StarkMallard

Even 56 points would mean squeaky bum time for some of the season @Robbie! Ideally we want four other teams to oblige and finish on about 20 points each so we can have a stress-free season for a change. Three of the four promoted teams have survived for about the last five seasons in a row, so history is (mostly) on our side. So who are the candidates? Ideally the franchise, but that won't happen due to their bottomless money pit. Bromley are rather one dimensional and may get found out unless they can continue their home form. Burton have been circling the drain for a few years. Wimbledon are struggling to cope with this division financially and had a narrow escape last season. Many people don't seem to fancy Leyton Orient for some reason and they're probably better informed than me. Doncaster struggled for a lot of last season and were saved by the points they got in August and September. And of course there's always the possibility of someone like Wigan or Barnsley getting dragged in. It's daunting being in a very competitive new division with four relegation spots, but we made it on merit and have no reason to feel inferior. Hopefully we'll have nothing to do with the relegation scrap. But if anyone can come up with more potentially crap teams it might calm my nerves!

There's something akin to a mass outpouring of grief on Scunny's social media. The club has put out a statement confirming he's leaving, including the following (slightly garbled) lines. Doesn't sound like he's heading to Rochdale to me. "With the club tabling an offer for Callum in a bid for him to remain for a fourth season, the Iron understand Roberts turned down a number of offers for his services following the end of the season, despite a number of which being much more lucrative than we could offer, however this latest offer was one too good of an opportunity for the outgoing attacker to turn down, and he departs with our well wishes, an abundance of memories and a fantastic legacy in claret and blue."

I'm a bit in two minds about this. At the time, Roberts felt like a ridiculous player to have in the National League, he's far too good for that level. However, his best days were as part of a 4-2-3-1 formation, where he still had defensive duties but not to the same extent as a wing back. I'd expect him to fill one of the number 10 positions. Another question is how well suited he would be to MP's system in which attacking midfielders are expected to act as a first line of defence. And of course how he'd handle the step up to League One, although the Cal Roberts we'd be signing now is older and hopefully wiser. There are many question marks, but the idea of having him back and firing on all cylinders is exciting.

I've been thinking about this myself. After promotion from the NL we held on to players who, with hindsight, we should have moved on. However, the warning signs had been there. This time, some of the players out of contact have been top performers. I'd renew with McDonald for the reasons stated above. Norburn has grown into a key player and has League One experience, he's good for another year minimum. I'd also give Platt another year, although this is a risk for the club due to his injury. Tsaroulla is the one I think other clubs might be interested in and we look much better when he's in the team. Tie him down, physically if necessary. Kouhyar has done well given the step up and is clearly trusted by MP to do a job when we'reclosing a game out. However, he has never seriously looked like holding down a first team spot and has little goal threat. I think L1 is a step too far for him. Bennetts has played above League One level, but has only really looked good for us when coming off the bench. Even then, there's often been little to no end product. I doubt the club will renew and suspect he'll be heading back to Germany. Tangen is the wild card. We've had glimpses of a quality player who is comfortable on the ball and can play in both attacking midfielder and in the Palmer position. He could blossom in L1, but he would be a gamble. I'd personally pass and go all in on the AM positions over the summer, but he could be an interesting one to watch if he does join permanently.

Fair points from both of you there. I find Bradford's season encouraging - last season they were no great shakes, going up with about 78 points, and this time they made the playoffs with Aden Baldwin playing at the back for them. The other three promoted teams spent the season looking over their shoulder, with only Port Vale actually going down. I think as a promoted team your first priority has to be to gather enough points to stay up as early as possible. That might sound pessimistic, but I remember the last two times we were promoted to this level. In 2010-11 we made a huge mess of things - that team shouldn't have been anywhere near the bottom four. I'm hoping for next season to be a more relaxed experience! Regarding Luton, they're still receiving Premier League parachute payments to the tune of about 20 million a year. It gives you an idea of what we'll be up against if we do manage to do well and challenge near the top, but I'm not going to lose too much sleep about that yet! One thing is for certain though - this is a lot more fun than thinking about another season with Crawley et al...

It's wonderful to be back in League One, but the first thing we'll have to do is consolidate. I've been thinking about who can fill the bottom four spots rather than the Championship! This division has changed a lot in the last 11 years, some of the riches from higher up the leagues have filtered down and clubs like Huddersfield and Leicester have a wholly different financial foundation to build on. If we're to compete at the right end of the division, we'll have to compete with rivals that can afford to spend seven-figure transfer fees. For now I just want to be competitive and would gladly take a place in the middle third of the table. There's probably little prospect of keeping Iorpenda and Luker as they'll be playing for their parent clubs, so we'll need someone to fill their boots and the number 10 spot we never quite successfully filled this season. I suspect some of the players on the fringes of the squad may be sacrificed to make room. Then of course there are the players who are out of contact (Tsaroulla, Platt, McDonald), what happens there? I think this forum is in for a busy summer! But it's fantastic to be back. I've got every confidence in the powers that be to make the right calls this summer so we can build on this season with an added injection of quality. Who knows, we might even get a point against Mansfield!

Good morning everyone! I'm officially at work but my concentration span is 0. Still can't believe how good yesterday was. Hurt my back a bit celebrating but I feel fine this morning. Maybe it did me good? My thoughts are also turning to League One. I've always fancied watching us at Hillsborough, it's a proper club and a proper old ground and easy to get to. And @theAnticlough is bang on, the vibe around Notts is so different now it almost feels like a different club. In a good way. I see @Michael D Pie. has a wife who can see the future as well as a magic time tunnel and a ferret. There go my chances for next season's prediction league then!

Wow. I've got to calm down somehow because I've got work tomorrow, but I'm still buzzing. I was pessimistic before this match as we never look good against Salford. I was there against Bradford in 96 and I feared a similarly disappointing occasion. How wrong I was! EVERYONE rose to the challenge and delivered just when it was most important. After so many disappointments through the years, I daren't even hope it would go so well. It's the stuff dreams are made of. A word also for Martin Paterson. So many of us doubted him. At the start of the season the squad looked a bit of a mess, he had no idea what his best team was and we started badly. Back then I would never have thought we'd be celebrating promotion now, that we are is testament to his hard work, tenacity and ability. Well done to him and well done to the club for getting this appointment spot on when pretty much the whole fanbase would have chosen differently. I'm gutted I couldn't be there, but I can't wait to see Notts play in League One again! Feel free to share your photos and videos below!

They were all brilliant, but Jones was inspirational. I'll stick my neck out and say that was his best game in a Notts shirt. Ness and Robertson also stood out for me, but crikey that feels harsh on the rest. You need your players to stand up and be at their best when it really matters, and they did that.

Not to mention the short trips @Dripsey3 - Mansfield, Wednesday, Barnsley, Leicester, Doncaster, Posh... League One hasn't been this attractive in years!

Jdjl45odtkddkfcis JODI JONES FOOTBALL GOD

Get in! We're the only team to have risen to the occasion so far. Dream first half. My back is really sore now. Let's just resist the temptation to sit back now.

This is it, this is our chance. I hope everyone has a great day at Wembley. I hope the players keep a calm head and impose our game on Salford. And of course I hope we win! I'm an absolute bag of nerves here.

According to the club Facebook page, almost 15,000 had been sold this time yesterday. I doubt we'll top 2023 but I hope the final figure has a 2 in front of it.

The punishment is absolutely proportionate, Southampton were spying on their opposition in order to gain an unfair advantage. You can't ever prove that it did benefit them (especially as the three teams we know they spied on were probably the tip of the iceberg), but that's not the point here. If the punishment for espionage with the riches of the Premier League at stake were the 200k fine Leeds got, that wouldn't be a deterrent at all. In fact, it would be negligent NOT to do it. You can imagine the chaos that would cause. The Football League really didn't have a choice here. If Salford beat us on penalties on Monday and it later comes to light that one of their club employees had hidden in a bush and watched our players practicing their penalties, should the result be allowed to stand? I feel for the thousands of Southampton fans who are out of pocket because of this, but their anger should be directed at their club.

A belated happy birthday from me too, old man!

I thought this was about the Shane Meadows film for a minute! The criticism Southgate got was way over the top. In the future, people will be perplexed that the first ever coach to take England to two major finals got abuse, like when Notts fans were calling for Warnock to be sacked. He inherited a group of players that looked disjointed and frankly terrified whenever they played in a major tournament, took off the pressure and moulded them into a team. He could have handled the final better, but without him we wouldn't have been there in the first place.

It's a dilemma @theAnticlough, do you go for the control of Palmer or the physical presence of Robertson? Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me, but I thought we showed signs of getting to grips with Salford last time we played them (ignoring the two near-identical and entirely preventable goals we conceded of course). Norburn was suspended and Robertson injured for that one, so we played with Palmer and Iorpenda in the middle and both Jatta and Dennis up front. We were missing Jones then too. I think the coaching team might be rewatching that game. I don't have a great feeling about it because it's Salford, but it's a one-off and we're nothing if not determined.

The League got this one spot on, they can't just stand by and watch Southampton win promotion after being caught cheating. I hope they kiss goodbye to more points after their appeal. I can't imagine how devastated and let down their fans feel after this though. Imagine spending all season supporting your club up and down the country, only for it to throw away its chance of promotion through this kind of shenanigans. I'd be furious if Notts ever did this.

The regular league programme concluded last week. Alongside Schalke, the tiny SV Elversberg are promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time ever. I saw them play in the fourth division a few times and they certainly had good resources for that level. After reaching the Bundesliga playoff last season and subsequently losing their head coach to Werder Bremen, nobody really fancied them to do well this season, but they've actually gone one better. In Bundesliga 2 the relegation scrap went down to the final kick, with just two goals on goal difference separating the last safe spot (Eintracht Braunschweig), the relegation playoff (Fürth) and automatic relegation (Fortuna Düsseldorf). Düsseldorf, seen as a promotion contender, went into the last game at Fürth needing to avoid a three-goal defeat to stay up. They lost 3-0.

Play-off final - The Ammies (Wembley) Team - Salford City Date - 25 May 2026 15.00 Where - Wemberleyyy What would your starting line-up be? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be? And are we going up? Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

It's up to you of course, but the memories from a day at Wembley will still be there long after the tiredness has faded. I understand it's all a bit stressful though, especially the older you get.

Not a bad birthday present! Many happy returns @super_pie

I doubt we'll end up in trouble, I think it happens more often at certain clubs. It's just chavvy behaviour we can do without. I echo @theAnticlough's praise of Belshaw, he's been our key signing and without him I doubt we'd have reached the playoffs at all. He didn't have a lot to do yesterday, but like all good keepers he was there when we needed him with that low save in the second half!

McBedeauness without a doubt - the three-headed beast handled everything (the admittedly uninspired) Chesterfield threw at him all night. But it feels wrong to single anyone out, it was a committed and well organised display and they deserve their success.