Chris

I don't usually worry about who we are drawn against, it doesn't make much of a difference to me because we have to play those teams at stages, but I do understand how difficult opening games can be. If you get a run of rough teams, it can make things difficult, but I believe with our squad. Tranmere would be a good game to start early. There's going to be changes, hopefully, ones which make more sense but this year, I am not fussed. I just want to get back to Meadow Lane, so Fleetwood and Grimsby at home are two fixtures I am looking forward to.

He reminds me of a footballer from the late 90s to early 00s, but that's not a bad thing. Everyone says 'It's a man's game' when you see young players who fit the characteristics of players like Ed Francis and Will Patching (just as examples) but sometimes appearances isn't everything. I have no doubt that Curtis Edwards has the ability as a footballer to make a significant impact at Notts. Everything I know and have read tick the right boxes, so I am encouraged by the arrival of him and I think he fits to what we need. I am looking forward to seeing him on the pitch.

You know, it's hard for me not to want to see Stuart Maynard succeed. He has that underdog status, plus from the training I have seen him do, you can tell he has ideas and that he's a very good coach. Becoming the Head Coach of a professional team, although he has similar ways to our previous head coach, Luke Williams. Williams had everything in place, and I'm not making excuses, but Ian Burchnall left the club and Williams came in. He had a fantastic recruitment window, which along with his ability to get the best out of our players and influence them with his interesting approach to management. He had everything needed to succeed right at his fingertips, and in terms of what the squad accomplished that season, it is amazing. But that transfer window, where we brought in the likes of Macaulay Langstaff, Cedwyn Scott, Aden Baldwin etc - it was just what we needed to go further. The pressure that Maynard had when he arrived, in hindsight, wasn't the same or nearly as close to what previous head coaches had taken over from. We were in a league that is far more professional, and any team could win on the day. Whilst I thought the standard was much better than expected in the National League, we have to accept that many of the teams weren't even professional outfits., I don't know what some fans expected, as he could only make coaching improvements upon his arrival and Williams left us at a point where we were very low with morale. I see it as being a big blow now, as the squad will be wanting to maintain their league position and success, whilst trying to navigate the poor results, and then we lose such an important figure in Williams. It's quite a serious loss for us, one which we unfortunately didn't break very easily. You could see the moment Maynard arrived that he was trying, the pressure in his face quickly grew and he always looked a trouble man. What I think some supporters need to realise, when you step into an environment where everything is perfect - you don't need to get out a magic wand and perform any magical spells. Good managers, with experience, would most likely know what to do in this situation but to be fair, Maynard will be learning despite his Non-League background. Personally, I think some dislike Maynard solely due to Williams moving on. It broke that bubble, and it makes him an easy target. In addition, those who hold against him his previous role as a BT Technician that is the easiest thing to criticise. Whilst, I think some of the negativity to Maynard is very unfair, I do understand why rational thinking fans would be concerned. Yet, to take up a crusade against him, at a point where we all needed to be on the same page - I don't think it helped the situation we were in last season. Again, I understand why some fans would want him out but only after a certain amount of games and I never once entered the camp of wanting him out. Simply, because I felt he needed time. We have seen Maynard go from almost tearful and stressed, to a much calmer person - who has a real joy on his face. I truly hope I am right about the recruitment that's been brought in and that it will make the world of a difference. Right now, he will know much more about our squad, the way the club operates, and the signings just go a long way to ease things ahead of a new campaign. Get behind the club, and hopefully Stuart Maynard. What do we have to lose?

It really would keep you up at night, if Notts hadn't strengthened the defence during this transfer window. Thankfully, I think we'll see significant improvements. I don't want to put you on the spot [which I sort of am] but would you consider contributing a featured article at times @menzinho? PS. I personally think you make some great and interesting points!

Controversial, I know. I never really found them to be all that funny. Eric Morecambe is brilliant, but I much prefer the Two Ronnie's and even Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse. A few years ago, I did watch a TV film they did where they went on holiday. I think it was to Torquay, I quite enjoyed watching it, but it wasn't for the laughs. More nostalgia, which makes me sound older than I am. I love things like the Carry On films, but for some reason I just don't take to Morecambe and Wise. They'll always be comedy greats; I don't dispute that, but I just don't find their sketches all that amusing.

If I had a passport, I would love to go to this. It's one of those areas which I do eventually want to tick off. I am just mindful that I don't like travelling all that much and I can become terribly home sick. I wonder if @DangerousSausage, will manage to make the game? Those days, when PON had quite a few German based fans.

Some interesting comments, such as the amount of money teams in the National League are paying, but I just find Andy Holt to be someone who's never happy any more. He's always got something negative to say, usually towards things that don't concern him. He's done well as a chairman and for Accrington, those are things he deserves credit for. When they got promoted to League One, he seemed a much more interesting person. I just find his complaints about football as an industry and as a competition to be double-negative. If he hates it so much, I wished he would get out of it or quit complaining. However, it's the thing which seems to make him most relevant, and he likes that. He needs to be careful what he says about when things go wrong, as Accrington seem to be taking steps back and could find themselves in the National League themselves in the next 3 years. Yet, that will be down to their budget, not the recruitment according to him.

I've always been a big fan of Matt Palmer's. When we signed him I was over the moon because I knew what sort of quality he would bring. It surprised me that he stepped down to the National League to join us, especially when he was still only like, what 26-years-old? He really could have joined a League One/Two team and found himself back higher up the football pyramid quite easily. I also genuinely believe he arrived here because he liked the project which was being built and could see Notts creating a team where he would thrive and most importantly enjoy his football. He's like that as a player, when he enjoys his football nothing can unsettle him or put him off his game. I don't remotely think he joined us because we offered the best wages, as that's not the type of person he seems to be. Having him back will be a massive boost to our squad, because players not only know what he brings but what to expect from him when he is in the team. There's a reason why he's always in the squad selection on match days, and it's not just because he's consistent or hard-working.

I used to bet on Notts when I used to occasionally do accumulators, the games we should have won - we always lost. Not a single draw, I mean they were games we really should have won. I only would add Notts when I didn't fancy other teams to make it six-fold. Ironically, there were several times when I could have won a nice return if I hadn't. It's for this reason, I won't bet on Notts any more. I mean, during the season we got relegated, I had friends from Notts asking me if I had placed any bets on promotion!!

That's much better news, I hope he and Mrs doesn't name the baby anything after the Euros or football. ????

It makes it seem like his family may have suffered a death, I know I shouldn't jump the gun and I hope I'm wrong with my thoughts. He's a good player, but if he is gone permanently, it leaves the door open for another player. I wish him well.

It's all very flexible, but I understand that not everyone will have time. Members and people outside the site are welcome to apply. I don't expect it to be easy to find people, but I do feel it important that anyone interested should apply. The primary focus is on the global moderators and writers. Yet each position would make a significant difference.

It's saddening to learn about Frank Duckworth, I can't say I am into cricket at all but I appreciate people within the sports.

@Robbie it used to be a yearly habit of watching the Grand National, we used to have a friendly bet within the family and on occastions a bet would be placed, but I have to admit, I lost interest. It's the same with the University Boat Race. Habits change; information isn't stored the same. Technology has a lot to do with it IMO.

I'm very grateful to all the members who've kept PON updated during the off-season. When things are quiet, it's crucial to keep plugging away, and those interactions really count when it comes to the times when fans start getting excited about the upcoming season. With pre-season on the horizon, I'm putting in the graft to get everything back up to scratch, all the while making sure I'm organised so that we don't have a repeat in the future. We're still working on sprucing up the users' post area, which will bring in some handy information and show various details about a poster, like their age if they've got that enabled. Their post count, reputation and more. The post count will also show up on handheld devices, which is a nice touch when you're seeing who's shared a comment. On top of this, I'm putting together a FAQ page which should provide answers to questions that some members might not know about. A good number of Notts Alumni's have been written and are waiting for final proofing. I'll be getting back to publishing these for Sunday reads. The Pride of Nottingham PONcast is also making a comeback, with episodes yet to be scheduled but work is underway to bring back our popular talk show podcast. We'd like members of the community to get involved, by sharing their thoughts in an audio format. Calls can be made at a stage to me, which I'll produce into episodes to give us that fan element. Lastly, I'm chuffed to say we've got some team openings. I'm keen to beef up the content side of PON again, by publishing fan-written opinions. But it's not just that, we're also on the lookout for volunteers who'd help with researching tasks, graphic design and joining our social media team. Check out our openings on the link below. https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/openings/ Cheers to all the members! Pride of Nottingham Team, Chris

Haha! I'll add it to my list of things to look at. Fingers crossed we can resolve it for good.

I don't think people pay a lot of attention to things these days, once most would have known about who was who. Yes, some might be unknown but more likely Hayley Turner would have been known in our circle with her being a Notts fan. Those days of knowing a lot about the people in film and TV credits are long gone. Which is extending to presenters, sometimes when I watch something, and it changes, such as Pointless with the quiz assistant - I'm like... Who's that?!!? Oh I preferred so and so. ????

You can suffer many type 1 concussions heading the ball, even though your forehead is protected by your skull - the brain still moves, and it's that constant movement which causes a lot of damage. There needs to be more studies with lighter balls, which I am sure is happening, but the data really does need to be collected. Data has shown that footballers are at a high risk of brain related injuries, including dementia. This is the documentary, which I mentioned.

@Piethagoram I met his family and daughter at the unveiling of the Jimmy and Jack statue, she also thanked me and Joe for writing about their work and honouring Jeff. They have dedicated a lot of their lives to research and bringing awareness, something Joe Kinnear's daughter could contribute if she wants to help other people in the future - not just footballers. @Wheelbarrow repair man I nearly wrote about the NFL, who in the past dismissed studies and failed to acknowledge the severity of brain injuries. I can understand why they have had class actions brought against them but football, there's little known and the major research that has been conducted is mostly through ex-players families such as Jeff Astle. I know, Alan Shearer did a documentary which was well worth watching. There's also professional wrestling, where the WWE (formerly WWF have been taken to court over brain injuries, especially after the Chris Benoit incident) but that was a tragic event and suing them in hindsight for not knowing, it rubs me the wrong way. The family of Jeff Astle is deeply committed to making sure that no one else has to go through what they went through. Their efforts have helped to re-design footballs, brought changes such as not to head the ball in training and even removing it from kids games as mentioned by @Fan of Big Tone.

I honestly can't see any teams coming in for Connell Rawlinson and Aiden Stone, not even if they are transfer-listed for free. There might have been interest already, we won't know, but I think those two would be best trying to mutually agree release terms with. Connell Rawlinson is a great guy. I have a lot of respect for him and many memories, but we can't keep players for sentimental reasons - not at this level. I also feel somewhat sorry for Aiden Stone, he tried and seems to lack confidence, but I just don't see anyone in League Two wanting him. I think he should consider dropping to the National League North/South. Will Randall should attract some form of interest, even if it's just from within the National League. There's a player in him, but it hasn't worked, and I don't think he integrated himself well into our squad. He always comes across as a loner, that might be his personality but when I have encountered him - including when I gave him a print I did of him, he sort of seemed rude and uninterested in anything but himself. He could be shy, but hasn't left a good impression on the field or off it.

His performance for Crawley Town last season and the goal which he scored at Meadow Lane, it was him at his best. I still feel a bit of resentment for the way he acted once he knew he wasn't going to be offered a deal by Notts. Good player, especially at this level and should do really well for Hartlepool United. He was in and out of our squad during his final season, and personally I think he gave up. I hope he serves Hartlepool well because I have a lot of respect for the club.

Hello, @Up the Maggies. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham! I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community. It's really nice to have you with us. COYP!

For free? I don't blame him. I hope Chesterfield didn't take him out of their own budget. ???? I would dislike Notts doing a similar thing, even if it was an ex-well known Premier League keeper, it could be Joe Hart for all I care - it's not something I think makes financial sense. If they have done it to stop him going on trials elsewhere, or just to make sure he signs for them then it's even weirder.

Matty Virtue was linked to Wrexham, his time at Notts pretty much fell under the radar, but he seemed promising enough. I'm surprised Lincoln City didn't snap him up because they seemed to rate him during his loan spell. Things may have changed, with other doors opening up, but I wish Matty all the best with Fleetwood.