4 hours ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

heard whilst away that a dear friend passed away after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in October, that’s 3 friends in the last few weeks that have passed two with prostate cancer. I sat and cried in the hotel bar when I heard of the latest one, so very sad, I’ll miss my catch up pint with him putting the world to rights RIP Jim.

I think I’m going to ask at the docs about a test, according to my medical records that I’ve checked online I had one a few years ago but I think they recommend every two years, I’ll see what the doc says.

My condolences @Fan of Big Tone it's never easy losing anyone especially a close friend. Prostate cancer is a silent killer and takes no prisoners. My father (God bless him) insisted that from the age of 50 i should approach the doctor regarding a PSA test, as my Grandad and Uncle had it and passed away. In March 2017 I was diagnosed with the Cancer, what a shock. In November that same year it was removed, in and out again in 3 days. Unfortunately I fell ill after being home for one night (SEPSIS) blue lighted back in and 17 days later returned home, the rest is history. I cannot reiterate enough how important it is to get tested.

Sounds awful @Michael D Pie. i hope you are recovered now.

Still bubbling after the Notts win yesterday. Barrow played well & it certainly looks like their current league position doesn't represent how good a team they are.

I think Bromley will go up, also MK Dons and hopefully Notts, Chesterfield would be a good shout to win the playoffs.

Having said that I’m sure there will be lots of twists and turns until the end of the season. Having kept our best players and strengthened the squad and IF we can keep relatively injury free, it surely could be our year. 🤞

Best goal differences is often a useful clue....that's why I'd agree with MK and Bromley, although I'd love to see both or either of them fade away. The third spot would probably go to that team which can maintain form down the run-in.

If that's to be us, I think we'd need to keep clear of injuries. We have depth, but we need the likes of Jatta, Jones and a good CM pairing to play and hit top form to have the best chance.

I think it's far too early to make a definitive choice with 16 games still to go. Every single game is going to be like a Cup final. Every single game is going to be tough no matter where teams stand in the league.

Notts have seven home games & nine away games left. We have three away games on the bounce at the end of March going into April.

The big positive is that we are nine points ahead of eighth placed Chesterfield. So that's a good cushion to have.

The other positive is that some of the teams in the top seven still have to play each other. Notts still have to play Bromley, Cambridge, Walsall, & Salford. Lots of things can happen before the end of the season.

Strands #706
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The holiday did me good I’m on top form.

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Archive February 7, 2026
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Strange one today.

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I didn't do the symbol game yesterday. Lost my Streak 😔

#waffle1479 4/5

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I don't think we should be counting our chickens just yet. Yes, we are winning close matches after missing chances, but that luck could easily go the other way if we are not careful.

We need to turn domination into goals to give us a cushion in games, however I do feel more confident that we can achieve promotion this year. Bromley is going to be a massive game.

Grit and determination has been our forte over these past few weeks, keeping us all on the edge of our seats. We now have a squad with plenty of variety and depth, but for the next test we have to be at our best. Converting chances needs to be the aim, to put us firmly in the frame. So come on County do us proud, enabling your praises to be shouted loud.

I'm going for Jacob Bedeau. I think as a Captain he leads and plays as an example to his team mates & I thought that he was particulaly doing all those things against Barrow. That goal line clearance in the dying seconds could prove vital when the points are totted up at season's end.

My vote goes to Lewis Macari, I thought he was great going forward always available for the overlap and solid at the back. He has been consistently good for a while now. He makes some important tackles and is composed on the ball.

In this game of locking horns with a stubborn Barrow side, having a definite disrupt at all cost attitude, I thought Bedeau was an example to his team mates, Leading from the front. I agree with @YoopEyes Matty Platt is now firing on all cylinders and was a contender. My vote goes to Nick Tsaroulla, like @Fan of Big Tone says he was superb all over the pitch, giving and making options for himself and others.

Yes, he was 91 according to reports. I just remember him from the early 60s watching with my grandad from Spoon Kop.

George Smith, Ivan Hampton, Bert Loxley, Gibson era seems to ring a bell. Need to dig out the old programmes again 🤓

On 05/02/2026 at 13:00, Mapperley Pie said:

Yes, he was 91 according to reports. I just remember him from the early 60s watching with my grandad from Spoon Kop.

George Smith, Ivan Hampton, Bert Loxley, Gibson era seems to ring a bell. Need to dig out the old programmes again 🤓

Yep that the era I started watching Notts, I remember Gerry Carver very well.

RIP Gerry.

17 hours ago, Robbie said:

He probably likes Nottinghamshire @theAnticlough

Looks that way, maybe the Abbotts have moved into Newstead Abbey

I do wonder why he left Wycombe... Have you ever been there? The stadium is OK but what a terrible location....at the back of an industrial estate which is by the side of a retail park, off a slip road on a b-road in the middle of nowhere. Makes Field Mill seem like a prime location

2 hours ago, theAnticlough said:

Looks that way, maybe the Abbotts have moved into Newstead Abbey

I do wonder why he left Wycombe... Have you ever been there? The stadium is OK but what a terrible location....at the back of an industrial estate which is by the side of a retail park, off a slip road on a b-road in the middle of nowhere. Makes Field Mill seem like a prime location

I can hear the crowd if I'm in the back garden when they score. We are about 3 miles away from the ground.

He said in an interview he was glad to be back in Nottinghamshire because he can see some of his friends at Notts more often. He spoke fondly of playing for us.

Birmingham City 3-0 Leicester City (joker)

Wrexham 2-1 Millwall

AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Reading

Mansfield Town 1-1 Exeter City

Gillingham 1-0 Tranmere Rovers

Walsall 0-1 Barnet

Altrincham 2-1 Yeovil Town

York City 2-1 Forest Green Rovers

Birmingham 2-0 Leicester🤡

Wrexham 2-1 Millwall

Wimbledon 1-1 Reading

Mansfield 2-1 Exeter

Gillingham 1-0 Tranmere

Walsall 0-1 Barnet

Altrincham 2-1 Yeovil

York 2-1 Forest Green

Birmingham 2-1 Leicester

Wrexham 2-0 Millwall

Wimbledon 0-2 Reading

Mansfield 2-0 Exeter

Gillingham 2-0 Tranmere Joker

Walsall 1-0 Barnet

Altrincham 1-1 Yeovil

York 2-1 Forest Green

Best outcome for the player and the club, sometimes things don’t work at for players at a club but they go on to be a success at another one.

Best wishes to him.

I think it’s a sign that the recruitment is going in a slightly different direction. We have tended to sign young talented players with technical skills that have a sell on value. While that is still the case in some instances, they realize that to get out of league 2 more is needed. While we have signed Luke Browne our defensive options are strong so he has time to bed in. Whereas Lee Ndlovu and James Belshaw are ready to make an impact. Beck-Ray Enoru is probably somewhere in the middle.

Totally agree @McPie . I feel MP has shown he has significant influence on the technical board. The signings of Ndlovu and Belshaw are clearly designed for the now in Division 4, while the others are a nod to the near future. In the case of Enoru and Tangen perhaps the not too distant future.

Not sure why they’ve included Salford City amongst those teams, did they feel like they just wanted to join in. If that’s the case, I’m almost certain Stafford Rangers would be interested in signing him too! It is intriguing that all the clubs mentioned are in and around the north west, makes me wonder if the ‘big six’ team is one of Liverpool, City or United.

I would say moving to a ‘bigger’ club at a young age is no guarantee of success though, get him on the phone to Kion Etete at Spurs, no wait St Mirren or Jack Bearne at Liver.. Oxford City, might help sway his decision making.

This result shows the unpredictability of this league. On their day, any team is capable of beating another team no matter where they are in the league.

Notts need to be at their best against Barrow and ensure there's no.potential banana skin on Saturday.

40 minutes ago, Robbie said:

This result shows the unpredictability of this league. On their day, any team is capable of beating another team no matter where they are in the league.

Notts need to be at their best against Barrow and ensure there's no.potential banana skin on Saturday.

I almost feel more nervous about playing these teams than I do about the teams in the top 10.

Let's hope MP has instilled a robustness that we have seen lacking in the last two seasons.

Accy's win last night definitely softens the blow of the them beating us! As @Robbie says its vital we don't slip up against Barrow. A sign of a good team is to go all out and win decisively and make the previous wins really count!

Surely he a contender for Man of the Match

On the technicality that both the Vokes and then Dack saves at the end were offside and therefore it wouldn't had mattered if they scored, I went for Norburn. 🤓😉

The Poll has now closed. Thanks to all who voted.

I'm pleased to announce that James Belshaw has been voted the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match v Gillingham. Well done James.

No idea how fit Ruben is but when he is up for speed he'll be a great asset for Bolton. Wootton is great form for Stockport at the moment having scored 5 in his last 5. And yeah I didn't think I'd see Baldwin and Bradford doing so well either so fair play to them.

All it needed was for Macca to go out on loan to either Cardiff or Lincoln and you'd nearly have a full-house of ex-Notts players battling for promotion in League! Although like you say it's good that he's been playing more regularly for Millwall recently.

I'm very happy with the return of Richard, there's a good interview with him on the Notts website about our Jan recruitment and his return for those who haven't seen it yet.

You've both made some excellent points @McPie @YoopEyes

I think the key is to take more of your chances when they present themselves.

The chasing team is always going to throw everything in the last 20 minutes or so to get back on terms. Making the game safe would possibly reduce those nerves & that of the spectators too.

Certain players' decision making could be better, Dennis for example, and more goals from midfield would be very welcome.

But I think Paterson is just, rightly, a harsh taskmaster and doesn't want complacency to creep in. This time last year is when the wheels started to come off:. Seven wins from the final 17 games would have got us automatic promotion, but we managed only five.

Good point from @Sheffield Pie I think it sums up Martin's approach well, he doesn't want to see the standards drop, even though we are winning it's because we are doing all those fundamental things that he would expect.

I wasn't sure how much tiredness played a part against Gillingham, because we had similar +1 leads against both Crewe and Swindon at home and we didn't get pushed back that deep late in the second half. That did mean the ball kept coming back, especially as we looked to just knock it long at times instead of playing the more simple passes. I would've liked to see us try and step up that little bit more. When the ball is on our box, with 7/8 of our players and a number of the opposition players all it takes is a rebound or a ricochet and it can fall perfectly for someone to score.

It does feel like we are lacking when it comes to right footed wingbacks, as of now Jones, Tsaroulla and Bennetts are probably our top 3 players in these positions and they are all left-footed.

He came on as a sub with about 5 minutes to go in the Crewe match and decided to try and dribble past a Crewe player (as the last defender) on the edge of our box, he lost the ball but we just about won it back and cleared it. It wasn't a great cameo that's for sure and this was his last time he played (over 2 months ago now we've seen him).

I've not heard anything but it's strange he hasn't been part of the squad for a while now, he didn't even make the squad for the Man United Academy Trophy match.

What on earth has happened to Cotter? No mention of injury, no mention of him going back to Barnsley and I find it hard to believe they would take him back given they have no plans for him. Surely Notts are paying at least some of his salary which I would imagine is not an insignificant amount.

I found it interesting in the comments by Richard Montague during his review of January window that he said something to the effect of 'we have plenty of wingback options' when discussing Gordon moving on. Who exactly are these options now? We play Tsaroulla who is a left back at right back which is fine, he is doing a good job and that's a tactical decision. We play JJ who isn't a wingback at left wingback, we also use Kouhyar who is also not a wingback there. Finally there's Bennetts who is also a somewhat makeshift wingback.

I am not saying we should be starting Cotter or anything but who exactly is going to play if Tsaroulla gets injured?

It's a complete mystery, to me anyway. Paterson emphasises that it's a squad effort and likes to rest players who've picked up a knock, so you'd have thought he'd make the bench occasionally. Maybe it's an off the field issue (to be clear I'm not implying anything).

PS just seen Jarvis has been moved on, shame but clearly had an attitude problem and that won't wash with Mr Paterson.

I agree @Dripsey3 I thought we were excellent first half and looked really dangerous and totally deserved to be ahead at half-time. Gillingham made some changes second half and looked a lot better, and it was pretty even until the last 15 minutes.

I couldn't tell if in those last 15 we were really deep because we were just knackered or because we just thought it was the best way to see the match out. Had Gillingham scored in the last minutes I don’t think I would’ve begrudged them getting a point because we were hanging on. We really struggled to get out and I thought that last 10/15 would've been perfect for Beck-Ray and his speed to exploit the space in behind because the Gillingham defence were so high.

That said it was a great effort from everyone to secure the 3 points.

@Dripsey3 agree that it was a strange one.

Probably to do with them - good set of players, good manager but not gelling.

Big and physical too. I don't remember MP making those types of subs, so early.

Players like Hall and Macari looked like they might get overpowered, so on came Ness and Ndlovu earlier than usual. Not long after likewise with Bennetts on for Dennis. So the last 30mins was a typical bruising L2 game that we might have forgotten about since the days of Nolan

I agree @Dripsey3, on the basis of the second half I think Gillingham are underachieving significantly. They're one of the division's biggest spenders.

It's all been said really, a gritty performance, albeit we ran out of steam a little at the end and struggled to hold onto the ball and take the sting out of it. That said, we were absolutely in command in the first half and should have been further ahead - Ndlovu really fluffed his lines in about the 85th minute when presented with a superb chance.

Belshaw was incredible, every time I see a replay of that double save at the end I think it's going in. Moments like that can be season-defining.

All five of our wins have been by the odd goal. That is a very good habit and a big difference to the last two seasons when the tight games got away from us all too often.

This was a game that was short on quality, but that wasn't Notts's fault. The pitch played a massive part, not to mention the anti-football tactics of Fleetwood which the ref did nothing about. So for me a man of the match would be a player who led the way in passion graft and determination. For me it has to be Ollie Norburn. His celebration for the second goal typified it for me.

Norburn had another good game and Conor Grant put in a decent 90 minutes plus but Scott Robertson steadied the ship in that 2nd half. We faffed about after the 2nd goal and incurred stupid yellows that Could still bite us in the rear end But we won on a crap ***** in awful conditions. We’re human, we’re here and we’ll keep on keeping on.

I'm pleased that Ollie Norburn has bagged a Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match award. Well done to him. He's been playing so well recently.

I don't know if it's down to it being easier to do the deal by it being a loan, with the option to then sign him or if it's because we are a tad cautious that it might not work out?

Traore had played quite a number of matches in the Eliteserien, but now I've looked more into he never really played the majority of the match, sometimes only playing for minutes. Tangen has played a lot more and usually for most of the match too. He even featured for Denmark in their youth teams, so all the signs are promising that he should be able to have an impact when he is up to speed!

I do think that loans deals can work in a positive way when it is used to see if the player can do a job for the club, especially when they have come from abroad, & the club has taken a bit of a gamble with the signing.

Notts gambled on Traoré by signing him on a full contract, they did the same with Morias & Jarvis. So signing Tangen on loan with a view to offer a full time contract in the summer if he delivers, is a good move.

Fascinated by this one, especially since we lost Luker to the injury earlier in the season. Can never have enough options!