Over the years Morecambe have emerged as a sort of barometer of Notts County's standing.

This was a post I put on Facebook on this day (28 Dec) two years ago, for a game that eventually finished 2-2...

Of course, 11 months and 3 weeks ago we lost 4-1 at the Globe Arena, and this time out, we won 4-1 at the Globe Arena.

Morecambe were also the team we beat to officially seal promotion to League One (that was another 4-1!) in 2010, and they were the team Sol Campbell played against in his only game.

However, my favourite barometer of County's success would be to not play them for a long, long time (except in the cups) because we'll be several divisions higher than them.

Boxing Day Fixtures:
Cardiff City v Fulham
Nottingham Forest v Sheffield Wednesday
Bradford City v Peterborough United
Wigan Athletic v Shrewsbury Town
Chesterfield v Crewe Alexandra
Port Vale v Coventry City

Some transfer talk from the Nottingham Post today:

Notts County are not in the chase to sign Ricky Miller with the Peterborough forward attracting plenty of interest from other League Two clubs.

Meanwhile, Notts will allow Curtis Thompson and Haydn Hollis to leave the club on loan after the pair failed to nail down a place in Kevin Nolan's first team.

Thoughts on these reported developments?

Notts County continue to impress in League Two and, although there's still half the season to go, I can imagine many fans would now be reassessing their expectations for the season, with safety all but assured.

If we now were to look upwards rather than downwards, how many points do you think it would take for a team to gain promotion this season?

John Watson has made this point on Facebook:

So, looking at the points totals required for the last 11 seasons (06/07 to 16/17, Source Sky Sports) it throws up some interesting facts.

For the last 3 seasons 3rd place in L2 has required 85 points to secure it, the lowest over the 11 seasons for 3rd is 78 points, max is 88. The average to secure 3rd is 83.

Applying the same maths to 7th place the lowest points total required in the last 11 seasons was 69, highest was 78. Average is somewhere between 71/72.

Turning to the current seasons, and typical of Notts, shows currently 3rd down to 9th spot covered by 3 points.

3rd down to 14th, is covered by just 7 points as I write this, which suggests the points total required this season to secure automatic or playoffs is likely to be higher.

My view is we will require around 87 to secure 3rd (which would be the highest since 88 was required in season 07/08) and around 77 to secure 7th.

What do others think?

Online site The Sportsman has listed Notts County's revival this year as one of their Highlights of 2017.

Here's an excerpt:

What a remarkable 2017 for Notts County, a club transformed by a new owner and a manager in Kevin Nolan who appears destined to reach the top flight once again.

As the one-year anniversary of a takeover and Nolan’s appointment to the managerial hotseat approaches, the turnaround over this calendar year must rank as one of the most impressive any club as seen.

And it’s why, in a year of England striker Harry Kane’s world class goalscoring exploits, the epic British and Irish Lions drawn series in New Zealand and England’s Six Nations title, as a Notts County fan the day new owner Alan Hardy walked into the door and proceeded to bring Nolan with him, is the only sporting occasion that can only be the moment of 2017.

To read the article in full, click here.

Hi all,

Hope you all had a good Xmas, here is a Morecambe fan's take on your win at the Globe

http://d3d4football.com/d3d4-boxing-day-match-reports-game-week-24/

thanks

James

Game 24 - The Shrimps (A)

Team: Morecambe

Date: 26/12/17

Where: Globe Arena

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.

Who was your man of the match for Notts County at Morecambe?

Yesterday was not only Christmas Day but also @GrannyPie 's birthday.With all the excitement of the day I forgot to post her a birthday wish ,so here it is-Happy birthday @GrannyPie hope you get a belated present from Notts today!

Game 23 - United (H)

Team: Cambridge United

Date: 23/12/17

Where: Meadow Lane

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.

Merry Christmas to all my fellow PON users.

Hope you all have a great day and a proper black and white Christmas starting with 3 points on Boxing Day! 

Youuu Piiiies!

Product Recall

Amazon have requested that all customers who purchased a Mansfield Town FC crockery set (no cups, just 11 mugs) for a loved one, to return the gift immediately.

A spokesperson for the company said: "This product likely to slide down the table after Christmas."

All the best to all Pies fans & hope to see you all at NYS in L1 in 2018/19. Hoping to get to ML again before the end of the season.

Sky Sports has ranked all 92 Premier League and Football League clubs by their winning percentage on Boxing Day.

Burton Albion sit top of the table, having won four of their five Boxing Day fixtures since being promoted to the EFL in 2009.

The key question, of course, is "where are Notts?" The answer is 63rd place, with 29 wins from 82 BD games and thus a win percentage of 35.37%.

Really, they should have taken into account draws and defeats as well to be honest, but hey, it's something up for discussion.

Hi,

You may know I'm the pre-match reporter for the Port Vale Fans Forum One Vale Fan. 

Part of my role is to contact fans of our forthcoming opponents to ask them a few questions and gain their views on the upcoming fixture between our sides in order to produce a report which we release on the site a couple of days prior to the game. Some of you kindly contributed to our reverse fixture article and I wondered if some posters would like to take part by answering some different questions.

I wondered if up to three of you have a few minutes and would kindly offer your feelings on the game by answering the following few questions;

1. Tell us a bit about yourself & history as a fan?

2. How are your team doing (current form and in relation to the expectation of fans at the start of the season) and where do you think you will finish the season?

3. Who should we watch out for (one or more danger player/s)?

4. What are your thoughts on your manager?

5. Can you tell us up to 3 quirky things opposing fans might not know about your team?

6. Any views on the current Port Vale team & specific players?

7. Did you attend the reverse fixture earlier this season? If so what were your thoughts on the game?

8. Any views & memories of players / managers that have been involved with both teams and which Vale player past or present would you take for your team?

9. A score prediction (and potential scorers for both sides) and what do you expect the attendance to be?

10. Finally can you pass on any decent recommendations for local ‘away friendly pubs’, eateries and the best places to park for our fans travelling to the game?

To enable me to produce this in good time I need a reply by Friday and the report should appear on the website a day or two before our fixture.

Please also let me know if you would like me to include your name on the article and if you are prepared to share one a photo of yourself we can utilise with the article.

Many thanks for your potential support in this matter.

Best Regards,

REP

Saturday's Fixtures:
Leeds United v Hull City
Sunderland v Birmingham City
Bristol Rovers v Doncaster Rovers
Shrewsbury Town v Portsmouth
Colchester United v Port Vale
Yeovil Town v Exeter City

Not an easy game to rate, but here's my two penn'orth:

Fitzsimons 6 – not much chance with any of their goals, didn’t have a lot to do otherwise.
Tootle 6 – an average performance
Duffy 6 – nothing special but no real errors
Brisley 6 – silly booking but made up for it with a goal.
Dickinson 5.5 – not up to his recent standard
Hawkridge 5 – saw a fair bit of the ball but didn’t do a lot with it
Hewitt 6 – average, his long throws were a bit better
Yates 6.5 – competed well, helped us hold our shape
Grant 4.5 – couldn’t beat his full back, probably his worst game yet
Stead 5.5 – tried hard, but not a lot worked
Ameobi 7* - some classy touches, could have done better with the chances he had

Allesandra 7 – soon got into the game, good goal and offered us more of a threat
Jones 6 – good cross to get us back in the game
Forte 6.5 – seemed to be injured soon after coming on, but stuck at it to earn us a point

A point few would have envisaged at 0-3, especially with Ameobi and Forte struggling with injuries. We now need 3 points at Morecambe, even though our striking options could well be limited. The spirit of this squad can’t be questioned, but I still think we need some inspired transfer activity in January to become genuine top 3 contenders.

Other views welcomed.

Who was your man of the match for Notts County against Cambridge United?

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/dec/22/notts-county-takeover-alan-hardy-ray-trew?CMP=share_btn_tw

The Video Assistant Referee will be used for the first time in English football in the third round of the FA Cup in January.

Director of Professional Game Relations at the FA, Andy Ambler, told theFA.com:

'The FA has always been open to trialling new innovations and was heavily involved in the advancement of goal-line technology before it was introduced. The trialling of the VAR system in this season`s Emirates FA Cup from the third round is a continuation of that and further demonstrates that whilst being the most famous and historic domestic cup competition in the world it is also modern, progressive and innovative.'

Do you think it's a good idea? Will it make a difference? Let's hear your thoughts.

Shaun Derry is returning to Notts County this weekend with his Cambridge United side, and at PON we wanted your opinion on the following:

Could Derry have been more of a success if he had the resources and support that Kevin Nolan has at present with Alan Hardy at the helm of the club?

Let's get your thoughts.

With Adam Collin back in full training and Kevin Nolan facing a selection headache in terms of picking either Collin or Ross Fitzsimons, here's a way he could determine the starting goalkeeper each week.

https://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/2013/september/blog-foreign-legionnaires/

A trip down memory (Meadow) lane... a good article from Mick Chappell

A football supporter has been handed a suspended stadium ban by their club after a TV viewer contacted them to complain about the individual making a ‘masturbatory gesture’ towards the opposition.

Sorry but... what the s**t?! What a joke.

With our 23rd fixture of the 46-game League Two season coming on Saturday, we're virtually at the halfway point of the 2017-18 campaign.

So we'd like to ask: who has been your player of the season so far, and why?

We've opened up a poll featuring every player who's made 10 or more appearances in all competitions, so please give us your vote and, if you'd like, explain why your pick deserves to be given the accolade.