PON_News

Being a Notts County fan, you will obviously have countless memories of your club from years gone by, from legendary players to incredible matches that you will never forget. In this piece, Phil Dexter counts down his top 5 Notts County games of all time. Number 5: Notts County 3 Manchester City 2, Second Division, 6 May 1985 This was my first ever Notts County game, an end-of-season relegation battle fixture at Meadow Lane which saw Justin Fashanu, Rachid Harkouk and Alan Young put the Magpies 3-0 ahead. Although City came close to pegging it back through Paul Simpson, Jimmy Sirrel's side took all three points at the final whistle. I was hooked on Notts after that, even though there was a lot of crowd trouble - police on horseback had to intervene and both managers appealed for calm down the tannoy. Number 4: Notts County 3 Millwall 4, Football League Division 2, 19 August 2000 Even though we lost this game, it was still a very memorable and entertaining clash which I enjoyed. Notts were awful in the first half as Paul Moody, Steven Reid and Neil Harris put Millwall three up, although a Craig Ramage goal meant there was still a sliver of hope. Indeed, we dominated the second half and pulled level through Ramage and Mark Stallard - we should have won by at least five goals, but right at the death, Marc Bircham struck a late winner for Millwall. Heartbreaking result but great entertainment. Number 3: Mansfield Town 3 Notts County 4, League Cup Round 1, 21 August 2001 What a humdinger of a game this was as an early-season spectacle. Mansfield took the lead through Chris Greenacre early on, but a quickfire hat-trick from super Danny Allsopp plus an incredibly rare goalkeeper goal from Steve Mildenhall - against Kevin Pilkington of all people - had the Notts fans raving. Greenacre and Andy White made it a nervy last half hour, but the Magpies hung on for the win. Number 2: Nottingham Forest 3 Notts County 3 (Forest win 4-3 on penalties), League Cup Round 1, 11 August 2011 Almost 10 years after the Mansfield cracker, Notts played out another League Cup first round epic against local opposition when they travelled all of half a mile to face Forest at the City Ground. Played in the backdrop of the England riots, there was talk of the game being called off, but it ended up being devoid of any major trouble. 2-2 at full time, Lee Hughes scored in extra time to put the Magpies on the brink of a famous victory when the pesky Wes Morgan, soon to become a Premier League-winning captain, fired in a leveller in extra-time injury time. Hughes then missed his penalty to give the Reds the upper hand in the shootout and Neal Bishop's subsequent miss handed the neighbours the win. Disappointing result, but what a game. Number 1: Notts County 3 Brighton & Hove Albion 1, Second Division Playoff Final, 2 June 1991 The kind of afternoon that football fans dream of - a trip to Wembley in the summer and a relatively straightforward win that confirms their team's place in the top tier. This was what happened on the 2nd of June 1991 as Notts found themselves 3-0 up against Brighton with 20 minutes to go in their Second Division playoff final at the famous stadium, and not even a Dean Wilkins consolation late on managed to dampen the Magpies party. Not really much more to say apart from an unforgettable occasion. What do you think of Phil's match choices? Share your thoughts on Pride of Nottingham by signing up to the website, visiting the forum and joining the conversation.

With just two days to until the 2016-17 League Two season gets underway, Rob Davies has produced an extensive analysis of the Notts County squad which will be in contention for the first fixture against Yeovil Town on Saturday. The sensible, no-nonsense approach of John Sheridan has been typified by a summer of transfer activity that seems to have been led by something badly missing from Meadow Lane before his arrival – logic. Sheridan has ‘only’ made seven permanent signings this summer, just a third of the number of new additions that arrived at Meadow Lane last summer. But all seven arrive with strong pedigree. And all seven would go into the starting XI when fit and possess strong experience at this level. Aged 25-31, they all possess the right kind of ‘experience’ too, with plenty still to offer the cause beyond this season. Assuming no further new players arrive and one of the new additions, Michael O’Connor, remains sidelined through injury, Sheridan’s team for the opener at Yeovil Town seems to be a fairly easy one to predict: Collin Audel Duffy Hollis Hewitt Rodman Tootle Dickinson Aborah Stead Forte Many, rightly, will highlight the lack of depth as a factor here, something which was evident in the recent friendly with Walsall when the Magpies conceded two late goals after a raft of substitutions. However, for me it is a refreshing to see a logical approach to pre-season, with combinations and systems being worked on to prepare and build for the season ahead. Think back to last season, when the most commonly used defensive pairing in pre-season – Alan Smith and Scot Bennett – never once played together competitively, and the defensive duo that did start the season, Thierry Audel and Civard Sprockel, were both signed days before the season, seemingly in a state of panic. Things seem calmer now, with an experienced manager having a clear idea of the way he wants to play and sole control over transfers. Long may it continue. That squad in more detail: Goalkeepers Few would’ve expected Sheridan’s first signing to be a keeper, with Scott Loach more than capable at this level. However, Adam Collin is a commanding presence and an undoubtedly impressive addition – he was Rotherham’s first choice for their promotion to the Championship and throughout their first season in the second tier, only losing his place last season. Loach will have to decide whether he is again content with starting the season as one of the strongest understudies in League Two. If he leaves, reinforcements will undoubtedly be needed, with Kevin Pilkington – third choice during the title-winning season six years ago – now 42. The lack of the option to dip into the short-term loan market would also be a factor here if this scenario did arise. Defenders With Sheridan looking certain to start the season with a back three, at least one new centre-back is a must – primarily because the club only has four senior centre backs, one of which is a player who was signed in ‘an emergency’ capacity two years ago. Richard Duffy looks a strong addition, though at 5’11” is a little on the short side for a centre back, but it’s the presence of Haydn Hollis and Audel in the starting XI that will worry many supporters. Both have enjoyed strong pre-seasons but will need to convince they have the consistency to be relied upon every week. It really is now or never for Hollis. When O’Connor returns to fitness, this could have the knock-on effect of pushing Matt Tootle wide and Elliott Hewitt centrally into the back three; it was at centre back where the former Ipswich player was at his best in a poor first season. Similarly, Dickinson is equally capable at the heart of the defence and would arguably be more suited to the left-sided centre back role than the wing back spot he currently occupies. Full/Wing-backs Audel, Jack Barmby and Scot Bennett were amongst the players to start at left-back last season; the arrival of Dickinson is welcomed with open arms. The no-nonsense full-back is vastly experienced having played regularly for Stoke, Watford and Portsmouth in the Championship before captaining Port Vale, but is still only 29. Looks to be the captain-elect, but the first-choice cover behind him appears to be Rob Milsom, who is predictably injured currently. Youngster Rhys Sharpe was a Guy Branston signing but still looks raw in the pre-season games. On the other flank, Tootle is another full-back who is better defensively which doesn’t really lend itself to the 3-5-2 system. Hewitt would appear tailor-made for the wing back role in which he’s likely to start the season, but will need to iron out the positional lapses which cost the team a number of goals last campaign. Jordan Richards is another option down the right following hugely promising loan spells with Boston and in Ireland last year. Midfielders When everyone is fit, Sheridan is blessed with options here with O’Connor, Tootle, Alex Rodman, Stanley Aborah, Curtis Thompson, Milsom, Graham Burke, Wes Atkinson, Richards and, of course, Alan Smith (he’ll inevitably be back in the team at some stage) all vying for three places. The decision to move Aborah into a more advanced position looks to be a masterstroke; if he is out, it is also a position that Burke has the potential to excel in. That leaves a number of players vying for the two deeper positions – Rodman is primarily a winger or attacking midfielder but has looked capable in a more defensive position, as has Tootle who has spent most of his career at right back. O’Connor is a certain starter when fit and I still have high hopes for Thompson; midfield is an area we really shouldn’t be worrying about. Strikers The blank numbers #9 and #10 on the original squad numbers list got tongues wagging that this meant at least one more first-team striker was on his way to Meadow Lane, but I feel this is more of an anomaly, with Jon Stead preferring #30 and Jonathan Forte #11. These two represent a strong-looking first-choice front two, with newly-signed York City loanee Vadaine Oliver – a physical presence – likely to start as ‘Plan B’ from the bench. Izale McLeod is still at the club, of course, and it’d be dangerous to write off a proven striker on the back of one bad season, but if a suitor could be found it’d be hard to justify keeping one of the highest-paid players at the club as fourth choice striker, when the money could be invested elsewhere. Adam Campbell and Genaro Snijders are both likeable players but look vulnerable if the decision to play without wingers becomes a permanent one. Campbell managed to convince all three managers that he should be a regular last season, but desperately needs an end product to go with his endeavour, while Snijders has said end product but never seemed to be given much of a chance. It’ll be interesting to see if they can play their way into contention this time around; Sheridan stressed the desire in pre-season to get some pace in the ranks and this does still appear to be lacking, so these two could still have a role to play. Overall This squad isn’t yet the finished product, but it is worlds apart from last season’s approach where going into the season there only looked to be 4-5 guaranteed starters, the captain wasn’t decided and players were in the team one week and not in the squad the next. The key area is still the defence; Audel seems to switch between being brilliant or terrible, often in the same game, while Hollis finally needs to iron-out the mental blocks and inconsistencies that have prevented him kicking-on with his career. Edwards and Smith are next in-line. If Edwards is the no.1 centre back by mid-September – as was the case last season – something has gone drastically wrong. As supporters, it’s important to put last year’s debacle behind us and give the likes of Stead, Hewitt and Hollis a chance to right the wrongs. It was never plausible – or sensible – to ditch all of last season’s under-performers. One thing’s for sure, we’re in much better shape this time around. In Sheridan we trust. Strongest squad: Collin Hewitt Duffy Hollis Tootle Rodman O’Connor Dickinson Aborah Stead Forte Subs: Loach, Audel, Thompson, Milsom/Campbell, Burke, Snijders, Oliver. Share your thoughts on this article by signing up to the Pride of Nottingham website, visiting the forum and joining the conversation.

To use this wallpaper simply download the image to a safe location - preferably where your systems wallpapers are stored, select to personalise your display/monitor, then locate the image, select to use it and choose 'fit' as the wallpapers picture position. A lot of time and effort goes into creating the wallpapers and providing the Pride of Nottingham website. Please consider donating - Here Credit to @Chris who designed the wallpaper.

To use this wallpaper simply download the image to a safe location - preferably where your systems wallpapers are stored, select to personalise your display/monitor, then locate the image, select to use it and choose 'fit' as the wallpapers picture position. A lot of time and effort goes into creating the wallpapers and providing the Pride of Nottingham website. Please consider donating - Here Credit to @Chris who designed the wallpaper - thanks to @Dan for the image of the player.

To download this wallpaper image, simply click on the “Download” button, then choose in which drive to save it, and select “Save”. To then change your background to the wallpaper image, locate it in the drive where you saved it, select “Use as Background”, and choose “Fit” as the wallpaper’s picture position. We hope you enjoy this wallpaper. A lot of time and effort goes into creating them for your enjoyment, so please consider donating to Pride of Nottingham to help keep the site going. To make a donation, simply click here. Credit to @Chris who designed the wallpaper, and thanks to @Dan for providing the picture of Mike Edwards.

To download this wallpaper image, simply click on the “Download” button, then choose in which drive to save it, and select “Save”. To then change your background to the wallpaper image, locate it in the drive where you saved it, select “Use as Background”, and choose “Fit” as the wallpaper’s picture position. We hope you enjoy this wallpaper. A lot of time and effort goes into creating them for your enjoyment, so please consider donating to Pride of Nottingham to help keep the site going. To make a donation, simply click here. Credit to @Chris who designed the wallpaper, and who also took the original photo.

To use this wallpaper simply download the image to a safe location - preferably where your systems wallpapers are stored, select to personalise your display/monitor, then locate the image, select to use it and choose 'fit' as the wallpapers picture position. A lot of time and effort goes into creating the wallpapers and providing the Pride of Nottingham website. Please consider donating - Here Credit to @Chris who designed the wallpaper - thanks to @Dan for the image of the player.

To use this wallpaper simply download the image to a safe location - preferably where your systems wallpapers are stored, select to personalise your display/monitor, then locate the image, select to use it and choose 'fit' as the wallpapers picture position. A lot of time and effort goes into creating the wallpapers and providing the Pride of Nottingham website. Please consider donating - Here Credits to @Chris who designed the wallpaper - thanks to @Dan for image of the player.