Game 6 - The Shrimps (H)

Team: Morecambe

Date: 09/09/17

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.

Based on a Mean of 5

Collin 6.5  Well protected by the defence. One save from a free header straight at him in the first half. Showing signs of confidence through greater command of his area. Still missed one opportunity to release quickly

Hunt 6.5 Experience gave him ample control. Comfortable afternoon

Jones 8 MOTM. What a turnaround  in his fortunes. Good free kick and a good "engine" on him

Duffy 6 Solid, for more see below

Brisley 6 Distribution slips occasionally into the Hollis category. Good partnership with Duffy, but allowed 1 corner in the first half to allude both of them

Hawkridge 6 Puts in another good shift but didnt hit the heights of his Accrington performance. Defensively, combined well with Hunt

Hewitt 6 Energy to close down space in abundance. Rose, the key Morecambe play maker, was having to drop further and further back. Still unsure about his offensive distribution.

Yates 7  Man up, solid, Bishop like steel exhibited 

Grant 6.5 Drifts in and out but when in possession, guaranteed some accurate and crisp passing. Perhaps needs to play a #10 role. Disappointing free kick when one now expected him to hit the target

Ameobi 6  Work rate good and should have scored with a header in the first half.

Stead 5.5 Chances created and wasted with complete inability to get close to hitting the target. Needed some confidence.

Subs

Forte 7 Ability to put defenders under pressure, and helped himself set up his neatly taken goal

Milsom 6.5 Would like to see him start

Alessandro 5 Not on long enough to make an impact.

Banks of 4 and 4 , limited Morecambe's ability to build attacks. They were set up for their own set plays, as were  Notts in a way. Morecambe's open play not a patch on Accrington but Notts defensive strategy really worked well. Limiting their space to play. The big difference now, is our experienced pro's that allows us not to get bullied.

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

Name: Highlights: Notts County v Morecambe
Category: Match Highlights
Date Added: 2017-09-10
Submitter: Chris

Notts County v Morecambe

Highlights: Notts County v Morecambe

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From BBC Sport:

Premier League clubs have voted to close next summer's transfer window before the 2018-19 season starts.

Managers have complained that signing players once the season is under way causes disruption to their squads and preparations.

From next season, the window will close at 17:00 BST on the Thursday before the Premier League campaign begins.

The vote was not unanimous and clubs will still be able to sell players until the end of the normal window.

Fourteen Premier League clubs voted in favour of the amendment, which was the minimum total needed for the plans to be approved. Manchester United, Manchester City, Watford, Swansea and Crystal Palace voted against the proposal while Burnley abstained.

The window across Europe runs until 31 August. The Premier League's move means while clubs will be able to sell until that date, buying activity will cease on 9 August for the 2018-19 season.

European leagues will still be able to buy and sell until 31 August, while the Football League's window also remains unaltered.

Football League bosses have indicated they could follow the Premier League's move but require further dialogue with stakeholders before a decision is made.

The last bit is crucial - with the PL having blazed the trail with this decision, does it mean that the EFL also adopting it is imminent? Or could they say "nope, we want it to carry on until 11pm on August 31?"

Share your thoughts - both in terms of the standalone decision by the PL and what it could mean for the EFL.

Saturday's Fixtures:
Queens Park Rangers v Ipswich Town
Sunderland v Sheffield United
Rochdale v Blackburn Rovers
Shrewsbury Town v Wigan Athletic
Newport County v Wycombe Wanderers
Yeovil Town v Cheltenham Town

Can't believe it's already been 6 years since Juventus opened their new stadium (aptly called the Juventus Stadium) and invited none other than lil long-removed relatives Notts County to be part of the experience in an exhibition match!

Fancy reliving the memories and watching both sets of Bianconeri (well, technically speaking we're the Blucelesti in this game) strut their stuff in Turin? Well, here is the link to ESPN's highlights!

So i was on holiday this year in Cyprus and i decided to watch the Chesterfield game or at least tried on the new iFollow. Missed the first half completely after being onto tech support. Apparently the live feed wasnt working yet we had paid for the game etc. What are peoples thoughts on it and is it really worth it? Any of the PON users use it? If so which country are you watching from?

A very insightful article has been published by Paul Smith on The Sportsman about marginal gains in sport, and uses Notts County's home dressing room revamp as a new case study.

In League Two, Notts County have created headlines with the refurbishment of the home dressing room. And it’s important to point out that it is indeed just the home dressing room that has had a makeover to make Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen proud. For visiting teams, things have actually got worse.

Chairman Alan Hardy, who is investing heavily in revamping Meadow Lane, believes he has funded an overhaul that has given his players a “dressing room befitting a Premier League club”. His manager, former top-flight star Kevin Nolan, adds “It’s the best dressing room I’ve ever been in”.

Now, at Notts, there are two dressing rooms. The main one, for matchday, is only for those who are selected in the squad. It’s created a feeling that all week the players have to strive to take their place in the state-of-the-art dressing room. Each player has a designated area, with their picture underneath their own locker. There is mood lighting, which Nolan can flick between based on his mood at team-talk time, it’s open-plan with ‘rain showers’ and rolling Sky Sports News on the screens, as well as numerous fridges for players to grab isotonic drinks, water and food.

Nolan complained to Hardy that, having won as player-manager while with Leyton Orient at Meadow Lane, he felt it was far too comfortable for away teams. With Hardy being the owner of interiors company Paragon, Nolan couldn’t have asked for a better person to make the changes he felt necessary.

Not so now, and this has already piqued the anger of one visitor. Accrington Town’s John Coleman let rip in his post-match press conference following a recent 2-2 draw between the sides, saying his side had been “forced to get changed in a corridor”. Coleman, a visitor on numerous occasions to Meadow Lane in recent seasons, stated Notts had “built a whole room inside a room and made the changing room a corridor”.

Time will tell what difference it will make at Meadow Lane. But before Nolan’s arrival the Magpies had won just three games at home in a year. So far this season, they are unbeaten on their own patch.

Being a keen traveller and football fanatic, I’ve visited several stadiums across Europe on tours. The dressing rooms at Ajax’s Amsterdam Arena, Barcelona’s Nou Camp and Manchester United’s Old Trafford don’t hold a candle to the revamped design at Notts. Of course, it doesn’t mean the Magpies are set to challenge Europe’s elite!

Peculiarly, the only comparable dressing room is at the San Siro, where I visited both Inter Milan and AC Milan dressing rooms. While Inter’s is extremely basic, 100 yards down the corridor is a flash, extravagant interior that was paid for by the riches of former Milan owner and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The contrast couldn’t be vaster. And given Milan have historically won more than Inter; is there something in it?

Clearly the key for Nolan and his team is what they do once they leave the comforts of the dressing room. But the former Newcastle and West Ham star is hoping that comfort and the extra professionalism of their new surroundings will translate to greater pride in the Magpies’ on-pitch performances. A marginal gain that could lead to long-term success.

Do you agree?

The Family Stand always felt surplus to requirements to me in the past but I'm seriously impressed by what Notts have done to not only spruce it up big time, but also put in loads of activities for kids.

This is what's on store for the Morecambe game (from the Notts site):

Skills school
Wildlife workshop
Glitter tattoos
Selfie spot
Tuck shop
Competitions

For fans with children, does this kind of thing make you more inclined to get FS tickets if you're more of a Pavis/Kop person?

Or maybe do you feel it's a bit overkill and it should be more about the game itself?

i know we signed him as a winger, but he seems wasted on the bench. should we play lewis alessandra as a striker?

Sky Sports did a feature video on Notts County's training facilities for last week's Soccer Saturday.

Interesting to get a thorough look on everything that's been changed, and even more so that it's been taken by one of the nationals and broadcast to the whole nation.

Aside from how impressive the facilities look, you've got to hand it to the PR team at Notts - for a League Two club to get a slot on Sky Sports like that is a coup.

What did you think of the facilities, the video and the fact it was on SS?

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/teams/notts-county/11017132/kevin-nolan-gives-soccer-saturday-a-guided-tour

So it's been rumoured that the Premier League will be discussing the possible introduction of Saturday night (7:45pm) kickoffs for games.

As we all know, Saturday night is the primest of primetime TV, with a load of those terrible reality shows being broadcast at that time. So by the looks of it, the PL is pondering whether they can have a slice of that pie.

Now, the issues here are obvious. Imagine if you had something like Newcastle v Bournemouth, those poor sods on their away day will be faced with leaving Newcastle at something like 10-11pm, probably wouldn't get back to Bournemouth till 4-5am the next day.

Then the drinking - more time for fans to get sozzled in the pub throughout all of Saturday, more difficult to monitor and police later on.

And for those with significant others who can't get enough of the Strictly Come X-Factoring On Ice or whatever, another possible argument over who's in charge of the remote, which none of us want obviously!

So - let's get your thoughts. Are Saturday night kickoffs a good idea, or should they be left well alone?

And while we're on t'subject, what is your favourite kickoff time besides the traditional Saturday 3pm? We had the Accy Stanley game on Friday night, we've got Mansfield at 1pm this month... which do you prefer and which do you detest?

EFL chief exec Shaun Harvey gave an interview yesterday in which he spoke of talks on the proposed early summer transfer window closure being at an advanced stage and - remarkably - defended the decision to hold the EFL Cup third-round draw in China at 11:15am local time (4:15am our time).

On the window, he said: 'Generally I think the mood is that it will be an improvement. There are some significant concerns at some Premier League clubs around European competitions - the teams they are playing against being able to sign players after them. And from the EFL's perspective we have some real practical challenges to get over as well. Traditionally we start the season at different dates, so which start of the season are we going to use? Some of our clubs also survive on transfer income - selling players is an absolutely critical part of their business plan. There are a number of checks and balances we need to take to make sure this decision doesn't lead to some unintended consequences.'

And on the cup, he said: 'The EFL got their first major overseas sponsor in Carabao. This was their brand launch in China, which is a key market for them. In fairness, the draw usually takes place immediately after the last game of the round so it is made somewhere between 10:20pm and 11pm at night - the majority of people at that stage have already gone to bed.

'Picking 4:15am, the net result for the vast majority of people was the same - to wake up and find the result of the draw. We have an ambition to build the brand of the EFL and our cup competitions and this was a part of it. Yes it was not popular with a few but the benefits should be felt by the majority going forward.'

Thoughts on his words?

Judging by Kevin Davies's post at Nicky Hunt's weekend birthday bash at Edgworth Cricket Club, the Notts County defender might be looking at a career behind the decks post-football...

If you do Nicky, could you please get us some Amnesia/Creamfields tickets once you're headlining? Asking for a friend.

Forget @djkhaled DJ Hunt was rocking it yesterday at @edgworth_cc #birthdayboy pic.twitter.com/CliCAUYtBT

— Kevin Davies (@Kevin__Davies) September 4, 2017

As a wise man* once said, "memes are literally life".

Notts County have got into the action with things like this...

Let's see what the PON community can do!

Hit us with your best meemees folks!

(* Joe Jones, 5/9/17)

Saturday's Fixtures
Bury v Scunthorpe United
Southend United v Rochdale
Walsall v Plymouth Argyle
Cambridge United v Colchester United
Lincoln City v Luton Town
Morecambe v Accrington Stanley

Game 5 - Valiants (A)

Team: Port Vale

Date: 02/09/17

Where: Vale Park

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.

Name: Highlights: Port Vale 0-1 Notts County
Category: Match Highlights
Date Added: 2017-09-03
Submitter: Chris

The best of the action from Vale Park as Notts extended their unbeaten run to five games in all competitions.

Highlights: Port Vale 0-1 Notts County

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So this morning, a fan tweeted to Alan Hardy saying ticket prices to watch the noisy neighbours over the Trent are cheaper than Notts County this month.

Personally, it doesn't bother me. Aside from the fact I wouldn't watch them over the river if the tickets were 20p, £22 has been pretty much the norm now for quite a few years. Hardy's doing promotions and deals now and then, and generally, the whole setup of the club now is such that Notts fans are happy to pay to see good, honest, hard-working football (compared to a year or so ago where you'd be paying £22 to watch Notts lost 4-0 in a toxic atmosphere). But at the same time, it doesn't do anything for the neutrals or the undecided, who can view the matchday experience from a customer point of view.

What do you think?

So this is it - Christmas day for many football fans (mostly the neutrals), Judgement Day for some (*cough* Arsenal *cough*), and Thursday for others (mainly those in the lower leagues).

Transfer Deadline Day (summer 2017) is upon us.

It's been a busy window for Notts County, but in terms of final-minute business, it's unlikely that there will be much. Leigh Curtis predicts the possibility of maybe one striker coming in, a Championship player who's not Tyler Walker or George Hirst.

Expecting quiet deadline day at Notts. Striker is a possibility. Looking at one from Championship. Not Walker or Hirst.

— Leigh Curtis (@LeighCurtis_NP) 31 August 2017

Over to you - who would you like to see come in? Do you expect some surprises to be sprung? Might there be any outgoings?

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

As we all know, Notts County are known as the Magpies - often shortened to Pies. Which has led to a number of associations with the well-loved pastry product (such as Alan Hardy offering free "pies for Pies" on a first-come first-served basis).

However, the pie has also claimed a new role in Nottingham football folklore - making Nottingham Forest fans look like utter t**ts!

😂 🥧 Two Nottingham Forest fans fighting over the last pie at half time...

( 📹 @NFFCfletcher )#NFFC pic.twitter.com/rzHDaNP2TX

— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) August 27, 2017

With Mad Dog (Martin Allen) turning 52 today, PON would like you share some of your favourite memories of the former Notts manager!

Share them below!