Chris

I feel quite nervous, which is something that I haven't felt so much at home for a while. I see they beat Grimsby Town today 2-1, quite alarming when I started to search "Swindon Town" in Google, a pop-up option for searching 3-1 came up. I realise this is our scoreline from when we last played and Google is aware I search things related to Notts but it better not be a warning sign too. ???? When they are the team where our last time in League Two ended, I very much want us to win, and I would feel disappointed if we lost or even drew due to defensive mistakes. I don't want to see any of them, however, I'll cross the line if it does. I think we should be alright at Meadow Lane. Most likely, it may even be a draw but whatever the outcome is I am not going to let it change my belief or stop complaining about things. I suppose we will have to wait and see, yet I am mindful of a potential further setback.

Well, I missed the first three goals as I had been to my dad's. I put the radio on my phone once I did get back, then noticed the score and messages from some of the group team members about scoreline. In football, when your side wins games, and you are playing well, sometimes you forget that it is totally unpredictable at times. Yet you are given an almost false sense of security and I would never have imagined that this would have been a nine goal thriller, with defensive mistakes which could be befitting in a comedy sketch about football. Unfortunately, this highlights how much better we need to be defensively. On the plus point, I don't think it's a case of the 'bubble bursting', I just feel as if we played a very good team who wanted to win just a little more than we did. Had we defended better, the outcome may have been much different, but I don't think we should dwell too much. I think we have been doing fantastically well and games like this just make you reflect a little more, we have a squad that can do well, and we need to see it in all areas of the pitch. We can't always rely on winning games by one more than the opposition, yet at the same time I don't think we need to overly worry. Full respect and credit must go to a very good Colchester United team, their fans won't be as bothered about the four goals they conceded even with their false league position. They will most likely just want to see more consistency with their own performances, which is what I am hoping we can go back to doing. If we defend stronger, we are capable of beating any team in this league. That's not me being biased or overconfident, but it is me saying that we need the right approach and not make such awkward mistakes that prove costly. Jodi Jones sounded quiet in the first half, perhaps guilty of not covering his defensive duties but what a goal he scored. It was absolutely fantastic, whilst I mentioned him, I don't think we need to call out the players individually. I just want to note that it's a team effort and my point was more to mention his contribution towards fixing a slight area he perhaps could have done better. Certainly, there are defenders in our squad that switched off and proved that to be more costly. Isn't that football, though?

3-1 to Colchester. Noah Chilvers 10' Jayden Fevrier 31' Arthur Read 38' Sam Austin 21' It sounds like Colchester United are attacking very well, with us perhaps making it a bit too easy. Hopefully, Luke Williams will try to lift the players and demand more from them.

If we can play with that threatening intensity where our attacks bombard and seem relentless, Colchester United will find it difficult to prevent us from scoring. I think they will hope that their own midfield can do enough to break things up. As defensively, that is their issue, and they are quite capable of doing well themselves. But the reason they're not doing as well is simply down to them making too many defensive mistakes. It should prove to be an interesting game, one where I would feel comfortable if we can manage to score early on within the first 25 minutes whilst ensuring we are tight and reliable at the back. I don't think we will witness another goal thriller; one or two goals might be enough to secure the win. Ultimately, we may be denied this by a very much improved Colchester United who hold us to a 1-1 draw. Provided they don't score more than us, it's fine. I know people won't want points to be dropped but in the grand scheme of things remaining unbeaten is more important than the winning streak we are on.

I just watched the interview David Horseman, the Forest Green Rovers manager, gave after the game. He mostly comes across well, but there are some bitter signs for me where he seems to be trying to defend himself more than telling it how it is. "We're not far away, this is supposedly the best team in the league." They did play well, but in the first half they weren't very effective. With incredible determination and a reservoir of untapped energy, they exceeded all expectations. The difference in the first half was we created the better chances and proved ourselves to be clinical on goal. Forest Green didn't have me remotely concerned that they would score in the first half, in comparison to the second half where they came out looking like they wanted to win the game. He uses the word "arrogance" in what he wanted to see from his team, that's never a positive sign from a manager, and he realises his slip in wording when he quickly tries to change his tune. He doesn't finish and adds a deflective comment after he says that there were words said at half-time but insisted it was from him. It's like a school boy trying to explain why he's done something naughty to a headmaster. It's way he keeps adding throwaway comments about how he felt they played, trying to reinforce to the interviewer and listeners that he believes it. Yeah, Forest Green Rovers are the best team to play us so far at Meadow Lane. Yet to complain about missing chances and trying to talk ours down, along with our quality, it really shows a lack of awareness from him and says more about him trying to explain why he can't win a game. I don't think they murdered us in the second half, but they showed a real force in pulling the game back. They did very well, but the deflective comment of them having 7 injuries further backs up my comments. Especially, since earlier in the interview he speaks about them needing to find players, so they can be better. We can see the making of a very good Forest Rovers, however, they did play well. He noted, which seems like a slip, that his side hasn't played as well for 90 minutes. This was part of their issue, as they weren't great attacking in the first half or much after we scored our 4th. I don't think anyone would say FGR were poor, but they didn't do enough to draw or win in my opinion. Had they played like they did in the second half, but for the whole game and they still had lost, I would feel lucky to have 3 points.

Don't worry, you've given plenty of time for people to catch up like @super_ram. Nobody will mind you missed a day, just have fun posting.

@Fan of Big Tone: I was told this also after the game and by a friend that's a steward. I don't know how serious it was, but hopefully news will come out about how they are doing. A flashing ambulance was stationed by the Family Stand, specifically on the Jimmy Sirrel Stand side.

I think a few could realistically do a job here, they looked very good as a team. Reece Welch is a special talent though. I think he's the lad that tried to wind up Jodi Jones though, which was a bit daft. I might be wrong.

Credit to Forest Green Rovers, they are so far the best team to have played at Meadow Lane this season. Whilst I don't think they deserved anything from the game, they made Notts work hard and Notts made themselves work even harder thereafter. I think we aided them in pushing us back, but Notts were relentless and good at creating goal-scoring chances. Tobi had a moment where he should have shot, selfishly he passed, but it seemed the wrong call for me. It was such a good position, I feel, it would have been harder to miss than to score. Notts looked good at 2-0, we were firmly in control in the first half and FGR pressed and tried, but I thought we could end the game 5-0, or maybe concede one or two goals. They started the second half much stronger than us, pushing and when they did manage to score - it had that knock-on effect we have seen in previous seasons where we crumble, then struggle to get a grip back of the game. This would have been one of those games where we lost, but felt cheated. Forest Green Rovers did well to get back in the game, had it ended here I think a draw would have been quite fair. Had the game continued with them threatening, maybe they could feel unlucky not to have got something? I think the fact that we manage to get into a higher gear and make it 4-2, I think that's enough for me to say we deserved the win. As I said earlier, Tobi had a clear chance, as did other players. Yes, they hit the bar late on but aside from that, it was just flashes. We caused the Forest Green Rovers keeper to make some great saves. Macaulay Langstaff managed to hold onto the ball, he passed on, and it ended up being struck goalwards by David McGoldrick and their keeper pulled off a remarkable save. To be honest, I think we worked for our goals and in comparison we allowed them to score. I think at times Aidan Stone could have done better, most certainly we shouldn't have given the penalty away. That said, we showed great spirit and character to seal the win. Jodi Jones was very unlucky at times, but I am not overly concerned about the goals we conceded. It was just one of those crazy games, where thankfully both teams really made a game of it. I think if Forest Green Rovers had played better in the first half, maybe they would deserve something or even more, but not based on their first 45 minutes. Second half, they were dangerously on it.

From what I have seen of Forest Green Rovers, they have been incredibly poor and are clearly still being effected by their chairman Dale Vince's decisions. The good thing for us, is that their morale is extremely low and if we can get off to a good start, they should only drop their heads further. Even if this game were away from home, I would feel confident as FGR could potentially be the worst team we have faced. Worse than Doncaster Rovers and Salford City combined. Our midfield will always be the key in getting a front foot on the game. Holding the ball and making space, especially if we can make the FGR players chase the game should lead to chances. I am hoping we can achieve this without going all the way back to Aidan Stone, which I do understand why we do it - yet for the most part it just breaks our attacks, allowing the opposition to have a breather. When Stone resorts to kicking the ball long, usually it's to one player [David McGoldrick] and he's usually heavily marked. I think we should exploit the centre of the park, whilst allowing the wider channels to draw their players out and in turn open the space in their penalty box. It should be a good game; hopefully, they can rise to the challenge themselves and make a game of it.

Hello, welcome to the Pride of Nottingham @Morten Johansen. I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community. I am super interested to learn about your background.

@Piethagoram I might have a look at managers who have been at the club for two or more years, reflecting on the budget. Naturally, if I did, I would give credit to the FLW for the idea (plus yourself). It's a very in depth and interesting article. Personally, I wished Kevin Nolan and Ian Burchnall weren't in there but considering they both had a decent season each it does make sense. The awful distortion and excessive stretching of certain images are a bugbear of mine. However, the subpar treatment of Jimmy Sirrel is nothing short of sacrilegious to me. Something so simple, is very annoying to see. Before, anyone thinks I am being fussy. Many places do this, including NEP and many newspapers. I believe they are worse, since they are supposed professionals, but it does annoy me when they can't leave the image size - yet choose to stretch and alter the ratio in such an ugly way.

Notts has played quite well, we've been very route one at times but at the same time we have attacked via the flanks/middle. Their keeper is keeping them in this, we've had a number of good efforts where he's been outstanding. Otherwise they've been incredibly poor. Also, I critiised Doncaster fans for not singing but these Salford fans are poor.

I think Notts should be able to perform well against Salford, I think MK Dons are a better team on paper and if we can just pass the ball into space we should create chances. I am sure Salford won't make it easy, but I am hoping an early goal for us would settle the game down. This is my first visit to their ground. I am surprised they haven't put more effort into upgrading at least two of the stands, but I suppose seeing what others have said about them not having many of their own fans comes into it. It'll be interesting to see what those attending for Salford are like, if they're laid back and just there due to the hype or are passionate just as much as we are. I don't know. If they're lacking support, this may play into our hands and with our own support it could really lift Notts. I am hoping we can keep a clean sheet here. @Piethagoram Are you in the seated area?

The game will be interesting to see for a few points, but I will openly state as I always do that I hope we focus more on the league. I do want to see a good cup run, but the League and FA Cup have more priority in my eyes. It disappointed me when Notts pulled out of the FA stating that they wanted to focus on the league, yet took this far too seriously. Who will feature in the starting Notts XI How they will perform against Wolves under 21s How good so far unseen players do, such as Will Randall, Junior Morias, Ollie Tipton etc. What the attendance will be like considering a large number of fans still don't care about this cup I fully expect Sam Slocombe to go into the team, along with all the unseen signings fo far. If we don't give Junior Morias a run out here, I really will wonder what the point of signing him is considering we've seen him warm up for two games now, yet not to come on.

@Joshua: I do wish we had a few more tries but managed to hit the target, whilst he may save ones straight to him. Higher up, or into the corners of the goal, he would have struggled a lot more. He's not a keeper I would hope to see between our sticks, yes he can save close up shots and is fairly okay in the air. Distance is a weakness, I know some don't think Sam Slocombe is good with corners, but those are areas you should expect better from your defenders.

Great goal by the Skipper, I don't mean Lewis. I mean KYLE CAMERON!!! 1-1 MK Dons are doing everything in their power to slow the game down, including violent conduct where for no reason - I believe it was Aden Baldwin who was grabbed. Just their way of trying to regroup but from what I saw and in the reply, he should have been sent off (or at least a yellow). It looked like he hit out.

I'm watching the game here at mine with @super_ram, our stream is buffering every 5 seconds. I hope it's not the same for everyone else, although I have tried everything to make the connection stable - Ethernet is connected, really should be fine. Now I see flashing numbers in various locations, as if someone is testing something. It's a bit jarring but Notts seems to be doing okay. MK Dons' attacking prowess is truly impressive as well. Just lacking in the final third. 0-0, so far.

MK Dons will be a tough team to play against, as they are much better at home. I don't think they will leave as much space open as they did against Crewe. The thing is, MK Don's started off brightly, but I think they massively started to underestimate Crewe who pushed them back. MK Dons for the most part of that game did leave much to explore, but that's away from home. Having seen all of their highlights so far this season, plus watching some extra footage of extended games, I can safely say that they should be much more positive within their play. They have a tendency to play long balls from the back, whilst they are feeling the team out and attack with more speed when the game opens up. If they can control the game, we'll see less of them lumping the ball forward and more of them trying to pass with a real turn of pace. When defending, MK Dons will adopt a compact and organized strategy. This creates an opportunity for us to exploit the gaps in their defence through clever passes or powerful shots from outside the penalty area. Teams like Doncaster had their better chances from distance, with Craig MacGillivray not looking particularly good from these types of strikes. I hope we can play in such a calm way, that we use our ability to play in narrow space and pace to and around, making MK Dons have to pay attention. This would make the pressure more intense for them and less likely something they would cope well with. If we just run at them and put crosses into their penalty box, 90% I believe will be collected by either their keeper or by a defender who will just clear it.

@Piethagoram He comes across as a bit of a wally there. It looks like someone slapped him before with a wet fish. Wouldn't you agree @super_ram? John Coleman looks like he's been given a few facial chops with a wet fishy. ???? At least he felt professional enough to take off those tinted red glasses. It's difficult to take the man serious, when he's complaining about aspects of a game, where his own side did far worse. I went back to watch the Jodi Jones incident, it wasn't dangerous play. Their lad threw himself into the ball. Jodi did well to limit the danger by quickly retracting his foot, not that the Accrington player did try to milk his theatrics. Jodi was kicked, tripped, taken out throughout the game. In the first half, I remember three challenges which should have seen an Accrington player carded but didn't. However, I would rather say that Accrington did well for the most part. Their game plan just massively lacked any creative ideas. They played well, just very routine and predictable, but I can see why they do well in general.

I thought it took us a little time to really get the flow going, that's perfectly normal, and I felt impressed with how we played around the 7th to 10 minute mark. That speed, is how we needed to keep it. We weren't too slow or rushing the play. Things just happened naturally, and it left Accrington chasing the game. Taking the lead, Notts had so much pressure on them that a second looked quite promising. However, I felt we slowed the game down too much, which led to a nervous spell and we became somewhat sloppy. Accrington swiftly regained their footing and appeared to be a formidable team. Their equaliser, it really annoyed me how we failed to keep with the movement, but I hold no blame on Aidan Stone. It seemed a difficult angle and, David McGoldrick tried to prevent it, but it was in. Accrington got away with a bit of the dark arts, the referee didn't help either. Josh Andrews looked a lively threat, shooting wide and using his size as an advantage. Few of their players stood out as being very good players, but they did perform well as a team. This was the first real test for Notts, as they were in good form and would always give us a game. I think Notts were superb, how we tailed off before the end of the first half, I could see it coming, and I think these moments are when Luke Williams needs to shout out instructions. Second half, very bright start and the build-up to chances became very swift. Quick passes into space, then Macaulay Langstaff gets through on goal. This is precisely what I had in mind earlier when I suggested ways to involve Langstaff in games, even before he began scoring. McGoldrick masterfully delivered passes to create scoring opportunities. It might sound harsh, but I don't think Accrington deserved their goal, I find myself feeling Aidan Stone deserved a clean sheet. It was a sloppy play from us, which led to them taking control. Thankfully in the final 45 minutes, despite it being end to end. Langstaff scored two truly exceptional goals that silenced them completely. He could have had 5 goals today, two of his efforts catching well-timed deflections. It was a superb team performance by us; Accington should be happy with the defeat as they did show amazing spirit and effort.

I think when you feel critical of what's happening, it can impact the enjoyment. It's hard for me to pick at faults and keep doing so, because I am not that critical of things because I feel that usually the better things that happen out weigh the negatives. We all have the potential to lose the enjoyment of a game by overthinking things, that's just football within itself and human nature. As I say, I try to be very positive and rather look on the bright side. I wished I could make a difference by printing this discussion off and giving it to some of the new annoying fans that sit near to me. When Dan Crowley missed, f-bombs and he's f****** useless cried out. The moment Connell Rawlinson scored, one of the mentioned fans shouted "how long to score a second, these are easy." I won't go any further, as the comments shouted to Cedwyn Scott did anger me. I didn't say anything this time, but I found myself stirring and being told off by @super_pie. With the encouragement of "just ignore him, dad." muttered to me.