StarkMallard

I don't need to stockpile food because I've already got at least a year's supply of Christmas chutney. Plus we have four budgies, so we can have "chicken nuggets". We also have figs in the garden, provided that Mad Vlad attacks at the correct time of year (and there's no nuclear fallout on them). I've still got a persistent cough and I have social plans this week. What to do? A nice cup of tea will probably help.

The results: This round was won by G-Town's finest @gtownjohnno with nine points, followed by @Michael D Pie. and @Chris. @Dan got three points, unlike his team yesterday 😉 After a brief but glorious reign, I am overtaken at the top by @Michael D Pie. (note to self: check whether dogs are allowed), who can now make himself comfortable on my well-worn throne... Now we have a bit of a break due to FA Cup weekend, so the next round is on Saturday week, 14 November. As always, the fixtures will be posted on the Wednesday prior, so the 11th. Thanks for playing everyone!

I hope things turn out alright @Piethagoram. You've got enough material for a whole thread there @Robbie! I always thought Field Mill was relatively close to the town centre, certainly compared to other away grounds I've been to (not just the new builds either). Even Retford's town centre used to be full of chain stores like Woolworth's, Wilko's, Dorothy Perkins, Burton's and of course all the major banks. Many of them don't exist any more and the other chains are going to places with more footfall. It's online shopping and changed habits - people don't pop into town to buy a CD any more and supermarkets sell just about everything you need now. Town centres should be remodelled as places where people come together and spend time rather than relying on chains to draw people in. The small independent shops often found on the periphery need to be brought into the empty units on predestrianised streets. But that's easier said than done.

Good summary @Sheffield Pie. We've mostly held our own despite having to bed in a number of new players and having a disproportionately tough start to the season - we've already played 10 of the top 13 teams. Of the promotion challengers we've only got Plymouth left to play (the franchise might also be dark horses too). Things looked grim in the few games up to Wycombe, but the way we've responded and drawn the correct conclusions from that is encouraging. Overall I'm happy enough. On the first day I thought Leicester looked quite beatable and their later results put our draw with them into perspective a bit. But League One is so much more watchable than League Two. For me the main priority is keeping well away from the bottom four - Bromley, Peterborough, Wigan, Doncaster and Wimbledon are prime contenders for me. We've only played one of them so far, so some big matches coming up. Burton's early season form has also come to an end and they're only three points above us having played two games more. Of the new signings, I've just realised that we're quite reliant on the loanees to give us an injection of quality - Finneran, Sam Smith, Cooper, Kanu, Mustapha. Of those, we've got an option to buy Cooper and I think we should take it, he'll be a real asset when fit again. Lipsiuc has been a good utility man playing out of position. On the other hand, Campbell (who we apparently paid a six-figure fee for) has missed all but the first game and we haven't seen Baker and Acquah at all yet. Not to write them off though - Ness established himself after finding opportunities rare at the beginning, and Baker joined us with glowing reports. And perhaps Acquah could be a Wootton-style forward to hold the ball up for Roberts and Cooper. We shall see. I do think we're overloaded in central midfield with Finneran, Robertson, Palmer, Campbell, Sanders, Evans and Lipsiuc all competing for a first team place. Cooper can play there too. So that's eight players for two spots and a number of players not even making the bench. I can see a couple of loans taking place in January.

Samuels-Smith for me, he absolutely bossed his flank all day long and gives us an extra dimension going forwards. He had the beating of his man the entire afternoon. He brews a fine pint of beer too. But it was a very good team performance overall. The back three were all outstanding and Roberts has given MP a selection headache after his performance (and of course that goal). Robertson/Finneran is an ideal midfield axis. Smyth and Kanu both made a nuisance of themselves and I'm delighted for Kanu that he's got his first goal from open play, hopefully he'll kick on from here. Smyth put himself about and held the ball up but looks devoid of confidence in front of goal.

Brilliant performance in a fixture I was dreading. How nice was it to see our players first to every ball and wanting the derby win more? Wonderful to give them a taste of their own medicine. Admittedly I feared the worst after Smyth wasted a gilt-edged chance seconds into the second half. How often does that kind of thing come back to bite you? But we didn't let it bother us and claimed our deserved three points.

The league leader's predictions: Bolton Wanderers 2-0 Bristol City West Ham United 1-1 West Bromwich Albion Wigan Athletic 0-1 Bromley Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Burton Albion Fleetwood Town 2-1 Bristol Rovers Shrewsbury Town 2-0 Gillingham Barrow 2-0 Eastleigh (joker) Tamworth 2-1 Woking

Fully agree @Sheffield Pie, the teams we fielded pre-Munto were worse than anything we had in the National League. If we'd gone down then, it would have been a long, hard road back. Two names spring to mind. One is Andy White, a striker who previously played up the A60. And the other is Danny Stone, a full back who played an inexplicable number of games for us before vanishing into non-league. But there must be loads of others I've forgotten. I wouldn't say Roos @nottsnutter, we've had worse keepers than him. He can at least do the flashy reaction saves without really mastering the basics of catching the ball. We've had some who can do neither. While I'm being cruel, does anyone remember the crap Scottish midfielder we had under Jocky Scott, the one with the Lego hair? Always the first name on the team sheet. If he'd been any slower he'd have been running backwards.

Halloween actually falls on a Saturday this year. Notts are getting in the spirit by going to Mansfield. How about you - maybe you could use black magic and invoke the spirits of the ether to get a few more precious prediction league points? Round: 14 Kick-off: Saturday 31 October, 3pm Don't forget your joker! Bolton Wanderers v Bristol City West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion Wigan Athletic v Bromley Wycombe Wanderers v Burton Albion Fleetwood Town v Bristol Rovers Shrewsbury Town v Gillingham Barrow v Eastleigh Tamworth v Woking

Likewise, I think he knew exactly what he was doing. Very impressive!

The results: Some nice, predictable scorelines there... I'm slightly worried this will go to his head, but congrats @Fan of Big Tone on winning youir second round running! Nobody else scored more than 4... On our current leaderboard I now have an enormous lead of 1.0 points; with only 33 rounds to go, a second glorious title is surely only a formality now. @Michael D Pie. has stealthily claimed second place while @ARLukomski slips to third. Now we're up to date again! The next round is coming on Saturday, so keep an eye out for the fixtures from Wednesday night. Thanks for playing and see you all then!

Time for Tuesday's results! @Fan of Big Tone showed us all how it's done with nine points! After one glorious day on top of the league all by myself, I am now forced to share the top spot with @ARLukomski. @Michael D Pie. has crept up on us and is now only two points behind, and @Fan of Big Tone pulls away from the relegation zone. I'll count Saturday's points tomorrow to bring us up to date (I would have done it tonight but I accidentally set my alarm to 6am while I was changing the time and now I feel like a zombie). The next "new" fixtures are coming up on Wednesday. Thank you all for playing!

2-0 to Notts?

Three rounds in four! Admirable consistency.