samwatto2008

Cheeky 2-1 win. Lincoln will be right up for this but there are weaknesses in their game. I personally think we can have a chance with the squad below. (Going off updates and news on injuries and players etc) 4-2-3-1 Schofield Tootle - Bird - Duffy - Evina O'Brien - Rose Boldewijn - Vaughan - Craig Mackail-Smith Hemmings Use Vaughan as either a roaming midfielder or a CAM. I reckon well be shaky at the back with the likes of Akinde, Anderson and Andrade to deal with but up front and in the middle of the park we can really take the game to Lincoln. They would've focused on set pieces in training so I am going to go with a 2-1 loss to Lincoln but a much improved performance and something positive to go into the Mansfield game with.

Lineup: Exactly the same against Bury. Oldham come back after a 4-1 win I believe so there spirits will be high. However so will ours. If Duffy remains in the side then I would suggest dropping Stead for Hemmings. Hemmings and Dennis could cause some real issues and playing as a pair up top is the strike force everyone wants to see. I hope the Bury performance is a turn around in our fortunes and we can grab a win here. If not then at least a draw or a clean sheet. Just something other than a loss so than we can have something to carry through into the Colchester and Cambridge games.

BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR! Just before I suggest my lineup, HEWITT and JONES OUT, absolutely no brain cells between the two of them. A Tootle at 50% is better than that clown at RB. Hewitt should be gone in January, been gifted a career here at Notts and was carried through last year. Evina has a much better delivery than Jones. Only one of our corners against Grimsby caused them issues. Patching played well on the wing against Mansfield so I would actually bring him in instead. I am under the impression there is a "bomb squad" at Notts County consisting of players such as (Hawkridge, Bird, Kellett, Duffy) etc so it is unlikely we will see them in the squad at all. Formation: 4-4-2 Lineup: Fitzsimmons / Tootle - Ward - Turley - Evina / Patching - Vaughan - Davies - Thomas / Dennis - Hemmings Bench: Pindroch, Hewitt, Brisley, Crawford, Milsom, Stead, Etete Prediction: 3-1 Notts

Grimsby away, I have been told it's a sketchy place to go. I know some of their fans can be quite rough but should make a good away day and a new ground for me to visit. Main threats I can think of is Wes Thomas and Mitch Rose and their keeper I know is being watched by a few clubs in the higher divisions. I think after a win against Tranmere it is possible we can carry that through into this game. Grimsby are on a bit of a roll but do struggle to find consistency within their results. They are scoring for fun at the moment smashing 5 past Tranmere a few weeks ago. I think this match with end in a draw but we have to mindful of maybe resting a few players for the busy Christmas period. Personally I wouldn't risk Stead and play Dennis up top with Hemmings as we'll need the leadership and character of Stead in the big game against Macclesfield. Formation: 4-4-2 Lineup: Fitz / Hewitt - Turley - Ward - Jones / Thomas - Vaughan - Milsom - Hawkridge / Hemmings - Dennis Score: 2 - 2 (Hemmings, Vaughan)

Brilliant! Chuffed to bits for the lads and the fans. MOTM for me was either Jon Stead or Keston Davies and will be keen to highlight this in the upcoming PONCast. Enjoyed the game and it was good to finally get back to winning ways. Hopefully get a draw at Grimsby which sets us up nicely for a big game against Macclesfield.

Interesting. Tranmere's away form is poor and I think it will continue. I don't think they have a good following away from home and I think that will continue. However it is Neal Ardley's first league match at home. Against Mansfield I thought we competed well first half. After speaking to a few Stags fans they were very impressed with David Vaughan and congratulated his effort. I think with a better fire power up front we could become a force. Hemmings and Dennis were signed for their goals and ability up top. On their day they have been described as 'UNSTOPPABLE' so Im hoping these two lineup together this weekend as we need a serious win to lift spirits amongst fans. Formation: 4-4-2 Lineup: Fitzsimmons / Hawkridge - Ward - Brisley - Evina / Thomas - Vaughan - Hewitt - Campbell / Hemmings - Dennis Score: Notts County 3 - 1 Tranmere The reason I have put Campbell on the RM spot is because without a current fit RM we need to replace Boldewjins pace. Campbell is both strong and fast which would scare the Tranmere defence. Is Thomas, Hemmings, Dennis and Campbell could attack as a four then I think we could score a bucket load. Hemmings thrives on fast paced, high tempo football so a slow RM would not be beneficial. Patching did ok against Mansfield but he's a CM. Vaughan should sit bang on the half way line with Hewitt dropping deeper. Vaughan can pick out deadly passes, Hewitt can't. I am feeling confident ... COYP!!!!!!

So Ardley's first competitive league fixture. Tough one to call and as stated in the previous PONCast this game could go either way. It WILL NOT be a walk in the park for Mansfield I refuse to admit it so I hope we show some resilience. Mansfield fielded their first 11 apart from the keeper on Tuesday night against Bury as they were knocked out of the Checkatrade to a 1-0 defeat at home. Their obvious danger men are CJ Hamilton, Tyler Walker and Danny Rose. They as a front three will cause us all sorts of issues. From what I have seen they like to walk the ball into the box and shoot from angles instead of shooting from the middle. So I imagine a barrage of shots from Walker and Hamilton. Ardley hinted that there would be some faces returning to the side this Saturday. Hopefully if Stead, Dennis and Hemmings are all fit we could cause some serious issues top a slow Mansfield back line. Bishop is quality in the middle but is showing his age so maybe we could exploit that by adding a pacey Hewitt/Husin into the middle. I would like to see David Vaughan instead of Milsom but I just can't see it. A derby win would lift the spirits in the camp massively and get fans right behind the new regime at Notts. Thoroughly looking forward to the game. 4-4-2 Lineup: Fitz / Davies - Turley - Ward - Evina / Thomas - Vaughan - Hewitt - Hawkridge / Hemmings - Dennis Ill go for a 2-1 win for Notts and that's being hopeful. If we could just show some fight for once then maybe I can be happy. Hemmings to score a brace.

I don't think he has anything to worry about. We've been crying out for a manager like Ardley for years. Even if we were to go down I think he would stay and have a project here with Notts. Hardy staying off social media is finally bringing hope and promise. His remarks on twitter made me feel down about every situation he tweeted about. Now he's finally concentrated on the club everyone can now move forward with Ardley at the helm.

I was going to attend this game as I would love to attend the Stadium of Light but It's just too far for a Tuesday night game. I hope like @Chris said Ardley plays some outsiders as Mansfield is a much more important game. It would be a good chance for Ardley to see the quality and attributes of some of his fringe players so he can see if they would fit the bill in the first team. However I do feel as though Hardy might now want to target this competition due to a lack of finance. If we could progress then it would mean some extra revenue for Hardy to spend in January if needed.

Bizarrely I think we will actually win this game. Lineup: Fitzsimmons/ Tootle - Turley - Ward - Evina / Hawkridge - Milsom - Vaughan - Thomas / Hemmings - Dennis Assuming Boldewjin is injured. I think this is will be an experiment game as Ardley wants to see a the variety of players we do have and see what they can do and bring to the table. Hemmings or Stead have to come back soon. Dennis is doing OK but could really excel with Hemmings or Stead up there with him. I think we might see the likes of Hawkridge, Evina and Vaughan coming in to show off what they can do so it's an important game for the players if anything. Carlisle are a very hit and miss team. Their weak point is their keeper Adam Collin who we all know too well. Their strong points are Jamie Devitt, Hallam Hope those types of players. I am hoping we can pull off a win here. It would put us back in the mix and to be totally honest with Macclesfield winning at the weekend we can't afford to get left behind. Ill go 2 - 0 Notts with Dennis and Thomas to score.

I suspect nothing to change. Never expect anything at the moment. Morecambe flying for their poor squad. They have a few decent players but nothing that should cause us any harm ... but hey this is Notts County we are on about. Morecambe 4 - 1 Notts County

Hopefully a new manager is assigned and recruited by this game although I don't think they will get involved with the team to avoid distraction from the game. However the philosophy won't change. I finally think we will see the Dennis and Hemmings and the fast wingers of Thomas and Boldewjin firing balls into the box, I think the midifeld will consist of Vaughan and Milsom with the usual defence. We will see what happens come Saturday but I am really looking forward to a new style of play and a manager that knows how to exploit weaknesses in teams and gives this a real good go. There is no one linked tot eh job that I wouldn't take ... Yes that includes Nolan (I was never for Nolans sacking)

HK doesn't know how to play with him. Humping long balls up to a 5ft 10 striker is never going to work. Both Hemmings and Dennis need each other to play with each other. 4-2-3-1 is not the formation for either of these strikers.