For me, it was between Rod McDonald and Jayden Luker and I think at different times upon reflection I might be tempted to choose differently. McDonald was brilliant at the back, I think all were but maybe Lucas Ness was a bit clumby and the player Chesterfield caused more trouble with. Jacob Bedau deserves a shout out, as does Nick Tsaroulla.

However, I went with Luker because I remember saying how I failed to see where he fit in upon his return and whilst he's done okay. Excelled at times, and otherwise been invisible in spells, there's no denying he's a work horse.

I felt sorry for him that the Sky pundits seemed to single him out all the time, very rarely saying anything positive and focusing too much praise on Tom Iorpenda (who was good) and Jodi Jones (acceptable but not his best). The female commenator got on my nerves describing the Chesterfield keeper as "There was absolutely nothing he could have done there". Except for using his hand? Or kick the ball?

Weak keeping, poor positioning... Then saying that Luker was "lucky" to be where he was, whilst the shot wasn't exactly difficult it still went in. If you praise the keeper, and call the scorer lucky, you undermine your whole point. Luker did exceptionally well to get on to the ball, and strike it towards goal even if it was straight at the Chesterfield keeper. Who probably should have wore different "boots". I am going to have a field day with some of their players names come Friday. 😀

Good to see Luker with a couple of votes.

I didn't hold out any great hopes when he came back from injury, it's a tough and gradual thing to do, generally. But he's exceeded everyone's expectations I think and it's clear the season would have been different had he been fit and he'd be sitting on a double figure goal haul. Remember the breakaway goal he got with Hall early on?

What I like is what a good watch he is. A six footer with a low centre of gravity - the turn that got the C'field player booked is from his power and balance. With that low centre of gravity, he's a poor man's Zidane, Barnes, Le Tissier type. He pops up in very awkward places for the opposition. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he'll do Friday night. He might be the player Chesterfield are worrying about the most.

Just a bit late this week to declare a winner. Apologies for that.

I'm pleased to announce that Rod McDonald is the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match v Chesterfield. Well done Rod.

Thank you for keeping the site moving forward. It is great to see how much effort and care goes into the community. Everything is coming along well, and I hope that with Notts being a happier club to talk about, more fans will join in.

PON deserves the support, so keep up the hard work.

Top Man @Chris the amount of work and care you have dedicated to the site is personally mind blowing. Your thoughtfulness and consideration dovetailing with family time and County time is admirable and commendable. Thank you for all you do for all of us to enjoy, participate and keep in touch over anything and everything. Live Long and Prosper my friend. 🤠 ⚽️

@Chris

It's "topics" which is on "My activity streams".

It would be great if "topics' were an option.

Superb result but I can't help feeling that we could have buried them with a bit more composure. Having said that, the pressure is on them now, they have to come out and play. That will suit us just fine.

7 hours ago, Dripsey3 said:

Superb result but I can't help feeling that we could have buried them with a bit more composure. Having said that, the pressure is on them now, they have to come out and play. That will suit us just fine.

And the psychology of being a goal up might help us out too. Maybe this team gets anxious starting home games at 0-0. Starting ahead could be liberating for them. You're attacking to extend your advantage not establish it. Concede, and it's just a normal game with home advantage.

There's a world where we get the first two goals and that'd be pretty much it.

We saw a typical Martin Paterson inspired Notts County in the first leg. We need more of the same at ML on Saturday.

Martin Paterson’s style of play focuses on aggressive, high-tempo, and attacking football, characterized by quick, direct transitions, intelligent pressing, and high-intensity work off the ball. His teams are noted for being well-organized, disciplined, and hard-working, often employing a flexible, high-pressing approach

(Source Google)

He also won Kidderminster's Players Player of the Season award!

This is from their official site:

While all players relish and enjoy the adulation of supporters, there’s something to be said about having the respect of your peers.

In that respect, massive kudos and congratulations go to Ryley Reynolds, who was voted by the Harriers squad as Players Player of the Season.

What a fantastic second season in Red for Ryley. So much energy and heart from midfield, and 12 goals to boot! Congratulations to Ryley, and thank you so much for your contributions during your stay here.

Ryley Reynold's loan club Kidderminster has won promotion to the National League after beating South Shields 2:0 in the National League North playoff final.

Ryley has played 42 games for Kidderminster this season. Great that he has a promotion to his name.

Delighted for Riley and Kidderminster. I think he'd benefit from another season on loan there next season. He's obviously thriving there.

its a good step up and i think hes a good player, i hope he transitions well. he should get more time to play he way he likes in league one.

It's a good opportunity for Ed. He had a great season for Gateshead & the Gateshead supporters were sorry to see him go.

It's a big step up but I'm sure Ed will excel at his new Club & I wish him luck for the new season.

https://rochdaleafc.co.uk/ed-francis/

I had missed this transfer. Congrats to Ed on achieving promotion with Rochdale

Morning all, it’s a big day today, I guess I know what we’ll all be doing today, either watching live, on the telly, listening on radio or pies player or keeping up via the internet. However you are keeping up with the score let’s hope for a positive outcome.

I’ll be watching on the telly with he family who are coming to ours for a meal first, I’m looking forward to it. I’m also looking forward to handing the reins back to our son and DIL after staying with our teenage grandkids for three nights. I’m getting too old to deal with troublesome teenagers.

I have one of those round barbecues, but yesterday a wheel fell off. Could it be a sign?

And today I did my back in moving it. Is this also a sign? Either way I'll definitely be watching tonight!

Well @Fan of Big Tone today will be a third towards promotion to the third tier. The fate of that journey is with Martin and his squad, all we can do is hope, as I know they will, that every player gives their all.

@super_ram looks like a lovely pint of my favourite Guinness, cheers to you and yours, hope you enjoyed it.

@StarkMallard obviously the Gods of football are with us today, a wheel falling off is a good omen. COYP 🥳👍⚽️

Hmmm. The problem with Salford is that they have Graydon!

They demolished MKD’s a few weeks ago and they looked strong, sharp and clinical when it mattered against both them & us. Yes, we chucked it away after seemingly salvaging a point - but that was the difference. In a one off with Salford we’d have to improve, considerably, and they’d have to, effectively, “not turn up”. I don’t feel optimistic about beating any of these 3 tbh but I reckon Grimsby would suit us the best.

If, and it remains a very big if, we beat Chesterfield then it’s “game on” at Wembley. Personally, I’d prefer the fishy folk tbh.

Fair enough,

It's such an evenly matched play-off line up.

I'll be in a minority here, but I have very modest ambitions for these play-offs. Like 80pts was an improvement on 72pts, and 5th place on 6th, I'll take the below in these play-offs, which we didn't have last year...

• a goal in 3 hours of play

• some fight and showing that you care

Above that will be a bonus. But on our day, we can get past Chesterfield and beat the other two. So all to play for.

Chesterfield, like ourselves, have a recent record of underperforming and even self-destructing when the pressure is on and the expectation is high. Their home defeat to Shrewsbury in March is a recent example of this. There are others. You can see why they are bookmakers' favourites for the playoffs but that might just suit us perfectly. If we can play without fear we have every chance of giving them two very difficult games.

A lot of complaints about various problems, a few asked me if I could tell the club but I don't involve myself in that side any more. It's not appreciated, and nothing ever gets done about it. I wish those that had valid concerns, and it's not for me to suggest which are but they should be contacting the club because the more that do, the more things will get resolved.

Every ticketing site that Notts has used has been poor. I don't know if we are still using Ticket Master but they are notoiously known for being awful.

@Chris yes it’s Ticket Master, to be fair I always get my tickets online and print them at home I’ve very rarely had any problems until yesterday but I assume it was due to the amount of people trying to buy tickets at the same time.

It seems a lot of season ticket holders seats have now been released which is annoying I could have got a lot better seats nearer the centre half line in the Pavis stand almost every seat was greyed out when I got our tickets now they are available.

What is even more insane is that they are at £14.6m at losses, £10m of that being covered by their owner. Now, didn't the Reedtz write-off a large amount of debt from us? Yes, but some of that was historical debts and investments.

Silly money for a club that could easily re-find themselves back in trouble at the wrong end of League Two.

I don't wish it, I hope for their fans the owner starts to play it smarter but when you think of all the money involved. You have to ask, is it worth it? Can they sustain the large amount of losses without losing momentum and what will the future look like? You spend a lot, and sooner or later, owners will reduce their expenses. Fans become disillusioned and the club could very well be at risk.

Fair enough @Piethagoram, on PiesPlayer (filmed from the Main Stand) my initial reaction was that he'd gone down too easily. But looking at that it's a stonewall penalty, the defender was nowhere near the ball. Good job it counted for nothing in the end.

I was sitting in the Sirrel stand quite close to the incident I honestly couldn’t believe it wasn’t given it’s a definite stone wall penalty.

Not that it mattered as it happens because Cambridge got the point they needed.

'Looking for a penalty' is a very misleading phrase. Of course the attacking team is looking for penalties - goals or fouls made against them

Why not run at players? Unless they tackle you cleanly, you either beat them or win a free kick. Get into the penalty box, and the reward is a penalty. For sure, by the laws of the game one of the incentives of getting the ball in the box is to win a penalty.

Maybe one of the main things Tsaroulla had in his mind was to win a penalty. I hope it was. That's the way it should be and there's nothing wrong with that. The problem is with officials being more reluctant to call fouls in the penalty area than out of it.

I think it's great we're having this discussion at all - it's not so long ago that we were struggling to fill 25% of the ground.

The capacity is adequate for our needs right now, everyone who wanted a ticket against the cider quaffers got one. All the same, I'd like to see our existing seats filled (and not covered by adverts or tarpaulin) before there are any thoughts about filling in corners.

Standing could be one way of doing it. It's possible to have two or three fans per seat in standing areas, so that could add a few thousand to capacity (while hopefully allowing us to offer cheaper tickets). To do that, the club would need to add smaller steps between the existing steps, and I don't know if you can do that for structural reasons.

One other issue is the concourses. There might be scope fo expand them behind the Kop, but the Sirrel stand is difficult because it backs onto the street. Even if it can be done, some seats will always be unavailable due to the away block.

Our lack of a proper dedicated away end creates all kinds of problems. It's a shame we couldn't use the Meadow Lane end for it as the stand is a perfect size; unfortunately, that's a non-starter due to its location.

its hell when we are over 12k and it does become uncomfortable the higher it gets. i love seeing meadow lane filled, but the ground was redesigned in the 90s and even then it was kept traditional. that is not a bad thing, there are loads of quirks and its what makes it a great stadium but everyone feels on top of each other when the kop is busy.

toilets become far worse than they would be otherwise, you are lucky to be served at half time so you have to leave early to just get a drink without queuing for ages. even the use of cards only has not sped things up all that much.

some people said the navi made a mistake by creating its fan venue, but the nest has showed that there is still the demand for fans to have somewhere to go before and after. this last saturday, there was huge amounts of fans just standing near the main gates, and lots walking around. again its a good thing, but if you dont time your entrance well, it is a swarm of hell.

There are plenty of home tickets left for the Chesterfield game - maybe 1,500 - especially in the family stand, I guess due to the kick-off time. So we've sold 'only' 13k to home fans. That's a pretty good effort in a few days and we'll probably sell out, but they've not been snapped up which suggests a 20k stadium is still more than enough. As everyone has said it's just the configuration. If they could upgrade the Sirrel somehow so that more seats could be used and there was a large segregated away end, and maybe the corner nearest the Kop filled in, that would be great.

I'd like the safe standing expanded to more rows in the Kop. I know some people who like to sit would be displaced but it would enhance the atmosphere even more I think.

sad, sad, sad by the rolling stones. @Fan of Big Tone

i used to hear this song a lot as the weekend approached when i was younger, my dad would be singing it and even the opening make me know that it is this song. i hope everyone is okay.

@liampie your dad has very good taste, that’s my favourite band.

@liampie Keeping on a Rolling Stones theme, here is a song based on your mood, for you and your Dad. Happy - Rolling Stones.

Tsaroulla for me too

I think some of the criticism of Jatta is a little harsh. Harbottle, like when he played for Wimbledon last season, had Jatta in his pocket. Dennis coming on weakened the team as did Palmer for Norburn

out of all the starting 11 for me it is nick tsaroulla and jodi jones.

i think jones played his best match for us for awhile, he looked like he used to do before he got injured. some of his crosses just needed better attacking, which is part of where my criticism for jatta would come in. he never positioned himself all that well, and wasted what he did control. i though lucas ness and rod mcdonald did very well. ollie norburn made some poor passes, but worked hard to keep notts on the front foot. if our attack was a little more focused i think we could have been more up before bristol rovers scored. this is not solely aimed at jatta, but grant, luker and others when it comes to shooting on goal.

The poll has now closed.

I'm pleased to announce that Nick Tsaroulla is the pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match v Bristol R. Well done Nick.

On 30/04/2026 at 16:56, Fan of Big Tone said:

Would be worth you approaching the club for a match worn shirt or other merchandise?

I don't know, I am doubtful they would support it. I might have a better chance speaking to the players, but then I wouldn't want to bother them. I am unsure if this is likely to happen (the raffles), I'll see tomorrow and see what support there is from the wider community. It might not be viable because of the cost of living. I don't know how impacted our fan base is, but even football is expensive, so I fully understand that this might not work.

I don't think this would be a good usage of my time, so I have conceded the idea.

There is an amazing amount of support which I know is there, but I think focusing on subscriptions and donations might be a better means. Plenty of people offered interest in this; however, I do feel it would be a case of obtaining worthwhile prizes and the first might just break even. I don't think for a second that nobody cares, or that there's not that support there. It is solely down to the cost up front, and the time involved being big issues.

maybe in time it could return but the cost does seem to outweigh the point at the beginning, no doubt to put people off but i am sure people will support you in other means. i need to make more donations regularly, i am not against subscribing but you know my feelings on wanting to be a regular member that helps out.

That could easily have turned out as an utter disaster at the back.

On 30/04/2026 at 23:36, Robbie said:

That could easily have turned out as an utter disaster at the back.

If it was Notts, it would have but that's the difference between us and Arsenal.

I wish we could rely on a few bodies to put away crosses, we tend to have that many it becomes a bit like pin ball as to who might strike the ball. I wished Martin Paterson would tell some to hang back at the edge of the D, and then make runs to split the defence.

and people are calling arsenal for scoring set pieces and from corners, they are one of the best teams to watch on their day. i find some clubs like man city to be boring.

Thanks Everyone!

I've been a supporter for around 30 years, attending my first games around 95/96 with my grandad. Currently enjoy going to watch all home games and attend with my Mum and younger Brother.

Current Favourite is Jodi Jones and probably all time favourite is Macaulay Langstaff

A big welcome from me @NCFCGuy & welcome to our friendly community.

its great to have you here @NCFCGuy, welcome to pon!

Don't you start, I already had @Dan joking with me about this. I think the photo was taken when I noticed Bristol Rovers number 17, making crying hand gestures like an absolute idiot. Nobody was crying, but I was annoyed with how the officiating had been dealt with and I thought we should have done better to handle the threat. At least the two players didn't try to wind up our fans, usually the opposition players go to extra lengths to do this. Only number 17 and another player tried to get the KOP onto our players' backs.

Is that the Football League Paper? Shades of Sir Charlie Palmer there, with @Chris playing the role of the glum Florist fan!

i wonder if the gaffer is laser focused on the bristol rovers player. if the bottom half is anything to go by, i would hate to see the top. i imagine something like cyclops from xmen. 🤣

There's always next season @Fan of Big Tone!

Thanks @StarkMallard for running the prediction league .

I would like to dedicate my title to @GrannyPie this wins for you mum which is even more sweeter as I totally annilated my dad @super_ram.

I'm just glad unlike arsenal I ain't bottled it within the last month of a season.

Thanks so much Stark 'dangerous' Mallard, duck for running this league.

Eider won if it wasn't for those pesky kids...

It's a difficult business predicting the games you choose....going down a slate of eight games and getting 1pt or even 'nul' points! My achilles heel is predicting losses for clubs and teams I dislike

Anyway, thanks for the season long fun.

I am looking forward to this point, my friend.

What a beautiful day to go and watch some Football.

We need to be nothing more than eellogofusciouhipoppokunurious today on this wonderful matchday.

Thought for the day. Consciously, enjoy every moment, remembering the tenderness of the past, the value of the present and the hope of the future.

We had a lovely evening with Chloe last night, the takeaway curry was far too much so it’s in the freezer and will probably mark another 3 meals for me and Mrs.T. Chloe recommended a film on Netflix called Train Dreams which was an excellent choice.

Today we are going to the match with our fingers crossed, we’ll be sat back in my old stomping ground the Sirrel Stand where I used to watch the match many years ago, in those days the kop was for away fans, can you imagine? 😮

COME ON YOU PIES!

I'd just like to say that Stuart Maynard has proved to all & sundry that he is a winner. He has a Championship win on his CV now. As good as Luke Williams was, he doesn't have those bragging rights just yet. I'm so pleased for Stuart because with the right support at Notts between January & the end of the season last year, he may have won promotion here too.

On 15/04/2026 at 17:06, Paris Sandwich Man said:

I’m bored with the Maynardball love in. He was dire for us, he had no charisma and no plan b. Come on the Dale 🔵🔵

He got Notts to the playoffs in League 2 & now he is a a winner with York City. He absolutely deserves the accolades that he is getting.

Yes, this York City season is a tremendous achievement and it proves he has abilities.

So you're right @Robbie, but I just can't do the revisionism on how I feel about his Notts era......especially at this time as we're probably about to go into play-off games, ones in which we'll have to show some passion and competitiveness. So, I'm with Delicious Baguette on this

I'd have him back before Burchnall, how about that? 😀

I agree with @Robbie Maynard might not be everyone’s cup of tea but you can’t deny what a fantastic season he has had at York City, ask their fans what they think of him, I would say he’s definitely shaken off the BT Engineer insult that was often thrown at him, he is an excellent coach and I for one am pleased for him.

On Football Radar accounts, notes to accounts:

"On 15 April 2020, Football Radar Limited entered into a ten year loan agreement with a company which is connected by mutual control. The agreement granted the borrower, a connected party, a loan facility of up to £10 million. At the year end the directors concluded that this balance was no longer recoverable, and the loan was impaired to £nil (2023: £10,750,000). Post year end on 25 April 2025, it was formally concluded that the loans made to a company related by mutual control, would no longer be required to be repaid by the borrower."

Football Radar lost £9,378k on the back of writing off Notts' £10,750k loan

Football Radar Profit and Loss Reserves hit by around £10.1m

Whether we go up or not I think that the Club will sell some of their most valuable players to finance new signings in the summer.

Now that Notts are getting some of their leading players back from injury, if it is to be the playoffs, I think Notts will have at least an equal chance of anyone else in the playoffs to progress.

The playoffs are always going to be a lottery and the best team over the season doesn't necessarily win. Notts just have to be confident of their own ability & play to their absolute best, then they have a good chance of succeeding.

4 hours ago, Robbie said:

The playoffs are always going to be a lottery

That’s very true and we all know how hard it is to win the lottery, is anyone posting from their mansion in the Cayman Isles after winning the lottery? No I thought not. 🤣

I was really hoping we go up automatically, I hate the playoffs, they are so stressful. However I’ll be there to cheer them on I just hope that defibrillator is handy.

Martin Paterson strikes me as the type of person that will focus on preperation, and accessing the metal state of the squad as he does it, but I would alo assume that he will fire the lads up. The last 46 games mean nothing in the playoffs, and form tends to go right out the window. This means there should be a natural reset, but it should be across all of the teams who have made them.

The key thing will be to avoid nerves, insist on a level of focus, ensure the team plays as a unit and try to handle the occasion the best to their ability.

Some players will treat it as any other game, some might feel like its a cup match and others might allow frustration to set in because they want to gain promotion. Personally, I would express the team's desire to enjoy the game and work hard together. Focus on the training and means of exploiting the opposition. Avoid allowing setbacks or pressure to have any handle on the situation; the only means to succeed is to try and put your all into them.

Wow! What a goal. 👏

Whilst not the same, I seem to recall a similar move by us and I think it was Enzio who scored it.

The awareness of the team mates, the movement and effort to draw defenders out without wasting energy but in a very smart approach makes it a joy to watch. Anything but a goal would have been the right thing considering how good of a move it was, calmly placed into the net and a brilliant celebration too. Straight to your support, and giving you something more to cheer about.

I am expecting us to miss out on the automatics, in that way I won’t be disappointed when we do but if we manage to go up automatically it will be a massive welcome surprise.

Expect the worst but hope for the best.

Notts just need to take care of their own business, win their last game of the regular season & see what happens.

Even if they don't get automatic promotion, beating an in form Bristol R would be a massive scalp & a confidence builder for matches to come.

On 26/04/2026 at 08:50, theAnticlough said:

I wonder what PONners make of these probabilities…

Crewe win - 15%

Crawley win or draw - 50%

Notts win - 60%

That works out at exactly 3% chance of automatic promotion. Or 33 balls in the bag and 1 of them has our name on it. How do you feel about that?

I actually got these calculations wrong. Those %s work out to a 4.5% chance. And if you bump Crewe up to 20% you can get to 6%!

So let's say they're 16 balls in the bag and one has Notts' name on it. This is heading in the right direction for me!