Good morning PoN it’s raining here at Crawley where I’m visiting my brother. Lots chatting and reminiscing to do today before we head back tomorrow.

Sorry if I haven’t been around here much I’ll make up for it when I return.

I hope everyone has a good day, keep us informed what you are doing today and above all keep smiling.

Been rumoured on twitter today that interviews will be taking place today and tomorrow for the new manager position after seeking approval from clubs yesterday. Here is SkyBet's current favourites:

Harry Kewell - 4/7

Steve Chettle - 5/2

Gary Bowyer - 6/1

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - 10/1

Michael Flynn - 12/1

Worst appointment for me would be JFH but the best would be Bowyer in my opinion. Kewell has won nothing and is currently at a mid table team no more no less. Hope Chettle can have the chance to string a few wins together to lift spirits as an interim manager. 

If you agree, disagree, wanted Kevin Nolan to do well.

It makes little difference now that he has been sacked, I was shocked when I loaded up PON's homepage and read the content titles about Nolan being sacked. After time I do see the reasoning behind it, it's not just this season but an accumulation of last season too.

However, since KN has gone, where does this leave the club?

What does the new manager need to do with this squad in order to make it a success on the pitch? Can a new manager be expected to turn the clubs poor start around quickly?

Good morning PoN it’s a cloudy start but a dry day forecast.

We are off to Crawley for a couple of days to see my big brother (well step brother actually) a few weeks ago I had a bad dream about him which upset me so I thought it’s about time I saw him again as he is now 80 years old!

I’m not looking forward to the long journey and the dreaded M25 but it’ll be nice to see my bro again so worth it.

While I’m there I think I’ll nip round and let Harry Kewells tyres down so he doesn’t make the interview at Meadow Lane. 

I see my topic about calls for KN’s head was shared on the PoN Facebook page and has had 63 comments but only 4 on here, where are all our regular readers? This used to be a great place for reasoned debate about Notts and life in general. 

The last post on here before this one was 23 hours ago. Come on people let’s get some good discussions going on here, I’m sick of reading Facebook and Twitter and some of the dross that post on there.

Hello @LifesTooShort,

Welcome to the Pride of Nottingham, I hope you enjoy being a part of our Notts County community.

I said this before on here when people were calling for Moniz to be sacked and look what happened Fullarton.

So anyone who is hoping that Nolan will be sacked just be careful what you wish for, Steve Chettle anyone?

Good morning PoN, it’s a cloudy start here but forecast to be dry. 

Its Bank Holiday Monday, which actually means nothing to me now I’m retired but I really used to look forward to it when I worked.

It was blooming chilly yesterday and feeling very Autumnal, I think it might be time to get our Autumn/Spring duvet out, we have three duvets one for Autumn and Spring when it’s not hot or cold, one for summer when it’s hot and a high tog one for winter when it’s brass monkeys.

We are going to pop and see son and family today, they’ve just returned from a camping holiday in a huge tent, apparently it was a great holiday so the kids will be excited to tell us all about it.

What does the bank holiday have in store for you? Let PoN know what you are up to.

Saturday's Fixtures:
Bolton Wanderers v Sheffield United
Swansea City v Bristol City
Blackpool v Accrington Stanley
Oxford United v Burton Albion
Forest Green Rovers v Swindon Town
Milton Keynes Dons v Exeter City

You think about it, we are almost a parody of Mansfield last season. They signed a lot of players that looked good on paper and struggled to settle early on, under Evans they became stronger and demised when he left.

They lacked "experienced heads" which now manager Flitcroft has introduced with the signings of the likes of Bishop.

Is Notts missing the experience from last seasons squad?

Slightly controversial these days I suppose, but I am curious. Have you ever shot a gun before?

based on a mean of 5

Fitzsimons 4 did Tootle get in Fitz's way for the second? Hard to see when its down the far end. Again a far from confident performance

Tootle 5 Came off following collision with Fitz. 

Duffy 4 Challenged by Akinde and went off.

Brisley 5 Better than late, but not saying much

Kellett 5 Yes a goal and a goal scoring challenge but how on earth Nolan thinks he is going to be physical enough to cope with L2, Relegated with Chesterfield says something?

Hewitt 4 The normal range of over hit passes

Husin 4 He needs an O'Connor type alongside. Very limited options when he had the ball, no one running for him

Boldewijn 5 Faded from game, or just marked out. 

Crawford 2 Anonymous

Hemmings 5 A shot off the post when he should have scored

Dennis 5 Offered more than before but marked out of the game.

Subs

Hawkridge 5 very limited impact

Bird 3 Not a sure touch on the ball. Was robbed which could have resulted in a goal

Vaughan 5 tried to influence but without success

Team 3/10 Bereft of ideas, does the team know what they are supposed to be doing?

So lets talk! 

13 goals conceded in 5 games.

48 goals conceded in 46 games in 2017/18 season. 

Already over a quarter of the way there in terms of goals conceded. 

So the first problem that needs to be addressed is the goalkeeper. Is Fitz good enough to be a promotion challenging side in League Two? Simple answer is NO. He has little to no football league experience and the lad is only 24. He should not be rushed into a big Number 1 role in his first season of proper professional football. He would benefit from going out on loan IMO, maybe to a side like Aldershot who thrive under pressure and get good gate receipts week in week out. I just don't think he's ready for a promotion challenge yet at his age with no experience. Statistics don't lie and he looks to have lost confidence already and we're only 5 games in.

The second problem ... the defense. Richard Duffy and Brisely's performances have been woeful, embarrassing, dreadful, pathetic and draining. Duffy is in no way shape or form fit to wear the captains armband for the next game never mind the season. So disappointed with these pairs efforts recently and have been unable to adapt to a new style of football which as a professional you would expect. The full backs, excuse Hewitt from this because hes not a RB so Ill give him the benefit of the doubt. However ... Jones. Well Jones is completely useless and is unable to pass a ball to someones feet, I like him as a player and maybe he is just not the same player but his crosses are dire and he needs to be practicing these in training so he can nail them on for game day. I have no idea how to fix this sorry excuse for a defensive and the man that does is way above my pay grade.

Finally, this NOLAN OUT stuff is completely uncalled for. Nolan is a respectable man and manager. He survived the terrors that doomed of the National League and achieved a Play Off Finish last season. This form will turn around and he is going to hit a bad patch in his career. Its been all UP from here and I think as fans we only expect it to go UP and never DOWN. Well now we are a team that has stopped growth and hit a flat spot. Nolan knows how to get the best out of these lads. However the lads have got to want to play for him, theirs no point in playing players that don't want to play with each other (defense). He needs to lay down ground rules and punishments IMO. He needs to spot these problems and isolate them and work on them in training. There's too much going wrong at the moment and this needs to be addressed in training and worked on until we can get it right. 

Training for example, put Boldewjin, Hemmings and Dennis against our defense and try to stop conceding a goal form our own front three. Our front three is one of the best in the league so if our defense can deal with our own front three they can deal with any front three. More needs to be done in training and more hours I think because whatever they're doing now just seems to be a waste of time and it isn't working.

Understand this is a long post to read but I think it is important we all share our opinions on what we all think is going wrong and how we can fix it. Name a few names of players you might like to see come in on loan before the window closes. I would appreciate your time to reply to this post.

Thanks, Sam

So Duffy limped off against Lincoln with what look like a leg injury coming to the bench later on with his leg in a supprt on his leg. 

So it looks like many fans who think Duffy should be dropped will now get him not out for a few games. The injury which is yet to be confirmed could well keep the skipper out. 

I think a team with so many issues could do with out more Injuries. 

It's time fans started supporting the club, Kevin Nolan has gone and now is the time to re-group. Support the club, try to left it and when you feel like throwing your toys out of the pram again just remember that the negativity doesn't help!

Whoever comes in, whatever they choose to do.

Get fully behind them or just stop pretending to support the club.

Does anyone else feel like some fans have the habit of manufacturing issues for the club?

You see people on Twitter and Facebook spreading rumours, often with no credit to back up their claims. You see it a lot when Alan Hardy tries to do something positive, people twist it and then it creates an issue. I'm sure its a small minority but I am pretty sick of it.

Where is the balance with these types of fans though?

So my question is simple is there any possitives ftom today’s game.?

So it's time for another caption this .. a fantastic pic sorted out by the gaffer @Chris . the winning caption chosen by @super_pie  on Saturday night.

good luck everyone. 

Game 5 - Red Imps (A)

Team: Lincoln City

Date: 25/08/18

Where: Sincil Bank

What line-up should Kevin Nolan 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.

Good morning PoN it’s cloudy here, dry at the moment but heavy rain is forecast later.

Hows everyone feeling after yesterday’s match? Depressed? resigned? ambivalent? (whatever that means) 

Today I have some computer work to do so it’s probably a good job it’s going to be a wet day, nice Sunday roast later.

Whats everyone else up to?

I'm not impressed with the defending, yet again Fitzsimons seems to make the wrong decisions when it comes to the goals. Why does he go to ground so easily?

1st goal - the defence are stood watching but why does fitz create so much space between his legs? It's that space where the goal goes, if he had reacted better and positioned himself a little smarter he may have pulled off an amazing save.

2nd goal - he dives instantly leaving a massive gap in the middle for a tap in. Duffy missed the ball completely, awful defending but Fitz should have dived onto the ball.

3rd goal - completely fitz's fault for me. He tied himself to the goal post and left a massive amount of space to his imitate right.

4th goal - his positioning is all wrong, he gets his feet muddled and he scrambles to get back into a better position. His dive is so delayed it's pathetic.

His confidence will be low but I am tired of seeing people defend him solely because he's NOT Adam Collin. The defence and midfield have their own blame but fans who continue to defend Fitzsimons are pretty deluded in my opinion. Notts won't do well with him in goal, he's sunk and lost the battle.

This was his chance to establish himself as something more than a backup keeper, but that is what he should be.

based on mean on 5

Fitzsimons 4 Cannot be blamed for any of the goals. Left exposed by a non existant defence

Hewitt 3 First 2 goals down to his errors. Better passing but defensive positioning and awareness lacking

Duffy 4 usual Duffy dive....

Brisley 3 Lost it completely..composure, confidence....

Jones 3 wandering too far upfield, leaving a gaping hole

Husin 6 Composure on the ball, creative but dont expect him to tackle

Vaughan 3 Not the player needed, too small against a tall energetic Yeovil midfield

Thomas 5.5 was it offside? Some good touches, looks willing to take players on

Boldewijn 6 Looks capable but perhaps should have dlivered more against Dicko's limitations

Dennis 3 £100k+ makes runs but cant say much else positive

Hemmings 4 Aganaesque in hold up play, doesnt look like scoring a la Tony

It’s a lovely sunny morning here but a lot cooler than of late. We are back from Skeggy so it’s back to normal, a good run back yesterday, the grandchildren had a great time and so did we.

I would normally go on a Park Run today but we are so shattered that I’m giving it a miss, I might do a little local run down the canal just to keep it up.

Matchday of course and I will be glued to the radio this afternoon willing Notts to give us a much needed win to shut up all the doom mongers.

Have a great day and let us know what your day holds for you.

Back when the fixtures was released we all felt how easy things would be but it's been appallingly different from what we imagined.

The signings made felt good and the first win seemed to be matter of time not when, but here we are. Now in hindsight we all wished Notts had signed more strength in the defence right? Well I know I do.

Notts could go two months without a win after the weekend's game against Lincoln City.  

So where do you think the first league win will come from in the 2018/19 season?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/teams/notts-county/scores-fixtures/2018-09