It was rather chilly today & a marked difference to the Weather from yesterday here.

Was taken by surprise by the Didzy news today that his injury would rule him out of the playoffs.

I remain optimistic that Notts can turn things around on Saturday. Jodi Jones believes they have a good chance, so I will keep believing.

Watched the classic film "Logan's Run" with Michael York, Jenny Agutter, & Peter Ustinov, this evening.

Merry Christmas! 

No, I’ve not gone crazy  that’s what we are up to today, having our Christmas present.

A bit late as it’s been difficult to get a time when all 4 of us are free, we are off to a Derbyshire restaurant for a posh 3 course,, child free, lunch with our son and daughter-in-law. 

It’s the best sort of present, it doesn’t need shelf space, we don’t have to dust it and the memories will last forever.

It will be nice to talk without the kids, although we do enjoy going out with them it’s rare to have an adults only chat so will make a change.
 

Connections
Puzzle #704






I was just about to submit  wrongly when I spotted the very obvious but differently pronounced football connection

Connections
Puzzle #704

Phew  

Connections
Puzzle #705

#waffle1210 2/5

streak: 5
wafflegame.net

#waffle1211 5/5

streak: 400
#wafflegenius
wafflegame.net

400 up!!!!

#waffle1211 3/5

streak: 6
wafflegame.net

The correct letter was standing right in front of me. Didn't think there was two of a kind

Wordle 1,426 X/6

Wordle 1,427 4/6

Wordle 1,427 6/6

Why did the pie go to the dentist? He needed a filling.

Here is your Wednesday Weather 4cast.

Your Weather 4cast for Thursday 

Your Friday Weather 4cast.

I think Millwall was never the right fit for Macaulay Langstaff, I said it at the time, and their squad doesn't suit his style of play. The spell in the Championship shouldn't really impact his career options, some other Championship teams might still be interested. I am hearing that Portsmouth are amongst one of the clubs sending scouts out to watch him. A better suite for Macca would be Coventry City or Derby County.

At least in the Championship, as both those teams have good midfields and room for a striker who will be given time to play.

That said, I think it's more than likely he will remain playing second fiddle in Millwall's team. The start of their season wasn't all that good, and even whilst signing Macca they were linked with Mihailo Ivanović who made a significant impact upon his signing.

Millwall are a bit top-heavy with forwards now, so I can only see them allowing Langstaff to go out on loan or sell him if the fee is bigger than they paid, which realistically doesn't seem likely. His stock value has fallen, his time in the Championship is being considered  a flop, so it's important that he takes what chance he gets or looks for an alternative move. Though his wages are allegedly around £12k, so a loan could be tricky because it will limit a lot of League One teams who are not sure he can repeat his magic here at Notts.

I agree with what you said @Chris Macca had to try himself at a higher level, & he had a big pay rise too when he transferred to Millwall.

It does demonstrate that the style of play between different clubs can affect how a player performs.

A lot of football science goes into the recruitment of players & you can understand why. Buying & playing players is an expensive business.

I'm sure that Millwall checked to see if Macca would integrate successfully nto their style of play, but unfortunately it didn't go the way they planned.

Macca is a great finisher & he's good at getting into threatening positions, however he does need the right supply.

Unfortunately he does have a long contract at Millwall so unless some club is prepared to pay close to the fee he cost Millwall, it does look as though a loan period for him would be the best option.

I do think jumping up from League 2 to the Championship was always going to be a challenge, even more so in team like Millwall that doesn't typically create a lot of chances. Not to disrespect the defenders in League 2 but the standard of defenders he has come up against this season are levels above what he was regularly facing with us.

Maybe from a footballing perspective he’ll have been disappointed, but like @DangerousSausage says considering not that long ago he was playing in the National League North, he’s secured himself a long-term contract in the Championship which gives him financial security that he probably didn’t expect would ever happen.

A definite NO for Morais......play Traore and Whittaker up top......

As much as I would like to see Morias & Traoré given a chance, I think that Maynard will play safe and stick to the players that have been playing regularly around the first team.

I think that Grant & Jarvis will play up front & Stuart could spring a surprise & put George Abbott in the number ten roll.

Traore and Morias would seem like the obvious replacements, but I get it’s not just as simple as that. Will Traore be physically strong enough to compete against Wimbledon’s back line? He has at least been involved second half of the season whereas Morias hasn’t played for months. He’ll likely be well off the pace. He might just make the subs bench now but I’d be really surprised to see him in the starting 11.

We are then looking at Whitaker, who I do quite like as a player, but that’s usually because he’s alongside Jatta and Didzy… I'd change the formation to allow for a front 3 of Jodi (RW), Traore (CF) and Jarvis (LW).

Imagine if we did play Junior Morias and he did well, it would fuel further disappointment as to why we have never given him much of a chance. Training doesn't count, most players perform equally in the drills, and against our players isn't the biggest reveal of a player's ability. His pace could be very vital, especially to make Wimbledon less hands-on and scare them into making challenges.

We have to use the home game as fuel to push ourselves, provide a strong group, and just go for it.

I really want us to get one up over Johnnie Jackson, he barely did anything for us and didn't like that he wasn't walking straight into our team. Very disrespectful towards our club, which most fans don't seem to care about. Jake Reeves faced boos and was labelled a County reject. However, he made it very clear he signed a one-year deal and wanted to play league football. There's no comparison to Reeves, he served us during his time and wasn't all that bad.

Because we won the league, Jackson is oddly remembered with false praise despite doing all he could to walk out of our club. Long before Munto was even known to be false, he disrespected Nottingham, or club, and didn't want to fight for his place. I wished more knew, but booing players IMO tends to encourage them to be at their best. I just want us to beat Wimbledon and Jackson. To show Notts should be taken more seriously.

It's going to be difficult, missing Alasana Jatta and David McGoldrick are major blows.

It could work to our advantage if they start counting their chickens and feel the 1-0 lead is enough. I mean, they looked like they were settling for a point before they scored. We have the ability to control the narrative and outcome, we just need to convert chances and work hard to create them.

I expect it to be very cagey at the beginning, but I hope we grow into the game and I'll be doing all I can to create a positive atmosphere. We need to sing loudly and be proud, no matter what happens on the pitch. Our backing and encouragement comes from how vocal we can be. COYP!!

32 minutes ago, Chris said:

We need to sing loudly and be proud, no matter what happens on the pitch. Our backing and encouragement comes from how vocal we can be. COYP!!

I’ll do my best in front of the telly, hopefully they’ll hear me. 

I’d imagine Wimbledon will be going into this game even more positively now they know he two players that basically score all our goals won’t be playing.

I've listened to the little interview with Jodi and it sounds encouraging, he clearly thinks Wimbledon are feeling a tad over-confident so the team isn't lacking any motivation.

It'll be tough though as we will have to play a slightly different system now. It's either going to look short on quality and provide little to no threat or it will surprise everyone and work pretty well!

Gutted for all Notts fans.The injuries to my 2 teams just continue

Well it's up to Grant, Jarvis, Traore or Morias now.

My bet is on Grant, Jarvis,  Abbott or Whittaker being the front three..

It could end up working in Notts favour.

I get on the one hand you announce this for us as fans but at the same time it seems a bit daft as now Wimbledon can plan and change their tactics knowing McGoldrick won’t play.

It's a massive blow though and to be fair we got more out of him than I imagined we would this season. We cannot go into next season and still be in the same situation where McGoldrick, if he stays, carries our main attacking threat though. He is class but if we want to continue to get the best out of him, we’ll need to manage his minutes better.

My best guess 

 "All the fours".

But I'm sure it's completely wrong

3 hours ago, super_ram said:

One for all and all for one.Probably wrong but my best guess.

You’re nearly there @super_ram just the wrong way round.

As Captain Mainwaring used to say(Or something similar) - Well done @Fan of Big Tone ,I wondered who'd spot that first! 

11 hours ago, DangerousSausage said:

What made me angry was Platt being held for the goal. It should have been disallowed.

I’m glad you’ve brought that up @DangerousSausage yes I saw that too the goal should never have been allowed and the players should have been appealing vociferously, I don’t like to see players surrounding the ref but other teams do it to our disadvantage.

Looks like Jatta is in for more than a one game ban.

Looks like he could easily get a five game ban or more which will impact his value of he is sold this summer & if he stays he will be unavailable for several matches at the beginning of the season. 

He won't be playing against Wimbledon which might be a blessing in disguise for Notts. He needs to get a good rest & come back for training pre season fully refreshed if he's still a Notts player.

from @ARLukomski

If Notts had won 10 games instead of 20, they could have been relegated with 42 points instead of having a chance to get to a playoff final.

Stuart Maynard's Notts County Record

Total

Matches

71

Wins

28

Draws

15

Defeats

28

Win Percentage

39%

Awoniyi in induced coma after surgery https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cn0g8qyjywjo

It's a very serious injury & shouldn't have been allowed to happen. A Forest player was clearly offside & the game should have been stopped immediately. 

The rules on VAR need to be changed after this injury that should have been avoided.

I just wish Taiwo has a speedy recovery.

It’s just awful, I really hope the authorities look at this rule.

Aye, I know he made contact with the ball.

I do feel for Jatta, he was clearly distraught and emotional. There's always the chance for things like this to happen, and there really wasn't any need for the Dons' player to pretend he had been caught. It must be frustrating for Jatta, as he will miss the away leg, and that for us as a club could prove crucial. He'll come back stronger, and he'll learn from the experience.

I am sure we'll see him again for us next season, the incident might deter some of the clubs watching him from bidding to see how he reacts. Or, he could be sold, but I don't think it's likely, personally.

Notts had plenty of chances to change the outcome well before Jatta was sent off. Conor Grant should have put more power on his chip, that was a huge miss for us and a sign of how unfortunate we would be. I don’t think Wimbledon looked all that strong in their win. They have a good keeper and height in their defence, but I wouldn’t rule Notts out doing better away from home. Still, the loss was disappointing.

I don’t fault the effort from any player. I just wish some of those close calls had been finished more clinically. Jodi Jones gave me hope when he smashed the post, and Goodman celebrated as if he had saved it.

To be honest @Joshua, Grant needed to lift his shot over the keeper and if he'd put too much power on it it would have been crossbar bound. It was just a very good clearance. But i agree that Wimbledon looked beatable. I wouldn't count us out yet. 

Jack Draper into another Masters 1000 Final, this time on clay.

Another 3 points should get Barcelona the title. They should achieve that easily in their last three matches.

Real Madrid will still be in the Champions League so missing out on the title won't be so bad for them.

Knowing them, the Manager's position might be under threat. They don't like failure even if they have come second.

The Spanish League, just like the Premier League & Bundesliga are just so predictable. 

The top five or six Clubs that are the richest get richer & the rest have to manage with the scraps on offer.

Whilst I don't particularly like either team, it would still be quite the experience to watch this game at either of the teams home grounds. Nou Camp for me, would be quite breathtaking, especially if the weather was super nice.

I really like that joke about the French Ninja Turtle! It's pretty funny!

I don’t think there’s much that separates a number of our better performers last night, majority would’ve scored 6 or 7/10 from me. If Grant had scored, he would’ve been my MotM but I can’t look past his poor finishing. Platt just edges the rest for me.

I’ve gone for David McGoldrick although I think quite a few players put in a good shift.

The Poll has now closed.

I'm delighted to announce that David McGoldrick is the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against AFC Wimbledon.

Well done David.

Tea has been taken.

Hampshire are 33 for 3 in their second innings.

Hampshire need 450 runs to win.

A three day comprehensive win for Notts.

Hampshire 116 all out.

Notts win by 366 runs.

Latest County Championship Division  One table.

Nottinghamshire on top.

Dissapointing result last night particularly as Notts played very well & deserved to win the match in my opinion. 

Notts created plenty of chances & they certainly played to a high level especially in the 2nd half. 

The way Notts managed to open up the Wimbledon defence on several occasions gives me great hope.

A one goal deficit going into the 2nd leg means that this playoff semi is not over by any means.

Notts have the 2nd best away record in league two this season, so they will be hopeful to be able to turn things around in their favour at plough lane.

I think that a Notts early goal would force Wimbledon to come out & make the running which could give Notts that extra space to exploit upfront.

I'm still going to believe that Notts can make the playoff final, which would be a great achievement.

Hoping that Didzy will be fit for next Saturday. His place in the side will be vital for Notts.

Morning all, I guess we are all a little deflated by yesterdays results, I’ve put my thoughts in the matchday thread.

It’s another fine day here, we’ve got grandchildren until their mum and dad come home later today.

Yesterday young Fred was entertaining us showing us his tricks on the skateboard, then he got his virtual reality goggles out which was hilarious watching him walk around the garden doing things which only he could see.

Another lovely day here. It's going to be warm but it's a bit windy too.

Was out in the garden early mowing the lawn before it got warm. Mrs wanted it done because she wanted the washing out early too.

Nice to get the grass cut & tidied up early. Time to get the dried washing in for the Mrs now. 

My new DVD seems to be working well. It is very small & light too. It's about 10 by 8 inches. My old DVD was twice that size & about 10 times the weight. Three year warranty with it too which is useful.

another american takeover, which i hope for the sake of colchester united that it is done with the clubs best interest and not a vanity project.

I'm not sure where these figures are from, but they seem a bit on the high side. The season we were relegated to the Bananarama Premier, we were League Two's top spenders on 3 million for the year while two or three clubs didn't evenmake seven figures. In League One a few years before, about 2.5 million was enough to place us in mid table in terms of budget.

I find it hard to believe wages have grown that much, unless these are for overall club expenditure and not just playing staff?

I don't find it surprising that we're not near the top though. Most of the teams are about where I expected, with the exception of Colchester. 

It would be interesting to be able to compare clubs finances more equally, as this doesn't really factor in if owners/clubs are overspending or are making smart decisions not to overspend on the payroll. I also assume this only takes into consideration the players wages rather than staff.

What is interesting is seeing how much each team is spending on the player positions. Notts seem to have focused on attack and midfield, with the defence not all that far behind. If I could access the previous seasons, it would probably paint a picture of why we weren't as strong defensively as we are now. As for Notts being placed where they are, I don't think it means much in the grand scheme of things.

It does highlight and reflect well on our recruitment because on paper I believe we do have a squad very capable of winning promotion.

Also, some teams have purchased players and thrown wages on them in a bid to succeed. It really goes to show just how important the right balance is, having a squad that's together and a club focus on moving forward. We are making good progress; we need to remember this.

you might say that we have overachieved the past two seasons, not being in a relegation battle but tipped for promotion is so much better. i think we spend our resources wisely and that shows when we have spells at the very top. i find it very hard to be dishearten by everything, especially those who want stuart maynard out. i just dont see the point of being so anti maynard when he has done a lot better than luke williams.

i dont think williams would have wanted defenders this past summer, i think he would have wanted to focus on being top heavy in the attacking department.

having the 12th highest budget, and finishing 6th looks a lot healthier.

Last time I looked at the League table Notts finished in sixth place in League 2, despite the injuries to key players for much of the season.

For Notts to finish in the playoffs is a big improvement from last season's effort & that should be applauded.

If Notts can get to another Wembley final in front of a 50 K + crowd, it would be a great achievement & another great day out for the Notts fans.

If we get promoted it would be a fantastic achievement, but if we do or we don't, I'm sure the owners, together with the management, will look to improve the squad for next season.

We went into that with about a 5% chance of promotion tops. Bradford and Walsall both winning (in doing so rendering our result irrelevant) takes the edge off the disappointment, but it was still a really poor performance and doesn't bode well for the play-offs.

Mark Stallard frequently commented that Donny were under more pressure, and for us it was a free hit. I'm not sure I quite agree with him - the visitors had already achieved promotion, so for them yesterday was a bit of fun with the aim of winning the title as the cherry on the cake. We hadn't achieved anything yet and our season depended on not conceding early. To me, the team looked more scared of losing than hungry to win. We never truly threw the shackles off even at 2-0 down.

Once again we were harmless going forwards. Grant and Whitaker were anonymous and should have been replaced sooner than they were. Our only attacking outlet were the wing backs, who were too far away from Jatta. As a result, most of our attacking moves petered out with aimless crosses. The fact that we missed a 37-year-old this badly goes to show how much quality we've lost in this area since last season. We finished the match with three players who have suffered long-term injuries this season, which also tells a story. But why was Palmer taking set pieces even with Jones on the pitch? And if McGoldrick was so unfit he couldn't even play the last 20 minutes, what was he doing on the bench in the first place?

SM has managed his juggling act well enough to secure a play-off place, but I doub't we have the quality to make the step up this season.

Doncaster Rovers wanted Notts to look for passes which they could intercept, and it forced Notts to either play long balls or passes which wasn't direct. Whilst they looked dangerous, and perhaps the most organised I have seen by a visiting team at Meadow Lane. I thought even though the start was prone to more mistakes, the pressure came from Doncaster. All this talk of Notts looking uninterested, it's that element of not understanding how football is played to some degree.

Creatively, it could have been a totally different game, and I personally think defensively lead to the issues which favoured Doncaster.

Alex Bass had limitations on where to put the ball, due to how much we were being pressed by them. Defensively, we didn't want the ball for very long, and that led to poor decisions. Even George Abbott lost the ball countless times, even after winning it back, and I still can't see how he's being rated insanely high compared to other players.

Kellan Gordon has the ability to put in fantastic crosses, balls which Notts must learn to be able to attack, but at the same time he's one of the most frustrating players in the squad. I don't doubt that Gordon has the ability to be more consistent and a very important player, but when he limits his runs. Walks the ball out for a throw-in, and doesn't really take on players as he clearly can. It just becomes apparent that he's not pushing himself enough.

It's the opposite with Jodi Jones, he wasn't very good in the first half, but you have to be constructive and fair. Otherwise, when he plays brilliantly and you jump on the Jodi bandwagon, you seem only interested in when things are going well. He's not ready to be starting games, he's clearly worried and intimidated about suffering another injury. Could he be braver? I don't think many in his exact situation would do any better. He clearly has a love for the game, and football is his livelihood. The fact he has come back from so many setbacks, that has to be taken into consideration. I felt he did much better in the second half, but it's a mistake to be starting him.

Stuart Maynard and Jodi probably had a discussion, where both are wanting the best outcome, but if Jodi can't play like the final 20 minutes of the Doncaster game against AFC Wimbledon, we should leave him to be an impact sub. I wouldn't be surprised if he took his performance personally, and how does a player come back from that? It's hard, unless people are understanding, and the manager gives the player a bit more time.

Rod McDonald did very well defensively, I think Matty Platt and Jacob Bedeau both struggled but they tried. It wasn't the best performance by them, but it stems from Doncaster's approach.

We can call the performance rubbish, but Notts were beaten by the better team who were more organised and had the momentum of winning the title. Had the game been played under different circumstances, and earlier in the season, I think it would have played out differently. I was at their home leg, and I didn't see the same team. I thought they were poor, and not much improved from last season. A season where their fans wanted the manager out, and they looked to have financial issues. How much rosier do we have it now under the Reedtz?

Alassana Jatta was unlike himself, probably the most underperforming player on the pitch, and it wasn't due to a lack of creativity. He just seemed very off, and considering it's the end of the season, performances can dip. This is why Stuart Maynard, and the players themselves, need to call for more focus.

Conor Grant and Charlie Whitaker found it challenging to cope with Doncaster's aggressive tactics, particularly their tendency to pull shirts. They were both fouled several times, but no excuses, they could have done better. I personally thought Whitaker looked to be the more productive of the two.

I am surprised by some of the reactions to Matt Palmer, he seemed the most consistent player on the pitch and very forward-thinking. His performance still stands out as one of the more consistent in my memory.

For context, Palmer had a 76% pass rate and Abbott only had 40%. The second highest in our team, with Platt being the highest at 78%. Whilst passing isn't the main thing, it does usually give an indication on who performed more consistently throughout a game, and considering Bedeau was the third highest with 43%, it does say something. The issue with Platt, we play the ball out from the back and he could have defended better in key moments. Also, it's worth noting that although Doncaster were very good. Their own passing accuracy wasn't remotely good.

It would suggest they had the better approach to tactics, and created chances which they were able to finish.