Chris

@Fan of Big Tone they are the electric BMW in terms of drivers. At some point people will be disgruntled that the price of road tax for electric cars will go up, I have no idea if some still manage to get road tax for free. I've told Jake, he should wait for a better hybrid to come out and go for that when he learns to drive. Well, once passed his driving test!

We started the game very well, I thought the games' outcome would be so different despite Mansfield looking good on the break. The reason Notts lost the game simply comes down to how we started to fail to manage the game. At 1-0 up, we became very content with having a narrow lead, too content. It took away our urgency to get the ball forward and, to create further chances. It became a very slow and patient game, which really suited Mansfield because they grew into the game. I would also say, Mansfield wanted it far more than we did. I think nerves started to creep in, and we made things a lot easier for them. The amount of times one of our players played a very simple pass but did so straight to a Mansfield player, I lost count of this, and it formed part of the issue. Defensively, I thought Connell Rawlinson and Aidan Baldwin did very well. I need to see the highlights again, but I felt disappointed with Richard Brindley. I think he could have got closer for Mansfield's opening goal. The marking process was extremely sluggish and lacked efficiency. People were criticising Sam Slocombe, but there was zero urgency from any Notts play to make space for him to distribute the ball. Hence why we started knocking it around the back, such a lack of creative ideas, or he would smash the ball up to David McGoldrick who I felt would struggle to win the ball simply because Mansfield always had 2 to 3 more players around him. Whereas we just seemed to sit in the middle of the pitch without pressuring or trying to open space. I feel very disappointed in the performance. Our midfield simply wasn't the best it could be, even John Bostock made several poor passes and would lunge into tackles without much though. His yellow card, it was a very silly foul. However, once he came off. You could see the difference, Jim O'Brien just didn't fit the game all that well. I think as a team, we failed to handle Mansfield, who were a very decent team. I am comfortable in saying, they deserved the win and played much better than any team we have faced so far. The glimpses we had of making a game out of it really ended once we conceded our 3rd goal. The service in our attacking play, wasn't great at all. The reason why I feel so disappointed is that we could have played so differently had we not settled for so long on the 1-0 scoreline. That a lone can be dangerous as it is, people may say, well, Mansfield made it hard to attack. We didn't make the space, nobody thought to get that fluid movement going. Aaron Nemane made an effort, but unfortunately, he didn't perform at his highest level. I just feel like these games are what we should be doing much better in.

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.

Neil Warnock is a truly remarkable manager; he's the Ric Flair of football. His passion for the sport keeps him wanting to be involved. Hopefully, this time he will stay retired. I mean, if he wants to still be involved in fair play but why not a lesser role like a director of football. Which he has been outspoken about in the past, but really it is quite a suitable position. Naturally, retiring and putting his feet up is well deserved. He can always use the time to beat people on the golf course.

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.

Until he decides to stand by his retirement, there will always be a club that will come in for him - especially in the Championship. He's a legend of the game! Yet, I do agree, he needs to enjoy his retirement. I know his wife has commented that she wanted him to spend more time with his family, especially his grandchildren. Sky Sports did an interview with him, where he said three things matter the most to him: football, family and golf. He also joked about not wanting to become an old codger.

@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.

The EFL Trophy isn't worth our time. I have always been against the inclusion of Premier League U21s, just because the Premier League threw more money at us lower tier teams isn't a good excuse for me to give a damn about it. I only care about the League and FA Cup. These are the competitions as children most would dream of winning, if a professional football told me they aspired to win the EFL Trophy - I think I would laugh. I say hate away in regard to this, I am sure when the League and FA Cup comes round more seriously.

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.