Collin 4.5 Well protected but one can never feel assured with his keeping. Completely missed one cross which he should have claimed

Tootle 5 Not one of his better games but one should also be reassured that he makes very few mistakes defensively

Duffy 6 Won his headers and led the back line well

Brisley 5.5 Would be a 6 but gave away a needless free kick in injury time. Coped well with the movement of O'Grady, who was perhaps Chesterfield's most impressive player

Jones 4 Wasteful of dead balls, as well as some wayward punts too,  just crying out for Bola...  need to dream on. Noticed Jones failed to track back on several occasions

Yates 5 Maybe Scunthorpe game took too much out of him. Not as effective than Tuesday night

Hewitt 4 Cannot pass nor track back nor tackle. Even moved to Right Back when Nolan says he is not a Right back

Alessandra 5 Not involved in the game to influence it but did chase

Hawkridge  7.5 Bundle of energy and his ability to close down in final third, won Notts countless balls. Worthy MotM

Stead 4.5 Legs, legs, legs...no real sharpness and maybe Forte should have been introduced earlier

Shola 5.5 Held up ball well but never got service in Chesterfield's Penalty area

Subs

Grant 7.5 Class, class, class... and that free kick!

Forte 5 Good effort, should have been introduced earlier

Walker 4.5 Half mark deducted from poor dead ball

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

From the official Notts website:

Notts County have launched their brand-new skills centre, offering four-to-seven-year-olds the chance to learn to love the game in a fun environment.

Split into two age groups, coaches will engage with all participants, allowing them to express themselves while also implementing the academy’s core values: integrity, work rate, responsibility, passion and fun.

Dates and venues

Fridays* 6pm-7pm

Nottingham Football Centre, Boundary Road, West Bridgford, NG2 7BW

Boys and girls aged 4-7

Saturdays 9.30am-10.30am

Kimberley Leisure Centre, Newdigate Street, Kimberley, NG16 2NJ

Boys and girls aged 4-7

This session is linked with Priory Celtic FC.

Saturdays 11am-1pm

Skills Centre, Meadow Lane, NG2 3HJ

11am-12pm: Boys and girls aged 4-5

12pm-1pm: Boys and girls aged 6-7

Sundays** 10am-12pm

Brocklewood Primary School, Fircroft Avenue, Strelley, NG8 3AL

10am - 11am: Boys aged 4-7

11am – 12pm: Girls aged 4-8

Contact us for more details

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 07769211399

Tweet: @ncfcskills

Facebook: NCFC Skills Centres

*Starts 8 September

**Starts 10 September

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Anyone interested in this to send their kids/young family members?

Based on a mean of 5

Fitzsimmons 7.5 Long awaited, a presumed "Reserve" keeper that is better than our current #1. 

Dickinson 5 Still a problem position but give him his due, good commitment but was caught out for one of Scunny's goals. However it should be said, a better option than Jones's Saturday showing

Hollis 5.5 Played well in awful conditions

Brisley 5.5 Improvement on Saturday and quick reactions to score

Hunt 5 Did what was said on the can, as the saying goes.

Hawkridge 5.5 Gave away penalty but work rate was faultless

Ryan Yates 6.5 Quality when needed

Grant 6 who needs Noble, when Jorge has got the "goal" instinct

Milson 6 giving some substance to the midfield, so missing from Saturday

Stead 4 Not convincing at all. Shola back on Saturday at Stead's expense?

Forte 5.5 Got involved, but seemed to keep hold of the ball too much to the detriment of the team. Worked the channels well

Ross Fitzsimons has arrived at Notts, hopefully he's good enough to replace Adam Collin (or at least keep him on his toes). I'm pleased we signed someone in this position, as most will know I don't rate Collin - not like I used to do.

Share your thoughts below!

From the official Notts County site:

CBBC are looking for junior Notts fans and their families to attend a once in a lifetime filming experience at Meadow Lane.

Families will be featured in the crowd during filming of the hit CBBC show Jamie Johnson, which follows the life of Jamie, a boy with a dream who lives and breathes football.

Filming of the show's latest series will take place at Meadow Lane on Wednesday 16 August (1.30pm – 4.30pm).

All under 18s are required to attend with a parent/legal guardian as the film crew will be unable to admit under 18s who attend unaccompanied.

To register to take part in the filming, please fill in the correct forms as listed (on the site, link here) and email them to [email protected] no later than Friday 11 August.

Families who register will receive confirmation and further information on Monday 14 August.

Is this something you might be interested in? Let PON know.

So Notts County midfielder Liam Walker is not happy after a challenge from Coventry captain Michael Doyle at the weekend.

See for yourself!

(Warning - it's a bit messy)

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Off the Notts County website:

Notts County are delighted to announce a partnership with charity Tickets for Troops, offering servicemen and women free tickets to watch the world's oldest Football League club.

The initiative, which aims to support the work of serving military personnel and veterans by offering free tickets to a wide range of events, will be active from the very first home game of the season.

Set up in 2009, Tickets for Troops rewards servicemen and women who spend months away from their families and need to be available to serve at short notice, recognising their commitment, drive and dedication.

This is the first of a wide variety of initiatives set to be introduced by the club to ensure as many people and families as possible are given the opportunity to attend Notts fixtures this season.

What do you think about this initiative?

EFL - The Iron (A)

Team: Scunthorpe

Date: 08/08/17

Where: Glanford 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.

Scunthorpe United have released a statement publicly thanking the ground staff for ensuring that their League Cup game with Notts County went ahead.

Torrential rain fell from the early evening all the way to the penalty shootout, the conditions forcing the postponement of the Grimsby game not far up the road.

Although conditions were pretty poor, the officials saw no need to call the game off at any time.

The statement, on the official Iron site, read:

The club would like to publicly commend our ground staff for their terrific work in ensuring our Carabao Cup round one clash against Notts County went ahead on Tuesday.

Head Groundsman Graham Colby, Assistant Head Groundsman Oli Makin and the other ground staff Gary Spindley, Reginald Jones, Ross Ritchie and Jordan Stevenson worked tirelessly from early on Tuesday morning to ensure the pitch was in a playable condition for the encounter.
 
Despite torrential rain throughout the day - and during the match - referee David Webb indicated he was happy with the surface with the game going the distance to penalties after a 3-3 draw.
 
During the intervals, our ground staff were instantly on the pitch to tend to the pitch for the next period of play, which even included repainting the penalty spot ahead of the shoot-out.
 
Chief Executive Officer James Rodwell said: “It is testament to our ground staff that we were able to commence and then complete 120 minutes plus penalties against Notts County. As a football club, we were eager to get the fixture played and, due to the efforts of our team, we were able to celebrate reaching the second round of the competition. Our thanks go to them for their continued hard work.”

Do you think they did a good job? Were you happy for the game to continue, or do you think it should have been called off?

So simple but so effective... these lads have left it to the football gods.

Whichever team scores first on Soccer Saturday (3pm kickoffs), that's where you go.

For these guys, sadly, the football gods were not smililng upon them (much like they haven't smiled upon us for the League Cup first round draw...)

This is Hilarious 😂

Lads promise to go on night out to whichever town scores first on Soccer Saturday...

🎥 Ben Might Say pic.twitter.com/hm6xAvJ8L4

— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) August 8, 2017

So Jake Bugg, who has sponsored Notts County for November, releases an album next month and goes on tour in the UK in - November.

Pity he won't be making a visit in his home city though eh?

Game 1 - Sky Blues (A)

Team: Coventry

Date: 05/08/17

Where: Ricoh 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.

Name: Young supporter travels from Chicago for first away game
Category: Official Notts Videos
Date Added: 2017-08-08
Submitter: Chris

Young Notts County supporter Elliott Peacock made a mammoth journey to watch his very first away game last weekend.

Young supporter travels from Chicago for first away game

Why not subscribe to PrideofNottinghamTV?

Name: Coventry City 3-0 Notts County
Category: Match Highlights
Date Added: 2017-08-08
Submitter: Chris

Highlights from the Ricoh Arena as a Jodi Jones hat-trick handed the hosts an opening-day win.

Coventry City 3-0 Notts County

Why not subscribe to PrideofNottinghamTV?

Elliot Hewitt is the first of the Notts players to extend their stay into the upcoming season after signing a new two-year-deal. Elliot has enjoyed spells in the right back position but has also moved further up the field.

How do you feel about him extending his stay? Is the contract length long enough? Let us know your thoughts.

So next season us Notts County fans have the option of choosing one of several sponsors on the front of the new Puma shirt, and there is also the option to get one without a sponsor.

I have to say, I was skeptical with how it would work, but the club has pulled off a masterstroke - and it seems so easy and logical.

Personally, I will opt for the Notts shirt with Jake Bugg's name on it - I can see it becoming a bit of a cult fashion item in the years to come.

But many purists will love the idea of a shirt without sponsor, and in all fairness I would have opted for that were it not for the Bugg sponsor.

So what are you opting for? Sponsor or sponsor-free? And if it's the former, which one are you going for?

Let PON know!

Based on a mean of 5

Collins 6 - Normally a critic of Collins, but did seem to be more commanding of his area. Thought he was slow to read their first but fault lay with Jones. He saved a couple of 1-on-1s but still feel he was outshown by his opposite in the Coventry goal

Jones 1 - A mare, in simplistic terms. I was nonplussed on his return, rather like the signing of Idle, and the 100k + blown away....Whether it's lack of concentration or failure to accept responsibility. How can our recruitment, swing from finding a gem like Bola to return to Dickinson's bargain basement in talent.

Brisley 5 - Just very average. Yes, a few errors

Duffy 5 - Normal service resumed...difficult opening but was just OK

Tootle 6 - Best of the back 4 ... at least he showed some fight

Hewitt 2 Nolan says he's not a Right Back....agreed...but he ain't a centre mid. Long throws, don't make me laugh, barely made the outside of the penalty box. Zero creativity, zero tackling ability..and we gave him a 2 year contract? Centre Half only possible position open to him..

Alessandra 5 & Hawkridge 5 - Recruitment is everything, Coventry identified Jodi Jones, from Dagenham, just streets ahead of our 2 wingers.

Walker 6 - Thought he looked tidy and was unlucky to be subbed

Stead 3 - whether the legs are going, a la Jason Lee....no impact
Ameobi 5 - Holds ball well with back to goal and some nice lay offs...but no goal threat

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Grant - 6 - Should have been introduced earlier
Milsom 5 - Just OK

I thought it would be a shame if we missed a round, or completely abandoned this as I do enjoy it (last year things became very busy and I missed rounds) - I want to amend this seasons! Hopefully even reclaim my title!

However, provided Super Ram doesn't win all is well with me.

Same rules as last season - 3 points for a correct score, one for correct result. Select one of your six predictions as your "joker" and double your points. Let's have as many as possible taking part this season.

Saturday's Fixtures (5th August)

Fulham v Norwich City
Aston Villa v Hull City
Bradford City v Blackpool
Milton Keynes Dons v Wigan Athletic
Forest Green Rovers v Barnet
Wycombe Wanderers v Lincoln City

@weymouthPIE @The Mascot @super_ram @GrannyPie @Who r ya?? You Pies!! @magpiejue @Dan @Elite_pie @DangerousSausage @ivansneck @4everapie @Northants Pie @barnet11uk @Fozzy @Riverleeno @Canadian @Rianch @Super_Danny_Allsopp @Blackville @william1984 @UnitedPie @Joe Jones @liampie @Piethagoram @BromPie @gtownjohnno @TheSkipper @Anti-Red @upthepies @CliftonMagpie

Good Luck!

Who was your man of the match for Notts County at Coventry City today?

The squad numbers have been released, what is everyone's thoughts on them?

For me there's no real surprise at all, but I still hope Kevin Nolan will consider playing if we need that extra bit of quality.

Have your say below, and join in the discussion?

PS. What Number have you got on your existing shirt?

I have a request for any fans willing to help our new model company 'Premier Models Ltd' to create an authentic replica of Meadow Lane. Any photo's of the stands, pitch- side views etc?? We have already received some really great advice and images from other fans and sources via the internet. Any specific details anyone thinks we should try to include to better the model will be gratefully taken on board! Thanks for your time and hope to hear back from you at the email address below.

Cheers

Andy, Premier Models Ltd

So, tonight Notts play their first real opposition in a friendly against Nottingham Forest at Meadow Lane. The club has announced that there will be minute's applause before the game in honour of our former Chairman Derek Pavis. Despite only being a friendly, I welcome this additional news because I think despite the score being irrelevant - it will add a little more appreciation to the friendly.

What do you think the score will be? General thoughts?

Discuss below folks...

Nope, not a reference to the Swedish pop band (so no "Dancing Queen" blasting out of the tannoy at half time... what a shame eh), but the new penalty shootout method adopted by the EFL for the upcoming season.

So how does this ABBA system work? Over to the Beeb...

As the current system stands, teams take turns in a shootout, with the choice of who goes first decided by a coin toss.

For example, team A goes first, then team B, then team A again.

The new system sees team A followed by team B - before team B goes again. Team A would then get two successive penalties, a little like the tie-break in tennis, and so on until there is a winner.

A coin will still be tossed to decide who goes first.

It will be implemented in all ties in the Carabao Cup, Checkatrade Trophy and EFL playoffs.

So... a good idea or another unnecessary p*ssing about with the game's rules? Your thoughts, let's git em!

jorge grant has re signed for us on loan. this is a big boost! brill news!!