DangerousSausage

I'd be down for this (although the back is all one colour). More black than brown though 😉 I'd also be happy with wavy or jagged stripes if they're done well. I'm not holding my breath though.

You're probably spot on there @Countyman. I don't remember the stripes being wavy like that, but then I didn't own that one. The thin stripe is also closer to the middle on the original. It looks close enough though.

Surely it's time for the new kit to be unveiled? Several other teams who are with Puma have already unveiled theirs, but we tend to take longer about it... I would like a simple design with black and white stripes on the front and back, black shorts and white socks. Prefer slightly more white than black on the shirt. No yellow or grey please. I'm aware this is a forlorn hope. Just so we don't get our hopes up, here's tlwhat Puma have foisted on teams competing in the club world cup this summer:

It looks good! I saw a match recently where one of the teams was supplied by Matchwinner, I was surprised to see they're still going. It's better to have a shirt made by the actual manufacturer rather than a retro shirts maker if our deal with Puma allows it. The stripes appear to be slightly wavy though. Were they like that on the original?

There must be some fascinating archaeology there that's all but impossible to obtain too. True, having a land border would have made us much more vulnerable to the Nazis. But I was thinking further back than that. Would the Celts and the Anglo-Saxons still have come? Maybe the Britons would have ended up in France rather than Wales and Scotland, making France more Celtic? Maybe Charlemange's empire would have spread into Britain around the year 800? And if it had, would they have deterred the Vikings or would the Vikings have been more successful? Later on, perhaps England (if it even existed) would have expanded south or France north? As perfect agricultural land in a temperate region ideally positioned to benefit from the Enlightenment, maybe Doggerland would have become an empire in its own right. It could have developed its own language and culture and been antagonistic towards Britain, spreading west. Maybe it could have started a world war. Or it could have been an extension to the Netherlands, strengthening that country's empire and making it Britain's chief rival. It's amazing how much a tsunami off the coast of Norway could have influenced geopolitics!

If Doggerland were still somehow above water, our entire history would have been different. We'd quite possibly be writing this in a different language. It's fascinating how much we are influenced by geography.

Notts have announced that the final friendly of our three-game tour will be against Stuttgarter Kickers of the Regionalliga Südwest (fourth division). Apparently this is a special friendly to celebrate the 120th anniversary of their ground. Like Darmstadt, Stuttgarter Kickers (not to be confused with cup holders VfB Stuttgart) have spent a lot of their existance bobbing about Bundesliga 2 and the third level (with a couple of Bundesliga seasons in the 80s and 90s). They dropped into the fourth division in 2016 and even had a few seasons at the fifth level before returning a coiple of seasons back. I've been to their ground but never inside it - it's on top of a hill right next to the TV tower in Stuttgart and is an easy underground ride from the city centre. Kickers draw average gates of around 5,000 and also have a really cool badge. So that's the three friendlies. I'm not usually crazy about friendlies but I'm really looking forward to this! I'll put together some information and tips and post it in an article in the next day or two.

This is a bit of a strange one and I think he should be seen as a joker in the pack rather than someone we should absolutely pin our hopes on. NLN to League Two is a massive jump after all, and it's a bit concerning that National League York sent him out on loan (although he was highly rated by the fans there). However, he's just had a really good season and Kiddy and hopefully he can kick on with us too.

This sounds like a good signing to be - someone wily, experienced and with a bit of aggression sounds like just what we need. After a season in which we always seemed to be down to the bare bones, the talk about injuries doesn't sound great, but Norburn managed 39 and 27 games in the two seasons after his serious knee injury in 22/23. Hopefully we'll get the best out of him. With him, Palmer, Robertson and Hinchy competing for two spots (and let's not forget that Abbott has left), I'm assuming this is our central midfield completed. Nothing wrong with the odd tipple!

So if all else fails we could have a Joao Alves / Joao Alves dream team. No idea if it'd be any good, but we'd be a pub quiz question!

Welcome back to the pleasuredome @LymmPie and feel free to post your thoughts on here in between sending smoke signals to MAD! Steffen Højer is an interesting suggestion, he'll be known to the owners and well versed in what they want. He must be highly rated as a coach to be promoted to the national team setup. And there's even a plausible reason for the lack of an announcement, as the Danish FA wouldn't want any distractions during the U21 tournament. He appears to be out of contract this summer too. Assuming that contract runs until the end of June, it would leave him conveniently free to step in for the start of training in July. On the other hand, he doesn't have any direct experience of English football and the brothers haven't shown any inclination to appoint their countrymen at the club so far. I also think that having a head coach there to speak to prospective signings would help us land our summer targets.

All will be revealed, and it's certainly worth waiting to get our ideal team in place of necessary. However, I'd been expecting an announcement by now. And I can't deny I'm nervous that our lack of a head coach and coaching team is putting off potential signings at a crucial time. As this is a forum, I'll now engage in some pointless speculation. I see three possible reasons: Number one - we've been rejected by our first and maybe also our second choice, throwing back our schedule. Hopefully not, but it happens. Two: we've chosen a head coach, but he's already employed by another club who are trying to squeeze as much compensation out of us as possible. This is a very likely scenario if it turns out to be Adam Hinshelwood, who York were going to sack until suddenly they weren't. Three: our chosen head coach is from abroad and the club is holding back from making an announcement until the visa formalities have been settled. This would affect Tobias Solberg, although I doubt he's a serious candidate.

Darmstadt have released ticket information, apparently we'll be sharing A Block with the home fans. Not sure which stand that is to be honest, but I'm sure Notts will enlighten us in the next couple of hours. Tickets are priced at 9 euros standing, 15 euros seated or 22 euros if you want a fancy business seat.

Was going to leave a comment, but couldn't think of a good angle.

RIP to a true genius - the Beach Boys' cheesy name and public image didn't do justice to the depth of their music, and that was down to Brian Wilson. God Only Knows is one of the best songs ever made.