1 hour ago, The Heff said:

For England, the match was rather routine, and I must acknowledge that their performance was commendable. However, I do agree that Italy appeared to be a disappointing representation of a footballing nation that once held great stature in the sport.

They did give us a bit of a scare by scoring first against the run of play but that seemed to fire England into playing more positively and directly,especially in the second half.

Italy has some outstanding players, but they’re not spread across the field and are now quite average as a nation. They’ve relied on their older and ageing players for too long, and now they’re paying the price. England looked impressive, but we usually do when it comes to qualifying.

Italy seems to be struggling to find their feet at the moment, but they have a knack for pulling through when the stakes are high. They tend to step up their game during major tournaments. England did well against an underperforming Italy, with well-executed goals and some players really seizing their opportunity to shine, proving Gareth Southgate right for selecting them.

Yep, home draw is always a bonus. I a way I'm glad it's not a team like Kettering or Tamworth, your proper non-league lower than even National League level. Still have horrible memories of losing to Hornchurch and Salford.

I am happier knowing that the match is at home. I can't complain about the draw. It is what it is and Crawley will be a tough opponent for Notts at Meadow Lane in the first round of the FA Cup.

The draw isn’t bad, though I might have fancied a different team. But we’ve got Crawley, and that’s that. It’s going to be a hard match; we know Crawley can put up a fight. Playing at home doesn’t make it any easier, but it’s a welcome change. No complaints here, I’m eager for the match.

It wouldn’t take long for everyone on PON to regroup, it’s the kind of site that deserves the time we all invest and it’s nice to see everyone back. Now that we have had some time off, we can proceed with discussions because that time did make me miss the site.

Welcome back, everyone! As mentioned, we’re back to normal service and there’s so much to do! Our team is buzzing with excitement and can’t wait to see everyone having a blast and engaging with the content. Keep the momentum going! It’s absolutely fantastic to be back!

It’s great to be back on PON, reading and commenting. It’s a fantastic site.

36 minutes ago, CliftonMagpie said:

There are no arguments

Only between me and @super_ram about who will be higher in the prediction league and Guess Who competitions. 

We mustn’t forget the maintenance aspect of the downtime. A tremendous amount of effort has been put into restoring the site and tidying up. The contributions of Richard and Terabyte have been phenomenal, making a significant difference. The decision to transition to a new dedicated server is a sensible move for a site that’s looking to progress. Sprucing things up over the next few months will have a substantial impact. I’m thrilled that our regular members and community are rallying behind the site.

I’m pleased everything is back to normal, thanks to everyone who helped restore the site to its prime. Let’s keep moving forward!

I highly doubt MK Dons will easily dominate this league. Many teams go through rough patches and difficulties in their inaugural season. Personally, I believe this is a questionable choice, but they have managed to secure Gateshead's manager.

I have reservations about the decision in the long run. While they have selected a capable manager, if they are unwilling to grant them sufficient time to make improvements, they will only find themselves stuck in a cycle of repeating this process. It becomes challenging to make progress under such circumstances. It's understandable that MK Dons fans desired Alexander's departure, but it is crucial for them to wholeheartedly support the new appointment without reservation.

Considering their drop from League One, it seems Graham Alexander should have been granted more time. He’ll soon join a new club, as I’ve noticed MK Don’s have quickly found his replacement. Their dismal performance works in our favour. It might take them a while to recover.

Welcome @Terri. PON is a good site and well worth visiting, welcome from me.

Hello, @Terri, Welcome to the community and PON.

Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham, @Terri. Hello from me. ????????

i am with @Chris, hes spot on with what he said.

we just lack the fight and strengthen we usually have in midfield. defensively we made it harder on ourselves, but i thought connell rawlinson was the best defender on the pitch. richard brindley had a nightmare unfortunately. there was nothing that macaulay langstaff or david mcgoldrick could do, its just was out of their hand but they at least gave their all.

We played well at first especially with that early lead but we didn't manage to hold it and quickly fell apart in the second half, we definitely missed Jodi Jones but I think our defence wasn't our biggest issue as Baldwin and Rawlinson where making some good challenges, I feel like our big issue was how easy we were giving the ball away in the midfield allowing them to attack more often than we should of let them. The corners where obviously a big issue too but I feel that came down to confidence after throwing away the other goals.

I genuinely believe that we possess all the necessary elements to achieve a positive outcome, and I have full confidence that Luke Williams will give his utmost effort. The real question lies in how Gillingham will approach the game. Both teams have the ability to score goals, but we are fortunate to have a formidable squad that, in theory, should excel. Let's hope they take the field with a burning desire to showcase our team's true potential.

i think he should do well for forest green rovers, hopefully he can spend a few seasons with them.

Good luck to him, some fans wanted him to return here, but I honestly think it would take the right League Two team to get the best out of him. I am wishing him success at Forest Green, just not against us.  

Good luck to him, forest green have been one of the best teams we have played so far this season in my opinion with their biggest issue being the amount of goals they let in so he might be able to help them gain some more points.

Most obscure? Duncan Jupp???

I want to throw another defender into the mix, that is Alex Lacey.  

The awful player that was Tom Williams is a MAGnet. ???? 

Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham, @JustLikeJuve!

Hello, welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. Join in with the fun @JustLikeJuve.

Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham, you should like it here @JustLikeJuve.

Welcome to pon!

Hello, welcome to the Pride of Nottingham. Join in with the fun @Corinthian88.

Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham, you should like it here @Corinthian88.

You're getting about quite a bit, @Piethagoram. Good for you!

I will be interested to see where you end up next. I can say I wasn't expecting you to be in Poland! There are some nice places I have seen from YouTubers of their and Croatia. I watch a person who has been to all the former Russian states.

is there anywhere you still want to visit @Piethagoram? i noticed you have been all over the world and i think that is inspiring. i have only been to a select few places, mostly where family are all located but i would like to travel more eventually.

the pictures you have taken of poland look very nice, it seems quite a relaxed place.

He should have stuck with Gateshead, with how MK Dons fans are right now they won't give him long to turn things around and the club needs a few signings to really give them the strength overall needed to push on. They've got a talented squad, but defensively and in midfield they could be a lot better.

Good luck to him.

i dont blame him because its a good step up, but it does feel like ian burchnall and the forest green rovers move. only difference is, mk dons should be able to turn it around if their fans give him the chance. it might not be this season, but if they allow him to build, he has shown he can get good football and decent results.

i wish gateshead all the best with replacing him too, i like them, i have a soft spot for the club.

Samson Tovide does appear to possess genuine talent, to be honest. All of these players are incredibly worth mentioning. Arthur Read and Joe Taylor, in particular, were outstanding. However, I do not believe they show enough consistency to be deemed a contender for the playoffs, even if they achieve further positive outcomes. This is primarily due to their woeful performance in defence.

I can't comment, as I wasn't in attendance but Joe Taylor and Arthur Read were the two players that were most mentioned a lot positively from Dave and Stall.

colchester did have some very exciting players that fit their system well, i think in truth only a handful would fit in here simply because our playing style is much different. you can see they were setup to score goals and attack, defensively i did not rate colchester much at all.

lets get the show back on the road mr bratwurst @DangerousSausage.

For the third time (I tried a few days ago but it didn't work), here are the results

Ipswich Town 3-0 Hull City
Plymouth Argyle 0-2 Millwall
Blackpool 1-3 Derby County
Bolton Wanderers 3-2 Stevenage
Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Gillingham
Morecambe 1-1 Accrington Stanley
Altrincham 2-1 Aldershot
Dagenham & Redbridge 1-2 York City

---

So here are your scores. As I said, half of this thread has been zapped, but the round was already complete, counted and on my spreadsheet. If I remember right, a couple of you predicted twice. I appreciate your enthusiasm but I can only accept your first entry

@liampie - 13
@upthepies - 11
@TheSkipper, @Megan_Elizax - 10
@cheeky~k8 - 9
@nottsnutter, @Nocturnal-Magpie - 8
@super_ram - 7
@Chris, @magpiejue, @OoooooTommy - 6
@ARLukomski, @gtownjohnno, @4everapie, @KingWilliams - 5
@Joshua, @Fan of Big Tone, @Dan, @william1984, @NottsCountyKev, @jimbob, @AmericanPie, @CliftonMagpie - 4
@DangerousSausage, @allardyces tash, @JIMBO - 3
@thommo - 2

---

The table:

ARLukomski - 73
gtownjohnno - 62
cheeky~k8 - 59
liampie - 58
nottsnutter - 57
DangerousSausage - 53
upthepies - 52
Joshua - 51
TheSkipper - 50
4everapie - 50
Chris - 49
super_ram - 48
magpiejue - 48
Fan of Big Tone - 48
Dan - 47
DonnyNotts - 46
william1984 - 43
Megan_Elizax - 42
KingWilliams - 42
NottsCountyKev - 40
jimbob - 38
allardyces tash - 37
thommo - 36
Nocturnal-Magpie - 35
OoooooTommy - 35
JIMBO - 34
AmericanPie - 30
CliftonMagpie - 29
KB1862 - 22
George L - 6
Canadian - 4

---

The next round is on Saturday, so I'll post the fixtures sometime today. Your crystal balls must be well polished by now, so there are no excuses - see you there!

Oh dear I’m slipping down the table, time to get serious. 

Oh, he was a dirty, annoying sod. He did do okay, but for me, he's not the answer to what we need.

he spent some time thinking he was dean leacock, messing about with his hair band and trying to wind up the kop by drinking water. he was okay on the day, decent on the ball but i dont think he had the pace we could do with.

I felt really up for the game, but the moment the Mansfield fans started to fill the Jimmy Sirrel stand - I knew they would out sing us.

This was something I mentioned during my travels taking fan pictures, nobody agreed, and I think some didn't like that I thought it - which is fair enough. Yet I did have that feeling that it would happen, and I think that helped Mansfield. The KOP wasn't at its best, for obvious reasons, but you would have to feel if we gave just as much as Mansfield it would have helped our lads.

Yes I agree they completely out-sung us but I think away fans very often are more vocal than home fans because they have a sort of camaraderie with each other and obviously want to make as much noise as they can because they away fans are usually outnumbered.

George my grandson mentioned the kop weren’t as loud as they were last time he attended, it’s hard to sing when you’re losing 2-1, 3-1, 4-1.

i felt very disappointed after such a bright start, its like notts suddenly stopped playing and had never kicked a football at times. the contrast in the play was shocking. mansfield deserve credit for being the better team on the day, had we cause more problems it could have been difficult but when you give the ball away so cheaply you will lose.

i think the kop normally does well. against a full jimmy sirrel stand it can be hard tho.

1 hour ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

I agree, I think it’s probably mainly scrap dealers there are also a lot of doors missing off those green telephone/cable boxes around our way exposing all the wires etc.

We had a metal bed that we were giving to charity (British Heart Foundation) I put it out on the day it was going to be collected and a scrap man came and was going to cart it away despite the fact that it was just outside our front door! He had to open the gate and come down the drive, I swear blind he’d have taken it if we hadn’t seen him. I know folk leave stuff on the road for them but they shouldn’t enter your property.

Didn't the chap who came onto your property ask if you wanted the bed taking away?It's a perfect excuse to make out they're doing you a favour if confronted.There are some really cheeky folk about @Fan of Big ToneNot that long ago 2 blokes  came to our back door but I'd noticed them although watching the TV at the time.When I went to the back door one chap was actually looking around the bottom end of our garden,. but the other one acted as if he was going to knock on our door.He acted all pally saying they were helping get rid of peoples unwanted garden stuff.I had my phone in my hand and made out I was already  calling the police.Funnily enough they scarpered rather hurriedly protesting their innocence when I asked for identification ,me implying I was actually speaking to the police.Another ploy is for them to use the wrong address excuse.

5 hours ago, super_ram said:

Didn't the chap who came onto your property ask if you wanted the bed taking away?

Yes he did when I came out, I reckon he’d have taken it if we hadn’t been in.

they need to give strict sentences to people caught stealing drains, like church roofs and other metals. no doubt the people doing it will melt the metal down so its impossible to trace. its a very reckless thing to do.

I'm actually surprised it said fans from both sides forgot how to behave, not just blaming away fans like most do.

Seems a very short news story and i'm sure nothing will come of it.

I've asked various friends about this, 100% more them than anything.

After the game, some of their supporters were trying to wind up some of our fans and targetting a certain coach. Running off when they were approached, as for the keeper. He started it I am told, by trying to wind up our fans, I haven't found anyone able to shed any light on this supposed push of their player. Yet I have seen a video of a group of young Colchester fans throwing objects at one of our coaches.

Our fans don't usually start anything, so the story is a bit silly and biased in the headline title.

it was the colchester fans after the game, they were trying to get one of our coaches to fight them.

i noticed some of our fans giving their keeper hassle, but he was giving it back. i cant say who started that but it needs to be cut out from our support even if people push buttons.

I was fond of Jimmy Spencer, but even when I was younger, I thought it was naive to pin our hopes on a single player. It seemed like an easy excuse if things didn’t go as planned. And they didn’t. I don’t think Jimmy Spencer’s injury is comparable to losing Ryan Yates or the injury Mason Bennett suffered, which did affect our seasons. I wish Spencer all the best in his career.

Jimmy Spencer had the potential to be a good League One or Two striker.

I do think his time here, he had too much unrealistic pressure put on his shoulders, but he was a good finisher. I had completely forgotten about him. it's good that he's playing at a decent level. I know he had further injury issues after us, so considering he's still playing it's a good thing.

jimmy spencer was a big loss but there were many reasons why that season did not go to plan. i am glad that hes still playing.

Right, so we've scored 49 goals between us and we're letting in 2 goals a game on average. It's going to be 0-0, isn't it?

I'm a bit nervous as this'll be the biggest test we've had so far, and on the back of a chastening experience in Essex. But it's up to the players to pick themselves up, cut out the silly errors and show their quality. They deserve our faith and support; let's get behind them and NOT jump on their backs. We are a newly promoted team and were always bound to be taught a lesson every now and then. Hopefully we can take Saturday's on board quickly.

@DangerousSausage Considering how both teams possess the ability to score effortlessly, I believe a 3-3 draw is more probable. However, it depends on whether the players can comprehend the situation. I think we will be more motivated for the game. If Luke Williams doesn't address the players with a statement like, "You are at the top of the league for a reason. The pressure will always be on your shoulders, but it's crucial to respond and handle it. Stay focused, work hard, and enjoy the game. The only thing that can prevent us from winning is failing to take responsibility when necessary. You are capable of achieving this." Or something along those lines.

In the first 20-30 minutes, we should get a sense of how the game is progressing. If Notts don’t challenge Swindon Town enough and the first half ends 0-0, it might be the first game where we hear complaints from more than just the Pavis Stand. We simply need to be at our very best, as clear chances will likely be scarce.

Good goals and nice to see the highlights without having to watch the whole thing.

The commentary had some puzzling remarks, but they were not as funny as the goals Colchester was handed on a platter. At least they made us earn our goals.

The decision-making is what started the disappointment.

I defend the passing back at times, yet here's the valid concern about doing it without making space or awareness of trying to go forward. It's just incredibly poor, defensively.

Jérémy Balmy

Drissa Traoré

Mark Cooper

There are even more people! Kieron Freeman is a good name I can add to this list of growing connections.

At the moment, Junior Morias and Will Randall don't fit into the team. It's hard to say where they can or will play. You might be thinking that their wages could have been better spent on signing a defender. I think that's a fair point, but I am happy with our attacking options.

I find it intriguing that we can afford to let John Bostock rest, but Macaulay Langstaff holds greater importance due to his goal-scoring abilities, leaving little room for others. Will Randall cannot adequately replace Jodi Jones, and Adam Chicksen is better suited for an external position, which covers the left side. As for the right side, it is a possibility, but I am unsure if he can play there. Perhaps his best chance lies in an attacking position. The concern over Cedwyn Scott's injury is understandably significant, as we heavily rely on Langstaff. This situation does not bode well for Junior Morias, as it implies that he may not be deemed good enough. It appears that Will Randall's signing is more of a luxury move to flaunt rather than a necessary acquisition. Could it be that he was on the verge of joining a rival team, and we signed him purely to prevent that from happening? It seems like a wasteful decision.

I think the reason why we haven't seen much of him since he returned from injury, is the fact Luke Williams doesn't know where to play him exactly, and even I think it's a stretch for me to make any suggestions.

I don't really like Adam Chicksen as a CB; I think he can do well, but it's mostly unflattering.

He's better out left, which leaves the question of where does Will Randall come into it? Jodi Jones is blessed that he can play both sides. We will simply have to wait until Randall is fully fit and ready to be given a chance. I can't see him playing where David McGoldrick does, although it's a possibility. I do recall hearing he can play up front, but I can vouch for it. It's a dilemma for Luke Williams.