Robbie

This is the Notts team that kicks off the match this afternoon. Would have preferred to have had our strongest side, which includes Jones and Jatta.

Weather for Saturday Afternoon

So it's Matchday. MSV Duisburg v Notts. Kick off 1 pm BST. Looking forward to this international friendly between two tier 4 clubs. Looking for an impressive show from Notts today. A win would be nice but a draw would do for me.

This video is a great insight into what goes off at a Notts Training Session. The team is currently in the Netherlands preparing for their friendly match with German 4th tier side MSV Duisburg.

Your Saturday Morning Weather

Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden are good players but in my opinion are over rated. They are not world beaters. Apart from Bellingham scoring a wonder goal he had a very average tournament. He looked tired and jaded and he was quick to go down as though he was fouled a lot of the time.. He did lots of complaining too. Foden had an average tournament too, looked tired & jaded & got frustrated very easily. Both players looked like they had left their best performances for their club sides. Both of them lacked fire and motivation. Those two players impress in their club side, but they are surrounded by great players at their clubs, which can make a big difference. For England they both looked ordinary.

@Wheelbarrow repair man Makes me wonder why Notts haven't thought about rolling out a big screen at Meadow lane and open up the Cop or Jimmy Sirrel stand so that supporters can watch an away match and the club make some more money that way. On the other hand, I bet they probably have. They could certainly do it with the Nest and make a packet doing that. Although I suppose they will look to attract away supporters going to the Forest matches, so that idea might not be feasible. But I'm sure they are looking at all the options

I know that we can all be a little cynical about the reasons that Clubs have academies, nowadays. We know that in this modern football World there is always a reason to try to make money. Nurturing young footballing talent does have an end goal, we all know that, but those young footballers need our support by us going to one of these academy matches once in a while and giving our support to them. Some young footballers do make it to the big time, some get a reasonable living from playing the sport they love, & others unfortunately, fall by the wayside. But if a club like Notts can nurture & develop young players with dreams of making it big, either with Notts or another club, why not?

You are absolutely right @Wheelbarrow repair man with your suggestions. Not only would they help to reduce the fatigue factor, doing what you suggest would also make matches much more exciting for the spectator too. Trouble is, there's one big problem with your suggestion. Football is now a money making exercise, and reducing the number of finalists would reduce, the number of matches, which in turn would reduce revenue significantly. Where does the revenue come from? It comes from the TV Companies, who in turn make their money from the advertising revenue they get from selling advertising slots in the lead up to, & during the matches. Then of course, you have the spectator admission revenue too, not forgetting the fees that the stadium owners get for staging the games for international matches, plus the local economies that gain from supporters spending their money on hotels, food, beer & other spending. So instead of reducing matches, the plans are always to increase the matches to increase the revenue. Players well being has become but an afterthought compared to the clamour for megabucks to be made from these mega tournaments.

Good point @Chris regarding nil points for a draw. No more shutting up shop to play for a draw. Would certainly make a difference to the World Cup and Euro finals, & Champions league. The organisers may as well go for just pure knockout once again.

Will be a little cooler for us Saturday and Sunday.

The Academy pre season continues tomorrow with two matches.

Regulator? That will be a complete waste of time and it will not change the status quo because the Football establishment lead by the FA don't want to change anything. The Premier League is primarily a money making exercise & that will never change.

@Wheelbarrow repair man Gareth Southgate loves tippy tappy football between defenders too.????

@Wheelbarrow repair man I'm sure they wouldn't have taken trialists with them unless they intended to sign them on. I think Notts should treat this match as a competitive one. Lots of brownie points to be had to get an international win & Notts have a good opportunity here, considering Duisburg are a fellow tier 4 side. And Notts do play continental style football, so they will be prepared for how Duisburg play

It's a lovely morning here in Mansfield once again. Where's this fine weather coming from? Well we know that the Jet Stream has moved North, so it is allowing warmer air to come from the south & the weather fronts from the west are being tracked north, missing most of England. So it looks good for the rest of the weekend. Today a bit of gardening this morning, couldn't sleep last night so have been up since 4am.. Funnily enough, I used to start work between 3 and 4 am depending on my delivery route. Anyway, try to get into the garden within the next hour to take advantage of the cool air before it warms up. After that, no further plans at present..