@Fan of Big Tone the club posted it on their official Facebook page just before they announced his contract extension, so you'll have to scroll back a bit.

I guessed all the words (25 out of 25) in today's Combinations puzzle.
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Can you guess this puzzle?
https://combinations.org/

Scoredle 4/6*

14,855
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ 1,282
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ 99
🟨🟨🟩⬜🟨 2
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I guessed all the words (25 out of 25) in today's Combinations puzzle.
✅✅✅
✅✅✅
✅✅✅
✅✅✅

Can you guess this puzzle?
https://combinations.org/

PONdle #18 — 3/6 — 6 letters
⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛🟨
⬛🟩⬛🟨🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Play PONdle

PONdle #19 is now open

2026-09-20 · Today’s surname has 6 letters.

Play PONdle #19

Finish the Daily game, then share your result in this topic without revealing the answer.

PONdle #19 — 3/6 — 6 letters
⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛⬛
🟨🟨🟨⬛🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Play PONdle

#waffle1703 4/5

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🔥 streak: 875
🦾 #waffletitan
wafflegame.net

Wordle 1,919 5/6

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Wordle 1,919 4/6

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#waffle1703 4/5

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🔥 streak: 875
🦾 #waffletitan
wafflegame.net

#waffle1703 1/5

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🔥 streak: 145
🌟 #wafflecenturion
wafflegame.net

#waffle1703 2/5

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🔥 streak: 33
🥈 #wafflesilverteam
wafflegame.net

Strands #931
“Putting on airs”
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Strands #931
“Putting on airs”
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That was a struggle eh @nottsnutter ?

it was @Fan of Big Tone , has I started looking for a total set of different meanings 🤦🏻‍♂️

Connections
Puzzle #1196
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Connections
Puzzle #1197
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Connections
Puzzle #1197
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@Michael D Pie. Bach cava?

What were J S Bach's last words?

I'll be Bach

@Michael D Pie. have a great time, go steady with the fizz. 🥂

We love Lanzarote we stayed at Costa Teguise last time we went, where are you staying?

Morning one and all from a sun drenched Lanzarote 🌞

Nice one @Piethagoram not my tipple, but it's the thought that counts. 🤔

We are south of Arrecife, just below Puerto del Carmen at a small place called Puerto Calero. The hotel is called Costa Calero. Very nice place for families, young people, and the older generation. A beautiful Marina sits to the south of us, where dad Moors his Yatch.

Have a great Sunday everyone 🤠

I'll vote for Gibbons as the best of a bad bunch

I'd be tempted to vote for Roberts for a decent cameo, but he just wasn't on long enough, or did quite enough

Gone for Cooper, to me showed passion and desire but not his best game but nobody really stood out

I leave it to those who saw the game to vote for the man of the match, I can’t truthfully say I know who stood out. May the best player win.

True @Robbie about moments of quality in tight matches.

Listening to MP's post-match interview, anyone else picking up signs that he's conflicted on how to respond to games like this? Keeping things tight by not committing players forward and having more shots and troubling their keeper.....ultimately, you may have to choose between those two. Personally, I think attack is always the best form of defence, so I hope the club and those around help keep Pato erring towards his positive side in the months ahead.

A few thoughts on my first in attendance game of the season.

1. Kanu has bags of pace and we didn't utilize it at any stage. Long ball after long ball and he lost nearly all of them.

2. We lack a coherent plan going forward. It was better when Smyth and Longelo came on.

3. Longelo is not aa good defender. Nesbitt strolled around him for the second goal. Embarrassing.

4. The upcoming international break is coming at the right time. We need to reset. I'd start the team that finished the game yesterday against Grimsby.

It’s difficult to make an informed comment on the match when I didn’t see it, I’ve only the commentary to help form an opinion, it sounded like we had some moments of good approach play but lacked a cutting edge. I tend to agree with @Robbie that it’s possible that now we’ve played a few games in this league opposing managers and coaches have worked out a way to combat our style of play. Now it’s up to MP to try and mix it up a bit and make us less predictable.

As I said last week we are in a higher division we aren’t going to win every game we will have set backs and maybe have runs where we lose several games against better opposition.

Pre season I said a good season would be for us to finish just above the relegation zone, I was accused of being negative but I stand by that, this season has to be about survival. We need to stick with the lads and do all we can to help them get results. The fans have been great so far I hope it continues.

Tough break for LW

11 months in charge W18 L20 D9 & 'fourth round of the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2009'

They put Harley and Rawlinson in temporary charge.

I think it's likely P'Boro will be keeping company with other clubs down towards the bottom this season.

Burnley 1-1 Derby County
Portsmouth 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
Blackpool 0-0 Plymouth Argyle
Luton Town 2-1 Bradford City Joker
Accrington Stanley 0-1 Newport County
Northampton Town 1-3 Rotherham United
Eastleigh 0-2 Carlisle United
Halifax Town 1-1 Sutton United

Burnley 1-1 Derby County
Portsmouth 1-0 Blackburn Rovers
Blackpool 2-1 Plymouth Argyle Joker
Luton Town 1-0 Bradford City
Accrington Stanley 1-0 Newport County
Northampton Town 0-2 Rotherham United
Eastleigh 1-1 Carlisle United
Halifax Town 1-0 Sutton United

@StarkMallard cheeker bugger!!!

Thanks for the late three points @super_ram!

I’m pretty sure it’s Radio Nottingham who do the interviews, surely they could request to talk to one of the players? I’d be interested to hear the players thoughts, a bit like Martin Partinson’s post match, they’d never give everything away but you get a different perspective because the players are the one’s playing. We, like Martin Paterson, are only watching.

And if it just went out live on the radio, no Notts social media involvement, you’d avoid the social media negativity.

I think it's hard to give a positive interview after a loss. It's hard enough for the Head Coach to give one. It's best to leave it to the Head Coach and just move on.

On 14/09/2026 at 17:44, menzinho said:

I’m pretty sure it’s Radio Nottingham who do the interviews, surely they could request to talk to one of the players? I’d be interested to hear the players thoughts, a bit like Martin Partinson’s post match, they’d never give everything away but you get a different perspective because the players are the one’s playing. We, like Martin Paterson, are only watching.

And if it just went out live on the radio, no Notts social media involvement, you’d avoid the social media negativity.

It would still be picked up, much like us discussing it in topics.

All it takes is a comment about what a player said, even if the club didn't post a video about it. I am 100% sure someone on X would scoop the comments as a means to generate content.

Negativity is best handled with openness; look at all this back-and-forth about Jodi. It could have been put to rest much sooner, and created more issues going round in circles, and who is to point the finger at as it being their fault. Losing such an appreciated player would always bring negativity, but outright honesty can squash the ongoing drama. Press interviews aren't on this scale, so I don't think any negative remarks would last that long if a player said something fans didn't agree with.

I have nothing but respect for BBC Radio Nottingham, but just like the Nottingham Post, they won't ask or push for them. Maybe if we were higher, but we have played second fiddle to Mansfield and they generate enough content from Forest to keep themselves busy.

15 hours ago, Robbie said:

I think it's hard to give a positive interview after a loss. It's hard enough for the Head Coach to give one. It's best to leave it to the Head Coach and just move on.

I don't think it should be about being positive, but rather about being aware and transparent.

The player's perspective is an interesting viewpoint, since they are on the field, and I wouldn't personally hold their account against them. Without fans pushing for the club to handle interviews regardless, nothing will change. Simply, we have to accept that interviews will only be conducted when we win, and anything else is down to the gaffer.

However, there is one exception to the 'defeat' stance, in that Sky Sports sometimes requests them, and it tends to be granted.

In a cup game, for example, it is nice to hear the reactions of our lads when they put on a brave showing. Such as the League Cup defeats to Liverpool in 2013 and Aston Villa in 2015.

If Sky can speak to the players after defeat, I think it shows that the concern for negativity is just pandering and an excuse to other professional players from giving the fans a different account. My thoughts might be different if I had a negative take on losing games, but I don't. They happen; we are not always going to be the best team.

Thank you for the welcome. Maybe a different story to most. I love football and generally attend a few random games in a season when time allows. I have been a follower since 3rd August this year when I picked a random EFL League 1 or League 2.

I want to see if I can be invested in a club without being attached due to location.

My memories of Notts County start from reaching the top division with Steve Cherry in goal. More recently I watched a 3-0 win at Accrington Stanley on a cold January afternoon with a spectacular goal from George Abbott and a lively away following. I made my first trip to Meadow Lane last season to watch the win against Swindon. Again a real positive trip for me.

I have enjoyed the start to the season and getting to know the club. I am an analyst by trade so by coincidence I think this is a good match. Any advice from you all to help me on my journey will be very welcomed.

Welcome @Project Pie, couldn’t have picked a better team, slight word of warning though. We have been known to be The most stressed fans in Football 😜 although these past few years have an upward and happy trend. Enjoy the group, all are a friendly bunch ⚫️⚪️

A big welcome from me @Project Pie & welcome to our community.

8 hours ago, Sheffield Pie said:

This is great news. The fans forum is also an interesting watch (recording is on the Notts website)

Is that what it was? I thought it was a recording of a Technical Board meeting : ) (no mention of that at all, so we can assume it's disbanded/informal only now)

Joking aside, agree with everything about L1 consolidation and being Championship ready over the next 3 years. it was an excellent fans forum

Good news that set the mood ahead of the fans' forum.

I didn't attend, I haven't watched it, but I have seen comments about Jodi Jones, and at this stage I have moved on. There are always two sides, then the truth. Both parties will have their points, and now he plays for Bromley. I think some fans should just focus on the players who are here; Jodi's time won't be forgotten.

The positive thing is the fact that we are in League One and fighting to establish ourselves, and the good news that Martin Paterson has extended his stay.

We don't need to go into whether he will be here by the end of the season or the campaign after that; the contract will ensure we get compensation if he were to leave. Until something comes up, focus on each game as it comes. It's good news which shouldn't be overlooked by speculation when nothing has even been hinted at.

Paterson arrived at Meadow Lane with the desire and attitude to win us over; he guided our lads to promotion and one of the club's best performances at Wembley Stadium. A contact extension is brilliant news, but the focus for us must be on picking up points and establishing ourselves. A lot of credit to our gaffer for his hard work, but we have more to do.

I was never overly worried that Martin Patterson would leave, I think a Championship club would consider him a bit of a gamble, especially one like Burnley who basically want to go back into the Prem as quick as possible. That said the new contract is completely deserved and I hope he's here until 2029, and who knows maybe even beyond that!

I know he doesn't show it but I think Martin is very happy here and I feel like he fits here perfectly too. Notts, because of the set-up, just let him focus on coaching. He mentioned at the fans forum that recruitment isn't what he considers a strength of his, he just wants to coach and improve the players. He's done a great job so far and with him at the helm I think we'll be able to make that gradual improvement year on year.

Finneran had a very good first half but Bradford pushed up more in the 2nd half & I thought Finneran wasn't so effective. Lipsiuc & Mustapha did well in the 1st half.

I thought the whole team competed well in the first half, but it was missing after the interval.

I think a fit Matt Palmer could have made a difference in that 2nd half. I thought Cooper maintained his form in both halves, that is why I'm choosing him for my Notts MotM.

Lucas Ness, though once they scored, did become more nervous, I felt. Without Ness, we would have conceded in the first half, even though I think Bradford looked lacklustre in front of goal. The way Ness dealt with marking two defenders, clearing, and choosing when to be a ball-playing defender was quite something.

The poll has now closed. I'm pleased to announce that Rory Finneran has been voted the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against Bradford.

Middlesbrough 2-1 Norwich City

Preston North End 0-1 Lincoln City

Cambridge United 1-1 Reading

Plymouth Argyle 3-1 Barnsley

Colchester United 2-0 Crewe Alexandra

York City 1-1 Swindon Town (joker)

Halifax Town 1-2 Hornchurch

Yeovil Town 2-1 Fylde

Middlesbrough 2-1 Norwich City

Preston North End 0-1 Lincoln City

Cambridge United 1-1 Reading 🃏

Plymouth Argyle 2-0 Barnsley

Colchester United 0-1 Crewe Alexandra

York City 1-3 Swindon Town

Halifax Town 1-2 Hornchurch

Yeovil Town 1-1 Fylde

The results:

@ARLukomski and @theAnticlough take the glory this round! Honourable mentions too to @cheeky~k8 and @Paris Sandwich Man.

There's change at the top! @Paris Sandwich Man overtakes @4everapie to claim top spot, while @ARLukomski goes third and I surge into a glorious seventh place, which is much cooler anyway.

I'll post Saturday's fixtures on Wednesday (tomorrow at the time of writing). Thanks for playing!

It could give us time to get some injured players back

On 09/09/2026 at 20:20, StarkMallard said:

I suppose this happens when you hit the big time, but three weeks without a proper game is way too long. Surely we're risking a fixture pile-up?

I thought this too, especially as they’ll be more international breaks over the season. I really don’t think turning 2 Saturday matches into mid-week fixtures is beneficial, we’ll go from getting a week to prepare to just a few day and players are potentially less fresh for them too.

Be interesting to see who has been called up, depending on who it is, I wonder if we could've still played the matches?

I don't think it's such a bad thing, but those who encounter issues with the postponements, such as not being able to make the rearrangements or having subscribed to the Pies Player, are a bit of a blow, and I feel for them. It doesn't bother or affect me. We'll have to make the most of the Reading game, which, for me, will be another tough fixture.

By the time we are back in action, ideally some of the injured players will be back and our strength will have increased. I do think we need to rotate players a little, just so that we can keep players sharp.

Hopefully the gap will give some a chance to work on their fitness, and others a much-needed rest.

I didn't understand why some of our fans were giving him stick, but as the game went on, I thought he looked like a different player. Not sure why he tried to wrestle James Belshaw in the second half, acting as if nothing had happened, but I think he looked decent when he wasn't being dirty. I can't remember him playing like this with us, but he was all over some of our lot and I thought he was disappointing to see.

Good players don't need to act like this, and seeing how he got away with so much became quite frustrating. He will always be thanked for what he did for us, but he isn’t that player anymore.

@Chris or anyone else. I can't get to many games because of my job/location...

So was there any reception for AB at all? Any interaction between him and the fans/anyone before or after the match? The negative stuff you mention only?

It's a strange and interesting case

7 minutes ago, theAnticlough said:

So was there any reception for AB at all? Any interaction between him and the fans/anyone before or after the match? The negative stuff you mention only?

There were some boos and chants of 'County Reject' in the early minutes.

I don't think there was much of a reception, but it did turn more towards booing once Aden Baldwin started using more of the dark arts. It wasn't the worst, but it started before he really did anything.

In the second half we never really clicked for some reason, our short passing was poor and the direct passing even worse. We kind of got dragged into a slogging battle with Bradford as the match went on, with the last 20 being the worst of it. Bradford were just happy to whack it long and we just kept giving it back to them. The Powell v Ness battle, where they were both as bad as each other to be fair, was erm, something.

I thought we really struggled out wide and agree with @theAnticlough about the right-hand side being worse off. I can’t put my finger on it but my guess is that Bradford prepared for the inverted wingbacks better than the other opposition so far, because they really stifled us here. I wanted Tsaroulla to go at Touray more especially after he got booked early on, but we proceeded to put very little pressure on him for the rest of the match.

As for the last 30 minutes or so, I actually thought we looked worse with two upfront, because it made us play more direct and we didn’t do it effectively, instead of playing balls in behind/into the channels we just kept forcing Kanu and Smyth into duels.

We were also limited in the middle of the pitch and that is just through injuries. I get why Cooper was dropped deeper but I think he’s much better higher up the pitch. I think with either Robbo or Palmer alongside Finneran we’d have been able to get a bit more control and we’d have been more dangerous with Cooper higher.

There still wasn’t much between the sides, it wasn’t a great match, I think if that gets played another 9/10 times in that way it finishes 0-0.

Yeah, Tsaroulla probably spent the weekend asking himself, what the hell just happened there.

He didn't have his best game by any stretch of the imagination, but the number of times he was isolated and left with two markers isn't the way we play. In our 3-4-2-1, the wide defenders have to join in and get forward to create the overload - there are 2 holding mids and the defence can slide over to cover. Hopefully this is a wake-up call for Pato and Gibbons for home games. If Gibbons can't get close to support our RWB, and sometimes make runs ahead of him, we should pick someone who can. We'll need a points haul from home games that's going to take more positivity and risk-taking than that.

I noticed that Bradford are quite the tall team, some of their players made it very difficult for both good and bad reasons. Notts just weren't at their best, and I think the starting line-up should have had a little more thought. I realise it's usually good to avoid changes, but I think one or two would have made the difference we needed.

Bradford City are a good team, but nothing special. It took some real quality, and a chance to strike from a defensively Notts must start doing better to close down.

The criticism of James Belshaw I heard and have seen after the game is incredibly harsh; why was Nick Tsaroulla the only player close to challenging? Why didn't we defend as a tighter unit, and once they scored I think we became quite the risk at the back. A more efficient team at goal could have made it a real nightmare for us.

If our midfield had its act together, we'd have done better and quite possibly turned it around.

Switching to two strikers helped, but we need to stop trying to walk the ball into the net and try to open up play from striking distance as Bradford did. Sometimes those types of goals are the only difference, but despite how we played I don't think we deserved to lose.

I think Patto is trying to combine aggression with a good footballing style. We can see he wants the team to to press high and win the ball in the opponents half of the pitch, but its not all about physicality. He often comments on the need to pass forward through the lines and not side to side. This is not hopeful long balls but passes through the centre of the pitch to feet. This is clearly a work in progress and I believe we have the squad capable of pulling if off.

Considering some of the teams last season I still thought we were one of the better footballing sides, but the difference was we were more flexible. Take the play-offs, we were kind of happy to let Chesterfield have the ball because we’d worked on the out of possession shape and we knew we could create chances from pressing. Then in the final, given it was 30°+ it’s virtually impossible to play an effective press so we switched back to a more possession-based style. Salford were very much an up and at you team under Robinson and they didn’t adapt.

Now we aren’t side the is 100% committed to trying to always have possession of the ball, we can be just as effective without it. It’s a double edge sword, but in a good way for us! Against Huddersfield we were more focused in our out of possession play and we came away with a point. Against Burton home (second half) we showed we are still capable of dominating the ball and creating chances through good passing play. It’s the best of both worlds right now and I think it’s going to serve us well this season.

League One is very competitive; the gulf between a good League Two side and a team that must avoid relegation from League One isn't all that different. A team can have quality and depth, but it takes consistency at a much higher level to stay as an established team at this level.

The talk I heard prior to Bradford about us being "Championship" ready is, at the kindest possible reading, optimistic thinking.

Huddersfield showed what quality there is in the lower half of the Championship; Leicester, despite being very poor, showed they had Championship quality within them. I am not downplaying our squad, there's much more needed from them and it's still early days. The signs are positive, as we look capable of playing well in two halves.

Teams all have off days; this Saturday perhaps comes down to us not choosing the right starting lineup.

Defensively, I think we have made a lot of improvements, but more is naturally to come. The lapse in awareness and judgment is what is still costing us points.

We can attack very nicely with pure passing football, and I have noticed we look a lot more dangerous on the break.

Counter-attacking football is massive at this level and higher. Bradford turned it on quite nicely, though they failed to make their finishing count, I feel. So, I think comparisons are only half of the picture and that we have made progress. Yet, I wouldn't gloss over what further we need to do in order to be at our best. I think, with time and the new signings settling in more, we'll start to show a lot more of the quality we have seen in the earlier games so far, but on a more consistent basis.

It took a bit of time last season for the quality to improve; this season it might be a little harder due to the talented teams we face, but I am confident that we can establish ourselves. I would like Notts to walk before running, as we need to be fully ready to push for promotion.

I would hate to see all our good work undone by failing to get the basics needed to improve at this level right first.

What a story, it's something I have never heard about. True underdog story, though with a sad ending.

It’s a story I’ve not heard either, interesting stuff thanks for posting @Piethagoram

@Fan of Big Tone it’s amazing how stories like this stay hidden until somewhere highlights it, hopefully it will continue to be picked up and do the loops as stories like this do deserve to be told. Triumph over all, it's something quite remarkable.

The football equivalent of a person having two compound names.

I wished Blair would slow down; Super and Jake say I speak fast, but he's spitting words out in a very thick Scottish accent, which I honestly find hard to understand. That complaint had it is a good video and I do love the insights in this. Those steps early in the video remind me of Meadow Lane and other clubs with traditional stadiums.

I also think it's a myth that you have to spend money to save a club, and the issue I find with constant takeovers is that they're not addressing the actual problem. I think Albion Rovers would benefit from supporter ownership and a better understanding of what makes clubs successful without throwing money.

There's a lot of uncaptured football talent in Scotland, and I think a club like them would benefit from finding talent that hasn't found a club to get the best out of them at academy level. They could get the foundations right there and replicate what has made other higher-up teams successful in producing talent that has a resale value. I am not suggesting it's this easy, but the club does seem lost and stuck in their ways; it's clearly not working, and they appear to have a loyal community supporting them.

I haven't watched it in years; does anyone still persist with it? I don't even watch the Football League highlights anymore, but I am interested in what people think of the absence of Gary Lineker.

Yes I watch Match of the Day and Football League highlights Saturday night wouldn’t be the same if not, MOTD is usually watched in bed and sometimes I nod off but watch the recording next day.

I thought I’d miss Gary Lineker and was sad to see him go but I haven’t really missed him to be honest the other presenters Gabby Logan, Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman do a good enough job. I wish there was less chat with the pundits and more football though. Mark Chapman in particular seems to go on and on with the analysis.

I will give the next airing a watch and share my thoughts. Personally, I would rather ex-players who are good at hosting shows were given a chance. Mind, those who wanted Alan Shearer to take over must have wanted to go to sleep early. He's an alright pundit, but he tends to be quite negative; he was during this past World Cup.