Robbie

Notts should be able to take on Gillingham on Saturday with lots of confidence. Stuart has every right to be pleased with how the team is playing. He should also be very pleased with the strength of the squad. Notts now have a very strong squad with potential game changers ready to come on if necessary. Gillingham will be a big test for Notts. They are playing well too. A mouthwatering top of the league clash is going to have meadow lane rocking. I'm confident that Notts will be victorious on Saturday, because Stuart has so many options to play with. Stuart's squad of players are working together so well at the moment, & I believe they will only get better as the season progresses.

Yes it's great to see them together. John will always have a special place in the hearts of Notts fans, Tobi, as a former Notts player will always be welcome at Notts too.

Stuart Maynard has been talking quite a lot about the strength of the Notts County squad. He talks about it almost every time he gives an interview. We've also talked on here about how football has changed, particularly from the middle 60s when I started taking an interest in Association Football, as it was called then. Football was an eleven man game then, squads were never mentioned at all. Clubs had a reserve team which played in their own league. The best player would be picked from the reserve team to be the only substitute during a first team game. If a goalie got injured an outfield player would go in goal. Reserves have now gone, it has been replaced by the Academy with a B team, of young players. Now we have a squad of 22 players in league 2. Many managers/coaches pick a team to play a particular match from the whole squad. A manager tries to have available 22 players of equal stature if possible. That's the way the game seems to be going. Those teams with the strongest squad are usually the successful Clubs. So the question is, Should all 22 players of a squad be available for a match, eleven on the field & eleven available on the bench instead of up to seven? Or maybe you feel that seven players on the bench is too many & this number should be reduced, or seven is about right. But for all said & done, it is a squad game now, or is it?

Happy birthday @CliftonMagpie Have a great day.????

@Wheelbarrow repair man When we were talking about Morias. I think the same things happened to Macca at Millwall. Does the Millwall Manager like him. The evidence says different.

@Wheelbarrow repair man Well it is helping the grey matter. Didn't realise my memory was so good ???? Can't say the same about short term memory though ????

Macca still goalless for the season. Millwall lost 0:1 to Luton at home. Unlucky! Macca was sent through one-on-one in a huge chance on 81 minutes, but he was denied a first Millwall goal by a big stop from Luton goalkeeper Kaminski. Will things turn around for Macca. Time will tell.

Welcome to Monday Morning folks. It's a beautiful morning here with blue sky & plenty of sunshine. It's a little crisp outside but dead calm. Waiting for a food delivery from Tesco this morning. Will be checking the tins this week. A few damaged ones last week but the delivery man took them back & gave us a refund. Nothing planned yet for the day afterward, for now, but if it does stay fine, might cut the grass.

Unfortunately, we are closer to Armergeddon than we have ever been in the last 60 odd years since the Cuban missile crisis. WIth China set to become the premier military power, the problems in eastern Europe & the middle east, the probability that Iran may acquire nuclear capability & more & more Countries wanting to join the nuclear club. The World is becoming a much more dangerous place for us minions. But of course the political elites & their families, will be safe for a while huddled in their bunkers, if ever the worse possible scenario became reality.

Thought of some more. The Big Valley The Virginian, Men from Shiloh The Beverley Hillbillies The Waltons Dallas, started in the late 70s Charlie's Angels

Weather forecast for Monday Morning

As we've discussed WBRM, it could be simply that something doesn't fit with him & the coaches on the training field. Relationships are formed in training. It's not just about training, getting fit & playing games. That's just a small part of a player's football life. It's how they make relationships & respond on the training ground, how they train, are they commited, do they want to improve, are they prepared to change the way they play, are they happy? If Morias is suddenly banging them in at Dagenham, what has changed?

It's a big deal to get Jodi's signature for another three years. It stops all the speculation about his future & sends a message from the club that they are prepared to invest in the clubs best players. Jodi has already intimated that he loves it here, & so does his family. It is quite possible that Jodi could spend the rest of his career at Notts. That would be something. But as we know, every player has his price & a new long contract won't stop future enquiries. But Jodi can now concentrate 100% on helping the team to possible glory this season

I personally think that Junior deserves another opportunity at Notts if he wants it. Notts would have done their research on Junior before recruiting him They would have come to the conclusion that Junior is comparable with the Notts style. The squad has drastically changed under Maynard & Junior is a similar sort of Striker to the loan player Brown.If it were me, I would give Junior another opportunity in January. Scott hasn't really proved his worth yet since he returned from injury. Time will tell, but I'm not sure whether Scott is strong enough at this level.

Great to see Sonay Kartal win her first WTA Title after having to go through qualifying to reach the main draw.

Matt Palmer's journey to full fitness has been so well managed by Notts. They have allowed Matt to take his time & not to overdo it. This is now paying off in a big way for Notts after he started a match for the first time since his return against Bromley. Matt is a class player at this level, his calming influence is a great asset to the team. He is also very influential for Notts in the centre of midfield. The team missed his presence last season & it's not an accident that Notts have improved as a team since his return. Matt has many attributes but he is a great leader on the field too, & his team mates look up to him & have lots of respect for him. My wish is for Matt to continue to get stronger & fitter so that Stuart will be able to pencil him in for every game. But it is a good situation that Matt can be rested on occasions if necessary by Stuart, so Matt can continue to ease back into full fitness.

I agree, it looks like Jodi's bulked up a bit. He's certainly playing a lot better in his defensive duties,so are the rest of the offensive players. That's one of the reasons the side has improved defensively. However, the majority of the credit for our defensive improvement has to be given to Macari, Platt, & Bedeau, with Bass in goal.

Well said @The Heff Good post.

Two goals by Junior Morias for Dagenham & Redbridge. Very well taken. Could he still do a job for Notts?

Your Sunday Evening Weather

Sorry, but there were not many updates or team news from the Notts County Women X account. Final score 6:0 to Notts Women. All the goals scored in the second half, so Notts Women through to the next round.

The match showed Notts's resilience, determination & character to come back from such a bad start. The match also demonstrated the strength of the Notts squad. To be able to bring on players that can potentially change a game is a great asset to have Stuart's timings of the substitutions were spot on too. Last season Notts may have scored goals, but wouldn't have won a match like this. The defence & defensive midfield are much more solid, but Notts attack hasn't lost none of its potency either. It's important to be able to win matches like these when mistakes have been made, so for Notts to come through and play so well to fight back after the first 5 minutes, is very encouraging.