StarkMallard

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't added up your points yet, I was in the UK for a few days. Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow night. There will be no prediction league fixtures this weekend as it's the second round of the FA Cup, but there will be some on Tuesday night. I'll keep you posted!

How about Liverpool's Champions League win against Milan in 2005? 3-0 down and seemingly dead and buried at half time, only to come back and win it on penalties. That was an incredible comeback, especially considering it took place on arguably the biggest stage in world club football.

Talk about a downgrade. He'll be gone before the season is over. Coventry have an ambitious new owner who might have wanted his own man to take them the next step, but this could really backfire on them.

Luton Town 0-1 Hull City West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Norwich City Huddersfield Town 2-1 Charlton Athletic Peterborough United 1-1 Reading AFC Wimbledon 2-1 Walsall (joker) Chesterfield 1-1 Barrow Boston United 0-1 Braintree Town Tamworth 1-2 Dagenham & Redbridge

Time to dust off your crystal balls - these matches all kick off at 3pm on Saturday, and you get a joker each. Good luck! Luton Town v Hull City West Bromwich Albion v Norwich City Huddersfield Town v Charlton Athletic Peterborough United v Reading AFC Wimbledon v Walsall Chesterfield v Barrow Boston United v Braintree Town Tamworth v Dagenham & Redbridge

Ladies and gentlemen, the results: Blackpool 0-0 Northampton Town Stockport County 1-0 Wrexham Accrington Stanley 2-2 Swindon Town Barrow 1-3 AFC Wimbledon Bromley 1-1 Carlisle United Braintree Town 1-0 AFC Fylde Hartlepool United 0-0 Eastleigh Yeovil Town 0-1 Halifax Town --- Here are this round's scores. Congratulations to @Megan_Elizax for winning the round and @CliftonMagpie on being the only player to land their joker on the Stockport - Wrexham match! --- In our leaderboard, @ARLukomski and @thommo chip away at @super_ram's lead, while @Megan_Elizax jumps three places... --- The next round is on Saturday, so the fixtures for that should be online on Wednesday as usual. Thanks for playing and let the banter begin!

If the Daily Express warns of the incoming apocalypse, this usually means it'll be a bit cold for a few days so don't wear your shorts. It's staying below 3 degrees for a few days though, so we could well see some snow.

If any of you have any tips, I'm all ears! I usually buy them at Morrison's for convenience. I usually bring a pack home with me, but last year I made my own for the first time. My work colleague provided the filling, but I made the pastry myself and it was incredible, absolutely perfect. A complete fluke as I had no idea what I was doing. As if to tempt fate, I'll try again this year. So any tips as to good ready-made mince pie filling would be appreciated too! Can I have yours?

A disappointing day. I don't think we played badly, but we rarely looked like scoring. The injury list really hurt us today. It's annoying to concede from our own corner. The penalty wasn't one - Bogle couldn't decide whether he was going to have a shot or try to dink it around Platt and ended up tripping himself up. Platt just stood his ground. It was quite clear it wasn't a foul even watching it first time, and the referee was in the perfect position. It gave us a real uphill struggle in a phase in which we were struggling to create chances anyway. Crewe certainly weren't anything special, but they were hard working and well organised off the ball and took their chances when they came. Sometimes that's all you need.

He should have let him past rather than playing 87 minutes on a yellow. Feels like an accident waiting to happen.

Keep doing this @Fan of Big Tone. I've just noticed that the post now has more than 500 views, so don't think that nobody cares! My gran died recently and I have other family members with severe health issues, so I've lacked the mental and emotional capacity for football and PON this week. But I'm feeling OK today and looking forward to watching the match later on, PiesPlayer permitting! I'm also visiting the UK from next Thursday but won't be at the Newport match as I'd originally hoped. Apart from that stuff, I've been spending more time on Stardew Valley as it's so soothing. Does anyone else here keep a farm? Get well soon @super_ram. A friend of mine was off work for a long time with the brain fog, but it does get better eventually. Just don't rush yourself. @Robbie and @Chris, I've noticed how much UK stamps cost now. Bonkers. I think it might be because Royal Mail's (declining) letter business was split off from their (highly profitable and booming) parcel business and is struggling to pay for itself. A stamp costs 85 cents here depending on the size of the letter, so that's half the price. It might even arrive if you're lucky! Parcels here cost the same as in the UK, but in the UK you can frank them online and save money. But anyway, I'm going to buy a heap of charity cards next week and hand them out in person, as I'm too tight to pay for stamps!

This is going to be a tough test. We've drawn three of our last five and so have Crewe, so I could imagine the honours being shared again today.

Got another one. - Smoke bombs and pyrotechnics in football grounds. Chucking smoke bombs on the pitch is chavvy behaviour and it's about time that trend died a death. - Related to that, pyro. In Germany, pyrotechnics aren't allowed in football grounds. This has led to a kind of arms race among ultra groups, which try to outdo each other with ever bigger fireworks displays, costing their clubs hundreds of thousands of euros in fines. As well as being dangerous and expensive, lighting up bengalos is lame and low-effort compared to the tifos and displays ultras became known for. - Related to that, ultras (or at least most of them). The good ones that make an effort to get the rest of the crowd going can stay. The ones that spend all game droning through an obscure song to the tune of Big Big Girl while the rest of the crowd looks on in bored silence can go. You're not the greatest fans just because you're waving flags.

If people called me by my user name, I'd be tempted to rename myself DangerousSausagecanIbuyyouadrink

Good decision, he needs game time at this stage of his career and we've got a lot of competition in midfield this season. He sounds very promising by all accounts. Hope he manages to kick on and put himself in contention for a first 11 spot with us.

Blackpool 1-1 Northampton Town Stockport County 1-2 Wrexham Accrington Stanley 2-0 Swindon Town (joker) Barrow 1-3 AFC Wimbledon Bromley 1-1 Carlisle United Braintree Town 0-1 AFC Fylde Hartlepool United 1-0 Eastleigh Yeovil Town 2-1 Halifax Town

I've just looked at their website. They look at clubs' financial statements, meaning that they refer to the 22/23 season at the latest. Financial sustainability is a key criterion. The figures refer to our last season in the NL. A lot of our fans like to talk about sustainability, but there was nothing sustainable about how the club was run at that time as we were dependent on receiving a seven-figure sum from the brothers to cover costs. This was done in the form of loans, which will also have seen us marked down. As a sustainability index it might have some merit. None of this means we aren't a well-run club though, and equating the findings to this season for clickbait reasons is pointless. You're not comparing like for like. For example, Morecambe were two divisions higher than us in 22/23, which means they were receiving a lot of extra Football League and TV money. It's a lot easier to cover your costs with that coming in.

The predicting continues at 3pm on Saturday. Remember your jokers and good luck! Blackpool v Northampton Town Stockport County v Wrexham Accrington Stanley v Swindon Town Barrow v AFC Wimbledon Bromley v Carlisle United Braintree Town v AFC Fylde Hartlepool United v Eastleigh Yeovil Town v Halifax Town

As I discovered on the internet today (which we all know is never wrong), we have lost a total of 1,950 league games, which is more than any other club. Barnsley and Grimsby are next on the list with about 30 fewer, albeit from not as many FL seasons. Unfortunately, we've been a bit rubbish for a very long time. Perversely, I feel a bit of pride in this as it means we've A) been around for a very long time and B ) we've been punching above our weight for a fair part of it. What do we do if we hit 2,000 first? Have a party to drown our sorrows?

That's rather smug. In the Germany I live in, over 90% of the fire brigade is manned by volunteers.

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.