It was a beautiful morning here but a little chilly. It's started to cloudy over a little now but still getting periods of sunshine.

Looking forward to the Notts match later. Hopefully we can secure another three points at Meadow Lane today

Don't forget that the clocks go back at 2am Sunday Morning. It's the end of Summer time.

It's this time of year and a good chance to re-air this topic

The argument for not putting the clocks back from British summer time has merits on both sides.

Many point out that putting the clocks back in Autumn gives lighter mornings for children going to school which they say is a big safety issue. But others point out that the darker evenings puts commuters at risk too..

Personally I think that when the clocks go back in Autumn, it should stay as it is all year round, with darker evenings in summer along with lighter mornings in summer as well as Winter.

On 05/09/2025 at 07:34, Piethagoram said:

@Piethagoram Good luck in putting foreign owners in prison such as those from the middle East & United States. I doubt that they would be extradited due to geopolitical reasons. A massive fine or debarment would probably be the only punishment for many international owners.

I agree with @Robbie. The real focus should be on forcing the sale of owners who are clearly harming football, no matter where they’re from. But it shouldn’t stop there, there needs to be proper checks in place to stop these types from getting involved in the first place. Prevention is key.

Trying to jail foreign owners, especially those from places like the Middle East or the US, is unlikely to happen. There are too many political and legal barriers. A heavy fine or banning them from owning clubs might be the only realistic option. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than letting them carry on unchecked.

Latest Football Regulator news.

The Independent Football Regulator (IFR) is making significant progress, with recent news including the appointment of David Kogan OBE as its Chair & Richard Monks as its first CEO. The IFR has also published plans for a new licensing regime that will require all 116 clubs in the top five men's leagues to hold a license starting in the 2027-28 season, based on their financial stability, corporate governance, & fan consultation. This new system will give the IFR powers to enforce financial sustainability, cap spending, & ensure clubs maintain enough cash to cover operational costs. 

The EFL have confirmed that Wednesday will have a 12 point automatic deduction due to going into administration. That leaves them 15 points from safety now at the bottom of the Championship.

Can't help but feel that these points deductions are just punishing the club further down when they are already down. Their matchday squad at the moment involve players that have stayed on & haven't left due to the ongoing financial issues, & young academy players.

The club already looks destined for League 1, but unless the Club is bought by someone willing to put lots of money into the club, there is a distinct possibility that more sanctions could be imposed, such as expulsion from the EFL, & that would be a massive moment for English Football. I hope it doesn't happen.

Of course with all of these stories of financial problems in the football pyramid the elephant in the room continues to be Man City that is yet to face a judgement for their alleged 115 breaches of the rules.

Sad. Yes, that club is too big to fail. But it seems like administration is an unavoidable and necessary stage in any survival. You'd think that the EFL would give them every chance to right the ship

@Robbie good observations. Yeah, Pato's established a good level of performance in all departments and we were a very good match for them.

The healthy level of competition is there for sure. It's great though that Pato's picks seem to tally with what you see with your own eyes on the pitch. We didn't always get that with Burchnall or Maynard

Talking of competition for places, as we didn't win maybe one more change could be in the offing for Saturday. Bennetts has done well whenever he's come on and did well starting in the cup game. I love Tsaroulla but he was our worst player at Swindon. Perhaps Bennetts has earned a shot, and maybe Jodi can surprise Cambridge from the other side.

I can see it being unchanged, but I'd get it if he gave Bennetts a run out.

One big takeaway is that everyone loves Paterson now! He was an unpopular pick, some fans said he was out of his depth, gone by Xmas, etc. He's got us fitter, is getting the best out of Rodders, Matty Palmer and Grant, has integrated Robbo into the team well, got Jatta smiling and scoring again, and been a good judge of the loan signings.

Notts' good form stretches quite a long way now. We've taken 20 points from the last 10 games, which is automatic promotion form. By taking 1 point from the first 3 games, we gave everyone else a head start, which we've partially clawed back.

Hoping that attendances start to pick up again as the coach and team deserve it.

One of the takeaways for me is that we’re beginning to see there is a very capable player in Conor Grant. If he can be more consistent and clinical in front of goal, he could be a big player for us. Credit to MP and his coaching team for helping him improve.

                                     GK
                         Kasper Schmicheal 

Steve Finnan Mike Edwards Gary Liddle Alan Sheehan

                           Ian Baraclough

    Phil Turner                                    Paul Devlin

Danny Allsopp    Lee Hughes    Gary McSwegan

Formation: 4-3-3

I really wanted to have three strikers, these are all players I have seen play for Notts.

On 23/07/2024 at 09:42, Piethagoram said:

I will offer a non English slant on the best Notts 11

GK:

Raddy (Yugoslavia)

Def:

Benji (St Kitts)

Anders Jacobsen (Norway)

Pedro ( qualified to play for Spain)

Worthington (Northern Ireland)

Midfield

Masson (Scotland)

Nicol (Scotland)

Garcia (France)

Fwd:

McSwegan (Scotland)

Harkouk (Algeria)

Chiedozie (Nigeria)

In honour of Raddy being back in Nottingham this weekend #COYP

Like many of us oldish ones, I suppose mine would have to concentrate on the team that finished mid-table in the top flight a couple of times (before the relegation season). Level matters. Ruben is my favourite player, but I cannot allow him in. But Kaspar I can, he was just a cut above

Schmeichel

Benjamin Richards Short O'Brien

Draper Masson Harkouk

Mair McCulloch Johnson

conor grant gets my vote, thought he played very well and his goal will hopefully allow him to crack on with this season. a few more goals and more will see hes worth.

The Poll has now closed. Thanks to all who voted.

I'm pleased to announce that Conor Grant is the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against Swindon.

That was a tight deadline!

Never mind, my vote goes to Conor Grant anyway. I really hope he uses this to push on and hit a higher level with more consistency. The injury to Luker and Iorpenda falling off has opened up a spot for the taking, so it's down to Conor. At Swindon, it wasn't only his key goal and assist contributions, he maintained a positive involvement for the whole 90. Before, we've seen him fade away for long periods, but there was none of that on Tuesday.

I'd say 2 players pushed him close - Jatta, also involved in both goals and solid throughout, including in his own box. And then Macari...the pick of the defenders for me, especially in the 2nd half. Both goals came from his side, but none his fault. Their equaliser was a fluke. They couldn't have played the ball down the line, if it wasn't for a poor ball hitting their player's back and ending up in the perfect place for them.

I’m not convinced it was a smash and grab win. We weren’t at our best with the ball, but that was due to Barnet’s tactics. What we did was react to the situation they put us in and did it very well. They asked us to defend and we did! In that situation we only needed one bit of quality to win and we produced it. The takeaway is that we know how to play football and win an now we know how to defend and win.

Barnet put us under pressure, they kept playing forward and putting the ball into the box but on the whole we dealt with it really well. And I know they had 18 shots but how many of them were actually decent chances, one or two? We blocked 7 of them and 11 of their shots were from outside the box too. So we actually limited them very few openings.

I think going forward we still need to work on how to deal with an aggressive press. One big bonus is that we didn't play any kamikaze passes our play ourselves into trouble and give away a sloppy goal. But equally we can't just keep clearing the ball and giving it back to the opposition, on another a day a more effective attacking team could've punished us.

I think we did get lucky in the end and I mean in terms of our winner, I think we deserved at least a draw for such a solid defence display though. Can't take anything away from Hall, it was an excellent finish and he has really grown into the team now. I’ve not heard a moan about us missing Didzy for sometime now so that is a massive compliment.

On the subs, they have been really effective this season, almost to the point that I can’t remember us ever being so effective when it comes to making subs… Is this partly down to the technical board? At the start of the season when it was first announced they said: “The Technical Board will also develop a process to support the coaching team in making more effective in-game decisions. This will involve supplying a variety of data-led metrics, analysis and insights to the dugout in as near to real-time as possible”. Surely can't just be coincidence?

Interesting thought if MP is getting in-flight data during the game to make substitution decisions on 🤔

I’m liking Grant under Paterson this season, I think the change in style suits him because one of his biggest strengths is being able to press and force-turn overs. He was very good last night and I like the balance you get with him and Hall.

If was being super critical I thought we lacked the ability to control the ball for periods, I think we kept giving it back to the Swindon defence too often when we went direct and it wasn’t effective. Jatta, Hall and Grant had to chase a number of lost causes at times. I think keeping hold more and being patient would’ve been fine because at 2-1 we weren’t chasing the game.

Overall I think it’s a good point, 2 of the trickier away matches we’ll have this season and we’ve got 4 points. Win against Cambridge on Saturday and it’ll have been a pretty perfect 7 days.

Also can you get yellow cards rescinded? Jatta didn’t actually take his shirt off, at no point does it leave his body nor does it slow the match down or reveal a controversial message. Pretty sure any good lawyer says he was just adjusting his shirt because it was too tight, I’d be happy to put forward a case (and for a much smaller fee than a lawyer would charge!)

It's a shame we couldn't hold on (the first Swindon goal in particular was soft), but I think that's a decent result to cap a very good few days' work.

I was thinking about where we must be in the form table, given the poor start we had and the way we've recovered since.

Looking at Swindon’s two goals there were deflections involved in the build up to both of them. Having said that, we’ve had our share of deflections in recent times. Just goes to show the fine margins in football.

I don’t think this is good for football. It shows that money is behind everything, and if clubs are willing to spend it, they can move a match that should be played at home to somewhere completely different. I doubt many home or away fans will travel for it, and I hope they don’t, as a way of protesting the decision.

It’ll probably attract casual viewers and American fans who chant things like “Attack, attack, attack” or “Defence, defence” as if it’s basketball. It’s a very poor decision to let the game be played in America.

It’s a ridiculous idea and I can imagine the fans would protest most vociferously against this idea.

Update. LaLiga cancels Miami match amid player backlash.

Sky Sports

Call me cynical, but when I hear about vilage teams winning the league, my first thought it that they've been financially doped. If that's not the case, this is an amazing achievement.

Rod McDonald is included in the League 2 team of the week after his performance against Barnet.

Stanway must have had a hell of a game

Another good performance from Rod against Swindon. He's becoming Mr Consistency. Matty Platt will have to work hard to get on the bench near mind the starting eleven. Martin Paterson won't mind that at all.

Very sad story. Commiserations to his family & friends. A death in the family is bad enough, & a sudden death is very devastating.

its very sad, especially that he could have been saved with treatment but we sometimes battle on.

The Poll has now closed. Thanks to all of the 58 PON members who voted.

I'm absolutely delighted to announce, with an overwhelming 44 votes, Kelle Roos is the Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match for his outstanding performance against Barnet.

I am very pleased for Kelle Roos, I hope this gives him some confidence knowing that he earned the fans vote and has been named the Pride of Nottingham Man of the Match.

Thank you to everyone who voted, and to Robbie for holding the poll for us as always.

I didn’t vote for Kelle Roos but a worthy winner nonetheless.

I thought it was a match where the intensity was there but the quality wasn't, we were definitely better in the second half but we defended really well through-out and then got that slice of luck right at the end.

We lost a lot matches like Barnet did yesterday, I feel like we've been on the wrong side of a 1-0 score line too many times, about time we started getting some in our favour!

On 18/10/2025 at 19:22, Robbie said:

Scenes

That's quite a photo. I know it's just a coincidence that RodMac and Robbo are the next two to the pile on...but it captures the warrior mentality of those two players.

It's fanciful, but for anyone who knows one of my favourite movies Apocalypto that's Zero Wolf (RodMac) and Hanging Moss right there (we don't have a Middle Eye, thankfully). I think Rod McDonald has not only played brilliantly this season, he's also proving himself to be a real leader of the team.

That picture @theAnticlough illustrates the passion and the will to win mentality that Martin Paterson has instilled in the team. I can’t remember the last time Notts celebrated a goal like that. That was definitely a well deserved win!

I would have preferred Woking myself, we know Neal Ardley quite well and whilst his teams are usually decently structured. They do not tend to be all that focused on attacking against good teams, more defensive.

I enjoy the FA Cup, and I agree it has been awhile since Notts has really blossomed in it. I think the focus on the league, at the cost of making use of such a large squad, tends to be a negative aspect. There's no reason why this game or future rounds should distract the club from the league.

It will only cause a distraction if it is allowed, so the right squad playing will be important to manage players minutes well.

I know many of a fan will be wishing for the club to focus on the league, but winning games especially cup matches can be something to ignite a season. We didn't start as our best, but there's no reason why we can't take each round as a chance to reward the players who are grafting.

If the 2nd round can be reached, it would at the very least give the players some excitement and momentum to encourage positive form.

it looks like north korea, or one of those countries ran by a dictator. i would rather have the reedtz, wait for the success and be stronger for it. forest overspend and their owner causes a lot of issues. the fact hes been reported to spit at officials, argue with opposition management. it does not look good.u

@liampie

I think it's the biggest piece of self harm I have seen at a club. Sacking a Head Coach that was doing so well with his style of football that other clubs last season couldn't cope with.

I think the whole shoddy situation just demonstrates again the state of Premiier League football in this Country.

He'd done well with them up to this season, but he's such a volatile character it's always seemed inevitable that it'll turn sour. There's a non-zero chance of us meeting them in League One in a couple of years.

The kind of Notts win today that gives hope that Notts can go places this season.

im looking forward to finishing work, i can feel the cold like others have mentioned. it cant make its mind up, if it will be sunny or cloudy and rainy. its the wind that makes it chilling.

yes, he looked very good. a lot of barnet players tried keeping it in the air early on but kanu looked a real threat when they switched to the floor.

Ryan Glover would be high on my list of players to watch, with Anthony Hartigan and Nnamdi Ofoborh not far behind. I thought Barnet played very well and stuck to their game plan, which they executed to make us struggle to pick out passes forward.

Idris Kanu does look like a good winger, and Barnet does have several very good establishing talents.

Adam Senior is another player to watch out for, as he's a good defender.

Yes @TheSkipper

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Senior He was impressive at Halifax too

Oh and no mention of the words 'board' and 'technical' in any particular order.

I think that's for the best, as it was a mistake which put unnecessary pressure on people and scrutiny of the process. Let that kind of thing happen informally

I wonder if the technical board was put in place because the owners didn't have the same confidence in Roberto Gagliardi as they do with Richard Montague? I think his increased responsibility seems to suggest they trust him more to deliver what they want.

RM was on the Tube after the game. He's still living in Swansea. Seems like an affable bloke. His return is most welcome.