It's nice to see a long standing domestic football tactic is having a rainacence of popularity. It is a very effective way of causing chaos in the opponents penalty area & can prove very effective in creating scoring opportunities for the attacking side.

The long throw tactic is strongly associated with English football, famously used by clubs like Wimbledon in the 1980s. While there is some recent adoption by continental teams, it remains predominantly a feature of the English game & is gaining renewed attention there due to its effectiveness in generating scoring opportunities.

it is nice to see a grand old tactic making a big comeback to the domestic game after the spread of the continental influence over recent years.

I might be in the minority here and I totally get it’s effective and legal but I don't like it… Maybe in part because it's not something we've done but it's caused us problems!

For me it’s like watching rugby, launch the ball as close to the target as possible and get all the biggest blokes around it to force it in. I don’t see much skill in it, aside from being able to throw a ball far, the goals are almost always goal mouth scrambles and then you always get told it’s a really poor goal to concede. But is it though? What can you honestly do if it’s like a mosh-pit in the box and the opposition are just physically stronger than you?

Football does seem to go in cycles though, so the more and more it gets used eventually teams should be better at defending it. If it becomes less effective, they’ll be something else that takes its place.

In short, I believe a Club captain should lead by example & also be vocal when it is needed.

I agree that Matt is back to his best & he does lead by example because he's the consummate professional & his fellow players look up to him.

When a Captain has that level of respect being a little more vocal when it's needed would bring positivity to the team & when I say more vocal that doesn't need to include shouting but can include encouragement & feedback.

Let me also just say that a Club Captain will not just have a role on the playing field but also have a role on the training ground, & before a match, during the match, including at half time & after the match.

Both. Everyone can and should lead by example - you don't need a title or an armband to do that. Having the authority to be vocal with your teammates is part of the captain's job.

I think we are seeing the best version of Matt Palmer right now, he wasn’t bad last season but he’s like a completely new player this season.

I’m not sure footballers really react to be shouted at anymore, if anything you’d probably get a worse response if you were to point and jab and just criticise. A bit of geeing up or being told to switch on or wake up is fine, but constantly going on at certain individuals won't necessarily improve their performance.

I think leading by example and setting the standards first on the training pitch and then on matchdays is what you want to see from a captain and I'm sure Palmer fits this to a tee.

Agreed, nobody should be entitled to play irrespective of performance, attitude and fitness.

Those in possession should have earned it and maintain the required level of consistency - if others are looking sharper/better then they deserve a shot at the first team. Simple really.

I do think the goalkeeper position is the most unique, most teams now a days usually sign a goalkeeper with the intention of them being the first choice. It’s kind of the one position that doesn’t really get changed that much.

That’s not to say the back-up keepers shouldn't be capable of challenging though, but more often than not they are there to step in when an injury occurs. We've found ourselves in a slightly strange scenario, where our first choice isn’t as good as we hoped and Griffiths isn't seemingly quite ready to be the main man yet. So it's a bit of a dilemma, with no obvious answer.

Just from a boring budget point of view it doesn’t make any sense to have two proven goalkeepers because you’ll potentially be paying a lot of money for someone to sit on the bench for the majority of the season and that's just bad business. But by January, we might find ourselves in that scenario…

Nobody should have a right to a place in the team, but the goalkeeper's position is a unique one - if you aren't first choice, you're out of the team for months at a time and there'll be no cameo appearances off the bench either. I'm not opposed to the kind of set-up where two senior keepers fight it out for the number 1 shirt, but realistically we might be a hard sell for s senior goalkeeper if we've already got another one on our books.

It looks like the brothers have prepared Notts very well by improving the financial health of the club, so I don't think that our club will have any problems meeting the new criteria.

I think that in light of this new development with clubs having to prove their financial health other clubs will be looking at the Notts financial model very favourably.

Unfortunately, I don't think that the rich clubs will be affected because of the huge amounts of money that those clubs generate.

I don't think that this development will do anything to prevent the richest clubs dominating the Premier League, & with it the football pyramid.

I still believe that there should be a cap on transfers fees & players wages to try to prevent the richest clubs creaming the best players, thus reducing fair competition.

And stricter control of players agents...Notts must have paid out a bob or 2 in agents fees at the seasons start......the good thing is the payments to agents is published..!°°!!!!!!

It's a step in the right direction, but the proof of the pudding wil be in the eating.

I've had a taste of this in Germany. Sometimes licenses are only granted subject to certain conditions, so if a club's crowd forecasts are too optimistic, they'll be told to lower their budget. Sponsorship agreements are also looked at. Clubs that sail close to the wind or don't submit their documentation on time have been relegated multiple divisions, but others have still managed to slip through the net and go belly-up mid-season.

Overall I don't think more oversight is a bad thing (but get ready for club owners blaming the IFR for budget cuts or demotions). Possibly most importantly, it's there now, a precedent has been set and it can be beefed up in the future to hopefully tackle some of English football's structural issues.

Really great achievement for them, I heard a short bit about this on the radio at lunch today where they interviewed one the players called 'Pico'. He's actually born and raised in Ireland but his father was from Cape Verde and he was approached to play for them via LinkedIn!

Scotland should be burying playing nations like Belarus. I think it's a big shame that the Home Internationals were discontinued.

They used to be so competitive & I really do believe that those end of season finales used to help the home nations especially when it came to competitive match practice.

Whether it's a coincidence or not Scotland has failed to qualify for the World Cup Finals since the team played under Jock Stein in Spain in 1982. The home internationals were abolished in 1983/84 season.

13 hours ago, Robbie said:

Scotland should be burying playing nations like Belarus. I think it's a big shame that the Home Internationals were discontinued.

Really disagree on this. Belarus were a class above Scotland in terms of playing styles. As regards the Home Internationals, England's footballing improvement by playing the better European countries was a consequence of this. Going back to Home Internationals would be a retrograde step IMHO

18 minutes ago, Piethagoram said:

Really disagree on this. Belarus were a class above Scotland in terms of playing styles. As regards the Home Internationals, England's footballing improvement by playing the better European countries was a consequence of this. Going back to Home Internationals would be a retrograde step IMHO

The point I was trying to make is that as Belarus are ranked 100 in the international football ratings. Scotland should really be dominating teams such as this.

The fact that Belarus were a "class above Scotland in terms of playing styles" demonstrates that Scotland have a long way to go before they can reverse their dismal WC record over the last 40 odd years.

Instead of trying to copy the continental style, maybe they should play to their traditional strengths when it comes to playing style.

It’s strange that just about everyone you talk to can see that the goalkeeping department needs to be strengthened except the people that matter. Hopefully the new DoF will quickly identify the problem and set about rectifying it.

I don’t think the club will openly say they are looking for a free-agent goalkeeper because that would basically do it for Roos’ confidence and he’s not exactly full of it at the moment. But that doesn’t mean behind the scenes they aren’t looking into it.

I’m also not sure Blackman would’ve been the answer, the fact Shrewsbury had him and were heading into League 2 but chose not to keep him isn’t a great vote of confidence. A quick glance at the that stats do show he's good when it comes to dealing with high balls in the box, the rest of his stats aren't anything special though and I’ve not seen enough of him playing to know how good (or bad) he really is.

Roos has definitely made some mistakes, I think his shot stopping is fine but his biggest weakest in dealing with set-pieces is (and already has been) exploited in League 2. He’s got to start showing some improvements in this area or he will be replaced at some point.

@menzinho, Shrewsbury have a very poor defence. It reminds me of when we signed Maziar Kouhyar. His past and who he had played with did not matter as much as what he could offer at the time.

Morecambe have pulled off a great signing. It should help them in their push to return to the EFL. That said, it will take a few seasons as they still need to finish the rebuilding work that is already under way.

Jamal Blackman might have been a stronger choice for us. But with Kelle Roos already here, Notts will not want two goalkeepers who both expect to play every week. Even so, it could have created strong competition.

The team is doing very well & has an outside chance of qualifying via the playoffs. Although their chances are slim, they are making history & boosting their standing in World Football.

Wouldn't it be great to see them qualify and have a bloom in the sport, pushing further generations to improve and pick up their reputation, similar to Iceland, who often got overlooked by other Scanianavian countries.

Now this would worry me a lot, because that is a lot of money to lose and it doesn’t exactly make it appealing to investors. They are seemingly quite confident they've got a plan to fix it but I'm not so sure...

By the sounds of it they are pinning everything on getting outside investment and I'm not sure what they'll actually do other than simply be used cover the losses. I've just had a quick look and Burton don't own the land the stadium is built on so it's not like they can easily start doing things like hotels, restaurants, sports courts as another way of bringing in revenue...

How do you get a club that an average attendance of just over 4,000 to be profitable (or at the very least sustainable) and competitive in League 1 (or League 2 for that matter), it's a mammoth task.

One season Stockport County achieved promotion at a loss of around £5m

To lose £8m is absolutely bonkers, given the smallish supporter base

Are they still being investigated for dodgy dealings? How does a League One team lose so much money?

Burton might have a few more rough seasons ahead of them, and salvaging their place in L1 might not be their biggest battle. It's difficult to feel any sympathy when they broke their transfer record not long ago.

A big welcome from me @Mark Berehowskyj & welcome to our community.

Good morning and welcome to PoN @Mark Berehowskyj .Come on now,don't be shy!

Hello, @Mark Berehowskyj. Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham, we are delighted to see you have joined us.

In modern day football it’s hard to select a first eleven, because every game is different. Different opponents have differing strengths and weaknesses. Coaches these days select a team with tactics in mind. I got the impression from MP at the fans forum that he tried two up front, but it upset the balance of the team. So in that case do you pick Jatta or Dennis. Or is it a case of it depends on the opposition?

I believe that Martin Paterson wants every squad member to prove to him that they are that person to be in the starting eleven.

During among seasons there are always going to be injuries & suspensions to players. Some players will need to be rested, so a strong squad is essential to a club that has promotion in mind.

But it is a fact of life that players who cannot get into the starting eleven are going to be disappointed, even if they are regularly on the bench & get on the field as substitutes.

It already appears that players like Grant, Griffiths, Norburn, Ness, Cotter, Bennetts, Aljofree & Luker are now mostly on the bench, which leaves others like Jarvis, Kouhyar, Traoré & Gordon, fighting to get a place on the bench.

Platt has been injured & will find it hard to return to the starting eleven when he returns.. Martin Paterson will have to Manage any player discontent & it may mean that some players will have to go on loan for game time.

But as I wrote previously, it only takes a few injuries to change the whole situation & fringe players suddenly become very important players that the Head Coach will need. So the who squad may well be needed at some point during the season. The Head Coaches job isn't always easy.

I am going to try to give a different perspective and not name a full squad.

I would be a head coach who picked the squad based on who we were playing rather than who I felt should be in the starting eleven, and things would change per game, depending on who we are playing and on individual form.

Kelle Roos, for the most part, is guaranteed a start. I would like to see Harry Griffiths pushed more, though I think Roos is the only "experienced" option we have.

Rod McDonald is currently the best performing defender, and I would put him in the same bracket as Scott Robertson and Matt Palmer. Additionally, Jatta writes himself into the team, but Matthew Dennis's form does leave questions as to whether he should start or be on the bench. I think I would rotate between starting and bench, considering we lack options in the striker department.

Tyrese Hall's form currently deserves him a start, though this could change, and it applies to the rest of the squad, which I haven't named. The bench could look mixed, defensive, or attack-based.

The fact that Matt Palmer doesn't score many goals is not a concern for me. His role as the anchor between defence and attack is more vital to the team that any goals he might score. When he passes the ball he doesn't just stand and admire it, he moves to a position to receive it back to keep the move flowing and moving the opposition around. Then play a pass through the lines when the opportunity arises.

The way he's played this season @McPie, it shouldn't be a concern for anyone. It'd be a boost for him to score his first for us in L2, but we don't need it to succeed.

His massive improvement over last season must be a combination of feeling stronger physically and psychologically after the injury and Pato getting buy-in all round on playing forward faster and more positively. End result? He's playing like the Matty Palmer of old.

We are built to provide the forwards, and not so much other players, but there's no reason why players like Conor Grant can't improve their finishing. I think Matt Palmer is the more complete player at this stage, but there are positional and some techniques he could try in order to maximise any chances that come his way. He had a superb effort against Crewe saved; I had to double-check that it was Palmer who struck the shot.

The difference between Palmer and Grant is the selflessness with which the skipper goes about applying his trade. He wants to win as part of the team, and I suspect assists and goals are just bonuses.

Palmer is also a player that sees his worth; he's an established player and knows just how much Notts misses his absence.

Grant has been discarded and hasn't found his place in teams; his confidence and age mean that he would need to settle in order to find form that would see him consecutively score goals. If he were scoring regularly, he would be in the team and showing that his form was good. While he works hard and is a very skillful player, the number of times he shines enough to be voted Man of the Match in games is very rare.

Hello Autumn 🍁

Very nice @Robbie have you got a “goodbye Summer” banner. 😂

Worcester score their third.

Notts 0 Worcester 3.

78 mins

Another for Worcester

Notts 0 Worcester 4: 82 mins

Full Time.

Defeat for Notts.

Notts 0 Worcester 4..

It was a poor performance from the Notts team today. Certainly not up to the standards that they have been showing most of the season.

Worcester played very well and I'm sure it was their best performance of the season, however the Notts team will be very dissapointed. Just a bad day at the office unfortunately l.

I love reading these posts thanks for sharing your thoughts @BlackandWhitePie and @Robbie I think the thing that shines through for most people is the friendliness and respect and long may it continue.

Chris spoke to me in person about his ambitions, what he wanted to achieve and how he felt PON represented the fans but needed help to be more organised. He asked if I would consider joining the team. I was a little unsure at first. I already knew about the great work he had been doing with the site, especially on social media. I do not think the fan base realises how demanding it is to give so much time and effort to a team you care about. It was only after more conversations online that I understood how I could help and why I was being asked to join.

Why did you join prideofnottingham.co.uk?

I joined because I felt it was my duty to help a fantastic fan who clearly lives and breathes black and white. As I said before, joining something where I could use my skills, make a difference and feel wanted made the choice much easier.

What is your main highlight of being a member?

The highlight for me has been seeing more members get involved. PON is a labour of love for the volunteers and I think the gaffer works hard to give value to those who take part. Once you join in, it becomes easy and you start to enjoy it more. When I first arrived, I did not know any of the team and I felt I had something to prove. I always felt accepted, which matters a lot.

How much have you seen PoN grow during your time?

There will always be quiet times or moments when poor results make people less keen to contribute. Even so, I have seen the site grow a lot since the upgrade to v5. I think this shows the effort of the team and the members who want it to succeed.

As a community, what would you say are the three core values to PoN and why?

Core values are easy to name. Dedication, togetherness and professionalism.

Why did you join prideofnottingham.co.uk?

The reason I joined PoN is because I’m the only Notts fan among my close friends so this platform gives me the opportunity to share my thoughts with fellow pies.

What is your main highlight of being a member?

The highlight for me is having other supporters understand and identify with your comments and topics created. To receive a ‘like’ is so satisfying.

How much have you seen PoN grow during your time?

I have seen PoN grow in the time I have been involved and it’s particular encouraging to see a wide range of ages contributing.

As a community, what would you say are the three core values to PoN and why?

The three core values are respect, creativity and honesty. This is because even when we don’t agree on a subject, respect is shown. Honest opinions are given without a forum turning into personal feud between posters. The creativity is seen in the wide range of topics discussed.

The final position will of course depend on many things, injuries to key players, signings in the January window etc., so it’s hard to predict at this stage.

I could do with two votes one to vote where I hope we’ll finish and one to vote where I realistically think we’ll finish.

Judging by the results and form so far, I think there is a good chance we will finish in the playoffs, Patterson does seem to be instilling some grit and fight into the squad and is very often tactically astute, the early season disappointment at the quality of signings has dissipated and I do think we have some exciting prospects and a good depth of squad.

So bearing all that in mind my vote goes to position 4-7. I hope lots of readers will vote it’ll be interesting to see what folks think.

Right now I'm torn between 4th-7th or 8th-12th. But, at the start of the season, I predicted that we'll either do better than last season or we'd have a shocking season and we'd finish somewhere like 17th... I can't see us finishing that low now, so I'll go with the more positive outlook!

I've gone for 4-7. I don't think its impossible for Notts to get top 3, it's just I haven't seen enough yet to convince me.

Welcome aboard @NottaCounty2001! PON is the place where fans come together.

A warm welcome to Pride of Nottingham @NottaCounty2001! Whether you’re here to chat about the latest match, share your thoughts on the team, or simply enjoy the company of fellow supporters.

What a fantastic choice you have made @NottaCounty2001 come on in and join the fanatical funsters.

😃🎠🎡

I do not enjoy programmes that repeat the same stories many times and are then rebranded as a new series with added speculation and facts that do not reveal much. I prefer true crime documentaries that focus on more recent events.

Yes, I enjoy watching documentaries about true crime. Fred Dinenage had a show called "Murder Casebook" many years ago which was very good.

I like it when the person telling the story is invested in what happened and shows respect while explaining how the crime was solved or investigated.

Without some of these shows, you would never imagine the ways people have harmed others or tried to cover it up. It is a terrible subject, but human nature means it still draws your curiosity.

I used to watch Crimewatch UK from when it was first aired in 1984 with Nick Ross & Sue Cook, & later Jill Dando, but stopped watching from the 2000 onward as I thought it wasn't the same without those three.

The club seemed to handle things well. There were calls for more openness, but it didn’t get out of hand. The extension went through, and now Alassana Jatta is back in the squad. I think Notts are listening to what people are saying. They seem to be trying to respond in a way that’s helpful and not just reactive.

At the time, I wasn’t too happy about it all. But you can’t just charge in and expect the club to deny everything straight away. That would only stir things up more. It’s fair for fans to want better communication. The club does seem willing to talk, but it’s about picking the right moment. We might not always agree with when that is.

I sometimes wonder what these fans are thinking when they go around spreading rumours. They do it on purpose, knowing it can cause problems. Most of the time the rumours are not funny and they are not worth sharing.

The Jatta incident was handled well inside the club by Notts. Many other clubs fail to deal with things in the same way. While I believe fans deserve a certain level of openness, issues like Jatta are best managed between the club and the player.

Gossip and rumours can seem harmless, but they can cause problems, and for a club wanting to achieve promotion, it can cause difficulties. It can create problems with players which would not otherwise happen, and while I understand the element of wanting to know what is happening or going off. I would say sometimes it is best to conduct it privately, but there are times when open transparency is a must.

I think the Notts fan base is a little quick to jump to knee-jerk reactions, or pressing the meltdown button but a lot of it does come from wanting better. I don't always understand it.

In this scenerio, Notts handled things very well and managed to get Jatta back doing what he does best: scoring goals!

i will give you £20 when i next see you @Chris, if not i will donate it online. 👍

If you can meet me near the burger van in the KOP, I will make the donation in person, gaffer. I wish you all the best with this, as the improvements and updates have been spot on. You are enhancing a brilliant community, which now seems to be getting the recognition it deserves. I wish I could help more, but I will make time to contribute to the site and do my part.

I am still trying to seek donations to help PON reach the target required to finalise the remaining resources.

If any members are in a position to donate, please consider it. I can assure you that it will help the overall goal of the site. Please don't if you already have done this year; those who have are incredible, but there should be others out there open to assisting this target. I will be looking into ways of selling merch more regularly, but since upgrading, no new purchases have happened, and I believe it's due to the banners I used to display on the home page and inside articles.

Also, I will be hoping to attract support from businesses with fair sponsorship and advertising prices. None of this silly stuff where sites claim they get x amount of views and demand £500. This would be affordable, but a partnership with PON where I would actively try to shed light on those who take us into consideration for representing their businesses.

Top reply @Robbie agree with every word.

Yes, MP is a different kettle of fish. Obviously there's a massive psychological element to competitive, professional sport. We need a personality like Pato at the club. The culture at the top, and behind the scenes, is considered and quieter, so it's even more important that the intensity and passion comes from the Head Coach.

i much prefer martin paterson for how he reads the game and approaches them, not afraid to make changes or to sub important players. there feels a much better logic behind his decision. stuart maynard looked good on the training pitch, but his squad selections and changes often took any momentum out of games even before kick off.

1. i think it was more confidence than form that played part of the issue, we were thin in the attacking momentum.

2. the home game felt more like 50/50 in terms of winning, away i would say very few believed and the atmosphere at wimbledon was not very good. the performance on the pitch was not encouraging, as we looked unlikely to have an attack. i always felt junior morias should have started, as he made a difference coming on and did more in those minutes than mai traore did with much longer.

3. we could have done something had chances gone our way at meadow lane, but by the end of the game i did not fancy going to wimbledon without jatta. his absence caused the biggest impact, as with him there might have been a chance. wimbledon played us off the park at their ground, we never looked like scoring and even having a shot on goal seemed unlikely. for me, i think notts went feeling sorry for themselves.

I'm remembering now where this is taken on the podcast - Wimbledon's superiority as promotion candidates, especially in terms of their overall approach.

I definitely don't go along with that. As@Robbie said, the personality and methods of the coach, and the culture created (a topic MP picks up on), were enormous factors as to why we went out so lamely. A team that plays positive, attractive football doesn't have to such a passive, toothless mentality and not want to win enough. MP looks like he's really setting about to fix that thankfully.

I look forward to seeing more improvements over time. I am thankful for all the changes that have been made to give PON more value for us fans.

The site has come a long way since I was last here. The live features and the new layout look great. It would be good to see more fans using the site, even if only casually, because the more people who do this the less it will feel like it is just the same regular faces.

PON has always been good.

The activity streak might be the push I need to get back on here as a regular face. The improvements are very good. The live features and the new menu changes make it easier to use on a mobile. It is brilliant to see more changes that help bring the community together.

Welcome to PON @KatrinaPIE, where passion for Notts County unites us all.

Welcome aboard @KatrinaPIE! PON is the place where fans come together.

A warm welcome to Pride of Nottingham @KatrinaPIE! Whether you’re here to chat about the latest match, share your thoughts on the team, or simply enjoy the company of fellow supporters, you’re in the right place. We’re glad you’ve joined us.