Joe Jones

Well, so much for Wembley eh? Sadly, just as it seemed that the dream was coming close, it has been snuffed, as Preston North End secured a 1-0 win Notts County at Meadow Lane to the reach the Northern final of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. Simon Grayson's side took the lead on 20 minutes when Paul Huntington tapped in from close range following a scramble in the County box. Roy Carroll was not happy, appearing to claim he was fouled in the build-up, but the goal stood. Notts had chances to pull it back as Blair Adams charged down the left and teed up Michael Petrasso on the half-hour mark, but the on-loan winger saw his effort fly narrowly wide. Preston could have doubled their lead when Jermaine Beckford found himself through on goal 10 minutes after the restart, but with just Carroll to beat the striker failed to make the most of the chance, and the Magpies cleared the danger. Shaun Derry's side then had their best chance to get back into the game when Garry Thompson's flick on from a long ball sent Stephen McLaughlin clear of the Preston back line. However, he could only send his effort high and wide of Thorsten Stuckmann's goal. Preston will now face Walsall in the northern final in the new year, while Notts are left to rue what might have been and give it their all in the league.

Notts County and Preston North End are two of the oldest football clubs in the country (and by extension, the world), whose history goes back over 125 years. The first fixture between the two took place in November 1888, when North End defeated the Magpies 7-0 in the first ever season of the Football League. The 1888-89 season saw Preston remain unbeaten throughout, and would go on to become English football's first "Invincibles", a feat which remained unbroken until 2003-04 when Arsenal also went a whole top-flight season without losing. Aside from Preston going the whole season unbeaten, they were also the first EVER winners of the Football League. Oh, and they won the FA Cup that year too! The two clubs have met a total of 88 times, and sadly (for us Notts fans) the Lilywhites have the upper hand by quite a significant margin. They're won 41 times, while the Magpies have won 23 games. 24 draws have taken place. The two teams that have played the most games overall in the Football League are, in fact, Notts County and Preston North End! Meanwhile, Preston are ranked as the fourth most-successful English football club of all time domestically. Over the years, there have been some varied scorelines. We've talked about the 7-0 back in 1888, but we've also had 6-2, 6-1, 6-0, 4-3 and 4-2. The National Football Museum was originally situated in Deepdale, Preston, but was moved to Manchester in 2012. Deepdale was used as the venue for the England U21s when they played Iceland in March 2011. Deepdale was used again at the end of the 2011-2012 season to host three U19s Elite Round matches with England, Slovenia and Switzerland all taking to the famous pitch. The three games were held at the end of May over six days. Preston have made the play-offs in a record eight seasons, spanning all three league divisions, but have not yet been promoted via this route. --- Notts will be without Liam Noble when they face Preston in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Northern Area semi-final on Tuesday. The 23-year-old midfielder was sent off against Swindon Town on Saturday and will now serve a ban, subject to an expected appeal from Shaun Derry. Club captain Hayden Mullins could be handed some much-needed game time after he returned to training following a month-long absence with a calf problem. Louis Laing has returned to parent club Nottingham Forest following the expiry of his loan deal. Andy Little could start for Preston after three months on the sidelines with hamstring and calf injuries. Bradley Fewster has returned to Middlesbrough after his loan spell was cut short for personal reasons. Joe Garner and fellow striker Jordan Hugill, both nursing knee injuries, remain long-term absentees for Preston.

Ai ai ai. Not a good day at the office by any means tonight. Swindon Town were just too rampant for Notts today, as the Robins secured a thumping 3-0 win at Meadow Lane. To make things worse, Liam Noble was also sent off for the Magpies, who were simply outplayed by the visitors on a frosty day in Nottingham. You can see why they're in with a shout of automatic promotion. Shaun Derry's charges made the worst possible start when they conceded after just six minutes, Massimo Luongo releasing Andy Williams who beat Louis Laing to slip a shot beyond Roy Carroll and into the far corner. The Magpies kept possession well during those opening stages and had a few tentative half-chances, but Swindon were razor-sharp in the final third, Luongo very nearly striking again after being given plenty of space 17 minutes in. Jonathan Obika then had a shot cleared off the line midway through the first half before getting the ball into the back of the net, but seeing the goal ruled out for offside. Towards the end of the first half, Ben Gladwin curled an effort wide, but Haydn Hollis also came close with a header in added time to give the hosts hope of mounting a comeback after the break. This wouldn't happen - Williams struck his second of the afternoon in the 54th minute when he converted a pinpoint cross from Gladwin at the far post to leave Notts with a mountain to climb. And just two minutes later, Noble's challenge on Nathan Smith saw the Notts man get his marching orders and all but kill off any hope of claiming something from the game. Ultimately, the Robins would strike a third when the lively Luongo tapped the ball in following Gladwin's pull-back.

Notts County have met Swindon Town on 61 occasions, the first time being 103 years ago in the FA Cup. On that day in January 1911, the Robins beat the Magpies 2-0 at the County Ground. Of the 61 clashes, 24 have been won by Notts, 25 by Swindon, and 12 have been drawn. The last meeting between the two was back in April this year, which Notts won 2-0 at Meadow Lane The club was founded in 1879 by Reverend William Baker Pitt. Yes, you read that right! Whilst curate of Christ Church, the high church of Swindon, Pitt formed Swindon Association Football Club to provide recreation for young men in his parish. Swindon won the Southern League championship in 1910-11, earning themselves a Charity Shield clash with Football League champions Manchester United. This, the highest-scoring Charity Shield game to date, was played on 25 September 1911 at Stamford Bridge with Manchester United winning 8–4! Some of the proceeds of this game were later donated to the survivors of the Titanic. During World War II, The War Department – the government body responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces in the UK – took over the County Ground in 1940, where for a while prisoners of war were housed in huts placed on the pitch. For this, the club received compensation of £4,570 at war’s end. Swindon Town were the first League club to use floodlights, having had them installed in 1951. The County Ground is also the only football stadium in the world with a Rolex watch acting as its timekeeper –the clock on the Stratton Bank stand featuring its name was erected to celebrate promotion in 1963. Swindon have spent one season in the top flight, in 1992-93, during which Glenn Hoddle managed them. Sadly, they didn't do too well, being relegated at the end of the season after conceding 100 goals. The most notable silverware in the Robins’ possession is undoubtedly the League Cup, won in 1969 after beating Arsenal in the final at Wembley. Royle Family and Two Pints Of Lager actor Ralf Little was rumoured to be on trial at Swindon back in 2002, though the funnyman later claimed that he was just training with the squad. Pint-sized jazz singer Jamie Cullum is also a fan of the Robins. --- Notts have no new problems ahead of Saturday's match against Swindon. Shaun Derry could bring back Gary Jones, who was left out of the squad against Doncaster, or Garry Thompson, who was on the bench for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie in midweek. Taylor McKenzie, Curtis Thompson and Drissa Traore are also options. Captain Hayden Mullins is back in training after a month-long absence through injury while on-loan defender Louis Laing will be involved for the final time before returning to parent club Nottingham Forest. Swindon boss Mark Cooper is sweating over the fitness of three defenders: Jordan Turnbull, Harry Toffolo and Amari'i Bell are all suffering from injuries and will be assessed by medical staff ahead of the trip to Meadow Lane. Captain Nathan Thompson, however, has recovered from an ankle injury and is likely to be back in the starting XI. Raphael Branco is back in training having spent two months on the sidelines with a groin injury but it may still be too soon for the Brazilian.

Notts County have made it through to the semi-finals of the Johnston's Paint Trophy after a narrow 1-0 win against Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium this evening. Liam Noble was the matchwinner for the visitors, powering through the home side's defence lines before drilling a low shot beyond goalkeeper Sam Johnstone late on in the game. Conditions were far from ideal at the Keepmoat Stadium, with strong winds not helping proceedings. The game proved uneventful in the opening stages as the action was concentrated in midfield, although Harry Forrester managed to cut in from the left before being denied by Roy Carroll early on. Notts responded through Jake Cassidy, who picked up a cross from Mustapha Dumbuya before volleying well wide of the target at the near post. By the half-hour mark, only efforts from Kyle Bennett and Curtis Main came close to breaking the deadlock. Just before half-time, Bennett again came close to putting Doncaster into the lead when he curled a free kick inches wide of the post with Carroll beaten. The start of the second half proved to be almost as quiet as the first, but Doncaster thought they had taken the lead on 68 minutes after Bennett's shot found the back of the net. However, after speaking to his assistant, the referee disallowed the strike as it appeared that Bennett's shot had deflected off Main, who was in an offside position. It proved a decisive moment for Notts as, six minutes later, Noble marauded down the field before driving the ball into the bottom corner from 20 yards. Substitute Garry Thompson nearly bagged a second for County but saw Sam Johnstone save well to keep his side in contention with 10 minutes left. Bennett had a late effort kept out by Carroll but that was as good as it got for the hosts as Notts held on to book their place in the Northern Area semi-finals.

Notts County have met Doncaster Rovers 51 times over the years, with the first fixture coming on the 13th December 1930. On that occasion, an FA Cup tie, the Magpies triumphed 1-0. Rovers have the upper edge head-to-head, but only just. They have 23 wins and 21 defeats against Notts, with seven draws. Our last meeting came at the tail end of the 2012-13 season, when Notts secured a 1-0 victory at the Keepmoat courtesy of this rather decent effort by Joss Labadie... />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjd42giwT8s The club was founded in 1879 and turned professional in 1885. They have spent the majority of their playing history between the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system and are one of four clubs to win the Division 3/League Two title three times, the last being in 2004. Football League rules state that any team who wins a trophy three times can keep it. However, when Rovers tried to retain ownership of the actual Third Division trophy, the Football League claimed that Rovers could not keep the trophy because the league names had changed from Fourth to Third Division, and so they had not won that particular league three times. Bit harsh... The team's mascot is a brown dog known as Donny Dog, who wears the red and white Rovers jersey. Before a scheduled appearance during the game against Huddersfield Town at the Galpharm Stadium on 4 March 2006, police prevented Andrew Liney from entering the stadium in costume, citing unspecified "police intelligence", and refused him permission to wear any part of the costume within 50 metres of the stadium. Mr Liney later received a full written apology for these unfounded allegations from the head of West Yorkshire Police. The mascot was next portrayed by Tracy Chandler and in June 2011, she was relieved from the position after she posed in her underwear for a Sunday newspaper. Later in the same week she was reinstated back as the clubs mascot. Arguably the club's most famous fan is One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson. The 22-year-old had agreed to play in a charity game at the Keepmoat to raise money for the Bluebell Wood Charity and was offered a deal by Donny to join the club on non-contract terms after impressing in the game. Tomlinson also put himself forward to take over the club alongside John Ryan, but the deal fell through in July this year. And if you're not the biggest fan of 1D or Louis, then you can always take a moment to enjoy this... />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZrIq-CqVSo --- Doncaster will be without Nathan Tyson, who has missed the last two matches with a calf strain. Dean Furman, Harry Forrester and Marc De Val Fernandez are among the options should manager Paul Dickov decide to shuffle his pack for the quarter-final clash. Meanwhile, Notts have almost a fully fit squad for their trip to the Keepmoat Stadium, with only long-term injury victim Jimmy Spencer out as far as we're aware.

After what appeared like Notts were in danger of slipping off the radar, they appear to be getting back on track following a credible 1-1 draw away at Sheffield United on Friday. Following a cagey opening at Bramall Lane, Shaun Derry's charges began tentatively probing forward. Early on, Petrasso beat Jay McEveley on the edge of the area before seeing his shot saved by Blades goalkeeper Mark Howard. Gary Jones, allowed to play in this game after his Yeovil red card was rescinded, also threatened with a powerful run from midfield before forcing another save from Howard. Just after the half-hour mark, the Magpies took the lead when comeback kid Mike Edwards converted Jones's corner into the far corner with a volley. United struggled to pull themselves together following their concession, and save for a Jose Baxter effort on the rebound from a free kick, they offered little and were booed off at half time. The hosts were better after the second half got underway, with ex-Notts winger Jamal Campbell-Ryce and Chris Basham threatening. In the 70th minute, the visitors had a great chance to score a second goal, but the unmarked Stephen McLaughlin hesitated for too long and was dispossessed. It was a huge chance to put kill the game off, and Notts would rue their miss as, moments later, when Bob Harris crossed for Jamie Murphy to head in the equaliser. United were the better side in the latter stages of the game, but Notts were able to hang onto the draw and a decent point against one of the division's heavyweights.

Sheffield United’s first match against our beloved Notts took place on the 17th Jan 1891 in the FA Cup. Just to give you an idea how long ago this was… Sir Winston Churchill was a mere 16 years old when the game was played! The scoreline is also of note: Notts won 9-1! Since then, however, the Blades have undisputedly held the upper hand in head-to-head statistics: they have won 48 games against the Magpies. We’ve beaten then just 26 times, and there have been 13 draws. Their ground, Bramall Lane, is the oldest major stadium in the world still to be hosting professional football matches. Bramall Lane opened in April 1855 – Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin were still alive back then! Jessica Ennis-Hill, the darling of the 2012 London Olympics, has a stand named after her at United’s ground, following her gold medal in heptathlon two years ago. A game between Sheffield United and Oldham in February 1984 had to be postponed when a wartime bomb was found near Bramall Lane! A number of films and television programmes have included references to Sheffield United over the past few decades: -The 1996 film When Saturday Comes stars Sean Bean as a part-time Hallam FC player who is scouted by Sheffield United, who then goes on to play in a FA Cup semi-final. -The character 'Gaz' in British comedy The Full Monty is seen wearing a replica United shirt at one part of the film, and promises his son a ticket for a game at Bramall Lane between Sheffield United & Manchester United. -Even Hollywood has got in on the act: a scene in Batman Begins features a child wearing a 1990s Blades shirt. --- Sheffield United strikers Michael Higdon and Marc McNulty will both return to contention for Friday night's home game against Notts County. Higdon has been sidelined for six games and McNulty has been been out for a similar period due to a facial injury. Clough has no new injury or suspension problems but midfielder James Wallace and defender Ben Davies remain sidelined. Diego De Girolamo has returned to York City on loan and fellow forward Che Adams is hoping to make his first appearance after twice being an unused substitute. Gary Jones will be available for Notts after his red card against Yeovil Town last weekend was overturned on appeal. Blair Adams was forced off with an injury against the Glovers towards the end of the first half and the defender is a doubt ahead of the trip to Bramall Lane. A further injury blow for the Magpies has seen Zeli Ismail ruled out for around four months. The on-loan Wolves winger suffered a knee injury during the goalless draw with Accrington in the FA Cup first round. Ryan Hall has been brought in as a replacement for Ismail and the Rotherham United loanee is expected to go straight into the squad against the Blades.

I will have to keep my language clean, because kids may read this match report. But today's game at home to Yeovil Town was nothing short of a travesty. The referee was completely sub-par and cost us the game. The visitors, who were constantly play-acting and digging at Notts with fouls, rarely got punished, while Gary Jones gets sent off for a seemingly legitimate tackle. And despite the hosts taking the lead, Yeovil were able to capitalise on the man advantage and net two late on. Little of note happened in the early stages of the game, except for Michael Petrasso getting constantly harangued by the men from Somerset - with no repercussions for them. Just before the half-hour mark, however, the Magpies were scandalously reduced to ten men when Gary Jones was dismissed for a challenge on defender Nathan Smith despite clearly winning the ball. Liam Noble was also booked and assistant manager Greg Abbott was sent to the stands for protesting too strongly in the incident, rightfully aggrieved at this miscarriage of justice. Roy Carroll saved well from Ajay Leitch-Smith late on in the first half, while Nathan Smith found himself on the floor one too often. Ultimately, the first period ended goalless, with Notts having it all to do in the second half. After the restart, Notts held their colour, Petrasso pushing forward and forcing a good save from Glovers goalie Jed Steer. The Canadian winger then put the Magpies in front when he rounded Steer to slip the ball into an empty net after making the most of a woeful backpass from Stephen Arthurworrey. Yeovil forced their way back into the game in the last 15 minutes, with Jordan Clarke snatching an equaliser with a deft near-post header six minutes before time. If that wasn't bad enough, it got a lot worse when, in the 88th minute, the 23-year-old defender stormed in again and nodded home the winner to leave Meadow Lane with a bitter taste in its mouth.

Saturday is the landmark tenth time that Notts County have played Yeovil Town, ever. The first meeting between the two came way back in 1961, with the Magpies winning this FA Cup tie 4-2, but a whole 43 years passed until the second meeting, which came in 2004! Since then, fixtures have been fairly frequent, with the last clash having come on 1st April 2013 - the Glovers won that game 2-1. Yeovil Football Club was founded in 1890, and shared their ground with the local rugby club for many years. Five years later they were renamed Yeovil Casuals and started playing home games at the Pen Mill Athletic Ground. In 1907 the name Yeovil Town was adopted, which on amalgamation with Petters United became Yeovil and Petters United. The name reverted to Yeovil Town prior to the 1946–47 season. The Somerset outfit have spent most of their existence in the lower leagues, though they briefly made a name for themselves in the 1948-49 season when they beat Sunderland 2-1 in the FA Cup fourth round. In the 1980s, Yeovil were founder members of the Football Conference, where they remained for the next two decades, save for a few relegations to the Isthmian League which usually resulted in an instant return to the above tier. Yeovil Town earned promotion to the Football League in the 2002-03 season, by winning the Football Conference by a record 17 points margin, accumulating 95 points and scoring 100 goals, remaining unbeaten at Huish Park. In their second ever season in the Football League, the Glovers went one better by achieving promotion to the third tier as champions of League Two, and in the following years even reached the League One playoffs, beating Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals in 2006-07 before losing to Blackpool in the final at Wembley. Six years later, however, Yeovil achieved what had been deemed unthinkable a decade earlier - they reached the second tier of English football after beating Brentford in the 2013 League One play-off final. Their stay in the Championship was brief, however, and after being relegated at the end of the season, they've found themselves struggling back in the third tier, currently sitting at the foot of the table. Yeovil is a pretty small town, home to just 40,000 people - two Meadow Lanes could comfortably take in the entire population! In the 21st century, Yeovil became the first town in Britain to institute a system of biometric fingerprint scanning in nightclubs, and the first English council to ban the children's craze Heelys (those trainers with wheels that popped out from the heels). --- Notts County defender Mustapha Dumbuya is back from international duty, but winger Zeli Ismail is out with a knee injury. Fit-again striker Jake Cassidy is pushing for a start after making his first appearance in six weeks against Accrington Stanley in midweek. Bottom club Yeovil will be looking to end their run of eight league games without a win. Manager Gary Johnson will have to pick which loan player to leave out, as he currently has six in his squad.

Oh dear. After being on such a high for the majority of the season so far, the FA Cup has sent us right back down to earth. Accrington Stanley... who are they? Well, they're the League Two team that knocked us out of the competition at the first hurdle (well, the second attempt at the first hurdle). After the goalless draw at Meadow Lane, it was going to be a somewhat tricky proposition travelling up to the Crown Ground on a cold Tuesday night, but there was always the feeling that County's superior class would shine through. Not so. Granted, Shaun Derry's charges had a fairly good start when Michael Petrasso had a chance early on, which cleared the bar, and it wasn't long before Notts took the lead. Garry Thompson did well to thread the ball to the feet of Ronan Murray while under pressure in the box, and the Irishman struck a good finish across goalkeeper Jack Rose. Soon enough, the hosts countered through Andrew Proctor, who powered into the box but was put off by Taylor McKenzie, ensuring that the shot would bobble wide of the post. Rob Atkinson and Shay McCartan added to the pressure when they also threatened Roy Carroll's goal, but on the flipside, Notts were denied a penalty when Thompson was caught by Rose, with the referee giving just a corner. Just as it seemed like the Magpies were going to take a lead into the break, Luke Joyce crept into the box and powered a free header into the goal to give his side the equaliser. And just four minutes after the restart, Stanley were in the lead when Marcus Carver floated a ball above Carroll and into the net from the edge of the area. Substitute Jake Cassidy came close to pulling Notts back when his shot cannonned off the the bar, but despite the visitors trying to desperately claw a goal back, it wasn't to be, and as the referee's whistle signalled the end of the game, the Magpies were out of the FA Cup.

Tuesday evening will see Notts County travel to Accrington Stanley in a bid to progress to the second round of the FA Cup. Failure to beat John Coleman's charges at Meadow Lane on Sunday 9 November means that the Magpies have a replay on their hands, the original game finishing goalless. For Stanley, loanees John O'Sullivan and Sean Maguire will not be eligible to play in the FA Cup first-round replay. Blackburn Rovers midfielder O'Sullivan and West Ham United striker Maguire have not been granted permission to play in this competition, so Josh Windass and James Gray are in contention to feature at the Crown Ground. Full-back Adam Buxton and midfielder Anthony Barry are both back in training for Stanley, but Tuesday's fixture may still be too soon for them. Stanley have failed to score in either of their last two fixtures, with manager John Coleman suggesting he may need to make some changes in his line-up. For Notts, goalkeeper Roy Carroll is set to play his third game in five days, after he lined up between the sticks for Northern Ireland in Romania on Friday night before his frankly legendary feat of heading back to England - on about three hours' sleep - to feature in Saturday's League One win at Coventry City. Mustapha Dumbuya and Mike Petrasso are still away on international duty with Sierra Leone and Canada respectively, so they won't feature (let's not be too harsh on them, given Carroll's audacious precedent being set!). Loan signing Stephen McLaughlin is again cup-tied, while Louis Laing, Jake Cassidy and Hayden Mullins are struggling with injuries. The winners of the tie will be at home to Yeovil Town in round two.

Today's game between Notts County and Coventry City is bound to go down in Magpie history. Not so much for the result, a solid 1-0 win to the visitors achieved thanks to a Garry Thompson goal in the second half, but for the actions of one of the team members. Roy Carroll played for Northern Ireland in a Euro 2016 qualifier against Romania in Bucharest, keeping the score down as his nation was defeated 2-0 and getting the Man of the Match award. Nobody would have expected Carroll to turn out for Notts today, given that he would have had to catch a flight from Romania back to the UK and make his way to Coventry in the space of about 15 hours. However, this is just what he did - according to BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Slater, Carroll caught a flight from the Romanian capital to London Heathrow airport at 7am local time (Romania's two hours ahead). The veteran stopper is then said to have collected his car and driven up the motorway to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, before reporting to Magpies manager Shaun Derry and declaring that he was fit to play. The Sky Blues surely would have been shocked at the team announcement, which shows commitment and determination of the absolute highest level - not to mention the boost it would have handed Notts and the travelling fans. That said, the first effort of the game fell to the home side, Adam Barton slicing a low shot wide in the second minute. The game proved scrappy in the opening stages, but come the quarter-hour mark, the action started coming, with Haydn Hollis forcing a good block and Stephen McLaughlin seeing his deflected shot saved. The best chance of the first half fell to Notts when Mike Edwards’s header was cleared off the line by Aaron Phillips in the 29th minute. Carroll was feared injured when Phillips clattered into him towards the end of the half, the stopper struggling to walk off the field after the whistle went, but he was good to go into the second half. The Northern Ireland man had to be alert to punch away a James O'Brien corner, while moments later, Jack Finch blasted a long-range effort that flew just over. Coventry seemed to grow into the game and continued to threaten, but the deadlock was to be broken by the visitors, Thompson racing through on goal in the 72nd minute before chipping a ball over goalkeeper Ryan Allsop and into the net. With two minutes left of the game, the Sky Blues felt they should have had a penalty when Hollis looked to have fouled Gary Madine, but referee Michael Bull waved away the appeals. Ultimately, the final whistle blew to confirm an excellent away victory - buoyed by the Notts performance and Carroll's titanic effort to get back in time to play for his club - which sees the Magpies climb to fourth in the table.

There haven’t been many fixtures between Notts County and Coventry City, in all fairness: just 36 in the last 94 years. The first took place on the 6th November 1920, the Meadow Lane match ending in a 1-1 draw. There have plenty of high-scoring games between the two, with several 5-1s, 3-0s and 4-2s over the years. Notts County have the upper hand in the head-to-heads – 18 victories over the Sky Blues, 11 defeats and 7 draws. Our last fixture was on the 8th Feb 2014, which ended in a resounding 3-0 league win for the Magpies. In 2001, Coventry were relegated from the Premier League after 34 years in the first tier. At the time, only Liverpool, Everton and Arsenal could boast longer tenures in the top flight. In 2012, Coventry were relegated to the third tier in English Football for the first time in 48 years. Coventry’s new stadium, the 32,609-capacity Ricoh Arena, was opened in August 2005, but following a rent dispute with the ground's owners the club opted to play their home games at Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium starting in the 2013–14 season, a move which didn’t prove popular with Sky Blues fans. On 21 August 2014, it was announced an agreement had been reached allowing the club to return to the Ricoh Arena for the next two years with the option of another two years. The club’s proudest moment was undoubtedly the 1987 FA Cup final at Wembley, which was won by the Sky Blues after an enthralling 3-2 win after two hours of football. Following Tottenham Hotspur player Gary Mabbutt’s own goal in extra time, which set Coventry on the way to their win, a fanzine was created called GMK – Gary Mabbutt’s Knee! --- Coventry defender Aaron Martin is available after being cup-tied for the midweek win over Plymouth Argyle. Skipper Reda Johnson could be included after playing in Benin's 6-1 loss to Morocco on Thursday, but will not be back in England until Friday night. Notts are without captain Hayden Mullins, who hurt his calf in his comeback against Accrington Stanley last week. Goalkeeper Roy Carroll, defender Mustapha Dumbuya and winger Michael Petrasso are all on international duty.

After the good times of the last few weeks, Notts have been brought crashing back down to earth, first with a defeat against Walsall that confirmed the end of our unbeaten run, and now an underwhelming 0-0 draw against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup. The draw means that we'll have to travel up to Accrington in a week's time, in what will be a difficult and tricky tie - we really should have killed it off today when we had the chance. Shay McCartan had the first chance of the game when he volleyed wide from a poor Roy Carroll clearance, before marauding forward into the final third later on and causing problems. Notts did pick up as the game went on, with Gary Jones making some good runs from midfield before trying his luck with a powerful drive that flew wide of the post. Josh Windass then caused problems in the 22nd minute when he fired over, but moments later, it was Notts's turn to threaten, Ronan Murray volleying just wide. The Magpies continued working their way into the game, with another Murray effort and a Michael Petrasso drive threatening to break the deadlock for the home side. Little else of note happened in the latter stages of the first half, and after the restart, it seemed like it was going to be more of the same. Early on, Andrew Procter appeared to have brought down Murray, but the referee was not interested in giving a penalty. Then, Garry Thompson picked out Murray in the box, but the Irishman's subsequent shot towards into bottom corner drew a good block from Tom Aldred. As time ticked by, with little separating the two sides, Stanley began to push forward and won several corners themselves, but to little avail. Thompson then had the chance to win it in stoppage time, but his effort curled just wide, ensuring that the result would be 0-0 and force Shaun Derry's side to travel to Accrington next Tuesday.

Notts County have only played Accrington Stanley 11 times in their history. The first fixtures were in August and December 1958, when both sides played in Division Three. The Magpies drew 1-1 in the first match, before losing 3-0 in the second. A hiatus of 48 years followed before the teams met again in the fourth tier, now called League Two, on 9 September 2006. The result was a 3-2 win to Notts. The last fixture between the two was in the FA Cup, with Notts thrashing Stanley 4-1 at Meadow Lane in November 2011. The original town's team, Accrington, were amongst the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888, before resigning from the league after just five years. A team called Stanley Villa already existed at the time, named as such because they were based at the Stanley Arms on Stanley Street in Accrington. With the demise of Accrington, Stanley Villa took the town name to become Accrington Stanley. The club re-formed after World War I and entered the League in 1921 with the formation of the old Third Division North, along with the other top northern non-League clubs. This original incarnation was dissolved in 1966, before re-emerging two years later. In 2005–06, Stanley won the Football Conference and were promoted to League Two. Ironically, Oxford United, the team they switched places with, was the team that had been elected to replace the former Accrington Stanley as members of the Football League in 1962 when they were struggling with debt. Accrington Stanley is perhaps most well known for being discussed in a late 1980s advert by the Milk Marketing Board (for all you younger viewers, Ian Rush was one of the greatest strikers of his day, and Liverpool's all-time leading goalscorer). />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pieK7b4KLL4 Famous people from Accrington include Vicky Entwhistle and Julie Hesmondhalgh from Coronation Street, Yes singer Jon Anderson, cricketer Mike Atherton, Diana Vickers from X Factor, and Mystic Meg. --- Mike Edwards is expected to continue to deputise for defender Louis Laing, who is out with a dead leg. Laing's fellow Nottingham Forest loanee Stephen McLaughlin is unavailable as the Reds do not want him cup-tied. Midfielder Craig Roddan and goalkeeper Jack Rose are in the Accrington squad after signing on Friday. Winger Kai Naismith returns after a spell on compassionate leave, while defender Nicky Hunt is suspended and midfielder Anthony Barry injured.

And so our hoodoo against Walsall at Meadow Lane continues, although it didn't have to be in such unfortunate and controversial circumstances. After making a poor start and conceding a goal early on, Garry Thompson pulled it back, only to then lose it when a penalty that shouldn't have been was conceded and duly converted by the Saddlers to secure a 2-1 win. The game began in lively fashion when Tom Bradshaw found himself nearly put through on goal after just four minutes, but the move was aborted for offside. Moments later, Haydn Hollis flicked the ball towards Michael Petrasso, who found his header saved. Stephen McLaughlin and Liam Noble added several more chances in the ensuing minutes, but sadly, the deadlock would be broken by the visitors when Gary Jones accidentally put the ball into his own net. In the 26th minute, Thompson threatened when his shot forced a save out of Richard O'Donnell, but he went one better just after the half-hour mark when McLaughlin's ball into the box was converted by the former Scunthorpe and Bradford man. The Walsall keeper then did his best impression of Manuel Neuer when, on 37 minutes, he ran out of his box and headed the ball away. Towards the latter stages of the first half, the game heated up as both teams registered several good chances, but ultimately, the break whistle blew on a 1-1 draw. Walsall were on top in the early stages of the second period, but the manner in which they went back into the lead was contentious, as Hollis was judged to have handled in the penalty box, despite being just out. Nevertheless, the referee, whose display in charge had been a bit iffy at best until that point, gave the spot kick, and Tom Bradshaw duly tucked the ball into the bottom corner. The Magpies struggled to impose themselves back into the game after that, and after a few limp chances towards the end of the match, the final whistle signaled an end to the contest and to Notts County's unbeaten run.

Notts and Walsall’s fixture history dates back to the 1890s, but there haven’t been that many fixtures despite over a century of head-to-heads. The first game took place on the 20th January 1894 and resulted in a 2-0 win for the Magpies. In total, there have been 62 fixtures between the two sides, and this time, Notts holds the upper edge with 26 wins. The Saddlers have won 20 times, and 16 draws have taken place. Walsall have won on both their last two visits to Meadow Lane, ex-Magpie Febian Brandy hitting a hat-trick in last term's 5-1 victory. Walsall were formed as Walsall Town Swifts in 1888 when two local teams, Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. merged. The newly formed team’s first match was against Aston Villa, and resulted in a draw Two players from this early era received England caps while at the club: Alf Jones and Albert Aldridge. They remain the only Walsall players to be so honoured. In 1896, the Swifts changed their name to Walsall FC, the name that lives on today. The club's nickname, The Saddlers, reflects Walsall's status as a traditional centre for saddle manufacture. Walsall had Arsenal and England legend Paul Merson on their books a decade ago, as player and player-manager. Sky Sports' Soccer AM have given Walsall the nickname "Warsaw" due to the similarity when pronouncing Walsall and Warsaw. The presenters of Soccer AM often refer to Walsall as "our friends from Poland". --- Notts have no new injury concerns as they aim to extend their unbeaten run to 12 matches. Striker Jake Cassidy and captain Hayden Mullins both missed the 1-0 win at Scunthorpe and are ruled out again. Meanwhile, the Saddlers boss have a fully-fit squad for the first time this season, with Jordan Cook fit after being forced off with a sore hamstring in last weekend's 1-0 win over Chesterfield. Skipper Sam Mantom played 65 minutes of the reserves' 2-1 win at Wrexham in midweek and could make his first start of the season after recovering from a knee injury.

Talk about going from strength to strength. We’re on the cusp of November now, and with the season in full swing, Notts County now find themselves well into League One’s playoff places following another good display and a clean sheet finished off with a solitary strike from the spot to secure all three points away at Scunthorpe United in a 1-0 win at Glanford Park. The Magpies had the better of the opening exchanges, Shaun Harrad blasting wide from a corner in the second minute. Then, a cross from Blair Adams just missed Michael Petrasso, before Liam Noble struck the post with a long-range effort. The Iron played in a manner not befitting their lowly league position, with Gary McSheffrey also rattling the woodwork with a header, while Roy Carroll had to save from Lyle Taylor after Haydn Hollis’s miscued header nearly set their striker up. Shaun Harrad then saw a shot saved by Robert Olenjik following a ball from Garry Thompson. Mustapha Dumbuya had to be at his best to thwart Paddy Madden and McSheffrey early on in the second half, but in the 54th minute, Madden and Taylor combined to very nearly score, the ball going wide by a whisker. Both defences were at their steadfast best throughout most of the second half, with blocks and tackles taking the sting out of most efforts. The game looked like it could go either way, but right at the end of the game, Olejnik hauled down substitute Ronan Murray in the box to gift the visitors a penalty. Fellow substitute Zeli Ismail set the ball on the spot and duly smashed home to gift Notts the win in front of the ecstatic away fans, which puts the Magpies third in the league.

Notts County against Scunthorpe United is a relatively new fixture in English football - the first time these two faced off was on the 4th January 1969 in the old Division Four. On that day, goals by George Kerr and Nigel Cassidy gave the Iron a 2-1 victory (Richie Barker netted the consolation for the Magpies). Since then, the two sides have played 25 games, Notts winning 17, losing five and drawing three. Scunthorpe United were formed in 1899. In 1910 they merged with local rivals Lindsey United to become Scunthorpe & Lindsey United, and joined the Midland Football League in 1912. In 1950 was accepted into the Football League, ahead of Workington and Wigan Athletic when the league structure was expanded, with the "Lindsey" part of the name being dropped shortly after. Ever since the club entered the league their nickname has been ‘The Iron’, a metal which has long played a role in the team’s nomenclature. Before 1950s Scunthorpe United were known as the Knuts. The origin is uncertain but it is generally accepted as being when they won one of the local charity cups. The vicar of Frodingham, the Rev Cryspant Rust, said “that indeed Scunthorpe and Lindsey United were a tough (k)nut to beat”. For a small club, the Iron have an impressive roll call of former players and managers. The most notable is Kevin Keegan, one of England's greatest ever footballers, who played for Scunny between 1966 and 1971. Other alumni, either in a playing or managing capacity, include Ray Clemence, cricketer Ian Botham, Ian Storey-Moore, Neil Warnock, Jermaine Beckford, Billy Sharp, Andy Keogh, and current Leicester City manager Nigel Adkins, who used to be the club's physiotherapist. --- Scunthorpe could give on-loan forward Luke Williams a debut, with Neal Bishop and Jennison Myrie-Williams suspended. Gary McSheffrey served his own one-game ban in Tuesday's draw at Port Vale, while Rory Fallon is hoping to overcome the knock that saw him miss that game. Notts have no new injury concerns after the 3-2 comeback win over Barnsley in midweek. Striker Jake Cassidy and club captain Hayden Mullins are doubts as the Magpies aim to make it 11 unbeaten.

What a fantastic night for Notts County tonight. After the misery that was last season, this term is proving to be getting better and better with each passing matchday. Tonight we were dour for the first 15 minutes against Barnsley, conceding two goals early on in what promised to be a long evening. Soon, however, the Magpies summoned that grandiose Shaun Derry spirit to claw it right back and blow the Tykes away, securing a great win and three points in the process. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. We were supposed to get beaten today, bearing in mind what we’ve been put through in the last 15 or so months. We conceded our first goal within eight minutes when Devante Cole seized on a Mustapha Dumbuya error to latch onto a Conor Hourihane ball before firing home past Roy Carroll. Just four minutes later, the Manchester City loanee marauded into the area and squared a ball for Hourihane, the first goal’s provider getting onto the scoresheet himself from close range. The 19th minute saw the fightback begin when Garry Thompson blaster a 20-yard drive beyond Tykes goalkeeper Ross Turnbull. Notts fans had to wait until just after the hour for an equaliser when on-loan QPR winger Michael Petrasso nodded home Thompson’s cross. Things then reached a cathartic climax when the Canadian youngster was then able to weave his way into the Barnsley area and slotted a winner past the keeper to put the Magpies into the lead. The hosts tried to get back into the game in a last-ditch attempt to try and get a point, but Carroll and the defence weren’t to be thwarted, and as the final whistle blew, it proved joyous for everyone connected with the club, securing a tenth unbeaten game and ending the day in fifth place.

Notts County have faced Barnsley a total of 64 times in their history, with the first meeting going back over a hundred years, on November 29, 1913. The result? A 3-1 win for the Magpies. However, the two sides haven’t faced off for a decade, what with different leagues separating them both. The last game, a Division 2 league match at Meadow Lane on January 21, 2004, ended in a 1-1 draw. We are very much hoping for a repeat of the match that took place in November 1927, which ended in a 9-0 win for Notts! Barnsley FC was established in 1887 by a clergyman, Tiverton Preedy, under the name Barnsley St Peter’s, and played in the Sheffield and District League from 1890 and then in the Midland League from 1895. They joined the Football League in 1898, and struggled in Division Two for the first ten years, due in part to ongoing financial difficulties. In 1910 the club reached the FA Cup final, where they lost out to Newcastle United in a replay match. However, they would then reach the 1912 FA Cup Final where they would defeat West Bromwich Albion 1–0 in a replay to win the trophy for the first and only time in their history. Their sole season in the top flight came in 1997-98, where they were there for one year before going straight back down. The Tykes have played at Oakwell, a 29,003-seater stadium, since 1888. Also, they’ve spend more time in the second tier of English football than any other club in Football League history. Barnsley were one of a quartet of teams that made the 2007-08 FA Cup so special, as they beat Liverpool and Chelsea to join West Brom, Cardiff City and Portsmouth in the semi-finals. The following season, the Tykes fielded the youngest ever player in the history of the Football League at Ipswich Town when Reuben Noble-Lazarus came on aged 15 years and 45 days. Famous Barnsley fans include cricket umpire Dickie Bird, cricketer Darren Gough, and legendary chat show host Michael Parkinson. --- Barnsley will be without suspended midfielder James Bailey tomorrow, so Paul Digby could be in contention for his first start of the season. Former Bayern Munich man Dale Jennings has missed the last four games due to an ankle injury, but could be included in the squad playing for the reserves on Monday. Winger Rhys Williams is poised to make his fourth appearance for the club since arriving on loan from Fulham. Notts have no new problems as they look to extend their unbeaten run to 10 matches in all competitions. Midfielder Alan Smith and full-back Blair Adams will come back into contention, having not been involved in Saturday's 5-3 home win over Crawley. Meanwhile, Jake Cassidy and Hayden Mullins are both nursing injuries.

Well, what a truly exhilarating game today at Meadow Lane. Notts County surged into a three-goal lead within the first 40 minutes, before being pegged back to 3-2 until a grandstand finish saw Shaun Derry's charges establish a three-goal lead against Crawley Town. The visitors then scored another goal, but ultimately, the Magpies would secure the win, 5-3, that meant a nine-game unbeaten run. Garry Thompson opened the scoring in the ninth minute when he produced a great finish after collecting a pass by Stephen McLaughlin. Just nine minutes later, McLaughlin provided another assist when his cross allowed Zeli Ismail to head home. Crawley’s haphazard defending was exposed again in the 37th minute when a long ball from Jordan Cranston was headed down into the area by Shaun Harrad, with Thompson sneaking in at the near post to strike his second of the game. After the break, the visitors reduced the deficit through Gwion Edwards's long range strike, which found the top corner. Things became more tense for the hosts when Matt Harrold calmly slotted a ball past Roy Carroll to make it 3-2 five minutes before the hour. Thompson, however, eased nerves by heading in McLaughlin’s corner and securing his hat-trick in the process. With ten minutes left to play, Gary Jones’s deflected effort made it 5-2 to leave Notts cruising. Marvin Elliott then struck a consolation third goal for his side with six minutes remaining, but despite having five minutes of added time, the visitors couldn’t add to their tally, and so Derry's charges secured a thrilling win and three points.