i’m grateful to have found the pride of nottingham community ????. as someone with autism, i struggled with social interactions growing up. but the people on this site, especially @GrannyPie, @super_ram, @Chris, @JoeNcfc and fraser, have encouraged me and helped me feel like i belong ❤️. joe and fraser have done so much for the facebook group and are great guys ????. even when i faced negativity on twitter, they supported me ????.

my dad and uncle introduced me to notts county games and i’ve loved it ever since ⚽️. attending wembley with two friends @CliftonMagpie@TheSkipper from pon was incredible ????. seeing @Dan taking pictures and all the notts fans was amazing ????. i got emotional during the game, especially when chesterfield led 2-1 ????. but chris’s passionate messages in the group helped me through it ????. when ruben scored, fans nearby hugged me and told me things would be okay ????.

i’m proud and thankful that notts has touched me in such a positive way ????. i hope we as a fanbase experience more games like this and can make a difference ????.

@ARLukomskibest words...

Hi everyone! I saw @jurgenpie share this on Facebook and thought it might be of interest to the Pride of Nottingham community. The Nottingham Post has a great piece on Notts County fans at Wembley titled ‘Mag-nificent supporters’. The photos of Notts fans are fantastic to see. Check it out!

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/apr/08/ive-been-told-to-cut-my-hair-gifton-noel-williams-on-the-barriers-facing-black-football-managers

Today I spent some time updating my display picture and cover images on social media. I felt inspired by a previous design of mine and thought it was time to refresh things up. Although I'm not keen on making changes without a purpose, occasionally refreshing the cover image and then returning to the primary design seems like a wise decision.

If you don't use Twitter, and feel encouraged to join in with the questions or read what others might have said. You can view the graphics on the links below, in a few days I'll show you what inspired me. ????????

Facebook Display Picture: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=702866101841782&set=a.530206009107793
Facebook Cover Image: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=702869408508118&set=a.530206005774460

What do you think of the new images? Do you like them? What stands out to you about them?

What’s new in your world? What’s on your mind?

I thought a general chat would be good to strike up a conversation since we are out of season. With the tumbleweed blowing around as silent as King Charles gratitude towards his civil servants. It would be good to see what’s new, or just to hear what members want to get off their chests.

Does anyone watch Team Talk? It’s a show dedicated to all three Nottinghamshire teams hosted by Mark Shardlow, Charlie McParland is a regular panellist then they have guests, sometimes fans, sometimes ex footballers etc. Our own @Chris has been a panellist.

Anyway this week Charlie said he was disgusted that the Council didn’t hold a civic reception for Notts when they did for F*r*st, the F*r*st fan on the panel said it wasn’t the same because the r*ds went into the Premiership, Charlie (bless him) had a bit of a go at him and got quite agitated, I think they cut some of it out. ????

I’ve got a lot of time for Charlie McParland, he speaks a lot of sense and is very knowledgeable about the game. He also doesn’t suffer fools and speaks his mind.

When supporting football, some fans tend to focus only on players who are from the same nation as them or who play for a team from their country. However, some supporters have a soft spot for players from different nationalities, even those who have no relation to their country. As a Notts County fan, have you ever supported players from countries like Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Portugal, Algeria, or any others?

Did this happen because of a former Notts player or just because you have a particular affinity for that country? Let's discuss it...

http://twitter.com/official_ncfc/status/1661748976645988354?s=46&t=DL0in_6sl-QhVVVl-b7-xg

I actually started working on this cover back when Jodi signed on loan, I didn't get very far with it. However, I thought I would persist and with him signing permanently I thought it would be worth sharing it with him.

From the website:

Our retained list has been confirmed following the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign.

Four players will sadly be leaving us, while seven have been offered the chance to stay alongside the 14 who remain under contract.

Under contract

Tiernan Brooks

Aden Baldwin

Lucien Mahovo

Geraldo Bajrami

Adam Chicksen

Richard Brindley

Tobi Adebayo-Rowling

John Bostock

Matt Palmer

Luther Munakandafa

Sam Austin

Junior Morias

Cedwyn Scott

Macaulay Langstaff

Offered new contract

Sam Slocombe

Kyle Cameron

Connell Rawlinson

Aaron Nemane

Jim O’Brien

Ruben Rodrigues

Loan players offered permanent contract

Jodi Jones

Released

Ed Francis

Frank Vincent

Kairo Mitchell

Loan deals expiring

Archie Mair

Our head coach, Luke Williams, said: “As any head coach or manager would tell you, saying goodbye to players is one of the worst parts of the job – and that’s been no different with Ed, Frank and Kairo, who are all fantastic people and professionals.

“Ed trained brilliantly with us every day but he needs to play more minutes. He’s made key contributions when he’s played and has been unfortunate not to have more time on the pitch. He showed his quality on loan at Gateshead and I’m sure he’ll become a key player for his next club.

“Vinny is someone I regard very highly for the way he works day-to-day. The matches are a small part of a long week of work and his incredible personality shines through every day. While his gametime was limited here this season, he had a very successful loan at Aldershot and I believe he’ll be a star player for somebody. I don’t think I can give him what he needs at this stage of his career but I’ll be watching with great interest to see how he progresses.

“Kairo is another terrific guy, who we shouldn’t forget scored some really important goals for us early in the season. I think any striker would have suffered in the wake of Macaulay Langstaff and he didn’t get the minutes he desired. Despite that, he played a big part in what we went on to achieve and will now become the focal point of someone’s team.

“On the players we’d like to keep, I’m delighted that we have offered new contracts to Sam, Connell and Jim – all experienced campaigners whose immeasurable contributions aren't completely visible from the stands.

“They’ve all had brilliant seasons and bring added value in their composure and words to their team-mates. Their natural leadership qualities surface in difficult moments and there have been many times this season when I have left them to share their wisdom with the group. They tow the line and show respect towards me, as I would expect, but I also want them to be able to show their own individual character and personalities. All of them do that in a really powerful way.

“We would also love to keep Kyle, Aaron, Ruben and Jodi, who have all experienced five seasons’ worth of drama in the space of one campaign. We're aiming to retain a core of players who have been through the challenges we have faced together and understand the expectations of playing for this club.

“The players, as many of our supporters will know, are now being given some well-deserved breathing space. It’s important that they decompress – and once they’ve done that, those who are considering contract offers will be in the right frame of mind to evaluate the pros and cons. They’ll also have advice from family, friends and agents, which is really helpful in ensuring they’re able to consider all sides of the argument.

“Once they’ve had the time to go through that process, probably towards the end of next week, we’ll look to meet with them and see where we are.

“If someone has something which potentially changes their life in a huge way, we know that might lead to them leaving us – but if any offers aren’t hugely significant, we feel confident of surviving them because we can offer a package which goes beyond finances.

“We have an incredibly passionate and engaged fanbase, a beautiful playing surface, an iconic stadium, brilliant training facilities and driven staff who are producing fantastic work across all departments.

“These are all things which are exciting and appealing to players, whether they’re at the club already or thinking about joining us.

“Now we know where our destiny lies, work has already begun on recruitment. New information will be coming in on a daily basis but I won’t be involved in that, nor do I want to be. There are far better people than me to deal with it because my life revolves around maximising the performance of the players already in the building.

“Of course, I will be involved in the process at the right moment. I’ll give my opinion but it won’t be final – and, again, I wouldn’t want it to be. The club is more important and bigger than me and needs to function independently from any head coach. Whatever the final decision is on any new player, I’m always happy and motivated to work with them.

“Earlier this week, after the initial celebrations had died down, I returned to the stadium having had my first thoughts about how we can make 2023-24 another brilliant campaign. Alongside those thoughts came a feeling of pressure and expectation, which naturally falls upon me as head coach.

“I was met with the incredibly reassuring and inspirational sight of our office staff still with their foot on the throttle, showing no signs of complacency.

“In football you of course have to take good moments and enjoy them – but you very quickly remember that you have to keep going because bad moments can follow if you don’t.

“I was so happy to witness this hive of activity and to see how everyone connected with the club is united in our shared ambition to drive forward from here.”

I'm curious to know - what's the furthest you've lived away from Meadow Lane?

Where have you lived up until now and how does the place you live compare to where you grew up?

I thought it would be interesting to share experiences and let's see how far and wide the Notts fanbase has spread!

You may remember that there was a former member in our group who used to go by the name "Who r ya?". You Pies!!", he was a frequent member who enjoyed sharing his views on Notts County with us. He roughly spent 3 years with us and during that duration he posted 1,263 times.

In 2019, a few months before he disappeared. He told me that he had been unwell, he said that it wasn't anything serious and that he would be fine. I wished him a speedy recovery, not thinking much more about it. It turns out, he passed away unexpectedly. I don't know the cause, the details are very vague, but I reached out to a relative who earlier today confirmed his passing.

There have been a few members who in the past have died, and it's been known, however, I find it quite saddening that despite my initial concern. A member who had established himself as a very kind and caring person, could pass away without us truly knowing. I have tried to reach out, it's difficult because the email address used seemed to be a shared one. That e-mail links me to an account on Facebook which at the time I tried to unearth what happened seemed dormant.

It's with my deepest regret to inform members that he has passed away.

Rest in Peace, Pete Day.

I see they have managed to escape relegation from the Premiership, I was rather hoping they would go down, I’m not sure why I feel that way, jealousy probably.

I do however applaud the way they kept faith with the manager and didn’t panic when things looked bad, I feel the fans played a big part of that decision, there is a lesson to be learnt by other clubs.

How do others feel about our neighbours?

Pleased for them?

Hate them with a passion? 

Indifferent?

 

Tune into this evening's BBC East Midlands Today to hear the boss' reflections on Wembley - and the celebrations that followed! ????