Tuesday night's Fixtures:
Fleetwood Town v Shrewsbury Town
Millwall v AFC Wimbledon
Peterborough United v Scunthorpe United
Grimsby Town v Carlisle United
Leyton Orient v Exeter City
Luton Town v Portsmouth

http://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/sport/football/chesterfield-fc/fans-react-with-alarm-to-chesterfield-fc-accounts-1-8199659

http://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/sport/football/chesterfield-fc/spireites-ceo-confident-club-s-immediate-future-will-be-secured-in-days-1-8252056

Dangers of finances when crowds dip

...or damned lies and statistics

The scoreline flattered Notts

Notts had 50% of the possession but doesn't show most of it spent passing backwards and side wards

The same number of shots on target and more corners...doesn't show the last ditch corner that Collin went up for, sheer desperation. 

Notts were never in it, our defence got bullied by Ikpeazu and were made to look lightweight. Cambridge seemed to park the bus every time we had the ball and break with speed, always supporting the player with the ball. Notts looked laboured by comparison.

Attendance 2736 (including a couple of hundred from Cambridge?)

So only 2500 or so Notts fans thought it worth visiting the Lane. That is the statistic that matters. The one says it all:

JS and the players have only themselves to blame.

With loans expiring in the next 6 weeks and having a better judgement on the players we have brought on loan, who would you extend the loan of and who wouldn't you extend the loan of?

Montel Gibson's loan at Barwell FC ended earlier this month meaning he was able to play this weekend yet we had 5 sub's and put Alan smith on up front...

Having laid the ghost of Guy to rest, yet again Notts  appear to have failed in its recruitment policy.

Even having an experienced manager, hasnt really helped. Yes we are League 2, yet I still have no confidence that we have recruited well vis a vis the budgets of other L2 clubs. The Port Vale connection have yielded L1 players that are bottom half L2 at best. If writing a book on Raymundo's tenure, managerial appointments and lack of professional recruitment structure will be laid at his door

Saturday's Fixtures:
Bimingham City v Bristol City
Reading v Burton Albion
Bolton Wanderers v Millwall
Northampton Town v Peterborough United
Cambridge United v Wycombe Wanderers
Plymouth Argyle v Grimsby Town

From BBC Sport:

Plans for a shake-up of English football to create 100 teams in five divisions have been cancelled after talks between the English Football League and the Football Association broke down.

The EFL said in May it wanted to create an extra division and have 20 teams in each from 2019-20.

The plans required authorities to find additional weekends for league games.

The EFL says it has been told by the FA the plans are "no longer viable".

There are currently 72 teams in the EFL - 24 each in the Championship, League One and League Two - and the organisation said the move would tackle fixture congestion and boost the finances of its members.

The rescheduling would have involved moving FA Cup fixtures into midweek slots, but the EFL said the FA was no longer prepared to consider such a move following a new international broadcasting deal - reported to be worth £820m.

"If the weekend slots are not available, there is simply no way we can meet the financial conditions as outlined at the very outset," said EFL chief executive Shaun Harvey.

"The stance the FA has adopted has brought the discussions to a premature end, before fully understanding what the financial outcome from the creation of a new distribution model could be. "

However, the FA says it remains "fully committed" to working with EFL and the Premier League regarding the issue of fixture congestion.

An FA spokesman said: "This is why we are trialling the removal of sixth-round replays in the FA Cup this season and why we supported the EFL in consulting on its innovative ideas for reform. That commitment remains."

Harvey said the EFL would still welcome a change in the FA's position.

"We are, of course, open to re-engaging in what is a hugely important debate that was designed to help shape the future of football in this country," he added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37998768

Thoughts?

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/11/leyton-orient-francesco-becchetti-owner-fans?CMP=share_btn_tw

After a 4-0 thrashing I think the team made some amends this evening. Well played Notts and bearing in mind Swindon losing tonight it is good to be through to the second round. 

Also credit to Boreham Wood who I think played better football than some League teams that have played at Meadow Lane this season. 

I suspect most of us will have played quite a lot of football on our Super Nintendos, Mega Drives or PlayStations as we were growing up. What were your favourite football games?

I had two football games for the Sega Mega Drive - Super Kick-Off 2 (an insanely fun but totally unreaslistic game viewed from above) and the original FIFA Soccer '95. Both promoted hoofball - on FIFA there was a spot on the pitch just inside the opposition's half you could always score from, but its reproduction of the atmopshere was ahead of its time. Olympic Soccer on the Saturn had headache-inducing graphics and an "interesting" difficulty curve, but I loved it.

In more recent years it's been Football Manager 2005 (OK, not that recent) and Pro-Evolution Soccer for the Wii, which is easily the best of the bunch thanks to the ability to play with the pointer.

Game 16 - Blackpool (A)

Notts County are back in league business as they head to Blackpool this afternoon to try and maintain their playoff charge.

John Sheridan's charges, missing star striker Jon Stead, will take on a Tangerines side currently mid-table but who have lost just three games in their last 10 and are just four points off the playoffs.

How do you think the Magpies will get on? Let us know!

Saturday's Fixtures:

Bradford City v Rochdale
Millwall v Bristol Rovers
Shrewsbury Town v Oxford United
Colchester United v Leyton Orient
Crewe Alexandra v Plymouth Argyle
Luton Town v Accrington Stanley

Well I got my tickets. Can't wait, even if it does mean a trip to the Netherlands. What you mean you're confused? It's the Women's Euros in 2017. Biggest game of the group stages! Oh you thought I meant the men........

Seriously, I got tickets for the Women's Euros Final next year. I couldn't say No to England vs Scotland either. 2 trips in the space of 3 weeks or so. 

Yesterday was a dark day for us all. The dream is over. We will not lift the Checkatrade Trophy. I had to wash my hair last night, but am curious nonetheless - how did the players we called into the team do?

Elsewhere, all of 302 spectators saw Middlesbrough play Shrewsbury, two thirds of matches failed to attract 1000, Chelsea U23 won a 34-attempt penalty shootout, one of the 368-strong crowd at Newport had to step in and act as fourth official (Neil Warnock was also there) and Bristol Rovers subbed their keeper after two minutes to get round selection rules. Time to eject the U23 teams and turn it into a straight knockout competition or, preferably, knock it on the head altogether.

So the WSL 2016 season is over. Notts County Ladies have finished sixth (out of nine) on 16 points, 26 off champions Manchester City.

In addition crowd attendances for the Lady Pies games have fallen by around 17% from last season.

From BBC Sport:

Notts County, the only WSL 1 club who experienced a decline this season that was willing and available to talk to BBC Sport, put their "slight drop" down to a number of factors, including sporadic scheduling of matches and absence of a cup run, having reached two cup finals in 2015.

On four occasions, there were breaks of a month or more between home fixtures at Meadow Lane.

"The scheduling of matches has been a frustration for both clubs and the league since the inception of the FA WSL," said a club spokesperson.

"We understand that there are many factors, some out of the club's control, which can attribute to a slight drop in our average attendance.

"Last season's achievements of reaching the final in both cup competitions certainly helped to create a momentum and build attendances for Notts County.

"Without having a run in either competition this season, it has undoubtedly had an effect on our attendance."

Hopes are high that the switch from a summer league to a winter competition from the 2017-18 season will help scheduling of matches.

But with change comes new challenges, as there will be a shortened Summer Series before the campaign starts in September 2017.

"With the winter season still 10 months away, it's hard to tell yet what the effect on attendances will be," said a Notts spokesperson.

"We understand that any adverse weather could have an effect. However, we are also aware that a consistent run of fixtures will have a positive impact on the attendances."

So what do you think about Notts Ladies' season, in terms of performances on the pitch, matters off it and also fan interest in the team?

Boreham Wood are based in Hertfordshire. Their stadium is used by Arsenal reserves and Arsenal ladies. It looks good the times I have seen it on telly. The surface looks fantastic. The ground holds around 4K and it will be full on Sunday as tickets are selling like hot cakes according to the club. 

BW are 9th in the National League. 30 points from 48 is more than decent. They have won 4 of their last 5. They seem to be a difficult side to break down, especially at home. 

As mentioned above, BW have a decent back 5. Joe Devara has league experience from his days at Barnet.

Midfield is their real strength. Conor Clifford who was on loan at Notts, is the midfield general. They also have a guy called Kenny Davis who has an eye for goal. They signed him from Braintree in the Summer. A fine player at this level. They have 2 young players worth keeping an eye on if they start. Bruno Andrade & Anthony Jeffery. Andrade is finding his feet after his move from Woking. He's one Notts will have to keep quiet. Anthony Jeffery is exciting to watch. When he's good, he's very good. 

Morgan Ferrier is their top scorer. 7 goals in 13 games but he has missed their last 3 games through injury. He should be back on Sunday which is bad news for us. If they play 2 up front, Angelo Balanta from Colombia will partner Ferrier. Balanta is not exactly prolific and it depends if he is in the mood or not. 

BW will have an almost full strength squad to pick from on Sunday. They are going well in the league and will be confident on home soil. Notts record in the FA Cup recently is very poor indeed. Given that the league is our top priority and our record away from home recently in the FA Cup, I'm going for a home win. 2-1 to BW. We'd all love a run in the FA Cup so hopefully I'm wrong. 

Collin 5 Didn't have a lot to do, 2 goals conceded but cannot put blame on him

Tootle 4 had a torrid time when faced with pace, better in second when moved to midfield

Laing 5 still no where near the form first time round. Expect better

Hollis 5 no aerial threat to face but was exposed to pace

Dickinson 4.5 too slow, make a comparison with Boreham's left back. Are we receiving value for money?

Rodman 3 Why is always picked? Perhaps Sheridan likes playing with a passenger

Richards 5 Thought he was unlucky to be subbed at half time. Tidy but maybe needed to be more imposing

O'Connor 5 An enigma, some good, some bad. Always expecting him to stamp his supposed class but still waiting to see it

Milsom 4 solid but no mobility.

Collins 3.5 Poor touch, gave up tracking back, a disappointment

Oliver 6 Thought he won 90 per cent of the balls, played up to him. I thought he was onside for the disallowed "winner"

subs

Campbell 7 rescued us and showed he had pace where the rest of the side are lacking. Game changer

Forte 5.5 was able to occupy their defenders to stop them pushing forward

Hewitt 5 more effective than Tootle

The Belgian equivalent of Match of the Day must have been good last night. 3 Europa Cup games contained 23 goals!

Anderlecht 6-1 Mainz 05

KAA Gent 3-5 Schaktar Donetsk

Athletic Bilbao 5-3 KRC Genk

Anyone else here (or went depending when you read this). It should be a great night for Nottingham as a city, but I hope Notts gets a fair mention.

Lower division football is in danger from the near-extinction of 'home advantage'.

This season in the 4th division there have been more away wins than home wins. This is not a good thing for attendances. Overall only 35% of games this season in the 4th have been home wins, so one way of looking at this is that only on 1 out of every 3 matches do the home fans go home happy. Not enough occasions for attendances to grow.

It's slightly better higher up, but not much: in the 3rd division 40% of games have been home wins, in the 2nd - 46% and in the top division 41%.

I haven't looked at previous seasons but my gut feeling is that it used to be higher than this - certainly one didn't see more aways than homes in an entire division...

Home 62

Away 64 W 54 D

I've been saying for more months than I care to remember that we have to avoid relying on Jon Stead, obviously keeping him in form is the main aim and injuries do happen but really this could be a setback for the club.

We have seen Adam Campbell take his chance whilst at Portsmouth which is a good thing, we do have Collins and Forte but neither seem to be the 'answer' (watch them now prove me wrong). However, this will be a period whereby it will enable other fringe players to step up and for us to truly rate what this Notts squad is all about.

If we can get other players scoring, Stead's return will be like having a new signing but if we struggle it may take him time to step back up to his a game.

Ideally I would like to keep fighting for a play-off space but its not the end of the world provided we are moving forward as a club, anywhere above last seasons finished will be a bonus but I am wonder what folks here think?

As the sexuality of footballers is again in the press and the apparant surveys etc of those narrow minded few who say they won't go to games if their team had an openly gay player.

I thought why don't we as supporters of Notts County and therefore Justin Fashanu put a far more positive and progressive stance and celebrate hand in hand his time with us and his sexuality?

If this only made one supporter / player / member of society feel welcome and accepted then i'm sure we would all feel better in the knowledge that they feel this at a forward thinking and progressive club like ours can and should be.

http://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/notts-county-youth-cup-fa-youth-cup-3375658.aspx

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