On 07/02/2024 at 17:39, DangerousSausage said:

Having said that, I can't stand the entitlement and the whingeing. There are people who seem to relish it when we lose and become abusive towards anyone with a different opinion. 

I don't want to seem like I'm criticising fans, but some who take pleasure in our struggles or expect us to be like Manchester City in League Two are a bit much. There's a lot to take away from this situation, but it feels harsh for some to now complain about our owners not supporting us in January.

On 07/02/2024 at 12:07, Robbie said:

If we don't get promoted this year, it will still have been a good season for us, something the team can build on to challenge for the top three next season.

No matter how we view it, it's not a bad season, and I agree with you. Over the past few years, we've demonstrated that the club can progress. If we went up and immediately came back down, I imagine there would be more complaints. I prefer to see us ascend in good form, having made improvements, so we're better prepared. The Playoff Final against Chesterfield hinted that we might face difficulties against strong teams, as we did with Wrexham; we didn't have many challenges until now.

I'm concerned that those individuals who only desire to witness football victories and don't support the club during crucial times are a distinct group. Human behavior is evolving, as are the kinds of fans that teams like Notts County attract. While there may be some disheartened fans who have been with Notts since the '60s and beyond, many newer supporters haven't experienced success, and their genuine frustration often stems from unrealistic expectations. Success isn't guaranteed; it must be earned, and unfortunately, we've fallen short in this regard. I hear amusing comments at games, and while I question some fans' faith, I understand that football is a diverse sport, and success is only partially measured by winning games.

I think a lot of it is just overreactions, but some fans are just grumpy folks who love to complain and criticise players. It’s easier to do that than to stick with the squad and understand that we’ve been punching above our weight. With the injuries, managerial loss, and other changes, the momentum has shifted.

Wrexham might have an easy time if we don't shape up. I overheard someone saying yesterday that we didn't perform well against higher-ranked teams and those in the top 10. Is it nerves or fatigue? Whatever it is, I believe it will require time, probably the rest of the season, to sort out.

Last season we were usually a class better than our opponents, now we're not. We were always going to have closer games against teams at our own level, and those games are often decided by fine margins.

The match at Gillingham was one example, we won it at the death that day but more often we're not giving ourselves a chance due to our defending. We took the lead yesterday, and if we could have held it for longer, Gillingham would have had to start taking risks and the game could easily have unfolded in our favour. In those games you can't just blast the opposition away, you've got to be able to hold a single goal lead or even a draw.

I don't anticipate much happening this season, but we can assess our progress next season by comparing our results to those performing well. While we may see some areas of improvement, a significant boost might require new additions to the squad.

teams will always bounce up and down between the premier league with a few surprises along the way, maintaining long term success these days is hard. the playing field has never really been level but at least clubs like brentford are emerging stronger for thinking outside of the box.

He expresses himself in a lengthy manner, making it challenging for me to grasp his point. The football pyramid shouldn't be straightforward, and numerous clubs are essentially small teams with big dreams. Accrington's chairman went from being refreshing to becoming quite dull and resentful regarding the potential to elevate them beyond League One.

This is an excellent idea.

The sides that enter the tournament will all be previous winners of the Fifa World Cup.

England, Argentina, Brazil,  France, Germany,  Italy, Spain & Uruguay are the teams set to take part in the new mega competition.

I believe it will prove be very popular tournament. Over 35 years old players representing top teams

There are lots of famous players to choose from. 

The Brazilian side will be awesome. Hope it's on the TV.

@Robbie I hope it's on TV as well, it'll be quite a good watch. Obviously it won't be the same as watching them in their prime but I'm sure they've still got something in their locker and it'll make for a good tournament that could become a regular feature. 

It's like a larger scale Masters Football. Loved watching that.

The Mail Online clickbaiting again, what a surprise.

I'm not sure what I'd make of this, it's a big change but then red and yellow cards were new once. I can imagine there being confusion over what exactly would merit a blue or a red card. Wouldn't a blue card be less of a deterrent for a professional foul?

On the other hand, I've been at ice hockey matches where sin binned players have to sit alone on a kind of naughty step and it's hilarious.

On 08/02/2024 at 22:13, Fan of Big Tone said:

I wonder what’ll happen if the goalie gets sin binned?

A lot of people have asked the same thing. I'm assuming it'll run like when a keeper gets red and they've used all 3/5 subs so an outfield player goes in net. 

Brilliant stuff from Doyle wasn’t it, thanks for the reminder @Piethagoram

Uurgh! ????

I agree with @Fan of Big Tone, but I also believe that attacking players should be made to cut out some of their bad antics. It should be a straight run-up.

Despite this rule being implemented, I still see that the penalty takers are still able to do stuttering run ups instead of having a straight run up and hitting the ball. Surely the rule should have been applied to both sets. 

Good debate.

I think that they should leave things as they were.

The goalkeeper trying to put the penalty taker off for me is just part of the game.

I saw it yesterday in the Africa Nations semi final.

They didn't follow the new rules there.

I'd pick Pelé for his legendary status, Cristiano Ronaldo for his skill and dedication, and Sir Alex Ferguson for his coaching wisdom. It'd make for an inspiring and diverse football weekend.

To discuss football coaching Wilkinson, Moniz, Williams

On the razzle : Killer, Harkouk, Gazza

Cedwyn Scott, Cody Rhodes, Charles Leclerc and a photo of Cedwyn Scott 

The awe inspiring collection of style, aura, beauty, skill and talent. Then whatever I am (none of those)

I can remember that Notts had a good side that year, but we were leaking goals. We were in the mix for the playoffs, but our defence was letting us down. A bit like now.

When Colin Foster joined us on  loan he shored up our defence and we went on a little run. We beat Forest at home in the famous Charlie Palmer match. Colin played his part in winning that match, a match that will always be remembered by Notts fans.

He was available to buy, they were quoting £175K to buy him, but unfortunately we didn't raise it.

It was a bit like the Glenn Roeder fiasco when the supporters were asked to try to raise money for him. I sent the club a £5 cheque. I believe several thousand was raised, but we failed to get Glenn.

When Colin went back to his club our form dipped. We failed to win any of our last 6 matches and just missed the playoffs by 3 points.

I believe Colin Foster could have got us to the playoffs that year if he had been signed by Notts. It's ironic, the fact that he was transferred later to Watford for £100K when we were quoted much more.

Colin for me was in the same class as David Needham. He was one of our most influential loanees we've had, even though he only stayed 9 games.

To be honest I remember him mainly from the commentary of the Charlie video. "Colin Foster far side. Draper sweeps it in..."

Walker got sacked after we had a poor start to the following season. We ended up getting relegated. 

Can’t argue with the fact that our season has fallen apart since Matty got injured. I’m trying to think of the sides in the past that have been so dependent on one key player and seen results seriously drop off without them, Bryan Robson at Utd and Stevie G at Liverpool are the ones that spring to mind but there are bound to be others.

You can’t replace the irreplaceable, you have to adapt your side and style. We have failed to do that.

A very revealing Statistic.

Just demonstrates how valuable and an influence Matt Palmer is to us.

It's very unlucky to have him out of the side for so long, however Stuart & his team has to find a way to negate his loss, & I believe in the last two matches he's trying to do just that. 

I said at the time that the loss of Matt Palmer impacted our form and how his absence would be a big task to find cover. I thought Dan Gosling may have fitted in nicely, but he was largely disappointing. Scott Robertson seems to be improving, but it's more about how we adjust tactics or give individual player instructions during games, as we won't find another Palmer. Certainly not someone who can be simply replaced in a like-for-like manner.

Also, I think it's worth noting that the amount of bad injures would have played a part because they all seemed to come at points where our momentum was picking up.

I am sure lessons can be learnt from this, but it's not all about recruitment - it's about understanding the squad at your disposal and how someone else can come in, bringing their own game in a way that compliments everyone else.

Well the holiday had to come to an end some time, we are flying back tomorrow, we’ve had a really fabulous time, I will however need to get back to eating and drinking normal amounts.

Here’s a nice picture of the sunset tonight.

I'm pleased you both had a lovely time on holiday.I hope you 're well prepared to return to the weather that's being forecast  though.

9 hours ago, super_ram said:

I'm pleased you both had a lovely time on holiday.I hope you 're well prepared to return to the weather that's being forecast  though.

Not really @super_ram it’ll be a bit of a shock, I just hope our plane isn’t diverted.

Philipp Lahm, the former defender from Bayern Munich and Germany, didn't commit a foul in the Bundesliga for 13 months from September 2015 to October 2016. This is truly remarkable given how physical football is. It shows Lahm's outstanding skill in understanding the game and tackling cleanly.

with the way the programmes are going, there is room for the clubs to insert more from the fans perspective and to bring a bigger draw to them. i know it was attempted to be revived, but unfortunately, its difficult. good article.

I always remember Garry Birtles taking issue with a cartoon in The Pie. The result was the whole issue of unsold mags, I believe were put through the shredder!

i thought bostock, nemane and cameron were all very poor.

i am more close to agreeing with @Robbie with the overall ratings. but those three players could have easily been replaced.

I don't believe there was much that could've been done about the goal. Stone would've had to make a remarkable save to deny it, and that's just not realistic. Baldwin seems rejuvenated under Maynard; I believe we'll see others stepping up soon. Fair ratings, thanks for sharing.

Stone 7 - He appeared much more confident and made some decent saves. Overall, very dependable.
Warner 7 - He slotted in quite well, seemed organised and conscious of the threat. Big match for him to make his first appearance for Notts.
Baldwin 8* - Player of the Match all day, excellent fighting spirit and defence.
Cameron 5 - Weak on the ball, lacked awareness but did some good things. I just feel his mind wasn’t in the match and the poor contributions affect his overall score.
Nemane 5 - Mansfield was never going to let him play his usual game and he suffered for that, but no further ideas or effort made him seem pointless.
Robertson 7 - Best performance by him so far, his relentless pressing and eagerness to move forward was a delight.
Bostock 5 - Not his best match, felt he lost the ball a bit easily and failed to hold his ground against them.
Cowley 6.5 - He did alright, nothing to his usual standards but he connected well and tried to make things happen.
Jones 7 - Brilliant play, very direct and suffered from a lack of protection from the officials which led to him being kicked and pushed around all match. Despite this, he did very well.
McGoldrick 6.5 - I thought he was better than his performance against Barrow, but still below the standard we know. He didn’t pose much of a threat.
Langstaff 5 - Lacked involvement but it wasn’t so much down to him, it was a failure to get the ball to him.

This is a great piece of our history caught on video. I also didn't know that we were one of the first clubs to have female fans present, it seems strange to hear that, but it does show how times were different.

I found some old footage of this match, that hadn't been added to the crowd footage. It's just 30 seconds be you can observe a snipet of the match & a throw in. Notice the crowd being so close to the touch line.

Some more longer footage of the match.

Fantastic footage of a past era of Notts, splendid clips.

I've watched clips of Mike Dean on YouTube, still sharing his opinions on decisions and responding to VAR questions. In a recent instance against Forest, when Toney moved the ball for his goal from a free kick, the referee sprayed the foam. Toney moved it twice and displaced some foam. Dean's response lacked insight, making him seem less credible as an official. I don't consider him suitable for handling VAR, let alone being informative enough for Sky Sports.

Totally agree @AmericanPie Tobey's actions should have resulted in a red card for totally disregarding and changing what the ref did when the ref marked the pitch, but even afterwards, no action has been taken against the player.

And VAR, that for another storey where I've asked the question. What's the point of VAR? 

I believe the incident could be considered as clever cheating; not a single Forest player complained, and their keeper neglected to set up the wall. I'm torn regarding the punishment or whether the goal should have stood. Ben Foster thinks every player adjusts the ball, but with the introduction of foam, we haven't seen mishaps like this before. Mike Dean's unknowing response doesn't present well, but VAR requires ongoing training and simplified outcomes to ensure accurate decision-making in response to changes.

He's a character in his interviews. Hope he does well tbf, it's a different venture for him but I genuinely don't think the man will ever retire.????

Neil Warnock's first press conference as Manager of Aberdeen.

It's commendable for him; clearly, it's for the experience and a test of his capabilities. The restriction on Aberdeen signing anyone under his management will highlight his teamwork and ability to bring out the best in players. There could also be an increase in youth players emerging, given his track record of guiding youngsters into their first teams with previous clubs. Hopefully, once this stint concludes, he'll find time to settle away from football, but his evident love for the game is apparent.

this is amazing and something i did not know, its a great story. hopefully there are facts and things out their that can validate this and be something the club can look towards preserving in their plans of a museum.

A remarkable strip narrating the story of a former Notts player, I wasn't aware of this myself. It provides a special insight, one that I found truly fascinating.

9 hours ago, KB1862 said:

@Fan of Big Tone Really? I'm surprised, not even a single Rocky film or Predator?

No sorry I’m not really a film buff, never seen any Rocky films or Predator they aren’t to my taste, I may have seen him in something but I don’t know the name.

rest in peace, he started to get a fair bit of cameo appearances after happy gilmore. its sad news.

I'd like to pay respects to the late Carl Weathers, an actor who recently passed away. His contributions to the world of entertainment will be remembered, and he leaves behind a lasting impact on film and television. Rest in Peace.

Totally agree with you @liampie Jodi is quickly becoming our most influential player. I agree that he should have a more free role. We will have to see in the next few weeks how Stuart organises the team and who he selects. Will he keep with the side against Mansfield or make changes? It's going to be a fascinating Friday evening against Gillingham.

Love JJ, I think he is easily our best player so far this season. He is just brilliant at crossing the ball between keeper and the last line of defence, it’s a nightmare to defend against and a godsend for strikers.

As to whether he could play in the championship, I’m not so sure as the injuries he suffered have robbed him of his pace, he would have to play a different role but that would make him less effective. League 1 quality player for definite. 

Watching Jodi Jones is a delight; his class was evident in the Boreham Wood playoff game last season, and he truly shines when the situation demands it. If Stuart Maynard can instill that winning mentality before a game slips away, it would make Jones a more consistently effective player. While I don't deny his skill, I believe there's even greater potential within his abilities.

It wouldn’t be suitable to have safe standing in the middle of the KOP or at higher levels. It should be in a location that’s easy to access and safe, away from other areas. A spot behind the goal and upwards wouldn’t be a poor choice. The lower left KOP Pavis side might not be too bad. The same could be applied to the Pavis, on the lower right KOP side.

I can’t stand for long these days, so I’m not bothered and the chances of me getting to Meadow Lane are slim. But when I do finally get back to Nottingham, I’ll choose to sit. However, I do hope that safe standing makes a comeback. There’s no problem with it when done right and fans can choose if they want to stand with others.

I believe that all Stadia should be allowed to have safe standing areas.

Many away fans stand up in front of their seats anyway, and this obstructs other fans from seeing the game.

But if the clubs do introduce safe standing then the price should be lower like it used to be, but clubs are not keen to lower the price, you can understand why. 

I believe the majority of fans would welcome safe standing areas, so I hope it won't be long before we see our local league clubs make standing available.

3 hours ago, Piethagoram said:

 

Top right picture is a Heron, not an Egret, bottom left is an Egyptian Goose.

FanofBigTone specialist subject bird watching.

Saw another Egret today, this one is a Little Egret different from an Egret, the Little Egret has a black beak as opposed to yellow beak of the Egret.

Also saw a Curlew, well camouflaged amongst the rocks, can you spot it?

i went to mansfield, watched notts and enjoyed a free weekend otherwise. i did not get up to anything of interest on sunday, it was just me at home watching tv.