Chris

I have just finished some very heavy maintenance, which I am glad to have done, and finished upgrading several apps, into which I unfortunately introduced bugs. I am glad to have it out of the way; it has taken some time, but you have to do things right in situations like this. I upgraded the Galway United FC forum, a couple of manual changes stemming from what I believe to be 3x days, but I have to say I enjoyed it. This is now the 26th community I have upgraded for free from 4.7 to 5x. While it's not complicated for me and most should be fine, sometimes people aren't comfortable, and it's a horrible thing to be worried about breaking something. I learned today that their original site had been hacked and that the forum will be 20 years old today. If you read this, I hope you have a good day and have a bug free PON experience. I'm also waiting for you to notice something. We'll see who does first, hahahaha...

I think it's highly likely that mid-table is on the cards. Relegation currently doesn't worry me, because I think our squad has the right mindset and will be able to show enough quality to stay clear. It could be different, and Notts happens to find form to contend at the top end, but the season is full of unknowns and how we handle any injury setbacks is vital. I am more confident in any other concerns. Notts under Martin Patterson look like a manager who can get two halfs performances from the squad, and not just 30–40 minutes.

It's a good message, very standard but welcoming nonetheless. I do think some, if not most, of the credit for initiatives such as The Nest and other programmes the club implemented deserves acknowledgement from the club that they originally came from fans who attended group meetings. While Joe Palmer may have acted on them and secured the locations, the ideas and many revenue‑increasing activities were simply sat on in community meetings years prior. I am sure our CEO is doing brilliantly, but everything that was once ignored has since happened, and full credit to me seems unfair. It's also no surprise that those same meetings are happening again.

I highly rate Ryley Reynolds; he's someone I would like to see get more chances in our first team. He has the ability and drive to become the home-grown player we want, and I think this loan deal is brilliant. I do hope they give him the game time he needs to impress and show Notts that he's worth sticking with. At his age now, game time and experience are vital.

Still squashing bugs, I am unsure why some are persisting but I am determined to find them. Sad to read about Dolly Parton, her music wasn't my cup of tea but I respected her and the good that she did in the world. Plus Island in the stream, with Kenny Rogers is a classic, along with I will always love you. It's a good touch by Google to see this.

I hope you are okay, @Fan of Big Tone. Our skin is very important, and I hope that it isn't what the doctor believes it to be. It's best to check and have it looked at, though. I will be deep-diving into the issues that have crept into PON now.

I am feeling very stressed, so I will be removing further help from the site I previously mentioned. I found today, when I went to finish off cleaning up the legacy files, that a lot of the fixes I had applied have been undone, and I just feel it's best to call it a day now. I haven't been able to walk away sooner, as I wanted to ensure I left it better than I found it, but the former owner is trying to fix things and I will leave it to him. On that note, I have been supporting a Galway United fan forum in its effort to be ready to upgrade from 4.7 to 5.x. The site owner is very grateful, and there is zero hassle involved. I have even designed and created a custom theme for theme, as a means to make it smoother. This is all voluntary work in my effort to build a stronger reputation with the third-party scene on Invision. It would be a lie to say that this type of job isn't right for me. I know what I am doing; I can fix issues, but the hassle involved massively puts me off, and I can only imagine what it might be like if I were paid for all this. It's great to see people able to upgrade, have a secure and safe site, but the hassle of dealing with awkward people or those who have no idea yet constantly work against you just creates more fuss than I need in my life. It's not worth my time.

It's not Notts without a little bit of drama, at least the clowns are coming and the showman that used to be all that common. It is a concern that we have players with knocks, but it is still early and we have a fair bit of depth. Luton Town are a good team, on the bounce from their Premier League run. Still, I am happier playing them now, while we are also finding our own feet. The lineup looks good; I am just unsure if Luka Smyth is fit enough to start, but he's probably the best finisher that we have available. I do like Lee Ndlovu, but I don't think he's a clinical scorer or someone who is going to lead important games. These early fixtures are, so it's a shame we have the absences that are present but we should be able to adapt. I hate to say it, but I am predicting another draw.

Derby County 2-0 Cardiff City Joker Southampton 1-0 Stoke City Bromley 2-2 Cambridge United Peterborough United 3-1 Mansfield Town Stevenage 0-2 Oxford United Crewe Alexandra 1-2 Northampton Town Rotherham United 0-0 York City Swindon Town 1-0 Cheltenham Town

Dan Crowley went for profit; he left his club and joined us on a free transfer. Kyle Wootton did leave on a free; he refused to re-sign and ended up joining Stockport County because he wanted to play in the EFL. Jodi Jones came to us for free, if I recall correctly, as Ruben Rodrigues was out of contract and Oxford United signed him when Jodi was released. I think we have done okay with spending money, but some of the higher fees have been a huge flop, such as Mai Traore.

I like Dion Kelly-Evans, but he doesn’t work hard enough to maintain his place in a team, and I feel he wastes what potential he has by falling out with clubs. I do hope that he is able to give this move a real go, because I know he's a good player but just has to push himself. Good move for both parties; I wish Kelly-Evans well.

Water companies ask people to avoid wasting it, so idiots go and use jet washers and fill the paddling pools. I see the fire as no different, and whilst I agree that human stupidity shouldn't be underestimated. The alert was as if aliens had taken over the planet, quite alarming for some who really defeated the point in raising awareness. I might be more against it because one of my devices went off three separate times, even though it's supposedly disabled, but I do think that level of warning must come for more serious issues. If there was smoke in the air that was dangerous, such as the time Clifton's Bridge was on fire, then fair enough, but most people probably won't care about the fire warnings, and I am not saying they would ignore them. I just think most would go, “Oh, that's strange,” and go back to their regular activity. Very over the top.

I wouldn’t have been happy if I supported Leicester City, no bias, but they were quite poor. Easily dispossessed, it took a while to get comfortable, and their keeper in the early 10–15 minutes reminded me of Kelle Roos. Ironically, I told a couple of steward friends that Leicester fans had been complaining about not signing more players for fees, and claimed that their youngsters are not ready. By all accounts, their young players were the only part that impressed me about how they played. Referees need to be less lenient about shirt-pulling, because it is the worst level I have seen in recent years. Notts started very brightly and produced the best 90-minute performance for some time at Meadow Lane. Leicester were always going to have a bit more quality about them, but I felt we matched them and, for the longer spells, outplayed a team that should have done much better. Luka Smyth doesn’t look match-fit, and he has had a lot of poor service. I am not making excuses, because it is clear he needs time, but I don’t think he should be starting. The count of passes that were not completed. Where it was whacked to him was somewhat frustrating because it killed momentum at times. Defensively we look much better; I would like James Gibbons to support his side more effectively, but this will come with time. I do think organisation against Leicester could have been more mindful, and a more settled squad could have exploited parts, but it was a very good team performance. We will get better, and that is the most promising part, but we do need to make sure we don't drop this as a baseline standard for our expected performance. At least where possible, because no doubt we will play badly, but we need to see Martin Paterson setting expectations and choosing the squad based on delivering.

I think the alert was a major misuse of the system; it’s obvious not to set off fireworks or have things like bonfires, barbecues, etc. One of my devices went off several times and wouldn’t let me close the message. It’s like someone has a new shiny toy, and instead of waiting for a valid reason they decided to send something most decent people wouldn’t do in the first place, especially after all the fires across the world. I read that someone caused a fire on purpose at Skegness, which caused a lot of headaches for the fire service. Instead of dumb alerts, why not actually do something about those who cause the issues in the first place? The alert system should only be used to spread major awareness; the rest has other ways already to handle them.

I am not sure, Will Alves constantly beat him and very few crosses from Nick Tsaroulla's side were blocked or prevented from reaching dangerous areas. I honestly feel Tsaroulla struggled in this regard, but I felt it was due to James Gibbons not offering support rather than Tsaroulla being poor. Our whole team played well, and Tsaroulla does deserve the praise but I feel Leicester realised we were open from the right side (their left). I think Jacob Bedeau had one of his best games and was well protected in support on the left side. Many dangerous attacks were prevented from reaching any trouble to James Belshaw in comparison to the other side. However, I don’t blame Nick. I just feel he had a difficult time dealing with Will Alves’ pace and the other players on that side. Not enough to hurt his performance, but enough to bother him clearly. Hence, why I have two other players ahead of him, one of whom I thought was superb at defending and attacking, who seems to be rather overlooked. But doesn’t this show, ultimately, how well the squad played?