easily, it is a lot more indecisive as to whether we are going to try to win the ball back quickly, and those 2nd and 3rd balls are being chased like we would have under Luke Williams. A fair case to the point of it being shape-related is a fair one, as we are very relaxed at times when it comes to keeping it. When Kelle Roos has the ball either in his hands or at his feet, who often wants the ball? When we have conceded or almost conceded, who is reacting in the way that makes you think they are fired up and don't want to lose or draw? There has always been an element to Notts being slow; however, previously in games where we have played well, we quite rightly deserve the 3 points. We have come back from setbacks and pushed. That winning mentality, along with the desire to make space and to win the ball back quickly, is currently missing.

Martin Paterson was asked about Alassana Jatta in his post-match press conference ahead of Tranmere Rovers. These are my thoughts on what was said.

I thought it was good the first question to Martin Paterson in his pre-match interview was in relation to Alassana Jatta, but unfortunately he gave a very basic answer, which personally leads me to think more about it. Why would you say, "We had a really good conversation this week"? 🤔 Also, how Paterson answers the follow-up question about "fans reading into speculation." He does the political thing where you give a long-form answer but make a short comment on the direct question. I personally feel the clubs had a sit-down with Jatta, and they've reached some sort of agreement over his future. What that is, I can only speculate, but I imagine this has happened. Points for asking the questions, less so for the answers, and I think the follow-up question could have been more to the point. I just feel like it might have been pre-decided by both parties before the questions were asked, just to appease fans. I could very well be wrong, but coming in straight off the bat with questions that we have wanted just seems a little sus to me.

I'm pleased for Stuart Maymard; he has a chance to prove himself at a level he should be fine with. York City might benefit from him and from allowing him to change its fortunes. If he gets the support and the fans are on board with him, it makes a difference; yes, he was stubborn at making changes and reading games as they unfolded, but he wasn't a bad head coach for us. @Piethagoram, @Wheelbarrow repair man, he will be. The club will have taken into consideration the years left on his contract and agreed upon a price when signing him in the first place. Usually, head coaches are paid off quickly at our level. Some Premier League teams will disburse a delayed salary after a manager's sacking, but that's when you are talking big money. I would be surprised if Notts operated differently.

Fixed here, too. Yet they find their ways of taking more money from you, one way or another. The prices can't be justified. Something needs to be done to make them fairer again, but for now we have to tolerate it because nobody will try to make a difference. What makes me wonder is my friends in America who can use air conditioning throughout the day, but in the UK we have to choose between when warming our houses is affordable. It's not a problem during heat waves, but in the winter months it's awful when you spend silly money just to stay warm.

So, it was you who copied... Ah @Fan of Big Tone. 😂🫣

I was one of the fans at the game trying to get our lot to sing, it was very depressing, but the more voices grew in number, the better the atmosphere became, and I firmly believe that the encouragement from our away end helped the lads perform. A lot of people expressed that they were only going to see Anfield, and many thought we stood no chance. It's fair to say I believe in cup magic, and the whole experience was really something special. Some Liverpool fans gave Jake a scarf; they took a photo with us as we both had our "Every Liddle Helps" t-shirts on, well Jake had his on underneath his Notts shirt. I wasn't really happy with the amount of negative comments people told me about Liverpool, the typical "don't leave anything in sight or it'll be stolen." I felt that sort of stuff happens everywhere, but it did make me nervous as to what to expect. Most Liverpool fans that I came across not only made a fuss of Jake but were very inviting and friendly. The game itself saw us come back and made it a memorable night.