@theAnticlough said, "The point I'm trying to make is that our identity can be eroded in many different ways. One of those would be recruiting different types of midfielders, or for any key position".

The owners definitely believe in possession based football, there is no doubt about that, but I do see a subtle change in the programming for their football radar analysis system regarding the type of players Notts are looking for.

I think back to the difference of approach between Williams & Maynard. Luke being attack minded, Stuart more defence minded. Now Martin wants to be more physical.

There has to be a fine balance between attack, defence, now physicality. Martin has to get all three right now. I think Martin has enough players for him to decide who fits best across the side especially in midfield. I hope it doesn't take him too long.

Definitely @Robbie, I really like MP. Let's hope there's a winning formula somewhere in the squad for him to find.

Those adaptations though....

You could say 'a subtle change in the programming for their football radar analysis system'

or

the start of a kind of flip-flopping Trew did with his manager appointments, swinging from one side of the options to the other. We're supposed to have an attacking, ball-playing, possession-based approach. But let in a few goals - go more defensive. Get beat a few times by some bruisers - get tougher, recruit more physical players.

How the season plays out will provide the answers. Have the club been really smart in recalibrating their data model? Or have they just confused themselves? Hoping and praying for the former, obviously.

I think sometimes you can get hung-up on style of football, if you want to be possession-based or defensive and direct you can, you just have to have the coach and players that are capable of doing it. It’s more about how effective you put into practice your chosen style. If say under Paterson we have less possession and play more direct, but get results will anyone really care?

That said I still think the possession-based style is there, it was very evident against Newport, particularly first half. Salford just did really well to stifle us and our movement and general sloppiness on the ball didn’t help us.

On @theAnticlough point about Norburn I agree he’s not had a great start but he’s possibly been thrown in too early. He missed a lot of the pre-season and so perhaps he's not quite up to speed. Very early days but right now it’s got to be Palmer and Iorpenda in the middle and that will help us to play the progressive possession-based style. Norburn played under Steve Bruce at Blackpool and that definitely wasn’t possession based, by when he went to Wigan on loan he would've played a more possession-based style under Ryan Lowe.

I think adding a more physical and quick players benefits a possession-based side too, Dennis, Cotter, Iorpenda & Bennetts all look pacey. Possession based doesn’t always mean 5 yard tippy-tappy balls, you can still play direct balls and be possession based, you just need players actually making the runs so they can get onto the ball before the opposition!

I do think we’ve gone a bit wild with the recruitment though, that to me suggests we are not 100% sure about who or what we want. I wouldn’t have said at the end of last season we needed lots of changes, just some good replacements for the players we lost.

Surprised there are no votes for our colourblind Goalkeeper??

The poll has now closed. Thank you to all who voted. I am very pleased to announce that Keanan Bennetts has been voted as the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against Salford.

I thought he had a very good game, a little disappointed for Sonny Aldjofree as I really do believe he was up there, but you can't argue with the votes. Second half, Keanan Bennetts looked like a very sharp player.

I am very pleased for him; thanks to all who voted!

Please look out for the poll against Wigan.

i think the timing of the interview is quite good, with the focus on the weekend coming to make meadow lane a fortress and explaining the thought process behind the signings. i am not one of them to lose hope based on signings, it takes more to chip at my positivity and i think i am quite patient. i do think a lot of notts fans need to be more mindful about how they quite easily go into meltdowns.

3 hours ago, Robbie said:

It's too late for Stuart, but it does appear that the Club have learned lessons from what happened between January & May when Stuart was left on his own.

That’s exactly what I mean. Fans asked for this before, and now it’s finally here.

We’ve still got a head coach who’s learning, but he’ll gain a lot from the people around him. With his own drive to win matches, having that support should help things go better than they would have without it.

Well, if the club has learned anything from listening to fans pleas, they should be trying to sort out the lone striker requirement.

The interview was decent, most of what you would expect, but the intention for the interview wasn't aimed at someone like me; it was aimed toward his doubters and the fans who are concerned. I thought I read that the club was looking at bringing in another striker; I know they don't grow on trees, but the thought of signing someone who can score 20+ needs to be lowered to someone who can get double digits easily.

So far this season, we don't seem to want to walk the ball into the net, which will make it difficult for someone like Matthew Dennis. I hope Roberto Gagliardi sees that we need someone who can lead the line.

While we relied on what we refer to as "walking the ball into the net," it did lead to a lot of goals being scored.

There's no reason why we need to avoid it; just don't rely on it as the only means of scoring.

Credit @ARLukomski

I don’t think there’s any need for fans to panic or spread fear. Yes, it was a poor start at Meadow Lane, but we should try to stay supportive. Some players aren’t fully match fit yet, others haven’t settled in, and we’ve got a new head coach who people seem to change their minds about very quickly.

We’re Notts County, stress levels are always high and the football isn’t always perfect. Trust the players to put things right, and give Martin Paterson ten games before making a judgement. Salford beat us because we didn’t use the ball well, but that’s something we can fix.

We’ve played two games and have one point. Worrying about losing now doesn’t help. Salford did well enough when they weren’t cheating or wasting time, and I agree that it got into our players’ heads. We need to be stronger mentally.

The biggest thing missing against Salford was attacking intent. We didn’t create chances or take shots. There were no solo runs, no drifting wide, and we didn’t make use of the space through the middle. That has to change.

On 10/08/2025 at 19:45, TheSkipper said:

I don’t think there’s any need for fans to panic or spread fear. Yes, it was a poor start at Meadow Lane, but we should try to stay supportive. Some players aren’t fully match fit yet, others haven’t settled in, and we’ve got a new head coach who people seem to change their minds about very quickly.

Well said @TheSkipper

It’s very early days and we all know how things can change very quickly in football, if things haven’t changed after 10 games then we can start to worry, there’s no need to panic yet.

I’m still pretty new to the site, but I’ve noticed things getting better. I really like how it looks and works, and it’s nice that people are being kind to me. Even though I’m young, it feels like my thoughts matter.

The updates are a good idea to help everyone know what’s going on, even if not many people read them. It shows that someone cares about keeping us all in the loop.

48 minutes ago, Ash said:

Even though I’m young, it feels like my thoughts matter.

@Ash we are family here, young like you or old like me or ancient like @super_ram 😂 it doesn’t matter how old you are your views are respected.

Update:

I have corrected the Head Coach page, retitling it from "The Manager" to Head Coach to fit in with the club's vision. It's fully updated to cover Martin Paterson.

https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/club/head-coach/

The first team staff page is also now updated: https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/club/staff/

As is the first team squad: https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/club/first-team-squad/

Instead of doing goalkeeper, defender, midfield, attack. I have categorised the players into the positions they fit in our current system. Therefore, at least to me, it makes sense to identify where a player should be expected to play. Avoiding the club's current layout, where players seem to be thrown on, i.e, Barry Cotter is a wing back, as is Kellan Gordon. Not a defender or midfielder, as the OS has them currently.

League table has prime positions now styled in with CSS: https://prideofnottingham.co.uk/club/league-table/

All toggle nicely between the light and dark versions of the themes PON offers.

I am hoping to get the newsletter widget upgraded, with the API pointing to the system PON will be using.

I tried briefly to send bulk messages at the beginning of the pre-season, but it didn't work as I had hoped. So, I will focus on curating an email list where people will have subscribed. Therefore, I can focus on delivering the news, information, and guest pieces for them.

Both the league and squad page now use the app I spoke about previously.

It would be great if some members would be willing to volunteer some time to help me with this, as I need to add a lot of data to make the most of the system's full features. Primarily focusing on adding players to different teams. (Please let me know in the comments if you can help.)

Upcoming versions will feature data-driven statistics widgets.

Top 5 goalscorers, assists, league, and Notts-related statistics, among much more.

The fixture widgets will be sprinkled around the site, so we can show the upcoming game and previous results in selected areas. Linking to our match reports and match discussions.

Man of the Match ratings, along with team and formation selectors, prediction league, and what grounds you have visited. All are to be looked into; the current prediction league will not be replaced, it will just be easier to manage and remind people. Scores will be guessed, then posted to the appropriate topic with the Joker card. After which, @DangerousSausage can automate the scores and league table accordingly. That information will then be posted to the topic. 👍🏻

Historical data and stat pages will also be a future goal for the application, as I wish to preserve as much history of the Pride of Nottingham as I can. There are some excellent resources out there, but my aim is to make sure any data PON has will be future-proof.

There's no ETA or timeline with the future features, the main thing is to get the system as powerful as possible with the core functions.

I’m curious to see how George Abbott gets on without the support he had at Notts. It’ll be interesting to see if he plays the same way for them. His role will be key, because we know he’s a classy player who’s going places. Being loaned to a League One side makes sense, bigger clubs want to test their young players at higher levels before pushing them further. Spurs have done that before with signings from League One and the Championship. I wish Abbott all the best at Wycombe.

Best Of Luck Georgie Boy. After last season down the Lane, I was surprised a Championship Club didn't come in for him. I think he's have done well at Derby. Wycombe have got themselves a Gem and if they back him like the Magpies did, he'll be in for another Good Season, I'll keep an eye out on his progress.

Although they lost, looks like he was one of Wycombe's bright sparks in the match. Don't favour them too much this season, hope he manages to avoid relegation.

Wow. Is it almost 60 years ago? I remember going to GEM with my parents. The store seemed to go on for ever and ever. It was revolutionary for its time.

I'm pleased for Macca that he seems to be turning things around for himself at Millwall. It is still true about him, if he gets the right supply he will score goals.

That's three goals for Macca in the last two games. He came on as a substitute today, but if he can keep hitting the back of the net as a super sub it won't belong before he's in the starting eleven.

One thing's for sure, he won't be leaving Millwall while he keeps banging the goals in. If he does, his fee will have gone up for a perspective buyer, that is for sure.

Well Done Macca!! Pleased For The Guy, if like it's been said Millwall Play To His Strengths Then He'll Get The Goals.

I can't see the season tickets selling many more now, but the club has to keep plugging them. I would love to know the amount of sales in total and the potential number of away fans expected to make the trip to Nottingham.

It would be interesting to know how many non season season ticket holder members there are who can't get to every match, but want to pay for a discounted ticket when they can attend.

I do think that the amount of season tickets sold will get the attendance over 10K at least for every home match.

.

Hello, @MC 11. Please take some time to get used to things and once you do, you will see there's many good ways to find content which might suite you better. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham.

Hello, @MC 11. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. We like welcoming members, even if few introduce themselves or get involved. However, we always hope that members will. Welcome again and enjoy the site!

Hello, @MC 11. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community!

I do apologise for not taking the time to welcome you, somehow I must have missed this.

It’s a bit different for us to try and make the most of the loan market. The club has usually treated it as a way to bring in the odd player who fits a gap. I just hope we can keep players like Tyrese Hall happy. If he does well, he should get minutes, but there’s always the chance he won’t get the time he needs to show what he can do. I can’t say for sure, but Martin Paterson has plenty of options in midfield now.

Sounds like he’s got a bit of everything. Looking forward to seeing him play.

The young loan signings should offer something different. They must have shown promise to catch the eye of their parent clubs, so we can only hope the loan spells go well.

I don’t mind using this part of the market, as long as every player who comes in is willing to work hard and give solid performances.

Good afternoon, we’ve had another day of cutting up carpet and underlay ready for our new carpet that coming Tuesday. It’s very tiring work shifting furniture about and getting down on my hands and knees to cut lengths of carpet to take to the tip.

We’d had enough by 3pm and I downloaded my ticket for tomorrow then we relaxed in the garden in the lovely sunshine with a cool drink. Mrs. t’s home made chicken biryani tonight looking forward to that.

@Robbie best wishes to Mrs Robbie I don’t envy her a dentist appointment I’ve had far too many recently.

most days seem to fly by but to day, its just seemed slow and it was one of those days where things were non stop at work. i love my job, i put all of my effort into being the best that i can but i came home today feeling drained. i dont normally feel tired at all after leaving, i can be quite hyper and wanting to do the next thing.

8 hours ago, Robbie said:

Mrs R broke one of her back teeth yesterday afternoon just eating a sandwich. Off to the Dentist this morning.

i hope mrs r is okay, i hope it gets fixed and that she has no pain.

8 hours ago, Michael D Pie. said:

Managed to get out for some lovely food last evening with Mrs P and number 2 son. I had Sweet potato, Leek and Cheddar cheese pie (cheese,onion and potato pie really) just poshed it up a little. I haven't had that since I was 10 years old and my Mum used to make it at least once a week and we had it with baked beans, happy days. 😃

reminds me of my own mum, she had certain meals set for every day and it was like clockwork. you never had to think about what you wanted. cheese, onion and potato pie. cottage pie, cheese and beans. all sorts of warm home cooked meals.

8 hours ago, Robbie said:

Mrs R broke one of her back teeth yesterday afternoon just eating a sandwich. Off to the Dentist this morning.

Hope it went OK.

About 3 months ago I took a bite and knew something bad had happened. The pain and sensation went after a day but over the next few weeks, 2 different dentists couldn't find anything wrong, even from x-rays (although the first one offered to yank out my wisdom teeth while he was in there).

I had a different emergency dental problem and holidays which stopped me dealing with this first problem, and lo and behold returning to the second dentist the molar I suspected all along is divided in two all along, you could park a bike there, and is pronounced dead! Now I'm going to have to go down the implant route.

My jaw bone is about to become the recipient of plugs and screws drilled in by power tools.

I agree that UEFA is making a big mistake & FIFA is just behind them when it comes to dealing with Russian teams. I can understand the argument that Football Clubs in Russia shouldn't be punished because of the actions of their Government, but to send their Clubs millions of Euros should not be happening. And as @Chris has said, we just don't know that the money will be spent appropriately.

This gets a bit political, but I want to focus on the point that nobody wanted to give anyone connected to Russia money at the beginning of the war's outbreak. Chelsea's owner had silly sanctions, his money withheld, and further pressure to sell Chelsea, from which sale he donated to Ukraine.

However, this is perfectly fine. Why should they even get a handout?

i am baffled and disappointed by this, i dont see the need for the offer because russia got themselves into this mess.

Tylor Golden, brought in on loan from Salford City in 2021. No appearances made according to Wiki.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylor_Golden

Ethan Smith is a very obscure link between Notts County and Salford City. He began his career with Salford’s B team before making the move to Notts.

Although he’s not yet an established professional and hasn’t played for the first team at Meadow Lane, he still counts as a connection between the two clubs. It’s an unusual one, but worth mentioning all the same.

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ethan-smith/profil/spieler/1314801

i honestly cant think of anyone at this point, i think because salford are relatively new club the amount will be few. hats off to anyone who can name a player or staff member from here.

I thought we looked very well organised and comfortable on the ball for most of the match. The system suits players like Palmer and Jones who can dictate tempo and create chances. We had them pinned back and just couldn’t get the breakthrough early, which always puts you at risk of something daft at the other end, and that’s exactly what happened.

Second half became a bit disjointed but we still kept plugging away. Really liked the impact from Norburn when he came on, added a bit of steel and composure. Penalty was soft but Dennis did well to force it, and Jones made no mistake. Hopefully next week we turn this kind of control into a win.

A few of the differences I will be looking for this season is for the Notts team not to tire as the second half goes on.. Of course they may need to shut up shop on a few occasions as the circumstances demand, but the side did lack goals in the final quarter of most of the matches we played.

I will also be looking for a proactive approach to substitutions. Last season we always saw around the 60 minute mark, several routine substitutions that used to effect the shape, & we also conceded goals just after those substitutions.

I hope that Martin will quickly change things if a particular tactic isn't working, & if that has to include changes, so be it.

Jones looked sharp again. Took that penalty with real composure.

If you look at Sunday league teams, there’s Celtic everywhere in the names. At least West Allotment Celtic reflects its local area.

I’ve never heard of the village either. It’s a bit odd seeing a place called West Allotment, especially when an allotment is usually where you go to do a bit of gardening, not play football. I’d get it more if the team was called West Park Celtic FC. That would make a bit more sense.

It rings a bell, but I don’t know why. I wonder if it’s been mentioned here or to me in the past. Thinking a little more, it might have been a quiz where I heard about the village.

Quirky things like this are interesting to read about. Celtic is also a very common name for clubs. At least their badge is unique to them and quite nice for a team within the Scottish football pyramid.

Thanks for joining Pride of Nottingham @Chedozie! Dive into the latest Notts news, chat, and matchday excitement with fellow fans.

Hello, @Chedozie. There ae plenty of good posters on here, and a lot of good content. Once you settle in and become used to things you will find there are many ways to engage with content. Welcome to PON!

Hello, welcome to the Pride of Nottingham @Chedozie. I hope you settle in and have fun, this is a very friendly community.

Hello, @one-two pie. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. You can find a lot of good content from the Dashboard page.

Hello, welcome to PON. It's a great site, full of friendly people and most of all common sense. Even if you disagree with someone, we just talk about the points and accept opinions.

Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham, @one-two pie. You will see the community are glad you joined and it just takes a bit of time to get used to the site. Join in and be part of the fun.

i will keep an eye out for the show to hit the tv screens, i am sure it wont be long until it happens. anything half decent gets snapped up. anything good always ends up on sky.

I don’t watch much traditional TV, mostly quizzes and game shows. I do keep an eye out for the occasional drama, so I’ll try to remember this one and see where it ends up being shown here. Stephen King is a brilliant writer, and it’s good to see his work finally getting the proper treatment in TV and film.

I have a digi box that is connected to a Digi Aerial. I can connect to ITV X on the internet. There are scores of films, drama series, sport, comedy & general entertainment.

I watched a complete drama series "After the Flood". There is so much to see just on ITV X Television has been revolutionised over the last few years.

yeah some supporters were panicking that he would get hold of the club and some took it a lot further, be i am glad ah had the common sense to avoid him. it would have been a disaster if he was involved. a con artist running a professional football club wont be success for the long term.

Imagine if his true identity hadn’t been revealed, it was only thanks to the newspaper article that his fraud and prison sentence was discovered.

This is from when he was in talks about purchasing us, "Alex May, when we were first introduced, disclosed everyone about his conviction. He has changed his name. He came clean and told us and everyone involved in this transaction is aware of that". Just baffling Alan Hardy even accepted the talks with him.

I think the reaction from us fans pretty much put a stop to it, but if that hadn’t all come to light I wonder if he would’ve been able to blag his way through all the EFL checks…

It’s worrying to think he nearly owned Notts, even with the fake name and all the noise he made about having the money. That radio interview where he talked about being part of a group that saw the club as a Championship side, there’s just that sense he would’ve stripped the assets and moved money out. I suppose he might’ve put some of the dodgy cash into Notts to make it look legitimate.

I would like to welcome you to PON @muskan761947 with open arms and a heart full of joy.

Dive into the conversations, tomfoolery and never looks back.

Hello, @muskan761947. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. Please do take the lunge and say hello, we all look forward to reading what you have to say to our conversations. See you around PON.

Welcome! Hello, @muskan761947. It's good to be welcoming you, please feel free to reach out if I can help you or if you need help. Until then, care to tell us a little about yourself?

its nonsense to complain about it because it just brings awareness to the issue and clubs and players will still want more money. its the way football is, i do agree it will come back as an excuse.

I don’t like it when newly promoted teams complain about how expensive the step up is or say things are overpriced. Compared to what, League Two? It doesn’t make much sense unless they’re trying to set up excuses early. They should stay positive and get on with it. It sounds like they wanted other players but settled for cheaper ones. What would their new signings think? Maybe they should have asked for more wages.

Bradford City can’t really moan about higher fees if they rush into deals. Players want more these days, and it’s often better to wait and let things settle. If you buy anything the moment it’s released, you usually pay more than if you wait a few weeks. Football’s no different, but they’ve got other things they should be focusing on.