Chris

Good player, lacked confidence when he was here and defensive responsibility. I don't think he was a bad player, but defensively he seemed very weak with us. More adept at controlling the ball and taking powerful shots on goal from long range.

Not so late after all, @DangerousSausage. Good news! I am sure Jim O'Brien would have done his best, but I always do feel it's best for the manager to get involved as quickly as possible - instead of missing a game whilst an interim head coach takes his squad to the field. He will have time to access, tactics might be the same, but it will be interesting to see.

Recently, the nights have been feeling colder, especially during Christmas when the cold seemed to seep in at times. The weather keeps being reported as 'expected to bad' but it's just cold. We have the tendency of over reacting to it; other countries just get on with it - including snow. I am concerned for people due to the high price in energy and the cost of living, I don't like the thought of people being cold and struggling to stay warm. This sort of thing should be classed as a basic human right.

Most likely, but if an appointment is made before Friday - we can't rule out that the new head coach won't want to take full charge. Personally, I would prefer to take control the moment it became official, and I wouldn't worry so much about training, I would just make sure my instructions were clear enough. Though I am not a coach or manager. I think you are right though, the head coach may be appointed before or on the day, then allowed to watch the squad.

@NottsCountyKev Yes, I am no pro, but I am quite good. The majority of graphics on PON have been created by me, except the logo, which I out sourced. A friend called Craig designed the Magpies, but if you need help just ask, and I will try to help.

Stockport County are very blessed in midfield and in their attack, Paddy Madden was a player I once wanted Notts to sign back when he played in the Irish league. We all know that Kyle Wootton is a threat. Those are obvious danger men for them. Connor Evans, Cody Johnson and Isaac Olaofe are all players I would be aware of. I am looking forward to seeing Scott Robertson. It will be interesting to see if we maintain the tactics of Luke Williams, or if by this point the new head coach will be appointed and therefore choose his own setup. I do have the feeling that Jim will remain temporary in charge even if we do make an appointment before this game. I would like to say that the Notts players will be fighting for their place in the team and this ideally would get the most out of the players. I do want to see more of Aaron Nemane because he's unstoppable when he gets going. Defensively and in terms of goal are concerns, but I would stick with the same line-up as Grimsby.

This is another area I need to educate myself on, as I don't know many tennis players, but I do like to watch it. It would be nice if we had more than Andy Murray competing for grand slams, but we put way too much pressure on talent. Emma Raducanu is a prime example of this. I'm also pleased to see the tweet about Alfie Hewett. Someone can correct me, but I believe it was Alfie who did that powerful video about treating him the same and not criticising disabled athletes for being boring.

I completely agree, @DangerousSausage. If we were more established at this level, it might be a bit more different, but really I fully understand that Stockport County are a very good team. The save by Aidan Stone when Kyle Wootton was one-on-one was very good. Plus our goal line clearance, but the issue isn't with our keeper. It's the amount of chances we give due to not handling the threats.

I don't want to be negative, but the highlights from a defensive point wasn't great with the goals, it did sound like Aden Baldwin did very well, but why did we leave so much space open for their first goal? I showed @cheeky~k8, and she asked me if the Notts players were ready for the corner. The second goal (penalty), Tobi Adebayo-Rowling gave me shades of Richard Duffy. Wait, that might be harsh, but I'm sticking with it. Just knock it out or draw a foul, don't do what happened. Anyone else usually would have been slaughtered on social media and I don't think that is needed. Yet it was awful, and is a talking point for us to mention as I can't believe he made such a comical error. It's worse than Richard Brindley's mistake a few games ago, but then you see the way we attacked. There was a lot more effort. Our keepers have made a considerable amount of saves, putting us within a joint third of the league. It really does show that Aidan Stone isn't the issue. I'm not dwelling overly on the issue because I do acknowledge that good teams do cause problems, and the overall performance did sound 100% better. We need to be a bit more careful on the ball though.

Imagine if people actually referred to 'The Beatles' as Liverpool. I know anywhere above London is considered "North" them, which is odd as someone born in the East Midlands being told 'You're a northerner'...

It's going to be interesting, our support hasn't faulted and still continues to sell-out what allocation we get. I hope for the travelling fans that effort is put in and that they have something pleasing to show for the journey. We know what Kyle Wootton is all about. Yet they have a squad full of good talent, and they aren't lacking attacking options. I think we need to get a feel of the game before we even remotely think of bringing the ball back. That just adds pressure onto us from the start; we need to get natural movement and work at creating chances at the other hand. If our midfield can hold onto the ball and use it well, we have the players who can turn the tide at the other end. I'm just worried that Stockport are in such fine form, with all of their attacking options. It will make Notts lack the confidence to apply themselves, and we really should be making teams work harder to get results against us. It's not worth thinking about, Nay. Hopefully Notts can make it much harder for them than we have made it easy for others.

I don't fault him for choosing to take a managerial job, over coaching. So, for that, I do wish him well. As for his decisions, if he wants to become a good manager he will need to choose carefully if ever tempted to leave. I think he bases a lot of his decisions based on his heart, instead of his head but I hope he does alright at Woking.

Harrogate is a decent League Two team, although there's been comments about them being better than where they are and whilst I think on their day they can beat anyone. They're always a mid- to lower-half-team. They're largely unflattering, but work hard as a team and understand what works within their own squad. I don't think they are afraid to have to work harder in order to lift their game, and they can adapt quite well in games, if they are allowed to think. I would have said before our recent form, we would be in such a beneficial advantage with our possession rate. However, I think with them being at home it's going to take something special from us to be more creative on goal. I have this game currently throughout as a draw, potentially 1-1. If we want anything more, we need to think about who can cover for Matt Palmer. I would agree starting Dan Gosling at this stage will aid us in knowing if he needs more time come January or if we should pass on his services. I really want to see our back three settle, but with the defensive wows against Walsall and recent away games. I wouldn't blame Luke Williams for trying to make changes there.If Lewis Macari is completely fit, he should definitely be in the starting lineup.

Alan Sheehan was always a hero for Notts, if playing on the left of defence or as a centre back. I hated seeing some of the comments he attracted from some poritons of our fans who didn't appreciate his ability. He always did give 100%, good luck to him.

Once I got home, I started writing a response to this on my phone. I felt very displeased with what I witnessed, and I couldn't put into words how I felt about the game. I kept changing my text until I ended up deleting parts of it. Then I just gave up, it seemed pointless. I have nothing but respect for our players; it pains me to write things which they might disagree with or find unfair. However, I try to reflect on what I think, see and feel. Kyle Cameron wasn't at his best, I honestly think the pressure is getting to him. I heard other fans say after the game that he's never been good defensively and that he's not that good going forward. I disagree, because I feel there's been times when he's been exceptional. I thought when he arrived he looked quite comfortable and, mostly, did well in the National League. Yes, he got caught out at times, but nothing like against Walsall. It's not just Kyle, John Bostock looked unlike himself - could he still be carrying a knock? Maybe, but he was very poor on the ball. Likewise with David McGoldrick, he held the ball up and did some nice touches but largely had a pretty big off day. Lewis Macari was very encouraging in the first half, I thought he looked useful in the second and the decision to take him off for Richard Brindley left me questioning why. I don't think the game suited bringing on Jim O'Brien either, he showed his surge in wanting to get us forward but largely fell into the same trap as everyone else. Losing possession by making weak passes or holding onto the ball for too long without considering passing it sooner. In the first half, our game management allowed us to press and create chances. Notts focused on bringing the ball back far too much, especially when better passes were available. I was extremely disappointed with Aaron Nemane, particularly in his defensive skills. He looked magic at times going forward, but unproductive too, and sometimes you felt he should have passed. I love seeing him take on players, but when you are being marked by 3 or more players, passing seems a much safer option. There's no fault on him for Walsall's first goal. However, Cameron should have been where Nemane stood. Also, John Bostock and Sam Austin should have done better to cover the cross. Both put their feet in hoping to block it but neither actually focused on the ball. More hoping sticking out their feet would be effective enough, but it's not good defending. Aidan Stone mostly could be forgiven for me, but his positioning wasn't the best. Yes, his distribution at times perhaps wasn't great, but he wasn't the problem. He made some very good saves in situations where you would feel the attacking player was favoured. I couldn't imagine how difficult his job became in the second half with the lack of pressing, covering, defending and effort. Nemane should have put more effort to get back for their second goal, Walsall had another player who sprinted into a very good passing position and Nemane just stood as a spectator. He might not be great at defending, but a little effort wouldn't go a miss. The marking in the middle is too focused on a crowded area, but we lack effort from the midfield to get back and cover. Yes, everyone watched the ball end up being played perfectly to Isaac Hutchinson. There was time for more thought to go into the organisation of our defence. Jodi Jones really should have moved to get behind Hutchinson, he's watching it develop. The space opens up, by the time the ball is struck, only then does Jodi jog to cover. Although it's a bit belated, it's evident that everyone's defensive performance in the second half was absolutely dreadful. There is a lack of urgency, coordination, and communication. Our passing was disappointing, and we wasted every crucial minute when we could have pulled ourselves together. Mostly, I feel through a lack of effort and application. As for Luke Williams, he's at fault for not demanding more and for extremely poor tactical changes. No way should Dan Crowley have been taken off, he was one of the few players who were capable of stringing several successful passes together. Junior Morais should have come on for David McGoldrick. Dan Gosling made sense, at least in principle. I wouldn't have introduced Jim O'Brien or Richard Brindley. I know these seem like attacking minded players, I can't help but feel Adam Chicksen and Will Randall (although the latter has been poor) would have given us more attacking options. We might want to consider how strong our bench is in games where we need to produce more creativity because that's where we lack in that department. The defensive issue is a big headache, when nobody wants to take responsibility for it.

I still believe we need to settle the back three down, despite the issues we have seen at times. Hopefully we do start to see a settled back three, as this would help on the communication front and consistency. The errors aren't something I feel should be a defining part of the squad in terms of us not being good enough. It's just an area we do desperately need to improve, and I think it would if we were settled in this area. Either include Lewis Macari, or see what Adam Chicksen brings to the role since he has some pace about himself.

I might get involved with this, along with Wordle. I only did Wordle on holiday, as I would find @super_ram racking his brain early in the morning, and it became fun to have banter with him. It's not quite the same now, as I won't see his reaction. ???? Those days when he was like "have you done Wordle yet, what did you score?". ????

Walsall are better than what their league position shows, @sadlad might not feel like it with how their season is going but for me, they have had a lot going on the past 3 seasons. They need a bit of stability, but there's nothing like playing a team like Notts to signify that you are fighting to remain in the league. Freddie Draper, who is on loan from Lincoln City, is a very good player; he's really shined for the Saddlers whilst there. Oisin McEntree, Ryan Stirk and Danny Johnson are also players worth keeping an eye on. From what I have seen of Walsall, they like to try to play quickly, but it's not something a lot of their players look comfortable trying to execute. Theirs height in their squad, so I can see them having done their homework and looking to make the most of set pieces, corners, crosses etc. If Notts can press, we should be able to have our fair share of the ball if not more. It will be a case of making space for Macaulay Langstaff and other players to have efforts on goal. I can certainly see them being tight at the back.

I didn't get a chance to publish one of these stories yesterday, so it's a little content crazy today, but I have put a lot of effort into this. I stayed up last night to ensure today's stories would go out in a timely fashion. Check them out! Provided nothing changes, I still aim to publish a preview and match report (if someone else wants to write the preview, please let me know... I'm giving it a pass). I think this is the most I have published and written in a day. ????????

Yes, he also stamped on Lewis Macari after knocking him to the ground. Both incidents he did on purpose, I heard the yell and from Macari as he was on the ground. Orsi ran to another Crawley player, quite close to where I was sat, put his hand to his mouth then started making hand gestures, that seemed to motion that he believed Macari had dived. They both proceeded to laugh, when the referee finally spoke to Macari, Orsi jogged to the half way line to surround himself more with their players.

I have defended how we play the ball from the back, including how we have a tendency to bring the ball back from an attacking position to the keeper. I can see how effective this can be in some cases, but it's not when you are being pressed so much and the opposition are relentless with doing so. Notts started off well, very early on but after a very short time it quickly became Crawley's opening. They seemed very efficient with playing smart little one, two's and at times we simply didn't suss out that they would make such quick movement. I can understand how this situation would make you nervous, but defensively and from Sam Slocombe's point of view it just made things worse. I felt very sorry for Slocombe, he's clearly giving 100% but isn't used to playing in this way - at his age it can be difficult if you are not comfortable with the ball at your feet, passing to and from nearby players. Some fans near me thought it was appropriate to give Slocombe stick, some very foul comments and I told one usual suspect to "shut up, and sit down". Right at the moment David McGoldrick went on to score for us. But going back a little, Adam Campbell's effort wasn't going to be saved it was just a superb strike. Crawley truly deserves credit for their exceptional passing movement, relentless pressure, and unwavering determination to chase after every single opportunity. I must admit, it was truly impressive. Credit should be given where it's due. McGoldrick proved to be a game charger, and he worked so hard to get us going. It gave us what we needed going into half-time, as we needed to adjust to how Crawley were playing. I wasn't pleased with some of their antics, such as their number 9, Danilo Orsi such a dirty player. Elbows, stamping, and forcefully pushing with aggression. How he wasn't sent off, I don't know. Second half, we did exactly what was needed, and I think Aidan Stone wasn't a needed change, but I do acknowledge that he's far more comfortable with the ball at his feet. The cross for Jim O'Brien's goal, it was perfect! I saw it in slow motion, and it was timed to perfection. O'Brien deserved the goal. Dan Crowley for me played very well, he was my Man of the Match. Playfully, Crowley teased Adam Chicksen after the game, suggesting that Jodi only won the vote due to the presence of his family. ???? Jodi Jones played very well, looked hungry to score and create chances but for me Crowley got us moving with so much purpose. His interceptions and quick turning gave us a front foot, and although he missed a couple of chances. He helped others to get into the game, whilst showing so much of his own energy. Before the game, I spoke to @ARLukomski. I asked him for his score prediction, and he said he wasn't sure. I replied, 3-1, and that I can see them scoring first.

If the earlier encounter in the cup this season is anything to go by it should be a close encounter. Since Luke Williams has spoken about how different games are once you have played a team, at least we have this first-hand knowledge. Personally, there's a lot to be said about the studying of their players and previous results. I am hoping we can avoid making this tie as close as the 3-2 win, but I agree that we shouldn't panic. Defensively, there will be good and bad moments, it's trying to narrow these down and to better self-manage games.

When I get some free time later, I will watch the video @Fan of Big Tone - as I am not sure I have heard about this story before.

I think Notts should do just fine against Crawley Town. They can be a bit unpredictable at times; however, if Notts can keep to a solid game plan, the home advantage should come in hand. Defensively, we are more all over the place away from Meadow Lane, but it would be welcoming to maintain a clean sheet. I don't expect it, but what I do think will happen is Aidan Stone will return between the sticks. What makes me think that? Well, Sam Slocombe is under a bit of scrutiny, and Luke Williams seems to protect his keepers. Performance wise things do seem to be a lot more routine at home, so hopefully whoever starts will give their all, and defensively we don't fall apart giving the game away. Concentration, focus and spirit are all qualities I would welcome to see on Tuesday.