2 hours ago, Piethagoram said:

Wow, but he definitely earned it. With Falkirk he became one of the best creative players in the SPL

I was a big fan when he was at Notts and have followed him ever since. These days we're getting used to very youmg players making a splash at big clubs and at international football. Miller is a good example of a player slowly maturing over a number of years. His all round game has continued to improve and his physique is much more athletic than it was 6 years ago. He has had a superb time at Falkirk with goals and assists - averaging one goal involvement every two matches in 90 odd games. At the age of 28 he is a great catch for Hearts.

I didn't dream that he signed for Chesterfield after leaving us, correct? I thought he was very good when he played in the right position, very good at getting forward and skillful enough to take on players in a way that made them not want to dive in with challenges. He wasn't consistent, but he put a lot of effort into his performance and usually I felt he was let down by others not pulling their own weight around him.

Solid signing for them, I hope it works out for him and he has a successful season. It was a short-spell but he'll always be remembered fondly and we can actually now laugh about that boot throw, I was raging at the time, it's still the most ridiculous reason I think I've seen for picking up a second yellow card!

Having watched Oldham last season, they have someone who can do the dirty work that they didn't have previously and will have a no-no-nonsense midfielder that gets stuck in. I hope Oldham fans look forward to seeing him take on Chesterfield, and rekindling that Armando Dobra rivalry.

They should start chanting The Cranberries 'Zombie'.

Though changed to, "He's in your head, in your head, Drobra, Drobra, Drobra.. "Ollie Norburn, Ollie Norburn, Norburn, Norburn, Norburn..."

Body weight a struggle shared by probably a billion across the world. The challenge is normal @Chris 

Yeah the pop has to go (one of my things was ‘no carbonated drinks’ and I haven’t had one (apart from my exception of a coke for a bad hangover ) for over 10 years now. I’m out now I’ll post more over the next few days

I sympathise with you @Chris, back pain is awful and often the only thing you can do is lose weight, which is not a quick fix.

The thing that helped me most was switching to water. I'd developed a habit of drinking apple juice with sparkling water, thinking it was healthy. I was consuming about 200 calories with each glass. Changing to sparkling water (with a squeeze of lemon when I was feeling wild) made a massive difference.

Counting calories really helped me. It made me aware of what I was consuming and how much leeway I had.

@StarkMallard Yes, I have been watching that Dr. Now show. He helps people lose weight, and the information is really helpful. Not that I am that big, but the calorie counting and intake is so vital to losing weight. I am guilty of thinking I am being healthier with a diet, when it still isn't all that much but then there's medication that doesn't help with side effects of weight gain.

Some good advice shared by you, I hope you are still trying to adapt to the healthier lifestyle. =)

Totally agree with you @Chris re FLW

I saw rumours that Stockport interested in Grimsby manager....the managerial merry go round

@theAnticlough absolutely spot on!

This 'model' works so well despite the naysayers - so pleased to see them proved wrong ... again!

Patto leaving? Yes of course if the famously silly offer came his way but Stockport isn't it.

Listening to his interviews he comes over has a really genuine guy, also very level headed and I am pretty certain knows where the grass is greenest.

Stockport have appointed Jimmy McNulty from Rochdale. Was expecting something different to be honest. I hope the rumours about MP continue to fly, as that means he's doing a good job!

As I've got older I prefer the white text against a black background. It's much easier to read and is less a strain on my eyes. The black text on a white background makes text harder to read. If there were an option to brighten the text, with added contrast that might improve it further

The headings option is similar as I've demonstrated here. This has more contrast & bolder. Is there a way to allow a member to opt for this or just a little less contrast, but to another member it appears normal text?

@Robbie: Yes, there will be various ways to improve the visability of the text. 👍

I can imagine how unimpressed all Man United ex-pros would’ve been watching the final with Salford just playing direct balls into the channels hoping for the best, that style is alien to them. And it didn’t help their opposition (Martin Paterson’s black and white army) actually played patterns and worked the ball into good areas.

It does feel knee-jerk though because they were only a point short of going up automatically. Problem is they are so desperate to go up they’ve lost that ability to build and be patient. They’ve spent and wasted a lot of money at Salford, I'm quite glad in a way that they haven't been able to just pay their way up the leagues.

Losing £3m a season for 7 years....you should be going up on that financial backing. That incident with Jatta at their ground, poetic justice has been served

It's probably a good thing Karl Robinson has gone, I don't like him personally but he's better than Salford City for sure. Yet the guys as plastic as they come, someone will pay him good money and he'll take charge. Good manager, I don't like his attitude or twofaced nature but the guy seemed to deserve better.

I read David Beckham lips at half-time, when the cameras settled on him and I can tell he said "The second-half needs to be better, this isn't good enough". I commented at the time to Jake, that it seemed Karl was underpressure. I think the amount of money they spend is beyond a joke, I have no idea if they still have a documentary or if the class of 92 still doing anything of that likes for Salford City but the club isn't being run properly.

It doesn't matter how much money they have, or the person said to hold the majority share hold now.

It's the club that operates at the end of the day, and it needs to be as close to the net even as possible. I am well aware this isn't common in football, but they are throwing money and risking Salford. If they get bored, or the investers decide they no longer want to payroll an unsuccessful club who will cover the debts?

hes bouncing around rather than building and accepting jobs that seems based on name and the smallest hint of gaining a managerial role. i think he should have stayed and learned under wolves, if they still wanted him.

I would hope he settles into a role, but as far as his career goes I really don't care about him. He showed his colour when he ran off to FGR, and the best thing he did was to leave and take Michael Doyle with him. Two things Notts became better for having been done, no offense to Doyle but he hung around offering little as a player but he did help somewhat as an assistant. I wonder what he's doing since leaving Woking? Ian Burchnall won't last long in Scotland IMO.

I very rarely use my laptop to access PoN, it’s generally my iPhone or iPad, we have two iMac desktops but rarely use them for anything since we got a Apple MacBook Air laptop, we are all Apple in this house no Android at all. This is because where I worked when computers were first installed they were Apple so I’ve never known any different.

@Fan of Big Tone: The first real computer I used at school was an Apple PC, a very early version before Windows became popuplar. I enjoyed using its painting application.

I haven't used a Mac, but I do like how efficiant they are and how even the lower end specs still perform well.

Though, despite all these people claiming to jump on the Linux bandwagon just because Microsoft keeps adding thngs, and dropping the ball. I wouldn't switch because I feel comfortable with the OS. Everyone finds their own preference, so it's interesting to see your response.

I tend to read PON on my mobile (Android) and often post that way too, but I prefer to post on my laptop. I'm using the laptop now - it's still pretty new; it's almost doubled in price since I bought it in January, so I'm being very careful with it!

I use Windows 11. There's a lot of bloat, but it's user-friendly and does what it's supposed to. I've also switched from Chrome back to Firefox, which makes no discernable difference.

I did use Ubuntu (Linux) in the past when my old desktop PC was nearing its end, but I constantly encountered bits and bobs that didn't work quite right, and the solution was generally to go to a Linux forum and write something in the command line that had been suggested there. It can be pretty awkward if you don't have a basic understanding of programming.

I find him quite unbearable, he was very smug and cocky when in charge of MK Dons. His fall to grace seems to have levelled him up a little, but he's amongst managers like Paul Cook. He seemed to be watching for ages after the final whistle, it panned to his face and he seemed lost in thought. I wonder if Salford did exactly as to what we did with Stuart Maynard.

Either way, he's going to find a new club and I doubt he will spend long out of the game. His stock worth due to Salford and MK Dons will put him in a favourable position for boards seeking a new appointment.

@Robbie I created an application that embeds Facebook content without the requirement of using Meta's API. I will incorporate support for embedding meta cards commonly used by most sites for social media.

We haven't had this feature since 4.7, the dev who created that seems to have left the scene. 😥

I made great progress during my family break with many of the apps, including the graphic studio. The PSD import is very, very close to being perfect. The advanced mode uses an open source editor called "miniPaint", and I have specially designed that to support opening PSD files, saving them and exporting to the studio, which is more click and place. It already supports gif creation, so my aim is to tie in assets and allow those who help access to what they need. 😁

Another thing I noticed @Chris is that the site looks sharper and clearer. It may be only how I see it but it does appear better to the eye. In addition, when deleting text it is faster than before 👍

@Robbie on the community index page (forums index), I have implemented a way to make the "Who's Online" widget show higher for mobiles. I will be making changes to other widgets to include these settings, so that the right parts show where best. The next game is the one I wrote about for review before next season.

I've made some theme tweaks to improve the UI/UX but I doubt those will have been noticed as it's cosmetic more than anything. I am glad you are seeing the benefits of the move. 😁

I felt an immense sense of pride seeing that, and to say I had to watch the play-off final on TV instead of live. I feel all the more happier knowing I made the majority of away games and all but a few home. It instills pride and hope in the future. Great video!

Very impressive stuff.

Well, if they don't get it, maybe a relegation would help them understand

"Didn't benefit from it'' didn't they beat Middlesboro - what other benefit is there?

'How they benefitted' - irrelevant. By breaking the rules, any small marginal gain will change the course of the tie (butterfly effect and all that)

The head coach put the cherry on the cake by claiming it's normal in Germany. No it isn't. Germany has strict laws against unauthorised filming and he'd be facing a prison sentence of up to two years there. German clubs do hold public training sessions, but he knows very well that this wasn't public.

And are we really supposed to believe they only spied on three teams? And got caught every time? Pull the other one.

By standing by the head coach despite a clear case of gross misconduct, the club hierarchy are in on it as well. Throw the book at the lot of them.

@StarkMallard He's done it throughout his career, with almost every club. It's well documented and even at the international stage but the complaints about drones watching training have been ignored. Personally, I think the manager needs to be investigated, then banned from working in football.

Stability and good owners are things Notts has always needed. Success is earned, not handed out, but football is often focused on short term goals. The five year plans that never happened and the fans who moan about not going up are really the same issue.

It is silly that some people cannot see how good things are right now. If Notts does not go up, we have been in that place before, but the signs are strong that the club can keep moving forward.

@Chris has hit the nail on the head when he talked about "core values"

Possession based football philosophy✅

Shifting responsibilities away from Head Coach , so that if the head coach leaves, the footballing personnel structure is not adversely affected✅

Need for better training facilities✅

Increasing income off the pitch , The Nest ✅

The connection built between the fans and the team has been building for years #COYP

What a finish to the season. We just looked so strong and full of belief, full of 'failure not an option' mentality. The club needed this, momentum restored after a few frustrating seasons. Absolutely loved it at Wembley, I've said it before but our fan base is transformed.

Yes an almost unbelievable result, I too was in "I'm not sure we'll do it camp" but having watched us play so well I can't believe I ever doubted us! What a time to finally break our Salford streak. The players were incredible, to perform like they did in such a pressurised match in extraordinary hot weather, words can not explain the feeling of joy at that final whistle!

Guys, I think we've just got accept the Reedtz Brothers (and their super-computer) just have the knack when it comes to appointing head coaches. But yes a massive congrats to Martin Paterson and all his coaching staff because that play-off campaign was simply faultless.

It was an incredible day for everyone, one that will live long in the memory.

You have to give credit to the brothers. We were in the national league with Stockport and Wrexham. They have spent big, while keeping the same manager in Phil Parkinson and until just now Dave Challinor. In the meantime we have had two of our head coaches poached and several of our best players into the bargain. Yet we are now in the same league as Stockport and only one behind Wrexham. The brothers has used our limited resources wisely and as a result we have made steady progress. It has been said how would we manage without Macca, Ruben, McGoldrick, Crowley and Bass? Very nicely thank you and promotion to League 1. We have to trust the process. We can have success, but it needs to sustainable. The next step might take a while to come to fruition, but let’s enjoy the ride! COYP!

When it comes to giving credit, I'd like to add our Director of Football

I think I saw a podcast recently where the players, HC, coaching staff, owners were thanked and praised but there was no mention of DoF Richard Montague.

Of the 16 match day players at Wembley, Montague recruited...

Belshaw, Ness, McDonald, Bedeau, Robertson, Palmer, Tsaroulla, Jones, Jatta, Ndlovu, Grant - 11

Maybe some don't like the role or our structure but credit where it's due.

Wing-back system & possession-based approach (5th in L2 this year) are 2 other aspects that contributed to 2 promotions in 3 years.

We have a great set of staff, from the groundsmen, coaches, kit manager, stewards, office staff/managers that are entrusted to carry out their duties and perform them in a way that does make the club feel hole again. There's going to be people who do a lot of good, who might go unnoitced such as the grounds staff, not only on the Meadow Lane playing surface but all that goes into the training ground etc.

These bonds are only growing stronger, even though some do leave for pastures new. We are still holding a lot of talented people that remain to continue making a difference.

At our level our coaching team looks huge, but for me it's money well spent. I know it's becoming common in League Two, but we had a full setup long before this and when we were in the National League. The club is pushing forward, and when the 'lack of ambition' is thrown around, I honestly think our progress shows we aren't just settling on one or two good seasons, but actively building to push on.

There could be a resource issue and other practical reasons why it's not extended to all 4 leagues.

Maybe they do this already, but I'm not aware, but massive improvements could be made with points of emphasis for refereeing - focussed on the so-called 'dark arts', persistent fouling, time-wasting etc.

I hope L1 next season gives us fewer referees that side with spoiling teams and enable them to cheat their way to points.

VAR is a double edged sword. It’s great when it gives your team a handball in the box that the referee missed or the offside that rules out an opponent’s goal. When it works the other way it’s not so great. Well in recent times we have had two promotions without it, so not having it can’t be all bad. We’ll just have to wait till we’re in the premier league to find out.

VAR in the EFL. It would be too expensive for the lower league clubs to implement it. VAR also needs multi cameras from different angles so that would cause issues for spectators & would could also reduce the capacity of ML

When VAR was implemented I was very hopeful that it would cut out mistakes and make the game better, but it has made things worse. The spontinaity has gone.

Fans cannot celebrate a goal like they used to. You have to wait up to five minutes for a decision. VAR appears to favour the big clubs to the detriment of everyone else.

Like I said previously, VAR for goal line decisions only. Scrap VAR for everything else.

What a phenomenal turnout @Fan of Big Tone we have just watched on Mrs P's Facebook, apparently over 8000 on a work day at that. Just think if it had been at the weekend, I suppose Martin is working to a deadline for holidays etc, must remember the whole team hasn't had a break since before the season start in August. 😇🤔⚽️

Looking at the size of the crowd in the Old Market Square and the large number of Notts fans that attended the Playoff Final, the interest in the Club is only going to grow, & I'm sure that season ticket sales will grow too. It's a fantastic time to be a Notts supporter.

It shows in one picture just how much support and potential Notts has, provided we keep working on establishing a secure future proof club then things like this should only become the norm. I don't mean every season, but there's no reason why we can't enjoy a promotion more often, even if it comes with the setback of finding life harder in the Championship, or League One in our current case.

Even though I wasn't present, I felt proud and encouraged especially for the level headed fans who didn't get on the players backs or Paterson's during challenging spells last season.

It shows unit as one, good things can come and even if promotion wasn't gained this past campaign, most will see the progress that it would be nearer the corner next time than it would be to fall short or drift off. Most who are hesitant may simply be concerned about football's unpredictability. However, well-run clubs often thrive, especially with the solid support we have.

Good morning one and all on this changeable Sunday morning, 3 days back in the UK and all is well 😀

No lazy Sunday morning for us I'm afraid @Fan of Big Tone as we have had our two youngest grandchildren for the weekend (parents going to a music festival) Horses to feed and poo picked, plus filling of haynets and boxes whilst seeing to the wants and demands of our little cherubs. Yesterday was a visit to Markeaton Park in Derby, what a beautiful place, countryside, massive play area and water, so it wasn't long before they were dragging Mrs P for a little paddle. 😂 The sun was unbelievably hot and soon drained Grandad and Mammar. The look forward aspect to this little adventure, mum and dad are back today 🥳

A week and month ends with mixed emotions. The joy of Wembley but the week, ends with news of the death of a good friend's sister who died in intensive care following an operation.

Really sorry to hear that @piethagoram

Football shape

A football is actually a prolate spheroid, which means it's pointy, not spherical.

(Source Google) 

BVI one of the most secretive tax havens..why?

Abbott is still 20 as well and won't count to the registration numbers. If they're willing to give him another shot at League 1, we'll be front of the queue.

Spurs have a couple who we could continue our great lineage of loans. Akhamrich who bagged 6 in 19 for Brizzle Rovers is a similar player to Luker, Olusesi looks to be a very good creative midfielder, Matthew Craig who got some decent Notts lineage (grandad is Ron Still) and is a Scotland under 21 and lastly Melia who's got a ROI cap and experience at St Patricks.

Max Saunders is a player I really like, he's also out of contract at Crewe, super tidy in possession type player. Tom O’Reilly, was also on loan at Crewe from Villa last season, reminded me of Crowley but with a touch more aggression when he played against us at Meadow Lane.

Odin Bailey been released by Stockport, to the surprise of many of their fans, he'd be quite the upgrade on Norburn...

2 hours ago, menzinho said:

Max Saunders is a player I really like, he's also out of contract at Crewe, super tidy in possession type player. Tom O’Reilly, was also on loan at Crewe from Villa last season, reminded me of Crowley but with a touch more aggression when he played against us at Meadow Lane.

Odin Bailey been released by Stockport, to the surprise of many of their fans, he'd be quite the upgrade on Norburn...

Seconded on O'Reilly. But with Jones, Cal and Tsaroulla already in the room, I think the 4th player should have Iorpenda-style physical attributes to give L1 teams different things to think about.