DangerousSausage

I had a hastily scheduled visit to the UK at the weekend and the start of the week. Maybe it's just the places I hang out in, but I was cold all the time! It's such a relief to be in the warm again. Then there was the journey. The trip there took me seven and a half hours door to door (via Manchester), so not bad at all. The return journey took over 13 hours, with me arriving home just before midnight and starting work the next morning. I have been completely exhausted all week. It's not been as cold in Germland, but we are hovering around zero degrees this weekend. No doubt it'll be a bit chilly in Grimsby too - wrap up if you're going!

Some good ideas there @Robbie, but I quite like the big clubs joining in in the third round. That way, a big draw in round three is a reward for progressing, rather than a lottery. But replays should definitely return and I'd also look into fining clubs for fielding weaker teams - if it's possible in the Trophy, it can be done in the FA Cup too. Poor attendances aren't new though. I remember us playing Cambridge at home in the early 2000s and there were less than 3000 people there. It was so quiet approaching the ground I actually thought it had been called off.

Blackpool 2-1 Cambridge United Shrewsbury Town 0-3 Huddersfield Town (joker) AFC Wimbledon 2-0 Cheltenham Town Gillingham 1-1 Fleetwood Town Swindon Town 0-2 Crewe Alexandra Boston United 1-1 Ebbsfleet United Oldham Athletic 1-1 Eastleigh Southend United 1-1 Halifax Town

The results: Norwich City 2-1 Coventry City Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Millwall Exeter City 1-2 Bolton Wanderers Lincoln City 0-0 Stevenage Stockport County 1-2 Mansfield Town Barrow 0-2 Harrogate Town Colchester United 0-2 Accrington Stanley Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Port Vale --- Congratulations to this round's winners @4everapie and @Dan! --- It's as you were at the top with @super_ram still ahead, but @Dan and @4everapie continue to climb and @Fan of Big Tone has almost reached the top half of the table! --- Round 26 is online now, with the matches kicking off on Saturday. Have a go! Once again, thank you all for playing!

Like the trains, just slightly behind schedule - this round's games all kick off at 3pm on Saturday. Unlike on the trains, you get a joker each. Good luck! Blackpool v Cambridge United Shrewsbury Town v Huddersfield Town AFC Wimbledon v Cheltenham Town Gillingham v Fleetwood Town Swindon Town v Crewe Alexandra Boston United v Ebbsfleet United Oldham Athletic v Eastleigh Southend United v Halifax Town

Hi everyone - as I've just spent a few days in the good ol' U of K, I'm running behind with this. I'll post matchday 26 now and count the points for round 25 today or tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

Cedwyn didn't lead the line for us in L2 like I hoped he would, but as far as I'm concerned he's a club hero. I hope he succeeds in everything he does. On our side, with Morias' loan being extended and now this, I'm expecting at least one new striker to arrive this month.

I think we could make the play-offs just by consistently beating the teams in the bottom half of the table, but it wouldn't bode well for when we get there. That record seems a bit better than it was last season, but we need to win more than we lose if we want to seriously compete for the automatics. These are tight games and we need to find a way to win them regularly - last season we were just too leaky at the back, this time our injuries affected our attacking strength for a good stretch.

Oops, missed it. Only 363 days to your next birthday @Piethagoram

Norwich City 1-1 Coventry City Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Millwall (joker) Exeter City 1-2 Bolton Wanderers Lincoln City 1-1 Stevenage Stockport County 1-2 Mansfield Town Barrow 1-0 Harrogate Town Colchester United 2-1 Accrington Stanley Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Port Vale

What a poor article that is. We were never called Nottinghamshire (the earliest reports refer to us as "the Notts Club") and weren't founded in 1864. And surely a proper blue plaque should be put up at the site of the Meadows Cricket Ground, where the match was actually played, rather than a railway station in Sheffield?

It's time to gaze into the crystal ball once again to round off a busy festive season. All of these matches kick off at 3pm on Saturday, and remember your joker! Norwich City v Coventry City Sheffield Wednesday v Millwall Exeter City v Bolton Wanderers Lincoln City v Stevenage Stockport County v Mansfield Town Barrow v Harrogate Town Colchester United v Accrington Stanley Doncaster Rovers v Port Vale

I'd be tempted to keep him on till the end of the season just on the basis of the last two games. We've finally seen that there's a good player in there - just look at his beautifully weighted assist today. If he produces it regularly in the second half of the season, we can think about longer.

The results: Sheffield Wednesday 4-2 Derby County West Bromwich Albion 3-1 Preston North End Lincoln City 0-1 Rotherham United Northampton Town 0-0 Stevenage Barrow 2-2 Bradford City Morecambe 2-0 Tranmere Rovers Rochdale P-P Altrincham York City 1-0 Gateshead --- And the first winner of 2025 is @super_ram! @super_ram - 8 @Fan of Big Tone - 6 @ARLukomski - 5 @cheeky~k8, @menzinho, @nottsnutter - 4 @4everapie, @william1984 - 3 @Dan, @DangerousSausage, @gtownjohnno, @Robbie - 2 @magpiejue - 1 @Megan_Elizax - nul points --- Overall, @ARLukomski moves up into second while @super_ram stretches his lead: --- Our next round is on Saturday (4 January), so the fixtures are online now - good luck!

It feels very harsh given how good we were in the first half. Walsall's second came in a phase in which we seemed to have weathered the storm and were starting to reassert control, and of courser there was the contentious linesman's flag at the end. But those are the fine lines of a promotion race. "If onlys" don'T win you any points. Crowley's howlers show why he never made it at the very top level, but his return to the side has galvanised us and is a big reason why we started today in an automatic spot. You're not going to find the complete player in League Two; the key is to manage your players' weaknesses effectively. Now we need to pick ourselves up again and prove that today's result was a blip. With half the season goe, we're on course for 74 points - 80 points puts us in with a good chance of automatic promotion. We're not that far off.

Germany's ritual is to watch this in the minutes leading up to midnight. Enjoy!

Slow and steady wins the race @Fan of Big Tone. (Unless you happen to be playing in a wide position for Notts County, in which case please be fast.) Mine is to quit doomscrolling. I like to keep an eye on the news and social media, but in the last year or so I've found myself mindlessly scrolling through complete garbage and getting involved in discussions under clickbait articles. It just gets me agitated. In 2025 I will stop and pick up a book instead. This will be easier said than done in a year in which a new US administration promises endless "entertainment" on my news app of choice, but it has to be done!

I haven't heard it on the Darmstadt grapevine but I wouldn't be surprised as he needs regular games. He's also been conspicuously missing from the squad recently. However, I'd expect us to sign at least one striker before he's allowed to go. It would be a shame to lose another of our promotion heroes, but a move might be best for both sides. The jury's still out as to whether he's really up to League Two, but he's definitely worth a punt from Carlisle's point of view.

Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Derby County West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Preston North End (joker) Lincoln City 2-0 Rotherham United Northampton Town 0-2 Stevenage Barrow 1-2 Bradford City Morecambe 0-1 Tranmere Rovers Rochdale 2-0 Altrincham York City 3-1 Gateshead

Our three wins on the bounce and the return of some of our most important players set us up beautifully for this. But as the only side in League Two to have shown any real consistency, Walsall have to be favourites for this. Hope we can channel the underdog spirit and keep the run going!

I can blame them, that's absolutely outrageous. There's no excuse for charging under 10s 25 pounds to stand at all, it's pure greed at the expense of their own fans.

Get your new year off to a cracking start with some prediction league points. Go on, treat yourself. The fixtures kick off at 3pm on new year's day, and don't forget your joker! Sheffield Wednesday v Derby County West Bromwich Albion v Preston North End Lincoln City v Rotherham United Northampton Town v Stevenage Barrow v Bradford City Morecambe v Tranmere Rovers Rochdale v Altrincham York City v Gateshead

The results: Coventry City 0-0 Millwall Oxford United 2-0 Plymouth Argyle Bolton Wanderers 3-0 Lincoln City Reading 2-1 Mansfield Town Stevenage 3-0 Bristol Rovers Bradford City 2-1 Chesterfield Grimsby Town 3-0 Port Vale Tranmere Rovers 1-1 Barrow --- And this round's winner is... me! Come on you lot, put some effort it. An honourable mention goes to @nottsnutter, who comes second on alphabetical order. @DangerousSausage, @nottsnutter - 11 @super_ram - 10 @gtownjohnno, @menzinho - 9 @ARLukomski - 7 @Dan, @Megan_Elizax, @Robbie, @william1984 - 5 @Fan of Big Tone - 4 @4everapie - 3 @magpiejue - 2 --- A very good week for @super_ram, who opens up an eight-point lead at the top, and for @menzinho and @gtownjohnno, who move back up the table. --- The next fixtures are on new year's day, so they're online already if you fancy making your predictions. Thanks for playing!

What a rollercoaster! A great fightback and a thrilling match that wasn't over until Jatta scored that breakaway goal in stoppage time. Top marks to the manager for making some brave calls, and top marks to the players for having the versatility and sheer will to win to make those calls pay off. For the first time in a long time we went into the match with a strong bench. We didn't even need to call on Jones, but I think it gave everyone a lift knowing we have something in reserve. And I wasn't expecting to see Martin at all, let alone see him put in such an accomplished performance. I only hope the injuries aren't too bad. So this puts us second. I wasn't expecting to finish the year in an automatic promotion spot either. All the same, we're only a point clear of seventh, so we need to build on it.

This was the first ever inter-club football match and it's a bit of a shame we don't make more of it. Darrin Foss writes a lot about this period in his book Notts County FC and the Birth of Modenr Football. Highly recommended. They were a regular feature on our fixture list until the 1880s, by which time Notts and other clubs (allegedly) had professional footballers on their books while Sheffield remained staunchly amateur. As a result, Sheffield fell behind and were drubbed in the teams' last meetings. It would be great to revive this fixture as a pre-season friendly. With them planning to open their new stadium next season, it could be the perfect time.