DangerousSausage

All of a sudden I like him a lot better. He needs to be reinstated and officiating Florist matches forthwith.

@Wheelbarrow repair man Our first meeting with Villa after the war was in April 1920, when we were beaten 3-1. But in the return match at Meadow Lane just a week later we beat them 2-1, so Jack Miller was right!

This poem was published in a trench newspaper in 1917 and has no doubt been shared here before too. I think it really brings those who experienced this terrible war to life. THE BURNING QUESTION Three Tommies sat in a trench one day, Discussing the war in the usual way, They talked of the mud and they talked of the Hun, Of what was to do and what had been done, They talked about rum, and-tis hard to believe, They even found time to speak about leave, But the point which they argued from post back to pillar, Was whether Notts County could beat Aston villa, The night sped away and zero drew nigh, Equipment made ready all lips getting dry, And watches consulted with each passing minute Till five more to go then twould find them all in it, The word came along the line to get ready! The sergeant admonishing all to keep steady, But out rang a voice getting shriller and shriller, I tell yer Notts County can beat Aston Villa! The earth shook and swayed and the barrage was on As they leapt o'er the top with a rush, and were gone Away into Hun land through mud and though wire Stabbing and dragging themselves though the mire No time to heed those who are following en route Till stopped by a strong point they lay down to shoot, Then through the din came a voice " Say Jack Miller! " "I tell yer Notts County can beat Aston Villa" The strong point has gone, and forward they press Towards their objective in number grown less They reach it at last and prepare to resist The counter-attack, which will come through the mist Of the rain falling steadily, dig and hang on The word for support back to H.Q has gone The air charged with moment grows stiller and stiller--- " Notts County's no earthly against Aston Villa " Two " Blighties ", a struggle through mud to get back To the old A.D.S down a rough duck board track A hasty field dressing a ride in a car A wait in a C.C.S., then there they are Packed side by side in a clean Red Cross train, Happy in hopes to see Blighty again, Still, through the bandages, muffled "Jack Miller, I bet you Notts County can beat Aston Villa! "

The results: Norwich City 0-2 Bristol City Joker Portsmouth 3-1 Preston North End Exeter City 1-0 Charlton Athletic Stevenage 1-1 Reading Tranmere Rovers 2-1 Newport County Walsall 1-1 Crewe Alexandra Solihull Moors 3-3 Altrincham Southend United 0-1 Yeovil Town --- Not a lot of points being dished out this week, but congrats to @TheSkipper on another strong round! --- Overall, @super_ram still leads, @ARLukomski goes second and @TheSkipper jumps into the play-off places! --- The prediction league continues on Saturday, so the fixtures should appear here on Wednesday. Thanks for playing and see you then!

What an amazing team goal! And of course you can't complain at taking a point away at one of the best teams in the league. The fact that none of our substitutes was presumably fit enough to play tells you just how thin we are though, I hope this improves in the weeks to come.

For me personally, the song Lanternlight by Nightwish. It's about the people we lose and how they remain with us after they've gone. I find it difficult to listen to, but it resonates so much. On this day in particular, I think of everyone who has experienced war, their fear and loss. I feel it especially when I can imagine myself in their shoes, when I'm standing where they've stood. And last but not least, when I've paid for my groceries at the supermarket and am presented with the bill...

I used to work for a charity many years ago, although I was a looong way short of the salaries named above. For many charities, the idea that you can get enough people to do the work for free is pie in the sky. We were at a very menial level but we provided a service and likely more than paid for ourselves through various promotions. Likewise, a fundraising manager will know exactly where to drum up cash and will make far in excess of their salary. But executives on six-figure sums? Come on.

While I can't imagine that Klopp is a referees' favourite, you still have to be careful and professional in your public statements. Anything that indicates that a referee has taken a dislike towards a particular team is a no-no and completely unprofessional.

Norwich City 1-1 Bristol City Portsmouth 0-2 Preston North End Exeter City 2-1 Charlton Athletic Stevenage 0-2 Reading Tranmere Rovers 1-2 Newport County (joker) Walsall 2-1 Crewe Alexandra Solihull Moors 2-1 Altrincham Southend United 0-1 Yeovil Town

Welcome back to the PON prediction league. It's the biggest and most beautiful prediction league, everybody says so. And remember your joker. I love jokers. But you can't have more than one joker. You can't sustain yourself like that. And the soccer games start at 3pm on Saturday. Good luck! Norwich City v Bristol City Portsmouth v Preston North End Exeter City v Charlton Athletic Stevenage v Reading Tranmere Rovers v Newport County Walsall v Crewe Alexandra Solihull Moors v Altrincham Southend United v Yeovil Town

Great to see he's playing and scoring again after so many injuries! The NLN is far below his level. Unfortunately, his injury record will limit his opportunities to play higher - when you sign a player, you want him to play.

Did I give you permission to share a picture of me?

This is a great question and could be a long thread! - Club ownership needs to be tied to a strict set of conditions, a "fit and proper persons test" on acid. No more sportswashing, no more ownership by dodgy foreign states. - Clubs need to be accountable to fans. There needs to be a mechanism that allows supporters to block certain decisions by club owners, such as stadium moves or name changes. - Scrap VAR. - Implement a total ban on betting advertisements in football. - Eject all Milton Keynes-based franchises from the Football League / National League. - Bring back FA Cup replays; sentence whoever suggested scrapping them to a week in Mansfield. - We need to create more opportunities for UK-based players in the Premier League in particular. Maybe a minimum number of players in the matchday squad who have been in the UK from a certain age. - The Premier League and the Football League need to be merged and possibly expanded to include the fifth level. At the minute, the PL is acting in the narrow interests of its 20 members and opening up a yawning gap to the rest of the professional game. This has to end. The wealth has to be shared to keep our game competitive and exciting and healthy in the long term. If this means that PL clubs have to give up their financial advantage over the continent's other top clubs, so be it. - And to do all of the above we need an independent regulator with representatives from the PL/FL, non-league, the government, supporters' groups and the PFA. Otherwise, we'll simply carry on with the status quo.

This cannot be allowed, it's a slap in the face for the loyal supporters of both clubs. Just imagine if we do a Bournemouth, we're in the Premier League and then our owners start pushing to play league games halfway across the world...

Sam Allardyce, the stage is yours.

Not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me. I don't think he liked us much, going right back to his days at Bristol Rovers. He was playing for them when they controversially beat us in the Leyland DAF Trophy semi in 1990, so maybe relating to that? There's been a lot of needle between us and Rovers ever since.

The results: Derby County 1-1 Hull City Plymouth Argyle 3-3 Preston North End Cambridge United 1-0 Burton Albion Lincoln City 2-1 Stockport County Bradford City 1-2 Doncaster Rovers Newport County 0-0 Fleetwood Town Barnet 2-1 Rochdale Ebbsfleet United 2-2 Wealdstone --- Congrats to @JustLikeJuve and @Robbie for a strong 12 points! --- This is our table. @super_ram is our first player to hit 100 points, @Robbie hits the top three after topping the leaderboard for the fourth time in six weeks, and @Fan of Big Tone surges up the table! --- Next week is FA Cup weekend, which entails us playing one game and forgetting about it again till next year. However, it does give us a little break to digest all the above and polish our crystal balls. The next round is on Saturday 9 November - thanks for playing and see you all then!

@Robbie, I think the article @Piethagoram shared explains it very well. Once upon a time I'd have been delighted if IH joined us, but every job since he left Palace has been chaotic and ended in acrimony. There's a reason why a manager who took two clubs into the Premier League relatively recently has spent years without a job.

Derby County 2-1 Hull City Plymouth Argyle 0-2 Preston North End (joker) Cambridge United 2-1 Burton Albion Lincoln City 0-2 Stockport County Bradford City 2-1 Doncaster Rovers Newport County 2-1 Fleetwood Town Barnet 1-0 Rochdale Ebbsfleet United 0-2 Wealdstone

Oh dear. Ian Holloway has achieved nothing for years. Swindon are circling the drain and are in serious trouble. His Wikipedia page contains an entertaining account of the utter chaos during his most recent job at Grimsby Town, which culminated in their relegation to the National League. He's been unemployed in the three years since they sacked him, publicly stating that he's lost his appetite for football. Not very promising.

There's a bit of an assumption that top managers have had gilded careers. But Mourinho played in the fifth tier of Portuguese football and was a PE teacher before joining Bobby Robson's staff at Sporting Lisbon. All the same, he'll have better options than Carlisle... Plenty of managers from the top flight have ended up falling down the leagues though, mainly due to a lack of success. That orange bloke who took Hull to the Premier League (edit: Phil Brown) is one of them, he's now the manager of Kidderminster. Brian Little managed Aston Villa in the UEFA Cup, but ended up at Gainsborough Trinity. And more recently Mark Hughes, once an established Premier League manager, got the sack from Bradford. And former internationals like Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Sol Campbell and Edgar Davids have got their hands dirty in charge of small clubs with mixed results. Even Harry Kewell ???? So it does happen!

I don't mind the new style and have spotted a few bells and whistles I hadn't before. And most importantly, it seems to work! However, not everything is quite as visible as it should be - certain users' names (particularly the mods) are hard to read because of a lack of contrast.

That's not right, they've filmed in the West Midlands before. An episode featuring Shakespeare was filmed in an old building in Coventry. *Removes anorak*

Notts also played under Sheffield rules in the early days. Sheffield missed out on the Football League because they stayed amateur while other clubs were (illegally) hiring professional players. In the space of about a decade they went from being one of the country's leading clubs to being on the receiving end of regular spankings from Notts and the Lancashire clubs and were in serious decline by the 1880s. As for Dronfield, it's right outside of Sheffield, so not comparable with MK being 80 miles from Wimbledon. They're currently building a permanent home in Sheffield. I think we should arrange a friendly when it's finished. Maybe even in retro kits? With all the international attention they get, I can't help wondering if someone very rich will try to do a Salford with them one day. We'll have to take some signage down if they do!

No, Macca wasn't forced out. The club clearly did everything it could to persuade him to stay, but he got an offer he couldn't refuse. He was evidently happy with us, but he's only got one career. I don't think either of them regrets moving, they both got the chance to make their mark in the Championship a matter of months after being in the National League, and that's a huge step up. Having said that, I think Langstaff would have started more games under Williams at Swansea. Time will tell how the move works out for him, but even if it doesn't there'll be plenty of clubs willing to snap him up in League One.