I thought Nick Tsaroulla was the best part of our performance yesterday. He played well and gave us an edge in a game that just didn't go our way.

Having now watched the full highlights of the game, I can safely put my vote towards Nick Tsaroulla. I think George Abbott, had he continued consistently throughout the game, would have been closer competition for my vote.

The Poll is now closed.

Thanks to all who voted.

I am pleased to announce that Nick Tsaroulla has been voted Pride of Nottingham's Man of the Match against Crewe for his outstanding performance.

Good win for the Notts women  today against Keyworth in the Notts FA County Cup 

Blackpool 2-1 Northampton Town  
Stockport County 3-2 Wrexham  
Accrington Stanley 1-1 Swindon Town  
Barrow 0-2 AFC Wimbledon Joker 
Bromley 1-0 Carlisle United  
Braintree Town 0-3 AFC Fylde  
Hartlepool United 2-2 Eastleigh  
Yeovil Town 1-1 Halifax Town

Blackpool 1-0 Northampton Town  
Stockport County 2-1 Wrexham  
Accrington Stanley 0-2 Swindon Town ????Joker  
Barrow 1-0 AFC Wimbledon  
Bromley 2-1 Carlisle United  
Braintree Town 1-2 AFC Fylde  
Hartlepool United 3-1 Eastleigh  
Yeovil Town 2-2 Halifax Town

Ladies and gentlemen, the results:

Blackpool 0-0 Northampton Town  
Stockport County 1-0 Wrexham  
Accrington Stanley 2-2 Swindon Town
Barrow 1-3 AFC Wimbledon  
Bromley 1-1 Carlisle United  
Braintree Town 1-0 AFC Fylde  
Hartlepool United 0-0 Eastleigh  
Yeovil Town 0-1 Halifax Town

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Here are this round's scores. Congratulations to @Megan_Elizax for winning the round and @CliftonMagpie on being the only player to land their joker on the Stockport - Wrexham match!

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In our leaderboard, @ARLukomski and @thommo chip away at @super_ram's lead, while @Megan_Elizax jumps three places...

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The next round is on Saturday, so the fixtures for that should be online on Wednesday as usual. Thanks for playing and let the banter begin!

Where do I start?

Firstly, Stuart is absolutely correct when he says we weren't good enough. We got into some decent positions on occasions but our decision making let us down in the final 3rd. At one point in the first half, we played out of Crewe's press really well but we didn't create anything from it once we got into the final third. Another chance we got was when Tsaroulla took on 2 or 3 players with his shot deflected with Crewe's defender heading it out for a corner. 

Our game plan was working a bit. It was looking like a nailed on 0-0. We weren't creating much and Crewe were working hard and pressing, but they kept over hitting their crosses, whenever they got into a decent position. Then they broke from a corner. I originally thought Austin had a headstart on Shilow Tracey but it's equal and Tracey's pace gets him there before Austin or Abbott. I don't know why no one takes a booking on half way or before he even gets to the ball. If we lost 1-0 to this goal and we played how we did, then I could say it was a poor performance in a game that was lacking intensity and quality. The truth is the game was lacking in quality and intensity throughout. The Donny game felt like a genuine top League 2 clash. This was a genuine summary of the lack of quality in the division this year. Notts were 3rd and Crewe 5th before kick-off and it wouldn't have been surprising if no one had looked at the table before the game and wondered if these two were 11th and 12th. The quality compared to the top 3 last year is massive. 

Gordon and Didzy replaced Ness and Scott at half time. May I add, Lucas Ness was having a good game and had kept Omar Bogle quiet in the first half, winning the majority of his aerial duels. We started the 2nd half well with Jev playing a good through ball to Austin who cut in and shot, rather than taking a touch and hitting it at Filip Marschall's near post instead, which I think was the better option. Then the penalty, oh my lord, the penalty. The whole away end and supporters of other football clubs on Twitter are still flabbergasted as to how this was given. Omar Bogle slips on the ball. He slips and continues to try and play on, protecting the ball with Ryan Cooney (the penalty taker) the only one who appeals. Then again, Cooney was acting proper weird all game. Goading the Notts fans in the 2nd half even before the penalty and then unprovoked, celebrating in front of Alex Bass after he scored. He then put a video on Twitter as to why. Alex Bass has like an interaction with him that lasts 2 seconds and then he walks off. I don't know what he might have said in less than 5 seconds to make Cooney act like he did but some players are like that I guess. A Gills fan on Twitter also said he's got a bit of an ego. 

The game was dead after that. We were still in the game at 1-0 even though we weren't playing that great but that daft decision killed the game. You may as well have blew the whistle after the 62nd minute because the game was over. Macari had a chance late on where he didn't connect properly with the ball and Marschall made a save from a header (can't remember who headed it). 

We really need to hang on in there till January so we can get some reinforcements in. It's like waiting for the weather to be decent before launching the Normandy landings. These injuries are destroying us. It's not that the squad depth is poor again. It isn't. It's just our depth is all injured. Grant, Edwards and Robertson. Didzy and Scott have both just come back and Jones and Crowley are crucial starters.

Top analysis @ARLukomski

It's nice and sunny here in Nottingham, too. I won't be venturing far from the TV(England play at 5pm).I'm still slowly getting over whatever bug I've got but I'm not blowing my nose as often and cough is getting less severe.. I'm going to make myself a stew ,as a lot of food still tastes strange ,and hope for the best.

Since I started writing this post its gone very cloudy and looks like rain.Snow is forecast for tomorrow!

@super_ram thanks for reminding me about the England match I’d have missed that. Stew sounds nice, that’ll warm you up.

We’ve just got back from our walk, by gum its bracing on the front, I’m glad we’ve brought plenty of warm clothes. We’re off to the pub soon for Sunday Lunch, it’s a brilliant real ale pub just round the corner from our rented cottage. 

It's raining here now and very dull.

I really hope this is the club where he can settle, and use his knowledge of the game to help them further. He sounds like he's doing a fantastic job, so hopefully we'll still see him in charge of them for another season or two, ideally longer but with a lot of changes in football.

Ricardo Moniz is a fantastic coach, with his insight into the game, but it's right now where he's showing his class as a manager.

I wish Ricardo Moniz all the best. He looks super fancy in that suit. It’s nice to see him wear something that makes him stand out more. I wonder if he wears his pilot jacket still?

As far as I'm concerned, Notts are the best run club in League 2. The evidence is there right before us.

If people take a look at how the club is progressing regarding the playing & commercial side, I don't see any other side in this league, doing things better than the Reedtz brothers are doing right now.

is this not the same thing were we found out the people behind it have more credit to the clubs they support? one being a afc wimbledon? i dont know how that can come across as being fair. i did not find them to be very credible.

Notts had been making big losses even before the Bros came in, didn’t Alan Hardy lose something like £3million the season we went down? You’re not going to be able to come in and instantly reduces the loses, especially when you’ve just been relegated out the football league too. The key thing for me is that our debts have slowly been reduced, and Joe Palmer has spoken a lot about the aim of getting the running cost to 0 in a few years and that it is achievable. So whilst we still might be making losing we have a plan to turn it around and we're on our way to achieving it.

I’d be interested to see why and how the likes of Chesterfield and Salford scored higher. Chesterfield were in the National League longer than we were and were pretty much run on loans whilst still spending comparatively large sums. And Salford are purely reliant on the money from the old Man Utd Boys and a billionaire! Their 1000 fans aren’t exactly covering much of the costs…

And I agree with others that finances aren't the defining feature of what makes a well run club. Carlisle who are second in that list are nose diving in to the National League and you'd struggle to find a Swindon fan that thinks their club is well run! The Bros have stated on numerous occasions this is long term for them and I’m certain when they leave the club it’ll be in the best place it’s been for years.

@Fan of Big ToneThere's a plaice for everything!????

15 minutes ago, Piethagoram said:

@Fan of Big ToneThere's a plaice for everything!????

Groan 

it does look interesting, it also looks idea for producing hydropower provided it dont cause issues for its existing purpose. cowlick is great for walks.

Every youth academy player that has got minutes in this season's EFL Trophy...

Ryley Reynolds

Madou Cisse

Charlie Gill

James Sanderson

Daniel Adiefeh

Kameron Muir

Themba Nyirenda

Cassius Cisse

Daniel Emmanuel

Archie Aves

Kieran Cooney

Zac Denman

the complaining comments are disappointing because what if one of the youngest see them? whilst you hope for a good performance, you have to welcome the opportunity for them to play and get minutes. its disappointing more about some of the reactions by a small minority of our fans. we did not show ourselves up, we went out on goal difference. the league is far more important at this stage. get ready for the meltdown that we dont play the youngsters or anything else someone will pipe up about. so pleased for cedwyn scott to have returned and score.

I watched the match on Sky Sports+ and to be fair it wasn’t a good watch in fact I turned over halfway through the second half but I wouldn’t go on social media to rubbish the performance, I was pleased they won, they defended heroically and Cedwyn scored a good goal which I was delighted for him.

As others have said it’s a competition that has become pretty meaningless in the early rounds, we have more important things so I’m not losing any sleep over not progressing.

14 hours ago, Piethagoram said:

 

All of a sudden I like him a lot better. He needs to be reinstated and officiating Florist matches forthwith.

2 hours ago, DangerousSausage said:

All of a sudden I like him a lot better. He needs to be reinstated and officiating Florist matches forthwith.

What's the chance that he actually likes Forest? I think it's quite possible.

Watching the Sky Sports video, I can see why he said what he did, but doing it on video, and he clearly knew it was being recorded is extremely silly. Still, I don't think his decision was biased against disliking Liverpool. Their fans, etc, seem to be trying to make it about that, but it's not. Virgil van Dyke was offside. Jordan Pickford could have been spoken too, but under the rules he committed no foul despite it being a dangerous challenge.

The guy is a fool. His role and the fact that he spoke in a recorded video, criticising someone, is simply not acceptable. All of this could have been dealt with internally. The media are just as guilty for stirring up the drama.

Yes I am sure we will have enough up from to get by crewe with a mixture of McGoldrick, Brown and Scott. 

Not sure if we have seen Brown and Scott play together,  with Brown's passing and assisting efforts it could be a good opportunity for Scott,  along with the build in confidence from his goal against Leicester.  

@Pies79 I'd like to see Scott lead the line with Brown & Crowley just behind him.

Scott deserves a chance to lead the line. I think that's his best position.

Jatta has been a remarkable signing. When we were linked I didn't think it would be true and when we signed him I felt pleasantly surprised by how he fit in. The early signs looked promising, with how he held the ball up, and waved between defenders. He seemed to instantly settle in, and it's great to see how much us Notts fans have taken to him. You can't underestimate that support.

I have no concerns about his departure to represent The Gambia.

We'll be fine, and he really has earned this. I hope he does well, and manages to secure a place in their team. It's great to have internationals at this level.

@Wheelbarrow repair man

Well This Is A New One To Me. I Can Add It to My Collection. A World War 1 Song about Notts County vs Aston Villa. By The Way Who Won. Notts or Villa?

@Wheelbarrow repair man Our first meeting with Villa after the war was in April 1920, when we were beaten 3-1. But in the return match at Meadow Lane just a week later we beat them 2-1, so Jack Miller was right!

One has only to see how tough EFL2 is... Morecambe and Carlisle Utd wins were unexpected! Stockport, Wrexham and Mansfield went up with probably the largest playing budgets. Notts are still being "funded" but not to those financial extremes. 

You don't necessarily have to have the biggest playing budgets to build a team that can challenge for promotion.

A good coach that can recruit the right players then coach them to play as a team is just as valuable as buying the best players who might not fit into the Club's playing system.

yes

I can save you the time calculating my score for this week, cos I got a big fat 0! ????‍♂️????

31 minutes ago, menzinho said:

I can save you the time calculating my score for this week, cos I got a big fat 0! ????‍♂️????

Thats rubbish @menzinho I was lots better with a resounding 1 point. 

The results:

Norwich City 0-2 Bristol City Joker
Portsmouth 3-1 Preston North End
Exeter City 1-0 Charlton Athletic
Stevenage 1-1 Reading
Tranmere Rovers 2-1 Newport County
Walsall 1-1 Crewe Alexandra
Solihull Moors 3-3 Altrincham
Southend United 0-1 Yeovil Town

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Not a lot of points being dished out this week, but congrats to @TheSkipper on another strong round!

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Overall, @super_ram still leads, @ARLukomski goes second and @TheSkipper jumps into the play-off places!

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The prediction league continues on Saturday, so the fixtures should appear here on Wednesday. Thanks for playing and see you then!

Doncaster had a poor first half, although they improved a bit towards the end. Their main strategy seemed to be to either kick the ball into our area or to slowly move it forward towards our goal.

Defensively, Matty Platt really made an impact. I felt that they changed once their substitutes came on, but overall, I didn’t think they were particularly impressive as a team.

I’m disappointed that we didn’t build on our strong start, but I’m proud of the effort every player put in. As a team, however, we could have done better.

I agree @ScottyP Platt has really made an impact since the beginning of the season along with his defensive colleagues including goalkeeper Bass.

I think the Notts defence has made a big difference this season.

What an amazing team goal! And of course you can't complain at taking a point away at one of the best teams in the league. The fact that none of our substitutes was presumably fit enough to play tells you just how thin we are though, I hope this improves in the weeks to come.

Well done to George Abbott! It's good to see the votes reach 50. He performed great.

great to see george abbott get the vote and earn his second man of the match here on pon! tho i do think many of the named players could have easily been voted for, i do think abbott amount stands out.

i wished someone had voted for sam austin as all players would have had a vote that were named.  

I thought George Abbott played excellently in the first half and did well in the second too. Naturally, we started to tire as a team, but he kept his performance strong throughout. 

He definitely deserves to be voted Man of the Match.

Today's match report.????

League table. Notts in 6th Place.

Our player of the match today is Leah Hardy.

Can't disagree with what you've said @Wheelbarrow repair man

A minimum of eight home players in a squad of 25 doesn't mean they'll be any home players in a PL eleven.

It would be better to have a minimum home player number on the field at any one time.

If it were me making the rules that number would be at least six, to ensure home players have the majority at all times.

I would also ensure that there is at least one home grown coach on any first team coaching staff in the PL. It may be an assistant first team coach or Head Coach so long as there is at least one.

I’d up it a bit, maybe to 10, I don’t think the English national team is in a bad place at the moment and our recent good showings in international tournaments show this.

It could potentially have a negative impact, if the number is too high you risk players just being named for the sake of filling the squad. Lots of very good young players get a season out on loan in the Championship and play proper competitive matches every week at a good standard. Surely this is better for their development then just sitting on the bench each week for Premier League teams. And, it also benefits the teams further down the football pyramid too. Like George Abbott, right now it’s a win-win for scenario everyone for Spurs, Notts and George.

I don’t think England will ever have a shortage of good players, it’s almost too popular in this country, so many kids play for their local grass-roots team and progress into academies and professional football. Personally, I think the good-home grown players will eventually get to where they should be, even if players don’t get the chance early on in their careers and have to take a slightly different route their talent will always shine through at the end of the day.

is it the italian leagues where they have stricter rules about overseas players? i think the number should be a bit higher, maybe 10 like @menzinho mentioned. but i would like to see it broken down into age groups, so x players 16-20, then more 18-24.

there is no concern about the quality of players coming through, but some youngsters are discarded after reaching a certain age and this is more common if their form is inconsistent. you can have the same happening to a big name, but the reputation tends to save them. i think having a focus on retaining players that are in age groups would give better young professionals a chance to establish themselves.

only undefeated efl team, another great stat and fact to accompany all the previous ones we have gained. it shows how well notts is being ran right now.

@Wheelbarrow repair man It would be also a great finish for Didzy if he could help get Notts promoted, but even if he doesn't, he's been a credit to this Club, for his leadership, his example to his colleagues & his performance on & off the pitch.

Very True @Robbie Very True. I Think Didzy as been the Nearest thing to a Leader on the Pitch for Notts this Season.

On 02/11/2024 at 08:52, Piethagoram said:

Actually, least we forget, Jodi Jones was magic before his injury

I was about to point this out, as I feel Jodi's form was bringing the best out of Dan Crowley. There was a period, whereby those two were very dominant in our team, very dangerous having them in our attack, and the injury to Jodi Jones seems to have impacted Crowley slightly - along with his own injury woes.

I still feel Dan Crowley has been immense this season, and would be my Player of the Season. At this point, at least.

If we spoke about "signings", then Jacob Bedeau has to be up there with one of the best recruited players, but you could throw Matty Platt and Alex Bass into the mix. It's a very interesting, and difficult thing to decide. It should make the Pride of Nottingham awards at the end of the season interesting.

Good afternoon, we had a walk up to our local war memorial for the 11am remembrance service, there was a really good turnout of townsfolk. All the roads were closed to traffic while the scouts, army cadets and boys brigade band march from the church to the memorial.

Our grandson Fred was marching with his scout group at another local town but we couldn’t get the car out to go and watch him, it’s nice to see the youngsters being involved.

1 Sirrel Square. This is a Legendry Property  which Stands Alone in it's own Grounds. Built in the Scottish Baronial Style, this Amazing Dwelling was built up from literally nothing to become a Top Attraction  in Nottinghamshire.

4 Pavis Plaza . Like the above Property, Pavis Plaza also carries a Great Legendry Status in Nottinghamshire, No expense was spared in moving the building from across the Trent to it's Present Location an outstanding sight particularly it's Massive Iron Studded Black & White Gates which Greets all visitors.

Have you got some more from your catalogue @Wheelbarrow repair man?

Here's the latest Properties from Nottingham's Leading Estate Agents. Bluffem, Diddlem and Doem Down.

7 Crowley Close. The Owners of this Property are looking to Extend it's lease till at least 2027.

14 Brown Avenue . Was a Slight worry of subsidence regarding this Property However it can be Reported it as Now Settled in.

18 Palmer Court. A Late 20th Century Build, with a Relaxing Atmosphere. Very Cool when things get Hot. Interesting Features Window Sills and Front Door surround built from Derbyshire Blue John Stonework.

5 Platt Place. A Solid No Nonsense Property built on  Strong Engineering Brick Foundations.

I use the dashboard for the vast majority of the time. I also use the unread area too.

I check out & read posts from the past that are relevant to today. 

If a post is interesting & well written, even if I don't agree with parts of it, I will still like it. 

If I particularly like a post I will love it.

I try to contribute to the site by reading as much as I can especially from members who may not get the everyday response as those who are on here every day.

The site has a good system as far as I'm concerned that rewards members that interact with others.

The more that one interacts, the more they are rewarded. Ie, reputation points, & achievement points.

The site is all about encouraging interaction & that's a good thing because more interaction will help the site grow even more.

My advice to @Wheelbarrow repair man & newbies is to read the posts from different members, because there are lots of good posts on PON & respond with a like or a reply.

It's not just about the new posts and the first couple of pages of the dashboard. It's about lots of hidden gems that are just waiting to be discovered again.

Check out some of the back articles posted by PON, & the blogs. Some very interesting stuff there too. 

my only focus is to support pon and members by giving my thoughts, sometimes things natural go a bit slower and if I started a discussion which did not get many responses i would simply try to encourage it. failing that, i would try to highlight it in the content you might have missed. tony and i have been doing this for a few months, few people react but it does not make it less important.

A topic could be seen by 100–1000 guests over time, with 2–60 members having seen the topic. Only to have one reply, I wouldn't say it failed because sometimes all it takes is a few people to respond to encourage others into sharing their views.

There are a few members who try to engage with every post possible, and in a meaningful way.

I don't have any focus these days on success, I see things as a way to learn, and I personally just want members to enjoy themselves. That for me is the happiest aspect, as I don't care about the amount of reactions I get to comments (it's nice), but honestly, I would rather see members named within the leaderboard or hitting good amounts of reactions. I think it's more about quality, and togetherness.

Don't take my comment about reactions the wrong way; it's just not something I focus on.

My success here can only be deemed on effort, leadership and quality.

It's something I need to step up, but I know people understand - which is a massive worry off my shoulder.

I definitely agree the National League North is below his level, I’d actually like to know why he dropped back into it with Scunthorpe though, were there no National League clubs in for him?

I don’t think he’d work as a striker, an attacking midfielder would probably suit his game more. That said, League 2 opposition is a world away from the part-timers in the NLN. He missed a large chunk of last season too through injury I think he needs a whole season, minor knocks aside, injury free otherwise it’s a bit of a risk for me.

i hope he can get back to playing in the national league itself, a lower league two team might take interest in him. yet at the current level, he should be shinning and i am pleased he is.

Unfortunately, his move to Aberdean was his shot of playing at a higher level, and whilst I think he still has the chance to have some time in League Two. It's narrowing down, to which I believe it might just be better and more enjoyable for him to be a part of salvaging Scunthorpe United woes.

He's a great player, very exciting to watch and when in form - he's hard to play against.

It's great to see him re-find this form, plus earning praise but an element of it comes with being settled. If Scunthorpe can maintain their current form and push to make a return to League Two, then his injury concerns might not cause his career further issues. They know the concerns, will most likely have a familiar feeling to how we did when he was here and view him as irreplaceable.

So, it is good to see him doing so well.

I usually refer to my team as Notts when talking to other Notts fans or people from Nottingham but if I was talking to e.g. a Manchester United fan and he asked who I supported I’d say Notts County.

typical football fans and notts, to find something to complain about that needs not. its not like we're being labelled nottingham. i get some might prefer notts county to just notts, but what a waste of energy to complain and make a fuss.

I refer to our fans, on social media as "Notts fans". Mostly, because it saves characters, and it can read better. I sometimes include Notts County further in the message(s), so I really don't see the fuss.

We are Notts, County, Magpies, The Magpies, The Black & White Army, NCFC, Pies etc.

Preference is one thing, but it's on par with political correctness and wokeness to take harms over something so trivial. This is when it comes to beyond moaning, and taking to using pitchforks or having a meltdown over it. The world has so many problems, but how we refer to ourselves as fans isn't one - provided it falls within meaning.