They are pretty football mad in Brazil and whilst it's a league that's unfamiliar to us in Europe, it's probably the top league in South America (along with Argentina's). His new club Vitoria have an average attendance of 23,000 (double ours and Oxfords) so I think it's a great move for him.

I kind of felt he was someone who wanted to play all over the place and was never going to settle anywhere so to speak. I wasn’t surprised when he left us just more so that it was to Oxford and not Oviedo! I think he said he wanted to play in the US too so maybe after a season or two in Brazil he’ll end up in the MLS.

Going to the MLS might be a nice way for him to finish his career. It’s not a bad place to end up.

I always wanted him to do better at Oxford United. I thought he could prove himself there and maybe get picked by a big team in Portugal. If that happened, maybe he could’ve played for the national team a few times. That would’ve been cool.

I can understand why players nearing the end of their careers from around the the World would want to play in the MLS. The money is big, & the number of games would be less than, say in the UK or Europe.

I think Ruben probably had a big wish to play in Brazil if he were deemed good enough. Ruben is a flair player, so I think he will easily fit into the Brazilian way of playing.

The fact that Ruben basically learned a lot of his trade at Notts then to Oxford, but then finishing up in Brazil, is a great story for Notts as well as Ruben.

I think that he will do quite well there & I will certainly be keeping an eye on his Club & how they are doing next season along with Ruben.

Back to, "I had a wheelbarrow" it is.

[Quietly closes the Google Translate tab]

Notts looked like they were prepping for a Scandinavian sizzle: bacon metaphors flying, high-tempo pressing, and a whiff of hygge in the air. But now it’s back to the British basics, with cuppas, square sausage, and a tactical plan scribbled on the back of a Tesco receipt.

From Danish bacon to our own brand of beans, we’re pretty good at rolling with the punches.

MP must know someone in high places ?

He couldn't have wished for an easier first 10 games to be judged by.

Looking at odds checker by the end of September we play:

Salford, Gillingham 12s (same as Notts)

Shrewsbury, Crawley 25s

Crewe 33s

Barrow, Bromley, Tranmere, Fleetwood at 40s

Newport 100/1 to start.

All best wishes to Martin and The Technical crew for a fast start 👍

The fixture list looks kind on paper, but things can change once the season starts. What I want most is for Meadow Lane to feel like a fortress again. That would lift the team, especially when they’re away from home, knowing the fans are backing them all the way. I like the look of the season and if we can build some momentum and follow Paterson’s strong attitude, we’ll be in a good place. A mate of mine who doesn’t even support Notts said Paterson reminds him of Vinnie Jones. He wondered if that tough, win-at-all-costs mindset could bring out the best in us. He’s a Chelsea fan, so take that how you will!

Third season in a row we've started away from home now though, not a bad start all in all but I don't like the Chesterfield and MK away matches back to back over Christmas!

They've just completed the EFL Cup draw and we will face Wigan, away. Not a terrible tie, but we could've potentially got Blackburn, Middlesbrough, West Brom or Sheffield Wed which are more exciting.

In the EFL Trophy, Man Utd have been added to our group, I'd say that's upped my interest by about 5%...

17 hours ago, gtownjohnno said:

Keep up..Collis is the goalkeeper coach.....Sam is the 1st team coach .....very strange for a Goalie to coach outfield players.....i wonder if that as happened anywhere else????...Another experiment that could be soon be doomed to failure!!!!

With Joao Alves leaving, it’s still possible that other members of staff could move on too, no matter what their current role or title is.

It could be that Steve Collis is on his way out, which might explain why Sam Slocombe has stepped into a more hands-on role. If that’s the case, maybe he’ll take up the position of goalkeeping coach full time.

I know it’s not common for goalkeepers to coach outfield players, but they do see the game from a different view and can share useful tips. Things like what a striker does in a one-on-one or how to put a goalkeeper under pressure.

I was only wondering if there had been a shift behind the scenes and whether we might see more changes. Just sharing a thought, not stating anything as fact.

Sam Slocombe’s new role is certainly an interesting one. It’s not often you see a goalkeeper moving into a broader coaching position. There’s definitely value in the perspective keepers bring, especially when it comes to reading strikers or dealing with one-on-ones. Maybe it’s part of a wider shift behind the scenes or just a fresh idea being trialled. Either way, it feels worth giving it time rather than rushing to call it a failure. Though judging by some of the overexcited responses, you’d think a few had just woken up mid-rant without checking what day it is.

It would be strange to announce Sam Slocombe as one of the first-team coaches for him to then suddenly become the and goalkeeper coach. If Steve Collis did depart Sam could step in but I would guess we would bring in another goal-keeper coach.

As for Joao going, he most likely would’ve met Martin Paterson in the week for the first time and maybe after this he was unhappy with the sort of role he was getting or he just thought they have too differing views and perhaps won’t work well together, who knows.

Regardless, it’s more unanswered questions and something that wasn’t planned. It’s not been the smooth good feel start to pre-season everyone wanted. I do feel the next signing needs to be one that can trigger that feeling of optimism again...

Totally agree @Scotty Excellent points👍

On 23/06/2025 at 21:54, Robbie said:

The Notts website even got his name wrong. They've corrected it now.

Notts even said on the official site that we’re playing Cardiff City on Saturday. 😂 That gave me a laugh. Just shows how easy it is for little mix-ups to happen sometimes.

i would not say i was disappointed because i know nothing about him, and i cant let that control my feelings. i had hoped we would go for someone more experienced, but i fully trust the club. i dont know why some fans are so quick to have silly reactions. i mean on social media, its the reason why i have not replied sooner because i hate it. its just the shortest, and most angriest comments. its like everyone is fighting to post the worst possible comment. i did see someone on x saying the brothers will regret it, that they refuse to put money in and that they are cheap states.

personally, i think most people should be able to do well with this squad. we have a far better team than when we got relegated. though, i wished we had that strike force now, as it would help jatta.

i hope martin paterson proves the doubters wrong. i mean those who are still moaning.

Again. A very informative interview where Roberto has explained his job role & the role of the Head Coach. He also talked about the new Technical Board & how it will work.

Notts are taking the collaborative route where the Notts football management & coaching team are going to work together as a team, with their different responsibilities to get the most out of the Notts first team squad.

It appears Roberto will also act as a bridge between the coaching staff, Head Coach & the owners, so I don't think the owners will be attending many Technical Board meetings.

So the days of a Football Manager coming in and making all the decisions has gone. There will be a different way of working at Notts & it will be fascinating to see how it all works out. I do hope that this new collaborative approach will be successful.

It seems the club has been reading through what fans have been saying online and taken it all on board. They’ve managed to respond to everything at once today, which shows they’ve been paying attention.

It’s unusual for local media to ask the sort of questions we actually care about, so that makes a nice change.

Very much aligned with @ARLukomski

End of the third days play sees Yorkshire on 414 for 6.

The fifth day between Notts & Yorkshire is about to begin with Yorkshire resuming on 414 for 6.

Yorkshire are 510 all out. Lead by 23

Lunch is taken. Looks like this match is meandering to a draw.

@Fan of Big Tone, still no luck?

6 minutes ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

Err he's been working on it for the last few days trying to sort it. 😂

Other team members, Mr. Smarty Pants. 😉

The site has mostly been returned to normal; I will still be trying to find the root cause, but I will be conducting more of the tests off the live site. Trying to replicate the issue is what I am working on right now. It is very important to take bugs which prevent site access very seriously, so I apologise for the issues I have caused looking into this. As I have mentioned before, sometimes the live environment is where the issue lies.

Choosing to ignore such a bug would not be smart.

5 minutes ago, liampie said:

@Fan of Big Tone, still no luck?

Without the actual device, it's very difficult; two devs have tried to help, and I have troubleshooted. I thought I might have had the issue, but it doesn't look like it. It's very challenging to resolve.

39 minutes ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

That’s exactly my thought too, that’s why I wonder if MP was first choice. However it is what it is I hope the whole new set up is a resounding success and I trust the brothers are doing everything they can to make our club successful.

My understanding is that a fellow Irishman was interviewed for the job and turned it down when he was told about the technical board. I doubt he was the only one.

If someone said no after being offered the job, I’d hope the club would be open about it. But no matter what, there will always be talk and guessing from fans.

Notts might get more interest if they gave the head coach more control, like a traditional manager. But the current setup has worked well for us and the club is moving forward. Things probably won’t change until the club grows more. In the meantime, Notts have to keep finding ways to stay one step ahead.

I'm sure that in the initial approach any potential applicants would have been FULLY briefed about what the job entailed within the Notts organisation & what was expected from them.

A shortlist would consist of applicants that fully understood what the remit of the job was & were ok with it

I can't imagine that an applicant would have been offered the job & then turned it down because he wasn't happy with the remit of the job.

That's why, I believe the owners when they say that the best applicant that would work well within the organisation got the job.

Spot on @Robbie. He's had a tough couple of seasons and I'd like to see him do well somewhere. But maybe not against us!

Not massively surprising, I think he’ll be a squad player even for them. Surprised that Barrow who had him on loan didn’t want to sign him, guess that's telling in way but he’d probably be happier there given it’s a hell of a lot closer to his family in Newcastle!

Still intrigued to see where Didzy ends up, maybe he’ll have a change of heart (I can dream!). Austin, Morias and Cundy are still without new clubs too.

A good move for them, and I hope he gets into their first team and rebuilds his career. When he first joined us, I thought he looked decent. I just think he needed a bit more backing.

He had a few slip-ups in League Two, but overall I thought he did alright. Aiden Baldwin’s done well at Bradford City, fair play to him.

Decent move for him, I think the more he adapts to the physicality of the league the better he will get. If I had to put a bet on I’d say he’ll score and assist more goals than Grant will for us next season. Clearly wanted to be closer to home and I mean this in the nicest way possible but I hope he doesn’t stellar season, that way we won’t feel like we’ve lost out!

Looks like Sampdoria have been very fortunate to avoid relegation with their opponents getting food poisoning, another being docked points, then Sampdoria being awarded the win by the authorities in the relegation playoff.

Even though Sampdoria survived relegation to the third tier of Italian football, it is still a big low for a side that saw much success in the early 1990s, & had great players playing for them.

I've found a couple of things that maybe are worth remembering even as we contemplate a new reign.

Dick Edwards at Centre Forward in 1964

Thanks @Mapperley Pie i remember all those names but I’m blowed if I can remember Dick playing centre forward?

I’ve got some of those old programmes somewhere I’ll dig them out.

Right Half in 1963He must have been versat as i have another where he is full back !

Not us unless we have a sharp upturn in form under a new gaffer from October onwards. I'll wait on my prediction until more transfer business is done

Vardy would have to take quite the pay cut if wanted to come here, he was on £140k per week at Leicester, even if he took a 90% pay cut that would still equate to wages of £14k a week!

Again it’s hard to say, I thought MK would do really well last season because on paper it looked they had signed some really good players. They've spent a lot of money again but something wasn’t quite right there and might still not be, I think Crowley only managed 2 assists and 0 goals after he left which tells a story of it’s own. New manager and a pre-season to work with them, should be top 10 this season.

I think from the relegated teams Bristol and Cambridge would by my tips to finish top 10. And then you have the mid-table teams who could potentially move up if they can strengthen, teams like Cheltenham, Barrow and Swindon. Barnet who got promoted could have a good season, I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck into the top 10. I think Chesterfield are an easy bet to finish top 10, they'll finish in the play-offs again at least.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Walsall fall down the table considering how shocking their form was since February, Grimsby too I wasn't overly impressed with them. Even Salford look set to lose some of their better players and might struggle if they can't replace them.

I’ve no idea who the top ten will be, I’m sure they’ll be some surprises, I hope Notts are in the automatic promotion spots, I reckon Chesterfield definitely will be.

Can’t wait for it to get started now, it’s boring on Saturdays.

Sometimes you hear stories about clubs that have struggled for years but somehow fight their way back to the top. It gives you hope that Notts could do the same one day.

With the Reedtz brothers in charge, I've never felt more sure about the direction we're heading. They’ve brought stability, vision, and a proper belief back into the club.

Good luck to them in La Liga, if they can be more technical and defensively tight at the back, they might be able to stay up.

It's been raining here in Mansfield during the last hour but it is still hot outside.

We have a yellow warning for thunderstorms too.

Should see a bit of a cooling down on Sunday.

WARMEST DAY OF THE YEAR

It was 35 degrees here yesterday. I barely went out. I opened the windows early in the morning before it heated up too much, then I closed them and the shutters and hid in the dark.

Worst of all, it was still 27 degrees when I went to bed last night!

Given all the talk about Højer, the timing is a really strange coincidence. I wonder if he was originally going to be the main man in our new setup. But chances are nobody knew anything and it's just chance.

He was under contract at Huddersfield, so maybe they were angling for compensation. But then what's the point in holding onto him in June, when everyone is on holiday anyway?

I do think it’s a bit poor that it took this long to make what feels like a low-key appointment. Still, as I said, Martin Paterson should get our backing. As fans, we need to support the club through this. If not for the board, then for Notts and the players who gave everything last season.

Martin Paterson, will he be the saviour of the Pies or the creator of our demise???

Personally I think he deserves all loyal fans getting behind him 100%. Welcoming him and his team with Notts County's open arms. He has a difficult enough job to do without all of us on his and the teams back's. Let us judge by the long term not the short fuse.

It's frustrating when things get to this point and cause problems. For the sake of fairness, something should be looked at that doesn’t punish Palace fans. In the past, they tried to force owners to choose who they wanted to sell to, but that never worked. The only real option I can see is imposing penalties on both connected clubs if anything suspicious happens during matches.

The situation with multi-club ownership is a bit of a problem. It feels very unfair on Palace, but UEFA needs to ensure that there's no manipulation or "agreed" results. And that's hard to do when the same people sit on the boards if two clubs that could potentially play each other.

However, last season both Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig (who are very obviously controlled by Red Bull despite German club ownership rules) played in the Champions League...

Let’s be honest, Forest always find something to moan about. This time it feels like another case of them stirring the pot for the sake of it.

The irony isn’t lost on anyone, given their owner’s past links with several clubs. I’m not sure if he’s still involved elsewhere, but I remember there being rules about him and Greek sides. There’s always been controversy around him.

After all the drama they caused last season, it’s surprising no one called for them to be docked points. You’d think they’d count themselves lucky, not go looking for trouble.

I think the money could be better spent to be honest, especially if their job is basically to offer out a bit of advice here and there.

I struggle to think on a day-to-day basis what would they actually be doing if they weren’t involved in the coaching? And what would happen if the head coach didn’t like the suggestions from the football advisor, would they have to basically do as they say?

I get the idea and wouldn’t be totally against it if it’s not a wasted wage. I just think actually having a more experienced No.2/First-team coach would be a more effective way of solving this problem.

Does the club really need someone as experienced as Neil Warnock involved in any role? His wages could probably be put to better use elsewhere in the club. That said, I’m not totally against the idea. It might turn out well, but there are still a lot of unknowns at the moment.

I would have thought the club would focus on strengthening the coaching team before looking at anything like this.

Neil Warnock is very much a manager of the past which I do think that it's best kept that way. The best way that we progress, even if we do get a manager which we're not all happy with (Paterson anyone?) then if they back him up with a decent backroom (but not dedicated to the coach - more to the club and the cause). I think if we have an assistant, first team coaches etc, that may or may not have a link to the club then that puts us in a decent position.

Fair play to Luke Williams. It must be quite humbling to leave a club where you’ve had success and take on the challenge of managing in the Championship. Some managers might rush into new jobs, and we don’t know if Williams is just waiting for the right opportunity to come his way.

I understand why people are talking about it, and I’ve seen a lot of comments on social media too. But I don’t like how the media are poking into someone’s personal life just because he’s taken what is, really, a normal job. The only thing that makes it different is that Luke Williams has worked as a football manager.

If he was a bigger name, I could maybe understand the interest a bit more. But I agree with others who say he deserves his privacy.

I don’t mind what he’s doing now, as long as he’s happy and doing okay. I’ve got no hard feelings towards him for leaving us.

The skinny styled trousers and apple watch pairing gave it away for me! That's the only source I need, no AI is fluking that!

I agree though, just let him get on with his life now, he'll be back in football sooner rather than later I'm sure of it.

Gold might not be used in everyday trade anymore, but in a crisis, it’s one of the few things people still trust. That alone gives it lasting value.

I read that central banks have actually been increasing their gold reserves lately. That suggests they still see it as a safety net, even in modern times.

You’d be daft not to keep hold of your gold. Canada is putting money into building its infrastructure and finding new ways to earn, which makes sense. But having no safety net is a bit naïve. I think it’s true that the UK stores gold for several countries, and most of it doesn’t even belong to us.

I shall remain an international man of mystery

1 minute ago, Fan of Big Tone said:

Ah but I didn’t attend the game I watched it at home.

Surely, you took a couple of pictures for memento reasons. If you didn't, I would be very disappointed. 😉

This is a brilliant idea and a great way to use the PON gallery. I’d love to see the Faces of PON featured again next season, all being well.

Good topic! I would probably stay well away from football to be honest. You have to put in a huge amount of money just to stand still, and spending is no guarantee of success.

But if money were no object, I'd buy the franchise and close it down. Then I'd take over Notts, make sure we had competent people running all parts of the club and give them a good budget.

Then we could sell cheap season tickets to fill the ground and build our support. Maybe even expand ML if necessary. Apart from having my face on the shirts instead of a sponsor's logo and a giant golden statue of myself on Meadow Lane, I'd keep a low profile.

If I had a billion pounds, I’d buy Notts. The first thing I’d do is bring in a proper security firm to deal with the troublemakers. I’d ban them for life. I wouldn’t mind being controversial if it helped create a better atmosphere for the loyal, sensible and committed fans.

Just picture doing this with some of the worst fanbases in the country, some of them make Twitter trolls seem polite. Clearing out the bad apples would make it much easier to build the right team around the club.

I wouldn’t have a problem with criticism, but if someone can’t give proper feedback, I wouldn’t hesitate to show them the door.

I’d change most of the coaching staff too. I’d bring in top coaches and really push for developing local talent.

Fans would get a say in key decisions. I’d also put serious money into the squad so the club could grow and reach its full potential.

I have often thought about how tempting it would be to buy Nottingham Forest, just to prove a point after the way they treated Nigel Doughty. It would also be about restoring the balance and making Notts County the top club in the city again.

Still, I don’t see any sense in throwing money at football. Too many people get involved for the wrong reasons, and they often take the credit when things go well. When they don’t, it turns sour quickly, even if your intentions are good.

It’s not something I’d want to put myself through. I’d much rather spend the money improving Nottingham and supporting causes linked to the Magpies.