DangerousSausage

The results:

Blackpool 1-0 Millwall
Sheffield United 2-0 Luton Town
Oxford United 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Shrewsbury Town 0-1 Bolton Wanderers
Leyton Orient 0-0 Port Vale
Sutton United 0-0 Northampton Town
Grimsby Town 1-2 Bromley
Woking 2-0 Wealdstone

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@super_ram came out on top this week - congrats!

@super_ram - 11
@Dripsey3 - 8
@DangerousSausage - 7
@magpiejue, @Megan_Elizax - 6
@gtownjohnno - 5
@Dan - 4
@4everapie, @nottsnutter - 3
@ARLukomski - 2
@GrannyPie - 1

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The table:

Dan - 169
Dripsey3 - 167
super_ram - 140
magpiejue - 140
4everapie - 137
gtownjohnno - 136
DangerousSausage - 127
ARLukomski - 121
nottsnutter - 117
jimbob - 117
Megan_Elizax - 113
GrannyPie - 110
Chris - 106
barnet11uk - 93
KB1862 - 52
liampie - 45
Joshua - 34
Feral Fox - 29
allardyces tash - 21
TheSkipper - 16
CliftonMagpie - 10
Alex - 7
Canadian - 4

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So that's us for another week. Can anyone gatecrash the duopoly at the top? How many people can I get away with banning to artificially enhance my position? And will Notts ever play a football match again? To get a little bit closer to answering at least two of those questions, join us for the next round on Saturday - the fixtures will be posted here on Wednesday night. Thanks for playing and have a good week!

This summer we would usually be looking forward to the World Cup, but we'll have to wait until November due to FIFA's decision to award it to the footballing hotbed that is Qatar.

As everyone surely knows by now, the regime in Qatar isn't the most savoury one; an army of foreign workers has been called in to build the necessary infrastructure and the construction of the stadiums has come at a tremendous human cost. Like the 1978 tournament, the 2022 World Cup will be an example of sportswashing - a dictatorship using sports to boost its reputation and distract attention away from human rights abuses.

This begs the question of how football fans here should react (it would have been nice if UEFA or the national FAs had done something, but that ship has sailed). The most obvious would be a boycott, but given the sheer pulling power of the World Cup that could be doomed to failure. Otherwise, the tournament could be used to shine a very bright light on the Qatari regime and to make the attempted sportswashing of the regime's reputation blow up in its face. I'm not sure exactly what form that could take though.

It might all sound very political, but this tournament is mired in politics anyway now. Personally I'm not sure I can stomach watching it, but I know many more will. Thoughts?

Blackpool 2-1 Millwall

Sheffield United 2-1 Luton Town

Oxford United 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday

Shrewsbury Town 0-1 Bolton Wanderers

Leyton Orient 1-2 Port Vale

Sutton United 2-0 Northampton Town (joker) 

Grimsby Town 0-1 Bromley

Woking 3-1 Wealdstone

Noordinho

Paul Gascoigne once said, "I never predict anything, and I never will". Don't be like Gazza, take part in the prediction league. Kick-off is Saturday at 3, and you have a joker each. Good luck!

Blackpool v Millwall

Sheffield United v Luton Town

Oxford United v Sheffield Wednesday

Shrewsbury Town v Bolton Wanderers

Leyton Orient v Port Vale

Sutton United v Northampton Town

Grimsby Town v Bromley

Woking v Wealdstone

I've walked up there so many times, yet I wouldn't have guessed it in a million years going by the first pictures. Insane how streets can change, and sadly not usually for the better. 

I could have sworn Wootton got one a few weeks back. Must be going mad. So the last one was probably Jimmy Knowles against Woking back in April. 

Danny Allsopp scored a hat trick on his debut for us, a 5-1 win against Bournemouth (?). (Edit - no, that was Brett Angell). I don't think Stallard got one in his entire career. He certainly didn't for us. 

The results:

Millwall 0-1 Nottingham Florist
Preston North End 1-1 Birmingham City
AFC Wimbledon 0-0 Morecambe
Lincoln City 0-1 Cambridge United
Bradford City 2-1 Salford City
Colchester United 0-2 Barrow
Grimsby Town 2-0 Altrincham
Wealdstone 2-1 Dover Athletic

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This was quite a high-scoring round (with the exception of one idiot at the bottom, ahem). This week's best scorers were @magpiejue and @GrannyPie!

@magpiejue, @GrannyPie - 11
@Dan, @4everapie - 8
@nottsnutter, @Chris, @barnet11uk - 7
@ARLukomski - 6
@jimbob - 5
@gtownjohnno, @Megan_Elizax - 4
@Dripsey3, @super_ram - 3
@DangerousSausage - 2

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@Dan is now six points clear, while @magpiejue and @4everapie move into joint third:

Dan - 165
Dripsey3 - 159
magpiejue - 134
4everapie - 134
gtownjohnno - 131
super_ram - 129
DangerousSausage - 120
ARLukomski - 119
jimbob - 117
nottsnutter - 114
GrannyPie - 109
Megan_Elizax - 107
Chris - 106
barnet11uk - 93
KB1862 - 52
liampie - 45
Joshua - 34
Feral Fox - 29
allardyces tash - 21
TheSkipper - 16
CliftonMagpie - 10
Alex - 7
Canadian - 4

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So that's us done for another week. The next full league programme is on Saturday, so I'll post the fixtures on Wednesday night. Please post declarations of triumph, banter and commiserations below, but remember - it's a marathon, not a sprint   see you all then!

2 hours ago, Chris said:

So, who was the last Notts player before Cal Roberts to bag himself the match ball? I would guess someone like Jonathan Forte or Jorge Grant...

Wasn't it Kyle Wooton just a few weeks ago? No idea who was the last before that - Jon Stead possibly.

Here's your reminder - the action starts tomorrow:

@super_ram, @ARLukomski, @nottsnutter, @Chris, @GrannyPie, @barnet11uk, @KB1862, @liampie, @Joshua, @Feral Fox, @allardyces tash, @TheSkipper, @CliftonMagpie, @Alex, @Canadian

Millwall 1-2 Nottingham Florist

Preston North End 2-0 Birmingham City (joker)

AFC Wimbledon 2-1 Morecambe

Lincoln City 2-1 Cambridge United

Bradford City 1-1 Salford City

Colchester United 1-1 Barrow

Grimsby Town 1-1 Altrincham

Wealdstone 2-0 Dover Athletic

It's Saturday, it's 3 o'clock, it's the PON prediction league! And remember your jokers

Millwall v Nottingham Florist

Preston North End v Birmingham City

AFC Wimbledon v Morecambe

Lincoln City v Cambridge United

Bradford City v Salford City

Colchester United v Barrow

Grimsby Town v Altrincham

Wealdstone v Dover Athletic

I never got to meet him in person, but as I didn't travel away much (and have been holed up in Germany for the last few years), I have spent a lot of matchdays in Uncle Colin's "company". He was a link to the past in so many ways - to the club's past, of course, as he'd been covering Notts since the late 1950s and had seen ALL of the ups and downs since that time. But also to broadcasting past - he sounded unique (possibly a result of the pronunciation expected of radio commentators half a century ago) and he drew such a precise picture of the match. You always knew where the all was, and he knew exactly who the opposition's players were too.

And of course he took to the club, and the fans took to him, as Dripsey says. He famously helped a takeover go through in the mid-sixties. Now of course we think of him as being Notts through and through, but think about that in the context of the time - he was a local journalist from Bradford with no previous connection to the club, having moved a few years before, helping save the club. That surely wasn't part of the day job! I wonder how many other times he's helped the club without ever publicising it.

I hope there were some high dropping balls in honour of him last night. Colin Slater is one of a very select group of people who deserve to be called Notts legends.

A lot of footage of Wrexham players falling other, but that aside it's good to see the match from more of a fans' perspective. Still not sure whether the handball was really intention (was a definite penalty though), but the referee's decision is final and all that

Colin Slater, the voice of the club for so many decades, has passed away aged 87. Condolences to his family and everyone who knew him. 

People talk about legendary players and managers, but it was Colin who was at our side through all those moments of triumph or (more often) non-triumph. It'll be difficult to imagine Notts without him. 

Here's a nice piece the club published about him. 

https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/club/hall-of-fame/colin-slater-mbe/

The results:

Cheltenham Town 1-1 Burton Albion
Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Fleetwood Town
Carlisle United 2-0 Bradford City
Colchester United P-P Rochdale
Stevenage 3-1 Walsall
Barnet 1-1 Altrincham
Bromley 2-1 Solihull Moors
Weymouth 0-1 Southend United

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The best scorers this week were @ARLukomski and @4everapie with 7 - congrats!

@4everapie, @ARLukomski - 7
@Dan, @Dripsey3, @Megan_Elizax - 6
@DangerousSausage, @jimbob - 5
@magpiejue, @nottsnutter, @Chris, @barnet11uk - 4
@GrannyPie - 2
@gtownjohnno, @super_ram - 1

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So this is the latest table, which contains good news for @4everapie, @ARLukomski and @Chris...

Dan - 157
Dripsey3 - 156
gtownjohnno - 127
4everapie - 126
super_ram - 126
magpiejue - 123
DangerousSausage - 118
ARLukomski - 113
jimbob - 112
nottsnutter - 107
Megan_Elizax - 103
Chris - 99
GrannyPie - 98
barnet11uk - 86
KB1862 - 52
liampie - 45
Joshua - 34
Feral Fox - 29
allardyces tash - 21
TheSkipper - 16
CliftonMagpie - 10
Alex - 7
Canadian - 4

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The next round is this coming Saturday (the 15th), so the fixtures will be online on Wednesday night. Thanks for playing and look after yourselves!

Fans of both clubs were talking about the possibility of this being called off beforehand due to the awful weather forecast and the state of the pitch. If Dover were so surprised, that shows a lack of foresight.

The way a couple of clubs in this league are run is shambolic. Most clubs in the Northern Counties East league put them to shame.

Thanks for posting this! David James is the odd one out, as he became known for embarrassing mistakes during his club career, took the England jersey at the twilight of his career and was always reliable for his country. But after him we had a series of England goalkeepers who weren't at the top level and didn't cope with international tournaments. That's more to do with them not being good enough than some kind of curse. 

There is an issue with all this though - goalkeepers are under far more scrutiny than outfielders. Every player makes mistakes - defenders scuff clearances, midfielders lose the ball, strikers miss chances. But when you're a goalkeeper, there is a bigger focus on your individual mistakes rather than the things you did right. If this were a list of strikers, we'd be talking about goals scored rather than individual chances missed. 

Cheltenham Town 0-2 Burton Albion

Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Fleetwood Town

Carlisle United 1-1 Bradford City

Colchester United 1-1 Rochdale

Stevenage 0-2 Walsall (joker)

Barnet 2-1 Altrincham

Bromley 2-0 Solihull Moors

Weymouth 1-2 Southend United

Saturday 3pm is time for football, and the prediction league too. Get your predictions in!

@super_ram, @ARLukomski, @GrannyPie, @Chris, @barnet11uk, @KB1862, @liampie, @Joshua, @Feral Fox, @allardyces tash, @TheSkipper, @CliftonMagpie, @Alex, @Canadian

It is all very odd @Chris. I wouldn't be surprised if Tschimanga has a buy-out clause in this contract that is forcing Chesterfield into action. They might have spent 300k on him, but if they can double their money or more (while getting a sack full of goals) that's good business, and they'll have cash for the transfer market.

I doubt they really think they can sign Roberts, although they would if they got the chance. It's a cynical attempt at unsettling him, or even starting a bidding war. 

They had no intention of actually signing him - this is a transparently obvious attempt to unsettle a key player of a promotion rival. I hope it backfires on them big time. 

You know what to do by now - send in your predictions by 3pm on Saturday, and don't forget those jokers!

Cheltenham Town v Burton Albion

Doncaster Rovers v Fleetwood Town

Carlisle United v Bradford City

Colchester United v Rochdale

Stevenage v Walsall

Barnet v Altrincham

Bromley v Solihull Moors

Weymouth v Southend United

Sounds like an interesting a versatile signing. Will be interesting to see who gets the nod in the coming weeks.

On 04/01/2022 at 20:02, gtownjohnno said:

Unusual surname.... Any relation to Chris Brunt..???? 

That's what I thought too, especially with the Sheffield connection. He's a little too old to be his son though. Good job really, I'd have felt proper old.

The results:

Blackpool 1-0 Hull City
Burton Albion 4-1 Crewe Alexandra
Charlton Athletic 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Oxford United 1-1 Cheltenham Town
Harrogate Town P-P Port Vale
Scunthorpe United 0-1 Carlisle United
Sutton United 2-1 Exeter City
Swindon Town 5-2 Northampton Town

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Our first winner of 2022 is @magpiejue!

@magpiejue - 6
@4everapie, @DangerousSausage, @ARLukomski, @barnet11uk - 5
@super_ram, @nottsnutter - 4
@Dan, @Megan_Elizax, @GrannyPie - 3
@Dripsey3, @gtownjohnno - 2

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So this is our table at the start of the year. @Dan moves a point clear at the top, and there are changes elsewhere too:

Dan - 151
Dripsey3 - 150
gtownjohnno - 126
super_ram - 125
magpiejue - 119
4everapie - 119
DangerousSausage - 113
jimbob - 107
ARLukomski - 106
nottsnutter - 103
Megan_Elizax - 97
GrannyPie - 96
Chris - 95
barnet11uk - 82
KB1862 - 52
liampie - 45
Joshua - 34
Feral Fox - 29
allardyces tash - 21
TheSkipper - 16
CliftonMagpie - 10
Alex - 7
Canadian - 4

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And that's us for the festive season! The next full league programme is on Saturday 8 January, so I'll put the fixtures up on Wednesday once I've taken down the Christmas tree and the decorations! Have a great week and see you then!

I tuned in on the radio, didn't sound too bad really. I did fear the worst when we went behind, but the sending off for deliberate handball changed the game. Even so, you still have to beat what's in front of you and Wrexham are a strong side. This puts us a point behind them with two games fewer played, and keeps the pressure on Furlough and Boredom Wood.