it looks doable, if the kop flag was centre and the rest was handled by fans lower it could work well. i think the biggest issue is motivation tho.

If the club desires it, it could be accomplished, but it requires setting up communication between groups and fans who want to make a positive impact together.

It seems to work for our neighbour across the Trent, so why not for us? 

I’ve kept and eye on Kyle Wootton this season, I was reading the Stockport forum about him early on in the season and they weren’t very complimentary, so I stopped! Just watched the EFL highlights and saw him pop up with goals instead. He’s just won Player of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year as well as finishing top scorer for them. So a very good season for him, sad that he’s missing the play-offs with an injury but he could be playing in League 1 next season if Stockport beat Carlisle this weekend.

I might follow them if they come up somewhere, like how Kyle Wootton has been mentioned. He started slowly with Stockport. They have three other good strikers and it seemed like a strange decision when he left us for them. @menzinho Fans don't give players enough time these days. I think that's one of the problems with Twitter, Facebook and some forums.

If Macaulay Langstaff were to leave, him being such an iconic player in our clubs history, I would keep an eye on his progress with another club like I did Don Masson, all those years ago, players like those you keep an eye on, but other players that leave it's just a passing interest.

The main purposes of the proposed new regulator will be:

• Stopping English clubs from joining closed-shop competitions, which are judged to harm the domestic game
• Preventing a repeat of financial failings seen at numerous clubs, notably the collapses of Bury and Macclesfield
• Introducing a more stringent owners' and directors' test to protect clubs and fans
• Giving fans power to stop owners changing a club's name, badge and traditional kit colours
• Ensuring a fair distribution of money filters down the English football pyramid from the Premier League

I especially like the outlined points.

No English club should be allowed to join any competition which the FA/Clubs don't approve.

The financial side needs exploring more. I personally think it will be hard to completely get rid of, so having some kind of fund collected maybe through TV rights or annual fees could go towards building such a fund to provide some kind of security.

Vetting owners is a difficult one. It's one thing checking if a potential owner has the money to fund a club - I don't think they factor in what happens if a smaller club grows too quickly without the right backing. Yet someone may have the funds for 3-5 seasons and bankruptcy is another obstacle to navigate. My point is, whatever is done needs to apply common sense and at least factor in the worst case scenario.

I am all for giving fans the power to have a say within their club, but I wonder how this would be handled.

If you gave season ticket holders a vote, you would make those overseas or otherwise unable to attend to vote disgruntled. Public voting also has the risk of being hi-jacked by nefarious people. If you create a committee or operate it through a fan group, it's not really fair either. Proving to be something with good intentions, but ultimately difficult to apply practically.

This for me is the easiest and most practical point, how money filters down the football pyramid.

Even to the grass root levels, if we as a nation are to compete with other developed nations - we need to do more in this area to ensure success. There's been striving for at least a decade with the likes of Basford and Anorld Town - yet it doesn't quite filter below.

If we're just speaking about 'Football League' I would be disappointed.

A percentage should be assigned to funnel down, guaranteeing a certain amount for the lower tier teams. I don't think Championship teams are hard off; it's League One and Two that suffers the most.

Achieving this goal is a challenging task, whether it is done by a single person or a committee. Nonetheless, I hope it can be accomplished.

This is a very important piece of news and should be a really good topic for discussion.

This topic could be linked to several other discussions covering the problems within English football at this time, the big clubs getting richer and all the other clubs in the football pyramid being left behind, the lack of money filtering down from the Premier League.VAR not yet perfected, and last but not least, the Fair Play Rules that don't seem to be fair at all, if your not a rich club.

Personally, I think these proposals are more for preventing the rich clubs leaving to join a Super League, rather than fixing problems within the game.

I don't think the authorities will want to change much apart from preventing a Super League. The FA will want the PL to remain the top league in the World and it needs to generate money to remain at the top. So I believe the status quo will remain for the foreseeable future, with smaller clubs continuing to struggle.

It's a sad conclusion to come to, but who is going to stand up to the big clubs and their owners and make the changes that would make the game fairer & much more competitive?

It's obviously frustrating to lose another derby, especially as there was a chance to get something from the game. However, there are definitely positives to take. 

We battled and competed but ran out of ideas and legs in the end. Should've taken one of the chances we had in the first half. Robertson looked good and battled well, making it tough for Maris and Reed to build attacks from deep, winning the ball in good areas. 

Maynard explained in his post match why Jones and Nemane were on opposite wings and I understood. It was a good way of breaking their press. I thought Warner slotted in well and looked more comfortable than Brindley. Baldwin had a good game, helping us play out from the back, heading away plenty of crosses and making his fair share of last ditch blocks and tackles. 

However, we still lack strength in depth. It's the biggest difference between League 2 and the National League. Hence, again, why Austin was the only viable substitute. Nemane was knackered from about 65 mins onwards, as was Bostock. We're not ready to go up and we need to realise it. We can still make a fight of it this season, but if we don't go up it's not the end of the world.  

Notts seemed to do fine in most parts of the match. We didn’t appear to be on the verge of conceding an easy goal and most of our play was upbeat. I believe our main downfall was how crucial decisions went against us, but that’s football. Robertson seemed very impressive against Mansfield, Jodi couldn’t do much as he was constantly being fouled. I believe if Notts had scored or if it had been allowed, it would be a completely different story. I don’t engage much on social media because there’s too much negativity from fans. We lost, but the team represented themselves well and Maynard has made us look more defensively solid in two games. The next step is to secure that first victory and hopefully, morale and confidence will increase, our season isn’t finished.

We have to remember this is our first season back in league 2. To be in the playoff mix with an excellent chance of making the playoffs at the end of the league season is tremendous. It is still in our own hands to achieve it.

Norwich City 2-1 Coventry City
Swansea City 0-1 Plymouth Argyle
Burton Albion 0-1 Lincoln City
Exeter City 0-1 Bristol Rovers
Crawley Town 1-2 Morecambe
Sutton United 1-1 Doncaster Rovers
Halifax Town 1-2 Aldershot
Solihull Moors 0-2 Altrincham

---

Six of our games were away wins, so our results were quite the mixed mag. Congratulations to this week's winner @william1984!

@william1984 - 11
@4everapie - 9
@magpiejue - 7
@gtownjohnno, @Harry Buckley - 6
@Fan of Big Tone, @Robbie - 5
@Megan_Elizax - 4
@DangerousSausage, @DonnyNotts - 3
@Chris, @Dan, @super_ram - 2
@ARLukomski, @cheeky~k8 - 1
@nottsnutter - nul points

---

@gtownjohnno is just three points behind @ARLukomski at the top, while @4everapie and @william1984 jump up the table!

ARLukomski - 161
gtownjohnno - 158
4everapie - 140
cheeky~k8 - 140
william1984 - 138
super_ram - 134
DangerousSausage - 131
Fan of Big Tone - 131
magpiejue - 128
Dan - 120
nottsnutter - 113
Megan_Elizax - 110
Chris - 106
liampie - 101
DonnyNotts - 95
upthepies - 90
Joshua - 82
allardyces tash - 67
KingWilliams - 66
TheSkipper - 60
CliftonMagpie - 55
thommo - 49
OoooooTommy - 45
NottsCountyKev - 41
JIMBO - 40
jimbob - 38
Nocturnal-Magpie - 38
AmericanPie - 36
Robbie - 28
KB1862 - 22
Harry Buckley - 12
George L - 6
Canadian - 4

---

And that's it for another week. Next Saturday's fixtures will magically appear on Wednesday courtesy of the prediction league fairy. Thanks for playing and see you all then!

Look out @super_ram I’m coming to get you. 

34 minutes ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

Look out @super_ram I’m coming to get you. 

You'll have to overtake me first. I'm sitting pretty on my magnificent total of 131 points, way ahead of you with your pathetic 131 points. 

Seems like a 'try before you buy' to me. We pay his wages for 3 months so it's low risk. If we like what we see - and he likes what he sees - we can bring him in during the summer. An extra pair of midfield legs is helpful so we can rotate a little, some players have had more minutes than I think we'd have planned, given that we expected Matt Palmer to play all of every game.

It's reasonable to assume that in the event of a significant injury, he would likely go back to Crewe, his parent club. This transfer is probably advantageous for them as it helps cut down on wages, potentially balancing their finances. Meanwhile, Notts County has the opportunity to assess if they can aid Charlie Colkett in reaching his maximum potential. If this is a loan with an option to buy, there's likely a predetermined fee. Notts County would need to activate it, but the concern is avoiding the burden of another injury, that's not a viable scenario.

We are likely stretching the playing budget now, it’s beneficial that we have large crowds and that will greatly assist in being more competitive.

I view the signing of Charlie Colkett as optimistic but more mindful of cover. He has the skill, but seems to fall short of reaching his potential. We have a good track record with not only rehabilitating injured players, but also getting the best out of them. If we can secure a decent ball-passing midfielder, who can stay injury-free and just patch that area until the end of the season.

We can then assess his performances and worry about him not being up to the mark. It’s all up to him, he’s got to impress because we won’t sign him otherwise. Dan Gosling is the perfect example. How many of us thought that was going to be a fantastic signing?

I find it amusing how he leaps up as if he’s a troll, clutching his hands in sheer joy when called a joker.  No one can label him as just a grumpy old man. Ha!

I hope Neil has a great retirement, however I don't think Neil will retire completely.

Don't be surprised for him to be appointed again by a club to save them from relegation, & we might see him pop up as a summariser too. Someone who has so much Knowledge in the game like Neil will always be in demand.

The guy just has loads of charisma and personality & it's always a great listen when he's interviewed.

I'm sure it won't be long before we see him on the airwaves  again.

So much for retiring.

Yes, I will be putting an equal amount into all the leagues. The main focus will be on League Two, but I will be checking out other clubs.

Yes, I will keep an eye on the National League. I won’t be as invested as I was this past season or the three before that, but certainly more than I would have been before Notts were relegated. I am thankful for the four years as it has given us stability and a means to move forward.

I will be following the National League, hope Chesterfield can make it this year, they look on course to get promoted by right at season's end.

I like to follow all the leagues from the Premier league down to the many non leagues, I like to see how the clubs that had to leave the league like Bury, Macclesfield and Chester are doing.

My main focus is Notts, but I like to watch lots of Sports & am interested in seeing  how our local non league teams are doing.

As I lived in Basford in my early years I look for the Basford United result too 

On 22/11/2023 at 17:21, KingWilliams said:

In my view, it’s beneficial when teams like Everton leave the Premier League as it provides opportunities for clubs like Luton Town to make their mark. I’m optimistic that Blackburn and Coventry will make a comeback one day. It would also be a welcome change to see a few London clubs stepping down.

Thanks but let Everton stay in PL

Few words about Nottm Forest - Everton game. 
My friend visits all away Everton games for few years already, and when Forest promoted to PL it was new interesting direction to go. But he told me that all of them had not really good experience this time as well as last visit. They were surprised how Nottm fans rude are. There were many chants about poor damn unemployed scousers by Forest fans at City Ground.
And he said that there are not so many places where they meet disrespectful attitude of the home supporters: Leicester, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and now Nottingham.

I think my views on the supposed FFP rules are well known. Everton get the deduction, probably Forest will now follow, with Everton getting a further reduction.

Question on everyone's lips is when are Man City and Chelsea going to be brought to task? The answer will be probably never. They are both just two big and when billions are involved, money talks unfortunately.

On 05/12/2023 at 16:24, ARLukomski said:

Fan made content can bring exposure, not just to the club, but the lower leagues as well. Something that's hugely missing in modern day football.

This is the point the pen pushers don't understand. There is wall-to-wall coverage of football, but there's not an awful lot on official channels that promotes the matchday experience. Whether they're your cup of tea or not, vloggers do that. They are promoting the Football League's product.

How is it different in principle from Sky's Saturday show, when you also watch people watching the match?

Ultimately, it’s all about money, not the fans. Sky has had a significant impact on football, both good and bad. The rise of vloggers can be overwhelming given their numbers, but that shouldn’t be a reason to exclude them. They should also be allowed to earn money, considering the work involved, and I agree that it will likely be reinvested into the club. What @ARLukomski does for Notts, in my opinion, is attract younger fans and engage those living abroad. It’s unfortunate that the EFL is being unsporting about it.

I enjoy listening to what our club supporting Vloggers have to say. I think it is an important part of getting all the information from a match, it adds to the day and is very entertaining.

I can understand the concerns raised by some, but I don't see any problem if the Vlogger doesn't show any footage of the match itself but reports before, at half time, and after the match. 

The media are somewhat living in the past, & are still reluctant to embrace the modern technology available to us.

Club Vloggers have a big part to play in the modern era in my opinion. 

10 minutes ago, liampie said:

fowler for me was more of a threat than cole and very unlucky not to have been featured more for england.

100%. I'd have chosen Fowler over Cole tbf. Fowler was an unbelievable striker, definitely deserved to feature more for England.

11 minutes ago, liampie said:

most players needed to work well with alan shearer

That was the main issue in some strikers who perhaps should or could have appeared more didn't have as many caps. Sheringham and Shearer, especially in Euro 96, was a very good partnership and Shearer often acknowledges Teddy in his podcasts as his favourite striker partner because of how well they linked up and worked as one. 

@Robbie there were so many to choose from it was just the case of who do you leave out to make room for the others worthy of a shot?

Probably not to be honest. Every generation produces players who are amazing for their clubs but don't show the same form for England, and Cole fitted nicely in that category. I don't recall him getting a run of games though, he tended to get called up, failed to impress and was dropped again for the next game. The competition at that time certainly didn't help matters. Robbie Fowler came much closer to reproducing his club form for England and he was a bit-part player too.

Sheringham was a quality player, but I remember him being injured at lot. The emergence of Michael Owen didn't help him.

@DangerousSausage Totally agree, to a point. Shearer in 1996 hadn't scored for something like 2 years for England but Terry Venables stuck by him and told him that he'll still continue selecting him despite a lack of goals on the International stage. Shearer did start scoring granted but same could have been for Andy Cole given more of a chance. It's all maybes, maybe he would have scored more or maybe not had he been selected more. But, again to your point, the emergence of Owen definitely put a halt to Cole getting in. 

I'll always appreciate Ian. I was going through a horrible time in March and April of 2021. He was the manager of Notts then and the end to that season gave me something to smile about.

I needed the 2021-22 season so I could go to the football again. The season might not have ended how we wanted but he gave me a lot of good memories. I met him after the last home game against Alty and what a gent. Took time out to have a photo with us and have a laugh as well. Would happily take him out for a drink

Forest Green did us a favour by recruiting Ian Burchnall. While it’s not worth lingering on, I do wish him the best at Wolves. His family must be hoping for a period of stability with no further relocations in the near future.

Some may not agree, but I believe Ian's time at Notts should be looked back on more favourably than the general consensus sees his time here.

He did get us to the playoffs in successive seasons and Notts were continuing to play attractive Football under his leadership.

Fortunes can easily change in Football, Grimsby scored an equaliser in injury time of the Playoff eliminator. Notts could easily have been in the semi instead of being eliminated. And Luke was a minute away from losing in the playoff semi final. That's football.

Ian was offered the job at Forest Green, it didn't work out too well for him, but he would have been crazy not to take the job which wss a step up for him. Luke did the same thing.

Now Ian has bounced back and is First Team Coach for Wolves in the Premier League, so he must be doing something well, that a Premier League Club would want him. And as of today he's still there.

That was a great piece to read. Makes you applaud the man even more. 

Never knew the stories about him being stabbed or being involved in a car crash that left him in a very bad way. Certainly could have been worse but he never gave up on achieving something in football despite having his playing days done with. 

He was certainly motivated and gave everything, football and outside of football, his all. 

This is a great article, there's a lot in there that I hadn't heard before. I thin it's his life experience that makes him such a good man manager and an engaging bloke to listen to. He should consider writing an autobiography one day, it could inspire some people.

Very interesting signing, can't question his technical abilities, probably as good as if not better than Ruben. But that's just one part of being a success, you can't help but think why has he had so many clubs, is there some underlying issue there?

Time will tell I guess but his interview reassured me a bit, and having trained with us before he knows he's coming into a hard working environment. If he clicks here he could be great for us for the second half of the season.

Good signing on paper.

I hope we can get the best out of him, as he's the type of player some of our lot will get onto his back due to higher expectations and the unhealthy impression that a player of his quality/experience should walk rings round others in this league.

John Bostock turned out to be one of the signings of the year.

He became an important & influential member of the team that got us promoted back into the football league.

Notts improved in the second half, but it wasn’t quite enough to secure a win. We needed a greater contribution from the entire team, not just Jodi Jones. The man of the match decision was fair. Aidan Baldwin had an excellent game, but Jones was more consistent in his role. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t score a second goal, but a draw is a decent result.

It was a good game, with both teams having chances. Barrow seemed vulnerable in the second half. We needed to be more courageous. I agree with many comments made earlier, so I won’t repeat them. We should have won. Jodi Jones tried hard to assist, but it was difficult with Barrow defending in numbers.

@FozzyI agree that Brindley should be rested for this game.

A reminder to @Dry Nelson Ray that the real quality show is here at The San Sirrel 

The attendance at both home and away matches has been commendable, and the support Meadow Lane receives should not be overlooked. It’s heartening to see Meadow Lane filling up, with over 10k spectators for our home games, which is financially beneficial for the club.

Football fans love to see open attacking football. They like to be entertained. 

And Notts are doing both of those things.

Long may it continue.

@Dry Nelson Ray contact details : http://andybrownstadiums.com/ 

Twitter : @andybisanartist 

I'm sure Mrs @Dry Nelson Ray would love this art on her wall

Life really is Black and White ????????????

The painting is lovely, and it’s great to see Meadow Lane featured in his gallery. The club certainly made the right decision in allowing him to do so.

Very nice piece of work.

@menzinho Now that we have Stuart Maynard as Head Coach, I think he will go for a much more balanced side with a little more emphasis on supporting our defense which is becoming a key area for us now.

To reach the playoffs, which I believe we still can do, we must reduce the goals conceded column even if it makes us slightly less potent in attack 

They do say you can't win a football game without scoring a goal and to win you have to outscore the opposition. A few managers, especially during the 80's and 90's lived by this but there's also the opposite saying that if you can stop your opponents scoring, you can't lose. So there has to be a fine balance. Notts are capable of scoring goals as it has been shown this season and last but more needs to be done to sure up the defence. We can't keep going into games expecting to outscore the opposition in 6, 7 or 8 goal thrillers. 

Aaron has come on leaps and bounds this season in league 2. He is flourishing at this new level and he is scoring a few goals too. The room for improvement is in his defensive duties, but he has definitely cemented his place in the side for now.

I wish he would take on his man a bit more a la Jones on the other side.  That would really give oppositions something to think about.

@Ohh Tommy Johnson Agreed. We know he has the speed but I think he also has the ability to do so as well. Maybe we'll see him do it more often under new management. 

On 30/08/2023 at 21:39, DeadlyMacca said:

Interesting photo, I can’t say I know more than half of the players and even then I would struggle. Brad, Stubbs, Hateley are easy ones.

On 30/08/2023 at 21:39, DeadlyMacca said:

Interesting photo, I can’t say I know more than half of the players and even then I would struggle. Brad, Stubbs, Hateley are easy ones.

In addition to Brad, Stubbs & Tony, some other names from that team: Bill Brindley & Bob Worthington solid full backs :David Needham centre back later with Forest under Clough: Don Masson midfield future Scotland international: Jon Nixon & Charlie Crickmore on the wings. Barry Watling solid goalie: Mick Jones defender but could play anywhere in defence. Richie Barker forward came from Derby.

They were exceptional all over the pitch.

If I could take any of these players from yesteryear to fit into our side right now, where we need them, I would have Needham, Stubbs and Jones in our defence and Don Masson in midfield, Macaulay and Didzy would have a field day with Don running the midfield. I'd replace Robertson with Don. Well you can always dream.

Don Masson or “The King” as we used to call him, it’s a privilege to have witnessed his playing days with Notts, what a player.

Notts County playing their 5,000th game is a huge milestone and a testament to the club’s rich history and tradition. It would be fantastic if this momentous occasion could be celebrated at home, in front of their loyal fans.

An impressive milestone of 5,000 league games has recently been achieved. To put this into perspective, consider that players such as Albert Ironmonger participated in a significant number of matches. I am intrigued to see if anyone can identify 11 footballers who have accumulated high appearance totals, somewhat akin to a countdown. The aim is to determine a total that can be reached exclusively by considering the appearances made by these players, through methods such as multiplication or subtraction. I'm eager to know if any mathematics enthusiasts are up for this engaging challenge. Don't hesitate to join in, if you can solve this!

What a fantastic achievement to get to 5000 matches.

This was our 5000th match, away to Gillingham. 21/10/23

Result Gillingham 1 Notts 2

Won by a Macari screamer.

David McGoldrick's homecoming is definitely something to look forward to this season. His passion and commitment to the club will surely inspire others in the team.

Yeah, very pleased with them all so far but for me there's something magical about seeing McGoldrick back in a Notts shirt. If he's as good as he was for Derby as he is for us he's going to be amazing to watch! 

The voting has closed as we are now in Feb 2024 and a lot of water has gone under the bridge since this poll  My favourite signings are Jodi Jones & Dan Crowley with Jodi just sneaking it due to how he has been performing since before Christmas.

And a special mention for the extended contract for Macaulay Langstaff which was really good timing after Ruben left.

There are some truly memorable goals in that compilation it’s so difficult to pick one but I’d go for Joel Taylor what a goal!

19 hours ago, TheSkipper said:

If we’re talking about the quality of the goal itself and not the build-up, then simply put, Castro, Taylor and Bostock all stand out. Those are exceptional goals. Personally, I think the best is John Bostock’s effort against Wrexham.

This is just my opinion, but I don’t see anyone else being awarded Goal of the Season. Not a player who has left or played for us on loan, but someone the fans will get behind. I fully expect this to go to Macaulay Langstaff.

i hope the right good goal wins, i dont mind if its not what i chose but i think things sway unfairly to macca.

There have been some wonderful goals in our successful National League campaign. I'll go for Joel Taylor's goal just ahead of John Bostock's against Wrexham.