The rumour mill suggests that Matt Tootle is out of favour by manager Neal Ardley.

It looks like he his destined for the exit door with the signing of Dion Kelly-Evans and the formation preferred by Ardley. I am alone in thinking this would be a real shame?

https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/notts-county-alan-hardy-former-owner-why-club-failed-i-got-seduced-industry-and-chased-success

I felt some doubt behind his signing, I think it's only natural after Notts has this habit of panic buying. However, yesterday was the first game I've seen him play for us and on the back of things I've heard or been told at Harrogate, for a player who's only 21-years-old, he reminded me a lot of what qualities Alan Judge brought to the club all those years ago when we played in League One.

I'm not suggesting that they're the same, both are different players in their own right, but you could see Booty was keen to stamp his ability on the game and came close to scoring with some long distance efforts.

His footwork, ability and drive to get forward was very pleasing to see.

In the second half, he even had two spells where he took on 4-5 players and totally out-skilled them in order to create a good chance. I actually compared him to Donga He. ????????

If he continues, I firmly believe he will become a fan favourite and a player unlike Michael Doyle that we can actually build a team around.

What do you think? Are you impressed with him?

http://priceoffootball.com/football-finances-serpents-kiss/

Game 9 - The Moors (H)

Team: Solihull Moors

Date: 03/09/19

Where: Meadow Lane

What line-up should Neal Ardley opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

So the new shirts are now out and on general sale which is your favourite  and which  do you think you will buy. And will you get it personalised with a number name and the arm badges and a sponsor. 

Slocombe 3 - Two mistakes gifted Yeovil two goals and put gloss on a scoreline which it didn't deserve

Kelly-Evans 7 - Constantly got down the right and put some decent crosses in. Should've scored

Graham 6 - Distribution is ok

Turner 5 - Commanding when needed but gifts Wilkinson the 2nd on a green and white plate

McCrory 6 - Like DKE, got down the wing and helped the attack. 

Doyle 6 - Helped start attacks for Notts. Constantly recycles the ball.

O'Brien 4 - May as well have spent the afternoon shopping 

Booty 5 - Quiet

Boldewijn 5 - Misplaced passes and spent too long on the ball when another option was on. Showed flashes of good play 

Dennis 6 - Worked hard and made runs in behind giving an option to the midfield. Should have scored when he went round the keeper

Thomas 6 - Like Dennis, his movement was good and his hold up play is fine but hitting the bar from 5 yards out is embarrassing 

Subs

Wootton 4 - Control is fine. No real impact but not much time to make it

Rawlinson N/A - Came on for Graham. Just came on to fill the void left at centre-back.

Game 8 - The Glovers (A)

Team: Yeovil Town

Date: 31/08/19

Where: Huish Park

What line-up should Neal Ardley opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

Time to get your crystal balls out again - the next round of fixtures kicks off on Saturday at 3pm, so feel free to post your predictions (even if you're new) and don't forget your jokers...

Millwall v Hull

Sheffield Wednesday v QPR

Rotherham v Tranmere

Peterborough v Sunderland

Port Vale v Cambridge

Scunthorpe v Carlisle

Ebbsfleet v Aldershot

Torquay v Hartlepool

Midnight is the EFL's deadline for Bury and things look extremely bleak for them. The EFL have stated that their ownership situation hasn't changed and that no takeover appears to be advanced. Their idiot chairman has insisted that he has the money to fund them yet also begged for 2.7 million on the radio. The EFL have suspended five matches and understandably have to act soon. It looks very bleak and my heart goes out to them.

In 2006 we nearly went out of the league, it famously went down to the last day. Our opposition on the final day happened to be Bury, who also had a (remote) chance of going down and needed a draw to be sure of survival. Kasper Schmeichel played for them on that day. The draw ultimately saw us both stay up, and at the end of the match the jubilant away fans were serenaded with a chant of "we're staying up with the Bury".

Fingers crossed something comes up for them and they can put this nightmare behind them.

Notts have mutually terminated the contract of midfielder Andy Kellett.

A bit of a wasted signing for Notts, last season he looked good when given short spells and his creativity/direct approach could have been made useful. This is a lot more disappointing than the departure of Will Patching but it does make a lot of sense.

I feel like Notts would be more relaxed if the players could build on taking the lead, defensively we are much better than last season and low blow such as the Stockport County/Wrexham levellers will happen.

Going 1-0 seems to invite the opposition teams to attack.

If Notts could just be a bit more clinical on goal, as creatively we do look better and looked very lively against Wrexham. I just can't see us losing a 2-0 goal lead, confidence would lift I feel.

The squads been assembled quite well IMO, there's only a real need for a tall striker that can be a target man.

What does everyone else think?

I think it was a mistake to allow the likes of Mike Edwards, Alan Smith and Shola Ameobi to leave Notts last season. Something most fans would agree with I think, Ameobi wasn't replaced and the club lacked some with the ability to take the rough and tough. Edwards and Smith formed a culture club, they was good people to have behind the scenes. However, I am inclined to believe allowing Jon Stead to leave ahead of the National League campaign will allow the club to re-identify itself. The signings of Kane Hemmings and Kristian Dennis wasn't give the proper chance to settle, early spells they did look quite good but fitness impacted that from establishing further in my opinion. Stead due to his hard-working approach became the player we relied upon too much, allowing him to leave should give a fresh change up top.

Provided that the club injects pace which was majorly lacking last season I do feel the change will benefit the club.

You can't rely on someone at that age to play week in and week out without seeing them become inconsistent. He did well don't get me wrong, but every manager fell back to selecting him instead of getting more out of others.

What's your thoughts? Will Notts miss Jon Stead next season?

i was just thinking about this seasons recruitment compared to the players we have released, some of the out of contracted players like lewis allesandra are doing well and are scoring for the new clubs. will patching and andy kellett never earned much game time for notts, such as waste of potential and money.

do you feel its better to have a big squad with depth or a small team with quality?

its really a tough ask for any manager, being able to rotate players due to fitness/injuries and still have a competitive squad.

i personally think the healthy squad size is around 25-28 players covering each position at least twice.

Game 7 - The Magpies (H)

Team: Chorley

Date: 26/08/19

Where: Meadow Lane

What line-up should Neal Ardley opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

Right then boys and girls, it's time for another round of the famous PON prediction league (it's getting harder to write this without sounding like a rubbish game show host). All four of our divisions are in action on Saturday, so get your predictions in by Saturday, 3pm at the latest and don't forget your jokers! And you're welcome to take part if you haven't so far, too

Fulham v Nottingham Forest

Charlton v Brentford

Coventry v Gillingham

Rochdale v Blackpool

Morecambe v Exeter

Bradford v Forest Green

Bromley v Boreham Wood

Yeovil v Maidenhead

Game 6 - The Fleet (A)

Team: Ebbsfleet United

Date: 24/08/19

Where: Stonebridge Road

What line-up should Neal Ardley opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

Mean of 5

Slocombe 6

Rawlinson 6 First touches did not convey confidence. Did an assured job....Toots sidelined?

Graham 6 Provides a bit of pace in central defence

Turner 6 Real solid centre half...

McCrory 5 Defensive yes but not strong enough to beat his man when going forward. Always took the safety first option, which maybe not a bad thing at this stage

Rose 7.5 MoTM Much stronger first half than second...A Neal Bishop type performance

Doyle 5.5 Unfussy energetic but nothing in an offensive sense

Booty 7 Delightful ball in for Dennis. Provided some really good passes but need to be more street wise when too soft in build up of Wrexham goal

Enzio 6.5 Provided some good glimses but did drift in the second half

Dennis 7.5 Great header for the goal, showed good movement but needs to feed off an old style #9

Thomas 6 Wasted chances which you would have expected to be more clinical

Subs

Osborne 6 Needs more matches to get confident that he can beat his man

JOB 6.5 great layback to set up Tyson

Tyson 5 Golden chance missed.... just needed to hit the target

https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/football-news/trio-shine-magpies-notts-county-3224692

https://mobile.twitter.com/Official_NCFC/status/1159392865698680832 

Understand he's on a big wage but disappointed he's gone. Never used in the right way at Notts.

Scored 14 goals in a team that struggled last season, despite being put on the wing for some games and being injured. Got a lot of undeserved stick in his time at Notts. Had good link up play and a good work rate as well

Good luck to him

As the EFL is in action in midweek, the next round of the prediction league is on Tuesday. As the Conference isn't playing, I've picked extra fixtures from Leagues One and Two to bump the number up to eight. If you want to take part, please post your predictions by TUESDAY at 7.45 PM at the latest!

Birmingham City v Barnsley

Derby County v Bristol City

MK Dons v Lincoln City

Oxford United v Burton Albion

Accrington Stanley v Shrewsbury

Cambridge United v Scunthorpe

Grimsby v Colchester

Plymouth v Salford

Sam Graham becomes  9th signing in this transfer window as he joins us on a one year loan deal from Sheffield United.

if notts can beat wrexham on sunday, it can turn the season around and breed a bit of confidence into the squad. it seems we are adapting and the arrival of booty seems to give notts a bit of grit in the middle of the park.

im not suggesting we will win every game, i just think the positives are there if we can build on this good result against harrogate.

what do you think?

Game 5 - Red Dragons (H)

Team: Wrexham

Date: 18/08/19

Where: Meadow Lane

What line-up should Neal Ardley opt for? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.