Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Sunderland

Bristol City 0-1 Luton Town

Huddersfield Town 2-1 Stockport County (Joker)

Rotherham United 2-0 Wigan Athletic

Carlisle United 0-0 Morecambe

Walsall 1-1 Doncaster Rovers

Altrincham 1-0 Halifax Town

Maidenhead United 0-1 Wealdstone

Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Sunderland

Bristol City 4-2 Luton Town

Huddersfield Town 0-1 Stockport County

Rotherham United 2-2 Wigan Athletic

Carlisle United 3-2 Morecambe (joker)

Walsall 4-1 Doncaster Rovers

Altrincham 2-3 Halifax Town

Maidenhead United 0-1 Wealdstone

Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Sunderland

Bristol City 2-1 Luton Town

Huddersfield Town 1-0 Stockport County

Rotherham United 1-0 Wigan Athletic

Carlisle United 2-1 Morecambe

Walsall 1-1 Doncaster Rovers (Joker)

Altrincham 2-1 Halifax Town

Maidenhead United 3-2 Wealdstone

Champagne: An English scientist discovered and documented how to add fizz to sparkling wine 30 years before Dom Perignon, a French monk, is widely thought to have invented champagne in 1697. 

Source. Google.

MK Dons got hammered by Newport 

Grimsby lost to Swindon 

AFC Wimbledon lost to Chesterfield 

Port Vale drew with Carlisle today.

Notts just 5 points off an automatic promotion place.

That's your Charlie Adam booted from Fleetwood after they lost yesterday...

Charlie Adam: Fleetwood Town sack former Liverpool man after poor run

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

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Charlie Adam is sacked by Fleetwood Town after a run of one win in their past 11 league games

Unsurprising but I think the issues run deeper than just the manager at Fleetwood. They peaked when they got to League 1, but they only got there by spending a lot of money. Now the money isn’t being as freely splashed out, I think they are likely to slowly slide back into non-league. It was never going to be sustainable, the fan base just isn’t there, this season they have been averaging about 2,750 for home games. It’s pretty much impossible to not lose a lot of money and have a competitive team…

Thursday 26th December

League 2 fixtures 

AFC Wimbledon v  Swindon 

Bradford v Port Vale 

Bromley v Newport

Carlisle v Morecambe 

Cheltenham  v Crewe 

Colchester v Gillingham 

Fleetwood v Chesterfield 

Grimsby v Harrogate 

MK Dons v Notts

Salford v Barrow 

Tranmere v Accrington 

Walsall v Doncaster  

Notts have scored 42 goals in all competitions this season so far.

Watched the King's speech at 3pm, but admit I miss the Queen, because she was so good at these Christmas Day messages to the Nation. 

Have NTFC done their research? I recall a former Notts player saying Richard Thomas was the actual "brains" 

Your Xmas Day Morning Weather 

Xmas Day Evening Weather 

C'mon people of Bromley, what were you thinking?

#waffle1068 2/5

streak: 62
#wafflegoldteam
wafflegame.net

#waffle1069 X/5

Boo hoo! lost my streak on Christmas Day

streak: 0
wafflegame.net

#waffle1069 3/5

streak: 258
#wafflelegend
wafflegame.net

Wordle 1,284 5/6

Wordle 1,285 5/6

Wordle 1,285 2/6

Connections
Puzzle #561

Connections
Puzzle #561

My turn to congratulate you  @Fan of Big Tone ,well done

Connections
Puzzle #563

MK Dons got a sound thrashing by Newport over the weekend, that could be either good because they’ll be low on confidence or bad that they’ll put up a great performance to show it was a one off. Should we be confident or fearful?

If I were Stuart Maynard and everyone who played against Bradford are fit, I would play the same starting  eleven & the same players on the bench against MK Dons.

MK Dons are good going forward, but they are also vunerable in defence, so I do think that Notts have a good chance of getting a result on Boxing day, providing they play well.

Jatta was injured in the final minutes against Bradford, but hopefully he has come through unscathed.

If not, McGoldrick will have to lead the line & I would select Brown to play behind Didzy alongside Crowley.

A win for Notts would be great, but I would take a draw as it would also deprive MK Dons of the win too.

Yeah, I'm with @Fan of Big Tone. No idea whether we'll benefit from playing so closely, is it the start of a bad run or will they react and put in a good performance a bit like us against Bradford.

That said I'm amazed they conceded 6 to Newport. When we played Newport, they could've played for 2 weeks and I think they'd have done well to have scored... I don't think MK will sit back though, so as long as we can deal with their attackers we should get plenty of space to hopefully hurt them.

No idea where we stand with injuries but given we've got a good run of games in a short space, I'd want to change a couple of players - no idea who is and isn't fit though. And I hope Scott is ok because he seems to have just completely disappeared.

On 23/12/2024 at 07:52, Robbie said:

Everyone is talking about all the players that Notts should sign but what about those players that might leave.

For me I hope that Dan Crowley stays at least till the end of the season.

Josh Martin will possibly be released.

Robbie Cundy will possibly be sent out on loan

Not sure about Jevani Brown. He has had some reasonable performances but I think he lacks consistency.

I think Notts will keep him till his loan period runs out at season's end.

Jevani Brown joins Notts County on loan | Bristol Rovers FC

WWW.BRISTOLROVERS.CO.UK

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Bristol Rovers can confirm that Jevani Brown has joined Sky Bet League Two side Notts County on loan until the end of the 2024/25 season.

"The loan agreement comes with the option of a break in January."

If I were Stuart Maynard, I'd be exercising it if we could bring somebody better in. 

Here is part two of my January strikers piece

Notts County January Targets | Options from overseas and Continental Europe

WWW.ANALYSTSBAR.COM

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Analysts Bar contributor Declan Weliczko presents part two of his potential striker targets for Notts County in the January...

Just realised the title of the topic is Jan '26, either I'm missing something or are Notts boycotting 2025?!  

Brown was slowly eased in and then against Alfreton, after playing so well, his confidence should’ve been high. But he’s just not done it for us, no goals and no assists in the league, I can’t see him drastically improving either so I'd be using that break in the loan deal to end it.

I agree Martin should leave, just for his own good, he needs to find a club that will play him. Cundy is basically our emergency centre back, feels like he’s only going to play if everyone else is injured and so far this season our defenders have been pretty much injury immune!

I’m still not sure about Gordon either, I know the chances of him leaving are minimal cos we’ve only just signed him, but he seems to have struggled since joining.

We are forgetting that what Luke Williams says to the media is all part of his management style, and although I think his criticism during our home performance against Forest Green Rovers - particularly the second half performance was very harsh, leading to our poor form and downward spiral. I do think this type of approach never works out well, but Williams does try to get the players to take some pride in the performances they give. Sometimes it works, often it seems to ruin morale. Swansea still have some players who don't really meet the standard he probably wants, and the message is probably more directed to them.

I like his honesty. I am sure he's very upfront with the players at his disposal, but I can't see their board sacking him over this or their recent results.

As for Swansea players sticking up two fingers, which isn't I have read on this - the only real way is by improving and doing their best.

On 22/12/2024 at 11:40, Fan of Big Tone said:

It never ends well when the manager starts criticising the players, that’s why you often see managers taking the flak and protecting their players. If Luke has any sense (and I’m sure he has) he will keep the players onside he doesn’t want to lose the dressing room. When things aren’t going right it’s best to say they’re all in it together.

It's a bit of a risk, but he'll have made a calculated gamble that it'll be a wake-up call and they'll respond well. A manager needs to have a certain amount of capital to play that card though - I doubt he'd have done it if he was unsure of his backing from the board.

Swansea currently sit 11th. Without knowing much about their finances/backing etc... that seems decent going for a club that get approximately 15k fans in the Championship and have been flirting with the bottom end of the table in more recent seasons. 

I thought Matty Platt was class in defence, with Jacob Bedeau also being a big part in the performance too. Alex Bass did well in goal, but his distribution was questionable. I don't think Alassana Jatta deserves the Man of the Match. I thought he was good but nowhere near the level of others put in. David McGoldrick played a good role in what made us dig deep and take the game to Bradford. Without him relentlessly trying to get us to play forward, instead of passing out at the back we wouldn't have scored any of the goals. Dan Crowley also played well in spells, but not quite to the level we tend to expect from him.

All the squad put in a good performance though; it was great to see Jatta score twice - he could have had 3 quite easily.

Just a gentle reminder to members.

The poll will close at 9pm tonight.

The Poll is now closed.

Thank you to all that voted.

I am pleased to announce that the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the match, for his outstanding performance against Bradford, is Alassana Jatta 

Well done Alassana.

So we are now very close to the start of the season. Stuart Maynard has nine new players to work with.

He also has two more players that have recovered from long term injuries 

So Stuart has 11 players that he has never managed in a league game. That's half the squad.

So Stuart now owns the squad. The ghost of Luke Williams has finally departed. There are no longer any excuses. Stuart Maynard now has to deliver. 

The pre season games where the new players have figured have been somewhat dissapointing.

Stuart has the decide, which players are in the starting eleven in the first match against Tranmere.

He also has to decide how Notts will line up. Will it be a back three with wingbacks or a traditional back four?

Will he have a three or four man midfield, two strikers or just one?

Lots of questions to be answered.

One thing is certain, Stuart has to mould this squad into a cohesive unit that will be competitive this season. Will he be successful or not. The first half a dozen games should reveal all.

12 games please.

Stuart played things perfectly against Bradford. Tactically he got it spot on, by putting Dan Crowley alongside Didzy & just behind Jatta.

Also using conventional wingbacks instead of inverted Wingbacks was spot on too.

Burnley 3-1 Watford Joker

QPR 1-2 Preston North End

Blackpool 1-3 Stevenage

Northampton Town 0-0 Charlton Athletic

Chesterfield 2-2 AFC Wimbledon

Morecambe 0-3 Bromley 

Hartlepool United 2-0 Yeovil Town

Wealdstone 1-3 Dagenham & Redbridge

Burnley 2-2 Watford

QPR 1-0 Preston North End

Blackpool 1-0 Stevenage

Northampton Town 1-2 Charlton Athletic

Chesterfield 2-0 AFC Wimbledon

Morecambe 0-1 Bromley 

Hartlepool United 2-0 Yeovil Town

Wealdstone 0-3 Dagenham & Redbridge joker

Our jolly Christmas scores:

Burnley 2-1 Watford
QPR 2-1 Preston North End
Blackpool 0-0 Stevenage
Northampton Town 0-5 Charlton Athletic
Chesterfield 1-0 AFC Wimbledon
Morecambe 0-2 Bromley
Hartlepool United 2-1 Yeovil Town
Wealdstone 3-0 Dagenham & Redbridge

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Strutting around at the top of this round's standings like conquering gladiators are meeeeee and @4everapie with 12 magnificant points!

---

Overall, @super_ram has overtaken @Robbie again and will spend Christmas in top spot. Meanwhile, yours truly is now in a Champions League place and @Megan_Elizax has moved into the top five.

---

There is of course football on Boxing Day, so expect the prediction league fixtures to be posted at some time today. Thanks for playing and making this a bumper Christmas round, and hopefully I'll see you there!

The football Manager merry-go-round continues. The race for success and making money continues.

How long before we see a change at Swansea, where Luke Williams is under pressure?

Lost his first match in charge 0:4 although I suppose.

Ruben wasn't in the first 11. Checked and he's been substitute 5 times this Season. Is he not the preferred attacking midfielder at the moment? If not Notts can always take him back on loan.

4 hours ago, Robbie said:

Ruben wasn't in the first 11. Checked and he's been substitute 5 times this Season. Is he not the preferred attacking midfielder at the moment? If not Notts can always take him back on loan.

He's started 16 games and been on the bench five times, so he's very much a regular. It'll be interesting to see if the new man rates him, but if not I think he'll find a club in League One bare minimum.

@chris. 

Did Abbott have a reasonable game from your standpoint? I always check on ratings for the Notts players post game & according to those, he didn't figure too high this time.

Nice summing up here

A great and deserved result. More of the same please!

The three-goal blast in the first half put what had been a pretty even game to bed. Bradford were more in control in the second half, but for all their huffing and puffing it was Notts who came closer to scoring again. Fistly through McGoldrick's shot - the Bradford defence just opened up beautifully for and invited the shot, I only realise afterwards that Jatta was arriving at the far post. I don't blame him for having a crack. And secondly Jatta's scuffed effort, with the backspin on the ball stopping it from crossing the line. But we were already 3-0 up by that stage.

Crowley oozed quality and Austin worked incredibly hard (him winning possession led to our third goal). I don't think Abbott stood out as much purely because the rest of the team stepped up. And we definitely got the better deal from the Platt/Baldwin swap!

23 hours ago, Chris said:

I have seen Notts get battered away to Rotherham United sat in the home end, and never dreamt of leaving.

Well no, you would have been pretending to enjoy yourself

Bit harder for the younger fans to compile a list of their greatest Notts managers...  

Ian Burchnall and Keith Curle get into my top 5 by default!

On 02/02/2024 at 01:25, Robbie said:

For me it shouldn't be on win percentage, I believe it should be judged by your success by getting promoted & winning Cups.

If it were judged purely on that my choice would be.

1 Jimmy Sirrel.

2 Neil Warnock .

3 Tom Harris. FA Cup Winner.

4 Albert Fisher.

5 Eric Houghton.

6 Horace Henshall.

7 Sam Allardyce.

8 Frank Hill.

9 Steve Cotterill.

10 Howard Kendall.

This is interesting. If we're judging on the basis of honours, number one would have to be the manager who led us to FA Cup victory, the first time a second division club had ever won it. Obviously none of us were there to see it, but it's our club's only major honour and our greatest achievement. Nothing else comes close. But as @menzinho says, anyone under 40 doesn't have a lot to choose between as we've managed nothing more than two fourth division titles since 1990. If we ever manage to do a Bournemouth, maybe this list will feel a bit less historical.

As for Howard Kendall - if the question is "best Notts County managers", nope! He was a big-name appointment who just ended up speeding up our tailspin towards the lower division and didn't even last the season.

But if the topic was "best managers ever to have managed Notts County", you'd probably have to include him because of his achievements before he came to us. But then you'd also have to include Hans Backe and Howard Wilkinson for their title-winning exploits too.

I think winning the FA Cup was a great achievement @DangerousSausage, however taking a club from the fourth to the first tier like Jimmy did has to make him the number one.

Neil Warnock got Notts from the third tier to the first so he has to come second with FA Cup winner, Tom Harris third.

But that's just my opinion. Others may disagree with the rest of my list, & any of those managers could have been in different places on that list.

The loan period being extended is good for Ryley & good for Notts. Seems he doing an excellent job for Kidderminster.

Hope he can help them get promoted.

Yep, it's much better for him to get lots of game time than the odd couple of minutes he'd likely get with us at the moment. He's in a team challenging for promotion, that will give him the added experience of playing under pressure too.

I wonder if the loan period is successful, whether Kidderminster would sign Ryley permanently?

Well we have finally come to the shortest day and the winter solstice. It also happens to be the first day of winter, but Autumn was bad enough wasn't it 

Had an early start this morning going to the superstore to get  some last minute goodies that the wife needed to get us over Xmas.

It's certainly a different atmosphere compared to last week post match. It's a nice feeling that Notts played so well this afternoon. 

I'm so pleased for Stuart Maynard who has taken a lot of stick on social media this week. Him and the team had the perfect response today.

MK Dons got hammered today & we meet them on boxing day. 

Morning all I trust we are all full of joy after the nice early Christmas present from Notts yesterday.

I was glad to wake up in the middle of a pretty nasty dream this morning, I hate dreams like that I’m so glad it wasn’t real.

Our trip to the observatory yesterday was a bit different, we were shown to a small cinema with seats that lie back and the screen covers the whole ceiling, the film was very weird with coloured lights and shapes wizzing round the screen set to a modern take of Gustav Holst’s Planet Suite. The second part was a wander through space and a talk about the planets and stars. This trip has apparently been recommended to grandson Fred by his teacher. We all thought it was a very different experience but good, it certainly got the kids talking.

Its going to be cold today so wrap up if you are going out to do last minute shopping.

Good morning Notts fans. What a difference a football match can make with such a positive result and the way it was done.

Weather outside doesn't match the mood. It's been raining all night. Flood alert for Mansfield in force too.

But it's nice & warm & cosey inside, so the plan is to take it easy & watch a few Xmas films with the wife today.

David talked about the dissapointing result against Salford, & his determination to put things right on Saturday.

David  agreed that the match against Bradford on Saturday is very important.

According to David, the players are fully behind Stuart Maynard & that all the players are determined to put things right, & get a much needed win for the Club, going into this vital Xmas period.

And he did put it right against Bradford & so did the team, ablely managed by Stuart Maynard.

It's always a good sign when the players are behind a manager, or head coach in our case now! I think the culture we have at Notts means this should be a thing of the past for us, every player knows what they are signing up for in terms of playing style when they sign for us.

We've seen it countless times before when players just give up and are no longer inspired or believe in the managers' tactics.

It sounds very "woke" to me, probably some generation z thought he could rebrand it.

I wished people would stop messing with football, and making changes which solely further ruin the game.

11 hours ago, Chris said:

It sounds very "woke" to me, probably some generation z thought he could rebrand it.

I wished people would stop messing with football, and making changes which solely further ruin the game.

Hear Hear.

I don't feel very woke today, probably because I got five hours' sleep last night.

This seems more a hopeful, hubristic punt by Real Madrid than anything serious. They've already downgraded their ambitions to replacing the Champions League. And they're clearly running out of names too - whatever next? The Utter Division? The Mega League? The Europa Blue Square Conference (actually we almost have that one already)?

The idea that they'll bring in more money through free streaming than with the huge Champions League contracts already in place also seems overly optimistic to me. Not that I've got much love for the CL as it is now.

As new EU legislation makes it difficult for UEFA to stop this in its tracks, they'll likely just call the clubs' bluff instead. I doubt many will want to sacrifice the Champions League riches for the sake of a vanity project.

On 17/12/2024 at 19:29, Robbie said:

There could also be a new competition. The British Cup, where the top four clubs of the English, Scottish, Welsh, & N Irish top leagues play each other in a knock out home & away to find a British Champion.

Slightly OT, but surely the English champion would win every time? But I've always liked the idea of merging the English and Scottish League Cups. Could add some interest to a tired competition. Away day in Edinburgh anyone?